Play With Me ~ Kristen Proby

Play With Me by Kristen Proby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

6 ridiculously romantic stars!!

It's official. Kristen Proby is the QUEEN of feel-good, angst-free, romance! This series (thus far) has managed to find just the right balance of sweet romance, with hot and heavy sexy-times.

And Will Montgomery? I thought it would be impossible to surpass Luke as my favorite KP hero, but well...Will is just about my idea of the perfect romantic hero (and man).



This book was exactly what I needed, and I flew through it in less than 24 hours.

I love how simple KP's stories are. And I don't mean simple as in boring with nothing going on. I mean KP tells the kind of love stories that are so damn hard to find these days; stories that are (mostly) free of angst and needless drama. I love reading about a couple who are in love and don't have a million and one things pop up out of no where to keep them from being together. No psycho ex girl/boyfriends coming out of the woodwork. No deep dark secrets that threaten to destroy the lives of our everyone around them. Do the couples have things to work through? Yes. But they work through them...and it doesn't take 300 pages for them to do it. They have hurdles in their way, but they make their way around them and get on with their lives. I for one LOVE the fact that when a crisis pops up, KP usually have the characters deal with the problems head on and within a few chapters our couple are moving on to something else. This kind of simplistic kind of storytelling might not be for everyone, but I absolutely LOVE it. And wish I could find more authors like Kristen doing it these days.

Will & Meg's relationship was sweet, romantic, and oh so sexy. One of the things I ADORE about Will is the fact that he has absolutely no problem telling Meg (and everyone else) how he feels about her. I've seen some people say that the heroes in these books are just too good to be true and therefore not realistic. Well, I don't know about you, but, one of the reasons I love romantic fiction so much is because it can take me away from the overwhelming stresses of my day to day life and transport me into a world where men like Will Montgomery CAN exist, and and where an 'average' girl like Meg (in other words someone like me) can somehow steal his heart. That's why I keep coming back to romantic fiction, and that is why Kristen Proby is one of my favorite authors.




"You are not a dirty little secret," I murmur into her ear. "You are everything."

"Just the thought of you not being in my life is my undoing. When you feel safe enough to say what I know you feel, it will be the best moment of my life."

And those quotes (along with a bunch of others I could post), show why Will Montgomery is pretty much the perfect romantic hero. He's sweet, kind, funny, possessive and too damn sexy for words. And I am so grateful I got to spend some time with him. ;)

I can't recommend this book (and this series) highly enough!

Quickie #7

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

This book was a mixed bag for me. I struggled to get through it, so much so that it took me 3 tries before I actually succeeded.

Part of my problem with the book was that i had a very hard time accepting Daemon as a hero and a leading man. Yes, he was cute and had some good one liners, but he was also incredibly mean at times. He might has had his reasons for what he did, but honestly, he came off more as a bully than an appealing leading man.

Katy was a strong woman (and i loved that she was a book blogger), but as strong as she was she still somehow managed to fall under Daemon's spell no matter how often he treated her like crap.

Not a huge fan of the alien aspect, but it ended up being a somewhat interesting twist.

Catch Me by Lisa Gardner
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

What a huge disappointment this turned out to be.

Being a huge fan of this series, I went into this book with high expectations that up until now Gardner had always managed to live up to. This book unfortunately fell flat. Everything about it, the character interactions (DD Warren is usually one of my favorite female protagonists, but here she seemed to be a whiny shell of her former self, the "evil doer" and their story was uninteresting and pretty much the entire mystery aspect was boring.

One of the most disappointing reads of 2012 for me.

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rating: 4 stars
Scare Factor: Intense (Gretchen is one mean mama-jamma!)
Depth of Character: 4 stars
Steaminess: Warm (one highly inappropriate but still so-wrong-i-feel-dirty-but-i-can't-help-but-like-it sex scene)

The second installment in the warped and twisted world of Archie & Gretchen nearly liv=ves up to the first.

This book delves much deeper into the hold that Gretchen has over Archie. We know that she is evil...that she will be Archie's destruction if he gives in to his inexplicable desire to be with the woman who has not only killed countless people, but tortured and kidnapped Archie several years ago. But damn if seeing the two of them together again wasn't a fascinating, if beyond warped roller coaster ride that i enjoyed the hell out of.

The Raven Boys ~ Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I seem to have a love hate relationship with Maggie Stiefvater.

On the one hand I absolutely loved her Wolves of Mercy Falls series. And on the other I was completely confused and turned off by her book The Scorpio Races. I was hoping that my experience reading TSR was a fluke. But, unfortunately I had a similar experience reading her latest book, The Raven Boys.

Granted, Stiefvater's trademark beautiful writing style is still very much on display. But this story was confusing and disjointed from the first page. I had a very hard time trying to keep track of which character was which, and what their cloudy backstory was...to the point of actually giving myself a headache trying to process everything.

When I began this book, I felt like I had been dropped off in the middle of the story, and I kept waiting for things to become clearer as the book went on. Yes, i had some of my questions answered and some of the murkiness of the characters resolved themselves, but overall this book felt like a jumbled mess.

I am not yet ready to give up hope that Stiefvater will once again write a book that captivates me the way that her Mercy Falls trilogy once did. But, I hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Quickie #8

Broken Hart by Ella Fox
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

It's pretty sad that within a few days of finishing this book I actually had very little memory of what the story was about, apart from there being a lot....A LOT...of sex scenes. Now, I am all for a quick smutty read once in a while, but I usually prefer there to be some kind of plot that doesn't involve the main characters having wild monkey sex.



The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having been a HUGE fan of the Percy Jackson books, i was of course super excited to read the first book in the spin series, Heroes Of Olympus. For the most part, this book didn't let me down.

Riordan has a knack for writing wonderfully quirky characters that i grow to love very quickly. And while I can't say that i didn't miss the presence of my beloved Percy (because I did. A lot.), i had a blast reading this book. In fact, I honestly think that it is impossible for me not to enjoy a Riordan book. They are always a fun, action-packed escape from reality that is much needed in my day to day life.

And even though the new set of misfit children born of the gods and goddesses of Olympus were engaging, I have to say I am thrilled that the next book is much more focused on Mr Jackson.

Painted Faces ~ L.H. Cosway

Painted Faces by L.H. Cosway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I would give this book 10 stars if I could.



I don't think I have ever been left speechless by a book before...but I honestly don't know if I have the words to express how much I adored this book and how much this story, and these characters meant to me.

I tend to be very picky with books lately. No matter how much I end up enjoying them, I can usually find at least 1 or 2 things to nit-pick about. I guess I just spend so much of my time reading that it takes a lot to impress me these days. Well, L.H. Cosway, color me impressed. Color me mind-blowingly, heart-warmingly, never-want-the-story-to-end impressed.



Others far more eloquent then myself have already written glowing reviews detailing how beautifully written this book was...how unique and special this love story turned out to be. All I can add to their praise is to say that this book was about as close to perfection as you can possibly get. I wouldn't change a thing about Fred & Viv's story. Other than making it much....much...longer.

Lover At Last ~ JR Ward

Lover At Last by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

6 Happily Ever After stars!



**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Like many fans of the BDB series, I feel like I have been waiting for Blay & Qhuinn's story forever. To say that the anticipation and expectations for this book were through the roof would be putting it mildly. And having said that, it is ridiculous to think that all of the fans would feel happy and satisfied with how this book played out.

Thankfully, I am firmly in the camp that was beyond thrilled with how Qhuay's story unfolded.

Let's just get this out of the way. Things about the book I *didn't* love:
1. Too many side stories...especially the one involving Assail and Sora. Honestly, their story wasn't very interesting and while I can see potential with Assail, Sora got on my last nerve.
2. Havers. Why is he even still a part of this series?! Doesn't Jane, and Manny pretty much have the medical aspect of the Brotherhood covered?! The way he treated Layla was beyond infuriating and I really wanted Qhuinn (or even Phury) to drag him outside and leave him to the sun.
3. And speaking of Jane...has everyone forgotten that she's a ghost?! I mean, no one ever mentions it anymore and I find that kind of...weird. Maybe it's intentional on Ward's part since so many people gave her shit about it in the first place. I have never been a huge fan of the Ghost Jane aspect so maybe that is just more on my mind than other readers, but every time she popped up in this book I found it odd that there was no mention of it this time around. I mean, they always mention Z's scar. Rhage's beast...but no mention that you can sometimes walk through Jane?

Now, on to what I loved (without being too spoilery).

Layla.
Oh...my...Gawd...what a badass this female has turned out to be!!! I started to like her a lot in Lover Reborn, but here she has totally become one of my favorite females in the series. I loved that she stepped out of her role as a Chosen and stood up for herself.



But, the thing that really made me love her was how she stood up for Qhuinn. <3 I can't wait for her to have her own book and her own chance at a HEA.

Trez & iAm
It was about time that we got to know the Shadows. I loved getting a peak inside their world.

Qhuinn
I have loved this character since he first appeared in the series, but he totally came alive in this book. He has always considered himself to be somehow unworthy of love, and I can't express how wonderful it was to see him open himself up. Not only to Blay, but to the rest of the Brotherhood. Plus - he is responsible for saving the life of my all time favorite BDB character, Z. For that I will adore him for the rest of my life. From the beginning Qhuinn has been a badass and fiercely devoted to his friends. But, in LaL, Qhuinn was vulnerable and...that was just lovely to see.




The sex scenes
I am no stranger to M/M fiction, so I wasn't scared to go into this book worrying that i might not be able to handle the love scenes between two men. However...can I just say that i was....amazed, and in a good way, by how intense the love scenes were. I know a lot of people were worried that Ward would feel the need to water them down in order to not freak out a certain portion of her audience. Well, i am happy to say that was not the case. At. All. Blay & Qhuinn's first love scene was quite possibly the hottest thing I have ever read. EVER. In my entire life. They pretty much destroyed all the furniture in Qhuinn's room. It was raw, and frenzied and desperate, and unbelievably well done.




I for one, am extremely proud of Ward for how she handled the scenes. Blay & Qhuinn's story is intense and the buildup to the two of them finally being together was insane. So, the sex had to be smoking hot. And trust me....it was. Every...time.

The Epilogue
*swoon*
How perfect was the last chapter? Although I was wondering where the hell was John Matthew? Everyone else that are close to Blay & Qhuinn were at that party...with the glaring exception of JM. He's their best friend, and the first person to truly accept how they felt about each other (even before either of them did themselves), so the fact that he wasn't there was sad for me. Otherwise, the scene was perfection. How amazing are Blay's parents? And the love and unconditional support of the Brotherhood....GUH. Makes me all teary eyed just thinking about it.

That last sentence of the book...meant so much to me.


Was this book perfect? No. Were there things that i would have liked to see handled differently? Yes. So why, you may ask, am I giving this my highest rating? Two words: Blay and Qhuinn. Their story deserved to be told, and Ward handled that aspect of the book in as nearly a perfect way as I could have hoped for. And in the end, that was the aspect of the book that mattered most. Their love story deserves nothing less than 6 stars, so that's what it's getting. I have chosen to overlook the things that I wasn't thrilled about in favor of focusing on the things that made me happy. And so many things about this book made me happy. Insanely, fangirl happy.

So, thank you Ms Ward. Thank you for delivering the story you promised you would. Thank you for giving my boys the HEA they deserved.

Thoughtless ~ S C Stephens

Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book...

This book was emotionally exhausting. I mean, I feel like I need a week in Hawaii to recover from reading it.



I had made several attempts at reading this book, before it finally took hold of my brain and refused to let go. For the longest time I just could not get past my true and abiding hatred of Kiera. Now, I know that sounds rather harsh...and truly, I very rarely use the word 'hate', but if ever there was a fictional character that deserved that emotion...it's Kiera Allen.



But, despite my attitude towards one of the main characters...at around the 25-30% mark...some kind of switch finally flipped for me. I couldn't get enough of this book. I was completely sucked into the story and became emotionally invested in this love triangle from the bowels of hell.



I felt a lot of emotions while reading this book. Possibly too many. There were times when I had to force myself to put the book down because I was getting so frustrated by what was going on that I actually gave myself a headache brooding over it all. How ridiculous is that?!

If i had to describe Kiera in one word...it would be selfish. From the very beginning Kiera is only interested in herself. She may pretend to be tortured by the thought of hurting both her boyfriend Denny and her 'lover in the nighttime' Kellan. But her narcissistic need to be the center of both men's lives proved otherwise. It is amazing to me that the girl was able to figure out how to drag herself out of bed in the morning on her own, since she seemed incapable of accomplishing the simplest tasks without either Denny or Kellan holding her hand.
**SPOILER WARNING**
My biggest pet peeve with Kiera is how blatantly she used both men. I mean...having wild monkey sex with Denny...knowing that Kallen can more than likely hear them going at it...and then acting hurt and confused when she realizes Kellan might be bothered by it? Not understanding why Kellan ran away when she and Denny got back together after the world's shortest break up? And yet...being highly indignant about Kellan having some wild monkey sex of his own when she had shoved the fact that she 'just wants to be friends' with him down his throat repeatedly? Yes...Kellan's manwhoring was over the top....way over the top TBH, but still... The way she continually played with Kellan's emotions only to end up pushing him away and running back to 'safe' Denny....made me sick. And here's where my headaches come in. GAH!!!!
I have a real problem with weak female characters in books. And Kiera is just about the most insufferable twit I have ever come across. Both Kellan and Denny deserved far better than her ass. So much heartache and pain could have been avoided if Kiera had just pulled on her big girl panties and PICKED A PENIS instead of stubbornly holding on to both for as long as she could.



Now...after having said all that, you may be wondering why the hell I gave this book a 5 star rating. It's simple. The story...made me feel. It made me feel waaaaay too much, but damn if it didn't stir up all kinds of intense emotions in me. Which, in the end, is the sign of a helluva good read. Which this...despite all my ranting and raving...definitely was.



This booke made me groan, it made me curse, it made me want to punch Kiera in the vagina...several times.

But despite all of my issues with a certain character who I still consider to be Too Stupid To Live (I named a new shelf on here in her honor), I was completely swept up and riveted by this story. How I managed to survive the overwhelmingly torturous level of angst in this book boils down to two words: Kellan Kyle.



Kellan is the insane cross between a bad-boy rocker and a sweet & lost little boy. He has the swagger of a rock star... but he's also incredibly vulnerable and insecure. He has manwhorish tendencies, but not because he's gorgeous and has women throwing themselves at him left and right...which is true on both counts. He allows himself to seek comfort in sex because it's the only time he feels like someone might actually care about him. And if that fact right there doesn't at once make you fall for this character and break your heart at the same time...well then you are a stronger person than I, that's for damn sure.

He captured my heart and then ripped it to shreds, made my pulse race and finally in the end...he made suffering through this roller coaster of emotions that this book brought out in me, soooo worth it.

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