Category: links (Page 6 of 10)

February Round Up

March 2, 2015 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Protecting Their Mate (Part 1) by Mia Thorne – B- (review copy provided via author) This is a very hot, very short read, coming in (heh) at around 30 pages. Ashley is a 20 year old wolf shifter who has been kept away from the pack by her parents, to live only in the human world. Every month it is increasingly difficult for her to manage the sexual craving she has at the full moon and her parents lock her away in the basement. This month has been even worse and it has been four days and no-one has given her any food.

The local pack Alpha has sent his second, Blake, to find Ashley after hearing word she is being mistreated. When he finds her, she is not only in serious need of his help (in a number of ways) he also finds that she is in mating heat. It appears she’s the only remaining female werewolf who can bear offspring. This obviously makes her very important to the survival of the pack. Continue reading

January Round Up

February 2, 2015 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Exposed to You by Beth Kery – B I read this on the recommendation of one of my Twitter friends (h/t Limecello). I had been wanting to read it for a while so I was happy when I saw there was a copy in my local library. (It used to be pricey but I notice it’s only $4.99 at Kobo now which is much more my style.)

Joy Hightower is an artist with an uncle in the special effects business. While helping him out on a movie set one day, she meets a gorgeous man and has a hot sexual encounter. They arrange to meet later but due to crossed wires, it doesn’t happen. The gorgeous man is Everett Hughes, movie star and sister to Katie (the heroine of Addicted to You (scroll down for brief review). The day of the magical sex with Everett, Joy was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma and she spends the next 14 months in treatment and recovery. Joy watched her mother die of cancer and wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone. Because of that, she distances herself from all of her former friends and even her beloved uncle, going so far as to move to Chicago from LA. Continue reading

December Round Up

January 3, 2015 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Room for Just a Little More by Beth Ehemann – B- At the end of the first two books, Kacie and Brody got engaged and this book takes us through to the wedding. I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be something for fans of the series and is, effectively, an extended epilogue so we get a glimpse of the HEA. Brody continues to be perfect and a wonderful father to the girls and earns many many brownie points and best fiance/husband ever points. Kacie is contacted by her biological father and he’s a real piece of work, let me tell you. It’s difficult for me to understand a character who just walks away from his own daughter like that but my own husband has one just like him so I know they happen in real life. In fiction, it’s tempting to call them out as being without nuance but I know from my husband’s POV, there is little nuance to be had and it is Kacie and Brody telling this story after all. They know what they see. And what they see sucks. I didn’t really approve of Brody going behind Kacie’s back but his heart was in the right place even if I disliked his methods. That said, I can see it working for Kacie and Brody in a way it wouldn’t work for Kaetrin. Brody does just enough not-quite-perfect stuff to retain his almost perfect status and feel somehow more believable because of it. He’s still pretty perfect though. I see on Goodreads that Viper is getting a book of his own so maybe we will see a bit of Brody and Kacie and the girls in that. It’s a 100 pages novella which was entertaining and enjoyable but it’s very much an epilogue rather than a must-read. I liked it for what it was and, to be honest, I don’t think it was trying to be anything else. Continue reading

Kaetrin’s favourites of 2014 (part the second)

December 22, 2014 / Kaetrin

I read some other wonderful books this year but which were published before (in some cases, well before) 2014 and some which were published on audio for the first time in 2014. I felt they deserved a mention. In no particular order:

Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand by Carla Kelly. I read this one because my friend Merrian sent it to me and because I was on a plane and needed a non-ebook to read during take-off and landing. I’ve been in a bit of a historical romance slump but this was a delightful surprise. I was inspired to then buy a whole pile of other Carla Kelly books (all of which currently languish on my TBR – the vast majority of books I buy do that. Don’t worry Carla Kelly books, you have some awesome company in there.)

Kaetrin’s Favourites for 2014 (part the first)

December 22, 2014 / Kaetrin

I tweeted out my top 10 (or 12 depending on how you count them) books for the year on 17 December so those who follow me on Twitter will not be surprised by this list. Here’s the version with pretty pictures. It’s a list of books I liked. That’s it.

These are my favourite new releases for 2014. It’s not a best of because I’m sure there are many wonderful books on my TBR of Doom or which haven’t made it that far even. Besides, personal taste being what it is, what does “best” really mean anyway?

I’m not really ranking the top 10. They were all wonderful and memorable and enjoyable and I loved them. That said, perhaps the biggest surprise to me is that when I do a “favourite book of 2014. Go!” gut check, the 1st answer which pops into my head isn’t even a romance. (Do I need to turn in my romance card?) So, I guess, *if pushed* I’d say the number one read was:

The Martian by Andy Weir. It’s a cracker of a book. If a reader has any interest in sci-fi or space travel books at all, I highly recommend it. The science is sound and the writing is engaging and funny and the tension is dialled right up there all the way to the end of the book. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist (heh) to read or understand it (trust me on this) and did I mention that it’s funny? Continue reading

October Round Up

November 2, 2014 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Frozen by Meljean Brook – C The author kindly provided a review copy of this self-published paranormal novella. I have great respect for her writing and some of my friends adore her books so I didn’t even really care what the book was about. That may have been a mistake – but then again, I’m not sure the blurb could have helped me out here.

Olivia Martin is a civil engineer working for Gullbrandr Engineering. On her way to spend Christmas with her family outside of Denver, she is asked to drop off some important papers by the CEO, to his son, Erik Gullbrandr, who is staying at their country property. Olivia and Erik first met some time ago and there were sparks of attraction and one very steamy kiss. Erik shut things down very quickly. Olivia thought initially this was because they were working together but after the project was finished, she asked him on a date and he turned her down flat. Subsequently, Olivia’s company was bought out by Erik’s father’s company and they have been no more than colleagues. Olivia still nurses a crush on him – she admires and likes him and though he could be “the One”. She never understood the reason for his rejection.

Erik is horrified and enraged to see Olivia at his castle (it really is, with a portcullis and everything). It turns out there’s a curse, he’s a paranormal being and on the winter solstice (2 days hence) he will lose control and fuck Olivia whether she wants it or not. Something about Olivia has triggered the curse and Erik has been trying to keep away from her ever since. Continue reading