After Dark Review of East of Ecstasy by Laura Kaye

I have added After Dark Reviews to my blog as a way of notifying you of a review of a book with Adult themes and scenes. From now on I will keep my reviews of all books I read that have explicit scenes in them for late night posts for those of you who prefer to avoid them or easy to find for those of you who seek them out ;)

 

 

Read for: Mount TBR & Series Challenge

 

 

Synopsis: "Annalise Fallston made peace with postponing her big-city dreams to care for her ill father, but lately she’s been filled with a restlessness not even her beloved painting dispels. Worse, the colors don’t speak to her as they always have, and all her efforts produce dark, foreboding images of a dangerous man and a terrifying future.

Devlin Eston, black-souled son of the evil Anemoi Eurus, is the only one who can thwart his father’s plan to overthrow the Supreme God of Wind and Storms. But first, Dev must master the unstable powers he’s been given. Distrusted and shunned by his own divine family, he never expected to find kindness and passion in the arms of a mortal.

But Devlin’s love puts Annalise in the path of a catastrophic storm, and in the final Armageddon showdown between the Anemoi and Eurus, sacrifices will be made, hearts broken, and lives changed forever…or lost."

My Review: I was really looking forward to this book after the rush of excitement and tragedy at the end of the last book. Unfortunately it wasn't quite up to the same standard. We had to get to know a whole new character, and while he was introduced in previous books we didn't get to know him. So it took a lot of momentum out of the storyline. It did get moving again but it just didn't get up the steam as before. I did enjoy the characters though once getting to know both Devlin and Anna. Some of the little twists that were thrown in were interesting as well. There was an opening to continue the series but I think this was a great conclusion.  

 

My Rating: I don't understand why the momentum got so lost in the beginning of this one. It eventually did get picked back up but by that point the book and series were nearly over.  I give it a rating of Three Paws.

Bedtime Story: Curious George in the Snow by Margret & HA Rey

 

Synopsis: "George and the man with the yellow hat enjoy watching the winter sports competition. When they stop to warm up with some cocoa, George's curiosity about the racing equipment leads to some wild rides up and down the slopes. He creates quite a stir at the resort, and may even create a new sport!"

My Review: I don't know what the difference is with this book and the other curious George books we have read but it didn't have the same feel and it didn't capture Munchkin's interest the way they normally do. It is still a fun book with some great winter activities. I guess this book just wasn't in our interest zone right now.

 

My Rating: Munchkin is a huge Curious George fan but even he wasn't really into the book. We give it a rating of Two Paws.

 

 

Good Night! Sweet Dreams!

After Dark Review of South of Surrender by Laura Kaye

I have added After Dark Reviews to my blog as a way of notifying you of a review of a book with Adult themes and scenes. From now on I will keep my reviews of all books I read that have explicit scenes in them for late night posts for those of you who prefer to avoid them or easy to find for those of you who seek them out ;)

 

 

Read For: Series Challenge & Mount TBR

 

 

Synopsis: "She’s the only one who can see through his golden boy façade to the broken god within…

Chrysander Notos, Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer, is on a mission: save Eurus from his death sentence and prove his troubled brother can be redeemed. But Eurus fights back, triggering vicious summer storms that threaten the mortal realm, dangerously drain Chrys, and earn the ire of the Olympic gods who ordered Eurus dead.

Laney Summerlyn refuses to give up her grandfather’s horse farm, despite her deteriorating vision. More than ever, she needs the organized routine of her life at Summerlyn Stables, until a ferocious storm brings an impossible—and beautiful—creature crashing down from the heavens.

Injured while fighting Eurus, Chrys finds himself at the mercy of a mortal woman whose compassion and acceptance he can’t resist. As they surrender to the passion flaring between them, immortal enemies close in, forcing Chrys to choose between his brother and the only woman who’s ever loved the real him."

My Review: So I know I said the series got better with the last book but it just got even better! I wasn't a huge fan of Chrys previously, he seemed too laid back and surfer dude for my taste but my opinion has drastically changed. I could not stop reading this book, I loved so many elements of it, especially the bringing in of Hephaestus! He is a greek god that I have always enjoyed and found interesting and the addition to him to the storyline just bumped things up a notch for me. Not to mention the added action and battles to the story, that definitely cranks up the heart rate and keeps the pages turning. Yes it was another late night of reading all the way to the end.  

 

My Rating: Oh buddy! This book totally drew me in and kicked the whole series up a notch.  I have to take a break so I can get some sleep at night! It gets a rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

Review of Paint by Jennifer Dance

Read for: Requested Review/NetGalley

 

Synopsis: "It's the late 1800s. A Lakota boy finds an orphaned mustang foal and brings her back to his family's camp. Naming her Paint for her black-and-white markings, boy and horse soon become inseparable. Together they learn to hunt buffalo, their fear of the massive beasts tempered by a growing trust in each other.

When the U.S. Cavalry attacks the camp, the pair is forced onto separate paths. Paint's fate becomes entwined with that of settlers, who bring irreversible change to the grassland, setting the stage for environmental disaster. Bought and sold several times, Paint finally finds a home with English pioneers on the Canadian Prairie.

With a great dust storm looming on the horizon, man and horse will need to work together if they hope to survive."

My Review:  I found the time period and view point to be very interesting. At times I found the book a little odd as it follows Paint the horse but then it will branch off with other characters for a little bit. While it started out being a little distracting, it really added to the story in the long run. I really enjoyed the detail and research that went into this book, it contains a lot of history and when put into a horse's lifetime period compared to a human's you really get an idea of how much everyone (people and animals) went through and struggled with in such a short amount of time. When we return to Noisy Horse at the conclusion, I find myself a little conflicted, while it is accurate I find some of the statements made to be very hateful, but again they are accurate for the time period. In all it was a very well written book and a great way to introduce this history to young readers. The end also included a historical timeline, glossary and several facts that were touched on in the story.

 

My Rating: Of course I am attracted to any book that features horses but this one was particularly intriguing. I haven't read many books that span all of this particular time period or from this view point. I really liked how we got to see things from many different angles. I give it a rating of Four Paws!

 

 

I requested this book for review on NetGalley.

 

You can find out more about Jennifer and her work on her Goodreads Page or Website.

 

You can also obtain your own copy of Paint when it is released on March 3rd this year (next week)!

 

Review of Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris

Read for: Mount TBR & Reading Across the States

 

Synopsis: "One sexy fire captain. One Cajun chef, One combustible kitchen…

When chef Colby Robicheaux returned home to New Orleans to save her family restaurant, the last person she expected to reconnect with was her brother’s best friend and her childhood crush. As tempting as a sugar-coated beignet, Jason is one dish she doesn’t want to taste. Colby is counting down the days till she can leave the place where her distrust of love and commitment originated and go back to Vegas.

Fire captain Jason Landry isn’t looking for love, either. He knows he should focus on finding the perfect mother for his daughter, but when he first sees Colby, all grown up and gorgeous, he can’t help but be drawn to her. And when she suggests a no-strings-attached fling, Jason doesn’t want to say no.

As their relationship grows more intense, Colby finds that Jason isn’t as easy to leave behind as she thought. Could turning up the heat on something real be worth the possibility of getting burned?"

My Review: I wasn't sure how this one would go for me, at first I really didn't like Colby. Thankfully that all changed. I fell in love with this story and the characters, especially Jason and Emma oh and don't forget Cane! The story was both emotional, funny at times, sweet, steamy, everything you could want in a romance really. I thoroughly enjoyed the story though some of it was predictable and expected it was still a fun read that I wanted to continue reading until the end.

 

My Rating: This turned out to be a surprisingly good read and it was a completely clean romance, you don't even miss the explicit scenes there is so much tension. I give it a rating of Four Paws.

Monday Reading List

Its Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Shelia at Book Journey. Share what books you have finished in the last week, are currently reading and what might be coming up next!

Reviews Posted Last Week:

Links will take you to my review

 

 Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews (Audio)
Don't Forget Me Bro by John Michael Cummings
West of Want by Laura Kaye (After Dark)
Brave Dragon by William Scollon (Beginning Readers)
Five Little Penguins Slipping on Ice by Steve Metzger (Bedtime Story)
The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman (Graphic Novel)
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff (Mini Review)
The Dragon in the Sock Drawer by Kate Klimo (Mini Review)
Reading Between the Lines by Katrina Abbott (Mini Review)
I'll Never Forget by Katrina Abbott (Mini Review)
This Point Forward by Katrina Abbott (Mini Review)
Risking it All by Katrina Abbott (Mini Review)
Making Ripples by Katrina Abbott (Mini Review)

 

Books Finished Last Week:
Reviews will be posted at a later date

Sand Dollar = 5 pts
Making Ripples = 3pts
Paint = 3 pts
Glassblower's Apprentice = 5pts
Trucks Whizz Zoom & Rumble = 1pt
Whole Latte of Life = 3 pts

 

Currently Reading:

Little Heathens by Mildred Anderson Kalish - Audio - 36%


 Books to be Read Soon:

Toe to Toe by Sammie Grace (Mount TBR/Rhode Island Authors)
Every Sunday by Peter Pezzilli (Mount TBR/ Rhode Island Authors)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling (Mount TBR)
The Queen's Dagger by Merilee Andelin Saunders (Requested Review)

 

Total Points Earned
 -2 (20 points earned this week)

Pages Read/ Time Listened
11,448 pages read (1,312 this week)
16:17 listening time


Books Added to Shelves




Interesting Tidbits on the Web:



 



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got a little more reading done this last week, though not as much as I would have liked but oh well. The house got clean, the office work is caught up and Munchkin is happy. I have been working very hard on the events for next month, I have a couple more interviews to complete and a few more books to read and review but all is coming together for a month of Rhode Island authors! I hope you will all have time to stop in and support my local authors and enter a couple of giveaways and maybe add a few more books to your TBR lists!

Mini Reviews: Tao of Pooh, Dragon in the Sock Drawer, Rosewood Series

So with reading and reviewing so many books, I am running out of days in which to share them with you.  I am going to start posting Mini Reviews of books that I read through out the month but couldn't find the time to post on the last Sunday of each month.

 

 

 

I was so unimpressed with this one, I listened to the audio and it was annoyingly random with lectures. One Paw.

Full Review

 

 

 

A cute, fun fantasy adventure for boy and girl middle grade readers. I might just have to get the rest of the series. Four Paws.

Full Review

 

 

This is the fourth book in the series, and we are back to Brooklyn which is so exciting.  Some new elements really kicked this series up a notch. Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

Full Review

 

 

It was nice to get a little Emmie a bit but after the thrilling end to the previous book I want to continue Brooklyn's story. Three Paws

Full Review

 

 

 

I was disappointed this didn't continue Brooklyn's exciting storyline but it was quite the emotional journey. Three Paws and a Stump Wag.

Full Review 

 

 

I have adored Brady since the first book but I felt like his personality didn't quite match in this book, but at least it seems to be leading us back to Brooklyn. Three Paws.

Full Review

 

 

I was a little disappointed with this one, Brooklyn's story was so fun and exciting and it seemed to have hit a wall in this book. Hopefully it will pick up again soon. Two Paws and a Stump Wag.

Full Review