Tag: novella (Page 17 of 29)

Pia Does Hollywood by Thea Harrison

January 28, 2016 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I’m a fan of the series. After finishing the first in this trilogy of novellas, Dragos Goes To Washington on audio, I bought the next two in digital format because impatient.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) After making a diplomatic pact with humankind and the other leaders of the Elder Races, Pia Cuelebre, mate to Dragos Cuelebre, Lord of the Wyr, reluctantly heads to Hollywood to spend a week with the Light Fae Queen, Tatiana, before the busy Masque season hits New York in December.

Dragos has never let the lack of an invitation stop him from doing anything he wanted. Unwilling to let his mate make the trip without him, he travels to southern California in secret to be with her.

But when an ancient enemy launches a shattering assault against the Light Fae, Dragos and Pia must intercede. The destruction threatens to spread and strike a mortal blow against all of the magically gifted, both human and Elder Race alike.

Working with the Light Fae to neutralize the danger, Dragos and Pia find their deepest vulnerabilities challenged and their most closely held secrets threatened with exposure.

Series spoilers follow: Be ye warned.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): The title, while cute, is a bit misleading. The action of the novella takes place in a little more than 24 hours and Pia doesn’t have time to do anything Hollywood while it takes place. (I trust she did some during the remainder of her visit however.)

Particularly because Pia is pregnant with their second child, Dragos is very reluctant to let Pia go to Hollywood without him. However, the point of her going is to demonstrate trust and foster good relations between demesnes and Dragos going too would defeat that purpose. So, he follows incognito and they plan to meet up whenever they can and remain in touch telepathically. That way he can be close at hand if something happens. The added bonus is that their recent mating frenzy hasn’t quite worn off and both of them have needs. A week is a long time in Mating Frenzy-Land. Continue reading

Shock & Awe by Abigail Roux, narrated by Brock Thompson

January 18, 2016 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I was provided with a review copy via the publisher.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) After barely surviving a shootout in New Orleans, Sidewinder medic Kelly Abbott has to suffer through a month of recovery before he can return home to Colorado. He’s not surprised when fellow Sidewinder Nick O’Flaherty stays with him in New Orleans. Nor is he surprised when Nick travels home with him to help him get back on his feet—after all, years on the same Marine Force Recon team bonded the men in ways that only bleeding for a brother can. He’s very surprised, though, when Nick humors his moment of curiosity and kisses him.

Nick knows all of Kelly’s quirks and caprices, so the kiss was a low-risk move on his part . . . or so he thought. But what should’ve been a simple moment unleashes a flood of confusing emotions and urges that neither man is prepared to address.

Now, Kelly and Nick must figure out what they mean to each other—friends and brothers in arms, or something even deeper?—before the past can come back to ruin their tenuous future.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): When Dreamspinner Press first started publishing their m/m romances at Audible I got very excited. I bought a few and tried them and they are the only books I’ve ever returned because they were TERRIBLE. It made me reluctant to try m/m on audio since then but when I was approached by Riptide, I decided to try again. Riptide have a reputation for quality and I had the opportunity to speak to someone there early on in the piece about what was wrong with the DSP narrations and the kinds of things listeners were looking for in an audiobook. I don’t know how much, if any, influence my little contribution had but I was interested to see if Riptide could manage what DSP could not. The short answer (and admittedly based only on this very small sample) is: yes they can.
Continue reading

Review at AudioGals

January 6, 2016 / Kaetrin

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Dragos Goes to Washington by Thea Harrison, narrated by Sophie Eastlake. I just love Dragos and Pia and these novella series’ are a boon for me.

December Round Up

January 3, 2016 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

His To Keep by Katee Robert – C+ Aaron Robertson has had a crush on his sister’s best friend for over 10 years. Marceline Bellini was off limits when they were young, then they were dating other people and then she fell pregnant, became a single mum and dropped out of the dating scene altogether. Her friends are encouraging her to live a little and not focus solely on being the perfect mother to her daughter, Claire. When Marcy finally agrees to go out with friends to a bar, Aaron decides it’s time to make his move. He has to do some sweet talking and fancy footwork to convince Marcy that he’s a good bet. Marcy doesn’t want Claire to see a revolving door of men come and go in her life (which, considering that Marcy hasn’t dated at all since Claire was born, is something of an overreaction I think). Aaron is helped by the explosive sexual chemistry between he and Marcy. He’s also a good guy who has had deep feelings for Marcy for a long long time. He falls in love (in the paternal way) with Claire too and has no issue with taking them as a package deal. Continue reading

Review at Dear Author

January 1, 2016 / Kaetrin

I’m over at Dear Author with a review Her Kind of Man by Nona Raines. Probably should have started at book 1.

Say Uncle by CM Steele

December 31, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I bought this one on the recommendation of Melissa K. It turns out our Venn diagram isn’t in total agreement.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) What happens when:
• your brother rashly goes to Vegas and is going to marry a stranger?
• you meet a beautiful woman on your way to stop him and have thoughts of following in his footsteps?
• she happens to be the daughter of your brother’s bride?

What happens when:
• you meet the hottest man around and he’s your new uncle?
• you can’t resist him?
• he dares you to ‘Say Uncle, again?’

A taste:
“Angel, you’re so perfect,” I breathed. My eyes never left hers as she came up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist and placed her cheek on my spine. The feelings of completion engulfed me.
“Thank you, Uncle Dean,” she said sweetly.
“Did you just say uncle?” I asked menacingly, and I felt her smile on my back. This woman was too much.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): According to my reader, the novelette is 49 pages. I made it to page 29. It wasn’t the uncle thing which bothered me – if it had, I wouldn’t have bought it. After all, it’s right there in the title. The way the technical familial relationship was structured didn’t bother me in the least. In fact, I thought it was kinda funny and it was one of the factors that had me one-clicking. Continue reading