What I've Been Reading (Jan. 19 - Jan. 25)

This week I suffered from a head cold (okay, suffered might be a bit strong...I was more inconvenienced by it than anything else) and went to bed earlier than usual a few nights which might have affected the amount of reading I did this week.  However, I continue to have great book luck this year with some more great titles (and I got on a Kindle kick and was able to get through quite a few samples, freebies, and languishing titles that really needed to be read...only about 2,000 more to go...oh, dear.)  On to what I read: 

I started my week with Dream Eyes by Jayne Ann Krentz (review here).  I love Jayne Ann Krentz (and Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick)...she was one of my first major gloms as a romance reader and I fell in love with her work.  Her writing as Amanda Quick is what convinced me that I really did like historicals (although for a long time I convinced myself I didn't).  Now, I know that sometimes here books can read very similarly to each other but I don't care because I love them.  The last Krentz title that I really remember thinking was AMAZING was White Lies and while this one didn't live up to that one, I still really enjoyed it. The first chapter was fantastic and I zipped through this one in an afternoon.  It will definitely be going on my keeper shelf.  

Next up was Wrecked by Elle Casey.  This was one of my freebie downloads hiding out on my Kindle and I was so glad that I finally got to it.  I was sucked right in and really enjoyed all of the characters, some of whom started out somewhat stereotypical but none of whom stayed that way.  I have downloaded a sample of Reckless, the sequel and can't wait to to read it.  

With This Kiss by Victoria Lynne was a great historical featuring a Beauty and the Beast theme.    I reviewed this book here.

The Prince with No Heart is an erotic fairy tale written by Emma Holly.  Prince Augustin lives in Madrigal, a magical kingdom.  At birth he was cursed: robbed of his heart.  Another fairy tried to soften the blow with a "blessing," an "untiring sword."  Prince Augustin has found that both the blessing and the curse have both positive and negative effects on his life. Princess Violet has been spelled by a werewolf vying for her hand--he has fated her to suffer from insatiable desire.  Desperate not to succumb to the werewolf who terrorizes her people, she goes looking for a champion.  A meeting with a fairy nets her a plan (complete with magical objects) to gain the help of Prince Augustin.  I enjoyed this tale by Emma Holly and found it be a great length--about 120 pages--for the story being told.

Wild Desire by Lori Brighton (review here) was a fun, fast-paced adventure caper.  After finishing it, I went to Amazon to see other books in the series and was able to download Wild Passion (free at the time of this post), the third entry in the series.  A novella in length, this story captured the same spirit of adventure as Wild Desire.  Wild Passion features Adelaide, half sister to Colin from Wild Desire, who is after one of the statues being hunted so she can sell it to finance medical care for her mother.  Adelaide and her mother live in extreme poverty in Paris after Adelaide's mother fell for the wrong man and was cut off by her family.  Also after the statue is James, a treasure hunter who has his own shadows in his past.  I very much enjoyed James and wished at times this story had been expanded into novel form simply so I could spend more time with him.  

Wicked Gift by Sean Michael was a gift to myself while I was feeling poorly with my cold.  I discovered Sean Michael last year and have happily been working my way through his books ever since.  This is a newer title featuring a devoted couple, Kono and Alec.  Alec's roommate from college, Swan, is a Dom and Alec knows that Kono has sub fantasies that he would love to live out.  Alec loves to watch so he figures that a week with Alec will be the perfect gift for both himself and Kono.  What Alec doesn't expect is to have Swan recognize some of his own deeply repressed desires such as being made to submit.  Swan meanwhile has his own hopes that this week will show Alec and Kono how perfect he is for both of them and how much he wants them both in his life.  Watching these three men begin to see how much more this gift is giving all of them than they expected was beautiful.  Also refreshing was the value all three men placed on honest, up-front communication.  There was a lot at stake: love, commitment, friendships, trust, and every effort was made to protect those while also opening up avenues for growth and the potential for more.  Another winner by Sean Michael.  I am so glad that he produces new works quickly and consistently...I can never have enough of his storytelling!