Monday 31 October 2011

In My Mailbox (#2)

It's Monday, which, means it’s time for “In My Mailbox"! This meme is brought to you by The Story Siren and the idea is to post about books you've bought, gotten from the library, received for review... books don't have to arrive via your mailbox.

What I got this week…

image Harsh Pink by Melody Carlson, currently free for Kindle
image Wild & Steamy, with stories by Meljean Brook, Jill Myles and Carolyn Crane; currently free for Kindle
image A dark kiss of rapture by Sylvia Day, currently free for Kindle
image A demon's desire by Lizzy Ford, free via Smashwords

Sunday 30 October 2011

BOOK REVIEW: Donna Alward – Sold to the highest bidder

Summary: For Ella, marrying Devin had seemed like a good idea at the time. Friends since childhood and in love with him for as long as she could remember, marriage had been the next logical step. Then the real world called, and Ella’s feet had itched to get out of Backwards Gulch, Colorado.   Now, with a new opportunity on the East Coast beckoning, it’s time to put her past behind her once and for all. When she sees Devin standing on a charity auction block, she decides it’s the perfect opportunity to finally get his signature on the divorce papers he never signed.   Devin’s certain about one thing when he sees Ella for the first time in twelve years—she’s not the girl he married. The way she left him still stings, and if she wants him to sign on the dotted line he’s going to make her work for it…for the full forty-eight hours she paid for.   When the old attraction flares between them, the years apart disappear and resolve melts faster than high-country snow in summer. But when Ella awakens with the same determination to get back to Denver, divorce papers in hand, she has a problem...   Devin still hasn’t signed them. (from Goodreads)

Cover:

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Genre: Contemporary romance, masquerading as western romance

How did I get it: I got it free for the Kindle

My thoughts on the cover: See setting.

Title: The title does a great job of setting the scene; after all, it’s the bachelor auction that sets the entire story in motion.

Characters: I cannot STAND Ella. She seriously annoys the hell out of me; I can’t believe she run away from Devin because he wasn’t willing to change for her, while she sure as hell wasn’t willing to take any step into his direction either. How can someone who is so unwilling to change anything about her be so determined to change everyone else? This really ruined the book for me, because I did like Devin and I thought he deserved so much better. Devin seems to be a good guy, a great guy, actually. He’s a giving, caring person.

Setting: It’s set in and around Durango, Colorado. This tidbit of information is seriously the only western thing about the story; I can’t figure out how this could call itself a western romance, let alone why they would’ve picked this over for the story.

General story: It annoyed the hell out of me that Ella’s pregnancy suddenly changed everything. Suddenly she was willing to give up her job, suddenly he was willing to compromise, suddenly they decided to try that marriage thing again. And all the while Ella keeps stating that she can’t put the success or failure of their marriage on the shoulders of their little baby. It just didn’t make any sense.

What also bugged me, is that we don’t get to see why they would be so perfect for each other. The entire book is devoted to showing us how they argue when they’re together, except when they’re having sex. At one point Devin literally says: “I can’t seem to stay away from you, Ell. I’m with you and I want to touch you. I’d rather argue with you than not talk at all. And I’d rather make love than argue.” And the story just doesn’t seem to stray from this astute summary of their relationship. It doesn’t seem to make any sense for these two to be together.

Will I read other books from this author? Probably not.

Hotness: 3/5

Overall rating: 2 stars

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Teaser Tuesday (#1)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

MY TEASER:


I woke up at dawn in a dog-pile with half a dozen of the others. This usually happened. - p. 64

Monday 24 October 2011

In My Mailbox (#1)

It's Monday, which, as of today, will be my "In My Mailbox"-week! This meme is brought to you by The Story Siren and the idea is to post about books you've bought, gotten from the library, received for review... books don't have to arrive via your mailbox.

What I got this week... (that free Kindle store will be the death of me one day!)

The Gossip Ghouls: Zombies and Lipstick by Z, currently free for the Kindle
A touch of Greek by Tina Folsom, currently free for the Kindle
Wild justice by Liz Fielding, currently free for the Kindle

Thursday 20 October 2011

BOOK REVIEW: Jill Myles - Wicked games

Summary: Abby Lewis never pictured herself on the survival game show, Endurance Island. She’s just not the ‘survival’ type. But when her boss offers her a spot on the show and the opportunity of a lifetime, she packs her bags and heads to the tropics to be a contestant.

Once in the game, it’s clear that Abby’s in over her head. The game itself is full of competitive, aggressive people, and no one’s more aggressive than sexy, delicious – and arrogant – Dean Woodall. Sure he’s clever, strong, good at challenges, and has a body that makes her mouth water. He also hates Abby just as much as she hates him. That’s fine with Abby; she’ll just ignore the jerk.

But the rules of Endurance Island are working against them. Abby and Dean are teamed up – alone – on the beach. It’s either work together, or go home. Stuck with no one else’s company but their own, they learn they do make a good team after all.
And that with just a little bit of kindling, the flames of hate can quickly turn to flames of passion… (from Goodreads)
 
Couple of covers:

 
Genre: Contemporary romance
 
How did I get it: I got it free for the Kindle
 
Favourite cover: The third one, definitely, though I couldn’t quite figure out where this cover was used. Myles shows it on her webpage. The first two covers are really generic; much too generic for my taste. The third one really does something with the story, it shows the survival theme and it seems a bit more playful.
 
Title: The title, however, does a pretty good job of summarizing the story. It doesn’t only hold the game aspect of the reality show, but also how tough the games that people play with each other can be.
 
Characters: I liked Abby as the not-exactly-athletic outsider on the islands. She’s not afraid to be who she is and she’s quite feisty. Dean, the athletic, arrogant guy, got a great deal more of soul because each chapter begins with quoting something he said in the ‘confessions’ of the game show. I liked these flashes of him; it made him more real and the story more entertaining.
 
Setting: The strange thing is, I hate reality shows, but I love it when books are based on the premise of someone entering one of those shows. I really liked it; it was easy to picture the island because of the way Myles described everything.
 
General story: The story was good, if a tad predictable. I actually couldn't stop reading the last couple of chapters, because I was curious to see how Myles would solve the problems she had thrown up around Abby and Dean. I would have liked a more elaborate ending, though; it was a bit rushed.
 
Will I read other books from this author? Yes.
 
Hotness: 4/5
 
Overall rating: 4 stars