What I'm Reading Wednesday

EPIC FAIL /o\ It has been OVER A MONTH AGAIN *sigh*. I honestly intended to post last week but RL got the better of me. With baseball coming to a close, school coming to a close, and a move looming ever closer, not to mention deadlines /o\, I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off /o\

Okay, it's not REALLY that bad. This is not our first rodeo *coughmovecough* and it WILL be our shortest move, but still stressful. And you're not here to read abt my complaints so ON WITH THE BOOKS!

Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts M/F - the final installment in The Gallagher Brothers Trilogy. I enjoyed this a great deal, mostly because the heroine was definitely NOT your typical "swoon and fall at the feet of the hero" type woman. She was strong-willed (almost to the point of me wanting to slap her AND him upside the head) and independent. Believe me, I was almost finished and had NO idea how this was gonna end up HEA, but ...SPOILERS :D

What Wendy Wants by Nikki Sex M/F - Author's name aside, I LOVED the premise of this book. Husband finds out wife's secret fantasies when he accidentally takes her Kindle to work instead of his and then proceeds to make them come true. I mean, COME ON, who WOULDN'T want this to happen? IN the end they had some massively hot sex and it strengthened their marriage - because COMMUNICATION!!!

Once In A Blue Moon by Delilah Devlin M/F - This is the first in a series I think? The Beux something Coven series. It's about a coven of witches that are in hiding because if found demons can enslave them. The leader falls for a local construction worker who turns out to be a troll (the lowest on the supernatural food chain) her coven and his 'group' must band together to save the witches from the demon they escaped from years ago. Being a Charmed fan, I LOVED this book and I'm planning on buying the next book in the series. The sex happened fast and was a little rushed, but I still enjoyed the chemistry and the plot.

Kink by Nikki Sex M/F - This was actually mentioned in the previous Nikki Sex book so I thought I would give it a shot. This was almost a DNF for me, but I pushed through. I had some issues with the consent in this book. And also some of the BDSM is definitely not to my taste, but mostly for me it seems the consent, although given freely, seemed IDK...not necessarily forced but it just made me uncomfortable. I bought a third book by her, it will probably be a long while before I attempt to read it, if ever :(((

Cupcakes by Sean Michael M/M - Cute, short novella. Chef owns a cupcake shop and falls for a customer, cupcake shop gets swindled out from under him >:( (that really made me angry tbh) but I still enjoyed the book. It was a quick fun read and ended satisfactorily :D

Cut and Run Series by Madeline Urban and Abigail Roux M/M - I'm not going to go through ALL the books here outside of listing them - or at least the ones I've read so far...nope I didn't finish it yet...I needed a breather before tackling the end of the series /o\ as Button calls it, a palate cleanser before the final course :D

Cut and Run, Sticks and Stones, Fish & Chips, Divide and Conquer, Armed and Dangerous, Stars & Stripes (and I also read a few of the oneshots Abigail has on her Tumblr). I had forgotten JUST HOW GOOD THIS SERIES WAS. I was immediately sucked back in. I LOVED that Ty and Zane started out hating each other, I always find that is such an interesting dynamic, how such a volatile relationship can be volatile in the completely opposite direction. They are both such interesting characters, Ty with his Force Recon background along with PTSD and secrets galore and Zane with his dead wife, guilt, and addictions. Neither of these men are perfect and they don't pretend to be and yet somehow they are perfect together. I love that theirs is a SLOW BURN and that the relationship is realistic and they aren't spouting "I love yous' immediately. It makes it so much more believable. I'm almost ready to go back and finish the series off :((((

I needed some light-hearted stuff after that run...

A Piece of Cake by TM Franklin M/F - really cute novella about a matchmaker who refuses to use her talents to match people and instead uses a computer. But her talents cannot be denied when they recognize her own match. I loved the touch of supernatural and just the hint of Gypsy touch to this pairing. I plan on reading more of TM's work in the future.

Laying Down the Law by Delilah Devlin M/F - Woman flees her cop boyfriend when it's clear he's framing her for the bank robberies he's been committing and runs right to her ex, the man she hasn't seen in 16 years and is now the Sheriff of her hometown. There's a hint of D/s to their sexual relationship and the first time it happens it's a little shocking but overall, it made their sex SPICY and definitely added another layer to why she ends up trusting him with saving her life. I enjoyed it and will probably read more in this series in the future.

Sea Change by Darlene Marshall M/F - I don't normally read historical fiction, but apparently I've found my niche? This is the second Woman disguises herself as a male physician on a ship book that I've read. I REALLY enjoyed this one. Although several people found out throughout the book, her identity is kept a secret from the male lead for almost 2/3 to 3/4 of the book. Which enabled some interesting sexual tension and some rather funny situations. I love the social implications of her trying to do a man's job as a woman, and how it's important to her that the crew accept her even after her identity is revealed. This is one I'll probably read again. And if you have any more like this? Send them my way.

Next up - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - M/F? - Yes, I know this became a movie and apparently the movie sucked, but given how much I enjoyed the Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine (and she and Richelle seem to be Twitter buddies) I thought I would give this one a try. It was made into a movie for a reason. I've read the first three books so far - Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, and I'm reading the fourth right now, Blood Promise.

The premise is that vampires are real and there are different kinds. The Moiroi who are actually alive and the Strigoi who are dead. The Moiroi blend in with humans and fear becoming a Strigoi - who are dead and without souls. The Moiroi are protected by Dhampirs (Half Moiroi Half Human) called Guardians. Vampire Academy is the story of Rose Hathaway, a guardian in training who has bonded with her best friend Lissa, a Moiroi. Rose is impulsive, reckless, and a complete and total BADASS. She ends up falling in love with her mentor, Dimitri, another guardian who is seven years older than her. Because of their society, their love is forbidden, because Dhampirs are destined to guard Moiroi and cannot have children together anyway. So, take living and dead vampires, half vampires that are either Blood Whores or Guardians, mix in politics (because ofc the vampires have royalty and a Queen that has a secret agenda) and Hogwarts style high school, throw in a little elemental control ability, the ability to heal and walk in dreams and super strength and speed, and mix it all up with a little star-crossed love...and yeah, there's so much to these books, way more than meets the eye. It's been an enjoyable read so far and I'm anxious and dreading finishing the series. (Although there is a spinoff series called Bloodlines that I will probably start at some point). Also, it's making me want to REREAD The Morganville Vampires - but that series is like 16 books long so....

But when I finish, I'm going back to Cut and Run and read the final adventures of Ty and Zane.

And THAT is What I'm Reading :D

<333
Katherine

Spring Blog Fest Hop

Normally, I would do What I'm Reading Wednesday but today is special. SPRING IS HERE!!

Go visit my post over on Long and Short Reviews for a chance to win a free copy of Cast The First Stone AND be entered in the GRAND PRIZE DRAWING for a GC or one of four book packs or one of four swag packs!

Spring Has Sprung!!! *tosses flowers*

Post is Here: http://www.longandshortreviews.com/guest-blogs/spring-blogfest-katherine-halle/

What I'm Reading Wednesday

HEY! I'm here! I missed a post on Monday but I had a sick husband at home and it was my kid's birthday, so I'm definitely giving myself a pass this week. But I hope to start posting Manic Mondays on Monday ;p

On to today's topic! Obviously, not as many books as last week as only seven days have gone by. I did not read as much as I thought I would have. I think mostly because the weekend was busy with birthday stuff and frankly, Champion, although massively entertaining was not necessarily an easy read.

So the list:

Champion by Marie Lu, the final part in the Legend Trilogy. I did finish it and although it was not an "easy" read, it was still really enjoyable and without spoiling I will say the ending was satisfying. No Deus Ex Machina, no super fast fix it, there was some angst, but overall it was a satisfying ending.

Then I started the THIRDS series by Charlie Cochet. Read the first two - Hell & High Water and Blood & Thunder. I stopped after the second one because I know book three has a MASSIVE cliffie and book four hasn't been released yet. And given my propensity to HATE CLIFFHANGERS or anything that puts one of the MCs in danger or their relationship in permanent danger (both of which are big NOPEs for me), I will probably wait until my friend *coughButtoncough* has read book 4 and pre-screened it for me :D A quick note about the series - it's very fast-paced, the sex is HOT and the world-building is A+++++. THIRDS is a multi-person taskforce/team made up of humans and Therians (genetically mutated/evolved humans that can shift into animals) and boiled down to the lowest common denominator - think of them as SWAT or a SEAL team on US soil.

Finally, I'm in the middle of When Love Flue In by Lillian Francis. Because frankly, I needed something a bit slower and with more romance LOL. More on this next week when I finish but for now? It's definitely A+++++

And that's what I'm reading so far!

Have a great Wednesday.

<333
Katherine

What I'm Reading Wednesday

Well, here we are, I think this is my first official post of the New Year /o\ I have failed LOL. It's the twenty-first of January /o\ Oh well, I will endeavor to do better. Along those lines, I am keeping a log of every book (NOT FANFIC - only BOOKS) I read during 2015. I will discuss them here (albeit briefly) every Wednesday - so you all can have some idea what I'm reading, what I like, what I didn't like. These will NOT be reviews as I don't consider myself a review type of person, just merely what I enjoyed and what I thought was just okay.

So, without further ado....*drum roll please*....

I have read fourteen books so far O__O - WHO KNEW? Well, okay, I kind of did because when I get onto a book I like, I DEVOUR it.

First up: The Brit Boys:On Boys Collection. This collection included eight books, some of which I liked, some of which were SMOKIN' hot, and at least one of which just wasn't my cup of tea. No bother, I read it, I can definitely see other people liking it, it just wasn't for me. As I bought this off Amazon for 99 cents, I would highly recommend it because there is definitely something for everyone in this collection. A lot of great authors too, including Clare London, Lucy Felthouse, and Josephine Myles.

Second up: The Light Switch Duo by Lauren Gallagher (some of you may know her as L.A. Witt) - this was a het BDSM/Polyamory duo and if you're looking for something to recommend for ppl who *cough* are reading that ~other book, I cannot recommend this one highly enough. Mind you the second half of the duo dealt with some pretty heavy themes, specifically the aftermath of a NON CONSENSUAL BDSM relationship and there were parts that were pretty tough to read, BUT Lauren handled it respectfully and very realistically. I will most assuredly be reading more of her work.

Third up: The Crewel World Trilogy by Gennifer Albin - I read all three of these in a relatively short amount of time. The first one was a bit difficult to get into because at times the world building seemed a bit too heavy handed and confusing. The idea behind it was a bit hard to wrap my brain around, but eventually I was able to just go with it and enjoy it. There was a surprise guest appearance by an historical figure during the latter part of book two that I had mixed feelings about. Part of me thought it was a bit over the top and ridiculous and the other part thought it made perfect sense in the world that had been built up. In the end, I enjoyed it, but there were other dystopian ones I enjoyed more.

Fourth up: Prodigy by Marie Lu - this is the second book in her Legend Trilogy and it was a bit difficult for me to get through. I kept stopping and starting...not because the book wasn't good or I didn't care about the characters, mostly because I just wasn't in the mood? I'd read the first one last year and I definitely wanted to see this one through to the end, but Idk, there were days I was just like "Meh, I don't feel like reading this today..." but I've finished the second and am now onto the third and racing to the finish line.

And that's it for now. Hopefully next week there won't be so many seeing as how it will only be seven days and not twenty-one O__O.

Have a good Hump Day and see on you Friday for Fun Friday!

<333
Katherine

It's The Most Wonderful Time...

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been almost two weeks without a post AND I'm posting on a SATURDAY!!! Which means I'll be brief LOL.

My shopping is 99% done - there is still one gift I'm debating on, literally I have four tabs open & I'm trying to decide which one I like better...*sigh* Wrapping is finished and all my packages and cards have been mailed! WOOO HOOOOO

This of course means I have nothing to do except write and edit...neither of which I am doing *frowns at self* I'm trying, I think NaNo burned me out. We'll see.

My FIL stopped by on Thursday for a quick overnight. With him he brought, five LARGE bars of chocolate, two bars of Toblorone, 1 bag of Doritos, 1 Bag of Cracker Jacks, 1 package of Oreos, 1 half-eaten bag of Twizzlers, 1 open bag of chips of some sort, 1 open bag of pretzel chips, 1 open bag of peanuts, some assorted other candies and things. He bestows this upon us like he's gifting us something. >:( Being a diabetic, I can't in good conscience eat most of that stuff. I'm not saying I'm perfect, far from it, but I am VERY choosy about when and where I splurge.

He does this every single time he comes to visit. When they were here for Thanksgiving - we had TWICE that amount, plus 4 2-Liter bottles of pop (which we don't drink - at least not often enough to warrant a 2-Liter bottle which is why I buy cans and sometimes we end up throwing a half-full can out because it has gone flat in the fridge :/ )

So the hubs and I have worked out a system, because he's been doing this for almost sixteen years now. He's not going to change. We say thank you and as soon as he leaves, the open stuff gets pitched and the unopened stuff gets donated to the kitchen at hubby's office. And I bite my tongue when the mountain of junk food appears on my kitchen table/counter with my FIL.

I still get frustrated though. (as you can no doubt tell from this post)

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll do another post next week and tell you about the exciting thing we are doing with our child on Monday. (hint:...The Hobbit)

Have a great weekend!

<333
Katherine