This week at Smexy….
A review – Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews (mandi and tori)
B+ review – Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas (mandi)
B review – Bad News Cowboy by Maisey Yates (mandi)
B- review – The Lessons by Elizabeth Brown (tori)
C+ review – Dare to Rock by Carly Phillips (tori)
C+ review – The Veil by Chloe Neill (tori)
C review – Falling Under by Lauren Dane (helyce)
D review – Spun by Shyla Colt (mandi)
DNF review – The Long Fall of Night by AJ Rose (mandi)
Wicked Wednesday: 30 Days by Christine d’Abo
Smexy’s Top Ten
News from Mandi: I read Without Restraint by Angela Knight – well, I skimmed the last 50-75 pages. It starts out very erotic/in your face. We don’t even know the hero or heroine but we see them naked. Whew. Then I started to like the romantic suspense part (it’s like a bdsm romantic suspense) but then I lost interest again. The story didn’t flow well for me.
I read and loved Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas. I read it in one sitting. Reviewed above.
I’m currently reading The Viscount’s Wager by Ava March. It’s so cute. I love her writing – emotional and warm. And sexy!
Then it’s onto Make You Burn by Megan Crane.
News From Tori
From Russia With Claws by Jacey Conrad and Gia Corona-Gia Corona (aka Molly Harper) teams up with Jacey Conrad to co write a new pnr series based on shape shifter mob families. Not a bad start with decent world building and characterization but there was quite a bit of repetition and some plot holes that left this reader confused. Review to come.
Red Card by Liz Crowe–I picked this one up because I enjoy sport romances and I had seen good reviews for book one of the series. A decent story though the romance moves fast and I wasn’t convinced of the legitimacy of it. Also, Crowe doesn’t provide enough the justification, regardless of the background offered, to explain why the heroine and her sister are such dreadful women. Review to come.
Jack Gets His Man by D.E. Haggerty–When I requested this, I did so with the notion I may have found another Josh Lanyon or L.B. Gregg. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The storyline and characters are weak and underdeveloped with a strong dose of stereotypical behavior. Random plotlines, ridiculous melodrama, and some insulting dialogue completely turned me off. Review to come.
Dark Ascension by M.L. Brennan– The fourth book in Brennan’s Generation V series takes us back into this delightfully noir comedy about a young vampire and his coming of age as he deals with his family and the world around him. Though dark and violent at times, fans will rejoice in the growth of our young protagonist and the new pathways Brennan is leading him down. Review to come.
T’s Trial by Kay Layton Sisk-I’m a huge fan of small town romances and rock star heroes so T’s Trial seemed right up my alley. *sigh* Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. I was bored and irritated within the first 25%. The romance seemed forced and any humor was overshadowed by the sheer annoyance I felt for the townsfolk. Sisk does well with the character development-a young man just out of rehab for a drug addiction and a young widow who is has pushy family and neighbors but I just couldn’t connect with them. DNF.
This weekend I am going to try and read The Martian by Andy Weir and If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins.
Look forward to your review of “From Russia With Claws”, the premise sounds interesting. I hope the flaws Tori mentioned above don’t detract too much from the overall story and that it’s still a good read.
I enjoyed reading The Martian and read so many snippets to my husband that he decided he’d like to read it also. We listened to it on a long trip, and we both enjoyed it. (The audio is quite well done.) My husband ultimately described it as ‘porn for engineers!’ I’ll be interested to hear what you think, Tori.
You had me a porn…:P
I did the audio too – it was really well done