Marlene

Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin, #2)
by R.L. LaFevers (Goodreads Author)

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Reading Reality

“Teenage ninja assassin nuns!” It’s still a concept that screams epic fantasy, isn’t it?

While Robin LaFevers’ series His Fair Assassin may read like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon set in medieval Brittany, there...more

Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Doctor Who: Festival of Death
by Jonathan Morris

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Reading Reality

There are some serious “wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey” bits in this story. The Doctor, Romana and K-9 cross and recross their own time-streams multiple times on a derelict, or soon-to-be-derelict, or just-in-the-mid...more

Marlene rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Hold Me Down Hard
by Cathryn Fox (Goodreads Author)

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Book Lovers Inc.

File this one under “extra short and extra steamy”.

At right around 50 pages, this is a short story. Let’s call it a sexy interlude. What makes the story work as erotic romance, instead of just porn-without-plot...more

Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Lightning Rider
by Jen Greyson (Goodreads Author)

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Reading Reality

Lightning is magic. Haven’t we all believed that when we’ve seen the beauty and power of a storm?

For Evy Rivera, lightning really is magic, magic she can ride like the motorcycles she loves. She rides the lightn...more

Marlene rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Chasing Mrs. Right (Come Undone, #2)
by Katee Robert (Goodreads Author)

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Reading Reality

Ian and Roxanne are two people with serious issues. He comes home from two military tours with serious PTSD. She has commitment issues to the point that whenever she begins to get close to a man, she hears her m...more Originally published at Reading Reality

Ian and Roxanne are two people with serious issues. He comes home from two military tours with serious PTSD. She has commitment issues to the point that whenever she begins to get close to a man, she hears her mother’s voice in her head telling her how many different ways the man is going to disappoint her.

Needless to say, this is a sex-into-love romance, because that’s the only way that Roxanne could manage a relationship with anyone. She tries to derail any budding romance with sex at every single turn.

And Ian, for some reason that he can’t figure out, just touching her keeps him grounded. Not necessarily sex, but simply holding her hand keeps his panic at bay. It doesn’t calm hers, but it helps his.

She only wants a one-night-stand. That’s all she ever lets herself have. But her BFF is his little sister. It’s not possible for her to walk away from the reaction he sparks in her. And they are combustible, every single time they get near each other.

His problem with Roxanne is keeping that incendiary reaction from burning out of control long enough to forge a real connection, because she’s so scared that she tries to sabotage every attempt he makes to reach her heart.

Are they too damaged to have a chance?

Escape Rating C: This was not a good book to read Mother’s Day weekend. The messages in Roxanne’s head from her mother do not endear the reader to that woman. We do meet Ian’s mother, and his mother is a real piece of work. I wanted to slap her right through my iPad.

The insta-lust was a great way to open the story, but the insta-love connection was never explained. Why did this relationship work outside the bedroom? She didn’t want to need him (or anyone) and he needed her because of an inexplicable connection. Then the loose ends were wrapped up in a huge hurry to make the happy ending.

Ian made progress on his issues through the book, but Roxanne just miraculously seemed to stop having hers because he was so yummy, or because the sex was so good, or something like that. The build up of their relationship didn’t quite work for me.(less)

Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars

The Perfume Collector
by Kathleen Tessaro (Goodreads Author)

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Reading Reality

It’s not just perfume that is being collected in Kathleen Tessaro’s The Perfume Collector; it’s the collection of memories that are the ultimate prize in this interwoven tale of two women’s choices.

It is 1927. A...more Originally published at Reading Reality

It’s not just perfume that is being collected in Kathleen Tessaro’s The Perfume Collector; it’s the collection of memories that are the ultimate prize in this interwoven tale of two women’s choices.

It is 1927. And it is 1955. Both are times of heady exuberance. Grace Monroe is summoned from London to Paris in 1955 because she has just inherited a small fortune from Eva D’Orsay.

Eva D’Orsay is a complete stranger. Grace feels compelled to investigate the reasons behind this mysterious bequest. It is a plus that her halting investigation provides her with an excuse to remain in Paris, away from her increasingly distant, and carelessly unfaithful, husband.

Stumbling through a past that Grace was not supposed to uncover, she finds a young woman forced to make her own way in the world. A woman who used the only talents at her disposal; her beauty, her incredible gift for feats of mathematics, and a surprising ability for captivating people.

Eva’s path crossed a great gambler who taught her how to make money at cards, and a great perfume maker, who taught her the essence of his craft. Eva was Charles Lamb’s apprentice, and Andre Valmont’s muse. But what were they to her? And what was she to Grace Munroe?

Why did she make her bequest to Grace with the words “the right to choose?”

Escape Rating B+: It’s been said that the past is another country; 1955 is over 50 years ago, the world was different, especially for women. Grace is expected to be a wife and a mother. She’s uncomfortable with the first and the second has become impossible. Her life is at a crossroads when Eva’s bequest is dropped into her lap.

1927 is an entire world away, and yet both eras were times of not just plenty, but intense joie de vivre: post-war booms, before the world went through fundamental changes; respectively the Great Depression and the upheavals of the 1960s.

Grace has been privileged and sheltered all of her life, Eva starts as a small-town girl who knows very little of life outside her tiny sphere and with very few advantages. In spite of their differences in time, place and background, they have a lot in common. They are both women in times when women are not supposed to have much agency in their world. Eva makes her own path, often at a high cost to herself. She has determined that Grace will have choices that she did not.

As Grace investigates Eva’s life, she takes possession of her own. The slow double-reveal makes for a marvelous story.(less)

Marlene joined the group Reviewers United

Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse, #13)
by Charlaine Harris

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Book Lovers Inc.

“I’m Sookie Stackhouse. I belong here.” THE END.

Except for the capitalized end, Sookie pretty much declaring that there’s no place like home really is the last line of Dead Ever After. We just had to read throu...more

Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars

The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne

The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family
by Josh Hanagarne (Goodreads Author)

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Reading Reality

The first chapter of The World’s Strongest Librarian should be required reading for people who want to become librarians. Especially the ones who have a completely romanticized view of what it is like to actuall...more

Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Wife in Name Only
by Hayson Manning (Goodreads Author)

read in May, 2013

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Originally published at Reading Reality

I wanted to read something quick and fun, so I picked Wife in Name Only from my TBR stack, and it definitely filled my need for something light, sexy and with a sweet HEA at the end. There was just the right tou...more

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Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin, #2) by R.L. LaFevers (Goodreads Author) read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Reading Reality “Teenage ninja assassin nuns!” It’s still a concept that screams epic fantasy, isn’t it? While Robin LaFevers’ series His Fair Assassin may read like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon set in medieval Brittany, there...more
2 hours, 50 min ago · see review
Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars Doctor Who: Festival of Death by Jonathan Morris read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Reading Reality There are some serious “wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey” bits in this story. The Doctor, Romana and K-9 cross and recross their own time-streams multiple times on a derelict, or soon-to-be-derelict, or just-in-the-mid...more
2 hours, 52 min ago · see review
Marlene rated a book 3 of 5 stars Hold Me Down Hard by Cathryn Fox (Goodreads Author) read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Book Lovers Inc. File this one under “extra short and extra steamy”. At right around 50 pages, this is a short story. Let’s call it a sexy interlude. What makes the story work as erotic romance, instead of just porn-without-plot...more
2 hours, 54 min ago · see review
Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars Lightning Rider by Jen Greyson (Goodreads Author) read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Reading Reality Lightning is magic. Haven’t we all believed that when we’ve seen the beauty and power of a storm? For Evy Rivera, lightning really is magic, magic she can ride like the motorcycles she loves. She rides the lightn...more
2 hours, 58 min ago · see review
Marlene rated a book 3 of 5 stars Chasing Mrs. Right (Come Undone, #2) by Katee Robert (Goodreads Author) read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Reading Reality Ian and Roxanne are two people with serious issues. He comes home from two military tours with serious PTSD. She has commitment issues to the point that whenever she begins to get close to a man, she hears her m...more
3 hours, 1 min ago · see review
Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro (Goodreads Author) read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Reading Reality It’s not just perfume that is being collected in Kathleen Tessaro’s The Perfume Collector; it’s the collection of memories that are the ultimate prize in this interwoven tale of two women’s choices. It is 1927. A...more
3 hours, 4 min ago · see review
Marlene joined the group Reviewers United
May 19, 2013 12:47pm · like
Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse, #13) by Charlaine Harris read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Book Lovers Inc. “I’m Sookie Stackhouse. I belong here.” THE END. Except for the capitalized end, Sookie pretty much declaring that there’s no place like home really is the last line of Dead Ever After. We just had to read throu...more
May 19, 2013 11:45am · see review
Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne (Goodreads Author) read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Reading Reality The first chapter of The World’s Strongest Librarian should be required reading for people who want to become librarians. Especially the ones who have a completely romanticized view of what it is like to actuall...more
May 19, 2013 11:41am · see review
Marlene rated a book 4 of 5 stars Wife in Name Only by Hayson Manning (Goodreads Author) read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Originally published at Reading Reality I wanted to read something quick and fun, so I picked Wife in Name Only from my TBR stack, and it definitely filled my need for something light, sexy and with a sweet HEA at the end. There was just the right tou...more
May 19, 2013 11:39am · see review

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