Lynsay Sands - Born to Bite

LEGEND HAS IT THAT ARMAND ARGENAU IS A KILLER IN THE BEDROOM
But with all three of his late wives meeting unfortunate and untimely ends, is this sexy immortal a lover or a murderer? That's what Eshe d'Aureus intends to find out. As an enforcer, it's her job to bring rogue vampires to justice, even if the rogue in question makes her blood race red hot.
Armand knew she was trouble the moment Eshe roared into town on her motorcycle, clad in tight black leather. But after three wives who've all had trouble remaining, well, undead, Armand is reluctant to open his heart again. Then strange accidents start to happen, and Armand realizes he may not have much time to prove he's a lover, not a slayer.

Comment: I'm a fan of the Argeneau series by mrs Sands. I've read almost all the books and so far my favourite one remains Bite me If You Can.
I like the imaginative way she explains vampirism and how the characters interact with each other, I love they are all part of a big family and there's people coming out from everywhere. It's fun and more than enjoyable to read.

Born to Bite is book #13 in the series, and I must say, so far, it's the weakest one. I wasn't very happy with the main couple, I didn't think they had much chemestry even tough they're lifemates. On one hand, it's understandable, they both had had lifemates before so the way the relationship happens wouldn't be the same to a couple new to the lifemates business, but still, I hoped for a better romance.
The plot on the other hand, is amazing and interesting to follow. There's a point we easily see who the villain is, but knowing it doesn't take the eagerness to see it. I think this book is one of the ones with a more serious tone.
I'm reading another one next month.

Jill Shalvis - Simply Irresistible

Maddie Moore's whole life needs a makeover.
In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (so not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother -- a ramshackle inn nestled in the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington.
Starting over won't be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career -- if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too.
The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes -- and mouth -- are making it hard for her to remember that she's sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie's struggles to overcome the past, though she's about to discover that there's no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.

Comment: My first attempt with this writer.
This is a good contemporary book, and it certainly offers a lot of interesting scenes, especially between thr main couple. It also gives tidbits about incoming romances, which is always a good thing because it makes us eager to read more. I think the overall "feeling" the book gives is ok and I wish I could travel to someplace quiet and near the ocean, I think there's nothing wrong with the author's descriptions.
My problem with the book is the rushed romance. Please, they meet and one r two days later are already kissing and feeling something? This would be ok, if they were unaware of what it might mean, but as we read fro their POVs we see both of them are actually falling for the other...I think it's a bit too easy to believe.
Then, the thing that really bothered me...Maddie, the main female character starts the novel saying she had too much from men and wants to stay away from them. The next day she's making out with the main male character..oh wait, that same night! I thought, ah to be expected she wouldn't resist him, but then something happens and there she is, swearing off men again. Oh but he is irresistible and they kiss but then one more time she says no can do with guys but the next time they meet ...you get the point.
She wasn't sure of what she wanted and I'd buy that if she sticked to her point, perhaps with the inevitable falling in love too, but not like that, with so much inconsistency. I understand some of her reasonings and why she is that way, but her behaviour doesn't completly match someone with doubts.
I liked reading the book, but I didn't love it.

I'll read the second one when I can (I have monthly lists and like to follow them) but if it disappoints me, I'll cross the author from my list...

Thea Harrison - Dragon Bound

Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful-and passionate-of the Elder races.

Comment: I loved this first book in a new series. It has all the things I love in a book: good characters, an interesting and developped world, secondary characters that aren't there just because, misterious tidbits about each character, a good plot and of course, great romance.
I loved the world, the whole idea of all the mythological creatures walking and living among humans. Plus, I loved that the author included beings we don't usually see even in paranormal, like the gryphons and the thunderbird. I can't wait for the next books, I need to read more about that amazing world. Even if the romance lacks soemthing, if the worl building keeps up like this, the series is already a winner.
About the romance in this book, I liked it, the pace wasn't too fast, which allowed us to enjoy the character's falling in love slowly. Then the things about them were also slowly showing up and the end was sweet. I liked everything that happened to them in the book.
The world also presents a fresh voice in interection between characters, for instance, they talk! Like, secondary characters aren't there just to fill up space, I liked the dialogue but much more the fact it existed in the first place.
I can't wait for the next one.

Sandra Hill - Viking in Love

She said . . .
Caedmon of Larkspur is the most loathsome lout I have ever encountered When my sisters and I arrived at his castle, we were greeted by servants and children running wild, while Caedmon lied abed after a night of ale. No doubt there will be another child soon, because I must admit he's as handsome as he is virile. And I must endure him, for we are in desperate need of protection, though I can only imagine what this knight will demand of me in return.
He said . . .
After nine long months in the king's service, all I wanted was peace . . . not five Viking princesses running my keep. And the fiery redhead who burst into my chamber that first morning is the worst of all. Why, I should kick her out . . . but I have a much more wickedly delightful plan for Breanne of Stoneheim, one that will leave her a Viking in lust.

Comment: This author was the first one I read with the theme time-travel. I still things she does it beautifully, the only thing that bothers me is the language sometimes but I get it, she tries to respect the time.
In this book we see some previous characters and know how they're doing, which is always a good think in my book. I like to keep updated with the characters, it makes the world much more close, more tidy, it gives a sense of continuity and i like to think it's like a big soap opera and I like to know how the beloved characters are. She does this quite well.
Breanne and Caedmon aren't my favourite couple, but they have chemestry, I wish I'd seen a bit more struggle from her part, but I knew what I was getting when I got the book, so... The romance could be better, i think, but these books are good to relax and I still enjoy them, even if they don't show much seriousness.
The plot is too obvious, but still entertaining. I wouldn't say it's a bad book, because it makes it purpose...but of course the author has done better. I hope the next one is like that, better.

Karen marie Moning - Kiss of the Highlander

Enchanted by a powerful spell, Highland laird Drustan MacKeltar slumbered for nearly five centuries hidden deep in a cave until an unlikely savior awakened him. The enticing lass who dressed and spoke like no woman he'd ever known was from his distant future, where crumbled ruins were all that remained of his vanished world. Drustan knew he had to return to his own century if he was to save his people from a terrible fate. And he needed the bewitching woman by his side....

Gwen Cassidy had come to Scotland to shake up her humdrum life and, just maybe, meet a man. How could she have known that a tumble down a Highland ravine would send her plunging into an underground cavern--to land atop the most devastatingly seductive man she'd ever seen? Or that once he'd kissed her, he wouldn't let her go? Bound to Drustan by a passion stronger than time, Gwen is swept back to sixteenth-century Scotland, where a treacherous enemy plots against them ... and where a warrior with the power to change history will defy time itself for the woman he loves....

Comment: The 4th book in the author's highlander series. I've heard so many comments about this book and on how funny it was that I expecting something close to a comedy but I didn't find it that laughable. Anyway, the story follows Gwen in her quest to loose her virginity. Right away I got a bit mad, come on, like all virgins are in a lust eagerness out there...hum, but ok, this character was looking for it. Then she meets Drustan and things start to look interesting and I was devouring the book wanting to know more about his past and how he would end up in the future (which he did) and then things change and they go back to the past. I liked it a lot, I love to see characters from the present to go back and adjust to new rules, new settings...it's something I particularly like.
I won't tell spoilers but obviously things work out in the end and I'm looking for to lnow more about that family of his and especially more about the legends and the fae interections.
2 things I didn't like: The book ends up in the present/future, whatever. I prefer when they end up in the past or with the ability to travel, like it happened in the 3rd book.
Then Gwen's take on virginity, well, it's something that bothers me a lot, virgins in books have two options: they are por innocent girls ready for scoudrels to seduce or they want to get rid of the "burden".
I get that people can do and think that but what about all the others that are confortable being virgins and are in no rush to have sex? Yep, they have to suffer from some trauma... (rolling eyes).... well, I'd love to read a novel where the virgin girl just doesn't see the need to have sex with the guy in the first 5 pages...
Apart from these two (personal) critics, I liked the book and managed to put them away in my brain and enjoyed the book and can't wait to read the next one.

Challenge almost done

So, another update.
I've read almost all the books I decided to when I first started the challenge. I set up a 30 books mark and I only have 11 to read.
So far, it has been a good experience and many of the authors I didn't know turned out to be quite interesting, but I'll post about it when it's done.

* * *

The authors for September are chosen:
J, from Ava Rose Johnson
R, from ML Rhodes
A again, a repeated letter, from Astrid Amara

Let's see how it goes...

2 more comments

Dirt-poor, sensitive as poets, and proud as kings, the Powell family has lived on a Georgia mountaintop for generations. Then, during the 1960s, young Ursula Powell's father convinces the Tiber family, owners of everything in nearby Tiberville, to commission a huge iron sculpture of a bear for the town. Decades later the strange sculpture--rejected by the townspeople and left to rust on the Powell farm--symbolizes a family's failure and thwarted dreams. But, unknown to Ursula, it is now worth such a huge fortune that the artist's embittered son, Quentin Ricconni, is coming to reclaim it ... and to change everything Ursula believes about the past, the choices that break
a heart, and the redeeming powers of art and love.

Comment: Once again, I'm delighted to have read another book by mrs Smith. She is indeed a great storyteller and every book is a fantastic path throughout discoveries towards love and sometimes redemption. This On Bear Mountain is another example of her way with words, and although I didn't like it as much as other books, I still consider it close to perfection. The thing that separates it from other favourites is the fact there's so much negative things happening, the good things didn't feel like over balancing the scale to make it a happier book. I still think on what went wrong and the romance, still perfect and meant to be as always, also was a bit weaker then some of the other I previously read. Still, this author is one of my favourites this year.

* * * *

A DISTANT PAST; Kristine Gavin was depressed about turning thirty until she received a most unusual gift from her brother. It was a portrait he'd found in the attic of their family home in Virginia, a portrait of a woman who must have been their ancestor; judging from Kris' resemblance to the beauty. But it wasn't the painting that intrigued Kris....And old newspaper clipping about the woman's strange disappearance caught within the frame drew her in. Just as Kris was uncovering a fascinating secret from the past she sensed a change in the air-and found herself thrown back in time into a strange room, staring into the eyes of the sexiest man she had ever seen!
AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE; Sean O'Mara froze when he saw his wife Christia standing before him. She had vanished and the news had written about in all of the papers-he had been charged with her murder.

Comment: I enjoyed immensely the two previous books I had read by this author, Timeless Passion and Timesweapt Lovers, books I've read a long time ago. In this books, the author introduces time travel and one of characters (usually the woman) must live in a different century and falls in love. The books were written mostly in the 80's so it's interesting to see the atittudes and behaviour and even cultural references to those days and then the change to a faraway century. It's always a captivating story, I think.

However, I preferred the two other books more because in them the couple ends up living in the past, and there's like a whole different set of rules of those times, things I enjoyed seeing. In this book they end up in the present and I was happy to see them have a HEA, yes, but it's a bit of my own wishes to like more the other way around so...

I liked Kristine and Sean and the evil wife plot and of course the scenes where the change of century affected the character's attitude, but the fct they travelled to the present really disappointed me a bit, I was expecting the opposite based on the previous novels.

Anyway, I have three more books by the author..I'll eventually read them as well.

Mary Winter - Riding Partner

Equestrian Derek Whitten watched his dreams fall with the last jump at the Athens Olympics. Not only did he lose the gold medal, but his personal life imploded as well. Now, in financial trouble and needing to sell his prize horse, Derek turns to the one man he trusts. A simple business transaction, that’s all it can ever be, no matter how much he wants it to be something more. Charles DeMorinson never blamed Derek for his horse’s performance at the Olympics. Yet, he watched both of their dreams, and his lover, slip through his grasp. He’s spent the years since regretting not fighting harder for their relationship. But now, Derek’s on his doorstep, and he needs help. Time and distance did little to douse their attraction for each other. And when Derek returns, Charles is ready to stake the claim he should have made in Athens. Except if he on holds too tightly, he’ll earn nothing but resentment. Yet he let Derek go once, and he won’t make the same mistake again. He just has to convince him that they both need one thing – each other.

Comment: First things first, I didn't dislike this book per se, but to be honest, it didn't mean anyhting to me. I was actually disappointed, because the blurb seemed to be one of those stories with a bit of angst, a bit of trial and error to have a better relationship, I was even willing to ignore the part about reunited love (something I try to avoid, as I don't care much for this type of plot), but no. The reason why they separated is stupid, too WTF to believe. It's not just a case of misunderstanding, it's simply stupidity and from then on I wasn't interested anymore. I kept reading because it's something I do, if the author had the trouble to write it, I like to read it all too, but I wasn't a happy camper.
So, they separated for a stupid reason, and years later they see each other again because one of them needs to do business and right then they have sex. Did I mention this happens years later after the break-up? I don't think someone would do it even if still in love with the other person; I mean it's fiction, ok, but this is a contemporary, they were away for lack of trust, to go to the point, and them suddenly, it was like nothing ever happened. Too weak a plot, I think.
Anyway, there's a happy ending, but since page one things didn't work out for me.
Now, I know one book isn't the way an author writes all the time, but this author doesn't have many m/m books, or at least m/m isn't the focus of her books, so...I think I won't insist, the one didn't grab me and I don't want to be disappointed again. Oh well, we learn everytime.

2 More Mini Comments

For ages, the goddess Nemesis has sought divine vengeance against mortal man, as she awaits her chance for retaliation against Mount Olympus. Now, after making a deal with a dark wizard, she has reinvented herself as a female spy with her own sinister agenda....
Immortal warrior Kane Montague is as lethal as a scorpion -- like the one that marks his powerful form. As an assassin for MI6, he was an ace gun-for-hire until someone very close burned him. Now on the outs with his former colleagues, Kane knows all too well who's to blame: a sexy secret agent named Ilsa.
When their paths cross again, the passion between Kane and Ilsa is irresistible... and possibly lethal. But they soon realize that Ilsa is simply a pawn in a conspiracy aimed at the heart of the Zodiac Warriors. Can Kane trust her? Or is Ilsa the only one who can save him, body and soul?

Comment: In this second installment in the zodiac series, the author has managed to deepen the mythology parts, which I think just add more flavour to the series. It's all good to know what the heroes are doing but to know more about gods and the meaning of things is muc more fun.
The main couple in this book seemed to have more chemestry and their pasts and lives were more intriguing for me to know about.
I think this is a great ideia, about the warriors with characteristics from their zodiac signs, but they're described as a united group and so far, we still haven't met the majority of them. I wish that would happen. I'd gladly give up on the too much romance parts so I ould have more warriors and to see their lives together. Let's see what happens next. So far, I'm still curious and will keep reading.

* * * * *

It is a boiling hot summer in Boston. Adding to the city's woes is a series of shocking crimes in which wealthy men are made to watch while their wives are brutalized--a sadistic demand that ends in death. The pattern suggests one man: serial killer Warren Hoyt, recently put behind bars. Police can only assume an acolyte is at large, a maniac basing his attacks on the twisted medical techniques of the madman he so admires. At least that's what Detective Jane Rizzoli thinks. Forced to reconfront the killer who scarred her--literally and figuratively--she is determined to finally end Hoyt's awful influence. But this time around, the vendetta is more vicious than she ever would have imagined.

Comment: I was so eager to read this book and I wasn't disappointed. The author created a gripping story, with most of the characters from the previous novel and we can see where their lives have gone to. I was very surprised to see the focus center on Jane and her live and I was told it will remain so. Grom now on, the personal parts of the books will be about her and another doctor. I hope I'll keep addicted to know more. The story was very well done, I couldn't stop reading and in evwry page something is revealed in a way that we keep sayng, one more page but then there's 10 more and we still say that. The end is a bit disturbing because it allows the reader to make assumptions about future things, which is very smart; we want to know more, so we'll have to read more. I'll read the next book the following month. This author remains a challenging, but good, one.

Madeleine Urban, Abigail Roux - Warrior's Cross

Cameron Jacobs is an open book. He considers himself a common waiter with normal friends, boring hobbies, harmless dogs, and nothing even resembling a secret... except a crush on a tall, dark, devastatingly handsome man who dines alone at his restaurant on Tuesday nights. All it takes is one passionate night with Julian Cross to turn Cameron’s world on its head.
Julian's love and devotion are all Cameron could have hoped for and more. But when his ordinary life meets and clashes with Julian's extraordinary lifestyle, Cameron discovers that trust and fear can go hand in hand, and love is just a step away from danger.

Comment: these two authors have written one of my favourite gay stories, Caught Running, something I re-read often. Therefore I was expecting more brilliance from them.
And I understand the beauty of this novel, the two layers of darkness and joy advancing and retreating while the story develops. I do.
But I was always expecting some more on the lines of the other book, where things just sizzled. In this book there wasn't any sizzle, I wasn't eager to see the romance happen or to find out about Julien's personal life.
Yes I wanted to know what he did for a living for sure, and how would he react to the fact they were in love, but things happened so smoothly I think I didn't even have te chance to feel surprised.
It's a gorgeous story but the romance is too silky, I think it needed some more struggle from them before they accepted what was happening...It does have some kind of angst in there, a very small dose of it, but still...
Julien is mysterious character and the reader feels impressed to know what is really going on, but I much preferred the apparently common Cameron. He was a nice person, he had a simple life...I liked him a lot and then he had a crush on Julien and wanted him in his life..totally understandable...but I wished there had been more salt in there.
I'll keep reading the things these authors wrote because that one novel still blazes in my head since the day I read it, but this one although a good read, wasn't memorable to me.

Lorraine Heath - Texas Destiny

Arriving on the Fort Worth train, Miss Amelia Carson, mail-order bride, had never met Dallas Leigh, the Texan she promised to marry. The tall cowboy at the station wasn't Dallas. He was Houston, Dallas's brother, sent to escort her on the rugged three-week trek to the ranch where Dallas waited. Brought up in war-ravaged Georgia, Amelia thought Dallas's letters made Texas sound like heaven, a place for her dreams to grow with the right man beside her....

By all appearances, Houston Leigh would hardly be considered the "right man". The war he survived had scarred him inside and out, and he was little competition for his handsome brother. But from the moment Houston met Amelia, he knew she possessed the courage this wild land needed. She had eyes that could see past his wounded face to his soul. And he would fight any man - except his brother - for her heart...Now he and Amelia were riding down dangerous trails, sleeping under the stars, and God help them, they were falling in love...

Comment: One of the best things about romance novels is to see the couple understand they have feelings for the other and more than seeing them confirming it, it's great to see them accepting it and even better to watch it happen.
In this book, this is so and I loved seeing how a situation that seemed too complicated to deal with would be solved.
Amelia is a very likable character because she falls for a man with scars but accepts it and even welcomes it, I'm not sure many of us would have the courage to see things like that.
Houston is a man without hope but it's so good to read things from his POV and see he's really falling for Amelia. Also, I like historicals because these books offer a valid reason for the couple not to have sex right away, and in this story's case, also because they are both honored characters and wouldn't act behinf Houston's brother's back.
I really liked how the story developps, and all the scenes with Amelia and Houston waltzing among their feelngs for each other and how impossible it all was...and in the end it was with a huge smile I saw their HEA happpen.
I'll certainly read the rest of this trilogy and perhaps even other books by the author.

Dawn McClure - Azazel

Alexia has no complaints about her job as an assassin in the Alliance, battling rogue vampires and demons. However, on a personal level, she has hit a sexual hiatus. Men from every race, every continent and every skill level have tried to bring her down—and turn her on. All have failed. Until a man with a body made of sin stirs her blood for the
first time in over two hundred years.

Azazel, a demon of the First Angelic Revolt, is one of Lucifer’s most prominent—and dominant—assassins. His current mission leads him to Alexia, a fighter like himself
who lives in the moment with no promise of tomorrow. A sexy vampire assassin whose
secret sexual desire is a perfect match for his…skills.

His decision to give her exactly what she wants leaves them both hungry for more. But to
delve into desires that might be best left unexplored, they’ll have to overcome a pack of
rogue demons—and possibly Satan himself.

Comment: Another new author to me. I got the ebook a long time ago but never picked it up again. Recently a friend read her own copy and told me about it and I remembered I had one too and decided to give it a try.
It's ok. Seriously, I don't have much to say about it, it's just ok.
Because it's such a short story, there's an obvious lack of deep in the characters, and I wish the author could have given more information about the angels or some more legands to explain things, after all not everyone knows their religion myhts, right?
The characters were ok, considering the air time thay had to develop.
I think it was a good attempt, and I'm sure if the story were to be longer and more detailed, perhaps more "worked on", it would be almost perfect. But, as always, it's only my opinion.

Catt Ford - Extreme Bull

Inside and outside the rodeo arena, Jeff Stratton and Clay Harris are rivals with tempers worse than the bulls they ride. So Clay is shocked when Jeff taps that wild energy and kisses him, sparking an undeniable urge for more of each others' bodies.

But when they discover they might want more than casual sex between competitions, Clay's greatest fear is recognized: He is scared of being identified as gay. He'll have to cowboy up if he hopes to hang on to Jeff on the circuit of love.

Comment: This was the first book I read by this author and I was quite glad I decided to pick something by her. The writing is fluid and feels right and the story is compelling. It was a lot of fun to see how at first Jeff and Clay were trying to best the other but after a kiss of fury it all changed. I tink the best thing in th book is that the author amnaged to present lots of tension while the couple was falling in love. I mean, it wasn't too fast to feel rushed or too slow to lack real feelings, it was done well.
When they were together it was obvious they liked each other and it made me smile to see them go through thair lives while the truth was they loved each other.
I really liked the story and read it fast because it was just too good. I found out everything worked for me in this book.
I didn't know there is another book set in the same world, or should I say, a previous one, but I'll read it too someday.

Ali Shaw - The Girl With Glass Feet

Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St. Hauda’s Land. Magical winged creatures flit around the icy bogland, albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods, and Ida Maclaird is slowly turning into glass. Ida is an outsider in these parts who has only visited the islands once before. Yet during that one fateful visit the glass transformation began to take hold, and now she has returned in search of a cure.

Comment: This book promised a magical story according to some critics.
I was expecting a love story but the book really focuses more on the writing instead of the romance the blurb sems to highlight.
Ida's feet are turning into glass and she goes back to the island where she believes everyhting started, In there, she meets Midas, a shy guy who slowly becomes important to her and they fall in love.
While looking for a cure to her problem, they develop a sweet relationship with mutual confessions and the reader gets to see more of their pasts as well as their parents' history. Like I said the focus ins't the romance but the story itself, and I must say the language used is gorgeous, the author knows his english and brings poetry to his prose, because things appear so much richer than they are because of that. I think the writing itself is the author's strongest point.
Ida and Midas spend some time with another man, the one Ida thinks will have the cure for her and together they find out new things about the past, things that will be the solution to her mysterious condition.

I finished the book with a sense of "it could be better". I mean, the book isn't bad per se, but the feeling I got in the end....strange. I won't tell spoilers, but I have to say i did not expect that wnding. I imagined it would be so, but not like that, which was a surprise. So surprised I was, but not completely.
The book has magical beings and magical things happening. It was interesting to see the author's iamgination in those small details.

I always had the idea serious newspapers won't write critics to the so called "common romances", things that seem to follow a formula whether it's an idea of the author of the publisher's line. Anyway, this story is fresh work of art but isn't a romance, so I gues it's not such a surprise newspapers would comment on it. However, if someone is trying to be dazzled by a love story I think they might be disappointed. My advice? Don't have expectations if you're going to read the book. Jut let yourself be surprised and perhaps the end will make more sense then.

Nora Roberts - The Search

Talented search and rescue dog trainer Fiona Bristow escaped the clutches of a serial killer several years before, but not before he murdered her fiance and her beloved dog. She has retreated to a cabin in the wilderness and is wary of forming bonds with anyone, but handsome newcomer and talented carpenter Simon has an unruly puppy to train and soon man and dog charm their way into Fiona's life. But just when she starts to relax, it becomes clear a copycat murderer is on the loose, and making his way closer and closer towards her with unfinished business on his mind ...

Comment: Nora Roberts was the first author whose work I just had to get my hands on. I devoured almost everything she wrote in the 80s and then most of her most recent work too. Like with any other author, there are some things I just can't imagine why she wrote that (Public Secrets and Blue Smoke come to mind), but others...others make it seem so easy to write a book, so fluid it appears in front of my eyes.
This book is one of those, the story just flows naturally and everyhting is set in place that I didn't spend time thinking "what if" when things could be in a way I think could be better.
Simona nd Fiona aren't a love at first sight couple but neither spends the whole book thinking they don't deserve the other ot that they can't be together, so from that POV, it was great. I especially liked Simon, he isn't one of the perfect Nora heroes but he isn't too aloof to be a reluctant hero. He doesn't bother with fights against his feelings or behaviour, he is a kind man with a sharped mind and I liked that a lot.
Then there's the dogs, I loved them all, loved the information about rescue dogs and rescue procedures. It was an interesting subject but things didn't sound too forced like it happened in other books. Perhaps because the subject was a good one.
All in all, a great read, one I had a good time with and that matters the most to me.

Jessica Davis Stein - Coyote Dream

Smart, sophisticated, urbanite Sarah Friedman jumps at the chance to journey to the Southwest to buy American Indian art for her family's successful Manhattan store, determined to set aside personal disappointment and seek new perspectives in the serenity of the vast desert landscape. When her car breaks down on a remote part of the Navajo reservation, fast-paced Sarah finds herself stranded in a slow brown world.

After years of turmoil, Ben Lonefeather has finally gained control of himself and his life. Solitary, self-sufficient, and tightly wound, he devotes his time to work and caring for the coyotes he rescued as pups. The intersection of two lives that would not ordinarily have crossed for more than a moment deepens into a connection that leaves both of them passionately alive and profoundly changed. Within a layered collision of cultures, Coyote Dream explores the tension between society's surface and nature's undercurrent.

Comment: This book's synopsis intrigued me a lot when I first read it. So, after looking for the book - as it is out of stock - and getting it, I decided to read it last month. I wasn't disappointed at all.
Sarah travelled to look for art from the native americans like her father used to do and while doing it, she met and fell in love with Ben. The two of them weren't expecting to feel that way and separated mostly because their cultures seemed to be too apart to allow a happy ending.
However, Ben is an artist and soon he goes to New York, where sarah lives, to show his art in her father's gallery.
I must say I liked how things were done, there was a confortable pace in the action, and the characters have deep but not too much to make them boring.
I especially liked how the two cultures interwinned and in the end it's not what you are that will make you happy, it's who you are. The end of the book was perfect, something that makes me smile even after finishing it.
i totally recommend it.

Alex Beecroft - The Captain's Surrender

Ambitious and handsome, Joshua Andrews had always valued his life too much to take unnecessary risks. Then he laid eyes on the elegant picture of perfection that is Peter Kenyon.
Soon to be promoted to captain, Peter Kenyon is the darling of the Bermuda garrison. With a string of successes behind him and a suitable bride lined up to share his future, Peter seems completely out of reach to Joshua.
But when the two men are thrown together to serve during a long voyage under a sadistic commander with a mutinous crew, they discover unexpected friendship. As the tension on board their vessel heats up, the closeness they feel for one another intensifies and both officers find themselves unable to reign in their passion.

Comment: I had previously read some comments about Alex Beecroft and the majority are quite positive, so I didn't have any doubts to start a book by this author.

The think I enjoyed the most were the descriptions. The writing style is appealing and the fact the descriptions of colours, smells, the ships, the whole environment, everything seemed well done and precise.

The love story was sweet as it happens with most romances where one of the guys doesn't know he has it in him to be gay curious, and I liked how natural it looked. Their both personalities are appealing and the reader feels for them when we get to see things from their POV. Plus the antagonist was fearsome and I didn't look forward to see more scenes where he was in.

I enjoyed the story yes, I think I'd have liked a little less focus on other characters, not that it was a bad thing, but it was a bit distracting.

I'll try more books by the author in the future, for sure.

August m/m challenge update

This month I'll be reading 3 more books for the challenge...I think tricky will be to get them all in the end together lol

Anyway, this month the letters are:
F, from Catt Ford
U, from Madeleine Urban
W, from Mary Winter

And I already have the books chosen too.
As always, I'll post as long as I read.

Addison Fox - Warrior Ascended

MILLENNIA AGO, THE GODDESS OF JUSTICE CREATED A RACE OF FIERCE WARRIORS, EACH IMBUED WITH A SPECIAL POWER OF THE ZODIAC AND CHARGED WITH PROTECTING HUMANITY FROM THE DARKEST OF EVILS.

Charming, proud, and impulsive, Leo Warrior Brody Talbot is fighting what may be his final battle. Enyo, the Goddess of War, plans to fulfill an ancient prophecy to destroy humanity by harnessing the dark power of the Summoning Stones of Egypt -- and there's only one person who knows enough about the stones to help Brody diminish their strength.

Since her father's murder, museum curator Ava Harrison has continued his research of Egypt's ancient treasures. She's just landed the exhibit of the century: displaying the Summoning Stones at New York's American Museum of Natural History. Used to working alone, Ava is suspicious of the arrogant archaeologist who's been brought in to ensure the stones' safekeeping, but his presence ignites an unexpected blaze of attraction.

Never in all his centuries has Brody met a woman who enthralls him as Ava does. But, bound to protect her, he struggles to deny his passion as they are drawn into a dark and dangerous final reckoning between good and evil.

Comment: Some friends have read this series already (I mean, the books already out) and most critics were good, so I jumped right in and bought the three books without reading the first before. Usually I don't do this, as I'm picky and if I don't like the first book in the series I probably won't read the rest.
Anyway, the story is centered about a group of warriors under the command of the godess Themis, to help humankind against another godess, Enyo, who wants their destruction. There are rules, though and plans to see through.
In this book, we follow warrior Leo, and his attempt to reunite some stones that will give their owner a huge power.
Brody, as leo warrior, disguises himself to get close to the stones and Ava, the person who is the key to them.

I think the romance isn't the most successful one, there were times I didn't feel the seriousness of the things happening because the sex gets in the way, not that there is too much sex, but because the focus on it happens - in my opinion- on the worst times possible. As a first book we are given a lot of information so there are quite some boring moments. Still, I am curious to meet more warriors and what they can do (as leo, Brody can creat an aura of a lion to help him battle the bad guys) and how will they meet their mates.
The end of this book was ok, and I'll read the next ones soon, but I know they will get better, I was told so, otherwise I might read them yes, but not in a near future.

Deborah Smith - Silk and Stone

In the wealthy resort town of Pandora, North Carolina, old secrets and heartaches are guarded as closely as rubies cut from the mountain bedrock. It is said that a fine ruby is both silk and stone, light and shadow, fortune and tragedy. And the finest ruby of all is the famous Pandora Ruby, a gem that has divided the Vanderveer and the Raincrow families for decades and shattered the lives of all who have possessed it.

Samantha is no stranger to hardship and betrayal. But she has no idea of the lives that have been destroyed by the Pandora Ruby or the dark secrets behind her aunt's Vanderveer heritage. Lives like that of Jake Raincrow, a dangerous loner haunted by tragedy. Only Jake, gifted and cursed with the "sight" of his Cherokee ancestors, sees the vulnerability that shadows Samantha's fierce determination to protect the people she loves; he alone senses the loneliness and sacrifice behind her bravado. But it is the ruby that obsesses him, for it is the key to the mystery of his past, a devastating betrayal that he must right before he can love again...

Comment: Once again, I loved a book by this author. I don't know what else to say about the author's writing or style that I haven't praised before.
This story is very similar to A Place to Call Home, but I preferred this one, I liked the main characters much more, plus there's a sense of hapiness in the air. Although bad things happen during the book, in the end the happy reunion and the other love story made the book quite good.
I liked how the main couple stayed faithful to each other, how they both waited, it is so romantic and sweet to think like that.
The villain is indeed, bad. I think more than the usual cliches used, the authr tried to portray a bad person with some good reasons, so we hate her for what she did but we pity her too.
I can't wait to read more books by this author, and although this one isn't my favourite, I'll cherish it immensely.