Books Read 2017

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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished No Exchanges, No Returns by Laurie Kellogg

David Lambert, pediatric doctor, married Brianna, but her uterus had problems, and her fraternal twin Casey offered to be their surrogate. Just as David celebrated the great news and Casey's pregnancy is confirmed, Brianna had a meltdown, divorced David, and ran from the town of Redemption PA. Casey had always been the girl in the background, leaving her sister Brianna as the beauty, the attractive one, while she labor in the background as the one with cooking talent, and the pregnancy was supposed to make David and Brianna happy, as her family expected it. But now, with Brianna gone, and David insisting that Casey move into his house, Casey had a hard time not to fall for David's charms, but she kept telling herself that David's offlimits... David's her sister's man... David knew that Casey is his... ex-wife's sister but he's really wondering if he married the wrong sister, now that he got to spend a bit more time with Casey. The fact that she's carrying his child is just a bonus. But what will he... they... tell Brianna should she return? Why did she leave in the first place?
Spoiler:
Turns out, Brianna had a brain tumor and she was afraid she'll just die like her mother that she had to reject everybody first and go elsewhere to get treatment, and a doctor fell for her out there. When she eventually went back to Redemption, the doctor followed her home to convince her she won't die and he'll be there.
Nice plotting, as the book had two parallel romances and the circumstances for the first one is weird enough and fun enough to warrant reading. 7/8

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Finished Issued to the bride: One Navy SEAL / by Cora Seton FREE on Amazon

Brian Lake is a SEAL... but won't be for much longer. His last mission was a total PR disaster, and he'd been relegated into a post where he will push paper until he was... "encouraged to retire". He always wanted a ranch after his father lost theirs when he was 14, and now he will never get the chance... Until General Augustus Reed ordered him on a special mission... Infiltrate his family ranch "Two Willows" in Chance Creek, Montana, secure his five daughters, for something is very wrong in town, and General Reed, a busy man, had neglected his daughters for too long. Officially, Lake is there to fix up the house. Unofficially, he's there to marry Cass, for the ranch was everything he dreamed of. But Cass was not ready to trust any man, muchless a spy sent by her father. Cass had fell for the previous foreman, Bob, who embezzled 30000 from the ranch, and the ranch hands he hired show no respect to the five daughters, each of whom has a special talent, yet all of them seem to have bad boyfriends. Cass found out about the embezzling, and kicked Bob out, but Bob was spreading rumors in town about their engagement, and may have hidden something on the ranch. Lake's arrival sent Cass into a tailspin. Lake is like no other men she knew, who can kick ass and take names... but also help her without reservation, as well as treat her sisters with respect. But Lake is but one man, and something is very wrong on Two Willows Ranch... and Lake will have to call upon his combat training to protect the ones he love...

While the premise seems to be getting REALLY far fetched (a general send armed forces' special rejects to his home as romance subjects for his daughters?!) the plot actually moves decently well once you get past that little hangup. Established characters from previous books make guest appearances, esp. Cap the sheriff and Rose, his wife. And good thing this time the message was NOT preachy unlike the other series about nature and blah blah blah. The shootout at the end was a bit underwhelming, IMHO.

6/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished The Thousand Dollar Man by J. T. Brannan

Thousand Dollar Man is a myth, kinda like the A-team, that people with no hope will call upon... Hoping that one day, he will come to town, and solve their problems... His real name is Colt Ryder, former Ranger, medically discharged, and then fired for standing up against a bullying boss against a worker. When his home was also burglarized and his possessions taken, he snapped, and he became a modern knight errant, helping those in need all across America, those with no hope. All he asks is one thousand dollars, to weed out the crank callers. When he came upon a couple ads in Laredo, TX, he was asked by parents who lost their daughter three years ago, when she was merely 13. For this, Colt will travel to Mexico, to New Laredo just across the border, and beyond, to chase down leads, to find the daughter, and the answer will probably not be pleasant... For in his way is the narco gang known as the Zetas... one of the most brutal gangs around...

Good adventure story, think Jack Reacher but with more violence and less contemplation and puzzles. 6.5/8

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Finished Evading Fate by A. M. Myers

Trey survived a hard childhood with an abusive father and a mother who escaped from reality with drugs that eventually killed her. His adoptive family treated him like one of their own but he spent forever denying himself because he never want to be his father, yet he's afraid he will turn into him. He was best friends with Addilyn, who found that her mother has early-onset Alzheimer's and is losing her mind at only her 40's, and Addy promised her mother she will not reveal her condition to others... yet it was harder and harder to keep the secret, esp. when Addy feared that fate will caused her to also lose her mind later... She rejected Kyle, her mostly platonic boyfriend... who wouldn't take a hint that it's over, even as Trey noticed Addy's changes. And one drunken night after a wedding, Addy ended up in Trey's bed... fully clothed, but they kissed, and Trey realized he has feelings for Addy, and the feeling is mutual... but neither wanted to ruin their friendship... But their feelings cannot be denied, and soon they will be forced to confront them... for better or worse.

Nice emotional push-pull with great secrets to keep and the toll it takes on one's soul. 7/8

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Finished Heaven in His Arms by Lisa Ann Verge FREE on Amazon

Genevieve is barely surviving on the streets of Paris, with no future, when circumstances gave her a chance at a new life... a young noblewoman Marie was picked as one of the "King's Girls", about to be shipped off to the new North American French colonies to marry a local. But Marie doesn't want to go... and Genevieve can't stay. So they agreed to switch places... Marie will become Genie and run off with her love in Paris, while Genie will become Marie and take her chances in Canada. The switch was successful, but illness on the way means Genie/Marie arrived in the colonies half-dead, and she was married off any way... to a man who was determined to remain single, for adventure was his life, and a wife would only slow him down, and she was not expected to survive. But survive she did, and she quickly added herself onto his next expedition... And her husband knew that she was not who she seem to be... for this "noblewoman" seems to know skills that no noblewoman should possess... and every day brought them closer together...

Don't recall reading a "historical romance" based on the King's Girls before (it's historical, really happened) so this is kinda fresh. 6/8

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Finished The Heart's Shrapnel by S. J. Lynn

Phil McClintock is a sergeant in the US Army, that's keeping a huge secret, one that got him shot. A beautiful surgeon, Jane Summers, saved him, and seems to have fallen for him, yet stayed aloof. For Jane is hiding her own secrets... Her ex, Kevin, is an abusive SOB and a soldier, and she volunteered for the army hospital position partly to get away from him. She swore she will never fall for a soldier again, but she can't stay away from Phillip. But Phil was investigating something big... missing weapons, human trafficking, all done from the US base. And there is a mole in his team. And here's the biggest secret... Phil actually Wes, Phil's twin brother. Phil... is dead. Shot by someone he knew. Wes chose to impersonate Phil by hiding Phil's death, get shot, and continue to investigate, because he must find his brother's killer... but how can one find a killer in an institution that trains killers, and no one to trust? When enemy is willing to prey upon his instinct to protect Jane? When enemy seem to know his every move?

Nice mystery, because Wes is Army CID (undercover investigators). Some of the details are glossed over. I think the link between Phil and Jane was a bit too easy, but once established it makes sense. 6.5/8

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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished No Perfect Destiny by Jackie Weger

Leah Spencer struggled to make a decent life with her two kids after a bitter divorce and a scandal that sent her running to a different part of country. She thought she found a good home on Galveston Island, and her job as was good as head of finance. But the owner's retiring, and when the company's being audited as prelude to sale, a good chunk of money is missing. And somehow, the spotlight fell on Leah, and the head investigator, Leo Garvey, knew Leah is hiding something, but he's not sure it had anything to do with this case. Leah's refusal to submit to a polygraph only focused more attention on her. Leo tries to get closer to Leah, as Leo knew he had already fallen for Leah and her ready-made family. Leah likewise likes the detective, but she cannot be sure if his charms is being used to wheedle evidence out of her, or of genuine concern. The company owner is ready to accuse Leah of embezzlement as nothing is going to derail his retirement, something is got to give... and Leah's secret will soon be exposed... And Leo struggles to expose the real culprit before Leah runs again...

There's a good twist to the end as the real culprit was revealed. I personally find the attraction between the two a little insta-lust. Obviously both tried to fight it.
Spoiler:
The twist was the embezzlement was for the owner's son's unwed partner, whom the kid got pregnant and left hanging. The embezzlement was perpetrated by owner's wife, because the owner refused to clean up after his son's mistakes, despite getting a grandchild in the process. It had been going on for at least three years, long before Leah started working there (1 year ago).
Let's call it 6.5/8 as the tension is good, but the idea that a bookkeeper / head of finance can't recognize the account predated her own arrival... Something's wrong with the accounting language too.

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Finished Six Days of Memories by Stacy Eaton

Detective Natasha Foster is a no-nonsense kind of woman that has a mystery in her hands. Responding to a car crash, he found the driver out cold with head injury, female passenger dead from the crash, a female body in the trunk, tied up and shot through the head, AND a bag full of money in the back seat. The driver eventually woke up... with amnesia. Tasha felt a strong connection to the man, whom she named "Jay" (better than "John Doe") but he's a suspect in a murder investigation. With chief's blessing, Jay stayed at her house, and they each know they cannot pursue a relationship. He may have a family out there, maybe wife and kid(s) waiting for him. What will happen when Jay gets his memory back?

The tension seems okay, but in reality nothing much happened in the book, because bascially 6 days later he got his memories back. And then...
Spoiler:
The body in the trunk was his sister, who was kidnapped, and the woman in front seat was her lover. The story was confirmed later. He is indeed married and with one daughter. At his daughter's urging, he got a divorce and eventually went on to marry Tasha.
Something, this book just feels so... empty? It's almost 300 pages but not a lot happened. 5.5/8

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Finished Reckless Conduct by Brandy Ayers

Sophie Gallo lost both of her parents to disease by 23, and the only one who made her felt alive was Luke McCracken. One night, after a bit of alcohol, they did the deed, but he ran, for she's always a little sister to him. For the next three years, they barely spoke to each other, and never about that night, but she's the office manager of Middleburg PD, and he's a Sergeant on the same force. When a rash of break-ins plague the town, Luke and fellow police tries to keep the citizens safe, then a 911 call shattered his calm... Sophie is in danger...

Eh... the fights are okay, but feels like Hollywood fights, not real. It's decent plotting for 100 pages though. 6/8

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Finished Mexican Hit Girl by S. C. Smith

Mason Church has been recruited for a black ops job... in Mexico. He's supposed to take down the Zacarios gang leader, with no support other than some words of encouragement and some intel. He did not count on being betrayed from within, for a mole had penetrated the mission from the beginning, when Mexican Navy choppers shot down his insertion helo. But Mason always achieves his goals. After barely reaching, the target, only to see him get away, he freed a girl, Valentina Vargas, barely sixteen, already gang raped, bruised, and battered, Valentina proved to be a warrior as fierce as himself, for she is there to avenge her family. But how do you survive the cauldron of Mexico, where corrupt police is the norm, power games between the cartel, military, and police keeps the body count high, and the corruption reach all the way into the highest level of United States government?

Wow, that's a high body count in this book, including two cartel leaders, President of Mexico, a US Senator, and a ton of minions and good guys... including Valentina. But somehow this book's action scenes doesn't quite hook me. 6/8

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Finished Chosen for Power by Kathleen Brooks FREE on Amazon

Elle Simpson is one of the most powerful businesswoman in the US, head of Simpson Global, with variety of ventures run by her various siblings, but only after they prove their worth. She met her dream man at the Masquerade Ball held by Drake Charles, the reclusive software billionaire, then after one night of passion she had to run off to complete a business deal, having never learned her beau's name. She was surprised to find later that her beau was none other than Drake Charles himself, who was kind, charming, and loving, and has wealth that matched hers. But even as she bask in the glory of love, enemies are closing in. An ex-lover who turned out to be a corporate spy that tried to take over her company 6 years ago (just as she was graduating college and assumed the reins after her parents died) is now back, threatening to ruin her and all around her. A saleswoman who used sexual favors to boost her sales figures and terminated is making hay in media. And worse, someone hacked into her corporate email and had been impersonating her, both online and off, including fake press release (from her own email account!) that she's pregnant and merging with a competitor, then impersonating her to cash out the company emergency credit line of two million. Then the secret service showed up and hauled everybody downtown... claiming she bought a gun and threaten to kill the president...

Uh... No, secret service doesn't work that like. A .22 caliber rifle is NOT a credible threat. Soon the agents figured out they've been played, but still, that's super paranoia. The twist was pretty good though. 6/8
Last edited by Kasey Chang on Wed May 10, 2017 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by McNutt »

Navy SEALs are very popular on that line of books aren't they. They're like the 21st century version of princes.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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McNutt wrote:Navy SEALs are very popular on that line of books aren't they. They're like the 21st century version of princes.
Or count or marquis or duke or whatever. Every Regency romance has a duke or such.

Unfortunately, most authors suck and never research SEALs properly. When they have these SEALs fight hand-to-hand, they simply have them go in throwing roundhouse punches like common thugs.

The only thing more popular than SEALs would be cowboys (both contemporary and historical).
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Is there really anything attractive about historical cowboys? Really poor guys who sleep on bedrolls, don't bathe and blow all their money on whisky and whores. Really?
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Idealized cowboys.

Tough, calloused hands, rough exterior hiding a sensitive soul if only he met the right woman who could reach him when no one else could.

Plus, a big c*ck, I assume.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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McNutt wrote:Is there really anything attractive about historical cowboys? Really poor guys who sleep on bedrolls, don't bathe and blow all their money on whisky and whores. Really?
Ah, but protective ranch foremans who want to marry the lucky girl who ended up inheriting the ranch under odd circumstances, that's another story. :D
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by hitbyambulance »

Finished:

The Road - Jack London (and re-read "To Build A Fire". i'm still too squeamish for this one)
The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
"The Fall of the House of Usher" - Edgar Allen Poe (really, now)
"A Good Man Is Hard To Find" - Flannery O'Connor (no thanks to the person who suggested i should read this)

Currently reading:

We - Yevgeny Zamyatin
Solaris - Stanislaw Lem (shaping up to be one of the best books i've read since... the last Stanislaw Lem novel i read)
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller (unabandoned)
Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction - Steve McConnell (a gift from my technical lead. this one will take a while...)
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Shy Girls Write it Better by May Sage FREE on Amazon

Cassie Franklin is a shy klutz working in a dreary accounting department of a place she loved called Harris Toys, and she has a secret... For she also wrote erotic romance in her spare time under the penname Cassandra Frank. She has the hots for the boss Carter Harris, but she knew Carter doesn't date a mousy klutz like her. But one day, when Carter and her accidentally switched folders due to a coffee machine malfunction that she helped sort out, her secret is out... but Carter was only more intrigued, as the manuscript was great... except she knew nothing about... BDSM. So he offered up some criticism and remarks in the margins... and their friendship grew... And the next thing they knew... They are quite into each other... But if she's making good money writing, why did she stay around? Carter wanted to find out... AND give her some hands-on lessons... of course!

Kinda cute but nothing too special here. 6.5/8

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FInished Stranded with the SEAL by Amy Gamet FREE on Amazon

ex-SEAL Trevor "Hawk" Hawkins, on his way to avenge his friend's death with a fully loaded vehicle to take out a cartel boss in the middle of winter blizzard, on a desolate mountain road on the way to the cartel boss' compound, crashed into a vehicle stranded around a blind corner. He barely escaped the wreckage and rescued the other person he almost hit before both vehicles plunged off the side of road and fell hundreds of feet into the ravine below. The other person was Olivia Grayson, and she suffered amnesia. She knew she was running from something, but what? She was grateful for Hawk's rescue, but she's still in fear of whatever she was running from. Hawk, with no equipment and no ammo, is nonetheless planning to continue the mission, but he cannot leave Olivia to fend for herself. Back in HERO Force HQ, the Force leader realized Hawk had gone rogue going after Marco, but he now has permission to take down Marco, so he assembled his force to hopefully get there before Hawk went too far. As Hawk leaves to scout out his objective, Olivia started to recover her memories bit by bit... She was about to marry Marco, and she had to run away from... what? As the read of HERO force got there, Hawk and Olivia realized Marco... is the cartel boss Hawk was trying to kill...

For plot, this actually ain't too bad, as the blizzard and forced proximity was used to good effect, but the amnesia trope was just cliche. Combat sequences are not too bad, but I don't why Hawk would just blurt out his former rank in the US Navy and his "rank" in this independent "HERO Force". 6/8

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Finished Accidentally Married by Victorine E. Lieske

Madison Nichols, aspiring actress, is doing... quite badly. With no job, no gig, and no income, she's not going to even have money to pay her half of the rent. After she got a tip about a possible open position as personal assistant to CEO Jared Jameson, she just barged in hoping to score an interview before the position was even advertised. However, there was no open position, and due to a misunderstanding, she ended up playing his girlfriend to his family, a one-night gig, instead of a job. So she sassed him back by announcing to his family that they are engaged. Jared just about saw red, but Madison was thinking fast enough to make his head spin. Then Jared's aunt, who has cancer, wanted Jared and Madison to marry in two weeks, because she's afraid she is not long of this Earth, and Jared, who fear disappointing his aunt, decided to stage a fake wedding. What they didn't plan on, was for Jared's father to overhear their plans... and set a different plan into motion... For they can tell that Jared and Madison has chemistry... if they will just admit it to each other...

Actually quite uproariously funny to read, and really "awwwww" sweet at times, this is good rom-com. 7/8

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Finished Silver Heart by Amelia Rose FREE on Amazon

Maggie Lucas left Boston as a mail order bride to Virginia City, Nevada, expecting a marriage of convenience to an owner of a silver mine. What she didn't count on was a handsome brother that tempted her, a mine that is nearly tapped out, a home that faces foreclosure, and a nemesis that wanted to take everything her husband has... Or that she had fallen for her husband for real...

I find the ending a bit of a cop out. Basically the darkest hour was "solved" because the brothers had been sending money to their family who invested it so well they're rich somewhere else that they're buying a casino, leaving the poor sod who wanted their silver mine with a dud. Romance is kinda nice. 5/8

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Finished Rocky Mountain Mornings by Kirsten Osborune

Bri Roberts and her sister had always wanted to turn their grandma's house in Silver Springs, CO into a bed and breakfast, and they needed a contractor to help realize their dreams. What they got is Anthony Black, new guy in town, that drives Bri up the wall with his teases / flirting about how he will marry her and all that. Can such a romance work?

I guess it's kinda cute in a certain way... 4.5/8

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Finished Tender Love by Juliette Duncan FREE

Tessa Scott saw her relationship with her multi-year BF fall apart and unsure how to move forward. Ben Williams saw his wife of 14 years walk out of his life leaving him with their son. When Ben's counselor, Stephanie, also happen to be Tessa's BFF, the unlikely pair of Tessa and Ben was set up on a date. And while they really are drawn to each other, each has a ton of baggage they are not letting go just yet.... But perhaps God and prayers can show them the way...

This is a Christian Romance which means no sex, and plenty of mentions about praying for guidance. 5/8

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Finished The Wild Operations Introduction by Vivienne Savage

Collection of three novellas and a short story about a bunch of shifters working military or undercover near fictional town of Quickdraw TX. We have werebears, werecrocs, wereeagles, werecougars, and more. It's okay, I guess. 5/8

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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Sweetly Scandalous by Jacqueline Winters FREE

Allie Jordan was in love with Travis, until he turned into a dark menace after his father's disapperance. Then one night, it all changed. Travis was arrested, and Allie left with a scar on her body. Now Allie kept an eye on Travis's parole date, ready to leave town before that happens. In the meanwhile, she's working as a receptionist/assistant in the hospital, working under Lesley, Travis' mother, whom everybody called Cruella behind her back. Allie cannot afford to fall in love, and she kept her fantasies to romance novels, whom she reviews on her blog, and she had built up a reputation. When a new doctor, Nick Bryant arrived in town, he looked as if he stepped off one of Allie's bodice-rippers and he's good with her dog too. But Nick came with his own wounds and secrets... he caught his wife screwing his best friend, and he left the big cities for the little town of Willow Creek, intending to get away from it all, after running into the town's doctor taking a vacation and hoping to retire. Nick and Allie fell for each other, but unknown to them, forces are ready to deny them happiness. Lesley is determined to restore her reputation (tarnished by her son's arrest) by running Allie out of town so she can continue to control her boy, but Travis is one possessive SOB who wanted Allie by his side, and willing to kill if that's what it takes. Things got really complicated when Nick's wife (she never finished her divorce) and Nick's sister came into town, then came news that Travis got released early (and Lesley made sure nobody in town found out)...

Wow, there's serious amount of intrigue and backstab in these pages, that the novel is almost 500 pages (!) in length, but there is a LOT of plot here. 7.5/8 as you knew there's going to be some spectacular showdown near the end. There's a twist but it's not that good, IMHO.

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Finished Poor Man's Fight by Elliott Kay

Tanner Malone has bombed "The Test", the main determination of his future on the planet Archangel. The corporations controlled everything, and everybody owed enough debt that they cannot possibly escape unless they do well on the test. The only way he saw out was joining the Archangel space patrol. And while he was doing okay, he didn't count on space pirates and hostile shipmates. When a space pirate "Captain Casey" hijacked a space liner, Tanner's corvette responded, and got blew out of space. Tanner survived, but something in him snapped. He is tired to kowtowing to any authority, but he's not joining the pirates. He's going to kill as many of those pirates he can... by himself. And those pirates are in serious trouble...

Good adventure, as this one guy basically ended up taking out the entire pirate cruiser mostly by himself, then retook the space liner's bridge, mostly by himself as well. 7/8

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Finished Loving Lauren by Jill Sanders FREE

Lauren lost both of her parents and had to help raise both of her little sisters by herself while trying to keep their family Texas ranch afloat. She had pinched every bit of money possible, because she made a devil's bargain 7 years ago to keep the ranch independent... except for this one little secret, with Chase, her childhood sweetheart. But he left to go to veterinary school, and she's all alone. She has no time for distractions, and the house was basically falling down around them. But now Chase is back, ready to help his dad with his Vet practice... AND to rejoin Lauren... and this time, he's here to stay... If he can only make Lauren see that...
Spoiler:
Turns out Chase married Lauren 7 years ago, in exchange for using his inheritance to pay the debt. Lauren was pinching pennies to pay Chase back, not that he wanted the money. He wanted Lauren. Now that he's back, he's going to show her that she doesn't have to fight so hard any more...
That's a genuine new twist to "marriage of convenience". 6.5/8

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Finished Dear Mr. Holmes by Steve Hockensmith

Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer are fans of Sherlock Holmes... in the Old West. They are drifters, and in their... drifting they came upon several chances (7 documented here) of applying Sherlockian (or is that Holmesian?) skills to solve mysteries about murders, robberies, and more. Whether it's along the cattle trails of Kansas or a cafe in California, detectiving (?) never gets old.

A few weeks ago these were all free to download, and I snagged all of them. They are quite fun, basically Holmes in the Old West kinda feel. Pretty good yarn. 6.5/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Isgrimnur »

New Spring: The Novel (Wheel of Time)

Hold my braid, I'm going in.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by GreenGoo »

Isgrimnur wrote:New Spring: The Novel (Wheel of Time)

Hold my braid, I'm going in.
Your skirts need smoothing.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Kasey Chang wrote: Finished Dear Mr. Holmes by Steve Hockensmith

The name of the author sounded familiar to me, and sure enough I have a novel by that author in what may be a series? What I have doesn't have the same title, but it's definitely within the same setting. The one I have is called World's Greatest Sleuth. Looking at it on Goodreads, I see that yes, it's part of a 6-part series.
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Kasey Chang »

Finished Wife by Wednesday by Catherine Bybee FREE

Blake Harrison is British, but he prefers to live as an American businessman, until he found that his father had set a condition in his will... Marry soon or the title of Duke and the estate will go to a cousin. Now he needed someone who can set him up with a marriage of convenience... And he turned to Sam Elliot. He didn't realize that is actually Samantha Elliott, who is very reputable, but comes with her own dark past. Her father operated a huge ponzi scheme, destroying hundreds of families, and went to prison. Her mother committed suicide, and so did her sister. Her sister survived but just barely, with diminished brain capacity that requires nursing home care to the tune of 100K a year. She hoped that Blake's marriage, which should clear her several million, would be enough to pay the medical bills and more. She did not count on Blake changing the deal... Blake did not want any of the candidates she sent. Blake wanted Sam herself to be his bride... for he was tired of manipulative *****es like his ex Vanessa. Sam reluctantly accepted... as she was indeed running out of money. Sam told herself that she can fake a marriage easily, then Blake found out that he also had to produce an heir to satisfy the conditions of the will, which he chose not to disclose to Sam yet... as they seem to be falling in love for real... Maybe bring it up later? But hiding things is very bad for relationships... and this is no exception...

The twists are quite good. The problem I have is the chemistry between the two are not explained that well. Sam was described as a small brunette with curves and very sexy sultry voice (good enough to be operating a 1900 sex line) which is very different from the tall blonde bimbos Blake usually go for. The reason Blake gave to reject the three candidates and pick Sam instead was flimsy at best. But the story picks up from there. 6.5/8

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Finished One White Lie by Jeanette Winters FREE

Brice Henderson broke away from his controlling father to make his own fortune, by sacrificing everything, including the one woman he loved, but he can afford no distractions. When his personal assistant need to take sick leave to take care of family, and no amount of money could convince her otherwise, Brice reluctantly agreed to hire a temporary replacement... who turned out to be the one woman he pushed away... Lena Razzi. Lena spent years trying to forget Brice, despite having a daily reminder... a son by Brice that not even Brice knew about. Lena needed the job, even if it's just a temporary gig, to take care of the baby and herself, and Brice hasn't changed. But as they spent more time together, neither can forget the good times they once had. But can they rekindle their love... Or was this going to be a flash in the pan like last time? And will Lena tell Brice about their son?

Frankly, I don't understand the fascination about the doormat single mom, who had a torrid love affair, got pregnant, then when the guy did a douchebag move and drove her away (often due to some external drama), she's too proud to ask for child support or even tell the guy there's a kid. This is known in romance as the "secret baby" trope. This one is competent, but no big deal. 5.5/8

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Finished First Class Voyage by A J Harmon FREE

Janie and Katy had fallen for the Lathem brothers Matt and Mark, but even as the struggle to find their place in the big family, the Lathem Matriach Maureen decided to celebrate her wedding anniversary by taking the entire family on a 2 week Caribbean Cruise... that's her, her husband, seven adult sons, their significant others, five grandchildren, and a mother-in-law... for two weeks sun and fun. While Janie had married Matt, Katy had been engaged to Mark for three years... and counting, and Maureen is sending pretty blatant hints that she wants wedding bells, even though Katy had still been working through her trauma from her ordeal (in a previous novel). Elsewhere onboard, younger brother Paul, on leave from US Navy SEAL, found an intriguing civilian onboard, who rebuffed his advances, even as he considered leaving the navy and settle down to start a family...

Basically a bunch of events happening together, with focus on Katy / Mark's relationship (they did actually get married during a hop into Puerto Rico, much to everybody's surprise) with a bunch of other parallel events. Family dynamics is quite good. 6/8

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Finished Serendipity Falls Three Book Set by Patrice Wilton

Serendipity Falls -- in the town of Serendipity Falls, not far from the ski town of Mammoth, California, romance is in the air. In this tiny town, people are getting married every month, and virtually no divorce. Tara was the new pastry chef for the resort having requested a transfer after seeing her partner in bed with someone else. She did not expect to fall for the handsome former Olympian skier and local bar co-owner. But when Cupid is hiding out in this little town and shooting his arrows every which way, there is no denying love.

Wedding Fever -- in the town of Serendipity Falls, there is a wedding boutique called Wedding Fever, owned by Mila. She sells happy weddings, in a town known for it, but she doesn't believe in such herself until Cupid sets his arrows on her, and the reporter Chase from San Francisco. Chase wanted to be famous, and getting his knot tied in a small town is not helping his ambitions, esp. when he believes there's a rational explanation to all this. But when Cupid's arrows struck, there is no denying love.

Love Struck -- in the town of Serendipity Falls, changes are coming, and not all of it good. Samantha is the new realtor in town selling eco-friendly housing, but she's being threatened by some newcomers in town after the rumored gold mine near the waterfall. Kyle is the co-owner of the bar and came to her rescue. But the town is also under siege from a different threat... single women who flooded in, all insisting on catching the love bug and marry any eligible bachelor in town, not that there are many left. But you can't force love where there is none, and Sam and Kyle have to figure out a way to save the quaint little town, and fall in love themselves.

Okay, I guess. Nothing super about these. 5.5/8 for the lot.

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Finished Billionaire's Infatuation: Fixated by Scarlett Avery FREE

Hunter Evans is a techie turned rancher, and quite rich. He rarely ventures out of his Fort Collins CO ranch home, but when he does, he makes the most of it... And he's going to City of Angels to sign up clients... and have a lot of fun. After a night of partying too hard, he was surprised to be smitten to a young waitress... but she rebuffed him. However, fate brought them back together twice more, on the same day. Now Hunter knew he can't let her go...

Kinda meh here. Too much trope. 5/8

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Finished Head Over Heels by Cindy Procter-King

Magee Sinclair is in deep trouble. Her father left her to run the family advertising agency, and one disaster after another had her seeing red, as well as red ink on the ledger. Good thing her father is still on vacation, and she can still make it up by landing this account from Justin Kane, who has a chain of bike stores. But Kane asked for a favor in return... Kane is trying to sign up a British manufacturer to be their exclusive US dealer, and he needs a girlfriend when his regular partner dumped him. Present a stable family, ya know. And they need to go mountain biking while schmoozing the British pair. Magee lied when she claimed she's an avid biker, and to keep the account she can't back down. But playing pretend-love has the danger of it turning real...

Cute rom-com kinda pretend-love turned real, with irate ex's in the picture. Nice polished trope. 6/8
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Finished Chasing Charlie by Kathy Carmicheal FREE

Charlie has had enough of rodeo champs... Her family produces them and there is absolutely positively NO WAY she'll ever date one. That's why she picked the career of librarian... but her bestie want her to live a little, step out of that plain Jane look and do something... wild. Charlie didn't count on Davis Murphy, one of Dallas' most eligible bachelors, already rich... but a cowboy wannabe. Davis need Charlotte to play his fiancee. Davis doesn't date librarians... but his mom would dig Charlie for sure. And Davis knew that his mom was waiting for him to settle down before marrying her love... so... Davis need Charlie... not the other way around. And Charlie is allergic to cowboys, even a cowboy wannabe like Davis who wants to ride horses, buy a ranch, and all that. But when everybody thought Charlie and Davis really are getting married, what will they do?

Rom-com with the "fake fiancee real love" trope, add Texas and cowboy. Enough trope here to choke, but it's sweet. 5/8

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Finished Falling into Forever by Elena Aitken FREE

Officer Rhys Anderson was just finishing up his shift at Cedar Springs when he encountered a beautiful woman, driving a beautiful Mercedes, stranded on the side of the road. She is Kari Fox, and she's hiding a huge secret... She ran away from her controlling ex, after finally growing a backbone. She had no money of her own, and she definitely did not count on being stuck in a small mountain town... or getting help from a handsome police officer. Kari cut all ties, even tossed her phone, and refused to use credit cards to reveal her location. And as the town found her a room to stay and even a job to earn her living, Kari slowly started to relax and settle into the town's life... Until circumstances conspire to force her to run again... and her secret came out. And one thing Rhys can't stand... is a liar. Is there understanding... or Kari ended up going back to her abusive ex?

Pretty trope "abused woman finds love, then evil ex came to town" plot, but nicely polished. 5.5/8

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Finished The Billionaire's Deal by Crystal Kaswell

Kat Wilder has only one purpose in life... Get her sister to college. She's the only provider in the family after death of their parents, and she had to drop out of school, wasting the athletic scholarship, and she's barely making ends meet juggling multiple jobs waiting tables and more. Her lack of college degree limited her job prospects... Until she met Blake, a billionaire tech CEO with his own agenda... Blake needs Kat to play his girlfriend, pretending to be in love with him for 6-12 months... and she'll be generously compensated... several HUNDRED thousand dollars. There will even be a scholarship for her sister. And there may even be sex... But Blake is the kind of kinky alpha male that requires Kat to submit to his desires... even the kinky ones... and Kat slowly fell in love with with Blake, not the money or privlege or material things... but Blake himself

Frankly, this is pretty lame stuff, as the kinky alpha rich CEO who want an ingenue to become his ultimate sex kitten and submit to his every wish is so trope it's burnt toast. 4/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Rope 'n Ride: Buck by Em Petrova

Channing loved Buck, who's a real life cowboy that swept her off her feet. But Buck and his family, the Calhouns, are on a quest to buy out their ranch from their cousin who want to exploit its alleged mineral rights, and they have no time for romance, and Channing is leaving... Just as a reality TV show swept in with an intriguing offer: The six Calhouns star in a reality TV show called Rope n' Ride, and that bargain includes Channing, as the audience expects a wedding at the end of the series. And Channing reluctantly agrees to come back and pretend to be Buck's fiancee, even as her life started to unravel as her brother got into some bad **** with some nasty individuals and owed a lot of money... and Channing and Buck, of course, can't keep their hands off each other. And is there a way for Channing to help Buck with the ultimate end-run, helping them keep the ranch forever? Maybe she'll get the man and the ring after all...

Slightly forced, I don't get the "I hate him / can't be with him / great together in bed" kind of reluctance. It's pretty much the body wants one thing but head wants something else. Okay, I guess. 5/8

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Finished What about her by Emma Tharp

Kate and Willow were best friends, grew up together, along with River McEwan, a boy both adored. When WIllow and River got together, Kate stepped aside. And they were a good couple together. Willow and Kate when to college, and six months ago, Willow went out for a job, and never came back. Kate knew that Willow is alive out there, but nobody will believe her. When Kate was assigned as project partner with River, their romance rekindled, but even as Kate tells herself River belongs to Willow, she can't help but want to keep River for herself, because Willow is not here. But when the town turned against her, she had to decide whether keeping River for herself is worth the price... and can she ever stop wondering where is Willow...

Book ends on a cliffhanger, as we will find out what happened to Willow... I guess it's okay, 5.5/8

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Finished The Russian Darling - a mail order bride story by April Jane

Rosaline Belikov came to the US to seek a better life, having left Russia and their noble life behind. Her childhood sweetheart's apothecary is failing, and the only way she can keep him in the Americas is for her to become a mail order bride and send him and her mother the money to help him through the tough times... Or he will have to leave American any way. Faced with a no-win situation, she chose to marry herself out West, all the way to Montana, to an older rancher who knew her heart was already someone else's, then proceed to woo her any way...

Also has a couple other mail order bride stories, not too bad, 5/8

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Finished Garrett and Sunny by Peter Butler

Garrett woke up with no memory of his last 12 hours, except a woman who was definitely naked last night, as he found her belongings all over the room. It took him three days to figure out her name, Sunny, and they apparently inherited some shares in a corporation on Australia. Soon, Gary and Sunny are righting wrongs in both London and Australia, helping aborigines, getting rid of Sunny's creepy supervisor, stopping an evil fracking operation in the outbacks, and making a lot of money in the process!

More of a rom-com with a do-gooder message, it's actually quite fun to read. 6.5/8

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Finished Something Simple by Carol Davis

Randi is turning 30, and after super-stressed job (she's a paralegal in a tiny lawfirm that can never afford to pay her what she's worth as she's practically a lawyer and everything) she decided to give herself some alone time, by depleting her savings and rent a cottage at Cape Cod for two weeks, with only her African Grey Parrot as companion. Not to mention she had also suffered a breakup, and needed to get away from her nosy neighbors and family. That plan didn't work when first her bestie showed up uninvited, then her family showed up as well. Her only retreat was the local convenience store, with its handsome owner. Then you'd never guess who showed up...
Spoiler:
Her crazy client, who somehow tracked her down, while she's on vacation, and started trashing her vacation home because she's totally psychotic. They got into a nasty fight and the store owner showed up to save her.
6.5 out of 8 for a believably crazy family and a girl tired of being pushed over.

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Finished The Billionaire Next Door / Ransom's story by Judy Angelo

Soledad "Sollie" doesn't take guff from any one, even the tall, dark, and handsome stranger next door, who was just too alpha and suave for her. Sollie is an ER nurse and needs her quiet times, but this next door neighbor is enjoying pushing her buttons way too much... Because she's so pretty and cute. But when he was injurred and ended up in the ER at her mercy... He's going to pay...

Rom com, actually kinda funny. 5.5/8

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Finished Ryan's Love by C A Harms

Ryan Sawyer of Livingston MT lost his wife three years ago and is raising their daughter Olivia by himself. It doesn't help when he's also the sheriff, and Amber Dirksen just moved into town, taking over her grandma's bakery with her best friend Bailey, having fled Chicago and its bad memories of her fiancee in the arms of another woman. Ryan and Amber hit it off right away, but Olivia is not happy to see her dad move on. Ryan's brothers are ambivalent, Both Ryan and Amber are care GIVERs, ready to take care of others before themselves. Can they ever be selfish enough to care for each other?

Not bad, nothing too great either. 5.5/8
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xenocide
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by xenocide »

Finished Red Rising (The Red Rising Series, Book 1) by Pierce Brown

A highly reviewed best selling book. Lots of comparisons to Ender's Game and the Hunger Games, which are accurate. A little slow starting but really gets going. I enjoyed it quite a bit, looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. Didn't love the Scottish accent the narrator used by I got used to it.

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Finished Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory

A present day setting where possessions are real and some alternate history elements. This book was recommended to me but for the life of me I can't remember by whom. A good book. It didn't blow me away but I enjoyed it.

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Finished The Butcher of Khardov (The Warcaster Chronicles) by Dan Wells


Novella set in the Warmachine world. A quick google search tells me the Butcher of Khardov is an existing character in the game world, I don't play and had never heard of him; this is an origin story. I like Dan Wells' books and have read some good reviews of this novella so when the audio popped up for a discounted price I gave it a read and at only 2hr 53min it's quick. I really liked this a lot. Great characters along with good action. Loved the ending. Great insight into how Orsus Zoktavir became the Butcher.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished The Cowgirl Takes Her Man by Barbara Catlin

Terra Lee Bradford had always had a thing for her neighbor, Cameron Stoner, but she's the quiet and shy girl who stay in the background and didn't make waves. But she had to... Her "Glory B" ranch is struggling, and she can't pay the taxes that came due, while her neighbor's ranch is thriving. So she proposed a sale... "buy my ranch". Except he didn't want to. He wanted her... Terra had grown up to be a remarkable woman, and Cam has three kids who needed a mother. So he proposed a marriage of convenience instead, as he's not ready to fall in love after losing his wife. But Terra won't settle for less than Cam's heart...

Not bad, but nothing too remarkable here either. At least it's not "crazy will" trope. Call this... 5.5/8

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Finished Prejudice Meets Pride by Rachael Anderson

Emma managed to put herself through art school relying only on herself, not even Uncle Sam. However, when tragedy struck, she had to move across country, put her own plans on hold, to take custody of her two nieces while their father joins a construction crew in a different state. She has no job, no money, and no idea how to be a mother. A cheap house was all she can afford, but it will do for now, but she will figure it out. What she didn't count on was her neighbor, Kevin Grantham, who believed her to be a single mother klutz who had no clue on anything. Which makes Kevin the arrogant prejudiced SOB. But soon, both realize their impression of each other are very wrong. Emma just has a lot of pride in herself and would rather die before asking for help, while Kevin, a pediatric dentist, is just the helping kind of guy. But for the sake of each other... they will change... and for the kids. But in their way are the disapproving townfolks, a jealous office manager, and whole lot of trust issues...

Actually rather interesting rom com, though Emma's pride does come across to be a bit too grating rather than "huh?" 5/8

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Finished Ordnance by Andrew Vaillencourt scifi adventure

Roland Tankowicz is a retired military cyborg in 25th century Boston. Tipping the scale at over 900 pounds and nothing short of heavy weapons can hurt him, he's the ultimate fixer, but he prefers to commiserate alone, being the only remaining member of his cyborg squad, whom either suicided or died when black market hacks triggered their failsafe. Roland often wonder about what atrocities his bodies may have committed while his mind got switched off, but he can only see the aftermath. When Lucia Ribiero stumbled into his watering hole, followed by multiple bounty hunters, all hell broke loose. For Lucia was the daughter of Don Ribiero, the man who saved him (technically, his sanity), and Roland goes out for one more mission... for Don had been kidnapped by someone from Roland's past, trying to resurrect a project that created Roland and his now dead team. And between Don and Roland is a good chunk of mercenaries, criminal goons, and corporate security intending to protect the project, some of whom may even outclass Roland himself.. and then there's Lucia, who has her own secrets that she may not even realize she has...

Nice adventure, lots of bodies, but that's what you get when you have half-ton cyborgs and exoframes using each other as punching bags, and throwdowns, WWE style. 6.5/8

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Finished Fallin in Angel Falls by Casey Hagen

Alexa Dayne is the family black sheep, who chose hair salon as her career instead of the family bakery business. And she'd finally made it, and with a comfortable nest egg, she decided on an adventure... a hike to Angel Falls, Venezuela. She even paid a guide that's supposed to be reputable. What she got instead (after her guide's a no show) was Ben Marx, Steel Force Adventures owner. Ben is trying to escape the bad memories of losing so many friends in the Middle East and achieving a dream. The long-legged beauty dogging him was NOT in his plans. The girl has ZERO jungle skills, just a lot of attitude, and Ben can't bear to see her kill herself trying. So he agreed to take her... but he's not going for the bottom... He's going for the TOP of the falls. And on the way... they fell in love, but agreed that it's a no-strings affair... And at the end, they went their separate ways. Five months later, he wandered into town, visiting his mother, and found her pregnant... VERY pregnant...

Nice story, but this feels like two novels spliced together. 6/8
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Finished Archangel Down by C. Gockel FREE on Prime Reading

In the year 2432, Command Noa Sato was trying to enjoy a vacation on her home planet of Luddeccea when she was arrested, interrogated about "Archangel Project" that she knew nothing of, mutilated, then dumped in a concentration camp, where living conditions are so horrible many simply opted to die. When a chance presented itself, with friend's sacrifice, she escaped... but not very far, for she was severely weakened. Elsewhere, professor James Sinclair woke up in the snow, with no memory of the past 24 hours, except he knew the ship he was in was shot down, and somehow, he had to get to Noa and save her, even though he was sure he had never met her in his life. And on the radio, someone broadcasted "Archangel Down". When James finally got to Noa, Noa recoiled in shock, for James looks exactly like her departed husband, Timothy, but that's impossible. Tim is dead. With the planetary government broadcasting about aliens who can take over bodies through the Ether wireless ports of people and the planetary Ether network down, there is nowhere to run. James found he had skills he never recalled learning, including taking down the pursuers and making impossible shots. James must protect Noa, who have to somehow get off the planet. But as they found, that's much tougher than it seems, as the government had not been totally lying... SOMETHING had taken over TimeGate 8, the jump gate to other systems. Its defenses are engaging any and all threats approaching it, and not even the planetary navy dare to approach too closely. And without the gate, a transit to the next system will take... 10 years. But the people on the planet can't wait that long. Religious fanatics are putting ANYBODY augmented in any way into concentration camps, and dusk to dawn curfew. Noa, James, and a few others desperate to leave decided on a desperate plan... just in time for Noa to realize she was betrayed by someone she would have died for... But who is Archangel, and who is Heretic?

Nice yarn of adventure, lots of bodies, and disturbing images. 6.5/8

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Finished Faith in a Cowboy: Mail Order Bride by Cassandra Michaels

A short story followed by about 900 pages of extra stories, sheesh. That's a LOT of filler material.

4/8

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Finished Death Becomes Her by Michael Anderle

What you know about vampires, werefolks, and such was wrong, but there are some elements of truth in them. There had been a thousand-year-old conspiracy to keep the Unknown World hidden from the public eye, and the patriarch to ruled over it all, Michael, was very tired. Michael, the first, had accidentally encountered a crashed alien ship a thousand years ago. Vampires do age, merely much slower. And the turning was so painful not many survive the process, thus vampires are always few in number. And now that someone had figured out a way to kill vampires permanently... And someone is targeting the top vampire operatives. Michael needed to find a new recruit, perhaps even his replacement, fast. And the only candidate available, one with the right mental, physical, and spiritual qualifications... is a woman named Bethany Anne, who is also dying of a rare blood ailment. Bethany Anne is a do-gooder... she helps those in need, solve cold cases, and so on. And now that she gained the ultimate power... ability to live a thousand years, amazing strength, super speed, heightened senses of smell, hearing, and vision, as well as short range teleportation and perhaps other abilities... She is STILL a do-gooder. And as she emerged from the turning, Michael is nowhere to be found, may have been lost or dead. And someone is turning werekins and vamps against each other. Bethany Anne has her work cut out for her... reestablish order, and prepare Earth for a possible alien invasion that may or may not have already occurred...

Good world building and kickass action, for Bethany Anne is a daywalker, if you want to use vampire lore terms. Fun read, if a bit slow at the beginning due to all the world-builidng bits, as we see Bethany Anne leave her old life behind, as well as a lot of blah blah about how Michael's family, all of whom have some special abilities, had helped a lot of historical turning points, including General Washington and World War II (even goes onto adding a conspiracy that the choosing the two cities to bomb in Japan was NOT an accident, but that Japan was about to turn out supersoldiers) 6.5/8 due to a lot of talkiness at the start. Once Bethany Anne turned, you get some serious action.

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Finished True North by Kelly Collins FREE

Alexa left LA with a scarred heart after suffering indescribable abuse. A man has wormed his way into her family... and her bed and taken away her family business. He even killed her baby by giving her morning after pill to induce an abortion, then even told her that he's actually gay and has a male lover. She tried challenging him in court to get the business back, but after losing even that in court, she is in need of a fresh start... So she bought a $900 jalopy, one suitcase, and left for parts unknown. Having her car broken down in the middle of nowhere was not a fate she planned, nor was being rescued by a scruffy tattooed but very handsome guy named Zane. But it seems fate had dealt her a different hand, for when she walked into the bar named Last Resort needing a beer and some food, there was her rescuer, who needed Alexa as a temporary barmaid. And the more Alexa learned about Zane, the more she fell for him... for Zane is actually a single father, and motorcycle club member, and someone who can make her very happy... if she will let him in...

Now that is an interesting villain. The solution is kinda ho-hum though.
Spoiler:
Zane called upon his MC brothers who staged a continual protest in front of her ex's house, all legal, of course, that basically "give back half the business, and sell the house and donate proceeds to charity, or the news will cover his misdeeds until the end of days. " The evil doer caved.
6.5/8 Chemistry is okay. But not too much redemption, unlike her Second Chance Ranch series.

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Finished Meet Me Under The Full Moon by Kelly Collins

Ava Sawyer knew the cost of war, being one of the volunteers at Walter Reed, helping to heal the men and women who gave bits of themselves for their country. Using music and movement, she helps the wounded vets find a new path in their lives. She, however, did not expect to find Mark Taylor, who thought there was no hope... Until he encountered Ava.

Not bad for a short. 6/8

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Finished Stay With Me by Kellye Elliott FREE

Thano lost his fiancee on their wedding day. She collapsed while walking down the aisle, moments away from getting married, and died of a heart attack, a congenital defect even she didn't know about. He did not want to move on... Even though his entire Greek family wanted him to, preferably to a Greek girl, preferably setup by one of mom's various friends. That is until he met Kilyn O'Kelly, a thoroughly Irish girl with the most charming green eyes, and something stirred within him... While Kilyn was flattered, she was sure that Thano, with his Greek god looks should have women flooding him, and she doesn't do one-night stands. But as he hired her to do his cabin, that lead to knowing each other a bit more... But will they let each other into their hearts?

Not bad, not bad, if a bit angst-y about Thano holding a candle for his dead fiancee for YEARS, and finally moving on. And since this is Greek, it'll be a bit of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" 6/8
Last edited by Kasey Chang on Thu May 11, 2017 10:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Cortilian
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Cortilian »

Well I just finished an audiobook listen to the entire Malazan series after finishing off a listen to the entire Wheel of Time series. Something like 2 years or so on these 2 series.

I am so very glad that I'm done with Malazan. The very last book was good but the 3-4 leading up to the last one just seemed so disjointed. Oh well, it's over.

Any recommendations on what to start now? I generally like fantasy and sci-fi. Anyone know if the Dune audiobooks are any good?
xenocide
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by xenocide »

Nice work Cortilian, that's two mega series! I'm a big fan of both. Malazan definitely has a lot going on and can be hard to follow at times.

I'm sure you've heard of a lot of the most popular stuff. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley (I have my mini review a page or two back) and the Partials series by Dan Wells are all trilogies only so you're not putting quite the time investment of some of the mega series and they're all complete and all really good.

I have only listened to Dune itself on audio, none of the follow ups. It's one of my favorite audio books I've ever listened to (talking production only, not story. Although in terms of story Dune is probably my favorite novel of all time so I could be biased). It's read primarily by Simon Vance, but they also have a full voice cast for some important scenes. It threw my when I first heard it because I wasn't expecting it but I quickly grew to love it, extremely well done.
Cortilian
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Cortilian »

xenocide wrote:Nice work Cortilian, that's two mega series! I'm a big fan of both. Malazan definitely has a lot going on and can be hard to follow at times.

I'm sure you've heard of a lot of the most popular stuff. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley (I have my mini review a page or two back) and the Partials series by Dan Wells are all trilogies only so you're not putting quite the time investment of some of the mega series and they're all complete and all really good.

I have only listened to Dune itself on audio, none of the follow ups. It's one of my favorite audio books I've ever listened to (talking production only, not story. Although in terms of story Dune is probably my favorite novel of all time so I could be biased). It's read primarily by Simon Vance, but they also have a full voice cast for some important scenes. It threw my when I first heard it because I wasn't expecting it but I quickly grew to love it, extremely well done.
Thanks. yeah, I listened to Mistborn series after Wheel of TIme and I really liked it, a lot. The library has The Gentlemen Bastard Series available so I grabbed that. I'll let you know how it is.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Recommend: Assassin's Apprentice
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Wild Montana Skies by Susan May Warren

S&R pilot Kacey Fairing went home on leave to Mercy Falls, Montana. She has a bronze star for her rescue and survival after being shot down, but she still suffers PTSD and had problems sleeping. She ran from her hometown twelve years ago, away from her mistakes... Away from her daughter Audrey... But now she's back, at least for a little while, as a temp helo pilot for PEAK Rescue in Glacier National Park. Her daughter is all grown up, just at the point of trying to figure out her own life, why didn't she have a father, and perhaps, even whom to love, something Kacey hadn't yet figure out. She did not count on going home and ran into the man who broke her heart twelve years ago... Benjamin King, country music star sensation. He got her pregnant, then on the night of her giving birth, he got drunk and got arrested. Then both left, he went to Nashville to chase his dreams, she went into the military to search for a place to belong, each believing the other had left. Ben is back home because he's in a bit of creative block, and he's trying to move his aging father Chet who had been injured and needs rehab, but Chet is not one to take injuries sitting down and soon injurred himself even worse. But soon Ben realized Chet is trying to get him and Kacey back together. With the town threatened by flash floods, Kacey and Ben are forced to work together, and figure out a plan on how to break the news to their daughter... if at all. But Ben has a career, and Kacey / Audrey aren't leaving. When Ben's co-star appeared in town hoping to drag him back to Nashville, things may get quite tricky indeed...

While the tropes are plentiful, including PTSD, secret baby, rescuer, and fame, the mix was actually quite palatable, even though there was quite a bit of God mentioned. The plot actually flowed quite well. 7/8

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Finished The Masquerading Groom by Taylor Hart

Sterling Pennington, billionaire rich movie star playboy, was stuck with a hired arm candy at a masquerade ball. Blame his agent who thought he needed company after a pretend break-up. Sterling didn't count on Sayla Jones, sassy, smart, and a nurse who was just filling in for one night as a favor. He had to see her again. When he ran into her at the hopsital the next day, they finally gave in to their attraction, even though they admit to each other this would not work long-term... they are just of different worlds. Now Sterling must make a choice...

Meh, nothing too special here on the "arm candy" trope. 4.5/8

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Finished Mr. Firefighter by Ivy Jordan

Emily is a struggling actor and model, doing a favor for her roommate, the photographer... and their male model Josh is drool-worthy... and a real firefighter to boot! When Emily's house caught fire, Josh offered Emily and Roommate his house, at least temporarily, and Josh and Emily became a couple... but Josh's modeling career means there could be seeds of jealousy... which will break a relationship if Emily doesn't understand...

Not too much here. 4/8 At least it's short (100 pages)

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Finished Her Uniform Cowboy by Donna Michaels

Brandi Wyne left her verbally abusive boyfriend and her career in a symphony orchestra in the north to start over in a small town in Texas as an interior designer, her second love. Despite having joined the National Guard at an early age, her thyroid disease caused her weight gain which only lead to more abuse. She swore she will never date another military man, because her ex was a fellow guardsman. However, the new town sheriff is seriously making her reconsider that ban... Kade Dalton, first sergeant in Texas Army National Guard, is now sheriff of Harland County... a position he didn't ask for, but won by popular demand. His heart is heavy from losing a soldier on their last deployment, and he's barely hanging onto his sanity, but he will do his duty. The Yankee bombshell tempted not only his body, but his heart. Soon they decided to give into their temptation, but Kade felt he was too damaged to continue... Brandi deserve better, but Brandi is set on loving Kade, even if she had to save him from himself...

Nice, no military abuse as the details are light enough to be merely background, but enough details were dropped to show the author knows what she's talking about. And for once, this BBW really FEELS like a BBW, not just someone with some extra pounds. 6.5/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
"Holy shit, it's like the author accessed my memories and wrote a book just for me." Moat_Man
End of line
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Ah, yes. Have that book too. It was a fun romp back to the 80's and 90's.
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Finished Montana Maverick by Debra Salonen FREE

Meg Zabrinski is a scientist, an environmental advocate, and a tenured professor. Henry Firestone is a rancher, a grandfather, and a desperate man trying to keep his grandchildren safe. The two were on opposite sides of the Montana wolf issue... almost twenty years ago. She wanted to reintroduce wolves to the wild but in controlled conditions, he wanted them eradicated as they would destroy ranching in Montana. Since then, the issue had mostly settled, but the two had a secret soft spot for each other. Now, Henry, with a sick baby and three more kids in tow, was forced into a decision... make a desperate helicopter flight to seek medical attention in the middle of Christmas blizzard. Unfortunately, due to mechanical failure, his helo crashed not far from Meg's mountain cabin, where she was trying to write and think. Henry was glad for the rescue, but he's in a bitter custody battle with his daughter's step-in-laws over custody of one of the children. His daughter gave up her life to give birth to the baby, and made him promise that the children will not be split up. It happens that Meg was considering having a baby on her own, with just sperm donation. Now a ready-made family, complete with a man from her dreams, has dropped into her lap...

Interesting setup and smooth delivery. 6.5/8

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Finished It had to be him by Tamra Baumann FREE on Prime Reading

Meg Anderson was a real hellion when she was young, but she left years ago. Coming home to Anderson Butte wasn't easy, but after losing her job and Josh, the father of her 3-year old daughter trying to make contact, she needed time to breathe and think. But the town hadn't quite forgotten her... Not with her father as mayor and her siblings meddling about town. The town itself was also full of secrets. When Josh showed up in town, the town wasn't ready to let Josh just waltz up to Meg, esp. not the sharpshooting grandma or the town sheriff (both Andersons, of course!) Josh had to perform several quests to prove he deserves Meg's heart, despite he's keeping one huge secret... but when Meg's own secret was revealed, along with his own, will there be irreconcilable differences... or a genuine happily ever after?

Nice plotting. This was on Prime Reading and came with professional narration, which added to the enjoyment. 7.5/8 rom/com sweet/ "awwwww" feeling.
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by gilraen »

Finished Night School by Lee Child - this is book #21 in the Jack Reacher series.
Most of the books in the series are set in present day, with Reacher as an ex-army MP and "lone wolf" - Night School takes a step back from that and sets the action in the mid-90s, when Reacher is still in the army. So the setting is a bit different, as he actually has to work with lots of other people to catch the bad guys. Also, most books are written in 1st person, from Reacher's perspective - this one is in 3rd person, the author gives himself more freedom to describe events as they happen (when Reacher can't know about them yet). Sets different pacing to the story. Overall, good story, great setting (Germany, still reeling from unification a few years prior), and decent bad guys (odd mix of Jihadi terrorists and opportunistic neo-Nazi wannabes). I liked it. Now I get to go back and read book #20 in the series, which I just realized I accidentally skipped.
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Finished Romance Down Under 2 book bundle by Tracey Alvarez FREE

In Too Deep -- Ryan "West" Westlake will never leave his island... even when his love, Piper Harland walked out of his life, because he will never deny her her dreams. Years later, she's back, and it's time for the two to face up to what they missed... and what they could have togbether...

Nothing too special about this "love interrupted" trope story, IMHO. 5/8

Hide Your Yeart -- Lauren Taylor and her young son escaped the glitter of New York back to New Zealand in the middle of nowhere, that is, until she got her car stuck and had to be rescued by a neighbor, who's way too sexy. In fact, he was once bachelor of the year in the area, and he's interested in Lauren. But Lauren was once a supermodel who dropped out of sight, and intending to stay that way, to raise her son in isolation. And her neighbor was just trying to fix up and sell the run down house, so he ain't staying, thus, he doesn't belong in her life. But he won't take no for an answer, and he's so good with her son... She may change her mind... If he can understand the secret she had been hiding...

Okay, this one was better AND shorter. 6/8

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Finished Treasure Me, Cowboy by Debra Clopton FREE

Melody Chandler is tired of being her addict brother's crutch, always cleaning up after him, paying his rent when he spent all his money on drugs and booze, and her brother had already guilted their parents into double-mortgaging their house and went into debt to finance his addiction... a little at a time. Yet Melody just cannot find it in herself to deny her brother, who was excellent in laying on the guilt-trip, even after their parents had passed on. She took on an assignment with the Turner brothers to research the history of Turner Creek Ranch, hoping some work would put more money in the bank, but Seth Turner doesn't want her there. When Melody's researched turned up an old treasure map that may be the key to solve a Texas Legend of a great train robbery, they agreed to collaborate on a treasure hunt, but Melody is keeping her problems hidden... Until Seth helped her to confront it... but will that be enough for them to come together?

The treasure was kinda cute, but it's the character arc that raised it above mere average. 6/8

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Finished Dark Planet Warriors by Anna Carven PRIME READING

Kordolian General Tarak was hunting Xargek when an unstable wormhole dumped them on the fringe of human space, near the asteroid mining station Fortuna Tau. Tarak just want to get the ship fixed and resume hunting Xargek, he doesn't care about the inhabitants... though he'd prefer not to inflict any casualties due to amount of paperwork. He did not plan on finding Abbey, one of the environmental techs, who seem so dedicated to her duty, she's... almost worthy of respect. When Abbey was critically injurred by the Xargek, and larvaes escaped onto the station, Tarak left behind his forces to deal with the Xargek while he assumed personal responsibility to restore Abbey to full health... Back on Kordolia Prime. It was then Tarak realized he's in the throes of mating fever... and there are no unbonded Kordolian females around... And somehow, he's drawn to Abbey...

This is roughly an "alien abduction romance", albeit this one was actually rather polished into an adventure tale. Unfortunately, the trope that these Kordolians are basically better humans (even trained in the ways of pleasuring females, and completely biologically compatible to the point of making children) was kinda meh, but at least this novel made a point to try to slip in some explanations, like they seem to have arisen from common stock. 6/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Dare to Love by Carly Phillips FREE

Ian Dare is a billionaire with a broken family... and a half brother, Alex, he despised. When his half brother walked in with Riley Taylor at a benefit dinner, he couldn't resist making a play for her, and their connection is instant, even though she wasn't into alpha guys. Riley grew up under an abusive father and swore off alpha males, but Ian was nothing like her father... or her friend Alex. Ian wanted a future with Riley, even to the point of hiring her for a job (which she was CERTAINLY qualified for) abut Riley found herself drawn to this alpha but protective enigma... and tried to reconcile him and his half-brother Alex... when her father reentered the picture, threatening to blackmail her...

Pretty standard plot, though the triangle was somewhat interesting. Alex and Riley were neighbors and friends, and Alex protected Riley from her abusive father. Then years later, he's back to cause more problems. Standard plot, but nicely polished. 6/8

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Finished Chasing Perfect by Melanie Shawn

Sandy Cooper ahd Hunter Blakely had been best friends since elementary school... just friends, until that graduation night... Sandy wanted to get away from it all and start fresh, but she can't leave Hunter's friendship behind... Hunter knew Sandy was the only girl he wanted, but he'll stand by her to prove he's the only one she'll need...

All right, just admit it already. Way too angst-y for me. 4.5/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Tristan on a Harley by Jennifer Blake FREE (for limited time)

Zeni walked away from her life and wandered into the quaint southern town of Charmelot, Lousiana and hadn't left since. She has a job at the cafe, has a boss Trey Benedict who is handsome, rides a harley, and gave her warm friend feel that she sometimes wonder if they can be more, not that he would ever act on it. Zeni knew she is an exotic mix of races, a bit unconventional beauty, but she is deeply ashamed that she doesn't really know who her father was, which is why she never talks about it. When a film crew rolled into town wanting to use the town as a backdrop for the latest blockbuster and the producer / star wanted to tap Zeni for a part, Zeni was suspicious, but when Trey voiced his opposition, Zeni had the mind to show up her annoying boss, Tristan "Trey" Benedict, one of the Benedict brothers, just to prove she can. When the producer gets a bit too friendly with Zeni, Trey stepped up and announced that Zeni is his fiancee. Zeni was both horrified and delighted that Trey was willing to move the relationship forward... but it's just an act, right? What if he found out that she's not who she seems to be?

A smart girl in deep shame of her parentage and ran away from every thing, a "bad boy" who's actually not bad but warm hearted and want to do things right... Interesting mix of characters. I have the other three books and this one was a bit shorter, but has a good twist near the end. 7/8

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Finished Mr. Sheriff by Ivy Jordan

Naomi kicked out her boyfriend Greg when he got controlling and demeaning, but he had never gotten violent with her... until now. When her attempt to defend herself was witnessed by a neighbor who had an eye for Greg, police was called and she ended up being taken to the station in cuffs, but officer Carter investigated thoroughly and found her to be not at fault, and even helped her file a restraining order. And Carter took it personally... to Keep Naomi safe... and they fall for each other. But Naomi wasn't sure if Carter really wants her... or was it just his protective nature? But Greg is still out there... watching... waiting...

Not too bad for a short suspense thriller without too much suspense. It's a pretty formulaic "bodyguard romance". 5/8

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Finished Cry of My Heart by Linda Ford

Nicole lost her father at a young age and resigned to live her life as drama free as possible, dedicating her life to run her antique store and help care for her sister and grandma, even though she's a young vivacious person on the inside. She did not count on encountering Ace Conners, former neighbor, who left a long time ago. Ace was just back to settle the affairs of his aunt Millie. He'd gladly dump the whole house, but the stuff needed sorting, and his neighbor Nicole would love to sell a lot of the antiques (it's just junk to him) in her store and insist on helping him sort them. Ace hadn't had a home for a long while, having spent most of the time surveying on the road. And encountering Nicole gave him pause to contemplate his life... and his disconnection from God. Had he been running away all this time? When an enemy from Ace's past resurfaces, Ace and Nicole will have to confront the danger together... or lose their happiness.

Yes, this is a Christian romance... lots of going to Church and talking about God and blah blah blah. 4/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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The Eye of the World: Book One of 'The Wheel of Time'

I'd certainly forgotten some things. It's nice to read it from a dimly-remembered perspective.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Bride by Mistake by Nicole Helm FREE

Kaitlin Shuller had wanted one man in her life, but she had no choice but to watch that man marry someone else... and attend their wedding. Heart-broken, she's determined to get something right... seduce the "bad boy" that had NEVER noticed her before... Beckett... Her brother's best bud and business partner. Beckett had tried to outrun his bad boy reputation for a while, but can't. When Kaitlin offered herself to him... including her v-card, he can't refuse, because he really did have a soft spot for her, even though she's his best bud's little sister. But that one night of passion, has dire consequences... but this time, Beckett is determined to do Kaitlin right... even if he had to seduce her again and again...

Uh, a bit angst-y. What are the chances that the first time a girl tries sex, she gets pregnant, despite using condom? Still, it's not bad. 6/8

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Finished Escorting the Billionaire by Leigh James FREE

James Preston needed an arm candy that can take the pressure off him while attending his brother's wedding... He won't even take her clothes off. His heart had been dead for a decade when his sweetheart died after his family objected heavily... and he doesn't want a heartbreak. Audrey Reynolds needed the money to keep her brother in his group home... and James's job will make her a LOT of money for two weeks' simple work. While she'd enjoy being in James' bed, she's fine in not getting any. However, when her mother wanted to squeeze money out of her, and HIS mother figured Audrey wasn't someone on her approved list that she can control, both started their machinations to ruin Audrey's day, even as Audrey and James fell for each other... James had never felt that way toward another woman... until Audrey, and he'll do anything to protect her, but she is the kind of people who refused all help... because she is... really a whore, and not good enough for him... But he's not taking no for an answer.

Basically, Pretty Woman with a lot of angst written as a melodrama rather than rom-com. Actually quite good. The two evil moms are smarmy alright. 6.5/8

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Finished The Wedding Audition by Chaterine Mann FREE

Annamae Jessup was about to wed Atlanta's hometown favorite ballplayer as a part of her reality show life, but a last second cold feet had her calling a radio talk show giving relationship advice... and her voice was recognized, leading her to skip town and spend cash only to get away from it all, and to seek out the grandma, Hazel Mae, she never knew, all the way out in the tiny town of Beulah Alabama, in a beatup Beetle and a stray dog she picked up. In search for a quiet place to stay, she ended up on an apple farm with a carriage house... and a somewhat hostile owner keeping a big secret. He's actually Wynn Lafftery, decorated undercover police officer, and he's in witness protection because he needs to put a gang out of business. The farm was rigged with a ton of sensors and cameras, because he knew he's on a hit list. The last thing he wanted was a spoiled TV princess ruining his cover... but he saw the honesty in her eyes that she despises publicity as much as he does. And they fell for each other. Unfortunately, her mom, then her dad rolled into town, and media was not far behind. And then the assassin arrived...

Fun fast read, nothing too out of the ordinary. 6.5/8

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Finished Seasons of Love by Lia Fairchild

Collection of 4 romance novelettes and short stories. Pretty sweet for short and fast reads. 6/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Kiss Me Kate by Mari Carr

Kate's husband skipped down with the local hairdresser, leaving her, the tame schoolteacher, as the butt of the town gossip about inability of "keep her man". Desperate to get a fresh start, Kate took up an offer by two DEA agents to be their housesitter while they go on a long assignment elsewhere. Kate slowly recovered her self-esteem and looks, lost weight, and became a better person... and her emails to Rick, one of the agents, were replied, and both started to secretly lust after each other. When the assignment was finally over, Rick (and his partner Wes) came back, and Rick wanted to pursue Kate in person... But Kate was afraid of getting her heart broken and only wanted NSA sex. Rick struggles to hold his needs in check while getting from Kate what he can, while trying to convince her he's in for the long haul...

It's okay, nothing too fancy here. There was a bit of development at the end that's kinda disturbing. But there's always the HEA. 5.5/8

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Finished Mischief in Montana by Pamela Kelley FREE

Travis and Isabella always had bad timing and ended up in the friend zone. Travis' best bud Christian was dating Isabella, and Travis was dating someone else. Now that Christian was married to someone else, and Isabella was single, Travis was about to make his move, when Isabella, completely clueless, wanted to date Aidan, an artist who just moved back to town. Isabella also found a new competitor, Missy, in her real estate office. Furthermore, Missy's cousin, Bethany, who just moved back from Atlanta, spouting a fake southern belle accent... had just set her sights on Travis. Can Travis and Isabella navigate the treacherous waters of love and find their way to each other?

Actually kinda fun, not rom com funny, but delightful kinda read. 6/8

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Finished From the Moment We Met by Marina Adair

Abby DeLuca had designed huge projects for her family, but never on her own. She is going to enjoy her newly found freedom after her husband, who disappeared for 7 years, is legally presumed dead and her divorce was finally granted. Then came the ultimate humiliation... he had specified in his will to dump a larger than life sculpture of her in her yard (destroying her entire garden), in full witness of the OTHER man who broke her heart... Jack Tanner. Tanner and Abby had once been an item, until he went off to football. His retirement brought him back, as a handyman around town... and providing some off-the-books services to the ladies in town. But he's determined to put a smile back on Abby's face, even as Abby found that the town has long memories, and her brothers are out trying to "help" her career as a designer, often to her detriment. When Tanner got his own break, he will have to choose between his heart and his pocketbook.

Not feeling too much here. 5/8

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Finished Master of the Mountain by Chrise Sinclair WARNING: BDSM theme

Becca's boyfriend talked her into joining his swinger's club on a mountain retreat to "spice up their sex life", but she refused to partake in musical beds, and almost froze to death on the porch swing. Logan, the lodge owner, hauled her into his own bed (clothed) and found that Becca may no be a swinger... she may be a submissive. Becca has curves, and scars on her hips from a dog attack at age 10, and she had been deathly afraid of dogs, and have serious self-esteem issues about her sexuality and body image. But Logan skillfully stripped her of her mental shackles... and her inhibitions, and she never had so many orgasms in her life, and she find herself wondering, what would life with Logan be like? But Logan considered himself damaged man. PTSD and rendered him dangerous... he even put a scar on his own brother's face once when he woke up from a violent dream. He cannot take that chance with Becca, and have to send her back into the city once the retreat was over. But is that really the right course to take?

Surprisingly deep relations and emotions from BDSM theme book. Slightly melodramatic, but good enough. 7/8
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Finished Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen FREE

Jessica was a skier and refused to let her grandpa run her life after suffering a major injury to her knee. Grandpa wanted her to join the family business, and finally relented, letting her work as a stablehand at his racing horse's training facility, hoping she'll go crying home after a few weeks and settle down. However, Jessica is made of sterner stuff. The stable ran by trainer Mark had just suffered a death... Lefty had apparently drowned in the pond, and he was known as the town drunk and there's nothing suspicious. Mark did not want to babysit spoiled princess Jessica, but he had no choice after he had to fire Trisha for allowing a horse to overeat and catch colic, which ruined the horse's chance to run at the next race (and perhaps, ever) and he needed the help, even a little. Jessica learned to care the gentlest horse, Buddy, and came to care a lot about the head trainer, Mark as well. Mark knew Jessica is off limits... she's his richest client's granddaughter, after all. But as she blossomed in the stable, thing started happening. Who is the little brown-skinned kid that's picking pockets? Who is the MIddle-Eastern guy trying to sabotage the horses? Why was Tricky Dick, who caught a photo of the Middle Eastern man, stabbed and his place tossed? Does the phone found by Jessica, presumably Lefty's, have anything to do with it?

Wow, grandpa was a real douchebag.
Spoiler:
Not only he hired a quack to sabotage Jessica's knee and told her she'll never ski again (she recovered just fine) he NEVER intended to honor his bargain with her and told his trainer, Mark to fire her before the deadline, so she can NEVER win her bet with him... That he'll fund her business if she'll last for 5 weeks. He made up for it by gifting her his three race horses at the end, but it doesn't make up for the douchebaggery.


The mystery was on a separate level altogether.
Spoiler:
Arab extremist wanting to kill one of the Dubai sheiks are sabotaging other horses, giving sheik's horses wins, to get him into winner's circle, where they had an assassination planned, having hidden a weapon long before. Lefty caught them with his camera phone but was killed, but nobody found the phone until Jessica bought it soon after, then the phone ended up in Mark's office...
7/8 Author is quite adept in weaving suspense around horse racing and her books don't disappoint. I've read several.

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Finished Only Twenty-Five by Jennifer McCoy Blaske

Meg Caldwell moved to a new town and was perfectly happy as a teacher. She spends her free time with her books and her cats. She wants to have a relationship, but she's having a huge problem... She has female pattern baldness... She's losing her hair... fast. Extensions are messy. Wigs are... unstable. Hats... are not allowed in class. And she's smitten with fellow teacher Josh Harrter. Josh likes the happy teacher with a spring in her steps, but she's hiding a huge secret... How can he get her to trust him?

Only 100 or so pages, and there's a lot fo rom-com in here in addition to the frustrations. Actually kinda fun to read. 6/8

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Finished Three Wishes by Stephanie Bond FREE

Ladden is an antique dealer in Sacramento, CA, with a secret crush on Jasmine, the ambitious interior designer, who buys a lot of stuff from him, but is actually a couple (not married though) with current governor of California. Ladden knew his infatuation can never go anywhere. Jasmine doesn't even know he's interested. Even if she does, she's not going to fall for some junk dealer and give up being California's First Lady. Then Ladden opened his latest acquisition... Which included an antique rug... and an old copper lamp. By rubbing the lamp, he unwittingly unleashed a genie, who will grant him three wishes, not that he believe such malarkey! But when his two major wishes came true, he started to believe... but there are severe consequences to his wishes... if he can only make her see that...

Rom-com wise, this is definitely 8/8. It's LOL-funny. I am not going to spoil any plot, so I'd just suggest you all read this. 8/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Kasey Chang »

Finished Billionaire Protector by Nikki Chase

Alice started as a waitress and gone to chef's school, and now is a chef at a local restaurant called "Local". There is this guy who's obviously rich and looks somewhat familiar that comes in every week, always order the same thing, and usually had a complaint or two, but ate the food nonetheless. But he's otherwise harmless despite giving off a dangerous bad boy vibe. Until one day, he suddenly made her an offer she can't refuse... He'll double her salary if she'll come work as his personal chef at his mansion 2 hours out of town. But once there, there seems to be way too much security on the grounds, and Alice found that Seth, that's the guy's name, is basically keeping her prisoner, albeit with a ton of regret. All he can say is he's doing this for her safety, and she's desperately looking for an escape... even as Seth revealed his vulnerable side. But Seth is fighting a ruthless enemy who has no regard for human life, and he'll get at Seth any way he can, through Alice if possible... But how do you keep someone safe when that person only wanted to be free?

A bit too melodramatic, IMHO, and being a "dark romance", it does involve basically kidnapping and held prisoner. The nemesis was not revealed early enough properly, IMHO.
Spoiler:
The final showdown was way too easy... 4 vs. 4 and all the bad guys went down, pretty much. If this was that easy, why haven't they done this long ago was beyond me.
5.5/8

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Finished Mail Order Bride: The Adventurous Bride and the Sheep Farmer by Eliza King

Ainsley was the adventurous girl and daughter of a carpenter who will never fit in high society, even though she's in a boarding school for such. Kenneth is a heartbroken man who left his life and love in Laramie behind (she married another man), determined to make a living in Buffalo Texas and needed a wife. Ainsley agreed to be a mailorder bride and went to Texas... And Ken... found that Ainsley is NOTHING like the girl he left behind...

Not much here. Ainsley got BORED doing all the work on the farm, cooking, cleaning, even found time to do carpentry. Basically, super frontier woman. Argh. 4.5/8

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Finished Mail Order Bride: The Doubtful Bride and Two Suiters by Eliza King

Maria Kitchener has a dilemma... Two men had asked for her hand in marriage, and she can't decide. Both are dear friends. Who to choose? Who stirs her soul? Will she see the consequences of her actions if she does pick one over the other?

I swore I read this three times and NOTHING stuck in my mind. Nothing. 3/8

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Finished Smoulder by Tracy Solheim

Sam Gaskill, former army ranger, left his life and his dead wife (of horse riding accident) behind to start anew as a "smoke jumper" leader in Montana. He brought his late wife's horse to be boarded and trained at the Whispering Breeze Ranch, and met the owner's daughter Laurel Keenan, and her 5-year old son Ty. Laurel had always been impulsive and that lead to a romance with an Olympic snowboarder Bryce which produced Ty, but Bryce is not the stick-around type and Bryce is moving on. Laurel felt a connection to Sam but she's trying to go slow, controlling her impulsive behavior, and Sam's job is too dangerous, she reasoned. But when Ty went missing during a grass fire, Sam may be the only one who can keep Laurel and Ty safe.

IMHO, a bit too angsty, about life given up for impulsive decisions and all that (Laurel was an artist before she got pregnant). No risk = no pain, blah blah. 5/8

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Finished Blind Fury by Gwen Hernandez FREE

Jenna Ryan was devastated by the news that her brother, a security contractor in Afghanistan, was killed, and the incident was classified by the state department. The only one she can turn to was Mick Fury, her brother's best friend, who was there, but also cannot talk about it. Mick always had a thing for Jenna, but she's his best bud's sister. When unknown threats started targeting Jenna, Mick and Jenna realized they had stumbled into a huge conspiracy. First Jenna's apartment was tossed and trashed, then her car, then her entire house blown up... Then came a package in the mail for her... From her dead brother, who had found evidence of wrongdoing... It was clear that Mick and Jenna knew too much... Now Mick must put everything on the line to keep Jenna safe, even his heart, against an enemy with ruthless reach...

As a thriller, this actually ain't too bad. 6.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Kasey Chang »

Finished Trouble by Ann Christopher FREE

Mike Balwin is a brilliant defense attorney... but his brother is a really... a bit of a loser. No one knew how he managed to graduate, but he always had an excuse. And his brother is pursuing a fellow intern, Dara. But Dara only has eyes for Mike... even though getting friendly with the boss is not something that should be done. Furthermore, Mike is desperate to get on speaking terms with his brother, and getting in between his brother and his girl is not going to help that at all. Mike's patience and resolve will be tested... as Dara is just trouble...

Not too bad, 6/8

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Finished Torrid Exposure Book 1 by Carla Coxwell FREE

April is finished with school, and wanted to strike out on her own rather than ride her family's coattails... even going as far as cutting herself out of the will. She moved in with her best friend Emily, and is looking for the a job, but the only one offering her a job is her nemesis Bennett, who's an old family friend and media empire mogul. As April is forced to work with Bennett, she discovers that perhaps Bennett wasn't as bad as she thought...

Honestly, the angst here is kinda lame. 5/8

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Finished Over the Fence by Elke Becker

Eva is about to achieve her dream... a job in London, and an apartment there with her boyfriend Sascha, only to have the hope dashed... Sascha is NOT coming with her, and may have been seeing someone else. Eva is facing the new city alone. But even as she settled in, she was called back home when her parents got into a car accident. Mom was seriously injured and will be bedridden for weeks, and dad, used to be waited on by mom, will have to get by on his own, albeit with Eva's help. And Eva also found David, their next door neighbor, to be... very tempting. But with Eva's job in London, and David's job requiring him to stay put, is romance between them even practical?

This is translated from German, and some of the references are a bit vague. Translation is fine, but somehow the story just never quite grabbed me. 5/8

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Finished Within These Walls by J.J. Berg FREE

Lailah has lived most of her life in a hospital, or near it. She had a congenital heart defect, and her time is running out. One of the orderlies in the hospital, Jude, found her fascinating and befriended her, but he's hiding a deep dark secret. He lost his fiancee three years ago due to an auto accident. She fell asleep at the wheel and wrapped the car around a tree. He was barely injured, but she was brain dead. In his grief and denial, he managed to convince her parents to NOT donate her organs despite her donor card. And even after her funeral, he basically abandoned his life and began work as an orderly in the hospital, refusing to go on, to the point of being cut out of family money. It was later, to his horror that he realized he had denied Lailah the heart that should have saved her and allowed her a normal life. He dedicated his life to help Lailah every way he could, including fulfilling her "bucket list". When Lailah's insurance denied her coverage of transplant, Jude made the ultimate bargain... to save her, he will have to let her go...

Actually pretty nice story, slightly angsty, but sweet as well. 7/8

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Finished Redemption River by Lindsay Cross

Hunter James left the town for the military, leaving behind his love Evangeline "Evie" whom he believed betrayed him. A mission gone bad send him home to Mercy, to inform a woman that her man is dead, and for Hunter to get back to Evie... For there is evidence that Evie may be involved in a serious drug and gun smuggling operation... and a threat to national security. Evie is being threatened by her former fiancee, who basically bashed her down to nothing, and left mark on her in several ways. Her father, the former sheriff, was dead, and the current sheriff is corrupt. Her militia group is voting to accept the smuggling job from her former fiancee, and Hunter's appearance was not helping her concentration. But Hunter is trying to learn whether she's involved in the smuggling, not just trying to get into her good graces...

Not too bad. 6.5/8 But the bad guy was just too sociopathic, IMHO. TOO heartless, if you will.
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Kasey Chang »

Finished Other side of someday by T. K. Leigh PRIME READING

Baylee Morgan fled North Carolina for California and ended up in Santa Monica after finally divorcing a man she didn't love for 10 years. As an heiress to a lumber fortune she can afford not to work, but she's not the partying type, and her failed marriage left her with enough self-doubt that she only dare to tip-toe into the dating pool. Her only male friend who's not gay was her neighbor Sebastian "Sebby" Powers, a TV producer, who also fled the East Coast, except his girlfriend Mercedes don't want to call it quits just yet. As Baylee dated more than a few wrong guys (one guy turned out to be a closet gay, another turned out to be her own gynecologist), she started to realize that perhaps Sebby was the one she really wanted... but can she be the third person in a triangle?

Sweet, but not feeling much beyond that. 5.5/8

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Finished Dacey: Bride of North Carolina (mail order bride) by Shanna Hatfield FREE

Dacey Butler went to North Carolina to marry a stranger when the factory she was working at burned down. She grew up on an Oregon ranch and loved riding, and she expected to be a farm wife. She did not expect to arrive at Asheville's Douglas Mansion... or that the handsome and ruggedly suave man, Braxton, to be her groom. Actually, neither did he, as this was completely his mother's idea. Braxton had enough of the conniving local women who just want him for his fortune. He was determined to resist Dacey, even though her vivacious spirit seem to be exactly what he was looking for... But will he change his mind, when there are gossipers around town who would have to see them be paired up?

Eh, really formulaic. A lot of these stories are basically written "by the book". There was a meet-cute, they get to know each other (and develop a bit of hate), then they found their first impressions are wrong, and they are secretly fond of each other. Things are going well, then some gossips / rivals whisper some falsehoods in his/her ear, and s/he, suddenly had so little faith they decided to run, but the other realized the problem and intercepted the other just in time, explained everything, and they decided to marry. This book is almost EXACTLY like this. 4.5/8

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Finished Billionaire Bachelor's Surprise Virgin by Ella Jade FREE

Caden is a personal trainer who used his brother's gym as his personal hunting ground for one-night stands, even though he's actually a caring person under the playboy exterior. Devon Wilson ran West after a shameful incident and ended up in LA, but having problems making things meet. The two should have never met, but Devon was working as a part-time janitor at the gym and Caden, despite availability of plenty of gorgeous blondes, was immediately drawn to Devon, but she's NOT interested... she's more dedicated to survival... she's homeless, and even Caden backed off when she confessed that she's a virgin. But Caden decided to make her his long-term project... having her move into his condo, no pressure (really). Eventually she melted and gave in, but Caden now really wanted her long-term. Then her secret came back to haunt her...

The ending was really lame, way too much telling, not doing. 4.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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