R7: Team #2 ~ Two Hot to Handle

[Steph Ann]

Yay for stamps! Thanks, Steph & Sandra! :)

[Barbara ★]

I'm working on reading a few books for challenges that end on the 20th on the 21st I'll read my strong heroines book.

[Steph Ann]

Thanks for letting us know, Barbara! Good luck finishing up your challenge books!

[Steph Ann]

Shelf - Strong Heroines



Read: 6/18/13
Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:

After reading the first book in this series, I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about it. I'm so glad I decided to read book 2! Alex and Donovan are great together, and I loved the pacing of their romance. Often in books where the hero & heroine are fated to be together, it takes no time at all to jump from meeting each other to falling in love. Not so here, which is just great (in my opinion). This book also has some great secondary characters, and I'm very much looking forward to reading their stories! I will most likely be reading book 3 very soon.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

GTK Steph Ann. I should get back into this series, I've got quite a few of the books, I'm up to #2 as well :)

[Steph Ann]

Sandra wrote: "GTK Steph Ann. I should get back into this series, I've got quite a few of the books, I'm up to #2 as well :)"

I hope you enjoy #2 as much as I did when you get the chance to read it. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it! :)

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

I'm sure I shall, after all it's Dragons! LOL.

[Barbara ★]

I've read through #3 and am really enjoy the series. I do love me some dragon shifters!

[Christina (AKA Babbling)]

Definitely recommend this series. :D

Kiss of Fury is one of my favorites (Winter Kiss is my #1). :D

One of the things about the series that I appreciate is that the heroines tend to be smart -- they're less likely to cross into the 'too stupid to live' zone. Only one (so far) pissed me off because I thought she crossed the line. {No wonder he's been waiting centuries for his mate! Due to flawed thinking, she'd gotten herself killed before a firestorm could happen, then gotten re-born. And then gotten herself killed again. Wash. Rise. Repeat: Bubonic plague; burned at the stake as a heretic, etc.}

(Okay. As you can see, if I'm reminded of said character, I end up going on a rant...your mileage may vary though. FYI - none of that really happened to her -- it's not in the books, but it's my theory why it took so long for her and Rafferty to finally hook up.)

Another thing I've appreciated -- the couple communicates. They talk -- (usually) both come to the into the relationship with some issues that need to be overcome before consummating the firestorm. Except in book 4, the firestorm refused to let the dragon dude get away with "oh, I can only make things right by siring a son and sacrificing myself for the greater good." Silly dragon. ;)

No idea when book 9 will be out. Publisher dropped the series after the 8th and the author is working on self-pubbing the remainder of the series (and any spin-offs she's got in mind). She's had some set backs in her schedule this year (renovations -- like Ilona!; illness and death of father-in-law).

Well. Got a bit carried away there. :D Love the series. I hope you give the rest a try, Steph Ann

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Thanks Christina, very interesting. I'll definitely get back into this series.

[Steph Ann]

I agree with you about the heroines, Christina. Granted, I've only seen two of them so far, but both were very smart and definitely didn't fit the "too stupid to live" category.

I decided I wasn't patient enough to wait until the next item is called for TLC's Scavenger Hunt tomorrow, so I went ahead and started book 3 this morning. :)

[Breann]

I'm trying to get through my book while in vacation! You'd think I'd be reading a lot since we've been beach bums, but not with two little ones! I don't think I'll be done by Saturday but probably early next week :)

[Steph Ann]

Hope you're enjoying your vacation, Breann! :)

[Barbara ★]

Yeah real life has to take precedence besides there's no rush until it gets close to the end anyway. Have fun!

[Christina (AKA Babbling)]

Sandra wrote: "Thanks Christina, very interesting. I'll definitely get back into this series."

You're welcome! :D

Steph Ann said: I decided I wasn't patient enough to wait until the next item is called for TLC's Scavenger Hunt tomorrow, so I went ahead and started book 3 this morning. :)

I hope you enjoy it! :)

[Tiffanie]

Book boyfriends shelf
Completed 06-21-12
2 stars

A Touch of Crimson Sylvia Day
1st book in the renegade angels series



The angel in charge of an Special Ops unit of Seraphim whose job is to punish the Fallen-angels who have become vampires, Adrian Mitchel; has once again found he's long lost love.

Can Adrian maintain control of the vamps, lycans and his self while trying to proctect the woman he loves before losing her again?

It really took me awhile to read this book. I like world the author created and the story line. But I did not like main female charater, so much so I can't even remember her name. I had to really push myself to finish the book. "Give her a chance Tiff. She has to at some point become likeable." But no. I found myself thinking "Just shut up, let the lycan talk."

I'm going to try the 2nd book, before giving up on the series.

[Breann]

I ended up finishing my book :) Couldn't put it down and stayed up late to read! I'm on my phone, so no fancy-shmancy review from me.

Strong Heroines: Twice Bitten by Chloe Niell
6/21/13
4 stars

Welcome to the roller coaster that is Merit & Ethan's relationship! Sheesh. Ethan really drove me crazy in this one and it's hard for me to like him. I really don't care for him as the hero. On the other hand, I love Merit's BF Mallory & I was so happy to see them make up. Their friendship & funny dialogue is the best part about this series. They should be the MC.

[Steph Ann]

We're ready for our Book Boyfriends stamp! Yay!

Book Boyfriends: 5/5
Stamp Received: 6/25/13

Barbara: On Dublin Street, 3 stars, Review
Breann: Twice Tempted, 4 stars, Review
Christal: Ten Tiny Breaths, 4 stars, Review
Steph Ann: Blood Hunt, 4 stars, Review
Tiffanie:A Touch of Crimson, 2 stars, Review

[Steph Ann]

New shelf has been announced: cover love

I'll be reading . I have to read my scavenger hunt book first though, so I probably won't start this one until Tuesday or Wednesday.

[Tiffanie]

I will be reading: for cover love shelf.

[Barbara ★]

I'm going with for cover love.

I haven't read more than 10 pages in 2 days but I'm determined to read my strong female book today

[Barbara ★]

Strong Heroines:

Read: June 23, 2013
Rating: ★★★★

Review:
This conclusion certainly revealed all the little secrets that have been bugging me since the beginning. Though I was surprised when the gang voted to (view spoiler)[return to the Nasts though it really was the smartest thing to do. (hide spoiler)] I liked the introduction of the Darkest Powers gang as I totally loved that series. The love triangle shouldn't have been a surprise but it really was as I just didn't see a relationship in the making between Maya and Daniel and Maya's choice was actually surprising. There are a few things still up in the air with the Cabals so I wouldn't be surprised if Kelley Armstrong brings both gangs back in a third series so we can see how things turn out long term.

[Breann]

Well, that took some digging! I finally found a book I own for cover love. I'm going to read

[Christal]

I'm about halfway done with my heroines book, but I will be reading for the cover love shelf. I've been moving into my new house for the past week and still have a lot to do so I haven't had as much time to read. Sorry about that!

[Steph Ann]

I'm moving in two weeks, Christal, so I know how you feel!

[Steph Ann]

Cover Love: 5/5
Stamp Received: 7/10/13

Barbara: Everbound, 5 stars, Review
Breann: Aklesh, 4 stars, Review
Christal: Ink, 4 stars, Review
Steph Ann: Twice Tempted, 4 stars, Review
Tiffanie: Darkfever, 5 stars, Review

[Christal]

Shelf: Strong Heroines
Read: 24 Jun 13
Rating: 5 Stars
Review:

Jodi Lynn Anderson’s Tiger Lily was a beautiful reworking of the Peter Pan story. Ms. Anderson took a relatively minor character and infused her with depth and pain and love and made her wonderfully colorful character. Though this story was much darker and more heartbreaking than the original, it was a masterfully done and I think fans of the original story will enjoy it.

Tiger Lily is an odd, lonely girl who isn’t quite accepted by her tribe. She is different from everyone else and is believed to be cursed. She goes about her days dutifully, but prefers running wild and free versus the more traditional “women’s work.” When she steps out of line one too many times, she is forced to marry a brutish, horrible man named Giant and to take care of his and his awful mother, Aunt Fire. Tiger Lily accepts the marriage, but soon meets Peter Pan and the rowdy lost boys. It is no wonder that Tiger Lily spends the months leading up to the wedding spending time with Peter and the boys. She gets to be herself and sees in Peter a kindred soul. They are both lonely even though they are surrounded by people who love them. When Tiger Lily finds herself falling in love with Peter, she thinks her hardest choice will be whether to do her duty and marry Giant or to run away and stay with Peter. Little does she know a ship of Englishmen are on their way with one sweet and innocent Wendy Darling in tow.

I loved that Tiger Lily was strong and brave and independent, but Ms. Anderson didn’t make her into a perfect Mary Sue. For all her good qualities, Tiger Lily could be a little self-obsessed and dismissive. She learns the hard way that she can’t always let things just play out and instead, she must step up and speak out. She learns that there are different types of love and that some of the require more time to build. She experiences the thrill of first love, but also the heartbreak that can become of it. She faces her dark side and understands what she is truly capable of, but she also learns that she can overcome it. She was wonderful character and even though she might not have aged physically, Ms. Anderson took her through a layered and complex emotional maturation.

Though Tiger Lily herself stole the show in this book, it also had a lot of other interesting characters. I enjoyed the narration by Tinker Bell and thought that is added an additional layer of evaluation that is sometimes missing from first person narratives. I loved Tiger Lily’s father Tik Tok and her friends Pine Sap and Moon Eye. Peter was also described well and I like the twist that Ms. Anderson put on her and the lost boys. They were more believable as orphans surviving on their own here versus the magical children in the original. I even enjoyed the way Ms. Anderson adapted Hook and Smee’s characters and added a sadness and hollowness to their characters that is missing in other stories.

This was a beautiful, haunting adaptation of the Peter Pan story and I have to say that Tiger Lily is probably one of the best, if not THE best, classic retellings I have ever read. I highly encourage everyone to give this book a chance, but be prepared for a darker and more complex story than you find in both Barrie’s version and the Disney movie. Tiger Lily will give you the characters and basic storyline that you are familiar with, but in a way that is completely original and thought-provoking.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Two Hot to Handle!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'book boyfriends'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

[Breann]

Yay us!!

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Hey guys, I'm not sure if it's just that my browser is screwing up b/c I've got 100 tabs open or if no one can view your card in post #3. If you cannot view it, please let me know and I'll try to fix it. Thanks :)

ETA: I posted the card my team's thread and it worked fine, but for some reason it's not working right (at least for me) on your thread, in any post I tried to edit. I'm not sure if, like I said, it's my browser acting up or if it's a GR issue or what. Hopefully ya'll can see it okay.

[Breann]

I can't see it either, but I was having problems viewing pics & gifs the other day and then they randomly came back. Could be a GR glitch.

[Steph Ann]

I can see the card from my work computer.

[Breann]

Christal wrote: "I'm about halfway done with my heroines book, but I will be reading for the cover love shelf. I've been moving into my new house for the past week and still have a lot to ..."

Good luck with the move! Moving to a new city?

[Breann]

Cover Love: Aklesh
6/24/13
★★★★✩

Prince Gar was kind of throwing a fit about all his royal duties and decided to go out for an unauthorized joyride. So, inevitably, when he crashed on Aklesh nobody knew where he was. Now, he’s stuck on this very primitive planet that has none of the advanced luxuries that Gar is used to. What Aklesh does have is telepathic abilities that they use with family members and when marrying. When Kai and his fellow tribe members found this crashed, unconscious alien on their planet he joins minds with him and wills Gar to survive. And it worked. But now, Gar and Kai have an unbreakable bond on a planet that Gar detests.

This story mostly focused on Gar and the growth in his character as he learned the values in the Aklesh culture and became closer to the people. He started with a strong hatred for the planet he’s stuck on and the man that he’s stuck with. Poor Kai, being mentally joined he could hear every word. He was so patient and understanding with Gar. Never showing any animosity towards him regardless of what he heard in Gar’s head. Eventually their enemy status turned to friendship and they were able to use their bond in a positive way. There was some romance towards the end and off-page sex. Even without the explicit scenes it was still very sweet and sexy. Mostly because the UST had been building for pages so I was just waiting for The Kiss to happen. And when it did it was gooooooood.

What I loved was the vivid descriptions of the planet and its people. It’s been said before but I’ll say it again, this did remind me of Avatar. The people are blue and live in trees. What else am I supposed to picture? But, nonetheless, the setting was described beautifully and I could clearly picture everything.

There were a couple things that irked me. There was a small sub-plot about “The Others” (DHARMA Initiative anyone?) capturing Aklesh for scientific experiments and this was even mentioned in the blurb, but I didn’t feel like it was a very big part of the book. There were some important events surrounding that but then it was just dropped and never brought up again. I kept waiting for some big ending to come about, but... nothing. There were also some pretty big grammatical errors that would throw me off for a second. I’m not one to notice this too much, so if I see them then it’s an issue.

I really liked it. Really, really. There wasn’t much action, wasn’t much sex. But there was a lot of wonderful world-building and characters that I fell in love with.

[Steph Ann]

I'll have to add that to my TBR list, Breann! It sounds interesting! Hopefully I can get past the grammatical errors. Part of my job involves a lot of proofreading/editing, so I can never really turn that part of my brain off when I'm reading for fun. :)

[Breann]

Steph Ann wrote: "I'll have to add that to my TBR list, Breann! It sounds interesting! Hopefully I can get past the grammatical errors. Part of my job involves a lot of proofreading/editing, so I can never really tu..."

It is M/M but nothing explicit so if you're new to the genre it's a good place to start :)

[Barbara ★]

Cover Love:

Read: June 25, 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

Review:
I greatly enjoyed the first book because it was a little different than the usual paranormal young adult novels out there. And this one was even better. I flew through this book once the action started. I just had to know how Nikki rescues Jack and that kept me turning pages faster and faster. Cole even made me like him (until the end, smarmy little jerk!) And now Nikki's gonna take down the Queen AND the Everneath. Hmmm that ought to be interesting. I can't wait to read Evertrue to see how Nikki accomplishes this, how Cole reacts and whether Nikki is able to hang onto Jack.

The ending was spectacular and totally unexpected. Though I must say (view spoiler)[that I did think Cole capitulated way too easily about taking Nikki to the Everneath to rescue his nemesis Jack. And now I know why. WOW Cole...you sneaky little bastard! (hide spoiler)]

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats 2 Hots!

[Steph Ann]

Thanks, Sandra! :)

Barbara, I know I have on my Kindle somewhere. Your review of the second book makes me think I should read the first one sooner rather than later!

I should have my book done tonight. I quickly got sucked back into Vlad and Leila's world and have not wanted to put the book down!

[Christal]

@Breann Nope, same city but my husband and I finally bought a house so we can stop renting. We've been moving aroound a lot these past seven years since I was in the military, but now that I am out we think we will stay in TX for a while.

[Breann]

Congrats on the new house Christal! I'm sure it'll feel nice to settle down for a few years :)

[Barbara ★]

Steph Ann wrote: "Thanks, Sandra! :)

Barbara, I know I have on my Kindle somewhere. Your review of the second book makes me think I should read the first one sooner rather than later!..."

I have an epub (not kindle) of Neverfall (1.5) if you are interested - it's about 95 pages.

[Steph Ann]

That would be great, Barbara! I'm definitely interested! :)

[Steph Ann]

Cover Love



Read: 6/26/13
Rating: 4 stars

Review:

I love Vlad and Leila as a couple, almost moreso than even Cat and Bones (gasp). They complement each other well, and I love that Leila doesn't take any of Vlad's crap. While Vlad is insufferable in the beginning, he redeems himself well, and I went from wanting to slap him to loving him again fairly quickly.

The only negative thing I can really say is I didn't think the prologue was technically necessary since we basically had to read the entire thing over again when it got to that point in the main story. It might not have bothered me so much if I hadn't read both parts in the same day. I also figured out who was behind the attacks on Leila before Vlad and Leila did. Not a huge thing, but a little disappointing. All in all, this was still a great, fun read, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats on the house Christal :DDDD

[Christal]

Thanks Breann and Sandra and good luck to you Steph Ann!

[Steph Ann]

Thanks, Christal! I have a whole lot of packing to do in the next two weeks! It doesn't help that I'm an awful procrastinator lol. Congrats on the new house!

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Good luck Steph Ann, I hate packing to move house, I don't envy you at all :)

[Steph Ann]

Thanks, Sandra! :)

[Steph Ann]

The new shelf has been called: angels and demons. This is a good shelf for us. It'll give us three in a row once we get our stamp for the cover love shelf. :)

I'm going to read .