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My opinions!!

Take Me - Cherry Adair This is the second Harlequin I've read by Cherry Adair. I really liked the first, so I gave this one a shot. The plot is alone is very Harlequin, but I was impressed by the characters. There were times I didn't like Joshua, but his story made perfect sense with his personality. Jessie was great. She was no weak woman that always bent for her man. She had spunk and depth of character.Would recommend to all Harlequin fans.

Beautiful Stranger

Beautiful Stranger - Christina Lauren Another well written, scorching hot addition to the Beautiful Bastard series. Unbelievably, the sex was even hotter in this book than the first. Crazy, I know.Sara, wasn't as strong a lead as Chloe, but their personalities were vastly different. The book started with Sara as a doormat to her ex-boyfriend but she really blossomed into a person I could like by the end. I think if we get glimpses of her in future books and get her settled into the relationship with Max, she will get even better. Max, oh, Max. 6'5" of British hunkiness. He really is a delight to read about from beginning to end. Just loving this series.
Beautiful Bitch (Beautiful Bastard, #1.5) - Christina Lauren This is the best 100 pgs. of epilogue I've ever read. I can't think of any other way to describe it. The writing technique was great. There were great insights/stories into the previous year of Bennett and Chloe while telling a to-date story as well. By the end I truly loved Bennett. I am devouring these books. Thankfully, I'm only a week away from getting the next installment. YEAH!
Beautiful Bastard - Christina Lauren Loved it, Loved it, LOVED IT! Great contemporary romance and incredible sex. Bennett was an unabashed asshole. Chloe is spunky and sarcastic and what I want all my female leads to be. The combination of two was hot and unforgettable. There is some hoopla about the book's fanfiction start. I've read the "Twilight" series and there is no trace of Bella or Edward in these pages, so I could care less. This book is no rip-off. One could argue that BB was inspired by Twilight and they would be right, much like Twilight was inspired by hundreds of vampire novels, teen romances and love triangle romances. Twilight is as "original" as Beautiful Bastard. If you don't want to read/support P2P books, don't buy and read them. So many 1-star reviews are simply bullshit reviews to complain about the books beginning. Can't wait to read more of the series.

Friend-zoned (Friend-Zoned, #1)

Friend-Zoned - Belle Aurora So, it's chic lit, the romance is a no-brainer. There were a couple surprises and plot directions I didn't expect though. I really loved the characters. The friendships and bantering were the highlight of the book for me. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an enjoyable, entertaining, laugh-out-loud read. With all that said, there was some serious, glaring problems I had with the writing itself. There were many areas that "I" began every sentence. Then the sentences were short, so it read like..."I can run. I can jump. I can barely get through reading this paragraph". The other thing that annoyed me immensely was the leading lady would have a thought, "I love it". Then she would say the exact same thought out loud in the next line, "I croaked,'I love it." This happened quite a few times in the book. Now, anyone reading this may wonder how I could give 4-stars to a book that I had such criticism for. The truth is, I still really liked the book. The self-published author should improve on or expand her "editors"/reading group, but other than that, I think Ms. Aurora has a winning series on her hand.
Sexiest Man Alive - Diana Holquist Definitely some humorous parts, almost silly. I'm not a silly hater, so I didn't have a problem with that. I loved Josh Toby, but found Jamine lacking for my taste. My real problem with the book was how the character's were written. It was clear the author was going for character complexity but the complexity was almost cartoonish in it's presentation. The whole gypsy angle was so sporadic. I couldn't decided if it was important to the story or was unimportant and could have done without. If I could give half stars I would rate this book 2.5.

Black Heart (Cursed Hearts, #1)

Black Heart (Cursed Hearts, #1) - R.L. Mathewson There is a lot to like about this book--characters, humor and the story's premise. It is a great introduction to another great series by R.L. Mathewson. There were a couple problems with the delivery, but Mathewson's humor and characters are so damn entertaining I can overlook some of the problems that I suspect will be ironed out in the following books.

Heart of Obsidian

Heart of Obsidian - Nalini Singh *This review contains the name of the heroine (although wasnt' a huge surprise) and no mention of the Ghost*I find that, often, when I read I'm analyzing as I go. Not a bad thing, just something I do. The same cannot be said about HoO. I was immersed in the story, the world, the characters and the relationships. The book was so masterfully written that it was like living each word. Nalini Singh is far and away the best storyteller in this genre and HoO is the best written book of this series.Fans, like myself, could have missed the changeling presence that has been a staple of this series, but Kaleb and Sahara's individuals stories and relationship was so captivating that including side stories would have greatly taken away from the main plot and flow that made the book so exceptional. Sahara had just enough darkness and edge that she wasn't annoying--as I find Sasha to be over the series--but the light and life she brought to Kaleb was beautiful. I love how her devotion and loyalty to Kaleb never wavered, even when she suspected him of the worst. Her revelations throughout were paced well and didn't prevent the relationship from growing. I appreciate that greatly since often "amnesia" in stories works as a barrier where Sahara's memory loss played well into the books progression.Kaleb just usurped Judd's place as my favorite male in the series. Amazing really given that Kaleb really isn't good--he's cold, brutal, calculating, manipulative--but wholly devoted to the first person that actually saw him. Most moving part was Kaleb's thought that having Sahara was his reward for surviving. After knowing the hell he survived and knowing Sahara is the very best part of him, his revelation moved me like no other part in the book. To sum of the experience, BRILLIANT. The writing was phenomenal, and the story was emotional. **Sidenote**I like "Tangle of Need", the previous book, a little less than before. Kaleb and Sahara mated. What happened to them is what occurs with changelings.... Adria and Riaz's relationship is even less romantic after reading Kaleb and Sahara's book.
Sudden Response: An EMS series novel - R.L. Mathewson Another brilliantly funny book by R.L. Mathewson. The characters, romance and humor are so genuine that I couldn't put it down. Eric and Joe's (Josephine) friendly banter was entertaining. You could feel their attraction without the author explicitly explaining their connection. Very well done.
Heaven, Texas - Susan Elizabeth Phillips First, I'm really enjoying this series. The humor is light and the 90's reference are always fun. Second, Gracie is virginal, goody-goody and very likable. Third, Bobby Tom is dick. He is. He's self-absorbed and superficial, but thankfully still manages to be endearing and a nice guy. Kudos to SEP for pulling off that character. Bobby Tom and Grace's romance was sweet. The pace was realistic and Gracie blossoming from "homely" to "pretty" is one of my favorite plot devices. Love makeover stories. There was also a mini romance that took place with Bobby Tom's mom, Suzy. I was happy for her and glad she and Bobby Tom were both able to move on from the pain in their lives.
It Had to Be You - Susan Elizabeth Phillips This book was an easy read for me. I like football, so that part of the story wasn't a hardship. There were some funny moments and awkward...namely OJ Simpson doing an after game interview. It was accurate for the 90's setting this books takes place, but come on, OJ Simpson. I digress, back to the romance. I found I really liked Phoebe. She was written as an almost typical sex abuse victim. First she used sex as a way to punish herself then became impossibly closed off to men. She reeked of sexuality and used it as a way to guard her true self and control the men around her. But she is smart and funny and easy to like. Dan is hot-tempered and, well, hot. Their arguments were some of the best dialogue in the book. The first scene he had with his ex-wife was creepy though. Not a Valerie fan. I'm not really fond of having a books hero have sex with another female in a book, especially in detail sex. Always off-putting to me. Dan not only has sex with his ex-wife early in the book, but dates another woman while he's sleeping with Phoebe. He's an idiot.As a couple, I found them perfectly matched and enjoyed them coming together as friends and lovers.

Lover at Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series #11)

Lover at Last - J.R. Ward This book is a bit of a bitter ending (to me) for a series that I used to obsess over. What is to follow is not a fan-girl review, it is a review of a disappointed former-fan.Qhuinn and Blay:Epic fail. Their storyline was an illustration of coming to terms with who they, Qhuinn and Blay, are as individuals. Add some rather quick and unemotional sex between two men that had no apparent connection and that is the bulk of their story. There was no fucking emotions that I could grasp. There was very little shared emotion. The relationship came about, not because of the sex, but in spite of. One of the reasons I found mainstreaming a gay fictional couple would be highlighting the emotional connection of two people without gender consideration. You know, because it's supposed to be a love story. It was kind of obvious gay sex isn't JRW's thing, but love is universal and the reason I read romances, gay or straight. Their "relationship" was rushed at the end and read like an afterthought and very disappointing given the book is nearly 600pgs. The contention from JRW is that their story would be handled like every other couple. I can't recall a book where the sex was so mechanical and unemotional. Honestly. No eye contact and doggy-style is the extent of physical intimacy.To be fair, Blay had a lot of anger and resentment towards Qhuinn. That was his cross to bare. There was a small bit about coming out to his parents, but was a non-event. It did work well to contrast Blay's relationship with his parents and Qhuinn's non-relationship with his. I love Blay and have certainly felt his pain over the years over non-requited love, but I'd be lying if I didn't say how much my heart broke for Qhuinn. It's easy to see the only thing Blay was without over the years was Qhuinn's love (he did have Saxton though), while Qhuinn really didn't have anything until this book. Heartbreaking stuff. There was a good amount of Blay's POV, so knowing what was going on in his head throughout was good.Qhuinn had a couple major obstacles to overcome (that was rushed/forced in the last 20pgs like everything else good in the relationship). Namely his sexuality and how his family really, truly fucked up his existence. His sexuality wasn't a big deal to him, but the reasons why he buried it made him come to terms with how his parents affected him. Good stuff, but, again, it was there and gone, then, BAM the end of the book.I repeat, the lack of emotional connection between the two was frustrating. Knowing their thoughts and emotions isn't the same as having them connect emotionally. Given the end of LRb, I expected Qhuinn's approach or lack of approach to getting Blay not very aggressive or impressive. Naturally, there will be more Qhuinn and Blay in future books, certainly in Layla and Xcor's, but given what a clusterfuck this book was, I have no faith in JRW's abilities to execute.Blay and Saxton:In my opinion, JRW made a major mistake by telling the highlights in Saxton and Blay's relationship, emotional and sexual. And I mean highlights, the good stuff. I don't think it is EVER a good idea for an author to give an indication that the hero is better off with the ex. Frankly, she did such a poor job of developing a relationship/connection between Qhuinn and Blay, that you could easily see Blay being with Saxton. Making a point to allow Saxton and Blay's relationship to change for the reader, for the better, while not progressing with Qhuinn and Blay's story was also a big, big ugly.I'd also like to add Qhuinn was right, Saxton is a slut. He dumped Blay, understandably, but went and got layed the next day. Sure, he loves Blay. Give me a fucking break. Saxton may care deeply for Blay, but love? No way. His sluttiness led to an ugly altercation with Qhuinn, and I like that Qhuinn went to bat for Blay without conscious thought. Having Blay lie about his relationship with Saxton the ENTIRE FUCKING BOOK, was, how shall I say it...moronitic and sophmoric. How old is the demographic reading these books. Better yet, how fucking old is the author. Blay lies about being with Saxton, Qhuinn says, "Use me to get at Saxton for cheating,", the only thing missing was passing notes in study hall. This is Y/A material. Qhuinn and Layla:This book did not make the baby drama any more appealing. If anything I'm even more put off. The miscarriage scare and Layla related scenes, in which there were a lot, really brought down the entire book. JRW also likened Qhuinn servicing Layla to manual labor...digging a trench. I know it was meant to soften the 12hrs of endless sex (way less than Z and Bella BTW) he gave, but it came off as condescending to, I, the reader. She really came off as self-centered and uncaring about the repercussions of her actions. Very early in the book Layla had an "Oh Well" moment when she was thinking about how getting serviced by Qhuinn adversely affected any chance of Qhuinn being with Blay. Seriously, she really didn't seem to fucking care that the pregnancy affected more than her. She may have stood up for Qhuinn when Phury was going to kill him, but she wasn't there for him when Phury did the real damage, "This is all your fault". What was so very wrong with the Layla storyline was how she was putting herself, the baby and every Brother in danger because she feels adored and admired by the enemy. Self-centered much? Basically, still a Layla hater, more now than ever.Side Stories, aka 3/4 of the book.No fucking joke. I walked away from this book so many times because I just wasn't that interested in Trez, Assail, Xcor/Layla and Band of Bastard's storylines. Take that back, Assail's wasn't that bad, but their storylines took up a whole lot of the book. The flow of the entire book was stunted and forced, like JRW was cramming 5-stories into one, not big enough, book. There was a whole lot that should have been edited or consolidated. What I did like: the induction (although it wasn't really any different than what we've read before) and understanding why Qhuinn was chosen, the airplane, which played into Qhuinn's badassness and hero tendencies, Qhuinn's thank you to Blay, the Red Sox vs Yankees and suit scenes made me miss the earlier books when the Brotherhood was a tangible part of the books, there was good dialogue between Qhuinn and his brother that may have been the most emotional aspects of the book, the last 20-30 pages are the only reason to read this book, because the journey there wasn't very good and those pages also involved the best parts of Qhuinn and Blay. What I really miss is the Brotherhood. There was really only a couple samll parts that hinted of the books of old and made me angrier. JRW has set up future, no, not set up, wrote big chunks of future books, but they aren't Brothers. The male comradrie and friendships are sorely missed and what I used to love about this series. I'm happy to have read Qhuinn and Blay getting together, but the delivery was a jagged pill difficult to swallow.This book has been referred to as a filler. If you can write 600 pages of filler in any series, than your series isn't very good. 2-stars
A Scandal, a Secret, a BabyMarriage Scandal, Showbiz Baby! - Sharon Kendrick Although the are is gray, I found myself preferring the first book to the second novella. The difference was sleeping with a woman shortly after breaking up or making out with a woman while married. For me the non-cheater will always win out. Neither were great reads for simple reasons. Reasons I'd like Harlequin writers to make note of. First, when a relationship fails, both parties are usually to blame. That is a poor excuse for cheating though. The woman always apologizes for her failings as a wife when the man apologizes for cheating. What year is this? Women are still being held responsible for cheating partners? Harlequin hasn't gotten the memo. The second reason these books weren't great were the men. There wasn't anything endearing about them. No life struggle to really account for their selfish, thoughtless behavior. The first book, the guy married a professional, touring musician, then became resentful when he didn't become the stay-at-home wife he wanted. The second book involved an actor, who never stopped working, blaming his wife for be a non-stop actress. In the end it was both men getting what they wanted. Again, what year is this? I started with 3-stars, then 2 halfway through the review, but now...1-star.
From Rags - Suzanne  Wright Very good book. I just love Jaxxon and Conner's personalities. The author did an excellant job of portraying their connection-- it was almost a tangible thing while reading it. The dialogue was witty and sarcastic, which I enjoyed. Several typos that I found distracting, but not enough to take away from the overall enjoyment. The sex scenes were a-mazing! They did a great job of reinforcing the connection between Jaxx and Conner. Highly recommended.4.5 stars
Bachelor Number Four - Megan Hart Very quick read with some emotional punch. I wish there had been more build-up and human interaction between Arden and Shane. Too much of Shane's actual character was hidden in online chats. In the end I was hopeful the two would make it. I have a pretend epilougue in my mind where they have been married a couple years with a baby. So sue me, I like my ending tied with a bow.
The Marrying Man - Barbara Bretton Not great. Sometimes a novella is just too short. This story was lacking depth in it's characters, so the the story ended up lacking. The ending was abrupt and hurried...like this review.