R9: Team #3 ~ Reading Ménage..rie

[AH]

I'll be reading - There's a helicopter next to the man's face.

[Lis]

OMG! This is the toughest category... I collect waaayyyy too many ab covers, not enough other styles.
Might go with . There's a tiny ship on the water...

[AH]

It was really hard choosing a book. That helicopter on my book is microscopic.

[Heather ~ Marceline]

I'm having a really tough time finding a book. I will keep looking and let you know.

[AH]

Heather - I saw On the Edge/Ilona Andrews on one of your booklists. There's a car on that cover.

[Heather ~ Marceline]

AH wrote: "Heather - I saw On the Edge/Ilona Andrews on one of your booklists. There's a car on that cover."

Thank you, though I don't actually own the book. I added the book because I love their Kate Daniels series so much, but have since heard mixed reviews on that series. I'm torn if I'm going to start it or not.

I decided to read a lighter book with it being the holiday weekend :D I'm going with:

[Lauren]

Lis wrote: "OMG! This is the toughest category... I collect waaayyyy too many ab covers, not enough other styles.
Might go with . There's a tiny ship on the water..."

Lis, I'm not sure if that cover would work. The ship is a sail ship and I think the vehicle has to be mechanized? Do you want to ask Steph in the discussion thread?

[Lauren]

Heather ~ Marceline wrote: "Thank you, though I don't actually own the book. I added the book because I love their Kate Daniels series so much, but have since heard mixed reviews on that series. I'm torn if I'm going to start it or not. "

The Edge series is pretty good. Not as good as Kate Daniels but it does have Andrews' excellent storytelling and witty dialogue and humor.

[Lauren]

Lis, ignore my comment above. Sandra said that sailing ship are mechanized so you are good to go :0)

[Lis]

Also, the Weather Warden series has lots of cars and bikes on the covers. First book

I might go for . Still deciding

[AH]

I would have said that all sailing ships have some sort of motor.

On the Edge is different. I enjoyed it.

[Danielle Book Boss]

Read 7/5/14
Rating: 2.75 stars

Struggle to finish. It's a fairly fast read so that makes it even worse that I struggled to finish. Something about this world that I have tried to connect to through the other two books and I'm able to. The first book was alright, second book was a skim and this one would have been a skim/dnf if I wasn't reading for a challenge. I couldn't connect to Ewan and Violet. Or the fairies and other side characters. It's kind of like Shrek, where all the creatures of fairytale live in one land. Well I thought I would like it, but I don't. So as I stated with book 2, (even though that turned out to be a lie), I'm not continuing with this series. Too much promise out there for me to waste time with it.

[Danielle Book Boss]

Ya'll I'm going to read

[Lauren]

Time for another stamp, yay!!!

Week #7: Red Cover

✔ AH: A New Darkness by Joseph Delaney, June 30th 4★, Review
✔ Lis: Big Bad Beast by Shelley Laurentson, July 2nd 4★, Review
✔ Lauren: Montana Sky by Nora Roberts, July 1st 4★, Review
✔ Heather ~ Marceline: Wicked Cravings by Suzanne Wright, June 30th 4★, Review
✔ Danielle: Red and Her Wolf by Marie Hall, July 5th 2.75★, Review

[Lauren]

I'm going to read for the "Hit the Road" shelf.

[AH]

Lauren wrote: "I'm going to read for the "Hit the Road" shelf."
Funny, that was on my shortlist - I saw the tiny little trolley car on the cover.

[Lis]

Final decision... . Going with steampunk...

[AH]

Lis wrote: "Final decision... . Going with steampunk..."

I love that series. Hope you enjoy it.

[Lauren]

Lis wrote: "Final decision... . Going with steampunk..."

I need to start that series!

[AH]

It's really good. It's a little confusing at first - the author has explanations of her world on her website.

[AH]

7/7/14 - Hit the Road Shelf
- 4 stars

This was a nice, enjoyable summer read. I liked the slow buildup to romance. The main characters Gabe and Bay were a likable couple, and I felt myself rooting for them throughout the book. The story is set in Afghanistan where Navy SEAL Gabe Griffin is stationed. His team has recently lost a member and Baylee Ann Thorne joins the team as part of Operation Shadow Warriors. At first, the members of the SEAL team are hesitant to accept a woman on their team and they are quite vocal about it. Gabe stands up for Bay. Bay is an interesting character - she is full of compassion and well suited to her job as medic. In fact, she completed the grueling Army 18 Delta combat medic training. Bay is also an accomplished sniper, learning how to shoot squirrel with her dad in the mountains.

I think that what I liked best about this book was that the main couple did not jump into bed with each other right away. (Not a good idea when you have to work together in combat situations). They took the time to get to know each other. I liked how they were both attuned to each other's needs. It was nicely done.

The background of Afghanistan and the challenges of living, working, and being a soldier in that part of the world was portrayed well. There were some very hairy moments for our couple. The author also showed the difficulties that the civilians had to endure as well.

Overall, a nice read, well suited to the 4th of July weekend.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Reading Ménage..rie!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'red cover'. 

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

Good Job!! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats on the stamp Menageries!

Sounds very appropriate AH :)

[Heather ~ Marceline]

Week #8: Hit the Road



Nomad Kind of Love by Nicole Snow
finished: 7/6/14
★★★

I read book one in this series in one of the compilation books that Amazon had on sale for $.99 and really enjoyed the story so I thought I would give this one a go. This was by no means the greatest book or even the best biker book I have ever read, but it was pretty good. At the beginning of the book, June's father is killed by his biker gang, the Grizzlies, for betraying them to the feds, her mother taken by the gang after shooting her up with drugs, and June and her sister are kidnapped to their Missoula chapter to be slaves to the men there. Years later, she is rescued by Maverick, president of the newly stationed Prairie Devils chapter near Missoula, while stripping for Grizzlies at their club.

Maverick is in town because he has been asked to help establish a new chapter for the Prairie Devils. He is usually the president of the Nomad Chapter, not liking being rooted to one spot, Maverick wants to get this business done quickly. He knew right away that he felt something for June when he first saw her working at the club, but also knew he needed to tread carefully with her since he could tell she was damaged. Through the story the two of them have to work through June's many issues due to her past with the Grizzlies and her family. The story is predictable in some ways, but with the nomad aspect, them being a small tight knit group and not a large group that has a lot of ladies around and deep roots in the area, helped change up the side stories. Despite some minor things, this was an enjoyable read if you like biker stories.

[Lis]

Yay Stamp! And nice reading AH and Heather... I decided to go audio this week, so I will be later with my wrap up review.

[Lauren]

Thanks for the stamp, Steph!

[AH]

Audio for that book should be good, Lis.

[Lis]

AH wrote: "Audio for that book should be good, Lis."

So far, so good. Great accents which I always enjoy...

[AH]

Lauren, are you OK where you are?

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Yes, please let us know Lauren. Thinking of you :)

[Lauren]

Thanks everyone. We are fine here. I live about 45 minutes north of Haifa so we are way out of range from that side. Really hoping the northern border stays quiet though. The last war, 7 years ago was much busier for us - our car has shrapnel damage from that time :0(

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Thank Goodness!!!!

[Danielle Book Boss]

Happy to hear you are alright. That has to be scary!

[AH]

Good to hear that you are safe, Lauren.

[Lis]

Glad to hear you are alright too...

[Heather ~ Marceline]

Very glad to wake up to your news this morning Lauren.

[Lauren]

Thanks ladies :0)
It's a good thing I've got my books to keep my mind off things!

[AH]

Shelf has been called here.

Armed & Ready - Any form of weapon on the cover

[AH]

I'll be reading

[Lis]

I think I'll go with for this weeks shelf. is my backup... Been in a zombie mood lately.

Only an hour left on and should be able to post a review in the morning.

[Heather ~ Marceline]

I'm going with

Lis, I wanted to read the first book in the first series you listed, Something Secret This Way Comes , but neither of my libraries carried it. That series looks really good. The library had Kitty, so I decided to go with that instead. It's been a few months since I read the last book in the Kitty series.

[Lis]

Heather, I've really enjoyed the Secret McQueen series. It just has cliff hangers so you want to have the next one lined up.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

And there is a prequel

[Lauren]

I'm going with

[Danielle Book Boss]

I'm narrowing down my book the this week. in mobile so I can't post. should be done with the other shelf today as well

[Danielle Book Boss]

I'm going to read for weaponized

[Lauren]

Shelf #8: Hit the Road
by Jenn Bennett
Read: July 13th
Rating: 4 Stars

Review:

Lowe Magnusson is an unrepentant bad boy - a con artist, a thief and a notorious liar. That is until he meets the one woman who makes him want to be a better man. Hadley Bacall is a spirited and intelligent scholar, yet she yearns for the closeness of friendship and family that has long been denied her. When Lowe and Hadley come together in search of an ancient archeological artifact, sparks fly and windows shatter - literally...

Excellent historical research results in an immersive setting and a gripping storyline focused on Egyptian lore. Lowe and Hadley’s romance has great potential and the slow burn of their chemistry leads to some very steamy scenes. Nevertheless, it never quite manages to attain the heights of Winter and Aida’s love affair in Bitter Spirits.

Lowe’s characterization as a con artist with questionable morals makes it difficult to completely accept his heroic status and his growing feelings for Hadley. In turn, Hadley’s naiveté and loneliness make her seem gullible. Consequently, their relationship is not as believable as it should have been.

The true highlight of the book is the paranormal mystery surrounding the search for the djed amulet. The Da Vinci Code style treasure hunt is engrossing and it is fun following the clues with Hadley and Lowe. While the villain and his motivation are very interesting, the threat he poses never fully materializes and the climax and resolution are exciting, but not 100% satisfying.

In sum, Grim Shadows is an exceedingly well-researched and well-written paranormal romance with a gripping story and characters that ultimately grow on you. Looking forward to the third installment, which is Bo and Astrid’s story.

[Lauren]

OK got us all caught up in the progress thread (#20). Hope I haven't missed anything.

According to the summary, we need two more reviews for our "Hit the Road" stamp.

Keep up the good work, ladies and happy reading!

[Lis]

Book: Riveted by Meljean Brook
Shelf: Week 8 - Hit the Road
Finished: 7/13/2014
Pages: 413
Rating: ★★★1/2
Review:

Enjoyed the trip back into MB's steampunk world with flying ships, formal mannerisms, mechanical appendages, and those with nano agents in their blood, while avoiding zombie and horde regions. This story follows Annika, a young woman from a secret and remote all female settlement in Iceland searching for her sister. The hero is David, son of one of those hidden females that left Iceland to become pregnant, fell in love and had a son she couldn't leave, so she chose to stay until an accident that killed her and left David crippled. Many years later he is searching for his mothers people to bury her necklace, which was her last request. David, now a volcano-ist, recognizes similarities in Annika and his mother and determines she can lead him back to her people. They also discover a socio-path has schemes for Iceland and must work together to protect her people and the ones they care for.

Was a sweet love story because of Annika's innocence. Little difficult to get into at first, with the details setting up the story and these characters were new to me. Didn't catch any overlap from the previous Iron Seas series, that I could remember. MB has an amazing ability to create this world and all the mechanisms and machinery imagined.

[AH]

7/14/14 - Armed and Ready Shelf
- 4 stars

Wow. This was a thrill ride. If you have not yet started Ms. Crane's Associates series, you don't know what you are missing. This is the third book in that series, however you can read each book as a standalone without really missing any important details.

In this installment, Thorne has infiltrated the Hangman gang and is presently number 2 in control. His deep cover is jeopardized by a series of thefts at some of the gang's warehouses. Thorne needs to find Victor Volkov's CD detailing all of his gang businesses. Problem is, his daughter Nadia found the CD and is using it to find her mother, who is being held in a gang run sweat shop.

Thorne and Nadia have a torrid past and when they meet again, their attraction is still there. The sexual tension sizzles as the two of them try to deny their feelings. Plus there's secrets!

A fun, thrilling read.