{May} Month in Review

I am shocked by how little I read.

Stats

O_O! I read less than 10 books this month - 8 to be exact- one of which was a reread!

I am going to blame it one still slowly coming up out of my reading slump, and still getting adjusted to the new job. I have only worked for about 6 weeks so far, and since it's shift work instead of a nine-to-five, I find myself working at odd hours all week, and trying to fit my sleep in :D. 

The favorites

• I think I enjoyed rereading G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy the most. He's one of the first that got me thinking about MY faith and MY philosophy of life, instead of approaching them in the general sense.
• Touch of Frost was a surprise for me - not the story, but the sensible character-in-YA bit. It was a major factor in my enjoyment of the book.

The least favorites

• I didn't like Kitty Norville and the Midnight Hour, which I read earlier this month. The review will be up here sometime.

Underwhelming/disappointing reads

• Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent was a big disappointment for me, which is really sad to say because I have been rabidly looking forward to it since I finished Blood Bound last year. I did not enjoy it at all.
• Tangle of Need I enjoyed very much, but I ended up feeling like I didn't know the main couple. It's like watching the wedding of a complete stranger: beautiful to see, but you're not invested in the event. I wish we'd seen more of them before it came to this.

Reflections

Quality, not quantity. Even for reading so few books, I really enjoyed my reading experiences. Just about every book was a winner (except for 2 or so outliers). 

Looking Forward

Although I have much less time to read, I am used to reading more books than this and this I do under more pressures than I currently face. I am hoping I'll get to spend more time reading in June. I also fully expect to enjoy myself more, as my slumps lifts even further. I finally started writing down some of my bookish thoughts that don't fit into review space, and I am psyched to be putting them up (finally they'll be in some place other than my head!). And I get  new laptop in June! No more stealing my sister's laptops at ungodly hours! Yay me! Here's to a wonderful new month!

Review: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Author: Nalini Singh

Title: Tangle of Need

Series: Psy/Changeling #11

About the Book: Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past--one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.

Their coming together is an inferno...and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

 

My Thoughts:

As a rule, I enjoy the books featuring the SnowDancer wolf pack, so I expected to like this one, and I did, quite a bit too, but not as much as the other SD books.

My favorite parts were the parts with Hawke and Sienna, which were so ridiculously cheesy and utterly adorable. I loved every second of their on-screen time. They're adjusting to mated life, and it is so cute to watch. We also get to spend time with just about every SnowDancer who's ever been mentioned, which was a great treat for me. Their pack dynamics are just fantastic. Riley and Mercy's news was awesome and I cracked up at he and Hawke getting drunk. Mercy's a bit more likeable now that she hangs with the wolves. And Hawke is so silly he makes my heart sing. Love that wolf!

Okay, Riaz and Adria. I enjoyed very much this journey of two broken people healing each other and then unexpectedly becoming indispensable to each other, and it was awesome seeing their pack help them along the way. It was only in the last 20% or so of the book that their story finally started to really engross me. I think Ms. Singh handled it so well, and I love the emphasis on choice (i.e. that mating is not automatic; you have to make a conscious decision) and the noting of the fact that it's not only mated changelings who can have a fulfilling life, that humans who love each other can have just as fulfilling a life as mated changelings. It felt like an affirmation of love and humanity and it was awesome. That final scene with Riaz and Adria drove home the point wonderfully; it was poignant and amazing.

BUT! As I was reading I realized I wasn't ready for this story. I love SD and all the lieutenants have grown on me, so my excitement has been building ever since Ms. Singh announced that she'd be writing Riaz's story. I was sure I would enjoy it, and I did. However, he and Adria really only appeared on the scene in Indigo and Drew's story, 2 books ago. I felt like I hadn't had time to get to know them and be invested in them, so I was actually more caught up in other things: Hawke and Sienna's sheer adorableness, noticing how awesome Riley is, enjoying SD pack dynamics, paying attention to the Psy drama and the tension in the PsyNet.... just about everything else except for the main couple. They weren't strong enough to carry the book because I hadn't had time to know them before they were thrown together. For this book to have worked better, I think Riaz and Adria should have been introduced much sooner, or their story to have come later.

The next ARC of the series promises to be interesting. This ride is far from over. Recommended read, even though the whole is a teensy weensy bit less than the sum of its parts.

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

1. Slave to Sensation
2. Visions of Heat
3. Caressed by Ice
4. Mine to Possess - 2.5/5
5. Hostage to Pleasure
6. Branded by Fire
7. Blaze of Memory
8. Bonds of Justice
9. Play of Passion
10. Kiss of Snow - 5/5

 

ARC Review: Shadow Bound, by Rachel Vincent

 *Official release date for this title is June 1, but copies were available from May 22nd*

Author: Rachel Vincent

Title: Shadow Bound

Series: Unbound #2

Source: NetGalley

About the Book: If you live in the dark long enough, you begin to forget the light…

KORI DANIELS is a shadow-walker, able to travel instantly from one shadow to another. After weeks of confinement for betraying her boss, she’s ready to break free of the Tower syndicate for good. But Jake Tower has one final job for Kori, one chance to secure freedom for herself and her sister, Kenley, even if that means taking it from someone else…

The job? Recruit Ian Holt—or kill him.

Ian’s ability to manipulate the dark has drawn interest from every syndicate in the world, most notably an invitation from Jake Tower. Though he has no interest in organized crime, Ian accepts the invite, because he’s on a mission of his own.

Ian has come to kill Tower’s top Binder: Kori’s little sister.
Amid the tangle of lies, an unexpected thread of truth connecting Ian and Kori comes to light. But with opposing goals, they’ll have to choose between love and liberty…

 

My Thoughts: 

After Bood Bound left me on tenterhooks, I couldn't wait to read Shadow Bound. It's probably my biggest disappointment of 2012 so far. Here's the thing: Ms. Vincent creates world-building masterpieces. They are unique and grossing and just...fabulous. However, her characters usually incite a desire to do violence in me. Reading Shadow Bound made me angry in degrees. I started off angry about the mess the dead girl's selfishness had gotten all of them into. By the time I finished, I was seething at the foolishness of Kori and Ian. Enjoying this book to any degree depends heavily on being sympathetic to the characters, which I could not find it in me to do because they were all TSTL. Cast of Characters

1. The Daniels Family: This is a world where any display of some power will attract attention from mobsters who are looking to add the skilled - willingly or unwillingly, to their numbers of minions. This hinges on Binders, the people whose specific skill it is to bind people's wills to their contracts (and so to the mobsters). You discover by painful experience that your sister is a very powerful binder, which guarantees the mobsters will be after her her entire life if they get wind of it. What do you do? Well, if you are Kori Daniels and her family, you "shelter" her. You don't research into how binding works; you don't teach her what she needs to protect herself from being discovered; you don't impress upon her the danger of her gift (esp. as a disaster has happened before); you don't teach her to be wary of people who ask for her blood and their motivations, and not to hand out her blood to her friends for friendship's sake.... knowing well that if she is caught, her skill will be spent binding lots of people to a life of horror and that her life will be spent in servitude to horrible people. No. You "shelter" her so she grows up to be a nincompoop. How is that any sort of intelligent decision? Exactly! It isn't. suffice it to say, Kenley is easily snared by Jake Towers and Kori goes with her to protect her. No intelligent life in this family. They knowingly laid the groundwork for this to happen. When people were telling Kori it wasn't her fault, I wanted to smack them. Yes it was! If they'd just exercised some common sense, they'd have nipped this in the bud before it begun, so that this story wouldn't be taking place.
2. Kori Daniels: We already know she isn't intelligent. If to save your life and your sister's life you are asked to cozy up to some dude, will your modus operandus be to be rude and crass to him? But apparently, she doesn't know that you don't catch flies with vinegar. But rest assured that she catches Ian, who's a prize fool himself. Much was made of how strong and indomitable Kori's character was. I didn't see it. I saw instead a TSTL person who talked crassly. That's all. No substance, no depth, no integrity, no nothing. All those fights she won were sooooo unbelievable to me. I couldn't understand how one couldn't just shoot her in the head.
3. Ian Holt: If you are on a mission to kill a stranger's sister to save your brother, a mission on which you can't afford to fail, do you spend your time agonizing over that stranger and whether they like you? Or about the urgency of your mission to save your brother's life?
4. A closer look at Kenley Daniels reveals a girl as selfish as she is stupid. And she is that way because her family made her so.

Nope. I couldn't support these people and their lack of common sense, self-preservation and intelligence. If nothing else, the fear of having Kenley bind people to such horrors should have spurred the Daniels family into raising her to be sensible. So much blood is on their hands. Unfortunately the final book in this trilogy is to center on Kris, Kori and Kenley's brother. Owing to what we know about the lack of intelligence and common sense in this family, I'll be frank and admit that my hopes aren't very high. 0 butterflies for the characters; 2 butterflies for such a unique and wonderful world, and the promise it is denied by the nincompoops inhabiting it. If you do read this series, read it for the amazing world-building, not for the fool inhabitants.
 

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

1. Blood Bound - Excellent

Memorable Monday #8 : A Quote From Frost

 This totally awesome meme is hosted by the ladies at Escape in a Book, and invites us to share quotes we like.

Hello, long time no see.  I've been spending a  lot of time with duds, so not many quotables there. I came across a quote in one of my most recent reads, and I wanna share! It's from Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep.

    Once you believe in something, you give it life and form and substance. 

 

With one exception (I could discuss this but then we'd get into religious talk here) I think this holds true for most of life.

Review: Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison

Author: Thea Harrison

Title: Oracle's Moon

Series: Elder Races #4

He will watch over her...

In the latest Novel of the Elder Races, an untested young woman must claim her place as the Oracle—and contend with a powerful Djinn who has decided to become a part of her life...

As a second daughter, Grace Andreas never had to worry about the intrigues of the Elder Races. But when her sister, Petra, and Petra's husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister's two young children—neither of which she is prepared for.

Yet, she is not alone. Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn prince of House Marid—driven by his genuine caring for the children—has decided to make himself a part of the household both as their guardian and as an exasperating counterpoint to Grace's impudence toward the Elder Races.

But when an attempt is made on Grace's life, she realizes that Khalil is the only one who can protect her—and offer her more than a mortal man...

My Thoughts:

Hmph.

I debated whether or not to write review for this one, considering that I was ready to write off the series after Book 3, but here I am, so what the heck.

I rated this one 3 butterflies keeping the other books in series very much in mind and not on its own merit. I am not sure the rating would be higher if considered on it's own merit.

The strongest and probably only reaction I had to this book after finishing was supreme indifference. Nothing happens in the book. Really. Nothing happens. Grace and Khalil were thrown together at the beginning and there they remained till the end (well, it's not exactly true that nothing happens - there is some drama in the final 40 pages of the book, but by then we've been through 302 pages of nothing, so those pages don't count).

There is no sense of rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, no real conflict..... nada. Zilch. That in itself isn't a bad thing. Sometimes the journey a story takes you through is the destination. This was not one of those books or stories for me.

I guess it was a good story. But it was like a beautiful mannequin as opposed to a living, breathing human being, or like a nice painting that evokes no emotion whatsoever. There was no life to it.

Khalil had some moments where he came to life, I think. But Grace remained stiff and lifeless throughout. This might just be a quirk of mine, but I also found some of the interactions of Khalil and Grace with other people rude instead of cool. I've been having that problem with several books and characters lately, so it might just be me and not them.

It has been this way for every single book.

1. I struggled to find life in book 1, Dragon Bound: I found it after 50% and it was a gushing fountain that spilled forth and colored the whole book and the characters. I ended up loving it and do reread it often.

2. The struggle began again with book 2, Storm's Heart: I guess I found some life because it evoked strong feelings of wanting to bludgeon the male lead. But there was something there.

3. The struggle was there again in book 3, Serpent's Kiss: And yet, there must have been residual traces, because I had some sort of reaction: surprised liking for Carling and huge disappointment in Rune

4. Book 4 - Dead in the water.

I read this one against my better judgment, and...my better judgment was right.

I'll read the next book in series because I hope Ms. Harrison will be able to recreate her combination of great writing with vibrancy and life in Dragos and Pia.

And after that, probably only a book that has Graydon in it, because I like him.

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:
1. Dragon Bound - Mind-Blowing
2. Storm's Heart - Meh
3. Serpent's Kiss - Good 

Review: Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Author: Jennifer Estep

Title: Touch of Frost

Series: Mythos Academy #1

About the Book:
My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.
But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died. . .

 

My Thoughts:

After her mom's death, Gwen Frost, a girl from a long line of Gypsy women, is sent off as a sort of scholarship student to Mythos Academy, a magical school which looks more like something out of Gossip Girl than Harry Potter. The kids are spoiled, filthy rich, and petty. They are also descendants of mythology: Spartans, Amazons, Valkyries, wizards, what have you; they pack a lot of magical power. When the Queen Bee of the Mean Girls Club is killed and no one seems to care, Gwen, our poor outcast girl, decides that's not right. She attempts to get to bottom of the murder and thus begins her journey of discovery.

This book was a breath of fresh air for me. I often steer clear of YA because the prevailing attitude seems to be 'let's made these kids as idiotic as possible because teens are supposed to be all hormones and very little sense.' I've read middle grade books with more sense than a lot of characters populating YA. I think Ms. Estep captured the essence of teenhood - you know, the raging hormones, the emotions, the invincibilty, etc - very well without sacrificing good judgment, which is very important to me. It felt authentic.

Gwen was level-headed, which made it a joy to read. I could trust her judgments and her assessments of people and situations. I could trust that she was giving me an accurate rundown of what was happening. Gwen also wasn't starry-eyed over just about every boy, thank the Powers that Be!

Apart from the story, I really enjoyed the relationships formed and watching them grow. I think Ms. Estep did a fantastic job with them. Gwen is forced to confront her own prejudices about these rich, plastic mean girls when she comes into contact with Daphne, who at first glance is as fake as they come. Daphne had quite a bit of depth beyond said appearance, and Gwen was smart enough to see it. It was awesome to see this popular, snobby girl, and the outcast gypsy girl who looked down her nose at all of these rich people strike the beginnings of a friendship.

Logan totally made me laugh! It also totally made me laugh that even though Gwen liked him, she was very cognizant of all his faults, calling him 'man-whore'! Loved it! I am hopeful for where their friendship will go, given the way things ended.

The mystery was actually interesting, and the ending blindsided me, but it was not even the most important thing. That one was fairly obvious: Gwen's journey of discovery. I think by the second chapter I had figured out exactly what it was that Gwen was going to learn about herself at the end of the novel (definitely by the time Jasmine was killed, I had figured it out). Even so, it was a pleasure coming along for a ride on this train of common sense.

The reason I am not giving this book a perfect rating stems from a few things (so I am nitpicky, sue me). Ms. Estep had a habit of naming people over and over again, which irritated me more and more as the story progressed. Daphne is a valkyrie. So are a whole bunch of other girls. We got treated to sentences like this almost every page: "I was talking to Daphne; the valkyrie gave me an exasperated look"; or "I spotted Logan. The Spartan looked hot in his shirt"; or "My mom, Grace....". Literally every single time a character was mentioned, the next sentence would have their magical power mentioned. It. was. hella. annoying. I am surprised the editors didn't pick this up. Personal pronouns are your friend!

But all in all, I had so much fun going to Mythos Academy through Gwen's eyes. It was a simple enough story, but I really enjoyed the telling of it.

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

N/A

 

TGIF @ GReads #6: Birth of a Blogger

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted every Friday at GReads, asking reading/book-related questions which are fun to answer. This week's question is:

A Book Blogger is Born: What made you decide to start your very own book blog?

In truth, I started a book blog because I saw the wisdom of having your reviews stored in more than one place. Then it was a nice to thing to have if  you were requesting books on NetGalley (so yes, I am one of THOSE PEOPLE, haha). But then I decided I didn't care about ARCs and stuff like that and just wanted a place to hang out, put my reviews, and write things that don't necessarily fit into my other book-sharing spaces, like GoodReads.

So the reasons I became and still keep my blog change all the time as I change. Right now, it is my book diary, and a place to store all the bookish ramblings in my head. And who knows, that might also change, but for now, it is my favorite incarnation.

Waiting on Wednesday #7: an anthology

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Jill's blog, and highlights upcoming releases we're highly anticipating. 

 Hello, Long time no see! Today's WoW is more like a collection of WoWs. In the past coupla months I have been reading some Urban Fantasy anthologies, and I am coming to associate P.N. Elrod's name with really good shorts. Since she is the editor on this one, I have no doubt that it will be a good anthology. Of course, it majorly helps that Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, etc. are contributing stories too. Hex Appeal releases in less than a month, on June 5th, 2012

Fall under the intoxicating spell of their hex appeal… In the magical world that lies hidden beneath our own, witches and conjurers play deadly games. They know just the right spell to kill a man with one kiss—or raise him back again. And they’re not afraid to exact sweet revenge on those who dare to cross them. But what if you’re the unlucky soul who falls victim to a conjurer’s curse? And if you had the power to cast a magic spell of your own, would you use it?In this bewitching collection, nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors tell all-new, otherworldly tales.  Spellbinding stories featuring bigfoot, albino vampires, professional wizards, resurrected boyfriends and even a sex droid from the twenty- third century named Silicon Lily.  But as our conjurers are about to discover, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hexed.  And sometimes, even the best spun spells can lead to complete and utter mayhem. 

Quickie Review: Untouched by Anna Campbell

Author: Anna Campbell
Title: Untouched
Series: N/A
Pages: 374

Beautiful Grace Paget has no reason not to believe these words. After all, she was kidnapped, spirited away to a remote country manor, and told she is to grant this man his every desire . . . or lose her life. But Grace is no common trollop. So she risks everything to save her virtue by planning a daring escape, even though she finds herself tempted by this handsome man. There is something in his eyes that makes her wonder if he is as dangerous as he would have her believe.
Sheene knew nothing of the plan to bring him this woman. Locked up as a prisoner, called "mad" by all of the world, he will do anything to reclaim his life, and Grace's sensuous beauty has distracted him from his goals. And although he finds her irresistible, he is horrified to hold her against her will. Now, together, they must both revolt against the strange set of circumstances that have forced them together - for only then will Grace truly surrender to him . . . forever.

I don't think I can do this book justice. I feel the same way about it as I feel about Ms. Campbell's debut, Claiming the Courtesan: the storytelling is good enough to hold my attention, but I end up loving the story way more than I expect. The depth of the characters, and the beautiful, wistful prose makes for heady reading. That's all I have.

I can't believe I've owned this book for at least six months and have been sitting around complaining of reading slumps and not having any good books to read. I know this review is not very helpful, but it's all I can do. I love, love, loved this story!!

★★★★★

 

Review: Never Love a Highlander by Maya Banks

Author: Maya Banks
Title: Never Love a Highlander
Series: McCabe Trilogy #3

Caelen McCabe's young, reckless heart nearly destroyed his clan. Now putting family loyalty above all else, he steps up to marry his older brother's jilted bride and salvage the uneasy alliance between two clans. While beautiful Rionna McDonald is a fit wife for any man, Caelen trusts no woman, especially not this sweet temptress who torments him with white hot longing.

As the sacrificial lamb in her father's power game, Rionna will do her duty but protect her heart and her pride from another man's humiliation. Despite everything, the heat in Caelen's touch melts her defenses and she craves the sensual delights of a husband who guards his emotions as fiercely as his clan. But when the ultimate battle for the McCabe legacy is upon them, Rionna's true warrior spirit emerges. She will risk the wrath of her father, the fury of her enemies, and her life to prove to Caelen that his wife's love is too precious to lose.

Though I thought the first two books weren't all that interesting, I decided to read the final book book because the hero and heroine seemed like characters worth getting to know. I was right and I was wrong.

Never Love a Highlander is Rionna McDonald and Caelen's McCabe's story. After being stood up, first by Ewan, and then by Alaric, Rionna marries the last available McCabe brother to seal the alliance between their two families. Caelen moves to the McCabe lands to take over as Laird, and the rest of the story is about their journey to love.

Again, it isn't the best of stories, but there is no doubt Rionna and Caelen are the best characters in this entire trilogy, Rionna more so than Caelen. Caelen has his own demons to conquer, owing to betrayal by a woman many years ago. However, Caelen is a dolt a good amount of the time, especially at McCabe keep. He was still a more interesting character than Ewan or Alaric, though.

Rionna was sort of a disappointment. She'd seemed like such a unique character - a girl who fought with the soldiers and appeared quite good - she could best the McCabe men at swordfights int he previous books. Now, she just sorta floundered.

She is given no 'agency.' We find that she doesn't run with the men because she likes it, but rather because she was afraid of her father's abusive nature and so decided to learn to fight. She spends time outdoors with the men, but secretly wishes she could run the household and do makeup and things like the ladies. She is supposed to be this feisty woman but she obeys every single order that Caelen gives her, even when it is obvious he is being an idiot. She was a much weaker character than she appeared to be in the previous books, but even so, she was better than Mairin, Keeley, and all the one-dimensional women in this world Ms. Banks has created.

The story was marginally more interesting than the previous books, but not by much. And there were also a good amount of fillerish scenes - basically the same old story as the other two, just with slightly better characters. On the whole this series is one I don't recommend at all.

★★★★

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

 

Review: Seduction of a Highland Lass by Maya Banks

Author: Maya Banks
Title: Seduction of a Highland Lass
Series: The McCabe Trilogy #2
Pages: 323

A warrior is caught between family loyalty and forbidden love in book two of bestselling author Maya Banks’s sensual new trilogy featuring three indomitable Highlanders.
Fiercely loyal to his elder brother, Alaric McCabe leads his clan in the fight for their birthright. Now he is prepared to wed for duty, as well. But on his way to claim the hand of Rionna McDonald, daughter of a neighboring chieftain, he is ambushed and left for dead. Miraculously, his life is saved by the soft touch of a Highland angel, a courageous beauty who will put to the test his fealty to his clan, his honor, and his deepest desires.
An outcast from her own clan, Keeley McDonald was betrayed by those she loved and trusted. When the wounded warrior falls from his horse, she is drawn to his strong, lean body. The wicked glint in his green eyes ignites a passion that will follow them back to Alaric’s keep, where their forbidden love draws them deeper into the pleasures of the flesh. But as conspiracy and danger circle closer, Alaric must make an impossible choice: Will he betray his blood ties for the woman he loves?

I'm still in the minority. I stand by my thoughts in the previous installment. This series is a fair to middling one, leaning very much on the side of middling.

Ms. Banks has written a good novel. That's not a bad thing in itself, except that there's so many stories saturating this genre that unless a story is original or very well-told, it's unremarkable. I definitely think that this one started out stronger than its predecessor, but then also floundered for a looooooooong while in the middle, and then came a passable ending. 

Alaric...well he was the hero of this story and a doofus too. I didn't care much for him. I mean, he was not stupid or annoying or anything. I just didn't think he had much honor. Alaric is betrothed to Rionna McDonald because the alliance is very favorable to his clan. Along the way, there's a series of unfortunate events and he falls for Keeley McDonald instead. And the story is about how Keeley and Alaric make their way. There's a scene at the end where Alaric waxes poetic about how you don't set aside the woman you love and want to marry because of political gain and how there is no honor in that. 

But he knew that all along. So why did he spend the whole book sleeping with Keeley and still planning to go ahead and marry Rionna? It was dishonorable then. Eh. Whatever. 

Keeley started out a strong character, and then she became as bland as all the women and other characters at the McCabe keep. I will not even go into discussing what a dumbass child Crispen is and how his death would be safer for everyone because that child is mortally idiotic like I haven't come across before. 

I will say this though. Throughout the entire series, the only people that have had some color about them, some sort of depth (whether real or imagined by me) seem to be Rionna and Caelen, so I am very interested in reading their story. We'll see how that goes. After all, I still have a whole bunch of challenges to finish, lol. Borrow this one if you must.

★★★

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

1. In Bed With a Highlander - 3/5

 

New Look!

Isn't it absolutely Beautiful????????!!!

I decided a while ago that I wanted to have a design all of my own, but since I suck at anything remotely design-y, I asked around, and looked around some, and was finally pointed to Lori at Imagination Designs.

I can't tell you how happy I am with what she has done! And she was super patient with my choosiness and fickle-osity too! I am soooooo happy with this I could just cry!

It's super awesome and super affordable, too!
Thank you so much, Lori, for making my space a place I can enjoy hanging out on the web!

A thousand times thank you and a thousand times recommendations if anyone is looking for a blog design.

Oh I love this!!!

Review: It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas

Author: Lisa Kleypas
Title: It Happened One Autumn
Series: Wallflowers #2

It happened at the ball...

Where beautiful but bold Lillian Bowman quickly learned that her independent American ways weren't entirely "the thing." And the most disapproving of all was insufferable, snobbish, and impossible Marcus, Lord Westcliff, London's most eligible aristocrat.

It happened in the garden...

When Marcus shockingly—and dangerously—swept her into his arms. Lillian was overcome with a consuming passion for a man she didn't even like. Time stood still; it was as if no one else existed...thank goodness they weren't caught very nearly in the act!

It happened one autumn...

Marcus was a man in charge of his own emotions, a bedrock of stability. But with Lillian, every touch was exquisite torture, every kiss an enticement for more. Yet how could he consider taking a woman so blatantly unsuitable...as his bride?

I really, really, really liked this one.

From the first book I could tell Lord Westcliff was a keeper, and I was not too happy he was going to be paired of with Lillian, as she wasn't shown to be the nicest kind of person in the first book.

she was shown in a much better light this time around, and I was glad to see that she and Lord Westcliff were perfectly suited :D. For two people who are so tactile, headstrong and feisty, their story was a very muted, very gentle one - straight from the first kiss at the beginning to the admissions of love in the end, and I loved every second of it. I totally enjoyed this love story.

I love, love, love, Lord Westcliff. He has a lot of the charm and nuance of your normal Kleypas hero, which was missing in the hero of the previous book. And she showed such poesy and tenderness, i loved it! I also think Ms. Kleypas did a great job of making Lillian much more likable while keeping her true to her character from the previous book. I was liking lord Sebastian St. Vincent too, with his his funny remarks, until he did what he did at the end to his [probably only] friend at that. It was a despicable thing to do. Now I am not sure I like him at all and am worried for the next book.

I liked seeing Daisy again, and the Bowmans' mother made me laugh,s he was so over-the-top. I am indifferent to Annabelle's presence. I don't think it added or took anything away,and she was rather a wet blanket in this one. It was a shame Evie didn't have much face time in this book, but her piece in the epilogue was epic. I enjoyed just about everything in this book and am excited to start my favorite wallflower's story next. And even though I have heard awesome stuff about Sebastian St. Vincent of the next book, for me Lord Westcliff will be a hard hero to beat, I think :). We'll see about that.

★★★★½

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

1. Secrets of a Summer Night - 3/5

 

Dying to Get this Month {May}

*At the beginning of the month I post covers of new releases I am just dying to get my hands on and why I am so excited. *

This month, like last, there are two books I have been waiting on for months and months and months! They are releasing later in the month though, drat the luck!

  May 22nd: Shadow Bound.

Rachel Vincent's Unbound series is set in one of the most unique UF/PNR worlds I have ever come across. But as usual, her characters drive me batty. I swear I could have a drinking game with the characters and their shenanigans - and I'd end up plum drunk! Shadow Bound will tell Kori's story. I admit, though, that my thoughts are with Cam and Liv. I want to see how they are faring. So I will be waiting with bated breath!

May 31st: Tangle of Need

I just know this novel will work for me, I know it! I get to hang out with the SnowDancers, whom I adore, so it's going to be fun! Riaz, the male lead, grew on me, but we still don't know much about him. I know even less about Adria. So although I am interested in the main couple, I'm more excited to see all the people in the Den. And Hawke! I get to spend some time with my favorite changeling wolf! May 2th can't come fast enough!!