Zoe Nichols - As Good As It Gets

When bar owner Rick Moore goes out for ice cream, he comes back with a powerful hankering for sweet-faced ice cream scooper Devon Walker. But he dismisses his interest in the younger man; sure he'll never meet him again.
Then a chance encounter in his bar leads to an explosive night that has Devon showing Rick just how grown up he is. Only Devon takes off after, sure that his burgeoning feelings aren't returned.
Or are they?
Now Rick is determined to win Devon's trust, and him, for good. Will Devon take a chance on the cowboy or let his hurt keep him safely away?

Comment: This short story was my first read by this author. Usually I prefer longer books because I like when a writer delivers an insightful description of the character's actions and thoughts and shorts don't always manage that due to the fact they're short by definition.

This story presents us Rick, a club owner, and Devon a young guy working in an ice cream shop. Apparently there's nothing in common between them, except attraction. Rick makes a move later on after meeting Devon again and they spend the night together. But in the morning new feelings emerge.

Ok, the first thing I've noticed is that it was pretty easy for me to understand Devon. He's a shy person as myself, so his reactions to Rick's "seduction" were convincing. There are people out there who just can't help blush!Second thing, the author was smart. She knew in such a short story she had to focus on the important and I was pleased to see the characters reacting in a credible way, instead of going for the quick end up with no logic.

The only thing I'm pointing out that I didn't really liked is the fact that the story is predictable. It's rather obvious how things will work out. Guess it's not unusual in romance to expect certain things, but if the authors can surprise us...then kudos for them.

The story has a sweet HEA and for this kind of story it works, after all with so much hard things in RL, we all couls use happy endings.

Pamela Palmer - Hunger Untamed

For a thousand years she has haunted him—Ariana, queen of the Ilinas, a beauty of mist and light. His love, his life mate... Kougar believed her lost to him forever until the truth of her stunning betrayal left him bitter and hungry for revenge. Now she alone holds the power to save two trapped and desperate Feral Warriors.
Ariana, caught in a deadly battle of her own, is neither the soulless creature Kougar believes her to be, nor the savior he seeks. And when darkness threatens to annihilate both races, the greatest danger of all becomes the glorious love Kougar and Ariana once shared. A love that must never rise again. A love that has never died.

Comment: I'm a fan of this series by mrs Palmer, therefore it was with great expectations I started reading the latest book, Hunger Untamed.
This is a good series, but I think it lacks one thing to make it greater. I think the characters should interact more. Usually this is my biggest complaint about series. The author provides a good background and then explores the plot, the main couple has a lot of air time, but if all the characters live together like in this case, isn't a bit weird that they only talk once in a while and for fighting purposes? I understand it has to be like this, probably the author has to follow some "rules" in writing, but...perhaps that's why I prefer other authors like JR Ward, that created a worls and each book is part of that world opposed to be another book of that world.
Anyway, the plot was a bit known because of the way the previous book had ended, so no surprises there.
I must say I was a bit disappointed with the end, I expected more things, more insight to some things that happened.
The main characters were nothing new either. The reluctant hero, who refuses to share things about himself, the martyr heroine who falls in love again...expected but it can always be done in a fresh way, which isn't the case.
I'll keep reading because I want to know what happens to the remaining single characters and I hope to see more characters showing up.
The previous book, Rapture Untamed, had been such a great book, I hoped for more about this one...oh well, let's hope the next one will be better.

Kresley Cole - Dreams of a Dark Warrior

Murdered before he could wed Regin the Radiant, warlord Aidan the Fierce seeks his beloved through eternity, reborn again and again into new identities, yet with no memory of his past lives—only an endless yearning.
When Regin encounters Declan Chase, a brutal Celtic soldier, she recognizes her proud warlord reincarnated. But Declan takes her captive, intending retribution against all immortals, unaware that he belongs to their world.
Yet every reincarnation comes with a price, for Aidan is doomed to die when he remembers his past. To save herself from Declan's torments, will Regin rekindle memories of the passion they once shared—even if it means once again losing the only man she could ever love?


Comment: The latest installment of author Kresley Cole is mazing. I think it's a return to that eagerness and desperation of the first books. The book previous to this one wasn't this interesting, I think, with the exception of the main male character.
Anyway, this book finally tell us the story of Regin, the Radiant. This valkyrie is one of the most loved characters in the series since the first time she appeared. Like with most characters we had hints about her HEA since then, which helps the reader to vision possible outcomings. I think this is one of the author's best features in writing, this slow building of what's to come.
So, Regin is captured by the Order, like we've seen in the previous two books, with many other Lore creatures. However she soon finds that the man responsible for the torture is none but her destined mate reincarnated, Aidan, the Fierce.
In this life, Aidan is Chase, an irish man who has no clue he is part of the Lore as he was created as human and survived a vicious attack of Neopatras, thus developping a strong hatred towards anything Lorean.
However, destiny is finally catching up...

I liked this story a lot, the pace and action were strong positive points in the book. There wasn't a boring moment and I believe we saw a credible developpment of the relationship between Regin and Chase.
Of course, many secondary characters showed up and now that the fans know the next book is Lothaire's, one of the villans - so far - all the clues and hints and innuendos in this book will work out as theories' starying points of discussion. I can't wait, especially because the more we know, the more there is to know.

Bram Stoker - Dracula

Tales of vampires have long haunted folklore and literature, but none has had the same impact as Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. Since the book's publication in the late 19th century, the blood-sucking Count has been seized on as the ultimate vampire, encountered by children of all ages in innumerable books, films, and television shows.

Comment: This book is a classic of the horror literature. It served as a basis to launch many authors in the myths of the vampire legend and it's the most famous book about them.
I was expecting something boring and strict. I was wrong. The fact that everything reaches the reader in a form of diary or letter makes things much more interesting...
Plus, the more entries on the several forms makes the reader see things in a faster way, where things happen in continued sequence. Besides, some of the entries are small, 2, 3 lines each, But what's in there can be as important as any other entries, which makes the reader eager to read more.
Then, there is the whole feeling surrounding the story, the strange things that compell us to keep going even whrn it seems something wrong is going to happen.
Perfect, I think.

I still prefer the romanticised version of vampires in the current romance writers out there, but this one is a classic and should be worshipped as one.

Jeaniene Frost - This Side of The Grave

Danger waits on both sides of the grave

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they’ve triumphed over the latest battle, Cat’s new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance…


Comment: Once again, I enjoyed a book by this author a lot.
I've been a fan of this series since I read the first book, a couple of years ago. I haven't regret it even once. I know what I'm paying for and mrs Frost delivers.
This is another adventure of beloved characters Cat and Bones, after the spin-off books last year featuring other characters.
I love the interaction between those two. It sems to me th author tries to give them a trueness, usually not seen in romance novels, where everything has to end well with no bumps in the way. In this series we see what Cat thinks, but this way we also see her thoughts on how to deal with everything, including how to work things out with Bones, when things are well, and especially, when they're not so good.
In this new novel, ghouls are trying to take out Cat because they fear her powers. I think, bearing in mind the plots of all the books so far, this one is not the strongest, but all the news that pop up in this book make up for that. I won't tell in order not to spoil, but they're a lot and they rock! Can't wait to see where the author is going with so many new interesting things!
Next book will be out in the fall, and I'll faithfully wait for it.

Karen Marie Moning - Shadowfever

In Dreamfever, Karen Marie Moning has left listeners with the most heart-stopping cliff-hanger to date. Shadowfever will answer all the questions fans have been dying to know in the final chapter of MacKayla Lane's shockingly suspenseful and deeply satisfying adventure.

Comment: This book had a long time coming. I bet all the fans, the crazy ones I mean (in a healthy, nice way of course) were more than eager to read it.
I never was that crazy over the series. The first book was alright but didn't grab me that hard. But I was curious, especially after the cliffhanger in the end of Dreamfever.
I've read some reviews out there and the readers didn't like some things in the book. I won't compare anything, but to me, personally, the story had a logical path and ending.
Didn't the author say that she is planning on writing more about that world? Or the same theme at least? I fully expect that she answers what is missing... then. Perhaps I can think like this because I wasn't "in love" with the series.

Anyway, the story. Mac is desperate in the beginning, those pages were a bit hard to read because if we were to believe such worlds exist beyond our knowledge and we were the ones with that happening to us...how would we react?
There are many revelations in this book...who killed Alina, who is the really "bad" guy, the mystery of Barrons, why is Mac in all this...among other things. Some people also said that these things weren't really answered, just got complicated. Well, I felt some closure myself, granted there are things that if stated in a more firm way, more terminal, the reader would rest easier with that knowledge, but I think what we see is enough to explain things and still it remains some mystery, something to keep the story from just a novel, this way it keeps nagging even after the words "the end".

Besides, this has a HEA. I don't know how more "hardcore" fans took it, but I liked it. I really did. It wasn't overdone, and therefore destroying the character's behaviour in all the books, but it wasn't too fast that the reader couldn't enjoy it at last. It was cute, it brings hope and it made me happy.

All in all it was a good end to me. Perhaps it could have been better, in these things usually wveryone can think of better ways, more personal ways to see the end of a book, but to me it was good.
I don't like to grade the books I read because each one has a certain value to me and grading makes them labelled in a way, so...but from 0 to 20, I'd say this novel is a 16 to me. All things considered.

José Saramago - Blindness

Comment: There's a lot that could be said about this book, but I'm sure all the conversation about the movie (which is rather faithful, I must confess) made people aware of what is this book about.

What would happen if everyone, suddenly, got blind?

Saramago was known for his strong beliefs and he always dared his readers to think. This book isn't an exception and somewhere in the end of the book, one of the characters says:

We are all blind, we are blinds who see

, this about thr fact we all see what is going on and still there is so many wrong things with the world.

This wasn't my first book by him but it was the most easy to read, perhaps because the theme compells you to read, perhaps because the writing sounds better...I recommend it to everyone.

Mary Calmes - Trusted Bond

Jin Rayne is having trouble adjusting to the new life he’s supposed to love. Instead of adapting to being the mate of tribe leader Logan Church, Jin can't get past the fact that his lover was straight before they met. He's discovered the joy in belonging to Logan but fears his new life could disappear at a moment’s notice, despite Logan's insistence that they are forever, end of story.
Jin wants to trust Logan, but that desire will be put to the test both by a rival tribe leader and by a startling revelation about Jin's existence. At stake is Jin's life and his place in the tribe. If he's going to survive to see Logan again, he'll have to release his fear and freely accept the bond, for only then can he truly trust.

Comment: This book is the sequel to A Change of Heart, a book I've read several months ago. To be honest there was a lot of things I didn't remember, like names and relationships. From that POV, it was quite good to see all those characters again.

Jin is still afraid that Logan will one day wake up and throw him out. He feels love but he also fears rejection, which is understandable, considering he has a pst of rejection from his parents and his previous tribe. Only his best friend stays with him.
Logan is the semel, or the alpha as it is, and is really in love with Jin, even tough he hasn't ever been with a man before. But Jin is reah and they're very rare and Logan is really in love with Jin and both him and the tribe need Jin.
In the first book these two feel in love and with great to watch. Now they're still getting used to it and it isn't that simple. Feelings and protocols have to be considered and followed.

I think one of the strongest points of this story is the dialogue. It's witty, amazing and rings true. Kudos to the author's talent.
Another good thing is the characters, of course. Each one has a special thinga about them that makes them likable. I wish I'd see more about Koren and Domin, and Yuri and all the others. It would be nice for the author to write a spin-off or a short with them, or a new book!
Then there's the things happening in this book. Jin finds out he has a lot more power than he thought and what a surprise that is. From the US to Egypt, we discover new things that I, for one, didn't see coming.
Of course it bothered me to see some awful traits in two or three characters...how people can be mean and psycopaths...well, we all know that it deas happen in RL, but reading details is...I don't mean there's horror in the book, because we see everything through Jin's eyes, so we don't live the bad character's lives, but we know of their behaviour and it's horrid. Those parts were more difficult to read but the fact there's a HEA makes it all go away. How good to see a conflict overcome and happiness win!

All in all this is a great sequel, because there are developments, there are new ways of seeing things and both Jin and Logan agree that their feelings for each other are true and strong.
Plus it's sweet to see the others around them having a voice, knowing they too have something happening to them. I like it a lot when a novel isn't only focused on the main couple, it makes the book more interesting, more credible because no one really lives alone.

I'll surely keep following this author.

Madeline Hunter - The Sins of Lord Easterbrook

A kiss long ago. . . A desire that never dies. . .
A passion that will not be denied.
Seven years ago, Leona Montgomery's sensuality was awoken by a mysterious young adventurer full of dark chaos and sinful inclinations.
When she meets him again, their attraction reignites immediately, but he is much changed. Arrogant, masterful, and determined to seduce her, he now appears to have leashed the chaos and tamed the darkness.
Or has he?

Comment: I was quite eager to read this book after all the talk about the marquess in the previous books.
Altough it has started in a way I wasn't very fond of, in the end it was ok, and the epilogue has redeemed it in my eyes. Well, not completely because I think more would be better, but I see the point where something must end.
Anyway, first I didn't like the marquess' secret. Empathy? It sounds too strange, because it felt liek something had to be out of sorts, but it didn't have to be this. It all worked out in the end considering he learnt to work out with that and to use it and discipline it. But it's still strange.
Seond, I didn'r particularly like the heroine. I mean, she is a good heroine, just not for him, I guess. I'd imagined someone more vulnerable economically, with a bigger fight to acknowledge their feelings...it's the problem with expectations. Usually they're never met.
I liked it in the end, yes, but it isn't what I really wanted, so I leave it with a good memory but nothing more.

Madeline Hunter - Secrets of Surrender

He catches her eye across the dining room—a handsome stranger who stands out among the lewd noblemen and bawdy painted women. But their worlds are about to collide in a way Roselyn Longworth could never have imagined. For before the night is out, she will be auctioned off to the highest bidder...and Kyle Bradwell will lead her from one kind of hell to another. Yet from the moment he wins her, Kyle treats Rose with a gentleness she hasn't known since a family scandal destroyed her reputation. And when she finally learns what is really driving Kyle, it's too late. For Rose has fallen for the man who knows her most intimate secrets. Now he has stunned her with a proposal of marriage—the first step in a seduction that will demand nothing less than her complete surrender....

Comment: I like reading historicals. It makes you want to see if people's lives were close to that back in that time, soemtimes we can see ourselves in the heroines shoes, knowing what we know, imagining if we didn't know but still kept our personality...it's an intereting exercice.
But sometimes the author's writing doesn't allow much imagination...which isn't the case here. Madeline Hunter created the marquis' character and since book #1 I've been imagining his HEA.
I'm almost there and the tidbits in this book show us more clues to his occupation.

About this book, well, Roselyn and Kyle are a gorgeous couple, both of them ha a past that isn't perfect but throughout the book we see them making allowances to the other in order to restore honor and devotion. Well I saw it that way.
It makes me think knowing that women were treated like that and worse, by men who had all the power. I think the fact Kyle "rescued" Rose from a dangerously horrible future is sweet and honorable, even tough he isn't from a rich family. An interesting study in comparing the status quo of that time with one's honor.
I don't think this is the best historical I've read but I liked it a lot and will certainly keep reading books by the author.

Tory Temple - Keeping Karma

Alexander Myers and his twin sister Tabitha were born with the incredible ability to "hear" the thoughts of animals. Alex has managed to keep this a secret and has actually used it to his advantage for his job, working in an emergency animal care clinic and volunteering at the animal shelter. But when he meets Dylan Travers, a local animal control officer, it becomes harder and harder to keep his own secret. At the same time, he's worried about how Dylan will react if Alex shares his ability. What will happen when Dylan finally discovers what Alex can do?

Comment: Sweet. This is the adjective I use to describe in one word this novel by Tory Temple.

This wasn't the first book by the author that I've read so I was familiar to the writting style, but I was surprised to see such a sweet story.

Alex is a guy who understands what the animals are thinking. For a moment I thought what a cool power to have, but yes the headaches part isn't so funny. Still, Alex has managed to live pretty well and is, obviously, studying to work with animals. Dylan is somehow of a mystery. The reader doesn't get to know him that well, especially because everything happens from Alex's POV, even tough the book isn't in the 1st person. Dylan also works with animals, in a way, so, professionally, they match. Plus there's attraction between them which helps. I liked some scenes, like the breakfast one and all the scenes with Alex's pets. I have a cat, I wish sometimes I knew what he is thinking. Made me giggle, yes they did.

There's just two things that could've make this story better: first, more story! It's way too short, plus with this plot I'm sure more conflict would appear besides Alex's fear of telling Dylan about his power. Second, as the story is on the short side, perhaps a bit less sex scenes - not that those weren't hot and interetsing *grins* - but in the end there isn't a perfect balance between the sex scenes and the rest, which gives a rushed feeling to some point. However, this isn't that clear, perhaps it's more of a personal issue than something wrong with the book itself.

My favourite part of the story is the dialogue. I like it a lot, it's funny, believable, Alex is cute because he blushes after some innuendo talk and I can actually imagine him doing it.

Both Alex and Dylan have character. We don't see Dylan's POV as I've said, but we know he is a trustworthy person, as is Alex, through their actions. Not everyhting has to be said and the reader can see things the way one wants. I lked that, the suggestion without prejudice in the words.

I enjoyed the book a lot. Their relationship developps fast but smoothly, it doesn't seem stressful or anything.

All in all, a great read.

I think it was a good way to start the challenge.

Catherine Anderson - Here to Stay

Mandy Pajeck had a tough childhood. Now 28, she feels responsible for the accident that took her younger brother’s sight. But his complete reliance on her care is making them both miserable. When she meets handsome Zach Harrigan and his mini guide horse, she thinks she’s found the ticket to her brother’s happiness—and maybe her own.

Comment: This author is an auto-buy for me. Her books always deliver because I know what to expect. Some things are too good to be true, but if we can't find hapiness and happy stuff in books when our RL lives have so much problems, then what's the point?

Sometimes one just wants to relax and enjoy a story without drama and stress.

Catherine Anderson does it for me. Even the charcter's issues don't seem to close to me because everything else falls into place in such a perfect way that I can read the book and not br overwhelmed by the problems mentioned there.

I love it thet there's always a HEA, a good one.

Of course when an author has a series it is to be expected that some books aren't as good as others, or they won't impact the reader the same way. My favourite by her, so far, is My Sunshine. This Here to Stay doesn't come close, but still it's a great story and I liked how things (Mandy's fears and hopes) were dealt with. Zach grew up a lot since we heard about him in the first book where he appears. Plus the world of horses and Oregon ranches is so far away from my own reality that that is an extra plus for me in her books.

Can't wait for the next one already!!

M/M challenge update

So, I've decided to read three of the 30 novels this month.
I've randomly selected the three authors and when I read the books I'll post which ones, as I have more than one by certain authors. Others I only have the one novel and there are 5 or 6 that I'll have to buy the books later on.

Anyway, the authors for this month will be:
Mary Calmes for the letter C
Zoe Nichols for the letter N
Tory Temple for the letter T
All excellent names, can't wait to read more by Calmes and Temple, Nichols will be news to me.

I'll post each comment individually as soon as I finish them. I still didn't think on which to read first from these three, it will depend on my mood. :)