Category: Romance

Chick Lit · Contemporary · Romance

The undomestic goddess – Sophie Kinsella

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33722| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership.

Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake.

But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back?

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My thoughts: I LOVED “Can you keep a secret?” and adored “Finding Audrey” but The Undomestic Goddess was nothing more than some time-killer and company while doing my workout (listened on the audiobook). I didn’t find it as hilarious as it supposed to be. It wasn’t a strong chick lit with great characters. No it was not witty, smart nor romantic. If anything it was exaggerated. Excessive in the multiple breakdowns that is occurring, the runaways, her reactions and her way of solving situations that would not have been able to be solved that “easy”. If I would describe this book to my friends, I would say that “it is like that comedy movie where they try so hard to be funny that in the end it is just a cheap, cringe worthy movie you will only see once and never recommend to your friends.”

I’m sorry but no. This was nothing for me. And the worst part of it all is the ending. It was unsatisfying and a little lame. I would have like to see Samantha stand up for her self and make her point clear. And what happens next? How will it go? What will they do? It left to many questions unanswered and for me it was the end. Done, finito. Happy for you who liked this book but that is not me and I don’t have anything more to say!

 

Contemporary · Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance

The read notebook – Antoine Laurain

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23129712| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Heroic bookseller Laurent Letellier comes across an abandoned handbag on a Parisian street. There’s nothing in the bag to indicate who it belongs to, although there’s all sorts of other things in it. Laurent feels a strong impulse to find the owner and tries to puzzle together who she might be from the contents of the bag. Especially a red notebook with her jottings, which really makes him want to meet her. Without even a name to go on, and only a few of her possessions to help him, how is he to find one woman in a city of millions?

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My thoughts: Such a charming and sweet little story. It surprised me how much I loved this book. It is short, sweet and taking place in Paris, France. What can be more romantic than that? It is a easy and funny modern romantic love story and it’s perfect for a hangover cure. I listened on the audiobook and the narrator, Alex Wyndham, was a perfect choice for the task. He did a great job with the french accent and the cadency.

It was a fascinating hobby detective story. It made me think how a total stranger would interpret me by just looking in my handbag. Me among other things, also drags around a book to write in. I use Leuchttrumn and not Moleskin but still. You can probably learn a lot about a person by the content in their bags.

Adult fiction/Erotica · Chick Lit · Humor/Funny · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense

Sweet Dreams – Kristen Ashley

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18656253| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: She’s ready for the ride of her life . . . 

Lauren Grahame is looking to reinvent herself. After leaving her cheating husband, Lauren moves to Carnal, Colorado, and gets a job as a waitress in a biker bar called Bubba’s. It’s a nothing job in a nowhere joint . . . until Tatum Jackson walks in. Lauren has never seen a man with such good looks, muscles, and attitude. But when he insults her, Lauren doesn’t want anything to do with him. Too bad for Lauren he’s also the bar’s part owner and bartender.

When the rough-around-the-edges Tate meets the high-class Lauren, he thinks she won’t fit in at Bubba’s. Yet there’s more to Lauren than meets the eye, and Tate soon sets his mind on claiming her as his own. Before long, the desire burning between them is heating up the cold mountain air. But when violence strikes the town, Tate must reveal a dark secret to Lauren-one that may put an end to their sweet dreams.

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My thoughts: Overall I would like to describe the book as deep, complex characters, complicated, thrilling, butterflies in my stomach, knock me on my head, god damn perfect with that satisfying ending, horrible tearful chapters and beautiful closing. I can’t enough English words to try explain what I’m feeling. But for me, this book, was pure perfection and exactly what I needed, wanted and sought.

KA is starting to be an addiction. I literally have to prevent myself from binge reading all her books. That is how good she is. And this is as usual a book who takes hold of you from the first page. It hooked me and never let go. I’m happy I started reading this only a day before the weekend because work at Friday was awful. I could not stop thinking about the book. I dreamed about it in the nights and on the days I only wanted to look myself in my home, abandon society, all my responsibilities, sleep and food. All I wanted was Lauren and Tatum.

It is a sweet story really. I love the characters and how diverse they were. Ashley is such a great author who writes these perfect characters that are deep, complicated and so easy to love or hate. I get invested in all her books and it is like I know them. I connected so hard with this one that when I ended the book, I could not stand starting a new romantic book right now. That is how huge impression this book, these characters and their story made on me. I can only say, read it! Hopefully you will to, love it.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Hush – Karen Robards

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21412207.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: When Riley Cowan finds her estranged husband Jeff dead in his palatial home, she’s sure it’s no coincidence. The police rule it a suicide, but Riley thinks someone’s out for blood—specifically someone Jeff’s father ripped off in one of the biggest financial fraud cases of all time. She suspects that someone is trying to send a message to Jeff’s father: Tell me where the money is, or everyone you care about will die.

Riley’s in-laws might be billionaires, but she’s afraid that not even their dirty money can protect her from an irate investor who will stop at nothing to get his hands on his misappropriated cash. Enter Finn Bradley, Philly-based FBI agent and Riley’s love interest from way back when. Finn agrees to help Riley, and the two reignite sparks they both thought were extinguished long ago. But can they discover the killer’s identity in time, before he resurfaces—and strikes again?

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My thoughts:All sexual tension aside, there is not much left to brag about. Nothing that made a big impression on me. And I’m a little sad about that since I see Robards as one of my favourite mystery, romantic suspense authors. I have “only” read six of her books and they have been a really hit or miss so I suspect she is a volatile author. You hope for the best but apparently you could get the worst.

The story is long winded, slow paced and repetitive. Some chapters had the feeling that they went on and on and on. A never ending story. And when you have read the same thought, the same phrase in 300 pages, you are bound to get bored. Well I did.

My biggest problem with the book is that everything take such time. The two main characters butt heads like two five year old and then suddenly it is all fine and dandy. The ending comes in a rushing pace and after it I was like “what did just happen?”. Well I do not recommend this book. Don’t take my word for it though. The book has a 3.75% in average rating on GoodReads and more often than not that should fit me pretty perfect in this genre. Well not this time. Not for me. But maybe for you? Judged by many of the reviews on GoodReads, there is a lot of happy, satisfied people out there who have read the book and liked it.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Spirits in the trees – Morgan H. MacDonald

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17325157| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: EVIL DOES EXIST

An abandoned house, a serial killer, and a victim reaching out from the grave. A woman races against time to unearth buried secrets before she becomes a ghost herself.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Madeline Anderson goes to Isabelle Island, Washington, to sell a family home abandoned over forty years before. Strange things occur the moment she steps on the property. Inside the dilapidated old house, items move about on their own accord. Noises come from empty rooms. She has a vivid, recurring dream of a woman running for her life. The wind rustling through the trees sounds like urgent, murmuring voices. When the cacophony dies down, one single word emerges: Madeline, Madeline, Madeline.

YOU CAN NOT HIDE

At first, Doug Lindstrom, the hot fireman helping Maddy restore the old home, doesn’t believe anything bizarre is going on. He’s certain Maddy is jumping at shadows because the local kids call the house haunted. That is until he witnesses horrific violence he can’t explain. After Maddy’s life is threatened not once, but twice, Doug vows there will not be a third time.

THEY ARE WATCHING

While searching for answers, Maddy uncovers astonishing secrets about her aunt’s past. Finding more questions then answers, she digs deeper until she stumbles across evidence of a cold case involving a serial killer named The Seaside Strangler. Now Maddy must unmask the killer. The life she saves just might be their own.

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My thoughts: What I wanted and expected was some spine chilling horror/mystery. What I got was a silly love story in a hunted house and some confusion.

How shall I review this book? Well for starter, the writing did not work that well for me. It was somewhat confusing in the way that the author probably forgot to mention some details to make some other details later on make sense. And some stuff was only mention once or twice. This infuriates me. Do not include something huge in the story, and then just ignore it later on. A violation will not that easily be forgotten. And to not mention it again will just make it sham and frivolous.

I did however like the idea of the story. The hunted house, the family mystery’s, the 50 year old crimes, the island, the sickness and all that. Not so much the violations and there really should be a trigger warning on this book. Because there are some graphically described chapters from different point of views and I would have liked to be warned. But on the other hand, if I knew, it could have been a reason for me to not read it at all.

The characters are the usual ones. The great hero and the broken heroine on the way back to life. Somewhat shallow but still readable. I did like it. But if I remember correctly, I had the same writing problem with one of the other books I have read by McDonald. So even though it is a good story, I do see a pattern and maybe this is not an author for me.

Contemporary · Romance

Rock chick revolution – Kristen Ashley

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15752757| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Ally Nightingale has secrets. Secrets she doesn’t even share with the Rock Chicks. But two men know what she’s up to. One has her back. The other has her heart, but he doesn’t know it.

As Ally rewinds the last year of her life, she knows two things. One, she’s never going to get what every Rock Chick should have—her own Hot Bunch guy. And two, she’s a Nightingale through and through. She just isn’t sure what to do about that.

But as her secrets are revealed, the men in her life react. Darius Tucker, a lifelong friend, as usual takes her back. Ren Zano, the man she loves, isn’t quite so sure. The Rock Chicks, Hot Bunch and the entire gang at Fortnum’s weigh in, and a Rock Chick Revolution starts brewing.

It’s up to Ally to control it and prove what she knows down to her bones.

She’s a Rock Chick, she deserves her hot guy and she’s going to keep the one she wants…

Because she’s a Nightingale.

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My thoughts:I have been waiting and looking forward to Allys story through out the whole series. This is the eight book and since she has been a big part of the Rock Chick buildup and that her character have had pretty big parts in the earlier books, I thought I knew her pretty well. I was however pleased to learn that there was more to her than I first thought. She is probably the deepest character in the whole series. You get to know her on a completely other lever since you get to follow her and her action/reaction to the other Rock Chicks Sh*t going down.

The book is build a little different than the others. Here, Ren is already in her life and Ally is not in that kind of trouble as the other Rock Chicks have been in there own books. The plus with this is that the whole relationship buildup and fights, is pretty short, done and over with. Then certainly gets old after seven books so I was pleased. When the story really starts (after highlights of the last 13 months) it is more steady, calm but not in any other way less hot than what you are used to in the other books. The story is also a little more personal than what I would expect and it was nice. Refreshing. But in no other way bad.

The biggest problem I have is that is is a little to slow. There is to many things going on, but no one is really deep or action filled. I missed the suspense. I missed the nail biting, sitting on the edge, shaking my knees feeling that I was expected. I can certainly understand why it took KA 5 years to resume the Rock Chick series, since this was like an ending. It was done and the action is over with. No more hot bunch and no more Denver kickass. Since KA has a lot of other books and the few I have read, I have loved I do not see that as bad thing. But now, after this one I do understand why she never tried to continue it, until earlier this year.

I fair warning, this book did produce a lot of tears from me. Good tears, but still tears and there was a lot of different feelings in a lot of different levels. Just so you know. 😉

Contemporary · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Known – Kendra Elliot

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25596593| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: After a brutal snowstorm in the Cascade Mountains, Chris Jacobs discovers two things he never expected to see: the charred shell of a cabin, and Gianna Trask and her sixteen-year-old daughter huddled in an SUV, having barely escaped from their burning vacation rental.

Still scarred from a childhood ordeal, Chris knows there’s something sinister about the scene—it’s the stench of burned flesh.

Forced to wait out the blizzard in their rescuer’s retreat, medical examiner Gianna Trask wonders if her hidden past has finally caught up with her. When a body is found in the destroyed cabin’s ashes and a forest ranger is brutally murdered, both Gianna and Chris must confront their secrets if they want to escape the violent threat lurking outside.

In the fifth book in the Bone Secrets series, Kendra Elliot leads readers on a dangerous, twisting journey of two lives forever changed by a fiery snowstorm in the mountains.

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My thoughts: Out of the five books in this series, this one is certainly the weakest. Off course I’m happy for Chris, since he is the character who have suffered the most and certainly deserves a HEA. We met Chris for the first time in the third book “Buried” which is also my favorite in the series. Known however, I found predictable, with halfhearted twists and somewhat stupid plot. I like medical thrillers but this is nothing like that. It is more or less some bad stuff happening to good people and together with the police, they are waiting it out until the bad guy does something wrong and messes the whole thing up. Somewhat dull, gray and fleeting. No real depth. A meek try on a heavy, hard to predict, mystery.

There is no real suspense either and it is pretty boring actually. I think it is my connection to Chris that made me actually read the whole thing and in the end find it “okay” but not so much more. And the bad guy in the book was so stupid and embarrassing that I’m surprised Elliot let it go on for as long as she did in the book. There was not ONE smart decision buy either crook or author through out these 348 pages. Just saying.

This was for now the last book in the Bone secrets series and I don’t know if Elliot is going to publish more. If so, I will probably read them to. The series as a whole is really good and I don’t want to let this bad apple destroy a potential fantastic follow up.

Contemporary · Romance

The Gamble – Kristen Ashley

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18246040| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Love is the greatest gamble of all…

Nina Sheridan desperately needs a timeout vacation. With a fiancé who can’t even remember how she takes her coffee, Nina wants some distance to rethink her engagement. Flying halfway around the world from England to a mountain town in Colorado should do the trick. But when she finds a gorgeous man at her rental cabin, Nina’s cold, lonely adventure suddenly heats up.

The owner of the house, Holden “Max” Maxwell is surprised by the beautiful woman who turns up at his door. But when Nina becomes ill, Max spends days nursing her back to health. A private man with a broken heart, Max finds himself drawn to the strong-willed woman. Soon it becomes impossible for Nina and Max to deny their growing attraction to one another. Yet even as these two wounded lovebirds think about taking a chance on a relationship, a dangerous secret from Max’s past emerges-and threatens to end their love for good.

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My thoughts: O my heart, please calm down! This book was all kinds of sweet and adorable. Right into your heart, knock you on the ass, wonderful. What it is with Kristen Ashley and her books that leaves you with this warm, fuzzy feelings when you are done. She is certainly a great storyteller and even though I felt this one was somewhat predictable, I didn’t mind. Because I was lost and cozy deep in the story and loved my journey to the end even though I had pretty much figured it all out.

KA is a fantastic writer with the ability to write great Heroes and Heroines you can not do other than love. Specially the guys. I loved Max. I loved how real he was. With his history, life and courage. I’m not a big fan on the the dead spouse plot, but it did work in this book. It didn’t get a lot of focus which I believe is the reason for that it worked. I really liked Nina too, though she was a little to immature for a grown woman in the middle of her thirties and with the bad history and experience as she had, I feel she should have been able to handle some stuff a lot better than she did. But I could ignore it for the most part and just enjoy her and Max and the story unfolding. There is also some great second characters and side plot unfolding beside the main one. There is also another small love story at the side and it is just wonderful to take part of it.

This is a book that sucks you in. You do not have a choice. And when done, you also want your own A-frame in a Colorado mountain with your own Mountain main. I do not have a A-frame in the Colorado mountain and will probably never have since I then have to move to the other side of the world. Fortunately, I already have my Mountain man so i’m okay with that.

Adult fiction/Erotica · Contemporary · Romance

Badd Motherf*cker – Jasinda Wilder

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32757849| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, right? That’s what they say, at least. I went into that day hoping I’d get the happiest day of my life. What I got? The worst. I mean, you really can’t get any worse of a day without someone actually dying. So…I may have gotten just a little drunk, and maybe just a tad impetuous… And landed myself in a dive bar somewhere in Alaska, alone, still in my wedding dress, half-wasted and heart-broken.

***
Eight brothers, one bar. Sounds like the beginning to a bad joke, yeah? I kinda think so. Wanna hear another joke? A girl walks into a bar, soaking wet and wearing a wedding dress. I knew I shouldn’t have touched her. She was hammered, for one thing, and heartbroken for another. I’ve chased enough tail to know better. That kinda thing only leads to clinginess, and a clingy female is the last thing on this earth I need. I got a bar needs running, and only me to run it—at least until my seven wayward brothers decide to show their asses up… Then this chick walks in, fine as hell, wearing a soaked wedding dress that leaves little enough to the imagination—and I’ve got a hell of an imagination. I knew I shouldn’t have touched her. Not so much as a finger, not even innocently. But I did.

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My thoughts: Reading is subjective and since this one has as high rating as it has, clearly it is a likable book. It just didn’t work for me. I do not see my self as a prude or in any other way abashed when it comes so sex. But when the sex scenes actually bore me out, which is clearly suppose to be the highlight of the book, I just can’t take it.

To be honest, the story around the sex-scenes is just weird. It started of good and I can understand the reaction when you find out that your fiance is sleeping with the bridesmaid on the day of the weeding. But it is the rest that irks me. It is the same thing in another cover. The Hero is an total asshole who suppose to be the most grownup and the oldest of 8 brothers. The heroin is suppose to be this strong, kick ass girl, no one piss on, and she does the complete opposite. It is to cheesy, to blah and to over the top for my taste. It is more like a porn-video, where the story is just to give you some time before the sex starts. But we all know that it is not the story that matters. As same as we know men do not read naked magazines “for the articles”.

Maybe i’m greedy that way, but I do need more in the books I read. I need some real depth, some real character development, some real story and something that is believable if it is in the genre Contemporary Romance Erotic. I’m an emotional person and to find the erotic part of a book interesting or enjoyable, I need a connection to the characters or the story it self. Otherwise I just get bored.

Oh and one last thing. The books is written in a neck breaking speed. Everything that is happening, is happening in just three days. THREE DAYS! It is rushed and there is more introduction to the other 7 brothers, than the main characters actually talk to each other. It is like an introduction book on the next 7 character/books that will be released. And the explanation in the end! WHAT? I do not get it. How can that even be an alternative? It is just weird and wrong and not suitable. If I had any hope for a good ending, that totally trashed it for me.

So, No. Nope. Not happening! This is not a series for me to continue. The whole thing was just a bad experience. And if Wilders books are all like this, she is not an author for me.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Romance

Iron kissed – Patricia Briggs

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1412138| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: I could smell her fear, and it satisfied something deep inside me that had been writhing under her cool, superior gaze. I curled my upper lip so she could get a good look at my sharp teeth. I might only weigh thirty or so pounds in my coyote shape, but I was a predator…

Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape – but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it’s up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.

Mercy’s loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can’t decide between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her…

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My thoughts: This review do not contain spoilers. This will probably be a short review. I do not know how I will be able to write something fair with what happened to me. I was so close to DNF it because of it but those in my Facebook group, I sought advice from, told me to keep going. So I did.

Someone spoiled me immensely on this book. It was totally by accident but that person could have wrote a *SPOILER ALERT* somewhere and I would have been more careful. Long story short, I got to know a huge thing that is happening in this book. The thing is that it also is one of my triggers and I don’t really want to read about it. I would probably have handled it a lot better if I didn’t know, but now, most of the book, I just wanted to get it done with.

So yeah, I did skim read some and I did jump a page or two just over that spoiled part in the book. I have to be honest here. I couldn’t read it word for word. I had been sitting for a day with it back in my head and when it finally where there, I just wanted it over with.

So I do not think I can write a just review. I would probably have enjoyed the book a lot more than I did. I’m happy that I listened on my fellow readers and did continue reading it. I’m sad at how it all went down and my feelings and reactions to it all. I due hope that the next book, isn’t all about this. Because if so, there is a huge change for me not continue the series. And that would be sad to. I like Mercy, Adam, Samuel and now even Ben. I like Briggs way of writing and her story’s. I do not want to end it. But at the same time, I do want to enjoy what i’m reading. And due to that spoiler, I did not enjoy this book.