Finished The Forgotten Heiress by Susie Warren
Olivia had no father and her mother did not like her career either. Her sole purpose in life is to make it as a couture designer in NYC, so she did not expect for someone to show up at her studio letting her know that her estranged family, the famous Bolles dynasty of England, needs her. Her father was the patriarch, but his sudden death left Fionn, the protege, in charge, and Fionn needed Olivia's help to maintain control of the company lest the other family members band together and force a liquidation. Olivia shunned the spotlight, but the papparazzi are hounding them, and in the meantime, Olivia fell for Fionn...
Didn't feel much about this. The family intrigue is there, but the romance... didn't feel much. 4.5/8
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Finished Breathe Again by Joelle Charming
Mellie Rose ran from Kansas after her fiance cheated on her. She ended up in LA working in her cousin's bakery. When she delivered a cake to one of the mansions, she ended up wearing the cake when she was bumped by superstar Jackson Traver, winner of most recent "sexist man alive" poll. And Jackson Traver wants her. But then Mellie has some major inadequacy issues... How can gorgeous superstar hunk want her, a clumsy pastry chef, when he rubs elbows daily with the rich and famous, such as his stunning co-star Sofia?
Not feeling much about this one either. Basically this is a "brush with celebrity" fairy tale. Jackson was a bit... too nice. 4.5/8
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Finished Her Heart's Desire by Ruth Ann Nordin
Sally loves Nick, but Nick wants Ethel Mae. Ethel Mae wants someone else. Ethel Mae has an idea... Get Nick to "pretend" to like Sally to make Ethel Mae jealous. Can Sally take advantage of the situation? Can Sally make Rick fall for her before he learned the truth?
Feels way too contemporary for a historical Western, and more of a sitcom than rom-com. 4/8
Kasey's Books Read 2018
Moderators: Bakhtosh, EvilHomer3k
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Rodeo King by Cici Cordelia
Caleb was about to be National Rodeo Champion when a bull sidelined him by bucking him off and breaking his leg in two places. He will walk again, but needing some time to recuperate, he decided to go back to his hometown, to see the woman he left behind six years ago... Rosemary. And upon arrival, he was set upon by his former best friend (and Rosemary's brother), who proceed to beat him. He figured he deserved that because he did leave town like a thief in the night years ago, AFTER taking Rosemary's v-card. Then he was shocked to find that he has a 5-year old son, Carson. He didn't know, but now that he's a father, he'll be the best father he can be. Rosemary was hurt, but she knew what she wanted, and she wants to give Caleb a chance to be a father. But when the Rodeo Commission called Caleb with a job offer, will Caleb leave again?
The darkest hour seems slightly forced, but the ending was nice. Let's say 6/8
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Finished The Husband Maker by Karey White
Charlotte is sometimes called Charlie, and by some of her closest friends, "Chuck". But her strangest nickname was the "husband maker". Every one of her boyfriends went on to leave her, and to marry the very next girl they fall for. But no, not her. Charlotte thought her streak was finally broken when Kyle swept her off her feet. They were deeply in love, and he's rich and caring man. He's also a senator's son with political aspirations, and a wife can only help that. But when a reporter fabricated quotes from Charlotte to fit her attack agenda, will their relationship withstand the test?
Very rare for romance, this ends on a SAD note. In fact, it's argued by many (most?) romance authors and reviewers that a "sad ending" book CANNOT be romance, but merely "fiction with romantic elements". While I enjoy the struggle, it's also a bit sad. 6/8
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Finished Falling Under by Lisa Renee Jones
Jewel Carpenter is a police detective, and daughter of the CEO of Carpenter Enterprises. Jewel has received mysterious threatening notes from someone VERY intimate with her family history, and may be the mysterious "butterfly killer" that was never found. Her mentor was gunned down years ago, perpetrator never found. When the threat resurfaced, her father called in Walker Security, and Jacob King was assigned to be close escort for Jewel. Jacob is quiet, stealthy, and full of secrets, and he'll take a bullet for Jewel, if need be. And their own chemistry cannot be denied. When Jewel accidentally dug into something government needed hidden, Jacob will have to reach into his own past to keep Jewel safe... AND catch the butterfly killer at the same time...
Ah, nice romantic suspense. The enemies to lovers thing was nicely done, even though they are not quite enemies. And the mystery onion peel was VERY nicely done as well. The bad guy actually made sense, and there was a pivot near the end for a Hollywood finish. 7.5/8
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Finished Her Reluctant Rancher by Anne Marie Novark
Trevor hated his grandfather Hank after his parents are gone. That's why he left town to seek his own fortune. Now that old man Hank is dead, he's back for one reason only: settle his affairs and sell the ranch... and get the hell away from this place. However, in his way was the quiet librarian Beth and her son. Beth drives the local bookmobile, and Hank promised her a million dollars for a local library AND his entire book collection (which is extensive) with one stipulation... Don't let his grandson sell the ranch. Beth felt an attraction toward Trevor, but she will not act on it because she has a daily reminder what sort of consequences lust has... her son. Can the two work out a mutually beneficial solution?
Didn't feel the connection here much. 5/8
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Finished Redeeming the Texas Rancher by Charlene Sands
Dakota and Colby were long time family friends, and childhood crush, but Colby is far too honorable to ever love Dakota that way. Dakota is also his employee (head wrangler) on the Circle R ranch. Colby knew what kind of price lust can exact on one's soul... He ruined one life already... Dakota had secretly loved Colby since age ten, and she can't stop, no matter how Colby kept the distance between them professional. But when Dakota finally discovered Colby's source of guilt, can she be his redemption?
I like the way how the secret was revealed, bit by bit. 6/8
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Finished Love Rancher by Christina Harris Historical Western short story
Jody lost her family in Texas when Union Army ramapged through town, killing her father and burned her entire ranch to the ground. She went east to joined her aunt, but with no prospects in the East, she became a mail order bride to Dave out west on his ranch. Jody has been open about her origins, but Dave is guarding a big secret... Can they be husband and wife with that secret between them?
That secret just didn't work for me. Phooey. 2/8
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Finished Tessa's Temptation by Ella Jade
Tessa's life is in shambles. After her father was injured in a car accident, she's the only one working for food and shelter AND school, and she's about to be fired because her performance had suffered and she's STILL not making rent and about to be evicted, that she had to drop out of school. Then entered Chase. Chase had spent some time with Tessa's family way back when she's like 3 (she's 19 now) and it helped turned his life around. Now that he's a billionaire he is here to do all he could to help. And Tessa was surprised that her father asked Chase to take her in so he can stop worrying for her in his rehab. And Chase agreed. He's a bachelor any way, and he knew he's too old for Tessa (he's 30). But Tessa, once she settled down, and doing well in school, decided to make Chase her personal project... to seduce Chase. But Chase has an attorney/employee Ardra and they have some... issues. Things started to change once Tessa moved in... Is Chase just possessive? Is Ardra out to mess with them? What secret is Chase keeping? Will Tessa just flavor fo the month?
The beginning almost made it give up. Once you get to halfway point when Ardra was introduced properly and sabotage started happening things got more interesting. 6/8
Caleb was about to be National Rodeo Champion when a bull sidelined him by bucking him off and breaking his leg in two places. He will walk again, but needing some time to recuperate, he decided to go back to his hometown, to see the woman he left behind six years ago... Rosemary. And upon arrival, he was set upon by his former best friend (and Rosemary's brother), who proceed to beat him. He figured he deserved that because he did leave town like a thief in the night years ago, AFTER taking Rosemary's v-card. Then he was shocked to find that he has a 5-year old son, Carson. He didn't know, but now that he's a father, he'll be the best father he can be. Rosemary was hurt, but she knew what she wanted, and she wants to give Caleb a chance to be a father. But when the Rodeo Commission called Caleb with a job offer, will Caleb leave again?
The darkest hour seems slightly forced, but the ending was nice. Let's say 6/8
-----
Finished The Husband Maker by Karey White
Charlotte is sometimes called Charlie, and by some of her closest friends, "Chuck". But her strangest nickname was the "husband maker". Every one of her boyfriends went on to leave her, and to marry the very next girl they fall for. But no, not her. Charlotte thought her streak was finally broken when Kyle swept her off her feet. They were deeply in love, and he's rich and caring man. He's also a senator's son with political aspirations, and a wife can only help that. But when a reporter fabricated quotes from Charlotte to fit her attack agenda, will their relationship withstand the test?
Very rare for romance, this ends on a SAD note. In fact, it's argued by many (most?) romance authors and reviewers that a "sad ending" book CANNOT be romance, but merely "fiction with romantic elements". While I enjoy the struggle, it's also a bit sad. 6/8
-----
Finished Falling Under by Lisa Renee Jones
Jewel Carpenter is a police detective, and daughter of the CEO of Carpenter Enterprises. Jewel has received mysterious threatening notes from someone VERY intimate with her family history, and may be the mysterious "butterfly killer" that was never found. Her mentor was gunned down years ago, perpetrator never found. When the threat resurfaced, her father called in Walker Security, and Jacob King was assigned to be close escort for Jewel. Jacob is quiet, stealthy, and full of secrets, and he'll take a bullet for Jewel, if need be. And their own chemistry cannot be denied. When Jewel accidentally dug into something government needed hidden, Jacob will have to reach into his own past to keep Jewel safe... AND catch the butterfly killer at the same time...
Ah, nice romantic suspense. The enemies to lovers thing was nicely done, even though they are not quite enemies. And the mystery onion peel was VERY nicely done as well. The bad guy actually made sense, and there was a pivot near the end for a Hollywood finish. 7.5/8
-----
Finished Her Reluctant Rancher by Anne Marie Novark
Trevor hated his grandfather Hank after his parents are gone. That's why he left town to seek his own fortune. Now that old man Hank is dead, he's back for one reason only: settle his affairs and sell the ranch... and get the hell away from this place. However, in his way was the quiet librarian Beth and her son. Beth drives the local bookmobile, and Hank promised her a million dollars for a local library AND his entire book collection (which is extensive) with one stipulation... Don't let his grandson sell the ranch. Beth felt an attraction toward Trevor, but she will not act on it because she has a daily reminder what sort of consequences lust has... her son. Can the two work out a mutually beneficial solution?
Didn't feel the connection here much. 5/8
-----
Finished Redeeming the Texas Rancher by Charlene Sands
Dakota and Colby were long time family friends, and childhood crush, but Colby is far too honorable to ever love Dakota that way. Dakota is also his employee (head wrangler) on the Circle R ranch. Colby knew what kind of price lust can exact on one's soul... He ruined one life already... Dakota had secretly loved Colby since age ten, and she can't stop, no matter how Colby kept the distance between them professional. But when Dakota finally discovered Colby's source of guilt, can she be his redemption?
I like the way how the secret was revealed, bit by bit. 6/8
-----
Finished Love Rancher by Christina Harris Historical Western short story
Jody lost her family in Texas when Union Army ramapged through town, killing her father and burned her entire ranch to the ground. She went east to joined her aunt, but with no prospects in the East, she became a mail order bride to Dave out west on his ranch. Jody has been open about her origins, but Dave is guarding a big secret... Can they be husband and wife with that secret between them?
That secret just didn't work for me. Phooey. 2/8
Spoiler:
Finished Tessa's Temptation by Ella Jade
Tessa's life is in shambles. After her father was injured in a car accident, she's the only one working for food and shelter AND school, and she's about to be fired because her performance had suffered and she's STILL not making rent and about to be evicted, that she had to drop out of school. Then entered Chase. Chase had spent some time with Tessa's family way back when she's like 3 (she's 19 now) and it helped turned his life around. Now that he's a billionaire he is here to do all he could to help. And Tessa was surprised that her father asked Chase to take her in so he can stop worrying for her in his rehab. And Chase agreed. He's a bachelor any way, and he knew he's too old for Tessa (he's 30). But Tessa, once she settled down, and doing well in school, decided to make Chase her personal project... to seduce Chase. But Chase has an attorney/employee Ardra and they have some... issues. Things started to change once Tessa moved in... Is Chase just possessive? Is Ardra out to mess with them? What secret is Chase keeping? Will Tessa just flavor fo the month?
The beginning almost made it give up. Once you get to halfway point when Ardra was introduced properly and sabotage started happening things got more interesting. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Noelle's Golden Christmas by Tamie Dearen Clean Christian Romance
Noelle believes she has a Christmas curse... She always loses something around that month, and this year would be her fiancee. She's resigned to being single, and even adopted an injured shelter dog. However, her family introduced her to two delectable brothers, James and David, and both made a play for her while warned the other off. But one is a believer... and the other isn't. Noelle also cannot believe they'd like her... It must be "arranged" by her father. Noelle kissed both in the same night, and blamed herself for her... sluttiness. As she struggles in her life, her love, and her faith, perhaps she will find just what her heart really wants, with a little help from the dog she adopted...
There's a little debate whether this is really "Christian fiction" or not, as Noelle seems to drive a weird line between vanity and self-sacrifice. Is trying to take on blame for everything a sign of humbleness... or just being a drama queen? They story starts out quite slow, and if you can get past the first couple chapters, things started to pick up. The end was a nice sweet part with a darkest hour and a grand gesture. 6/8
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Finished The Truth About Love complete by Anna Bloom
Three novellas that complete the story arc.
1) Eve is about the graduate school and get her teaching license. She has a great roommate Cherry and escaped from her druggie mother. An encounter at school with gorgeous hunk Cameron (who's also a millionaire heir) sent her mind into a different direction, one she can't afford to go, with exams so close. What would a hunky rich spoiled brat want with her any way? But his persistence showed her there's a side that the news got wrong about this playboy. But can Eve enjoy the time with Cam? Or will their family obligations tear them apart?
2) Cherry changes boyfriends like laundry. When Eve had to leave due to family emergency, Cherry was forced to sublet her room to a guy named Jared. While Jared is gorgeous, he's also bit too much of a slob for Cherry... until he showed her a different side of him, and his annoying habits became charming quirks. But Jared is hiding a secret, and when it's exposed, it'll tear them apart...
3) Eve agreed to give Cam another chance, and Cam swept her away to Paris, where he currently works for his family company. But the paparazzi are waiting. and rumors fly even within the company. It's clear that Cam still has secrets, and an encounter with who appears to be Cam's "other woman" sent Eve fleeing back across the Chunnel back to London, heart again bruised. But was it her insecurity that blinded her to the truth? Or is she and Cam just too different?
The novellas added up to only 200+ pages, and they are short and fast paced enough to be good, but Cam was keeping too many secrets and the twists only "kinda" make sense. I like the interaction, but the plot could use a little more polished. 6/8
Noelle believes she has a Christmas curse... She always loses something around that month, and this year would be her fiancee. She's resigned to being single, and even adopted an injured shelter dog. However, her family introduced her to two delectable brothers, James and David, and both made a play for her while warned the other off. But one is a believer... and the other isn't. Noelle also cannot believe they'd like her... It must be "arranged" by her father. Noelle kissed both in the same night, and blamed herself for her... sluttiness. As she struggles in her life, her love, and her faith, perhaps she will find just what her heart really wants, with a little help from the dog she adopted...
There's a little debate whether this is really "Christian fiction" or not, as Noelle seems to drive a weird line between vanity and self-sacrifice. Is trying to take on blame for everything a sign of humbleness... or just being a drama queen? They story starts out quite slow, and if you can get past the first couple chapters, things started to pick up. The end was a nice sweet part with a darkest hour and a grand gesture. 6/8
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Finished The Truth About Love complete by Anna Bloom
Three novellas that complete the story arc.
1) Eve is about the graduate school and get her teaching license. She has a great roommate Cherry and escaped from her druggie mother. An encounter at school with gorgeous hunk Cameron (who's also a millionaire heir) sent her mind into a different direction, one she can't afford to go, with exams so close. What would a hunky rich spoiled brat want with her any way? But his persistence showed her there's a side that the news got wrong about this playboy. But can Eve enjoy the time with Cam? Or will their family obligations tear them apart?
2) Cherry changes boyfriends like laundry. When Eve had to leave due to family emergency, Cherry was forced to sublet her room to a guy named Jared. While Jared is gorgeous, he's also bit too much of a slob for Cherry... until he showed her a different side of him, and his annoying habits became charming quirks. But Jared is hiding a secret, and when it's exposed, it'll tear them apart...
3) Eve agreed to give Cam another chance, and Cam swept her away to Paris, where he currently works for his family company. But the paparazzi are waiting. and rumors fly even within the company. It's clear that Cam still has secrets, and an encounter with who appears to be Cam's "other woman" sent Eve fleeing back across the Chunnel back to London, heart again bruised. But was it her insecurity that blinded her to the truth? Or is she and Cam just too different?
The novellas added up to only 200+ pages, and they are short and fast paced enough to be good, but Cam was keeping too many secrets and the twists only "kinda" make sense. I like the interaction, but the plot could use a little more polished. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Unagi
- Posts: 26471
- Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:14 pm
- Location: Chicago
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
I'm just curious - on your planet, how many earth hours in one of your day cycles?
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Being virtually unemployed gave me a lot of time to listen to books and ****.
Having the TTS reading the book to you at 4x speed means you finish a novel in 2-3 hours. It's NOT that hard.
What I really need to do is to write one for myself.
Having the TTS reading the book to you at 4x speed means you finish a novel in 2-3 hours. It's NOT that hard.
What I really need to do is to write one for myself.
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Big Willy by CJ Thomas
William Wade, aka "Big Willy" is not only rich, he's also former Hollywood star, both rich AND famous. He enjoys bonking his current partner Rita quite a bit, but Rita is a bit on the needy side. Chelsea and Willy should have never met, but Chelsea had a crush on William since she was young. She knew his debut movie better than he did (practically memorized it line by line). Chelsea was also in a relationship with the nice (but boring) Richard who did not support her choice of career (screenwriter). When Willy did a commencement speech at UCLA (Chelsea just graduated from screenwriting program, but no job) and later, decided to offer up a date with himself as a prize, Chelsea pooled her life savings and made a bid. Then Chelsea's BFF cheated to make sure Chelsea won. And the night was everything Chelsea dreamed of... but when the time came for Willy to tempt her into bed, Chelsea refused. But that only got Willy excited... Thus begin their torrid relationship. But with the now-jilted Rita in the background threatening to ruin everything, and Willy disappeared off face of the earth for days, is the whole thing over? Had her Hollywood dreams came to an end?
Surprisingly deeper and more emotional than the meet-cute first suggested, there was a couple twists and turns that made it interesting. 6.5/8 for sure. The book seems to be written almost as a serial so the things didn't quite feel as dark as it could be, at least by the end, and the plot points was a bit forced to come up with the darkest hour.
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Finished Getting Wound Up by Erin Nicholas and Jennifer Bernard
This is a cross-over novel between the "Sapphire Falls" series (small town) and Love Between the Bases (sports) series.
Caitlyn wanted her brother's best friend Eli for years. Eli gave up on his baseball dreams and scholarship to stay in Sapphire Falls to take care of his family. But it's been years, and family chores can be settled. When her brother came up with a plan to "kidnap" Eli and force him to go to a tryout for the Kilby Catfish team, Caitly cannot refuse, even if she had to put off her candymaking for a few days. Her able assistants can handle things... for a little while. // Eli knew Caitlyn was trouble... with the noblest intentions. The road trip was... nice, and Caitlyn as sweet as the treats she makes. But after a fling in a Kansas motel, Eli knew he's in love. Then fate makes a turn... when he's picked to join the team with wicked knuckleball... and later was called up to join the MLB in San Diego... Can he romance "the girl next door" when his door just moved across multiple state lines?
Sweet. I've read Sapphire Falls stories and they are charming. I haven't read the other series, but I've read that author's work and they are good. 6/8
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Finished Diamonds and Dirt Roads by Erin Nicholas
Attorney Evan Stone has his toughest case yet. He is in charge of executing billionaire Rudy Carmichael's weird will regarding Rudy's triplet daughters: the workaholic CEO Ava, the party girl Cori, and nerdy scientist Brynn. The will stipulates that for the three daughters to get their inheritance (the entire Carmichael enterprises) they have to put their career on hold, to move to Bliss, Kansas and run daddy's pie shop for a year, WITHOUT using company money. There are additional stipulations for Cori: she can't date for six months (and learn to have a REAL relationship), while Ava is supposed to date someone in town (and learn to stop being a workaholic). Evan offered himself to be Ava's date, but it's clear they have no chemistry together. But when Cori decided to swap places with Ava (in secret), sparks flew. And Evan knew they are in trouble...
This is a three book series detailing how each daughter found their love in Bliss, and Erin's style of small town romance with plenty of romcom is intact. I don't think I like the "weird will" trope but this is at least innovative when it's combined with triplet switcheroo. However, the idea that they can just take a year off their life to do this is a little ridiculous. On the other hand, this managed to almost double-up on the twin-switcheroo, as Evan *knew* who Cori was pretending to be Ava and he was playing along. It's pretend romance within pretend romance. Once you get past the ridiculousness of the weird will, it's actually quite delightlful. 7/8
William Wade, aka "Big Willy" is not only rich, he's also former Hollywood star, both rich AND famous. He enjoys bonking his current partner Rita quite a bit, but Rita is a bit on the needy side. Chelsea and Willy should have never met, but Chelsea had a crush on William since she was young. She knew his debut movie better than he did (practically memorized it line by line). Chelsea was also in a relationship with the nice (but boring) Richard who did not support her choice of career (screenwriter). When Willy did a commencement speech at UCLA (Chelsea just graduated from screenwriting program, but no job) and later, decided to offer up a date with himself as a prize, Chelsea pooled her life savings and made a bid. Then Chelsea's BFF cheated to make sure Chelsea won. And the night was everything Chelsea dreamed of... but when the time came for Willy to tempt her into bed, Chelsea refused. But that only got Willy excited... Thus begin their torrid relationship. But with the now-jilted Rita in the background threatening to ruin everything, and Willy disappeared off face of the earth for days, is the whole thing over? Had her Hollywood dreams came to an end?
Surprisingly deeper and more emotional than the meet-cute first suggested, there was a couple twists and turns that made it interesting. 6.5/8 for sure. The book seems to be written almost as a serial so the things didn't quite feel as dark as it could be, at least by the end, and the plot points was a bit forced to come up with the darkest hour.
-----
Finished Getting Wound Up by Erin Nicholas and Jennifer Bernard
This is a cross-over novel between the "Sapphire Falls" series (small town) and Love Between the Bases (sports) series.
Caitlyn wanted her brother's best friend Eli for years. Eli gave up on his baseball dreams and scholarship to stay in Sapphire Falls to take care of his family. But it's been years, and family chores can be settled. When her brother came up with a plan to "kidnap" Eli and force him to go to a tryout for the Kilby Catfish team, Caitly cannot refuse, even if she had to put off her candymaking for a few days. Her able assistants can handle things... for a little while. // Eli knew Caitlyn was trouble... with the noblest intentions. The road trip was... nice, and Caitlyn as sweet as the treats she makes. But after a fling in a Kansas motel, Eli knew he's in love. Then fate makes a turn... when he's picked to join the team with wicked knuckleball... and later was called up to join the MLB in San Diego... Can he romance "the girl next door" when his door just moved across multiple state lines?
Sweet. I've read Sapphire Falls stories and they are charming. I haven't read the other series, but I've read that author's work and they are good. 6/8
-----
Finished Diamonds and Dirt Roads by Erin Nicholas
Attorney Evan Stone has his toughest case yet. He is in charge of executing billionaire Rudy Carmichael's weird will regarding Rudy's triplet daughters: the workaholic CEO Ava, the party girl Cori, and nerdy scientist Brynn. The will stipulates that for the three daughters to get their inheritance (the entire Carmichael enterprises) they have to put their career on hold, to move to Bliss, Kansas and run daddy's pie shop for a year, WITHOUT using company money. There are additional stipulations for Cori: she can't date for six months (and learn to have a REAL relationship), while Ava is supposed to date someone in town (and learn to stop being a workaholic). Evan offered himself to be Ava's date, but it's clear they have no chemistry together. But when Cori decided to swap places with Ava (in secret), sparks flew. And Evan knew they are in trouble...
This is a three book series detailing how each daughter found their love in Bliss, and Erin's style of small town romance with plenty of romcom is intact. I don't think I like the "weird will" trope but this is at least innovative when it's combined with triplet switcheroo. However, the idea that they can just take a year off their life to do this is a little ridiculous. On the other hand, this managed to almost double-up on the twin-switcheroo, as Evan *knew* who Cori was pretending to be Ava and he was playing along. It's pretend romance within pretend romance. Once you get past the ridiculousness of the weird will, it's actually quite delightlful. 7/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished A Christmas Duet by Amy Lamont
NOTE: No longer on Amazon.
Two short stories about romance around the Holidays.
Please Have Snow -- Lily wanted a home for Christmas, but she's stuck tending bars. Running into bad boy drummer Will was not a part of the plan, and Will has no home any way... It's where his next stop, or the band bus is. Can the two get together and be the home for each other?
Joyfully Yours: Faith ogled a priest at the market. When he showed up at the Thanksgiving dinner, she figured it's for her sins. But it turns out he's Episcopalian (i.e. not the celibate kind). But Faith thought her sister is more suited. So why does Preist Michael want to see her instead when she's always falling short?
First one didn't feel much Second one has more rom-com in it and more fun. It averaged out to be fair, unfortunately. 5/8
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Finished Bride in Trouble by Serenity Woods FREE
Phoebe woke up in a hospital after suffering a head injury. She found that she had lost the last EIGHT YEARS of her life. Among the things she forgot include the death of her father, becoming a vegetarian and a fitness freak, and opening "Bay of Islands Brides shop" with her mother and sisters. And she definitely did not remember her gorgeous fiancee Rafe, or that they were to marry in merely 10 days. Her family wanted her to postpone the wedding, but Rafe is determined to win her all over again... But can he make her remember enough in only ten days? What secrets were her family hiding from her?
Ah, the retrograde amnesia trope, but it's actually done really well, as the family chose to hide something from the period she forgot. But the more they hide, the worse she wanted to find out what it was... And the developements followed properly to a grand revelation. 7/8
NOTE: No longer on Amazon.
Two short stories about romance around the Holidays.
Please Have Snow -- Lily wanted a home for Christmas, but she's stuck tending bars. Running into bad boy drummer Will was not a part of the plan, and Will has no home any way... It's where his next stop, or the band bus is. Can the two get together and be the home for each other?
Joyfully Yours: Faith ogled a priest at the market. When he showed up at the Thanksgiving dinner, she figured it's for her sins. But it turns out he's Episcopalian (i.e. not the celibate kind). But Faith thought her sister is more suited. So why does Preist Michael want to see her instead when she's always falling short?
First one didn't feel much Second one has more rom-com in it and more fun. It averaged out to be fair, unfortunately. 5/8
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Finished Bride in Trouble by Serenity Woods FREE
Phoebe woke up in a hospital after suffering a head injury. She found that she had lost the last EIGHT YEARS of her life. Among the things she forgot include the death of her father, becoming a vegetarian and a fitness freak, and opening "Bay of Islands Brides shop" with her mother and sisters. And she definitely did not remember her gorgeous fiancee Rafe, or that they were to marry in merely 10 days. Her family wanted her to postpone the wedding, but Rafe is determined to win her all over again... But can he make her remember enough in only ten days? What secrets were her family hiding from her?
Ah, the retrograde amnesia trope, but it's actually done really well, as the family chose to hide something from the period she forgot. But the more they hide, the worse she wanted to find out what it was... And the developements followed properly to a grand revelation. 7/8
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Kiss the Bride by Rachael Johns FREE
Magdalena, a preacher's daughter, already suffered in reputation when she got pregnant as a teenager and left town, unable to bear the gossip behind her back. Fifteen years later, when she heard that her mother got sick, she moved back to Marietta, MT with her daughter. When the local celebrity couple got the local country singer to sing at their wedding, the singer wanted a local female to sing with her, and held an audition, and Mags' daughter goaded her into going, and she brought the house down. She's that good, and that made her a partner with local heartthrob Jake. // Jake had a good run in the country music business, but he had lost his muse. He moved to Marietta to slow down for a more normal life, and he never expected his singing partner Mags to both inspire him and made him fall in love. But Mags was nervous and frightened... but of what? And why is the town still gossiping about her behind her back?
For a 120 page short this is quite good. 6/8
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Finished Midnight in Legend, TN by Magdalena Scott FREE
Midnight (yes, that's her name) is starting over, away from the hustle and bustle, her cheating husband, from city life. When a two-story brick building in Legend TN caught her eye, she decided to move to the tiny town... and witnessed the struggle the locals are going through. Being a marketing manager, she has some ideas on how to fix that, but she can't fix her real estate agent, Martin McClain... // Martin McClain and his family had been in town for generations, and he wants to preserve the town. Midnight rattled him... She seems to want to change everything, and he can't be sure of her motivations... But together, they will make this special festival work, and perhaps, they can finally understand each other, for the town's sake if not their own...
Didn't feel much for this one. While the small town has the charms, the romance itself didn't quite flow right. Didn't feel the chemistry. 5/8
Magdalena, a preacher's daughter, already suffered in reputation when she got pregnant as a teenager and left town, unable to bear the gossip behind her back. Fifteen years later, when she heard that her mother got sick, she moved back to Marietta, MT with her daughter. When the local celebrity couple got the local country singer to sing at their wedding, the singer wanted a local female to sing with her, and held an audition, and Mags' daughter goaded her into going, and she brought the house down. She's that good, and that made her a partner with local heartthrob Jake. // Jake had a good run in the country music business, but he had lost his muse. He moved to Marietta to slow down for a more normal life, and he never expected his singing partner Mags to both inspire him and made him fall in love. But Mags was nervous and frightened... but of what? And why is the town still gossiping about her behind her back?
For a 120 page short this is quite good. 6/8
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Finished Midnight in Legend, TN by Magdalena Scott FREE
Midnight (yes, that's her name) is starting over, away from the hustle and bustle, her cheating husband, from city life. When a two-story brick building in Legend TN caught her eye, she decided to move to the tiny town... and witnessed the struggle the locals are going through. Being a marketing manager, she has some ideas on how to fix that, but she can't fix her real estate agent, Martin McClain... // Martin McClain and his family had been in town for generations, and he wants to preserve the town. Midnight rattled him... She seems to want to change everything, and he can't be sure of her motivations... But together, they will make this special festival work, and perhaps, they can finally understand each other, for the town's sake if not their own...
Didn't feel much for this one. While the small town has the charms, the romance itself didn't quite flow right. Didn't feel the chemistry. 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: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Justice Inked by Olivia Jaymes
Sheriff Dare Turner is known in town for his scowl and generally bad mood. Caring for a little sister who thinks she's old enough to know better doesn't help, neither does a body found outside the local tattoo shop, where Dare himself goes to have a tattoo done... but then, Dare is secretly fond of the tattoo artist, Rayne Dunn. Rayne is a rebel and a workaholic. She works too much to enjoy a date, esp. not with grouchy sheriff Dare. Dare thinks Rayne is too loud and mouthy, and Rayne thinks Dare has a stick up his butt. But when someone tossed Rayne's shop, with the body outside, things get really tense. When her purse was snatched AND her home was tossed too, it's clear that the bad guys are after something... Can Dare protect Rayne from whoever's after her? Or is she involved?
Pretty good romantic suspense setting up the enemies to lovers schtick. The tension escalated nicely. The resolution was trope, but competently executed. 6/8
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Finished Desire Me Dearly by Iris Morland
Kat moved back to Heron's Landing Missouri to take care of her ailing grandma with dementia and taught computer classes in the local school. She came to care about a girl named Emma, and her father, the gruff Gavin. It was clear Emma has an anxiety disorder, something Kat recognized as she suffered from it too, but Gavin refused to talk about it. In the meanwhile, Kat was fending off advances from another teacher, while receiving horrible misogynistic comments about a computer game she published online. When a dead goose with head chopped off was left on her door, things got really personal indeed, and she went to Gavin for help... // Gavin blamed himself for his wife's mental illness, and daughter Emma's condition (Emma found mommy lying on bathroom floor, overdosed on sleeping pills) many years ago. There is no way he deserves someone like Kat, but they'll work together to protect Emma. The threats against Kat made his blood boil, and he offered his home as sanctuary, but whoever's threatening Kat is not done... and they may be collateral damage...
While the dance between the two characters was done quite nicely, the external threat was totally trope, and indeed, as soon as he was mentioned I knew he's the perp. And the ending was trope as well. It was WAY too Hollywood (bad guy arrested, hero was shot in the big fight, faints after making sure heroine's safe, wakes up in hospital). 5/8 (average)
Sheriff Dare Turner is known in town for his scowl and generally bad mood. Caring for a little sister who thinks she's old enough to know better doesn't help, neither does a body found outside the local tattoo shop, where Dare himself goes to have a tattoo done... but then, Dare is secretly fond of the tattoo artist, Rayne Dunn. Rayne is a rebel and a workaholic. She works too much to enjoy a date, esp. not with grouchy sheriff Dare. Dare thinks Rayne is too loud and mouthy, and Rayne thinks Dare has a stick up his butt. But when someone tossed Rayne's shop, with the body outside, things get really tense. When her purse was snatched AND her home was tossed too, it's clear that the bad guys are after something... Can Dare protect Rayne from whoever's after her? Or is she involved?
Pretty good romantic suspense setting up the enemies to lovers schtick. The tension escalated nicely. The resolution was trope, but competently executed. 6/8
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Finished Desire Me Dearly by Iris Morland
Kat moved back to Heron's Landing Missouri to take care of her ailing grandma with dementia and taught computer classes in the local school. She came to care about a girl named Emma, and her father, the gruff Gavin. It was clear Emma has an anxiety disorder, something Kat recognized as she suffered from it too, but Gavin refused to talk about it. In the meanwhile, Kat was fending off advances from another teacher, while receiving horrible misogynistic comments about a computer game she published online. When a dead goose with head chopped off was left on her door, things got really personal indeed, and she went to Gavin for help... // Gavin blamed himself for his wife's mental illness, and daughter Emma's condition (Emma found mommy lying on bathroom floor, overdosed on sleeping pills) many years ago. There is no way he deserves someone like Kat, but they'll work together to protect Emma. The threats against Kat made his blood boil, and he offered his home as sanctuary, but whoever's threatening Kat is not done... and they may be collateral damage...
While the dance between the two characters was done quite nicely, the external threat was totally trope, and indeed, as soon as he was mentioned I knew he's the perp. And the ending was trope as well. It was WAY too Hollywood (bad guy arrested, hero was shot in the big fight, faints after making sure heroine's safe, wakes up in hospital). 5/8 (average)
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: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished The Handbook by H P Mallory
Nikki was having a bad time in school when her long-time boyfriend finally called it quits. Finding a notebook in the library labelled "The Femme Fatale Handbook" however, had her revive her hopes of becoming the ultimate seductress... and the yummy professor Derek, rumored to be in trouble for sleeping with a student, is definitely worth seducing... // Derek doesn't have to teach, and he doesn't do students, just his T/A, once during break. But Derek never got along with the dean so it's just one excuse. Nikki is sharp and feisty, but she's just an undergrad. And she turned me down... That just got me more interested...
Not bad, the "femme fatale" book is fictional, but quite realistic in its "self-help" advice. The sharp wit in debating virtues of women in literature is a lot of fun, and funny when the the girls go out and practice their seduction techniques. The book does end on an HEA, but not quite the way you think. 6/8
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Finished Beauty and the Geek by Sidney Bistol
Professor Steven "Steve" Kipper is used to the stares... He has a birthmark covering most of his face, which made his dating life... non-existent. Which both pushed him to excel in robotics, and became more of a loner. Until he found her in a chatroom. She's like the perfect fit for him. She gets his humor, his tech, and they even have cybersex, but they never exchanged names, and they've never seen each other's faces. How can he convince her to take this relationship offline to RL (real life)? // Tamara works in the geek and gaming industry, where there are plenty of misogynistic a-holes. When a co-star on a Youtube show pitched a fit because she won't put out, she was let go, and her only solace, besides her besties, is her cyber-lover. But when the cyberlover pitched his "let's meet in real life" to the wrong woman in her group, she had to leave her comfort zone and meet him face-to-face in order to salvage her friendship... and see if her feelings to this man is real... or just something virtual.
Not bad, the gaming culture is presented properly, no obvious holes in the narrative vs. reality. The a-hole is just that, but this girl can take care of herself. And the geek... nice touches. It's a little like beauty-and-the-beast. The lead up to darkest hour and grand gesture seems a bit off though. 6/8
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Finished Persuading Him by Michelle Dare FREE
Kasi is an heiress to the Markson Aviation fortune, but hates publicity when her parents divorced. She spends money on projects worthwhile to her, like a local animal shelter. When her father summoned her, and her regular pilot is not available, they found a local on-call pilot, Radek. And Radek is a gorgeous guy that made Kasi horny. Kasi propositioned Radek, but he turned her down... which never happened. Turns out, he had a public past too...
1/3rd of a book, it ends on a cliffhanger. The story barely makes sense. She just lives in a mansion in the Northeast alone, spending money but NOT in her father's company, and secuding men when she wants to. Sounds like a 30-year old spoiled brat to me. Jerking off to the hot pilot in her cabin onboard her private jet in the opening chapters is pretty lame. The subsequent chapters got a little better, but not that much. 2.5/8
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Finished Hard Luck by Vivien Vale NO LONGER ON AMAZON
Sierra used to be an heiress, and her brother's a senator. But when the family's fortune went down the drain, and her father's now in assisted living, Sierra is forced to do one thing she thought she'd never do... Escorting. It's supposed to be a high-end one, but it's still whoring, and wearing a wig. But in the hotel, she found the one man that broke her heart, Leo, is the hotel magnate that owned this hotel, and more. He was dirt poor back then and her brother forbade him to be back. Now he's rich and he wants her back. But he's changed. He's an alpha dom now, and he'll break her. And he knows exactly what she's doing there. So he has the perfect solution... He'll buy her time for a WHOLE MONTH, even as a blackmailer threaten to call in the cops on the business...
The plot sort of make sense, but by the end it collapsed into a mess. 2/8
Nikki was having a bad time in school when her long-time boyfriend finally called it quits. Finding a notebook in the library labelled "The Femme Fatale Handbook" however, had her revive her hopes of becoming the ultimate seductress... and the yummy professor Derek, rumored to be in trouble for sleeping with a student, is definitely worth seducing... // Derek doesn't have to teach, and he doesn't do students, just his T/A, once during break. But Derek never got along with the dean so it's just one excuse. Nikki is sharp and feisty, but she's just an undergrad. And she turned me down... That just got me more interested...
Not bad, the "femme fatale" book is fictional, but quite realistic in its "self-help" advice. The sharp wit in debating virtues of women in literature is a lot of fun, and funny when the the girls go out and practice their seduction techniques. The book does end on an HEA, but not quite the way you think. 6/8
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Finished Beauty and the Geek by Sidney Bistol
Professor Steven "Steve" Kipper is used to the stares... He has a birthmark covering most of his face, which made his dating life... non-existent. Which both pushed him to excel in robotics, and became more of a loner. Until he found her in a chatroom. She's like the perfect fit for him. She gets his humor, his tech, and they even have cybersex, but they never exchanged names, and they've never seen each other's faces. How can he convince her to take this relationship offline to RL (real life)? // Tamara works in the geek and gaming industry, where there are plenty of misogynistic a-holes. When a co-star on a Youtube show pitched a fit because she won't put out, she was let go, and her only solace, besides her besties, is her cyber-lover. But when the cyberlover pitched his "let's meet in real life" to the wrong woman in her group, she had to leave her comfort zone and meet him face-to-face in order to salvage her friendship... and see if her feelings to this man is real... or just something virtual.
Not bad, the gaming culture is presented properly, no obvious holes in the narrative vs. reality. The a-hole is just that, but this girl can take care of herself. And the geek... nice touches. It's a little like beauty-and-the-beast. The lead up to darkest hour and grand gesture seems a bit off though. 6/8
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Finished Persuading Him by Michelle Dare FREE
Kasi is an heiress to the Markson Aviation fortune, but hates publicity when her parents divorced. She spends money on projects worthwhile to her, like a local animal shelter. When her father summoned her, and her regular pilot is not available, they found a local on-call pilot, Radek. And Radek is a gorgeous guy that made Kasi horny. Kasi propositioned Radek, but he turned her down... which never happened. Turns out, he had a public past too...
1/3rd of a book, it ends on a cliffhanger. The story barely makes sense. She just lives in a mansion in the Northeast alone, spending money but NOT in her father's company, and secuding men when she wants to. Sounds like a 30-year old spoiled brat to me. Jerking off to the hot pilot in her cabin onboard her private jet in the opening chapters is pretty lame. The subsequent chapters got a little better, but not that much. 2.5/8
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Finished Hard Luck by Vivien Vale NO LONGER ON AMAZON
Sierra used to be an heiress, and her brother's a senator. But when the family's fortune went down the drain, and her father's now in assisted living, Sierra is forced to do one thing she thought she'd never do... Escorting. It's supposed to be a high-end one, but it's still whoring, and wearing a wig. But in the hotel, she found the one man that broke her heart, Leo, is the hotel magnate that owned this hotel, and more. He was dirt poor back then and her brother forbade him to be back. Now he's rich and he wants her back. But he's changed. He's an alpha dom now, and he'll break her. And he knows exactly what she's doing there. So he has the perfect solution... He'll buy her time for a WHOLE MONTH, even as a blackmailer threaten to call in the cops on the business...
The plot sort of make sense, but by the end it collapsed into a mess. 2/8
Spoiler:
Last edited by Kasey Chang on Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Accidental Bride and Groom by Iris Abbot
Emma's best friend Lynn is getting married, and Emma's the maid of honor, and is heading down to their Lynn's family ranch to handle the last minute details. But things are not quite going well when Emma found Lynn and her fiancee Bruce flying off to Mexico as part of a search and rescue after a devastating earthquake. They will be back before the wedding, promise. Then Emma found Lynn's older brother, Landon, the boy she had a crush on, will be the guy on the ranch. Emma's heart is steel after her mother drove her away instead of standing up to her abusive husband. And Landon found Emma is almost irresistible. Then the well-planned wedding started to turn into a nightmare. First flowers had to be changed. Then the wedding gown disappeared. Emma and Landon ended up spending more and more time together, trying to salvage the wedding. But can they fall for each other, even when it seems that they will end up being the bride and groom?
Nice escalation of problems, from bad to worse to horrendous. Everything that can go wrong with this wedding did. Flowers went unavailable. Caterer had a fire. Gown went missing altogether. And bride and groom seems to be stuck in Mexico... Add some family emergencies, nosy family (with best intentions) and it's a fun ride to "maybe we should get married instead". 6.5/8
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Finished The Alaskan by Michele Bradley
Abigail is on a manhunt, looking for "Kurt Halden", a financial genius who simply dropped out of sight after embroiled in a scandal and accused of stealing from his company. Abigail heard he may be hiding out in the remote wilderness in Alaska and hired the only bush pilot around, Cappy, who is crazy enough to fly her out there. Things went really bad when Cappy's heart finally gave out during the flight, and the plane controlled landed in the forest near Kurt's cabin, and Abby was knocked out. Abby woke up in Kurt's cabin, having forgotten why she needed to be there, just that she needed to tell Kurt something... // Kurt's heart was broken when his fiancee Kate drove away after a big fight, then came the news that she crashed and died. Then he was accused of stealing two BILLION dollars from his company when he didn't. In a total meltdown, he simply disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness and lived with his three dogs in an old cabin he bought. It has been four years, but reporters are the enemy who bled him dry. Now an almost-reporter showed up on his door, looking for him... he doesn't buy the amnesia gig at all, but he can't deny Abigail is attractive. Why now? What was Abigail hiding?
Good twist or two after they decided they aren't really enemies. The darkest hour was slightly cliche, that she had to leave. The grand gesture was actually not bad, if a slight bit dramatic, but effective. It works. 7/8
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Finished Nora Roberts Land by Ava Miles FREE
Meredith Hale's dick ex-husband Richard (aka "Rick-the-dick") blamed her "addiction" to Nora Roberts' romance novels for their breakup, giving her "unrealistic expectations" about marriage. But Richard just wanted to take advantage of the Hale family name as grandpa Hale is a VERY famous journalist. When her family asked for a little help to run their world famous independent news in Dare Valley, Colorado, she decided a change of scenery is called for. She even has a plan: write an article about a divorcee finding true love in her hometown, proving that romance novels can come true... // War correspondent Tanner McBride is burned out, and working back on US soil, where he didn't have to worry about trust the wrong person in a warzone or watch aftermaths of atrocities would be good. He did not expect to be blackmailed by his boss into seducing his ex-wife and break her heart. The boss believes his ex-wife's upcoming article may air dirty laundry about him, and he is leaving NOTHING to chance... He'll destroy that article any way he can, and he's got leverage on Tanner's brother for make him comply. // When Meredith and Tanner meet, their chemistry is undeniable. And Meredith found herself falling for a journalist, something she swore she'd never do again. But as suspicious death in town got both of their attention, their feelings unraveled their resolve to stay apart... but even as they drew closer, what they discovered was someone inside law enforcement is involved in smuggling drugs... and there may be no one to trust...
The title is sort of a joke, about "escaping to Nora Roberts Land" (i.e. go read a romance novel) and this is used with the author's blessing. I find the schtick amusing. Though I have a hard time getting my head around the "I'll hire a guy to seduce my wife and break her heart so she can't write that article which will protect my secrets" idea. Where does this guy come up with this absurd gambit? Once you get past that, the book is actually quite good. Other than this "WTF" premise the rest of the book is excellent. 6/8
Emma's best friend Lynn is getting married, and Emma's the maid of honor, and is heading down to their Lynn's family ranch to handle the last minute details. But things are not quite going well when Emma found Lynn and her fiancee Bruce flying off to Mexico as part of a search and rescue after a devastating earthquake. They will be back before the wedding, promise. Then Emma found Lynn's older brother, Landon, the boy she had a crush on, will be the guy on the ranch. Emma's heart is steel after her mother drove her away instead of standing up to her abusive husband. And Landon found Emma is almost irresistible. Then the well-planned wedding started to turn into a nightmare. First flowers had to be changed. Then the wedding gown disappeared. Emma and Landon ended up spending more and more time together, trying to salvage the wedding. But can they fall for each other, even when it seems that they will end up being the bride and groom?
Nice escalation of problems, from bad to worse to horrendous. Everything that can go wrong with this wedding did. Flowers went unavailable. Caterer had a fire. Gown went missing altogether. And bride and groom seems to be stuck in Mexico... Add some family emergencies, nosy family (with best intentions) and it's a fun ride to "maybe we should get married instead". 6.5/8
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Finished The Alaskan by Michele Bradley
Abigail is on a manhunt, looking for "Kurt Halden", a financial genius who simply dropped out of sight after embroiled in a scandal and accused of stealing from his company. Abigail heard he may be hiding out in the remote wilderness in Alaska and hired the only bush pilot around, Cappy, who is crazy enough to fly her out there. Things went really bad when Cappy's heart finally gave out during the flight, and the plane controlled landed in the forest near Kurt's cabin, and Abby was knocked out. Abby woke up in Kurt's cabin, having forgotten why she needed to be there, just that she needed to tell Kurt something... // Kurt's heart was broken when his fiancee Kate drove away after a big fight, then came the news that she crashed and died. Then he was accused of stealing two BILLION dollars from his company when he didn't. In a total meltdown, he simply disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness and lived with his three dogs in an old cabin he bought. It has been four years, but reporters are the enemy who bled him dry. Now an almost-reporter showed up on his door, looking for him... he doesn't buy the amnesia gig at all, but he can't deny Abigail is attractive. Why now? What was Abigail hiding?
Good twist or two after they decided they aren't really enemies. The darkest hour was slightly cliche, that she had to leave. The grand gesture was actually not bad, if a slight bit dramatic, but effective. It works. 7/8
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Finished Nora Roberts Land by Ava Miles FREE
Meredith Hale's dick ex-husband Richard (aka "Rick-the-dick") blamed her "addiction" to Nora Roberts' romance novels for their breakup, giving her "unrealistic expectations" about marriage. But Richard just wanted to take advantage of the Hale family name as grandpa Hale is a VERY famous journalist. When her family asked for a little help to run their world famous independent news in Dare Valley, Colorado, she decided a change of scenery is called for. She even has a plan: write an article about a divorcee finding true love in her hometown, proving that romance novels can come true... // War correspondent Tanner McBride is burned out, and working back on US soil, where he didn't have to worry about trust the wrong person in a warzone or watch aftermaths of atrocities would be good. He did not expect to be blackmailed by his boss into seducing his ex-wife and break her heart. The boss believes his ex-wife's upcoming article may air dirty laundry about him, and he is leaving NOTHING to chance... He'll destroy that article any way he can, and he's got leverage on Tanner's brother for make him comply. // When Meredith and Tanner meet, their chemistry is undeniable. And Meredith found herself falling for a journalist, something she swore she'd never do again. But as suspicious death in town got both of their attention, their feelings unraveled their resolve to stay apart... but even as they drew closer, what they discovered was someone inside law enforcement is involved in smuggling drugs... and there may be no one to trust...
The title is sort of a joke, about "escaping to Nora Roberts Land" (i.e. go read a romance novel) and this is used with the author's blessing. I find the schtick amusing. Though I have a hard time getting my head around the "I'll hire a guy to seduce my wife and break her heart so she can't write that article which will protect my secrets" idea. Where does this guy come up with this absurd gambit? Once you get past that, the book is actually quite good. Other than this "WTF" premise the rest of the book is excellent. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished The Littlest Cowboy by Maggie Shayne
Sheriff Garrett Brand managed to raise his brothers and sisters after their parents died, and all of them turned out to be respectable citizens. Garrett is an honorable man, and when he found a baby left on his front porch, his first reaction is anger... WHICH of the his no-good brothers (and there are FOUR of them) was the father? It was to his shock to find out that the baby was named after him, when he hadn't been with a woman in like... forever! But it's the Memorial Day weekend, and nothing can be done until Monday. Then a disheveled but spitting angry woman showed up in the middle of the night, demanded his name, punched him in the face, and accused him of killing her sister and stealing the baby?!?!?! // Chelsea was already confused and shocked after losing her sister and found her little nephew is missing. The only clue seems to be the name and address... and it had to be the no-good cowboy her sister left with... right? But the more she stayed with the Brands family, the more confused she got. The Brands are good people, and Garrett couldn't hurt a fly... What's worse, whoever killed her sister is after the baby... and her. But the bad guys don't understand they are up against the Brands, a family that knows how to pull together in the times of need... and trouble.
Okay, there really is a too-stupid-to-live moment. And it's a HUGE one. The rest is Hollywood ending. And it's quite good.
6/8. That TSTL moment is *almost* believable, but not quite. At least, she *thought* it made sense at the time to her.
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Finished Short Order Sheriff by Kirsten Osbourne
Kelsi Weston, youngest of the Weston siblings, cant' seem to keep a proper chef, or heck, cook in the family cafe. The latest one just ran off with a boyfriend. Then her long-time BF decided he will move to California and work as a pop-corn vendor at Disneyland and hope to be discovered. WTF?! But she'll handle it... she'll help in the kitchen, AND get her twin to cover the kitchen when she had to be out front... // Sheriff Shane Clapper wanted Kelsi for years, but he's not a guy who go after committed woman. When he got news that Kelsi's BF is leaving town, he moved in quickly... by taking an early lunch. He's there every day anyway... But Kelsi's mother wants Kelsi to marry Kelsi's old classmate Bobby, now just "Bob", who will also be the new cook at the cafe. When Kelsi's mom won't take no for an answer, Shane came up with a plan to save Kelsi... Get married before Bob shows up...
Awww... sweet, funny, and clean. Nice setup. it's a bit short (150 pages plus previews and whatnot) and it's satisfying. 6/8
Sheriff Garrett Brand managed to raise his brothers and sisters after their parents died, and all of them turned out to be respectable citizens. Garrett is an honorable man, and when he found a baby left on his front porch, his first reaction is anger... WHICH of the his no-good brothers (and there are FOUR of them) was the father? It was to his shock to find out that the baby was named after him, when he hadn't been with a woman in like... forever! But it's the Memorial Day weekend, and nothing can be done until Monday. Then a disheveled but spitting angry woman showed up in the middle of the night, demanded his name, punched him in the face, and accused him of killing her sister and stealing the baby?!?!?! // Chelsea was already confused and shocked after losing her sister and found her little nephew is missing. The only clue seems to be the name and address... and it had to be the no-good cowboy her sister left with... right? But the more she stayed with the Brands family, the more confused she got. The Brands are good people, and Garrett couldn't hurt a fly... What's worse, whoever killed her sister is after the baby... and her. But the bad guys don't understand they are up against the Brands, a family that knows how to pull together in the times of need... and trouble.
Okay, there really is a too-stupid-to-live moment. And it's a HUGE one. The rest is Hollywood ending. And it's quite good.
Spoiler:
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Finished Short Order Sheriff by Kirsten Osbourne
Kelsi Weston, youngest of the Weston siblings, cant' seem to keep a proper chef, or heck, cook in the family cafe. The latest one just ran off with a boyfriend. Then her long-time BF decided he will move to California and work as a pop-corn vendor at Disneyland and hope to be discovered. WTF?! But she'll handle it... she'll help in the kitchen, AND get her twin to cover the kitchen when she had to be out front... // Sheriff Shane Clapper wanted Kelsi for years, but he's not a guy who go after committed woman. When he got news that Kelsi's BF is leaving town, he moved in quickly... by taking an early lunch. He's there every day anyway... But Kelsi's mother wants Kelsi to marry Kelsi's old classmate Bobby, now just "Bob", who will also be the new cook at the cafe. When Kelsi's mom won't take no for an answer, Shane came up with a plan to save Kelsi... Get married before Bob shows up...
Awww... sweet, funny, and clean. Nice setup. it's a bit short (150 pages plus previews and whatnot) and it's satisfying. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Billionaire's Bet: A Seductive Deal by Clarissa Wild
Julie Valentine needs a muse to write her steamy novels, and breaking up with her loser BF didn't help. Going to a casino didn't help either, but did get her to know billionaire Dominic Fury. And he's dreamily handsome. But when he put up 15000 for one night with her... the catch is there may be some pain involved... And she needed the money... She decided to take it, just to see where it leads...
For this 40 page short, this is basically first chapters of a whole novel, and the failure to understand BDSM is quite apparently. This reads like someone wants to emulate Fifty Shades, and only managed to emulate the words, with no understanding of what's BDSM. All you get from the novel is she's so turned on she'll let him do anything, and you have NO IDEA what made him that way. The names are practically screaming "lame archetypes". 2/8
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Finished Hard Crush by Mira Lyn kelly
Hank is a genius geek that left his town and his love behind, when Abby can't/won't leave. Ten years later, Hank is back in town, and Abby is still there, teaching in the school where they met for the first time. But Hank is now running a science and tech firm and he needs to be overseeing projects in person which means globetrotting more often than not... and Abby... still can't/won't leave town. And Abby doesn't want to hold Hank back then or now. But Hank is not ready to give up Abby again...
Feels a lot shorter than the 267 pages, there's quite a bit of back and forth, as they kinda got back into it, then they had to discuss the elephant in the room (i.e. he's leaving) and no, she can't / won't go with him. You can guess at the solution. It's sweet, but not much else. 6/8
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Finished No Regrets by Liliana Rhodes FREE
Deborah is a BBW with an eye on fashion, that she designed and made most of her wardrobe because nothing on the market really fits. She got a tip from a mentor to apply at a department store in the men's department with a chance to compete for a spot in Fashion Week in Paris, and she got the job. Determined to live life with no regrets, she let herself flirt with a tall, dark, and handsome stranger. // William King is a sexy billionaire with charm to spare, but due to scars from prior relationships, he's not forming new ones, but Deborah charmed him, and he wanted to know her better. But what he can't do is tell her he's actually her boss... technically speaking. He owns the department store chain. But when she won the local competition and he's going to fly her to Paris, that secret can't be kept any more...
Initially charming, the darkest hour and the rest is trope as heck. Basically, she had a TOTAL overreaction (OMG I didn't win by my own merits, everyone will assume I slept with the boss) had a meltdown, and finally got some sense talked into her, but he, hurt, flew back to US by himself, leaving her the grand gesture to reconcile. Kinda meh. 4/8
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Finished Lianne by Mona Ingram FREE
Lianne lost her husband on the shores of Cornwall coast of England. He was an environmental scientist in tune with the land, but a survey done in a storm on the coast caused him to be swept away. It took Lianne years for the courage to visit the place, and even liked a local man and his dog. But when she confessed her attraction to him, he confessed he was there that night... He was her husband's driver, and he felt guilty he wasn't able to save him... Then he disappeared. Did her confession drive him away? Can she ever love again?
Second chance love with a twist... about losses that can't seem to hurt or heal, but perhaps a new love can help. This one had some nasty neighbors interfering. It's a delightful tale of darkest hour and grand gestures. 6.5/8
Julie Valentine needs a muse to write her steamy novels, and breaking up with her loser BF didn't help. Going to a casino didn't help either, but did get her to know billionaire Dominic Fury. And he's dreamily handsome. But when he put up 15000 for one night with her... the catch is there may be some pain involved... And she needed the money... She decided to take it, just to see where it leads...
For this 40 page short, this is basically first chapters of a whole novel, and the failure to understand BDSM is quite apparently. This reads like someone wants to emulate Fifty Shades, and only managed to emulate the words, with no understanding of what's BDSM. All you get from the novel is she's so turned on she'll let him do anything, and you have NO IDEA what made him that way. The names are practically screaming "lame archetypes". 2/8
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Finished Hard Crush by Mira Lyn kelly
Hank is a genius geek that left his town and his love behind, when Abby can't/won't leave. Ten years later, Hank is back in town, and Abby is still there, teaching in the school where they met for the first time. But Hank is now running a science and tech firm and he needs to be overseeing projects in person which means globetrotting more often than not... and Abby... still can't/won't leave town. And Abby doesn't want to hold Hank back then or now. But Hank is not ready to give up Abby again...
Feels a lot shorter than the 267 pages, there's quite a bit of back and forth, as they kinda got back into it, then they had to discuss the elephant in the room (i.e. he's leaving) and no, she can't / won't go with him. You can guess at the solution. It's sweet, but not much else. 6/8
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Finished No Regrets by Liliana Rhodes FREE
Deborah is a BBW with an eye on fashion, that she designed and made most of her wardrobe because nothing on the market really fits. She got a tip from a mentor to apply at a department store in the men's department with a chance to compete for a spot in Fashion Week in Paris, and she got the job. Determined to live life with no regrets, she let herself flirt with a tall, dark, and handsome stranger. // William King is a sexy billionaire with charm to spare, but due to scars from prior relationships, he's not forming new ones, but Deborah charmed him, and he wanted to know her better. But what he can't do is tell her he's actually her boss... technically speaking. He owns the department store chain. But when she won the local competition and he's going to fly her to Paris, that secret can't be kept any more...
Initially charming, the darkest hour and the rest is trope as heck. Basically, she had a TOTAL overreaction (OMG I didn't win by my own merits, everyone will assume I slept with the boss) had a meltdown, and finally got some sense talked into her, but he, hurt, flew back to US by himself, leaving her the grand gesture to reconcile. Kinda meh. 4/8
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Finished Lianne by Mona Ingram FREE
Lianne lost her husband on the shores of Cornwall coast of England. He was an environmental scientist in tune with the land, but a survey done in a storm on the coast caused him to be swept away. It took Lianne years for the courage to visit the place, and even liked a local man and his dog. But when she confessed her attraction to him, he confessed he was there that night... He was her husband's driver, and he felt guilty he wasn't able to save him... Then he disappeared. Did her confession drive him away? Can she ever love again?
Second chance love with a twist... about losses that can't seem to hurt or heal, but perhaps a new love can help. This one had some nasty neighbors interfering. It's a delightful tale of darkest hour and grand gestures. 6.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Sold on a Spring Break by Juliana Conners
Mallory and her bestie Tanya are going off to a resort on Spring Break, but they lied and said they're going to Tanya's mom's summer camp. Mallory's father is a conservative politician that drove her mother into a mental institution with all the hell and damnation stuff. This is the only way they can have any time to themselves. But Tanya didn't exactly say the truth... Tanya actually went to the resort to sell herself to the highest bidder for a week hoping to raise money to save the camp. Mallory was angry, but she can't fault her friend. While angry, she decided to take a swim, but was caught by a riptide. She was saved by the hotel owner Bryant, out for a jog. When Tanya came down with a bad case of food poisoning, Mallory volunteered to take her place. The camp had to be saved. And Byrant is obsessed after rescuing her. When he found she's on the auction block, he'll do anything to have her... including spending a MILLION bucks... Because he plays a bit rougher than most... But this is just temporary...
The plot just screams "infantile infatuation". Hotel CHAIN owner (billionaire?) who called the auction "meat market", but can afford to pay a MILLION as chump change, just to make sure nobody else can have her, just because he rescued her from riptide and got to see her naked (somehow swimming in a riptide ripped off both her bikini top and bottom). The crazy evangelist/politician father is a caricature, and a crazy cultist who LOCKS his two daughters in their rooms at night, even though the older one is nineteen. The ending is trope as heck.
Sorry, this is just CRAZY. 3/8
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Finished His Demands (1/3) by Ali Parker FREE
Bethany is running out of money to finish school. Her mom is barely getting by. So why wouldn't mom marry her BF Kent, who's a billionaire owner of a huge accounting firm? With a little prompting, mom agrees, and wedding is moved up. Kent is happy to pay for Bethany's school... if she'll intern at his company for a year. But nothing wrong with that... Except Kent's son Damon is the CFO there too, and Bethany found herself falling for the hot but aloof boss... Esp. when Damon wanted to avoid the other way-too-interested female interns by faking a relationship with Bethany (no one knew they are soon to be step-siblings). However, the bitchy intern can't get to the CFO, but they can pick on the newest intern...
There's a wee bit of a cliffhanger as this book is merely part 1 of 3 (this used to be six books, but they've been combined into 3 books). The adventures of Bethany are actually quite decent, as it's a good twist on falling for the boss AND step-sibling at the same time. 6/8
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Finished Strangers like Us by Mary Campisi
Elizabeth lost her parents months ago. She's barely recovered, then her uncle told her about a something REALLY bad that her father had done years ago... He destroyed a town and the leading family there, the Donovans, by using an assumed name and tricked the town into giving him a lot of money so he can bring a factory to town. And he just left with the money. The senior Donovan eventually walked off a cliff while drunk, and his son Rogan went back to help put things right. Elizabeth wanted to put things right, by helping Rogan really put that factory in now. She knew if she told Rogan who she really is (daughter of the town swindler) Rogan would never accept her. So she's going in undercover as an artist. She just never expected to fall in love with Rogan... can she ever tell him the truth? What would happen when he found out?
Wow, this is like a soap opera. There's a reason why Elizabeth's father went after the town (and the Donovans), but it wasn't revealed until MUCH late, almost near the end at the darkest hour. Apparently the rival family in town, the Alexanders, had a hand in the swindle as well. There were a LOT of betrayals, secrets, sins of the fathers, and all that. There will be at least four volumes. Not all the mystery will be revealed just yet.
With that said, the relationship basically requires a change of heart. He turned her away in the darkest hour, and took him a FEW WEEKS to realize he's overreacting. So he changed his mind and went after her to say sorry. That's it. They got married. The end. Call it 6/8
Mallory and her bestie Tanya are going off to a resort on Spring Break, but they lied and said they're going to Tanya's mom's summer camp. Mallory's father is a conservative politician that drove her mother into a mental institution with all the hell and damnation stuff. This is the only way they can have any time to themselves. But Tanya didn't exactly say the truth... Tanya actually went to the resort to sell herself to the highest bidder for a week hoping to raise money to save the camp. Mallory was angry, but she can't fault her friend. While angry, she decided to take a swim, but was caught by a riptide. She was saved by the hotel owner Bryant, out for a jog. When Tanya came down with a bad case of food poisoning, Mallory volunteered to take her place. The camp had to be saved. And Byrant is obsessed after rescuing her. When he found she's on the auction block, he'll do anything to have her... including spending a MILLION bucks... Because he plays a bit rougher than most... But this is just temporary...
The plot just screams "infantile infatuation". Hotel CHAIN owner (billionaire?) who called the auction "meat market", but can afford to pay a MILLION as chump change, just to make sure nobody else can have her, just because he rescued her from riptide and got to see her naked (somehow swimming in a riptide ripped off both her bikini top and bottom). The crazy evangelist/politician father is a caricature, and a crazy cultist who LOCKS his two daughters in their rooms at night, even though the older one is nineteen. The ending is trope as heck.
Spoiler:
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Finished His Demands (1/3) by Ali Parker FREE
Bethany is running out of money to finish school. Her mom is barely getting by. So why wouldn't mom marry her BF Kent, who's a billionaire owner of a huge accounting firm? With a little prompting, mom agrees, and wedding is moved up. Kent is happy to pay for Bethany's school... if she'll intern at his company for a year. But nothing wrong with that... Except Kent's son Damon is the CFO there too, and Bethany found herself falling for the hot but aloof boss... Esp. when Damon wanted to avoid the other way-too-interested female interns by faking a relationship with Bethany (no one knew they are soon to be step-siblings). However, the bitchy intern can't get to the CFO, but they can pick on the newest intern...
There's a wee bit of a cliffhanger as this book is merely part 1 of 3 (this used to be six books, but they've been combined into 3 books). The adventures of Bethany are actually quite decent, as it's a good twist on falling for the boss AND step-sibling at the same time. 6/8
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Finished Strangers like Us by Mary Campisi
Elizabeth lost her parents months ago. She's barely recovered, then her uncle told her about a something REALLY bad that her father had done years ago... He destroyed a town and the leading family there, the Donovans, by using an assumed name and tricked the town into giving him a lot of money so he can bring a factory to town. And he just left with the money. The senior Donovan eventually walked off a cliff while drunk, and his son Rogan went back to help put things right. Elizabeth wanted to put things right, by helping Rogan really put that factory in now. She knew if she told Rogan who she really is (daughter of the town swindler) Rogan would never accept her. So she's going in undercover as an artist. She just never expected to fall in love with Rogan... can she ever tell him the truth? What would happen when he found out?
Wow, this is like a soap opera. There's a reason why Elizabeth's father went after the town (and the Donovans), but it wasn't revealed until MUCH late, almost near the end at the darkest hour. Apparently the rival family in town, the Alexanders, had a hand in the swindle as well. There were a LOT of betrayals, secrets, sins of the fathers, and all that. There will be at least four volumes. Not all the mystery will be revealed just yet.
With that said, the relationship basically requires a change of heart. He turned her away in the darkest hour, and took him a FEW WEEKS to realize he's overreacting. So he changed his mind and went after her to say sorry. That's it. They got married. The end. Call it 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Hugh's Chase by Rhonda Lee Carver
Adira is a filmmaker in town interviewing people. When a local smarmy businessman propositioned her the wrong way (by feeling her up), she punched him in the jaw when he won't let go. And a local judge ordered her to serve 30 days community service... leaving her in care of the local sexy sheriff Hugh Jericho. Hugh is way too busy with his job keep the peace in town. He's feeling the loneliness, but he really has no time to find a girlfriend, much less marry one. Adira is tempting, but she's clearly running from her past... and the Jerichos are definitely protective alpha males... But Adira won't be staying in a little town of Colton, even as the town is rocked by a near-death and now, what may even be a murder... and Adira is at risk...
Nice sweet if a bit short and scorching hot in no time at all. The solution to handcuff them together ("forced proximity") is pretty ingenious, the murder mystery that went to darkest hour later was a bit cliche and not written that well though. It seems the author forgot about shotgun's shot patterns. When two people shoot at each other with shotguns, one gets wounded in the stomach and the other in the shoulder? It'd have to be really lousy shots. Shotgun is not something you "aim" per se. At 15-20 yards (sheriff was yelling at the suspect on the porch, and sheriff was using a loudspeaker in his patrol car) why is he using shotgun? Hmmm? Tsk, tsk. 5.5/8
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Finished Veterinarian's Vacation by Pamela Kelley FREE
Jess is about to graduate from vet school when Jake, her cousin Wade's best friend, is back in tow for a 2 week vacation, and Wade put him in the cottage next to hers. Jess had a crush on Jake way back when, and Jake had refused to kiss her (but she's 13 at the time). She's grown up, and he's more attractive than ever. Then he dropped the bombshell... He's buying the old vet's place, so he's now technically her boss as she's interning there. And that's ANOTHER reason not to have unrequited love on her boss... // Jake came back to town to put down roots, even though he can't stand the snobby step-mom (he likes his dad just fine). Jess is all grown up now, and he can't take advantage of her... But what if she wants to?
Small town + hot for boss romance with a bit of fling to a thing and unrequited love way way back when. Still, this is more like infatuation and requires little more than "change of heart" to resolve. 5/8
Adira is a filmmaker in town interviewing people. When a local smarmy businessman propositioned her the wrong way (by feeling her up), she punched him in the jaw when he won't let go. And a local judge ordered her to serve 30 days community service... leaving her in care of the local sexy sheriff Hugh Jericho. Hugh is way too busy with his job keep the peace in town. He's feeling the loneliness, but he really has no time to find a girlfriend, much less marry one. Adira is tempting, but she's clearly running from her past... and the Jerichos are definitely protective alpha males... But Adira won't be staying in a little town of Colton, even as the town is rocked by a near-death and now, what may even be a murder... and Adira is at risk...
Nice sweet if a bit short and scorching hot in no time at all. The solution to handcuff them together ("forced proximity") is pretty ingenious, the murder mystery that went to darkest hour later was a bit cliche and not written that well though. It seems the author forgot about shotgun's shot patterns. When two people shoot at each other with shotguns, one gets wounded in the stomach and the other in the shoulder? It'd have to be really lousy shots. Shotgun is not something you "aim" per se. At 15-20 yards (sheriff was yelling at the suspect on the porch, and sheriff was using a loudspeaker in his patrol car) why is he using shotgun? Hmmm? Tsk, tsk. 5.5/8
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Finished Veterinarian's Vacation by Pamela Kelley FREE
Jess is about to graduate from vet school when Jake, her cousin Wade's best friend, is back in tow for a 2 week vacation, and Wade put him in the cottage next to hers. Jess had a crush on Jake way back when, and Jake had refused to kiss her (but she's 13 at the time). She's grown up, and he's more attractive than ever. Then he dropped the bombshell... He's buying the old vet's place, so he's now technically her boss as she's interning there. And that's ANOTHER reason not to have unrequited love on her boss... // Jake came back to town to put down roots, even though he can't stand the snobby step-mom (he likes his dad just fine). Jess is all grown up now, and he can't take advantage of her... But what if she wants to?
Small town + hot for boss romance with a bit of fling to a thing and unrequited love way way back when. Still, this is more like infatuation and requires little more than "change of heart" to resolve. 5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Prince in Disguise by Molly Jameson
Jamie, the British "playboy" prince, was scandalized when a party he attended ended up being raided by police (but after he left) for drugs. The British royal family was also pushing him to marry Princess Astrid of Sweden ASAP. To escape the media attention, he hid out in Provence, France, having flown alone without security, and in disguise, and paid a cabbie generously to put himself up with his family. After all, in Provence, if he adopt a French accent and a french name "Jean-Luc" (which is actually his cabbie's name), no one would recognize him... What he did not know was Princess Astrid was also in Provence... visiting a married best friend... Astrid felt choked by her royal life, but she's next on the throne and her people needs her. She doesn't want the playboy British prince. When her best friend decided she needed to go out more, and decided to give her a disguise with dyed hair and more, she met a handsome Frenchman in the park by the name of Jean-Luc... and she adopted the name Amalie, (actually her goddaughter's name) And they spent some wonderful time together. When a terrorist attack on the Swedish Royal family killed one member of the parliament and seriously wounded the King, both Jamie and Astrid revealed themselves to each other... and both are surprised... And Jamie insisted on staying in Sweden to help Astrid through the crisis... But the attacks are too well coordinated for the intelligence community to have NEVER even gotten a hint... could this be an internal job? Is there a traitor in Sweden close to the royal family?
The villain ended up being a caricature, though the plot and twist are actually pretty decent. 6/8
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Finished Love's Sunrise by Dorothy Wiley
It is the year 1806 in wild portion of Kentucky. Gabe McGrath was returning from Lexington to his homestead when a lightning spooked his horse and he was thrown. He found his horse had fallen and broke its leg, and had to be put down. He was forced to seek shelter with his neighbor, the Wyllies. He was surprised to find that the Wyllies have a beautiful daughter Martha, and the patriarch, Stephen, is a kind and generous man. When he learned Gabe's difficulties, he offered Gabe a job as a ranch hand. Gabe reluctantly accepted, but his heart is burning with vengeance. Months ago, his family was wiped out by six bandits only miles away from reaching the homestead. When other ranchhands reported that a calf is missing, they found a body in the forest, and possibly killed by the six bandits that roamed the area. Wyllie called in reinforcements: his brother the sheriff, but the bandits may prove to be a worthy match... and a chance for Gabe to get justice after all... even as Martha had to decide whether to love Gabe, or is her obligation to her dead mother and her family more important than love?
Nice details and good adventure. Romance is rather minimal, but it's the conflicting emotions and responsibilities that made the story good. And I like the setting a lot. 7/8
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Finished Chaos Theory by Merry Farmer
The town of Haskell Wyoming is all into the new Paradise Space Flight business, esp. when the company announced a competition... Each of the new employees will be paired with a local for "orienteering" competition: be dropped in the wilderness and navigate your way out with just a map and compass. And Melody, part owner of the local flower shop, and a generally chaotic wild, has her eyes set on one hunky engineer, Will Darling. // Will Darling is a fierce competitor who sticks to schedules and plans, having had a father who tried to get him a job at NASA after his father was not chosen for an astronaut position. He chose Paradise Space Flight mainly to get away from his dad, and pairing him with the chaotic Melody is causing some serious sizzle, even as they are dropped into the middle of Shoshone national Forest. Determined to win, they had to work together in close proximity, and soon they found themselves fighting nature, saboteurs, and just plain chemistry...
This one is better than the first one, IMHO. The orienteering thing is fun, the complications and feelings for each other started to complicated things. Add some wild adeventures, each of them dealing with personal fears and doubts (she has fear of heights, he's afraid of his father) and you have one heck of a book. 7.5/8
Jamie, the British "playboy" prince, was scandalized when a party he attended ended up being raided by police (but after he left) for drugs. The British royal family was also pushing him to marry Princess Astrid of Sweden ASAP. To escape the media attention, he hid out in Provence, France, having flown alone without security, and in disguise, and paid a cabbie generously to put himself up with his family. After all, in Provence, if he adopt a French accent and a french name "Jean-Luc" (which is actually his cabbie's name), no one would recognize him... What he did not know was Princess Astrid was also in Provence... visiting a married best friend... Astrid felt choked by her royal life, but she's next on the throne and her people needs her. She doesn't want the playboy British prince. When her best friend decided she needed to go out more, and decided to give her a disguise with dyed hair and more, she met a handsome Frenchman in the park by the name of Jean-Luc... and she adopted the name Amalie, (actually her goddaughter's name) And they spent some wonderful time together. When a terrorist attack on the Swedish Royal family killed one member of the parliament and seriously wounded the King, both Jamie and Astrid revealed themselves to each other... and both are surprised... And Jamie insisted on staying in Sweden to help Astrid through the crisis... But the attacks are too well coordinated for the intelligence community to have NEVER even gotten a hint... could this be an internal job? Is there a traitor in Sweden close to the royal family?
The villain ended up being a caricature, though the plot and twist are actually pretty decent. 6/8
Spoiler:
Finished Love's Sunrise by Dorothy Wiley
It is the year 1806 in wild portion of Kentucky. Gabe McGrath was returning from Lexington to his homestead when a lightning spooked his horse and he was thrown. He found his horse had fallen and broke its leg, and had to be put down. He was forced to seek shelter with his neighbor, the Wyllies. He was surprised to find that the Wyllies have a beautiful daughter Martha, and the patriarch, Stephen, is a kind and generous man. When he learned Gabe's difficulties, he offered Gabe a job as a ranch hand. Gabe reluctantly accepted, but his heart is burning with vengeance. Months ago, his family was wiped out by six bandits only miles away from reaching the homestead. When other ranchhands reported that a calf is missing, they found a body in the forest, and possibly killed by the six bandits that roamed the area. Wyllie called in reinforcements: his brother the sheriff, but the bandits may prove to be a worthy match... and a chance for Gabe to get justice after all... even as Martha had to decide whether to love Gabe, or is her obligation to her dead mother and her family more important than love?
Nice details and good adventure. Romance is rather minimal, but it's the conflicting emotions and responsibilities that made the story good. And I like the setting a lot. 7/8
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Finished Chaos Theory by Merry Farmer
The town of Haskell Wyoming is all into the new Paradise Space Flight business, esp. when the company announced a competition... Each of the new employees will be paired with a local for "orienteering" competition: be dropped in the wilderness and navigate your way out with just a map and compass. And Melody, part owner of the local flower shop, and a generally chaotic wild, has her eyes set on one hunky engineer, Will Darling. // Will Darling is a fierce competitor who sticks to schedules and plans, having had a father who tried to get him a job at NASA after his father was not chosen for an astronaut position. He chose Paradise Space Flight mainly to get away from his dad, and pairing him with the chaotic Melody is causing some serious sizzle, even as they are dropped into the middle of Shoshone national Forest. Determined to win, they had to work together in close proximity, and soon they found themselves fighting nature, saboteurs, and just plain chemistry...
This one is better than the first one, IMHO. The orienteering thing is fun, the complications and feelings for each other started to complicated things. Add some wild adeventures, each of them dealing with personal fears and doubts (she has fear of heights, he's afraid of his father) and you have one heck of a book. 7.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Perfect Kiss by Melanie Shawn
Shelby barely escaped from her abuser and never talked about him to any one, not even her closest relatives. She came back to Hope Falls for a fresh start, and even though she doesn't quite recognize herself in the mirror, she's determined to see where her one kiss with Levi, 18 months ago, can go. At that time, she thought Levi was a mere bartender, but Levi is actually the bar owner... And he's working on creating a bed and breakfast in the adjacent lot. When Levi saw Shelby again, he knew someone had hurt her, but he's not the prying kind. He offered her one of the rooms in bed and breakfast, and a job at the bar. And when her face turned white when her abusive ex found her again... Levi will call in all resources he has to ensure Shelby will never face that nightmare alone, ever again...
Not quite up to the author's standards. There were repeated mentions of drooling, which is a bit offputing. And the resolution was all talk, no action. It's pretty obvious her stalker has connections, but other than some stalker photos taken by a PI there wasn't anything really threatening. It's like the boogeyman, it's all roaring, not really threatening. 4.5/8
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Finished After all by Erin Nicholas
Peyton Wells can't do relationships... Her parents were never the nurturing type, and they basically free-ranged her the entire way. She puts up a front as the premier party girl in Sapphire Falls, and she's an excellent event planner... But nobody saw through that facade... Except the one guy she can't bare her heart to... the hot cop Scott. Peyton has wet dreams about Scott, but Scott doesn't do one-night stands (and Peyton can ONLY do one-night-stands). When Scott was injured on the job, it is up to Peyton to play nurse... and Scott is ready to show her that relationship is not a swear word... but Scott's nickname for Peyton is Trouble... and there will be trouble aplenty.
Light rom-com with some serious issues about trust and lust, and even a lesson on gun safety (Scott was accidentally shot by mayor's kid, who got a gun for his birthday, WITHOUT any lessons first!) The part about him running off to join a task force on trafficked women and going undercover was a bit offputting though. Still, the trust and and stuff in town made up for it. 6/8
Shelby barely escaped from her abuser and never talked about him to any one, not even her closest relatives. She came back to Hope Falls for a fresh start, and even though she doesn't quite recognize herself in the mirror, she's determined to see where her one kiss with Levi, 18 months ago, can go. At that time, she thought Levi was a mere bartender, but Levi is actually the bar owner... And he's working on creating a bed and breakfast in the adjacent lot. When Levi saw Shelby again, he knew someone had hurt her, but he's not the prying kind. He offered her one of the rooms in bed and breakfast, and a job at the bar. And when her face turned white when her abusive ex found her again... Levi will call in all resources he has to ensure Shelby will never face that nightmare alone, ever again...
Not quite up to the author's standards. There were repeated mentions of drooling, which is a bit offputing. And the resolution was all talk, no action. It's pretty obvious her stalker has connections, but other than some stalker photos taken by a PI there wasn't anything really threatening. It's like the boogeyman, it's all roaring, not really threatening. 4.5/8
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Finished After all by Erin Nicholas
Peyton Wells can't do relationships... Her parents were never the nurturing type, and they basically free-ranged her the entire way. She puts up a front as the premier party girl in Sapphire Falls, and she's an excellent event planner... But nobody saw through that facade... Except the one guy she can't bare her heart to... the hot cop Scott. Peyton has wet dreams about Scott, but Scott doesn't do one-night stands (and Peyton can ONLY do one-night-stands). When Scott was injured on the job, it is up to Peyton to play nurse... and Scott is ready to show her that relationship is not a swear word... but Scott's nickname for Peyton is Trouble... and there will be trouble aplenty.
Light rom-com with some serious issues about trust and lust, and even a lesson on gun safety (Scott was accidentally shot by mayor's kid, who got a gun for his birthday, WITHOUT any lessons first!) The part about him running off to join a task force on trafficked women and going undercover was a bit offputting though. Still, the trust and and stuff in town made up for it. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Random Acts of Crazy by Julia Kent FREE
Darla (yes, her mother can't spell) never meant to pick up a hitchhiker wearing just a collar and a guitar at night, but she did. It turned out he's Trevor, the lead singer of her favorite indie band. How he came to be nude and 600 miles from home (Boston) in the middle of Ohio is a tale on its own. And how can Trevor, soon to be Harvard law student, like a dawdy Ohio rural chick like Darla? But he did. When Trevor called for a rescue (and his clothes), Joe, the bass player for the band showed up. He's even MORE gorgeous than Trevor, and drove hours in the night to rescue Trevor... and now Darla is ready to drool over TWO guys... and she had to choose... Or does she?
The author has a good ear for dialogue and crafted some of the zing-iest convo I've read. The whole thing is a rom-com with some raunchy sex at the end (it's a threesome, okay?) and the story shall continue for the next volume or two, as Darla decided to take a chance and move to the big city, and see where her relation with Trevor and Joe can go. Good developments. 7/8
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Finished Driven to Date by Susan Hatler FREE (for now)
Jill had worked five years for her lawfirm and was ready to be named a partner. When the partners announced that the boss's nephew will be given the job instead, Jill starts looking for an exit plan by attending a wedding and schmooze boss of a different lawfirm... headed by a woman, who is intending to hire someone. But this prospective boss has a condition... Does Jill have someone special in her life? It makes for a much more stable work life balance. Jill, who had just broken up with her boring BF not long ago, had a sudden inspiration: she invited the best man Ryan to play her BF, as they previous seem to have some chemistry together. To her horror the next day, boss's nephew, the one that "stole her job" is none other than Ryan, and her little pretense is about to blow up in her face. Breaking it off may derail her exit strategy, but keeping it up is too painful a reminder of what could have been. But the more she got to know Ryan, the more tempted she is to see how real can her relationship with Ryan can go...
The ending turned a bit too convenient, but it's good karma nonetheless. 6.5/8
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Finished Accidental Agent by Amelia Adams
Liz is waitressing at Kelsey's Kafe at River's End to make ends meet while hoping her books get published. When a mysterious strange appeared in town, her imagination runs wild on new guy, but his story may be even stranger... // Jack Saunders was burned out by his FBI job in LA after losing his partner. His boss ordered him to take a vacation, and he just drove, and drove, and basically ended up at River's end. When he overheard a suspicious conversation, his agent senses went on alert: there's something about this curvey cute blonde waitress that bears further investigation...
This book gave me a bit of mixed feeling. On one hand, it's cute and funny, but at about the mid-point the mood changed to somber one, when Jack was recalled to LA finish his human trafficking case. It did switch back to cute later for the HEA though. But something it didn't quite feel right. 5/8
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Finished Wyne and Dine by Donna Michaels FREE
Lea wanted her best friend's brother, and to find a job that fits her education, but she's got neither. The brother looked at her as a little sister, and she's working at the family diner while her dad gets over a surgery. But things may be looking up... // Ben Wyne is military-bred and raised, and loves his job as a supply sergeant in the PA National Guard. But when his boss' wife expressed way too much interest in his "physical" well-being, he had no choice but to ask his childhood sweetheart's little sister to pose as his girlfriend. But Lea is getting past his defenses fast... Still, girls like Lea leave for the big city... right?
Plot wise this is nothing special. The "fake love turned real" plot is evergreen. It's the little details that add up to make this above average. 6/8
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Finished Rescued by the Berserker by Lee Savino Paranormal
Knut is a berserker warrior, a wolf-shifter, leading his warriors on a mission. But when Hazel crossed his path, he knew she will be his... and only his. // Hazel barely escaped from the Corpse King, forced to leave her friends behind. The Abeey taught her that to give in the physical desires is a sin, but Knut not only rescued her from the corposes, but promised to love and cherish her... yes, that way too...
Meh, nothing really special here. 5/8
Darla (yes, her mother can't spell) never meant to pick up a hitchhiker wearing just a collar and a guitar at night, but she did. It turned out he's Trevor, the lead singer of her favorite indie band. How he came to be nude and 600 miles from home (Boston) in the middle of Ohio is a tale on its own. And how can Trevor, soon to be Harvard law student, like a dawdy Ohio rural chick like Darla? But he did. When Trevor called for a rescue (and his clothes), Joe, the bass player for the band showed up. He's even MORE gorgeous than Trevor, and drove hours in the night to rescue Trevor... and now Darla is ready to drool over TWO guys... and she had to choose... Or does she?
The author has a good ear for dialogue and crafted some of the zing-iest convo I've read. The whole thing is a rom-com with some raunchy sex at the end (it's a threesome, okay?) and the story shall continue for the next volume or two, as Darla decided to take a chance and move to the big city, and see where her relation with Trevor and Joe can go. Good developments. 7/8
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Finished Driven to Date by Susan Hatler FREE (for now)
Jill had worked five years for her lawfirm and was ready to be named a partner. When the partners announced that the boss's nephew will be given the job instead, Jill starts looking for an exit plan by attending a wedding and schmooze boss of a different lawfirm... headed by a woman, who is intending to hire someone. But this prospective boss has a condition... Does Jill have someone special in her life? It makes for a much more stable work life balance. Jill, who had just broken up with her boring BF not long ago, had a sudden inspiration: she invited the best man Ryan to play her BF, as they previous seem to have some chemistry together. To her horror the next day, boss's nephew, the one that "stole her job" is none other than Ryan, and her little pretense is about to blow up in her face. Breaking it off may derail her exit strategy, but keeping it up is too painful a reminder of what could have been. But the more she got to know Ryan, the more tempted she is to see how real can her relationship with Ryan can go...
The ending turned a bit too convenient, but it's good karma nonetheless. 6.5/8
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Finished Accidental Agent by Amelia Adams
Liz is waitressing at Kelsey's Kafe at River's End to make ends meet while hoping her books get published. When a mysterious strange appeared in town, her imagination runs wild on new guy, but his story may be even stranger... // Jack Saunders was burned out by his FBI job in LA after losing his partner. His boss ordered him to take a vacation, and he just drove, and drove, and basically ended up at River's end. When he overheard a suspicious conversation, his agent senses went on alert: there's something about this curvey cute blonde waitress that bears further investigation...
This book gave me a bit of mixed feeling. On one hand, it's cute and funny, but at about the mid-point the mood changed to somber one, when Jack was recalled to LA finish his human trafficking case. It did switch back to cute later for the HEA though. But something it didn't quite feel right. 5/8
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Finished Wyne and Dine by Donna Michaels FREE
Lea wanted her best friend's brother, and to find a job that fits her education, but she's got neither. The brother looked at her as a little sister, and she's working at the family diner while her dad gets over a surgery. But things may be looking up... // Ben Wyne is military-bred and raised, and loves his job as a supply sergeant in the PA National Guard. But when his boss' wife expressed way too much interest in his "physical" well-being, he had no choice but to ask his childhood sweetheart's little sister to pose as his girlfriend. But Lea is getting past his defenses fast... Still, girls like Lea leave for the big city... right?
Plot wise this is nothing special. The "fake love turned real" plot is evergreen. It's the little details that add up to make this above average. 6/8
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Finished Rescued by the Berserker by Lee Savino Paranormal
Knut is a berserker warrior, a wolf-shifter, leading his warriors on a mission. But when Hazel crossed his path, he knew she will be his... and only his. // Hazel barely escaped from the Corpse King, forced to leave her friends behind. The Abeey taught her that to give in the physical desires is a sin, but Knut not only rescued her from the corposes, but promised to love and cherish her... yes, that way too...
Meh, nothing really special here. 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: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Wild by Lexi Whitlow
Zee is an intrepid freelance reporter on the trail of Fox Guthrie, the rumored head of "Encrybit", the cryptocurrency that swept the world. FBI wants Fox found, as he's accused of money laundering and much more, but nobody had heard about him for years. Her clues lead her to this snowy mountain in Utah... when she wandered into a beartrap and she can't get out. She was slowly bleeding out, too weak to move, when a man rescued her and tended to her wounds in his cabin. Is he Fox, even though he denied he is?
Once you got past the rescue and later, the coupling, and admission that yes, he's Fox, the book managed a successful pivot when Fox got away from the mansion and escaped all the way to Vegas, then executed yet another escape plan for Zee to join him. And together, they will have to figure out why FBI was so hot on Fox, since Fox knew he didn't launder any money... The extended ending did explain all that, albeit in a somewhat less dramatic fashion. I just find it horribly convenient that the law enforcement didn't put a tail on Zee. 7/8
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Finished Travess Blood by Quinn Larson NOT romance, old western
Clint Travess, sheriff of Trenton, did not really want the job, but when the old sheriff died, there really was no one else. His woman Ann had married the rich rancher Matt Gustafson instead, and that Matt would rather see Clint dead than help... When Clint got word that his brother Troy is being released from prison after 7 years of hard labor, he prepared for trouble, for his brother had sworn to kill him and take revenge on the entire town. Clint knew because Clint was the one that caught Troy and gang robbing the stagecoach. // Troy is heading back to Trenton to reclaim his child and his woman. He had survived the hellish prison, with only revenge sustaining him. Learning that his woman had died at childbirth did not help, but having Gustafson as an ally against his brother Clint did help. Soon, people are dying around town. And caught in the middle is Ann and Troy's kid Mark. In the end, Travess blood will be spilled, as only one brother wil come out of this alive...
Nice tale of revenge and love, for Ann's not having a good time in town. And LOTS of dead bodies. LOTS. 7/8
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Finished Honest Horseman by Cindy Caldwell
Wyatt never understood why his beloved Belinda just disappeared one night, before he can propose to her, so they can live on River's End Ranch forever doing what they both love. He had never gotten over her, the pain was too great. Years later, after finding signs of poaching on ranch property, Wyatt reluctantly called in Fish&Game... and the warden they sent is Belinda. After investigating and gathering evidence, and barely speaking to each other, the air thawed somewhat, until Belinda found a piece of evidence that shattered her resolve... The reason that she ran out that night is back to haunt her again, and this time, it may destroy her completely.
There really wasn't that much of a romance. Wyatt was basically such a straight-shooter that Belinda felt ashamed. (Spoiler: she was protecting her little brother, after Wyatt caught him poaching on the land. She basically dragged him off to Arizona, and never came back because she was ashamed, while Wyatt want to call in the juvies. This time, Belinda will put the cuffs on her little brother herself, figuratively, but when Belinda hesitated to name her brother as suspect, because she wanted to be sure first, Wyatt is like "so you're protecting your brother... AGAIN". Grrrr. After brother got hauled away, Wyatt realized he's being stupid, proposed, and they got married. ARGH! Way too fast!) 5/8
Zee is an intrepid freelance reporter on the trail of Fox Guthrie, the rumored head of "Encrybit", the cryptocurrency that swept the world. FBI wants Fox found, as he's accused of money laundering and much more, but nobody had heard about him for years. Her clues lead her to this snowy mountain in Utah... when she wandered into a beartrap and she can't get out. She was slowly bleeding out, too weak to move, when a man rescued her and tended to her wounds in his cabin. Is he Fox, even though he denied he is?
Once you got past the rescue and later, the coupling, and admission that yes, he's Fox, the book managed a successful pivot when Fox got away from the mansion and escaped all the way to Vegas, then executed yet another escape plan for Zee to join him. And together, they will have to figure out why FBI was so hot on Fox, since Fox knew he didn't launder any money... The extended ending did explain all that, albeit in a somewhat less dramatic fashion. I just find it horribly convenient that the law enforcement didn't put a tail on Zee. 7/8
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Finished Travess Blood by Quinn Larson NOT romance, old western
Clint Travess, sheriff of Trenton, did not really want the job, but when the old sheriff died, there really was no one else. His woman Ann had married the rich rancher Matt Gustafson instead, and that Matt would rather see Clint dead than help... When Clint got word that his brother Troy is being released from prison after 7 years of hard labor, he prepared for trouble, for his brother had sworn to kill him and take revenge on the entire town. Clint knew because Clint was the one that caught Troy and gang robbing the stagecoach. // Troy is heading back to Trenton to reclaim his child and his woman. He had survived the hellish prison, with only revenge sustaining him. Learning that his woman had died at childbirth did not help, but having Gustafson as an ally against his brother Clint did help. Soon, people are dying around town. And caught in the middle is Ann and Troy's kid Mark. In the end, Travess blood will be spilled, as only one brother wil come out of this alive...
Nice tale of revenge and love, for Ann's not having a good time in town. And LOTS of dead bodies. LOTS. 7/8
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Finished Honest Horseman by Cindy Caldwell
Wyatt never understood why his beloved Belinda just disappeared one night, before he can propose to her, so they can live on River's End Ranch forever doing what they both love. He had never gotten over her, the pain was too great. Years later, after finding signs of poaching on ranch property, Wyatt reluctantly called in Fish&Game... and the warden they sent is Belinda. After investigating and gathering evidence, and barely speaking to each other, the air thawed somewhat, until Belinda found a piece of evidence that shattered her resolve... The reason that she ran out that night is back to haunt her again, and this time, it may destroy her completely.
There really wasn't that much of a romance. Wyatt was basically such a straight-shooter that Belinda felt ashamed. (Spoiler: she was protecting her little brother, after Wyatt caught him poaching on the land. She basically dragged him off to Arizona, and never came back because she was ashamed, while Wyatt want to call in the juvies. This time, Belinda will put the cuffs on her little brother herself, figuratively, but when Belinda hesitated to name her brother as suspect, because she wanted to be sure first, Wyatt is like "so you're protecting your brother... AGAIN". Grrrr. After brother got hauled away, Wyatt realized he's being stupid, proposed, and they got married. ARGH! Way too fast!) 5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished The Princess Scandal by Molly Jameson
Princess Beatrice of British Royals, the shy princess, had an alter ego online that that is an ardent feminist, blogging about issues such as the Bechtel Test, how rape victims are often slut shamed, and so on. She decided to take a one semester lecturing professor position in a Spanish university and met Javier at a tiny little tapas place off campus. Javier is considerate, passionate, and handsome, and Bea was tempted to have a fling, esp. when he said he's opening a special online news with a feminist bent. But when they were spotted by papparazi, the tabloids dug into his dark past. When the papparazi managed to discover Bea's alter ego, is there any hope between this star-crossed couple?
The problem with this author's version of the British Royal family is everyone except the new generation are douchebags. Queen Consort is basically "princesses are for marrying off to other princes, not to embarrass the family." When Bea's lecture is about how Ann Boleyn was so poorly treated, one of the students filmed her and it went viral, it became "princess disses royal family and British empire". I don't get the story about Javier either. he was somehow charged with "assault"? The story was he was drunk, on a motorcycle, he thought he saw his woman with someone else, he thought he drove at them, and ran smack into a house and window. It's drunk driving. The end was basically Bea going "f*** you all" and went full public and went to live in Spain to be with Javier. Phooey. 5/8
Princess Beatrice of British Royals, the shy princess, had an alter ego online that that is an ardent feminist, blogging about issues such as the Bechtel Test, how rape victims are often slut shamed, and so on. She decided to take a one semester lecturing professor position in a Spanish university and met Javier at a tiny little tapas place off campus. Javier is considerate, passionate, and handsome, and Bea was tempted to have a fling, esp. when he said he's opening a special online news with a feminist bent. But when they were spotted by papparazi, the tabloids dug into his dark past. When the papparazi managed to discover Bea's alter ego, is there any hope between this star-crossed couple?
The problem with this author's version of the British Royal family is everyone except the new generation are douchebags. Queen Consort is basically "princesses are for marrying off to other princes, not to embarrass the family." When Bea's lecture is about how Ann Boleyn was so poorly treated, one of the students filmed her and it went viral, it became "princess disses royal family and British empire". I don't get the story about Javier either. he was somehow charged with "assault"? The story was he was drunk, on a motorcycle, he thought he saw his woman with someone else, he thought he drove at them, and ran smack into a house and window. It's drunk driving. The end was basically Bea going "f*** you all" and went full public and went to live in Spain to be with Javier. Phooey. 5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Woohoo! I'm now a Top 1000 reviewer in Amazon. Took me long enough. 
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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GreenGoo
- Posts: 42322
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- Location: Ottawa, ON
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Kasey, I read your reviews here off and on and I can't figure out if you're crazy, lonely or crazy and lonely. My condolences.
This is definitely one of the weirder threads on OO, but it's also one of the few I've ever brought up directly with my wife (because this whole thread leaves me scratching my head).
I look forward to your game FAQ on navigating the strange world of the romance novel genre.
P.s. when I do stop by, I read some reviews in full. Fascinating. Like a car accident.
This is definitely one of the weirder threads on OO, but it's also one of the few I've ever brought up directly with my wife (because this whole thread leaves me scratching my head).
I look forward to your game FAQ on navigating the strange world of the romance novel genre.
P.s. when I do stop by, I read some reviews in full. Fascinating. Like a car accident.
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished To Catch a Texas Cowboy by Julie Benson FREE
Grace was laid off after doing the right thing, and that also precludes finding a job anywhere near NYC. She headed off to Wishful TX to help her best friend run a B&B, and get a fresh start. But before she even hit the city limits, she rear-ends the local police chief's personal pickup. And when the chief, AJ, took off his shirt to clean her cut brow, she just about fainted on the spot. But then she reminded herself... Cops are cynical straight-arrows... she would know, her father's a cop, and she's never get involved with one. Look at how her parents ended up. // AJ is the police chief of Wishful, but he's actually also FBI working undercover. There is an ID forger in the area, and when his best friend died there doesn't seem to be any clues left. He wanted to buy land here, but his boss is in a hurry to have him wrap it up here so he can go back to the "real" crimes. When Grace crashed into his life, AJ starts to question whether Wishful should be his permanent residence...
Awwww, cute meet-up. Although I honestly don't see why would they send an agent undercover... posing as a cop! That really made no sense, IMHO. If he had to be police chief, how would he have time to go undercover? Chief in a small town is like the most visible job ever.
Call it 6/8
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Finished Where Dreams are Born by M L Buchman FREE
Cassidy, one of the fast-rising food and wine critics in the nation, is fulfilling her father's last wish. He left her a dozen letters, and a calendar of Northwest Lighthouses, and she promised to visit each one, one a month. Her father was a small-time vintner that put his blood and tears into the ground in Napa, but didn't make it there after a family tragedy. Now she's going to understand those memories, so who is sailing this sailboat every time she goes by a lighthouse? // Russell quit his successful advertising business and took up sailing, after being burned out. He was 28th on a "most eligible list" and he has a super-model girlfriend, but she left him, because he can't seem to love anyone. But when he spotted this woman in a red coat at multiple times in the next few months always around a lighthouse, even he can't deny fate may be telling him to follow his heart...
Interesting setup. It started REALLY really slow, but the two just keep passing close to each other but never quite touching was an very intersting way to handle the push-pull. Enjoyed it. 6.5/8
Grace was laid off after doing the right thing, and that also precludes finding a job anywhere near NYC. She headed off to Wishful TX to help her best friend run a B&B, and get a fresh start. But before she even hit the city limits, she rear-ends the local police chief's personal pickup. And when the chief, AJ, took off his shirt to clean her cut brow, she just about fainted on the spot. But then she reminded herself... Cops are cynical straight-arrows... she would know, her father's a cop, and she's never get involved with one. Look at how her parents ended up. // AJ is the police chief of Wishful, but he's actually also FBI working undercover. There is an ID forger in the area, and when his best friend died there doesn't seem to be any clues left. He wanted to buy land here, but his boss is in a hurry to have him wrap it up here so he can go back to the "real" crimes. When Grace crashed into his life, AJ starts to question whether Wishful should be his permanent residence...
Awwww, cute meet-up. Although I honestly don't see why would they send an agent undercover... posing as a cop! That really made no sense, IMHO. If he had to be police chief, how would he have time to go undercover? Chief in a small town is like the most visible job ever.
Call it 6/8
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Finished Where Dreams are Born by M L Buchman FREE
Cassidy, one of the fast-rising food and wine critics in the nation, is fulfilling her father's last wish. He left her a dozen letters, and a calendar of Northwest Lighthouses, and she promised to visit each one, one a month. Her father was a small-time vintner that put his blood and tears into the ground in Napa, but didn't make it there after a family tragedy. Now she's going to understand those memories, so who is sailing this sailboat every time she goes by a lighthouse? // Russell quit his successful advertising business and took up sailing, after being burned out. He was 28th on a "most eligible list" and he has a super-model girlfriend, but she left him, because he can't seem to love anyone. But when he spotted this woman in a red coat at multiple times in the next few months always around a lighthouse, even he can't deny fate may be telling him to follow his heart...
Interesting setup. It started REALLY really slow, but the two just keep passing close to each other but never quite touching was an very intersting way to handle the push-pull. Enjoyed it. 6.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished A Christmas Catch by GInny Baird
Widow Christine worked hard as a copywriter, but is feeling burned out while taking care of son. When Christine's friends suggested a Christmas in Vermont, she decided she did need a break... // Professor John is a bachelor, but found romance too... stressful. He's happy to hang with his friends in Vermont. Then a woman almost ran him off the road in a snowstorm. And she's got a kid with her. So he and his golden retriever helped her out. So why can't he stop thinking about her, as they keep running into each other in town?
Sweet novella, about 100 pages. PG-13. Nice, but nothing that special. 5/8
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Finished Charleigh by Sherri Beth Johnson
Charleigh thought she married well, to a doctor Gabe, but he died 3 months before baby Libby was born. With nowhere to stay, she had to go to her only relative... Unle and Aunt Eddie. Only after arriving in town did he found that her uncle died a few days ago before her arrival. And the snow meant she had to spend time with her neighbor, the Kenrick family, esp. Krister, who drove her back. Charleigh then found out that there was no help to be had... Her aunt's place was so run down there were no maids or ranch hands, and only generosity from the neighbors kept the farm going. And Aunt Eddie is half crazy... Charleigh, who had never worked except in boarding school, must learn how to make fire, cook food, milk cows, and more, and Krister is there, always smiling and helping. But he's leaving, so he said...
While the "fish out of water" anecdotes are cute, they didn't add much to the story, IMHO. 5/8
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Abandoning Mountain Man's Baby by Juliana Conners
Darren was a SEAL but injury left him scarred. He had invested inheritance he had so he's well-off, but alone. When doctors warned that his reproductive functions is declining due to his injury, his thought is to make a baby... soon. When his regular cleaning lady's sick, and sent her daughter Hope as substitute, Darren know who he wants to carry his child to term... the 19-year old virgin Hope... Who also liked him...
Argh. I've about half way in, I think (the book also contains about couple hundred pages of "bonus content" for total page count of 1085) and they just did the deed (he broke her cherry). But the virgin just turned into a sex kitten after one encounter, and is now climbing him and giving fellatio complete with hand manipulation of his other parts. This is a persistent problem with this author... the virgin turns into sex kitten after one F***. 2.5/8 The story doesn't even make sense... Can't he donate sperm? Sheesh!
Widow Christine worked hard as a copywriter, but is feeling burned out while taking care of son. When Christine's friends suggested a Christmas in Vermont, she decided she did need a break... // Professor John is a bachelor, but found romance too... stressful. He's happy to hang with his friends in Vermont. Then a woman almost ran him off the road in a snowstorm. And she's got a kid with her. So he and his golden retriever helped her out. So why can't he stop thinking about her, as they keep running into each other in town?
Sweet novella, about 100 pages. PG-13. Nice, but nothing that special. 5/8
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Finished Charleigh by Sherri Beth Johnson
Charleigh thought she married well, to a doctor Gabe, but he died 3 months before baby Libby was born. With nowhere to stay, she had to go to her only relative... Unle and Aunt Eddie. Only after arriving in town did he found that her uncle died a few days ago before her arrival. And the snow meant she had to spend time with her neighbor, the Kenrick family, esp. Krister, who drove her back. Charleigh then found out that there was no help to be had... Her aunt's place was so run down there were no maids or ranch hands, and only generosity from the neighbors kept the farm going. And Aunt Eddie is half crazy... Charleigh, who had never worked except in boarding school, must learn how to make fire, cook food, milk cows, and more, and Krister is there, always smiling and helping. But he's leaving, so he said...
While the "fish out of water" anecdotes are cute, they didn't add much to the story, IMHO. 5/8
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Abandoning Mountain Man's Baby by Juliana Conners
Darren was a SEAL but injury left him scarred. He had invested inheritance he had so he's well-off, but alone. When doctors warned that his reproductive functions is declining due to his injury, his thought is to make a baby... soon. When his regular cleaning lady's sick, and sent her daughter Hope as substitute, Darren know who he wants to carry his child to term... the 19-year old virgin Hope... Who also liked him...
Argh. I've about half way in, I think (the book also contains about couple hundred pages of "bonus content" for total page count of 1085) and they just did the deed (he broke her cherry). But the virgin just turned into a sex kitten after one encounter, and is now climbing him and giving fellatio complete with hand manipulation of his other parts. This is a persistent problem with this author... the virgin turns into sex kitten after one F***. 2.5/8 The story doesn't even make sense... Can't he donate sperm? Sheesh!
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Drastic Measures by Bobby Hutchinson FREE
Dr. Alexandra "Alex" Ross loves her job in the ER department, and she's happily married to Sgt Cameron Ross of the Narc squad. But when Ross's superior, who has a drug habit, endangered one of the undercover cops under Ross, Ross turned him in to internal affairs... and earned the hatred of the entire force for being a rat. With no one to watch his back, he requested a transfer to a small town on the other side of the province, and Alex had no choice to give up her career and leave with him. While Cam got used to being a beat cop, Alex found the clinic admin and the senior doctor were on the town council together and detests the new doctor. In the meanwhile, Cam and Alex slowly grew apart, with Cam always busy on police work (now that he's wearing a uniform as a beat cop). When the senior doctor dropped a knife and killed a guy during gallbladder surgery he blamed it on "previously unknown heart defect". Alex threatened to go to the admin, but the senior doctor just laughed. When the nurse who was also there refused to testify (she has family to care for in town), Alex found herself backed into a corner, as she contemplated leaving...
I am not too sure what to think of this one. The way they grew apart was very nicely drawn, and the way their situation paralleled each other was exquisite plotting. On the other hand, the way the situation was resolved was all tell, no show (all handled in the epilogue) and the book basically ends on them reconciling and choosing to fight for their love (i.e. she's not leaving after all). 6/8
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Finished My Only by Melanie Shawn FREE
Alex Sloan is an ex-SEAL turned firefighter. He works hard and plays harder, and there were plenty of women who appreciate his looks and charm. But when he's injurred on the job, high on meds, and saw nurse Jamie Miller, he said he loved her, asked for her hand in marriage, and passed out. It was just the drugs talking, right? // Jamie knew she can depend on no one in the world except herself. She has a son to remind her of that every day. She works both in the hospital and at the diner to make ends meet, and that leaves her no time for sexy distractions like Alex Sloan. When Jamie was assigned to guard/attend to Alex and to keep the "fan club" away, Jamie ends up falling for Alex's charm, even though she still resists. And Alex found himself, after that injury, to be a horribly shallow person, and love Jamie's independence and resilience, and the kid too. Can he convince Jamie to give him a chance?
Nice dance between the two, Alex... didn't quite shift, as he's charming as ever, but his mindset did change quite a bit. You can say it's all about Jamie doing a bit of hard to get, but not on purpose. Good polish overall. 6/8
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Finished House of Lies by Rachel Branton FREE
Lily was not loved by her parents, who only want her to marry well. Lily instead dedicated her limited income (working in her father's cereal factory part-time, and attending school part-time) and her tiny little apartment into a small girl's home, already hosting several runaway girls, way more than the lease allows. When Jameson Perez entered her life, Lily can't stand the interference, but he convinced her that the only way for her to do better is by going legit, and get certified as a foster mother, and work within the law instead of around it. He linked her up with resources she hadn't had before. But working within the system also means being limited by the speed of the bureaucracy and the limit of the law. When one of the girls was forced to go back to the possibly abusive father due to lack of proof of abuse, Lily is contemplating going fugitive, but that would mean lose all the other girls too...
The romance is so-so, but the story about the girls, the foster family system, the legal system, and all the other stuff is what took the story over the top. The author clearly has done her research or first-hand experience in crafting the little details into the story on how the system can fail the children it was supposed to protect. Obviously things do get better by the end, but I'm not spoiling how. 7/8
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Finished Take Me, Cowboy by Jane Porter
Jenny's fiancee ran off just before the wedding was about the start. He's rich, powerful, and her boss, and she was his personal assistant, who knew him like no other. It should have been the perfect match, but he said he's not ready to be married... in front of the altar. What made the day worse was Jenny's humiliation when she was spotted, still wearing her Vera Wang wedding gown she spent her entire savings on, by none other than bronc riding champ Colton, who used to be her neighbor and she had the biggest crush on. // Colton is back in town to attend the Marietta Copper Mountain Rodeo, and he goes after what he wants, which would include Jenny. Colton's heart was broken before from a bad marriage, and he swore he'd never get married again, so all he can offer is a fling. And Jenny's not that kind of girl... too fragile from her utter humiliation and heartbreak. But is that really what she wanted? Or did he just guess what she wanted? And what happens when the rodeo concludes? Is Colton leaving?
The polish is good, and emotions are powerful, but introducing Charlie the douchebag fiancee again at the end just to reinforce a point, while dramatic, seems slightly overdone and turned it into melodrama. 4/5 (6/8 OO scale)
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Finished Rodeo Man by Margaret Watson
Rodeo Star Grady had no regrets except leaving his woman, Becca Johnson behind, esp. when she claimed there's someone else. Nine years later, when Grady was forced to retire due to a horrible injury, he had no direction in life, until a chance came up and he was able to buy a ranch in Cameron Utah. Imagine his surprise when he showed up on the ranch and found that the local vet assigned to the ranch is none other than Becca. // Becca knew she can't get close to Grady ever again... because Becca had lied. There has never been someone else... Becca's daughter is fathered by Grady, and she won't allow anyone to hurt her daughter. But someone is stalking Becca and Grady... Mysterious ailments and sabotage plagued the ranch and its animals, and there's a stalker near Becca... Can Grady convince Becca to take a chance with her body and her heart again?
Too bad Grady didn't solve the stalker problem himself (Becca had to call in the sheriff) but that part of the problem was nicely done, and I can see no holes in the logic or plot. The dance between the two, the reluctance acceptance, i.e. when/how do I tell him/her was pretty good, if a bit drawn out. Overall, still good. 6/8 (4/5 on Amazon scale).
Dr. Alexandra "Alex" Ross loves her job in the ER department, and she's happily married to Sgt Cameron Ross of the Narc squad. But when Ross's superior, who has a drug habit, endangered one of the undercover cops under Ross, Ross turned him in to internal affairs... and earned the hatred of the entire force for being a rat. With no one to watch his back, he requested a transfer to a small town on the other side of the province, and Alex had no choice to give up her career and leave with him. While Cam got used to being a beat cop, Alex found the clinic admin and the senior doctor were on the town council together and detests the new doctor. In the meanwhile, Cam and Alex slowly grew apart, with Cam always busy on police work (now that he's wearing a uniform as a beat cop). When the senior doctor dropped a knife and killed a guy during gallbladder surgery he blamed it on "previously unknown heart defect". Alex threatened to go to the admin, but the senior doctor just laughed. When the nurse who was also there refused to testify (she has family to care for in town), Alex found herself backed into a corner, as she contemplated leaving...
I am not too sure what to think of this one. The way they grew apart was very nicely drawn, and the way their situation paralleled each other was exquisite plotting. On the other hand, the way the situation was resolved was all tell, no show (all handled in the epilogue) and the book basically ends on them reconciling and choosing to fight for their love (i.e. she's not leaving after all). 6/8
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Finished My Only by Melanie Shawn FREE
Alex Sloan is an ex-SEAL turned firefighter. He works hard and plays harder, and there were plenty of women who appreciate his looks and charm. But when he's injurred on the job, high on meds, and saw nurse Jamie Miller, he said he loved her, asked for her hand in marriage, and passed out. It was just the drugs talking, right? // Jamie knew she can depend on no one in the world except herself. She has a son to remind her of that every day. She works both in the hospital and at the diner to make ends meet, and that leaves her no time for sexy distractions like Alex Sloan. When Jamie was assigned to guard/attend to Alex and to keep the "fan club" away, Jamie ends up falling for Alex's charm, even though she still resists. And Alex found himself, after that injury, to be a horribly shallow person, and love Jamie's independence and resilience, and the kid too. Can he convince Jamie to give him a chance?
Nice dance between the two, Alex... didn't quite shift, as he's charming as ever, but his mindset did change quite a bit. You can say it's all about Jamie doing a bit of hard to get, but not on purpose. Good polish overall. 6/8
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Finished House of Lies by Rachel Branton FREE
Lily was not loved by her parents, who only want her to marry well. Lily instead dedicated her limited income (working in her father's cereal factory part-time, and attending school part-time) and her tiny little apartment into a small girl's home, already hosting several runaway girls, way more than the lease allows. When Jameson Perez entered her life, Lily can't stand the interference, but he convinced her that the only way for her to do better is by going legit, and get certified as a foster mother, and work within the law instead of around it. He linked her up with resources she hadn't had before. But working within the system also means being limited by the speed of the bureaucracy and the limit of the law. When one of the girls was forced to go back to the possibly abusive father due to lack of proof of abuse, Lily is contemplating going fugitive, but that would mean lose all the other girls too...
The romance is so-so, but the story about the girls, the foster family system, the legal system, and all the other stuff is what took the story over the top. The author clearly has done her research or first-hand experience in crafting the little details into the story on how the system can fail the children it was supposed to protect. Obviously things do get better by the end, but I'm not spoiling how. 7/8
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Finished Take Me, Cowboy by Jane Porter
Jenny's fiancee ran off just before the wedding was about the start. He's rich, powerful, and her boss, and she was his personal assistant, who knew him like no other. It should have been the perfect match, but he said he's not ready to be married... in front of the altar. What made the day worse was Jenny's humiliation when she was spotted, still wearing her Vera Wang wedding gown she spent her entire savings on, by none other than bronc riding champ Colton, who used to be her neighbor and she had the biggest crush on. // Colton is back in town to attend the Marietta Copper Mountain Rodeo, and he goes after what he wants, which would include Jenny. Colton's heart was broken before from a bad marriage, and he swore he'd never get married again, so all he can offer is a fling. And Jenny's not that kind of girl... too fragile from her utter humiliation and heartbreak. But is that really what she wanted? Or did he just guess what she wanted? And what happens when the rodeo concludes? Is Colton leaving?
The polish is good, and emotions are powerful, but introducing Charlie the douchebag fiancee again at the end just to reinforce a point, while dramatic, seems slightly overdone and turned it into melodrama. 4/5 (6/8 OO scale)
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Finished Rodeo Man by Margaret Watson
Rodeo Star Grady had no regrets except leaving his woman, Becca Johnson behind, esp. when she claimed there's someone else. Nine years later, when Grady was forced to retire due to a horrible injury, he had no direction in life, until a chance came up and he was able to buy a ranch in Cameron Utah. Imagine his surprise when he showed up on the ranch and found that the local vet assigned to the ranch is none other than Becca. // Becca knew she can't get close to Grady ever again... because Becca had lied. There has never been someone else... Becca's daughter is fathered by Grady, and she won't allow anyone to hurt her daughter. But someone is stalking Becca and Grady... Mysterious ailments and sabotage plagued the ranch and its animals, and there's a stalker near Becca... Can Grady convince Becca to take a chance with her body and her heart again?
Too bad Grady didn't solve the stalker problem himself (Becca had to call in the sheriff) but that part of the problem was nicely done, and I can see no holes in the logic or plot. The dance between the two, the reluctance acceptance, i.e. when/how do I tell him/her was pretty good, if a bit drawn out. Overall, still good. 6/8 (4/5 on Amazon scale).
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Love Realized by Melanie Codina FREE
Jake and Gillian had been best friends since high school. Jake had wanted to ask Gillian out, but his other best friend Logan beat him to it... and married Gillian. Now that marriage had been broken up by Logan's betrayal, Jake is all Gillian have, and Jake is perfectly willing to be GIllian's best friend, and he dare not take it any further due to Gillian's fragile state, and show any emotions that he had kept locked up for a very long time. But this time, he will no longer hesitate. This time, he will show Gillian that his heart had always been hers, if only she will reach out and take it...
At almost 400 pages, there is a lot of back and forth, and a LOT of family drama in the kinda-triangle among the three. Pace is a bit slow, but the slow-burn is good. 7/8
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Finished Women who dare 3-book bundle by Bobby Hutchinson
A Legal Affair -- Jenny, from her experience with the court system, wants a law degree to help promote social justice. Zach, the senior lawyer advisor for the free legal clinic, is there to date beautiful law school students. After all, the big shot corporate lawyer doesn't need to be there. But Jenny's love for lost cause horrified his sensible side, and Zach's corporate law and lifestyle is everything Jenny would not want in a man... He's mercenary and rich, and would never imagine going on contingency only for a low-probability case. But for Jenny... can he change his mind?
Cute, maybe not like perfect, but above average, as both end up bending for the other, but he bent a bit further. 6/8
Menu for a Wedding -- Francesca "Frankie" has a hat-making business she needed to get back, so shopping for a caterer with her mom for her sister's wedding was not exactly high on her todo list, but it's her mother. At 26, Frankie's the oldest and due to her single status, is considered spinster of the family. When the caterer Eric, who's an ex-footballer (NFL) turned restauranteur met with mother, the menu was NOT settled, nor was Frankie's heart. Eric knew this catering job would not be easy, but he did know he wanted to see Frankie again. When Frankie's determined to put her business first, Eric would have to find help from a different quarter...
Cute, good slow-burn large-family and messy gossip, with the guy being incredibly sweet and impossible to live with kinda fun. 6/8
Island Sunrise -- Charlie, a carpenter and her two best GFFs just got their dream assignment: a special construction job out in Hawaii, of all places. The only problem is Ben Gilmore, the local liaison, and technically her boss. Their job is to bring an old resort back to life, and Ben's clumsy meetcute ended up with his ankle broken, and the two can't stand each other. But someone is sabotaging the construction project, with graffiti, vandalism, broken equipment, and worse. Ben couldn't possibly leave the "girls" out there... but it used to his aunt's resort, and he needs the job done... and nobody local would do it, believing the place is haunted. As the two get to know each other, their hostility lessened, but that saboteur is still out there...
The "hostile meeting" meetcute is good, the transition is good, and the mystery kept the momentum going. The ending was both a bit sad and happy. 6/8
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Finished The Billionaire Bride by Marquita Valentine
Kate Von Lichtenstein came from a rich family, and with her inheritance due upon her marriage, even richer. But she'll be surrounded by fortune hunters (male golddiggers)... so she has a plan. She will marry a man of her own choosing... a fake marriage of convenience, of course. And she has the perfect candidate in mind... the charming Yank Noah. // Noah sold his tech company for millions and wanted to get into real estate, but lost it all when his partner developer stole the fund from him. Noah can use some money, so when Kate made him a proposition, he's eager to accept. However, he does not believe in sham marriages... now, how to convince Kate...
Not feeling much here. While making the woman with the money needing a sham husband is cool, the threat against them (basically Kate's evil parents, who resorted to kidnapping and 'a deal he can't refuse' plus framing him "he took the money and left" (by directly wiring money to his account) just comes across as "meh". 5/8
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Finished Wyoming Heather by DeAnn Smallwood Historical Western
Heather lives along on a Wyoming ranch left to her by her parents. She feeds the live stock, do animal doctoring, and basically manages to get by all alone by herself. Her ranch is a bit short on water, so she diverted some water from a nearby river that runs through a neighboring ranch, with an abandoned cabin and a lone grave. Then one day, owner of that ranch returned... // Whip hoped to die that day when a bandit not only stole his horse, but also shot dead his wife and left him for dead. He survived, and he vowed revenge. He joined the Rangers, and chased down outlaws all over the country... just not the one he was looking for. Five years later, he's back at his ranch, only to find a woman 'stealing' his water. They reached a reluctant truce, as they need each other to be at least friendly. But as they got into more and more adventures, including puppies, two new orphans that sort of adopted Whip, Whip's Lakota Indian brother, and more, they got to know each other a lot better. But someone is stalking them... waiting...
As an adventure-comedy, this would be 7/8. As a romance, it's more of a 6. 6/8 overall, I guess.
Jake and Gillian had been best friends since high school. Jake had wanted to ask Gillian out, but his other best friend Logan beat him to it... and married Gillian. Now that marriage had been broken up by Logan's betrayal, Jake is all Gillian have, and Jake is perfectly willing to be GIllian's best friend, and he dare not take it any further due to Gillian's fragile state, and show any emotions that he had kept locked up for a very long time. But this time, he will no longer hesitate. This time, he will show Gillian that his heart had always been hers, if only she will reach out and take it...
At almost 400 pages, there is a lot of back and forth, and a LOT of family drama in the kinda-triangle among the three. Pace is a bit slow, but the slow-burn is good. 7/8
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Finished Women who dare 3-book bundle by Bobby Hutchinson
A Legal Affair -- Jenny, from her experience with the court system, wants a law degree to help promote social justice. Zach, the senior lawyer advisor for the free legal clinic, is there to date beautiful law school students. After all, the big shot corporate lawyer doesn't need to be there. But Jenny's love for lost cause horrified his sensible side, and Zach's corporate law and lifestyle is everything Jenny would not want in a man... He's mercenary and rich, and would never imagine going on contingency only for a low-probability case. But for Jenny... can he change his mind?
Cute, maybe not like perfect, but above average, as both end up bending for the other, but he bent a bit further. 6/8
Menu for a Wedding -- Francesca "Frankie" has a hat-making business she needed to get back, so shopping for a caterer with her mom for her sister's wedding was not exactly high on her todo list, but it's her mother. At 26, Frankie's the oldest and due to her single status, is considered spinster of the family. When the caterer Eric, who's an ex-footballer (NFL) turned restauranteur met with mother, the menu was NOT settled, nor was Frankie's heart. Eric knew this catering job would not be easy, but he did know he wanted to see Frankie again. When Frankie's determined to put her business first, Eric would have to find help from a different quarter...
Cute, good slow-burn large-family and messy gossip, with the guy being incredibly sweet and impossible to live with kinda fun. 6/8
Island Sunrise -- Charlie, a carpenter and her two best GFFs just got their dream assignment: a special construction job out in Hawaii, of all places. The only problem is Ben Gilmore, the local liaison, and technically her boss. Their job is to bring an old resort back to life, and Ben's clumsy meetcute ended up with his ankle broken, and the two can't stand each other. But someone is sabotaging the construction project, with graffiti, vandalism, broken equipment, and worse. Ben couldn't possibly leave the "girls" out there... but it used to his aunt's resort, and he needs the job done... and nobody local would do it, believing the place is haunted. As the two get to know each other, their hostility lessened, but that saboteur is still out there...
The "hostile meeting" meetcute is good, the transition is good, and the mystery kept the momentum going. The ending was both a bit sad and happy. 6/8
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Finished The Billionaire Bride by Marquita Valentine
Kate Von Lichtenstein came from a rich family, and with her inheritance due upon her marriage, even richer. But she'll be surrounded by fortune hunters (male golddiggers)... so she has a plan. She will marry a man of her own choosing... a fake marriage of convenience, of course. And she has the perfect candidate in mind... the charming Yank Noah. // Noah sold his tech company for millions and wanted to get into real estate, but lost it all when his partner developer stole the fund from him. Noah can use some money, so when Kate made him a proposition, he's eager to accept. However, he does not believe in sham marriages... now, how to convince Kate...
Not feeling much here. While making the woman with the money needing a sham husband is cool, the threat against them (basically Kate's evil parents, who resorted to kidnapping and 'a deal he can't refuse' plus framing him "he took the money and left" (by directly wiring money to his account) just comes across as "meh". 5/8
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Finished Wyoming Heather by DeAnn Smallwood Historical Western
Heather lives along on a Wyoming ranch left to her by her parents. She feeds the live stock, do animal doctoring, and basically manages to get by all alone by herself. Her ranch is a bit short on water, so she diverted some water from a nearby river that runs through a neighboring ranch, with an abandoned cabin and a lone grave. Then one day, owner of that ranch returned... // Whip hoped to die that day when a bandit not only stole his horse, but also shot dead his wife and left him for dead. He survived, and he vowed revenge. He joined the Rangers, and chased down outlaws all over the country... just not the one he was looking for. Five years later, he's back at his ranch, only to find a woman 'stealing' his water. They reached a reluctant truce, as they need each other to be at least friendly. But as they got into more and more adventures, including puppies, two new orphans that sort of adopted Whip, Whip's Lakota Indian brother, and more, they got to know each other a lot better. But someone is stalking them... waiting...
As an adventure-comedy, this would be 7/8. As a romance, it's more of a 6. 6/8 overall, I guess.
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Ruined by the SEAL by Zoe York
Mick got discharged from the SEALs after giving his all, including almost his leg. He has a titanium rod and months of PT to remember it by. Now he's helping out a buddy to check out this family plantation, Villa Sucre, his buddy inherited on this Caribean island and draw up some plans to turn it into an executive training / bonding retreat ran by ex-SEALs sort of thing. But when he got there, he found the place was already occupied by Cara, the director of island's Historical Society... who had already started renovating the place... Mick was under the impression the plantation mansion was going to his buddy who's grandson of the owner. Cara was under the impression that the old lady donated it to the historical society. The two immediately clashed over everything, and neither is willing to give an inch. Mick moved himself into servant's quarters (and the only working bathroom), and Cara, not willing to concede, started to camp out in the main ballroom. In this war of the sexes, someone will have to give a little for both to win...
Opposites attract works well enough, but why does most heroines end up being "feisty redheads"? At least there's no SEAL abuse here... Mick is ex-SEAL. 6/8 for the dance.
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Finished SEAL's professor by Piper Sullivan
Delaney Watson is a genius on the order of Einstein, and teaching at Stanford at young age of 25, while doing important research that can revolutionize power generation as we know it. Which also made her a target for espionage... and sabotage. Enter Bennett Atlas, navy SEAL (active) assigned as her TA (teaching assistant), undercover, of course. He's model gorgeous, big, and charming, and protective. And she fell for him, hard. He can protect her from harm, but can he protect his own heart?
Right off the bat, the fiction departed from reality in a major way. SEAL, esp. active duty SEALs, CANNOT be deployed within continental US, even for undercover assignments. That's against the navy's equivalent of the *Posse Commitatus* act. For that matter, Atlas is a LOUSY bodyguard. Not only he left Laney got manhandled at the dance club, he failed to detect the saboteurs trying to burn them out of the building (too busy bonking her instead). And in the end, he resigned from the SEALs to marry her. Whop-pee-dee. Happy, yes. STUPID? Absolutely. The extra "bonus content" is just more BLEH. 2/8
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Finished Ugly Duckling by Annabell Costa
Libby dyed her hair blonde and dropped 40 pounds to stop being the ugly duckly, and she mostly succeeded. Her current boyfriend is actually quite nice, very handsome... even has the British accent. That is, until she caught him cheating. That's when she started to notice Will, her BF's roommate. Will is not that handsome, Will has no accent, and Will is paraplegic and moves around in a wheelchair. But Will is nice, charming, genuine, and makes plenty of money as a lawyer (in fact, he owns the flat, not renting) Perhaps, Libby doesn't need a male swan, but just a nice drake (that's a male duck!)...
Not bad, not the first "guy in wheelchair" romance I've read, but this has some of the nice touches. 6/8
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Finished Possession by Nadia Lee FREE (short story, 60 pages)
Prologue to her novel, "Obssession".
Dom is fighting his uncle and aunt for the future of his sister and his business. His aunt wanted to destroy him somehow. He needed a timeout, so he went to a bar... and saw Libby walking through the door with her friends, and he knew he must have her... Elizabeth Pryce-Reed is an heiress, and she hated the tight control her family has on her. She was supposed to head back to Italy to help a project there, but her friends (whom her family declared "bad influence") suggested they go partying instead to celebrate her 18th birthday in a few hours... with fake IDs. Yes, "Libby" is underage. And at the club, she saw Dom, with his heated gaze, and knew her life will be forever changed. Just not the way he or she imagined...
All I can say is... WTF? Douchebag turns nice people into douchebags? WTF? This sort of plotting feels like Korean Soap Operas, with overwrought plot devices and people being obssessively mean. That's just... not nice at all. (It's not surprising because Nadia Lee really is Korean-American) 3/8
Mick got discharged from the SEALs after giving his all, including almost his leg. He has a titanium rod and months of PT to remember it by. Now he's helping out a buddy to check out this family plantation, Villa Sucre, his buddy inherited on this Caribean island and draw up some plans to turn it into an executive training / bonding retreat ran by ex-SEALs sort of thing. But when he got there, he found the place was already occupied by Cara, the director of island's Historical Society... who had already started renovating the place... Mick was under the impression the plantation mansion was going to his buddy who's grandson of the owner. Cara was under the impression that the old lady donated it to the historical society. The two immediately clashed over everything, and neither is willing to give an inch. Mick moved himself into servant's quarters (and the only working bathroom), and Cara, not willing to concede, started to camp out in the main ballroom. In this war of the sexes, someone will have to give a little for both to win...
Opposites attract works well enough, but why does most heroines end up being "feisty redheads"? At least there's no SEAL abuse here... Mick is ex-SEAL. 6/8 for the dance.
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Finished SEAL's professor by Piper Sullivan
Delaney Watson is a genius on the order of Einstein, and teaching at Stanford at young age of 25, while doing important research that can revolutionize power generation as we know it. Which also made her a target for espionage... and sabotage. Enter Bennett Atlas, navy SEAL (active) assigned as her TA (teaching assistant), undercover, of course. He's model gorgeous, big, and charming, and protective. And she fell for him, hard. He can protect her from harm, but can he protect his own heart?
Right off the bat, the fiction departed from reality in a major way. SEAL, esp. active duty SEALs, CANNOT be deployed within continental US, even for undercover assignments. That's against the navy's equivalent of the *Posse Commitatus* act. For that matter, Atlas is a LOUSY bodyguard. Not only he left Laney got manhandled at the dance club, he failed to detect the saboteurs trying to burn them out of the building (too busy bonking her instead). And in the end, he resigned from the SEALs to marry her. Whop-pee-dee. Happy, yes. STUPID? Absolutely. The extra "bonus content" is just more BLEH. 2/8
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Finished Ugly Duckling by Annabell Costa
Libby dyed her hair blonde and dropped 40 pounds to stop being the ugly duckly, and she mostly succeeded. Her current boyfriend is actually quite nice, very handsome... even has the British accent. That is, until she caught him cheating. That's when she started to notice Will, her BF's roommate. Will is not that handsome, Will has no accent, and Will is paraplegic and moves around in a wheelchair. But Will is nice, charming, genuine, and makes plenty of money as a lawyer (in fact, he owns the flat, not renting) Perhaps, Libby doesn't need a male swan, but just a nice drake (that's a male duck!)...
Not bad, not the first "guy in wheelchair" romance I've read, but this has some of the nice touches. 6/8
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Finished Possession by Nadia Lee FREE (short story, 60 pages)
Prologue to her novel, "Obssession".
Dom is fighting his uncle and aunt for the future of his sister and his business. His aunt wanted to destroy him somehow. He needed a timeout, so he went to a bar... and saw Libby walking through the door with her friends, and he knew he must have her... Elizabeth Pryce-Reed is an heiress, and she hated the tight control her family has on her. She was supposed to head back to Italy to help a project there, but her friends (whom her family declared "bad influence") suggested they go partying instead to celebrate her 18th birthday in a few hours... with fake IDs. Yes, "Libby" is underage. And at the club, she saw Dom, with his heated gaze, and knew her life will be forever changed. Just not the way he or she imagined...
Spoiler:
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Long Road Home by Mary Jane Morgan
Megan had to keep her family going after her father's suicide. Her father had squandered all the money and assets on bad business deals before his death. Her family is also on hostile terms with their neighbor, the Dawsons. When Brett Dawson arrived at her ranch with warning of a mountain lion nearby, They agreed to check on her mare, only to found the mare dead... and Brett performed a C-section to save the foal. Megan did not want any Dawson's help, but she has no choice as she and her mother had NO IDEA how to run a ranch, muchless raising an orphaned foal... // Brett knew his father had done something to cause the rift between his family and Megan's. His father is a mean drunk after death of Brett's little sister. Brett also lost his fiancee when she insisted on covering a story and was caught in a shooting. Brett needed to help Megan through her crisis, and help her get the ranch running, but the secrets kept by her mother and her little sister, as well as his father and mother, threaten to collapse the hard-earned friendship he had built between him and Megan... and when all the secrets are exposed, no one will escape unscathed...
The story went on from there, Brett helping Megan through each crisis, and with each secret exposed, things got a bit darker... I like the plot twists, but I think there's a bit too much trauma in this book, which is less than 250 pages! Still, admire the plotting. 6/8
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Finished Something New by Skylar Hill
Cam was orphaned just before her 18th birthday, and she did all she could to raise her little sister by herself, including working in a tattoo parlor for a boss that denigrates her work everytime he gets, even though she brings in the clients. She just never expected "Jay"... // James McGowan is a legend in the tattoo community. He is handsome, buff, charming, and unrivaled in ink. Heck, he even had a reality show for a while. When he saw a work that took his breath away, he had to meet the artist... So he booked a consult as "Jay", and met Cam. And the chemistry is off the charts, as Cam had admired James' work for years. But Cam can't afford any distractions, even as she desperately wanted to lose herself in James' arms, and James wants Cam personally, even though he's really there to hire Cam to join his new tattoo studio. Can she let down her guard and risk everything for a brighter future?
The "evil boss" was just cliche mean. While I kinda enjoyed the tattoo terms, and there's some emotions there (including a full make out session in one of the private rooms), the rest seems really cliche / trope. The book also ended on a happy note, but with a lot more to come for the couple. It's NOT a cliffhanger though, even though it's only 116 pages. I debated giving this 3/5 or 4/5, but I guess it deserves a 4/5 (or 6/8 on OO scale)
Megan had to keep her family going after her father's suicide. Her father had squandered all the money and assets on bad business deals before his death. Her family is also on hostile terms with their neighbor, the Dawsons. When Brett Dawson arrived at her ranch with warning of a mountain lion nearby, They agreed to check on her mare, only to found the mare dead... and Brett performed a C-section to save the foal. Megan did not want any Dawson's help, but she has no choice as she and her mother had NO IDEA how to run a ranch, muchless raising an orphaned foal... // Brett knew his father had done something to cause the rift between his family and Megan's. His father is a mean drunk after death of Brett's little sister. Brett also lost his fiancee when she insisted on covering a story and was caught in a shooting. Brett needed to help Megan through her crisis, and help her get the ranch running, but the secrets kept by her mother and her little sister, as well as his father and mother, threaten to collapse the hard-earned friendship he had built between him and Megan... and when all the secrets are exposed, no one will escape unscathed...
The story went on from there, Brett helping Megan through each crisis, and with each secret exposed, things got a bit darker... I like the plot twists, but I think there's a bit too much trauma in this book, which is less than 250 pages! Still, admire the plotting. 6/8
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Finished Something New by Skylar Hill
Cam was orphaned just before her 18th birthday, and she did all she could to raise her little sister by herself, including working in a tattoo parlor for a boss that denigrates her work everytime he gets, even though she brings in the clients. She just never expected "Jay"... // James McGowan is a legend in the tattoo community. He is handsome, buff, charming, and unrivaled in ink. Heck, he even had a reality show for a while. When he saw a work that took his breath away, he had to meet the artist... So he booked a consult as "Jay", and met Cam. And the chemistry is off the charts, as Cam had admired James' work for years. But Cam can't afford any distractions, even as she desperately wanted to lose herself in James' arms, and James wants Cam personally, even though he's really there to hire Cam to join his new tattoo studio. Can she let down her guard and risk everything for a brighter future?
The "evil boss" was just cliche mean. While I kinda enjoyed the tattoo terms, and there's some emotions there (including a full make out session in one of the private rooms), the rest seems really cliche / trope. The book also ended on a happy note, but with a lot more to come for the couple. It's NOT a cliffhanger though, even though it's only 116 pages. I debated giving this 3/5 or 4/5, but I guess it deserves a 4/5 (or 6/8 on OO scale)
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: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Menage a Cowboy by Jenny Klaire FREE
Grace wanted to be a veterinarian because her father was one. She is going to vet school but in the summer she's back home helping. When she helped a mare with breech birth at Scott's ranch, she felt elated, and kissed the cowboy after coming out of the shower, only to realize she actually kissed Scott's twin brother Adam instead... And the twins don't mind sharing at all... But the twins have an evil ex-GF Cindy out there that trying to entrap them... and Grace has an evil ex Jake out there not accepting her "we're over"...
Practically erotica, it's about a "cowboy sandwich", ahem. The plot was pretty basic... and who's heard of letting someone out of jail after only a week for a VERY serious crime, without at least a protective order? (Not going to tell you why, that's be spoiling the plot). I guess I can give it 5/8 (3/5 on Amazon scale)
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Finished Mr. Trouble by Nana Malone
Jarred Maloney has plenty of money, and his playboy lifestyle is making his father weary. In order to make him shape up, Jarred is forced to 1) find a job he likes in the company, even if it's to run the Formula racing team the company owns, and 2) find a steady girlfriend, not the all-weekend partying with as many girls as he can grab. Jarred hated the restrictions, and he just wanted to game the system... that means finding a fake wife, but one that his dad would accept... enter Kinsley, her father's PA. // Kinsley found that the building that contained her apartment is being turned into a condo and unless she can come up with 100000 pounds as down payment, she'll lose the place. She moved temporarily into one of the executive suite of the company. She found to her horror her next door neighbor is none other than Jarred, owner's son, and he had a proposal for her: fake-engage him, and when he got his inheritance, he'll pay her half a million quids... She's torn among "this is so wrong", "I need the money", "this is cheating my boss", "oh he's so hot", "I'm not worthy"... but eventually, she agreed... But when Jarred started to have real feelings for her...
As the plot goes, eventually the deception can't be contained, the backstory they made up cracked, but by then they really can't live without each other, but there's probably some shame that one probalby agree to leave the other voluntarily, despite how good they had been together. The plot like this is pretty standard, and this book really is no exception. However, the chemistry between the two is pretty good. I guess I can give this 6/8 (4/5 on Amazon scale)
Grace wanted to be a veterinarian because her father was one. She is going to vet school but in the summer she's back home helping. When she helped a mare with breech birth at Scott's ranch, she felt elated, and kissed the cowboy after coming out of the shower, only to realize she actually kissed Scott's twin brother Adam instead... And the twins don't mind sharing at all... But the twins have an evil ex-GF Cindy out there that trying to entrap them... and Grace has an evil ex Jake out there not accepting her "we're over"...
Practically erotica, it's about a "cowboy sandwich", ahem. The plot was pretty basic... and who's heard of letting someone out of jail after only a week for a VERY serious crime, without at least a protective order? (Not going to tell you why, that's be spoiling the plot). I guess I can give it 5/8 (3/5 on Amazon scale)
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Finished Mr. Trouble by Nana Malone
Jarred Maloney has plenty of money, and his playboy lifestyle is making his father weary. In order to make him shape up, Jarred is forced to 1) find a job he likes in the company, even if it's to run the Formula racing team the company owns, and 2) find a steady girlfriend, not the all-weekend partying with as many girls as he can grab. Jarred hated the restrictions, and he just wanted to game the system... that means finding a fake wife, but one that his dad would accept... enter Kinsley, her father's PA. // Kinsley found that the building that contained her apartment is being turned into a condo and unless she can come up with 100000 pounds as down payment, she'll lose the place. She moved temporarily into one of the executive suite of the company. She found to her horror her next door neighbor is none other than Jarred, owner's son, and he had a proposal for her: fake-engage him, and when he got his inheritance, he'll pay her half a million quids... She's torn among "this is so wrong", "I need the money", "this is cheating my boss", "oh he's so hot", "I'm not worthy"... but eventually, she agreed... But when Jarred started to have real feelings for her...
As the plot goes, eventually the deception can't be contained, the backstory they made up cracked, but by then they really can't live without each other, but there's probably some shame that one probalby agree to leave the other voluntarily, despite how good they had been together. The plot like this is pretty standard, and this book really is no exception. However, the chemistry between the two is pretty good. I guess I can give this 6/8 (4/5 on Amazon scale)
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Tempting Boundaries by Carrie Ann Ryan
Decker grew up with the Montgomeries, and is best friend with the older brothers. He knew he shouldn't desire their little sister Miranda, but he can't help thinking what could happen... even though he can't take any action. That is, until Miranda decided she had enough and decided to take matters into her own hands... But when Decker's own abusive father is out of jail, and Miranda's ex is unhappy with her hooking up with Decker... not to mention the reaction of the brothers when they found on Decker's been hot and heavy with their own little sister... Things don't look good for the couple... Even if they can get past their own insecurities...
Above average, even though the plot is trope at heck. Good polish and obstacles plus family secrets and shames and all that. 6/8
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Finished Everything I left Behind by Christina (JC) Emery
Colleen and Bradley were best friends growing up, even though they are complete opposites. He stayed behind, got a criminal law degree, and became a cop, then a detective, in their hometown, South Boston. She left it all behind and went to live the way she wanted, but decades later, she's hitting 35, and none of her dreams, husband, house, two kids, had came true, while her female friends have married and settled down. At her birthday bash in Las Vegas, Brad came, and after one drunken night, they ended up married. They meant it as a joke... "just to see what it feels like". Except then they found out they don't fit the criteria for an annulment, and they can't get divorced because of their religion. Now stuck with each other... Can they finally admit to each other that they really *do* love each other, and live together, even though they are STILL polar opposites of each other?
The beginning is hard to like. Colleen seems just like such a whine-y *****. Who gets married "just to see what it's like"? Sheesh. But once they had been shackled together, and the nerves starts to fray, as they really get under each other's skin, that's when the book started to shine. 6/8
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Finished Havoc by Autumn Grey
Selene left her painful marriage behind after a divorce, and got back to modeling as a plus-sized model, and her first contract took her to Paris for a multi-month assignment. She hopes for some love to soothe her soul. After all, Paris is the City of Love, right? She did not expect to find the handsome and rich Remington St. Germaine or his son Adrien... // Remington knew Selene was the one for him. It has been years since the death of his fiancee Collette. There is some resemblance between the two women, but Remington knew he must pursue Selene with all that he possesses... If he can only find out who is this stalker that kept bothering him...
There are some problems with this book, including "way too capable villain".
With that said, the story does have some nice twists and turns. I guess I can give this 6/8
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Finished Breakfast for Two by Jill Haymaker
Peakview is a small community, maybe 200 or so people, so it has only one mechanic and one cafe, and Violet had been running Violet's Cafe since forever. She's a widow in her fifties. While losing Stan was painful, it had been a while. She's just not ready to think about someone new. But Howard, the resident mechanic, is a friend, who's always there in the morning, and he's a hermit and a confirmed bachelor. He basically just showed up one day and took over the old garage/gas station, and he's been here 30 years, and nobody bothered asking why. That is, until a mother and daughter came to town, looking for Howard. It appears that Howard's regret from 30 years ago is back to haunt him as a reminder that life is too short to have regrets... but is Violet amenable for male attention?
This author's romance is always low, with minimal sex (but there are some), and often with older people finding another chance. While it may be better to read them in order, I'm not, and each book is definitely standalone. I like the slow burn and the way a catalyst (usually, a stranger in town) sets things in motion that no one really anticipates. 6/8
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Finished A Soldier's Love by Natalie Dean Historical
Molly O'Hara is just the head housekeeper's daughter on the Turner Plantation, that managed to survive the war intact because it did not use slave labor and thus was never attacked or ransacked. But the twin brothers enlisted in separate camps, one for the Union, and one for the Confederacy. One was killed in battle, and the other was captured and lost in the horror of Andersonville prison. Molly's father took the proxy payment of $500 and went in someone else's place to war, and returned in a casket. Her mother died not too long after, too broken to go on. When Mr. Turner died, Molly was surprised to find she had been left the entire plantation, with two provisos... To find the fate of James Turner, lost in Andersonville, and to return him to the plantation, dead or alive. // When Molly spotted a mail-order bride ad for a rancher named "Jim Turner" in Texas, Molly was sure she had found the right man, and decided to answer the mail-order bride ad. But this Jim was reserved, distant, and cold, nothing like the bright, handsome, and vivacious James she remembered. But it's clear this Jim left a lot of himself behind in the horror of Andersonville, and it may be up to her to help him get past it, to find the future they can embrace together.
The setup seems over the top, and the idea that she'll legally get married to this "Jim Turner" just to see if he's the real deal seems even more far-fetched, esp. after the Civil War. It seems really elaborate setup just for finding a person. I like the reluctant struggle, but overall, it's average. WAY too much setup. 5/8
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Finished Lily by Cyndi Raye Historical
In the town of Wichita Falls, Texas, Lily loves Ben, but she can never marry him. Ben moved to Ft. Worth for a while, but came back, and intending to build a hotel there, one of the best out in the state, and he is trying every trick to goad Lily into marrying him, short of anything illegal, of course. Including publicly announcing he's going to get a mail-order bride (it's just a ploy though). But Lily can't marry Ben, because she's keeping a secret.. a rival guy, Byron, threatened to hurt Ben, and Byron is tangled up into all sorts of shady deals. And one night... something happened between Byron and Lily... (no, not that, never got THAT far). But Byron doesn't want Lily to tell ANYONE about that night either. So she had to keep Ben away so Byron won't hurt Ben. But Ben's not taking no for an answer... When Byron decided to force Lily to marry him instead... things are getting a bit complicated...
The ending seems to be a bit too serenditous, but at least it's not really a mail order bride story per se. 6/8
Decker grew up with the Montgomeries, and is best friend with the older brothers. He knew he shouldn't desire their little sister Miranda, but he can't help thinking what could happen... even though he can't take any action. That is, until Miranda decided she had enough and decided to take matters into her own hands... But when Decker's own abusive father is out of jail, and Miranda's ex is unhappy with her hooking up with Decker... not to mention the reaction of the brothers when they found on Decker's been hot and heavy with their own little sister... Things don't look good for the couple... Even if they can get past their own insecurities...
Above average, even though the plot is trope at heck. Good polish and obstacles plus family secrets and shames and all that. 6/8
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Finished Everything I left Behind by Christina (JC) Emery
Colleen and Bradley were best friends growing up, even though they are complete opposites. He stayed behind, got a criminal law degree, and became a cop, then a detective, in their hometown, South Boston. She left it all behind and went to live the way she wanted, but decades later, she's hitting 35, and none of her dreams, husband, house, two kids, had came true, while her female friends have married and settled down. At her birthday bash in Las Vegas, Brad came, and after one drunken night, they ended up married. They meant it as a joke... "just to see what it feels like". Except then they found out they don't fit the criteria for an annulment, and they can't get divorced because of their religion. Now stuck with each other... Can they finally admit to each other that they really *do* love each other, and live together, even though they are STILL polar opposites of each other?
The beginning is hard to like. Colleen seems just like such a whine-y *****. Who gets married "just to see what it's like"? Sheesh. But once they had been shackled together, and the nerves starts to fray, as they really get under each other's skin, that's when the book started to shine. 6/8
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Finished Havoc by Autumn Grey
Selene left her painful marriage behind after a divorce, and got back to modeling as a plus-sized model, and her first contract took her to Paris for a multi-month assignment. She hopes for some love to soothe her soul. After all, Paris is the City of Love, right? She did not expect to find the handsome and rich Remington St. Germaine or his son Adrien... // Remington knew Selene was the one for him. It has been years since the death of his fiancee Collette. There is some resemblance between the two women, but Remington knew he must pursue Selene with all that he possesses... If he can only find out who is this stalker that kept bothering him...
There are some problems with this book, including "way too capable villain".
Spoiler:
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Finished Breakfast for Two by Jill Haymaker
Peakview is a small community, maybe 200 or so people, so it has only one mechanic and one cafe, and Violet had been running Violet's Cafe since forever. She's a widow in her fifties. While losing Stan was painful, it had been a while. She's just not ready to think about someone new. But Howard, the resident mechanic, is a friend, who's always there in the morning, and he's a hermit and a confirmed bachelor. He basically just showed up one day and took over the old garage/gas station, and he's been here 30 years, and nobody bothered asking why. That is, until a mother and daughter came to town, looking for Howard. It appears that Howard's regret from 30 years ago is back to haunt him as a reminder that life is too short to have regrets... but is Violet amenable for male attention?
This author's romance is always low, with minimal sex (but there are some), and often with older people finding another chance. While it may be better to read them in order, I'm not, and each book is definitely standalone. I like the slow burn and the way a catalyst (usually, a stranger in town) sets things in motion that no one really anticipates. 6/8
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Finished A Soldier's Love by Natalie Dean Historical
Molly O'Hara is just the head housekeeper's daughter on the Turner Plantation, that managed to survive the war intact because it did not use slave labor and thus was never attacked or ransacked. But the twin brothers enlisted in separate camps, one for the Union, and one for the Confederacy. One was killed in battle, and the other was captured and lost in the horror of Andersonville prison. Molly's father took the proxy payment of $500 and went in someone else's place to war, and returned in a casket. Her mother died not too long after, too broken to go on. When Mr. Turner died, Molly was surprised to find she had been left the entire plantation, with two provisos... To find the fate of James Turner, lost in Andersonville, and to return him to the plantation, dead or alive. // When Molly spotted a mail-order bride ad for a rancher named "Jim Turner" in Texas, Molly was sure she had found the right man, and decided to answer the mail-order bride ad. But this Jim was reserved, distant, and cold, nothing like the bright, handsome, and vivacious James she remembered. But it's clear this Jim left a lot of himself behind in the horror of Andersonville, and it may be up to her to help him get past it, to find the future they can embrace together.
The setup seems over the top, and the idea that she'll legally get married to this "Jim Turner" just to see if he's the real deal seems even more far-fetched, esp. after the Civil War. It seems really elaborate setup just for finding a person. I like the reluctant struggle, but overall, it's average. WAY too much setup. 5/8
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Finished Lily by Cyndi Raye Historical
In the town of Wichita Falls, Texas, Lily loves Ben, but she can never marry him. Ben moved to Ft. Worth for a while, but came back, and intending to build a hotel there, one of the best out in the state, and he is trying every trick to goad Lily into marrying him, short of anything illegal, of course. Including publicly announcing he's going to get a mail-order bride (it's just a ploy though). But Lily can't marry Ben, because she's keeping a secret.. a rival guy, Byron, threatened to hurt Ben, and Byron is tangled up into all sorts of shady deals. And one night... something happened between Byron and Lily... (no, not that, never got THAT far). But Byron doesn't want Lily to tell ANYONE about that night either. So she had to keep Ben away so Byron won't hurt Ben. But Ben's not taking no for an answer... When Byron decided to force Lily to marry him instead... things are getting a bit complicated...
The ending seems to be a bit too serenditous, but at least it's not really a mail order bride story per se. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Seeking the Sheriff by Calle J Brookes
The Tylers lived on the outskirts of Masterson County, and Phoebe is the nominal woman of the house. Their mom died a while back, and dad worked every day to keep the large family of kids fed. When Sheriff Joel hauled the rebellious teen brother to them, Phoebe enjoyed the tall and handsome man, but due to the previous sheriff's persecution, Phoebe knew she can't fall for a lawman... // Sheriff Joel Masterson (yes, county's named after his ancestors) knew the entire county depends on him, and he had no time for any trouble from the Tylers, but Phoebe seems to bring out all the protective instincts in him, esp. when he had to transport her to the hospital after her brother went berserk (when his dad basically thrown him out) and the attack knocked Phoebe over, causing her to hit her head. Phoebe enjoyed being in Joel's arms, but she's too busy taking care of the kids, homeschooling them, and do all the chores around the ranch. And the Sheriff is busy busting a drug ring that encroached on his jurisdiction...
Okay, the romance just feels a bit too... insta-love? Though the way the plot managed to wrap around and tied everything together (the rebellious brother, the bully in town the drug problem, AND Phoebe are ALL related somehow, not that I'll spoil you the plot) was masterfully done. 6/8
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Finished The Soul of a SEAL by Anne Elizabeth
Captain Bennett Sheraton, navy SEAL, just got pulled for an urgent reassignment... He and a fellow SEAL must get a new generation of space shuttle ready, but several deaths on the research base (include two navy SEALs) has the base personnel on edge and the program on the verge of shutdown. But the payload, a new laser array to clean up orbital space debris, is needed urgently in space. Their liaison on site is Dr. Kimberly Warren, the chief engineer of the Warren Shuttle (yes, it's named after her), and she's fighting the project manager almost every day, and he also gave her the creeps. Bennett just root out the saboteurs and murderers (unknown number) from within the facility, even as Kimberly and Bennett falls hard for each other... He appreciates a woman with a brain, and she wants this hard-bodied man... But someone who managed to kill two SEALs is not someone to be taken lightly...
I am not sure what to think about this one. The technical accuracies are sometimes, quite glaring. A 'captain' in US navy is an O-6. A SEAL team which is hundreds of SEALs, is commanded by an O-5, so an O-6 is in charge of several SEAL teams, i.e. a "naval special warfare group" or an "nsw task unit". And a desk jockey. They have engineering degrees and whatnot, but to claim they have astronaut level training? Huh? Isn't that more of Air Force's area? Also, when Bennett and Kimberly went out for a flight, and the craft failed and auto-rotated, they had to wait HOURS for a rescue. Doesn't the base have any helos? And a laser array deployed from a shuttle that can fire almost 360 and completely vaporize space debris? That's science fiction as that'd involve a disintegrating ray. lasers don't do that. There's also a scene at the end where they rescued the pilot from the surf by shooting out his windshield. Uh, something that can withstand re-entry probably won't give a **** about a couple gunshots.
On the other hand, the sabotage, the double-guessing, the find-the-mole parts of the novel are actually quite good, and the chemistry seems okay. All in all, I guess I have to rate this average. 5/8
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The Tylers lived on the outskirts of Masterson County, and Phoebe is the nominal woman of the house. Their mom died a while back, and dad worked every day to keep the large family of kids fed. When Sheriff Joel hauled the rebellious teen brother to them, Phoebe enjoyed the tall and handsome man, but due to the previous sheriff's persecution, Phoebe knew she can't fall for a lawman... // Sheriff Joel Masterson (yes, county's named after his ancestors) knew the entire county depends on him, and he had no time for any trouble from the Tylers, but Phoebe seems to bring out all the protective instincts in him, esp. when he had to transport her to the hospital after her brother went berserk (when his dad basically thrown him out) and the attack knocked Phoebe over, causing her to hit her head. Phoebe enjoyed being in Joel's arms, but she's too busy taking care of the kids, homeschooling them, and do all the chores around the ranch. And the Sheriff is busy busting a drug ring that encroached on his jurisdiction...
Okay, the romance just feels a bit too... insta-love? Though the way the plot managed to wrap around and tied everything together (the rebellious brother, the bully in town the drug problem, AND Phoebe are ALL related somehow, not that I'll spoil you the plot) was masterfully done. 6/8
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Finished The Soul of a SEAL by Anne Elizabeth
Captain Bennett Sheraton, navy SEAL, just got pulled for an urgent reassignment... He and a fellow SEAL must get a new generation of space shuttle ready, but several deaths on the research base (include two navy SEALs) has the base personnel on edge and the program on the verge of shutdown. But the payload, a new laser array to clean up orbital space debris, is needed urgently in space. Their liaison on site is Dr. Kimberly Warren, the chief engineer of the Warren Shuttle (yes, it's named after her), and she's fighting the project manager almost every day, and he also gave her the creeps. Bennett just root out the saboteurs and murderers (unknown number) from within the facility, even as Kimberly and Bennett falls hard for each other... He appreciates a woman with a brain, and she wants this hard-bodied man... But someone who managed to kill two SEALs is not someone to be taken lightly...
I am not sure what to think about this one. The technical accuracies are sometimes, quite glaring. A 'captain' in US navy is an O-6. A SEAL team which is hundreds of SEALs, is commanded by an O-5, so an O-6 is in charge of several SEAL teams, i.e. a "naval special warfare group" or an "nsw task unit". And a desk jockey. They have engineering degrees and whatnot, but to claim they have astronaut level training? Huh? Isn't that more of Air Force's area? Also, when Bennett and Kimberly went out for a flight, and the craft failed and auto-rotated, they had to wait HOURS for a rescue. Doesn't the base have any helos? And a laser array deployed from a shuttle that can fire almost 360 and completely vaporize space debris? That's science fiction as that'd involve a disintegrating ray. lasers don't do that. There's also a scene at the end where they rescued the pilot from the surf by shooting out his windshield. Uh, something that can withstand re-entry probably won't give a **** about a couple gunshots.
On the other hand, the sabotage, the double-guessing, the find-the-mole parts of the novel are actually quite good, and the chemistry seems okay. All in all, I guess I have to rate this average. 5/8
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My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Wolf Trouble by Paige Tyler
Book 2 in the "SWAT: Special Wofl Alpha Team series". Dallas SWAT team has a secret... Everybody on the team is a wolf-shifter... but they are all male. When not even their perfect record can keep the politicians at bay, the force is forced to expand its roster... for a female candidate. But the team alpha has a candidate in mind... but will the gold team leader, Xander Riggs accept the new recruit? // Khaki Blake is a regular beat cop in a small town, and things were going well, until she rejected romance from the department's golden boy. Suddenly, she's blackballed, her backup mysteriously got delayed, and she was shot multiple times after engaging three suspects in a gunbattle. And that's when she realized she's not normal anymore. But each of her subsequent success due to the new abilities only made her more of a pariah. When Dallas SWAT captain came to offer her a position, Khaki took it, and despite lack of SWAT experience, she fit perfectly into Dallas SWAT, except for her team leader, Xander seems to be avoiding her, yet his touch sends tingle up her arm, and there's a unique scent and chemistry she can't deny... When Dallas SWAT was called to assist the FBI against a group of highly organized bank robbers, her abilities will be put to the test... if they can just keep their minds on their objectives... but there's someone out there, watching them...
Fun story about an alternate were-wolf universe, where it's basically trauma that triggered the abilities to manifest. The plotting works really well, with all the proper story beats, that transitioned into the next. 7/8
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Finished Finding You by Maureen Child
Carla took an indefinite leave of absence from search and rescue after failing to save a child. She retreated to her hometown, not willing to try again. She wondered about the stranger moving next door, but finding the mute daughter Reese playing with her puppies and her handsome but distant father, Jackson Wyatt, intrigued her. // Jackson Wyatt is running out of time and options. His daughter Reese had not spoken a word since the car accident that killed his wife, and his in-laws gave a deadline... Reese is going into an institute if they don't see any results by end of summer, which is only a few months ago. Jackson had no idea how to bring his daughter back, but Carla's puppies seemed to help a lot, and the rest of Carla's big Italian family helped too. When Carla and Jackson ended up compare notes, they each realized they felt guilty about their past... but should they? And how does one let go of the pain that defined them?
I like the family and the way the scars are laid out, and each forcing to other to see their pain in a new light. 6/8
Book 2 in the "SWAT: Special Wofl Alpha Team series". Dallas SWAT team has a secret... Everybody on the team is a wolf-shifter... but they are all male. When not even their perfect record can keep the politicians at bay, the force is forced to expand its roster... for a female candidate. But the team alpha has a candidate in mind... but will the gold team leader, Xander Riggs accept the new recruit? // Khaki Blake is a regular beat cop in a small town, and things were going well, until she rejected romance from the department's golden boy. Suddenly, she's blackballed, her backup mysteriously got delayed, and she was shot multiple times after engaging three suspects in a gunbattle. And that's when she realized she's not normal anymore. But each of her subsequent success due to the new abilities only made her more of a pariah. When Dallas SWAT captain came to offer her a position, Khaki took it, and despite lack of SWAT experience, she fit perfectly into Dallas SWAT, except for her team leader, Xander seems to be avoiding her, yet his touch sends tingle up her arm, and there's a unique scent and chemistry she can't deny... When Dallas SWAT was called to assist the FBI against a group of highly organized bank robbers, her abilities will be put to the test... if they can just keep their minds on their objectives... but there's someone out there, watching them...
Fun story about an alternate were-wolf universe, where it's basically trauma that triggered the abilities to manifest. The plotting works really well, with all the proper story beats, that transitioned into the next. 7/8
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Finished Finding You by Maureen Child
Carla took an indefinite leave of absence from search and rescue after failing to save a child. She retreated to her hometown, not willing to try again. She wondered about the stranger moving next door, but finding the mute daughter Reese playing with her puppies and her handsome but distant father, Jackson Wyatt, intrigued her. // Jackson Wyatt is running out of time and options. His daughter Reese had not spoken a word since the car accident that killed his wife, and his in-laws gave a deadline... Reese is going into an institute if they don't see any results by end of summer, which is only a few months ago. Jackson had no idea how to bring his daughter back, but Carla's puppies seemed to help a lot, and the rest of Carla's big Italian family helped too. When Carla and Jackson ended up compare notes, they each realized they felt guilty about their past... but should they? And how does one let go of the pain that defined them?
I like the family and the way the scars are laid out, and each forcing to other to see their pain in a new light. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Trust In Me by Kathryn Shay
The town of Glen Oak had always been about car racing, and the four kids grew up together, Linc, Margo, Beth, Annie, and Joe are known as the "outlaws"... they always get into trouble one way or another. Many years later. Linc, the leader, went to divinity school and became a minister. His love, Margo, became an atheist due to her abusive upbringing in a religious cult. Beth married Danny the race car driver, but he died in a fiery crash, leaving her to raise Ronny alone. Annie married Joe, but Joe turned into an abusive asshole, made a kid, then put her in the hospital with another beating. he stopped after she told him she's pregnant, and he just walked out. Then Glen Oak was shocked when two people came to town: Tucker, the driver that that Danny was competing with for first place when he crashed, came to town, not only to see his mentor Doc, but also to seek redemption with Beth and Ronny, if that is possible. Linc is trying to counsel women being abused. Margo is trying to face inappropriate attention at work from her superior Phillip... and Joe came back to town, a totally changed person. He's sober, clean, reformed, and became a school counselor for kids. But Annie's not ready to see him, even though she can't deny him his two children, but the painful memories won't go away, and Ronny is angry at the man who "killed his father", and when Beth found herself drawn to Tucker, had even worse sense of betrayal... These couples have a lot to work toward...
At 400 pages, this book felt as if it's a tome twice as long. With multiple couples to cover (Linc and Margo, Tucker and Beth, Joe and Annie, plus ancillary characters like Ronny, Doc, Rosa, and Rosa's abusive husband Sam, it's sometimes a bit hard to keep the characters straight. The LONG prequel about how the Outlaws got into trouble in their youth (they were stupid enough to hold up a restaurant, but the owner didn't press charges and got at least one of them straightened out) left me a bit confused. I don't think that chapter added much to the story. On the other hand, the psychological makeup of an abuser, was discussed nicely, and there were bits about faith and God that were slightly heavy-handed, but perhaps, appropriate at the time. All in all, while this is a good saga, somehow the story lost some of its punch by having THREE couples to juggle, plus their respective plot lines (Margo''s own, and Linc's own) is just too many plotlines overall for a reader to keep track 6/8
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Finished Trusted Hearts by Phoenix Sullivan
Kim almost married the wrong man, but fortunately she caught him cheating at the right time. To get over him, Kim went to visit her cousin all the way in South Africa for two whole months, and they agreed to visit one of the local safari zoos where you can feed the animals directly. But the deplorable conditions made Kim saw read instead. The animals are starved, the enclosures barely have grass, and the elephant was staked and chained to a spot. Kim, determined save the animals, went to track down the owner of the place, Billionaire Brent Sher. // Brent invested in several safari and nature-related businesses, but he generally left the day-to-day stuff to his right-hand-hand Jabu. When his assistant let through Kim, he was shocked at the accusations levied by a stranger from the US, but her sincerity made him pause... this woman wanted nothing for herself, merely better treatment for one of HIS animals. As they investigated, it was clear that Jabu was not only embezzling from the company, but may be using the company as a cover for something illegal. And Kim and Brent fell for each other. But as the net draws tighter around Jabu, Jabu has one last gambit to play...
The attraction between the two was slightly forced, I didn't feel it that much other than they have fondness for the animals. The enemies to lovers transition phase didn't last very long. OTOH I do like the South African details, they seem authentic, not that I can tell what's not authentic. 6/8
The town of Glen Oak had always been about car racing, and the four kids grew up together, Linc, Margo, Beth, Annie, and Joe are known as the "outlaws"... they always get into trouble one way or another. Many years later. Linc, the leader, went to divinity school and became a minister. His love, Margo, became an atheist due to her abusive upbringing in a religious cult. Beth married Danny the race car driver, but he died in a fiery crash, leaving her to raise Ronny alone. Annie married Joe, but Joe turned into an abusive asshole, made a kid, then put her in the hospital with another beating. he stopped after she told him she's pregnant, and he just walked out. Then Glen Oak was shocked when two people came to town: Tucker, the driver that that Danny was competing with for first place when he crashed, came to town, not only to see his mentor Doc, but also to seek redemption with Beth and Ronny, if that is possible. Linc is trying to counsel women being abused. Margo is trying to face inappropriate attention at work from her superior Phillip... and Joe came back to town, a totally changed person. He's sober, clean, reformed, and became a school counselor for kids. But Annie's not ready to see him, even though she can't deny him his two children, but the painful memories won't go away, and Ronny is angry at the man who "killed his father", and when Beth found herself drawn to Tucker, had even worse sense of betrayal... These couples have a lot to work toward...
At 400 pages, this book felt as if it's a tome twice as long. With multiple couples to cover (Linc and Margo, Tucker and Beth, Joe and Annie, plus ancillary characters like Ronny, Doc, Rosa, and Rosa's abusive husband Sam, it's sometimes a bit hard to keep the characters straight. The LONG prequel about how the Outlaws got into trouble in their youth (they were stupid enough to hold up a restaurant, but the owner didn't press charges and got at least one of them straightened out) left me a bit confused. I don't think that chapter added much to the story. On the other hand, the psychological makeup of an abuser, was discussed nicely, and there were bits about faith and God that were slightly heavy-handed, but perhaps, appropriate at the time. All in all, while this is a good saga, somehow the story lost some of its punch by having THREE couples to juggle, plus their respective plot lines (Margo''s own, and Linc's own) is just too many plotlines overall for a reader to keep track 6/8
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Finished Trusted Hearts by Phoenix Sullivan
Kim almost married the wrong man, but fortunately she caught him cheating at the right time. To get over him, Kim went to visit her cousin all the way in South Africa for two whole months, and they agreed to visit one of the local safari zoos where you can feed the animals directly. But the deplorable conditions made Kim saw read instead. The animals are starved, the enclosures barely have grass, and the elephant was staked and chained to a spot. Kim, determined save the animals, went to track down the owner of the place, Billionaire Brent Sher. // Brent invested in several safari and nature-related businesses, but he generally left the day-to-day stuff to his right-hand-hand Jabu. When his assistant let through Kim, he was shocked at the accusations levied by a stranger from the US, but her sincerity made him pause... this woman wanted nothing for herself, merely better treatment for one of HIS animals. As they investigated, it was clear that Jabu was not only embezzling from the company, but may be using the company as a cover for something illegal. And Kim and Brent fell for each other. But as the net draws tighter around Jabu, Jabu has one last gambit to play...
The attraction between the two was slightly forced, I didn't feel it that much other than they have fondness for the animals. The enemies to lovers transition phase didn't last very long. OTOH I do like the South African details, they seem authentic, not that I can tell what's not authentic. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Loves Lost & Found by Anna Leigh
Meg Allen met John Kelly in college and fell in love, but he took a bullet for him... and disappeared. But she never forgot her. Fifteen laters later, Meg and her bestie Eve are now successful business owners, Meg's the company manager, and Eve's the designer. Meg's mother died a few years back. When John reappeared, Meg couldn't believe her eyes, but it is him. And eager to find an ally, Meg recruited John to find her birth father, who left before Meg was born. But John is hiding a huge secret... something that can break them apart forever...
Not feeling much with this one. Things just happen, and happen, with Meg mainly reacting to things, not taking active roles. As you can probably guess, Meg's biological father can't get married... for reasons I shall not spoil. Over all, it's more of a mystery with romance than a romantic mystery. 4/8
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Finished Pulling Home by Mary Campisi
Audra left her hometown with a husband and a daughter in her belly. And for the next nine years, she is content, with a good job as head writer for a day-time soap opera under a penname. But when her husband died suddenly, Audra is forced to head back to her hometown, to confront the past she left behind, the legacy of her mother's "loose" morals, and all the secrets she thought she kept hidden... // Jack is a pediatric neurosurgeon who's about to be engaged when he had to attend his brother's funeral... and watch Audra back in town with daughter. He forgave his brother for taking a woman that should have been his, but he still can't forgive Audra... // When Audra's daughter was found to have a congenital spinal condition, Jack turned out to be the only person that can save the girl, and Audra will be forced to reveal the secret that she had kept that will change both of them forever.
It's not really a spoiler to state the obvious...
The story got a bit too melodramatic by the end, as Audra had to track down how she got born (i.e. who impregnated her mother way back when, since it was a scandal back then too, apparently mother never revealed who the father was and it may have been rape, or with a married man...) how mother's suicide shaped her life, how her investigations turned the town upside down, while Jack tried to figure out whether Audra really loved him back when (technically, he left her, something about not needing a distraction for medical school) he changed his mind, turned back, only to find Audra "eloped" with his brother, which obviously did not sit well with his family. But was Audra trying to golddig into his family, or is his brother trying to "protect" him? I like the drama, but it gets a bit too angst-y. 6/8
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Abandoning Fallacy by K A Berg
I hate it when the author failed to think through their plot and left a HUGE f***ing hole to drive a space shuttle through.... And this is what happened.
Quinn's life had been railroaded by her father, a financial mogul in one of the biggest venture cap companies. But her father is a bastard who bent her to his will, when she didn't really even want to be in this business initially and had the VP position dangled in front of her for months... years, but she can never do something right. Encountering Alex was something unexpected. In Quinn's experience, men just want sex or money from her, and she in turn only do one-night-stands. You can't be disappointed if there are no expectations. Yet Alex, a physical trainer for an NFL team, turns out to be the exception. And what was supposed to be a one-night-stand turned into two years. But when threatened by her father that she's "slacking", Quinn ran, just as Alex got a great offer... thousands of miles away. Two years later, Alex is now head trainer of a premier NFL team, and Quinn STILL haven't made VP. Now her father, after losing several bets on startups (often due to NOT following Quinn's advice), intends to force Quinn to marry a rival's single son to "unite" the two empires... And he'll do ANYTHING to force Quinn, including blackball her so she'll never work in this town again by manufacturing evidence of embezzlement against her...
At this point, I stopped reading. Evil father's reason for doing this is "to secure my legacy". But you can't threaten the only piece on the board. Blackballing her and/or putting her in prison will destroy that legacy. It made NO SENSE. Yet she falls for the gambit and starts to plot with the other family's son, who's supposed to be a platonic friend (who also do one-night-stands only, kinda like a male version of her) to plan a marriage of convenience, merge the company, then force her father out, when she should be yelling "F*** YOU. Go ahead, do your worst. It's YOUR legacy you're f***ing with. Remember, anything happens to me reflects on you!"
I'm sure the rest of the book is Alex going back to the city, and trying to win Quinn back, only to find her engaged. But sorry, this is supposed to be a woman who handle huge venture cap funds, yet she can't even do a cost/benefit analysis... Tsk, tsk. 2/8
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Finished Wicked Games by A D Justice FREE
Brianna loved journalism, and with her father's connections, she landed a chance to interview the members of the Delta Force in the Middle East. During the month she was embedded with them, they became her brothers all except one... Noah became her lover instead. Years later, Noah retired from special forces and founded Steele Security, hiring ex military folks for protection, investigation, and such, while Brianna is moving up in the world of investigative journalism. The couple is in love, and ready to marry, until Brianna stumbled into a giant conspiracy... Noah Steele and his company may be smuggling weapons to the rebels and pocket the money. Is Noah in it, or being set up to take the fall? She found a witness, but bad guys are chasing her. When she didn't make it onto the plane, and it exploded after takeoff, she knew she's in mortal danger... // Three years later, Brianna using an alias is living in Colorado under witness protection, but her sixth sense told her she'd been made. She slipped out after dark and made it to Miami, hoping to see Noah one last time. In the meanwhile, the perp after her knew the only way to draw her out is to force Noah's hand. And the meeting between Brie and Noah was not a happy one: she was trying to save him, he thought she betrayed her... What exactly happened three years ago, when everybody believed she died and they buried an empty casket? Who's responsible for this mess? And can it be fixed?
In a way, the story makes sense, and in a way, it doesn't. For a reporter, she apparently has no idea that's not how WITSEC works. She also somehow magically has another set of ID that's STILL current. And why can't she just TELL Noah what's the story she's working on that she had to run off to Turkey all by herself? Noah can't even afford to send ONE guy to guard her? Their relationship is that bad? Some of this doesn't really make sense! Why break into his mansion at all? It's just to setup her own capture! at the end of the book, she walked into the enemy camp, got taken somewhere to be worked over, only to have another guy come in to save the day deus ex machina. There are some real emotion in there, but the setup really needs to make more sense. 5/8
Meg Allen met John Kelly in college and fell in love, but he took a bullet for him... and disappeared. But she never forgot her. Fifteen laters later, Meg and her bestie Eve are now successful business owners, Meg's the company manager, and Eve's the designer. Meg's mother died a few years back. When John reappeared, Meg couldn't believe her eyes, but it is him. And eager to find an ally, Meg recruited John to find her birth father, who left before Meg was born. But John is hiding a huge secret... something that can break them apart forever...
Not feeling much with this one. Things just happen, and happen, with Meg mainly reacting to things, not taking active roles. As you can probably guess, Meg's biological father can't get married... for reasons I shall not spoil. Over all, it's more of a mystery with romance than a romantic mystery. 4/8
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Finished Pulling Home by Mary Campisi
Audra left her hometown with a husband and a daughter in her belly. And for the next nine years, she is content, with a good job as head writer for a day-time soap opera under a penname. But when her husband died suddenly, Audra is forced to head back to her hometown, to confront the past she left behind, the legacy of her mother's "loose" morals, and all the secrets she thought she kept hidden... // Jack is a pediatric neurosurgeon who's about to be engaged when he had to attend his brother's funeral... and watch Audra back in town with daughter. He forgave his brother for taking a woman that should have been his, but he still can't forgive Audra... // When Audra's daughter was found to have a congenital spinal condition, Jack turned out to be the only person that can save the girl, and Audra will be forced to reveal the secret that she had kept that will change both of them forever.
It's not really a spoiler to state the obvious...
Spoiler:
The story got a bit too melodramatic by the end, as Audra had to track down how she got born (i.e. who impregnated her mother way back when, since it was a scandal back then too, apparently mother never revealed who the father was and it may have been rape, or with a married man...) how mother's suicide shaped her life, how her investigations turned the town upside down, while Jack tried to figure out whether Audra really loved him back when (technically, he left her, something about not needing a distraction for medical school) he changed his mind, turned back, only to find Audra "eloped" with his brother, which obviously did not sit well with his family. But was Audra trying to golddig into his family, or is his brother trying to "protect" him? I like the drama, but it gets a bit too angst-y. 6/8
-----
Abandoning Fallacy by K A Berg
I hate it when the author failed to think through their plot and left a HUGE f***ing hole to drive a space shuttle through.... And this is what happened.
Quinn's life had been railroaded by her father, a financial mogul in one of the biggest venture cap companies. But her father is a bastard who bent her to his will, when she didn't really even want to be in this business initially and had the VP position dangled in front of her for months... years, but she can never do something right. Encountering Alex was something unexpected. In Quinn's experience, men just want sex or money from her, and she in turn only do one-night-stands. You can't be disappointed if there are no expectations. Yet Alex, a physical trainer for an NFL team, turns out to be the exception. And what was supposed to be a one-night-stand turned into two years. But when threatened by her father that she's "slacking", Quinn ran, just as Alex got a great offer... thousands of miles away. Two years later, Alex is now head trainer of a premier NFL team, and Quinn STILL haven't made VP. Now her father, after losing several bets on startups (often due to NOT following Quinn's advice), intends to force Quinn to marry a rival's single son to "unite" the two empires... And he'll do ANYTHING to force Quinn, including blackball her so she'll never work in this town again by manufacturing evidence of embezzlement against her...
At this point, I stopped reading. Evil father's reason for doing this is "to secure my legacy". But you can't threaten the only piece on the board. Blackballing her and/or putting her in prison will destroy that legacy. It made NO SENSE. Yet she falls for the gambit and starts to plot with the other family's son, who's supposed to be a platonic friend (who also do one-night-stands only, kinda like a male version of her) to plan a marriage of convenience, merge the company, then force her father out, when she should be yelling "F*** YOU. Go ahead, do your worst. It's YOUR legacy you're f***ing with. Remember, anything happens to me reflects on you!"
I'm sure the rest of the book is Alex going back to the city, and trying to win Quinn back, only to find her engaged. But sorry, this is supposed to be a woman who handle huge venture cap funds, yet she can't even do a cost/benefit analysis... Tsk, tsk. 2/8
-----
Finished Wicked Games by A D Justice FREE
Brianna loved journalism, and with her father's connections, she landed a chance to interview the members of the Delta Force in the Middle East. During the month she was embedded with them, they became her brothers all except one... Noah became her lover instead. Years later, Noah retired from special forces and founded Steele Security, hiring ex military folks for protection, investigation, and such, while Brianna is moving up in the world of investigative journalism. The couple is in love, and ready to marry, until Brianna stumbled into a giant conspiracy... Noah Steele and his company may be smuggling weapons to the rebels and pocket the money. Is Noah in it, or being set up to take the fall? She found a witness, but bad guys are chasing her. When she didn't make it onto the plane, and it exploded after takeoff, she knew she's in mortal danger... // Three years later, Brianna using an alias is living in Colorado under witness protection, but her sixth sense told her she'd been made. She slipped out after dark and made it to Miami, hoping to see Noah one last time. In the meanwhile, the perp after her knew the only way to draw her out is to force Noah's hand. And the meeting between Brie and Noah was not a happy one: she was trying to save him, he thought she betrayed her... What exactly happened three years ago, when everybody believed she died and they buried an empty casket? Who's responsible for this mess? And can it be fixed?
In a way, the story makes sense, and in a way, it doesn't. For a reporter, she apparently has no idea that's not how WITSEC works. She also somehow magically has another set of ID that's STILL current. And why can't she just TELL Noah what's the story she's working on that she had to run off to Turkey all by herself? Noah can't even afford to send ONE guy to guard her? Their relationship is that bad? Some of this doesn't really make sense! Why break into his mansion at all? It's just to setup her own capture! at the end of the book, she walked into the enemy camp, got taken somewhere to be worked over, only to have another guy come in to save the day deus ex machina. There are some real emotion in there, but the setup really needs to make more sense. 5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Enough by Danielle Norman
Ariel (pronounced REL, please) found herself mugged by two men, when off-duty motorcycle deputy Kayson came to her rescue. She was beaten and had to go to a hospital, and Ariel had to thank her rescuer. Ariel found Kayson's alpha male persona a bit off-putting, but loved his large Greek family... Being alone, she just broke off with her creepy boyfriend Brandon, but Brandon is stalking her... Can Kayson protect Ariel, when Brandon unleashed his next scheme to ruin anyone around Ariel?
Nice, but the ending seems really forced. Basically, Ariel overheard some blah blah, while some EXTREMELY convenient timing ended up with a phone-call that is misinterpreted. Somehow, that caused her to run... and her stalker is there... waiting... AND he has a gun... I want to give this higher, but in the end, I had to mark it down a little. 6/8
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Finished The Permanence of Pain by Desiree LaFawn
Regina has the perfect voice for the perfect job: she's a female sales rep in the sex toy industry, and she's the sales leader in her company. She was devastated when her best female friend just confessed to her... via email, that she was doing her boyfriend Richard (Dick) behind her back. Unfortunately this FORMER best friend is also a good client of the company. So Regina did the next best thing... handed off the good account to the next sales guy... who's a total douchebag. Regina needed something to remind her to stay strong, so she headed toward the tattoo shop, and met Beck. // Beck is a painter and a tattoo artist, and he helps people dealing with their pain, having suffered some major pain of his own. When Regina walked through the door, all he saw was the pain hidden behind her facade. But will his attempt to help her actually do her good... or send her over the edge?
The darkest hour was basically Regina about to have a total meltdown. She saw Beck trying to comfort a woman, took it the wrong way (but logical to her, because Dick was a betrayer) and left without giving him a chance to explain. Then her boss forced her to fix a problem that's not hers (i.e. that douchebag she handed the account to can't handle the account) and her boss is like "don't bring personal issues to the office!" Then told her as the only female employee, she had to go to the Vegas convention because the adult goods convention banned booth babes (employees only). At the after party, when she dolled herself up a bit, after some misogynistic remarks, she had a total meltdown, told EVERYBODY off, including Dick, the client, AND her boss. It was apparently recorded and uploaded to Youtube and went viral, and she got job offers galore. Then she got a tip and went to a meeting to find the truth about Beck and his little family (and that woman she had a jealous fit over), and she went on stage to have a confession about how wrong she was. She and Beck reconciled and HEA. This "total meltdown to conclusion" had been done before, and it's okay here. 6/8
Ariel (pronounced REL, please) found herself mugged by two men, when off-duty motorcycle deputy Kayson came to her rescue. She was beaten and had to go to a hospital, and Ariel had to thank her rescuer. Ariel found Kayson's alpha male persona a bit off-putting, but loved his large Greek family... Being alone, she just broke off with her creepy boyfriend Brandon, but Brandon is stalking her... Can Kayson protect Ariel, when Brandon unleashed his next scheme to ruin anyone around Ariel?
Nice, but the ending seems really forced. Basically, Ariel overheard some blah blah, while some EXTREMELY convenient timing ended up with a phone-call that is misinterpreted. Somehow, that caused her to run... and her stalker is there... waiting... AND he has a gun... I want to give this higher, but in the end, I had to mark it down a little. 6/8
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Finished The Permanence of Pain by Desiree LaFawn
Regina has the perfect voice for the perfect job: she's a female sales rep in the sex toy industry, and she's the sales leader in her company. She was devastated when her best female friend just confessed to her... via email, that she was doing her boyfriend Richard (Dick) behind her back. Unfortunately this FORMER best friend is also a good client of the company. So Regina did the next best thing... handed off the good account to the next sales guy... who's a total douchebag. Regina needed something to remind her to stay strong, so she headed toward the tattoo shop, and met Beck. // Beck is a painter and a tattoo artist, and he helps people dealing with their pain, having suffered some major pain of his own. When Regina walked through the door, all he saw was the pain hidden behind her facade. But will his attempt to help her actually do her good... or send her over the edge?
The darkest hour was basically Regina about to have a total meltdown. She saw Beck trying to comfort a woman, took it the wrong way (but logical to her, because Dick was a betrayer) and left without giving him a chance to explain. Then her boss forced her to fix a problem that's not hers (i.e. that douchebag she handed the account to can't handle the account) and her boss is like "don't bring personal issues to the office!" Then told her as the only female employee, she had to go to the Vegas convention because the adult goods convention banned booth babes (employees only). At the after party, when she dolled herself up a bit, after some misogynistic remarks, she had a total meltdown, told EVERYBODY off, including Dick, the client, AND her boss. It was apparently recorded and uploaded to Youtube and went viral, and she got job offers galore. Then she got a tip and went to a meeting to find the truth about Beck and his little family (and that woman she had a jealous fit over), and she went on stage to have a confession about how wrong she was. She and Beck reconciled and HEA. This "total meltdown to conclusion" had been done before, and it's okay here. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished The Face of the Earth by Deborah Raney
Mitch's wife, Jill, was leaving her conference in Kansas City at noon to start on the 5 hour drive home. She had not arrived by 6... or 7. By late evening, Mitch is really starting to get worried. The only one he can turn for support was Shelly, his wife's best friend and next door neighbor. As police were called, and the kids, already off to college, came home to worry, the feelings soon turned to dread. Her mobile was discovered in the hotel garage. The car was not found. Somewhere between Kansas City and home, she seems to have vanished off face of the earth. Her final words, left on the home answering machine, was that she looked forward to be home. As the wait turned into days, weeks, then months, Mitch and Shelley grew closer, but they cannot take that extra step. Mitch wanted to keep his vows, and Shelley was too guilty about wanting her best friend's husband... Every lead turned into a deadend...
The ending was sad, as this is more of a novel about life, rather than love, or at least, not the carnal kind. 7/8
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Finished Playing games by Liliana Rhodes
Cassie finally got her physical therapy degree but had to move to Canyon Cove for a job. When she got her dream job, things got a bit messy when she found her boss in the shower. Ex-MMA fighter Gabriel has a complicated life, but he made his money by rising from the Octagon himself. He knew he wanted Cassie, but his complicated life won't let him commit just yet. He will, however, protect Cassie to the best of his abilities, including letting her use his apartment (more of a penthouse) and all expense account, for Cassie reminded him of someone. But when Gabe keep disappearing at night, is Cassie going to tolerate the suspicion of being a "kept woman"?
Meh, not feeling much about this one. Basically Cassie is jealous and suspicious and Gabe rather than explaining things just being mysterious, which only make things worse. The guy's basically schizophrenic, hot and cold. SOmetimes I wonder if he had brain damage or something from his time in the ring.
3/8
Mitch's wife, Jill, was leaving her conference in Kansas City at noon to start on the 5 hour drive home. She had not arrived by 6... or 7. By late evening, Mitch is really starting to get worried. The only one he can turn for support was Shelly, his wife's best friend and next door neighbor. As police were called, and the kids, already off to college, came home to worry, the feelings soon turned to dread. Her mobile was discovered in the hotel garage. The car was not found. Somewhere between Kansas City and home, she seems to have vanished off face of the earth. Her final words, left on the home answering machine, was that she looked forward to be home. As the wait turned into days, weeks, then months, Mitch and Shelley grew closer, but they cannot take that extra step. Mitch wanted to keep his vows, and Shelley was too guilty about wanting her best friend's husband... Every lead turned into a deadend...
The ending was sad, as this is more of a novel about life, rather than love, or at least, not the carnal kind. 7/8
Spoiler:
Finished Playing games by Liliana Rhodes
Cassie finally got her physical therapy degree but had to move to Canyon Cove for a job. When she got her dream job, things got a bit messy when she found her boss in the shower. Ex-MMA fighter Gabriel has a complicated life, but he made his money by rising from the Octagon himself. He knew he wanted Cassie, but his complicated life won't let him commit just yet. He will, however, protect Cassie to the best of his abilities, including letting her use his apartment (more of a penthouse) and all expense account, for Cassie reminded him of someone. But when Gabe keep disappearing at night, is Cassie going to tolerate the suspicion of being a "kept woman"?
Meh, not feeling much about this one. Basically Cassie is jealous and suspicious and Gabe rather than explaining things just being mysterious, which only make things worse. The guy's basically schizophrenic, hot and cold. SOmetimes I wonder if he had brain damage or something from his time in the ring.
3/8My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Double Trouble by Deborah Cooke aka Claire Cross
Maralys is the "bad twin" compared to her twin sister, Marcia. Maralys is single after divorcing her no-good husband who ran off with her money, and since her sister has a great family, she can spoil their kids, and don't need any of her own. Her brother-in-law James is a famous lawyer in town. it should have been the perfect family, so Maralys was surprised to find that family disintegrating. James was fired when he found that he wasn't the biological son of the lawfirm's founder after more than two decades of service. Marcia just ran off leaving James with the twin boys, and Maralys had to help. Maralys found she's attracted to James, but worries about being a substitute for Marcia. Then she found out what secret James had been keeping for so many years...
Ah, the twin-switcharoo, but with several good twists upon the theme. However, the ending was wrapped up a bit TOO neatly, IMHO, and forgiveness given too quickly. Yes, there's quite a bit of betrayal involved, which I won't spoill here except inside the spoiler tag. 6/8
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Finished The Slam by Haleigh Lovell FREE
Ender and Edric Hemsworth are tennis semi-pros and notorious playboys living in their retired aunt's house in Northern California. When their aunt, currently residing in Australia, sent them Adelaide , who would be attending UC Berkeley, they were not prepared. When they departed Australia years ago, Adelaide was a tomboy who will get into the mud with them. Adelaide is also a high-functioning aspie, often seem weird to people at times. But the Adelaide that arrived at SFO was both same, yet different... she's a beautiful young woman whose lack of social grace is both charming and frustrating... // Adelaide never let her condition stop her from life. She will study the situation ahead of time and prepare adequate responses, which more often than not, goes off script with unintentionally hilarious results. Things got a bit awkward (but not for her) when she enlists Ender as her social coach while she'll be Ender's tennis coach. When she wants something, she will go after it, social graces notwithstanding, and that includes... sex. After all, that's what college kids do, right?
Adelaide is very much like "Data" on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Both characters are innocent, with lack of social graces, but enough to recognize the cues to silence or divert, yet takes things very literally. And yes, both are, shall we say, "fully functional". I don't know if the description is "right on", as I don't know any high-functioning aspies myself (I could be one for all I know) but it sounds plausible. 7/8
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Finished The Princess Deception by Molly Jameson
Lizzie, the wild child of the British royal family, is famous for her scandals. She has multiple tattoos and seems to have a new partner every week, and the paparazzi ate that up. When she ran into Phillip, an old friend of her brother Jamie, sparks flew. It helps that Lizzie had a secret crush on Phillip for a while... // Phillip was jilted by his woman, or at least he thought was his woman, when she chose someone else. Phillip, a bit despondent, accepted Lizzie's attention. He agreed to help her rehabilitate her image by creating an image that they'd been together. After all, he's the goodie-two-shoes, so squeaky-clean, he's running for Parliament soon. And this fake liaison between the two worked almost a bit too well... Now she's wondering if it can be real, and not merely a PR campaign... Can she learn to be a good girl for once?
Not feeling much with this one. This "alternate universe" British monarchy just grates on my nerves sometimes. This one was a bit more tolerable than some of the other books in the series. There is a sense of that tremendous weight upon one's shoulders being a royal, and how different people found different ways to cope. Somehow, the flip from party-girl into charity-girl seems a bit abrupt. 5/8
The Princess deception
Maralys is the "bad twin" compared to her twin sister, Marcia. Maralys is single after divorcing her no-good husband who ran off with her money, and since her sister has a great family, she can spoil their kids, and don't need any of her own. Her brother-in-law James is a famous lawyer in town. it should have been the perfect family, so Maralys was surprised to find that family disintegrating. James was fired when he found that he wasn't the biological son of the lawfirm's founder after more than two decades of service. Marcia just ran off leaving James with the twin boys, and Maralys had to help. Maralys found she's attracted to James, but worries about being a substitute for Marcia. Then she found out what secret James had been keeping for so many years...
Ah, the twin-switcharoo, but with several good twists upon the theme. However, the ending was wrapped up a bit TOO neatly, IMHO, and forgiveness given too quickly. Yes, there's quite a bit of betrayal involved, which I won't spoill here except inside the spoiler tag. 6/8
Spoiler:
Finished The Slam by Haleigh Lovell FREE
Ender and Edric Hemsworth are tennis semi-pros and notorious playboys living in their retired aunt's house in Northern California. When their aunt, currently residing in Australia, sent them Adelaide , who would be attending UC Berkeley, they were not prepared. When they departed Australia years ago, Adelaide was a tomboy who will get into the mud with them. Adelaide is also a high-functioning aspie, often seem weird to people at times. But the Adelaide that arrived at SFO was both same, yet different... she's a beautiful young woman whose lack of social grace is both charming and frustrating... // Adelaide never let her condition stop her from life. She will study the situation ahead of time and prepare adequate responses, which more often than not, goes off script with unintentionally hilarious results. Things got a bit awkward (but not for her) when she enlists Ender as her social coach while she'll be Ender's tennis coach. When she wants something, she will go after it, social graces notwithstanding, and that includes... sex. After all, that's what college kids do, right?
Adelaide is very much like "Data" on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Both characters are innocent, with lack of social graces, but enough to recognize the cues to silence or divert, yet takes things very literally. And yes, both are, shall we say, "fully functional". I don't know if the description is "right on", as I don't know any high-functioning aspies myself (I could be one for all I know) but it sounds plausible. 7/8
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Finished The Princess Deception by Molly Jameson
Lizzie, the wild child of the British royal family, is famous for her scandals. She has multiple tattoos and seems to have a new partner every week, and the paparazzi ate that up. When she ran into Phillip, an old friend of her brother Jamie, sparks flew. It helps that Lizzie had a secret crush on Phillip for a while... // Phillip was jilted by his woman, or at least he thought was his woman, when she chose someone else. Phillip, a bit despondent, accepted Lizzie's attention. He agreed to help her rehabilitate her image by creating an image that they'd been together. After all, he's the goodie-two-shoes, so squeaky-clean, he's running for Parliament soon. And this fake liaison between the two worked almost a bit too well... Now she's wondering if it can be real, and not merely a PR campaign... Can she learn to be a good girl for once?
Not feeling much with this one. This "alternate universe" British monarchy just grates on my nerves sometimes. This one was a bit more tolerable than some of the other books in the series. There is a sense of that tremendous weight upon one's shoulders being a royal, and how different people found different ways to cope. Somehow, the flip from party-girl into charity-girl seems a bit abrupt. 5/8
The Princess deception
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished The Love of a Cowboy by Anna Jeffrey
Dhalia and her best friend Piggy (long story) went to Idaho for the summer and took on a Dept of Forestry contractor job, hoping for a change of pace from the Texas heat. Dhalia's husband had been dead three years... he ran off the road into a creek, and he had a DIFFERENT woman in the car with him (who didn't survive either). Dhalia's mixed ancestry (she's half Filipino, but born and grew up in Texas) made her the target of vicious whispers in the small town where her father ran the only (but struggling) grocery store... Dhalia didn't count on encountering the larger than life cowboy, Luke, head of the Double Deuce ranch, the biggest spread in town. But Luke's life ain't easy. He has a whole ranch to run, a son with developmental problems, and two daughters. His mother is also a total shrew. Luke needed a break, and a romp with the exotic Dhalia is exactly what each other needed. But when Dhalia's father had a stroke, and Luke's ex-wife launched a new campaign to discredit him, neither is ready for more... But are they ready for the consequences of their summer fling?
This is basically a star-crossed lovers story. I felt that Dhalia's racial angle, other than some vicious rumors ("Chinese prostitute") was not really used that much. Luke was the strong silent type that can't seem to explain his feelings, a bit of a cliche, but touching nonetheless. All in all, I guess it's above average. 6/8
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Finished Next to Me by Jodi Watters
Ali ran away from her abusive husband when he knived her though he had punched her or choked her plenty of other times. She got her husband put in jail, obtained a divorce, and when she got an inheritance, she planned for the day when her evil ex would find her. She needed someone to save her, and then she found Sam. Sam, an ex-army ranger scout/sniper, runs a security business, and his new neighbor is definitely mysterious, but oh so tempting. Ali knew that the law can't protect her... her ex is a lawyer with some... dark connections. And Ali's plan is to seduce the ex-soldier next door to scare away her ex. But when Ali and Sam developed real feelings, will Ali's secret motives destroy all they have built?
A good twist on the "protector/woman in peril" trope. Sam's temper and really hurtful words make him NOT that sweet after he found out. Made a lot more sense than "understanding" guy. The extended resolution, on the other hand, made a lot more sense. 6/8
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Finished Misadventures of a Virgin by Meredith Wild
June and Kase had been neighbors. June's family employs half the town through their upscale resort/hotel, and had been trying to buy out Kase's family farm for years. But Kase left for college 4 years ago, leaving June pining... Until Kase came back. They picked up where they left off, but Kase and June have secrets... their families were intertwined a generation ago, a secret nobody wanted to talk about... that lead to the feud that lasted for years. And unless they share that, their future will always be in doubt...
It's basically a "sins of our fathers" kinda novel, family secrets and drama messing up the present generation. IMHO, it's a bit "meh". The external influences affecting their love was mainly embarassments and expectations. 5/8
Dhalia and her best friend Piggy (long story) went to Idaho for the summer and took on a Dept of Forestry contractor job, hoping for a change of pace from the Texas heat. Dhalia's husband had been dead three years... he ran off the road into a creek, and he had a DIFFERENT woman in the car with him (who didn't survive either). Dhalia's mixed ancestry (she's half Filipino, but born and grew up in Texas) made her the target of vicious whispers in the small town where her father ran the only (but struggling) grocery store... Dhalia didn't count on encountering the larger than life cowboy, Luke, head of the Double Deuce ranch, the biggest spread in town. But Luke's life ain't easy. He has a whole ranch to run, a son with developmental problems, and two daughters. His mother is also a total shrew. Luke needed a break, and a romp with the exotic Dhalia is exactly what each other needed. But when Dhalia's father had a stroke, and Luke's ex-wife launched a new campaign to discredit him, neither is ready for more... But are they ready for the consequences of their summer fling?
This is basically a star-crossed lovers story. I felt that Dhalia's racial angle, other than some vicious rumors ("Chinese prostitute") was not really used that much. Luke was the strong silent type that can't seem to explain his feelings, a bit of a cliche, but touching nonetheless. All in all, I guess it's above average. 6/8
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Finished Next to Me by Jodi Watters
Ali ran away from her abusive husband when he knived her though he had punched her or choked her plenty of other times. She got her husband put in jail, obtained a divorce, and when she got an inheritance, she planned for the day when her evil ex would find her. She needed someone to save her, and then she found Sam. Sam, an ex-army ranger scout/sniper, runs a security business, and his new neighbor is definitely mysterious, but oh so tempting. Ali knew that the law can't protect her... her ex is a lawyer with some... dark connections. And Ali's plan is to seduce the ex-soldier next door to scare away her ex. But when Ali and Sam developed real feelings, will Ali's secret motives destroy all they have built?
A good twist on the "protector/woman in peril" trope. Sam's temper and really hurtful words make him NOT that sweet after he found out. Made a lot more sense than "understanding" guy. The extended resolution, on the other hand, made a lot more sense. 6/8
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Finished Misadventures of a Virgin by Meredith Wild
June and Kase had been neighbors. June's family employs half the town through their upscale resort/hotel, and had been trying to buy out Kase's family farm for years. But Kase left for college 4 years ago, leaving June pining... Until Kase came back. They picked up where they left off, but Kase and June have secrets... their families were intertwined a generation ago, a secret nobody wanted to talk about... that lead to the feud that lasted for years. And unless they share that, their future will always be in doubt...
It's basically a "sins of our fathers" kinda novel, family secrets and drama messing up the present generation. IMHO, it's a bit "meh". The external influences affecting their love was mainly embarassments and expectations. 5/8
Spoiler:
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
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Re: Kasey's Books Read 2018
Finished Caught Up In Us by Lauren Blakely
Kat is about to finish her graduate degree and making her way as a jewelry designer, then she realized her business mentor for this semester is none other than Bryan, the man who broke her heart five years ago. Bryan was Kat's brother's best friend, but he knew there could be nothing more than a fling. Even now, Kat's professor has a no-hanky-panky policy, so there can be nothing between Kat and Bryan... but Kat was never over Bryan, and there were too much chemistry between them to be denied... But Kat needs her degree. How can this problem be resolved?
Nice, complications, even though I don't quite understand the earlier history. 6/8
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Finished Secret Promises by Jane Anthony
Jillian and AJ are doing their best to keep their family garage going. So much so, Jillian is postponing college to do the front desk work, while AJ concentrates on fixing cars. Then Jameson came back to town. Jameson was AJ's best friend, and the one Jillian had a crush on for a long time ago. With AJ overwhelmed with work, Jameson pitched in to help, and the secret admiring between Jillian and Jameson turned into a fling, then a lot more. But AJ can't let his little sister be "ruined" by someone who's not staying, esp. if that would be his best friend. And AJ knows Jameson's secret...
While the sex is hot, and some of the conflict was okay, I honestly didn't feel much more than the typical plot. It's basically "best friend's little sister" trope. 5/8
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Finished The Beautiful Thief by Mallory Crowe
Melody wants vengeance, and she doesn't care how she'll get it. Watching one's mom shot dead in front of her can do that. She wants Blondie and Baldie, the actual shooters, and whoever ordered them dead, even though Blondie may have given her a chance to escape... Now with her super-hacker sister Toni's help, Melody has a lead... // Adam couldn't believe Melody found him. He didn't let her go so she can get herself killed, and barge into hostile territory is a good way to do that. But getting away with her won't be easy when she both wants him dead and needs him to find the other perp "Baldie" and the mastermind... or the mastermind behind him. But when the mastermind can buy enough of the police force to frame Melody for murdering a cop, how can this fugitive pair, running from both the mob and the law, survive and achieve their goal... and clear themselves?
Pretty good plotting, even though she did more than a few "too stupid to live" moments, even though it seems to make sense on a certain level, and the karma she accumulated worked for her later. 6/8
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Finished A Sheriff's Passion by Michelle Beattie Historical Western
Shane is the sheriff of Marietta Montana, and he wanted the bar owner of Silver's Saloon for a long time. Silver moved into town about five years ago, and she seems to be rich beyond reason, but otherwise, showed nothing illegal or suspicious other than building a saloon and running it. Shane worked too many years to clear his family name and he will not risk it to associate with a saloon woman, even if that woman is the owner. // Silver finally made a life for herself and a modicum of respectability. She wanted to be in Shane's arms, but she understands his problems. But when unexpected visitors came to town, it's clear that the past she had desperately ran away from is back to haunt her, and this time, it will destroy every last bit of life she had built in Marietta... and drive Shane away...
Good suspense, except for the bits about going out to meet the bad guys. That's just plain stupid. In fact, it could be said that she caused the whole final showdown all by herself by warning a guy who would soon be killed any way. 5/8
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Finished Where I Belong by J Daniels
Mia went back to her hometown for a summer with her best friend Tessa, and in a drunken haze, she had a one-night stand. The guy was absolutely amazing, but it was a fling. She didn't get a name, even though he got her v-card. Except next day, Mia realized that guy was none other than her childhood nemesis Ben Kelly... Tessa's brother. Mia was still angry (even though the sex was... fantastic) and Ben wants Mia for more than just sex. He fell for her, hard. But how do you convince a girl that hates your guts for years that you are no longer the spoiled brat you once was?
Good polish, though the v-card thing seems a bit serendipidous. The additional complications (Ben's a cop) plus family problems (Mia's mother is sick) didn't add too much to the story other than highlight the fact that life's too short to hold grudges like that. 5/8
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Finished Goody Two Shoes by Janet Elizabeth Henderson FREE
Josh McInnes is at the pinnacle of his singing career... After 20 years of singing love ballads, he knew there is no such thing as love, but he did know at the age of 35, he wanted a family. So he called up his manager / best friend and told him to find a woman who can accept an arranged marriage. Enter Caroline Patterson. // Caroline Patterson is the ice queen librarian. She bulldozes over anyone unwilling to follow her orders, and she only wears serious grey with sensible shoes. When a Yank bought the local castle that she wanted to restore, she's seeing red. Then the Yank made her the most indecent proposal... marry him in a deal that is without a shred of romance. And after consideration, she accepted the proposal, in exchange for restoring the castle her way. After all, she's in charge and she'll manage all aspects of their lives together. But love and life doesn't' work that way, and it seems Josh is immune to Caroline's ice queen demeanor and bulldozing. The marriage plans got very complicated when Josh's tribute/stalker/impersonator Danny arrived in town, followed quickly by an evil paparazzi, then someone sent threats to Caroline...
It was uproariously funny until the writer forgot she's in Scotland, not Middle America. There are no Goodwills in Scotland. 6/8
Kat is about to finish her graduate degree and making her way as a jewelry designer, then she realized her business mentor for this semester is none other than Bryan, the man who broke her heart five years ago. Bryan was Kat's brother's best friend, but he knew there could be nothing more than a fling. Even now, Kat's professor has a no-hanky-panky policy, so there can be nothing between Kat and Bryan... but Kat was never over Bryan, and there were too much chemistry between them to be denied... But Kat needs her degree. How can this problem be resolved?
Nice, complications, even though I don't quite understand the earlier history. 6/8
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Finished Secret Promises by Jane Anthony
Jillian and AJ are doing their best to keep their family garage going. So much so, Jillian is postponing college to do the front desk work, while AJ concentrates on fixing cars. Then Jameson came back to town. Jameson was AJ's best friend, and the one Jillian had a crush on for a long time ago. With AJ overwhelmed with work, Jameson pitched in to help, and the secret admiring between Jillian and Jameson turned into a fling, then a lot more. But AJ can't let his little sister be "ruined" by someone who's not staying, esp. if that would be his best friend. And AJ knows Jameson's secret...
While the sex is hot, and some of the conflict was okay, I honestly didn't feel much more than the typical plot. It's basically "best friend's little sister" trope. 5/8
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Finished The Beautiful Thief by Mallory Crowe
Melody wants vengeance, and she doesn't care how she'll get it. Watching one's mom shot dead in front of her can do that. She wants Blondie and Baldie, the actual shooters, and whoever ordered them dead, even though Blondie may have given her a chance to escape... Now with her super-hacker sister Toni's help, Melody has a lead... // Adam couldn't believe Melody found him. He didn't let her go so she can get herself killed, and barge into hostile territory is a good way to do that. But getting away with her won't be easy when she both wants him dead and needs him to find the other perp "Baldie" and the mastermind... or the mastermind behind him. But when the mastermind can buy enough of the police force to frame Melody for murdering a cop, how can this fugitive pair, running from both the mob and the law, survive and achieve their goal... and clear themselves?
Pretty good plotting, even though she did more than a few "too stupid to live" moments, even though it seems to make sense on a certain level, and the karma she accumulated worked for her later. 6/8
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Finished A Sheriff's Passion by Michelle Beattie Historical Western
Shane is the sheriff of Marietta Montana, and he wanted the bar owner of Silver's Saloon for a long time. Silver moved into town about five years ago, and she seems to be rich beyond reason, but otherwise, showed nothing illegal or suspicious other than building a saloon and running it. Shane worked too many years to clear his family name and he will not risk it to associate with a saloon woman, even if that woman is the owner. // Silver finally made a life for herself and a modicum of respectability. She wanted to be in Shane's arms, but she understands his problems. But when unexpected visitors came to town, it's clear that the past she had desperately ran away from is back to haunt her, and this time, it will destroy every last bit of life she had built in Marietta... and drive Shane away...
Good suspense, except for the bits about going out to meet the bad guys. That's just plain stupid. In fact, it could be said that she caused the whole final showdown all by herself by warning a guy who would soon be killed any way. 5/8
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Finished Where I Belong by J Daniels
Mia went back to her hometown for a summer with her best friend Tessa, and in a drunken haze, she had a one-night stand. The guy was absolutely amazing, but it was a fling. She didn't get a name, even though he got her v-card. Except next day, Mia realized that guy was none other than her childhood nemesis Ben Kelly... Tessa's brother. Mia was still angry (even though the sex was... fantastic) and Ben wants Mia for more than just sex. He fell for her, hard. But how do you convince a girl that hates your guts for years that you are no longer the spoiled brat you once was?
Good polish, though the v-card thing seems a bit serendipidous. The additional complications (Ben's a cop) plus family problems (Mia's mother is sick) didn't add too much to the story other than highlight the fact that life's too short to hold grudges like that. 5/8
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Finished Goody Two Shoes by Janet Elizabeth Henderson FREE
Josh McInnes is at the pinnacle of his singing career... After 20 years of singing love ballads, he knew there is no such thing as love, but he did know at the age of 35, he wanted a family. So he called up his manager / best friend and told him to find a woman who can accept an arranged marriage. Enter Caroline Patterson. // Caroline Patterson is the ice queen librarian. She bulldozes over anyone unwilling to follow her orders, and she only wears serious grey with sensible shoes. When a Yank bought the local castle that she wanted to restore, she's seeing red. Then the Yank made her the most indecent proposal... marry him in a deal that is without a shred of romance. And after consideration, she accepted the proposal, in exchange for restoring the castle her way. After all, she's in charge and she'll manage all aspects of their lives together. But love and life doesn't' work that way, and it seems Josh is immune to Caroline's ice queen demeanor and bulldozing. The marriage plans got very complicated when Josh's tribute/stalker/impersonator Danny arrived in town, followed quickly by an evil paparazzi, then someone sent threats to Caroline...
It was uproariously funny until the writer forgot she's in Scotland, not Middle America. There are no Goodwills in Scotland. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds