Little Miss Innocent? by Lori Foster

Little Miss Innocent? by Lori Foster
For Dr. Daniel Sawyers, sex therapist Lace McGee is a puzzle.  While she keeps putting inappropriate ideas into his sister's head, Lace is even better at putting naughty thoughts into Daniel's head.  But just how down 'n dirty is Lace really?

Daniel Sawyers is not thrilled with his sister's friendship with Lace, as he finds her too feminine, too noticeable, too lush, too distracting, you get the idea.  He is sure that her job makes her someone he doesn't want around his sister and he makes his disdain for her pretty clear.  Lace goes out of her way to needle Daniel knowing very well what he believes about her.  It isn't until Lace comes into Daniel's ER with a dog bite that they start to spend time together, breaking down their misconceptions slowly but surely.  This story is a pretty quick one  but there was one major issue that I just couldn't get over: Lori Foster chose to make Lace a virgin.  This bothered me because Daniel has a rather major hang-up about her work as a sex therapist--he often made assumptions about who she was and they were not positive.  Rather than have him come to the realization that he was mired in double standards and that part of what makes Lace so wonderful is her full acceptance of herself as a person, sexuality included, Lori Foster chose to have him come to the realization that he was wrong only because Lace was innocent all along.  What if Lace hadn't been a virgin?  Would Daniel have felt vindicated in his beliefs?  Would he still have changed his mind about her work?  Would he have fallen in love with her or would she have become another short term relationship?  I felt that Daniel needed a slap upside the head, to have a major epiphany that he was a judgmental idiot, and to grovel on his knees.  Unfortunately, none of those things happened.    

Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades Challenge
Monthly Mix Up Mania
TBR Pile
Story Sprites
  
I purchased this book with my own funds.

The Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton

The Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton
Before the Special Forces hero has even unpacked his bags from twelve years of active duty, he's embroiled in murder--corpses bearing the brutal trademark he's seen only once before--on the worst night of his life.

The last time Detective Anna Pallino saw Dante Renaldi, they were in love.  Now, he's part of hte connection to a string of fresh homicides and a horrible assault that Anna only survived thanks to him.

More than anything, Anna wants to trust Dante.  But as the bodies and the coincidences stack up, Anna will have to decide, and fast: Is the man she owes her life to the very same one who wants her dead?

Twelve years ago, Anna was attacked in an alley.  Her attacker had time to carve a heart into her chest before she was saved by her four friends, foster brothers who would protect her with their lives.  When her attacker dies in the alley, Anna worries that the brothers will get in trouble and she hides their involvement with the help of her cop father.  To keep from being implicated in the crime, Dante leaves despite his deep love for Anna.  

Now Dante is back and before he can even check into a hotel room someone he knows well is found dead in the same alley where Anna was attacked--a heart carved into the chest wall is another unmistakable sign that someone knows about the past and is dragging terrible memories into the present.  When Anna is assigned to the crime as the detective in charge, Dante is amazed at the changes in the sweet loving sixteen year old he had to leave behind.  The current Anna is tough and ready to take on whatever and whomever she has to to solve the mystery of who knows about that night from twelve years ago.

Dante has a lot of ground to make up with Anna--she doesn't trust him after he left her and his unwillingness to share what he has been doing for the last twelve years does not endear him to her either.  Soon Dante is a suspect and as more crimes occur, Anna and Dante find themselves getting deeper--both in the case and with each other.  However, as the mystery continues and people close to what happened in the past are put in danger, Dante's innocence becomes more clear while who is really perpetrating the crimes remains frustratingly unknown.  

I liked the first half of this book and then the story began to drag.  The story felt like it began going in circles without ever getting closer to any type of resolution.  And then BOOM at the very last minute the bad guy was revealed and taken out.  The reason behind the "who" and "why" of the killer wasn't enough for me--it felt like the person was only chosen for shock value and not because of the reasons outlined in the book.  I didn't buy it which made me regret sticking with the book for 400+ pages.  Bummer.

Reading Challenges
Official TBR Pile Extreme
Reading Road Trip
Romantic Suspense
TBR Pile
Bookish Bingo
Story Sprites

I purchased this book with my own funds.

Alphabet Soup: A Completed Reading Challenge

Alphabet Soup: A Completed Reading Challenge

The Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge hosted by Escape with Dollycas has been a fun one...I hope she hosts it again next year, I would happily participate again!  Here are the books that I have read: 

A: At Home in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller 
B: Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston
C: Capturing Peace by Molly McAdams
D: Desperate Game by Jayne Castle
E: Embrace the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy
F: Fatal Fortune by Jayne Castle
G: Guarding January by Sean Michael
H: Hot Zone by Jayne Ann Krentz
I: Icebound by Julie Rowe
J: Jordan's Desires by Lynn Hagen
K: Kobe by Lynn Hagen
L: The Lady and the Lion by Cynthia Kirk
M: The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston
N: No Ifs, Ands or Bears About It by Celia Kyle
O: Once Perfect by Cecy Robson
P: Pack and Mate by Sean Michael
Q: Rock Stars and Size Queens by Sean Michael
R: Rough Around the Edges by L M Somerton
S: Stone Creek Christmas by Linda Lael Miller
T: Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
U: Underground: Special Teams by Sean Michael
V: Valentino's Cowboy by Lynn Hagen
W: When Darkness Comes by Alexandra Ivy
X: Xavi's Wild Ride by Bellann Summer
Y: Yuri and Liam by Stormy Glenn
Z: A to Z by Marie Sexton

All in all, a very fun reading challenge!  

Running Wild by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

Running Wild by Linda Howard and Linda Jones
Carlin Reed lives in fear, off the grid, moving from place to place.  So Battle Ridge, Wyoming, a small town in the middle of nowhere, seems like a good place to lie low for a little while.  But after becoming cook and housekeeper to cattle rancher Zeke Decker, Carlin suspects that she's made her first mistake.  Rugged, sexy, and too distracting for her own good, Zeke is pure temptation mixed with something deep and primal that makes Carlin feel almost safe.  Soon things are getting way too hot in the kitchen.  

Zeke doesn't challenge Carlin's terms: cash, dead bolts, and no questions.  It is easy to see that she's a woman in trouble.  Problem is, he's so blindsided by his attraction to her he can't think straight.  Zeke tries to stay all business, no complications--but that game plan is sabotaged the second Carlin gets under his skin.  And when her terrifying past follows her to the ranch, Carlin faces a heartbreaking choice: run away from the man she loves, or put him in the crosshairs of a madman.  

Nobody writes men like Linda Howard and this book definitely had an amazing male lead in Zeke.  Zeke who is impatient, stubborn, and takes on many responsibilities to protect what he considers his whether it be his ranch, his family, his ranch hands, or soon, Carlin.  Carlin is on the run from a stalker who is computer savvy and a cop--a combination that makes living "off the grid" an absolute necessity.  Working her way across the country is her best plan to keep Brad, her nutcase stalker, off her trail.  Pulling into Battle Ridge, WY, Carlin just wants a job to restock her cash stash so she can keep moving; little does she know she has found home.  

Zeke needs a housekeeper since his previous one quit to be nearer her family.  He is reluctant to hire a woman as he feels it would be a bad idea with all the men on the ranch unless said woman was married or middle-aged.  Carlin is neither and Zeke is determined to steer clear of her until the hand who has been doing the cooking is hurt and unable to continue kitchen duty.  With no other options, Zeke hires Carlin who insists she will only be able to stay until the spring.  Carlin and Zeke are an amazing pairing who come together at a pace that is perfect.  They both are attracted to the other but are understandably reluctant to get involved with each other considering Carlin's stalker, Zeke's worry she will run at any time, and their employee/employer status.   

There were times I laughed out loud at the banter between Carlin and Zeke, I loved the secondary characters, especially Spencer, and the romance and suspense were both timed exquisitely.  The ending confrontation with Brad happened fairly quickly but I didn't feel that it was short changed in any way.  Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and would love to revisit Battle Ridge.  I am in awe of how seamlessly this book flowed having been written by two different authors, I couldn't tell who wrote what.  Instead I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

Reading Challenges
105 Challenge
Foodie Challenge
Monthly Mix Up Mania
Official TBR Pile Extreme
Reading Road Trip
Romantic Suspense
TBR Pile
Bookish Bingo

I purchased this book with my own funds.

A to Z by Marie Sexton

A to Z by Marie Sexton

Zach Mitchell is stuck in a rut.  His college boyfriend left him ten years ago, but Zach still lives in the same apartment, drives the same car, and feeds his ex-boyfriends's ungrateful cat.  His Denver business, A to Z Video Rental, is struggling.  He has annoying customers, eccentric neighbors, and an unfulfilled romance with his landlord, Tom.  A combat boot-wearing punk with an attitude, Angelo Green was raised in foster homes and has been on his own since he was sixteen; he has never learned to trust or to love.  He doesn't do relationships so when Angelo takes a job at A to Z Video, he decides Zach is strictly off-limits.  Despite their differences, Zach and Angelo quickly become friends, and when Zach's break-up with Tom puts his business on the line, it's Angelo who comes up with a solution.  Together with Jared and Matt, their friends from Coda, Colorado, Zach and Angelo will find a way to save A to Z , but will they be able to save each other too?

Based on the first chapter I really didn't think I would like this book.  I stuck with it because I was trying to finish my Alphabet Soup reading challenge and I needed a Z...Thank goodness because I ended up really enjoying this book quite a lot.  Zach did not strike me as likable at first--he up front admits that he was lazy in his life choices and had repeatedly cheated on his long time ex-boyfriend.  But.  Then he starts his "relationship" with Tom and I started to feel badly that Zach would think so little of himself that he would accept the little that Tom gave him and be grateful for it, not to mention want more which so obviously was never going to happen.  I was so relieved when Angelo entered the picture because I knew it had to spell the end for Tom.  It didn't happen soon enough for me but that was okay--I think it needed to happen exactly the way it did for Zach to really understand how little credit he was giving himself.  

The best thing about this book was watching, and hearing as this book is written in alternating 1st person chapters, both Zach and Angelo evolve both in their relationship and as individuals who slowly come to realize their worth to others as well as to themselves.  From a decidedly unromantic beginning, Marie Sexton crafted a wonderfully sweet story about two men that I rooted for the whole time while always understanding why it took them both so long to get to their happy ever after.  What was so wonderful was watching the different stages their relationship went through.  I  knew that while each stage was necessary and if needed could work long-term that they both truly deserved the best of happy-ever-afters and even better, I got to see them get it.  

Reading Challenges
Alphabet Soup
I Love Library Books
Contemporary Romance

I borrowed this book from my local public library.  

Once More With Feeling by Nora Roberts

Once More With Feeling by Nora Roberts
It had been more than five years since Raven Williams had laid eyes on Brandon Carstairs, the man who'd stolen her heart.  Now he offered her the opportunity of a lifetime--to work with him on his latest venture.  And despite the painful ache he brought to her life, Raven found herself powerless to say no...

After a long unexpected absence from blogging I found myself in a rut of only rereading well known shorter stories on my kindle.  I was enjoying my reading life but I wasn't loving it.  I was in a holding pattern and while it was comfortable and familiar and, yes, full of great stories, it wasn't new and fresh and exciting.  So I did what I often do while when I find myself in a reading rut.  I turned to an author that I knew would snap me out of it.  Nora Roberts-one of the best story tellers out there.  I went to my good old TBR pile and grabbed the first Nora I saw.  And promptly DNF'd it.  Not wanting to give in so easily, I went back and grabbed another, this time it was Reunion, a two-in-one compilation including Once More With Feeling.

Once More With Feeling is one of Nora's 80's romances but it felt more contemporary than some I have read from that same era.  Raven is a mega successful singer who had a one time romance with Brand Carstairs, another successful singer/songwriter.  Five years ago their love affair ended abruptly hurting them both.  Brand is back in Raven's life with the opportunity of a lifetime--collaborating with him to compose the score to what is sure to be the hottest movie of the year.  Raven is unsure if she wants to chance putting her heart on the line again, but she can't turn down the chance to be a part of a project that will fulfill her artistic needs and add another success to her career.  

Brand knew he had Raven's love five years ago, but he never had her trust.  There were whole sections of her life that she held back from him.  He is determined to have all of her this time around.  After securing Raven's agreement to work with him, he whisks her off to Cornwall to work in an environment free from interruptions from family and fans.  His plan works as they quickly break down walls that have stood between them, but there is still anger on both sides from their past interactions and these explode in one long awaited argument.  Unfortunately, it is at this same time that Raven's personal life implodes and she must return to California to deal with the fall out.  Will Brand and Raven ever get it together and finally find a way to let go of the past so they can move on to the future?  Of course they will!  This is romance-landia, happy endings are a must--although I will admit the ending on this one felt a wee-bit rushed.  Overall, though, this book fit the bill of breaking me out of my kindle and back into the land of new-to-me titles.  It feels good to be back!  

Reading Challenges
Around the World
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades 
Monthly Motif (Retro reading for June's motif)
TBR Pile
TBR (Retro reading for May)
TBR Reduction Extreme
Bookish Bingo
Story Sprites

I purchased this book with my own funds.

Story Sprites Reading Challenge

Story Sprites Reading Challenge (Hosted by Great Imaginations)

I am happy to jump back into blogging and back into my reading challenges!  On that note, Great Imaginations has come up with a new fun challenge to try called Story Sprites.  It runs from July 1-Oct. 1 at which point everyone will share their wrap up posts.  There is a game board: 

with colored "paths" that you can take (does anyone else get fun Candy Land feelings from this board?) depending on the books you want to read.  There are five paths: red, orange, green, blue, and purple.  You can choose one, some, or all the paths to complete.  Completed paths earn you badges and entries into a great giveaway they are conducting.  With all of this fun, how could I not want to participate?  My official goal is at least one path but you know I secretly (or not so secretly) want to complete them ALL!