Author Archives: karenjvjohnson

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Romancing Rosalie

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Romancing Rosalie: A Cascade Creek Christmas
(The Ladies of Cascade Creek #1.5)
by Ann Marie Oakes

This is a new to me author who has drawn me in and made me want to read more from them. Historical pieces and especially a western is usually a hard sell for me, but this was not. I immediately liked the character of Rosalie even if she was a bit timid to start out, she got over it quick. The story moved along very quickly and got you from beginning to end before I was ready for it to end. I was pulled in from page one and found myself transported, though only a short time, to another time and place.

Rosalie Weld has a fiancé who she finds out has been keeping a secret from her that seems to be known by everyone else around her. When she confronts him and he refuses to make changes for her she decides that she cannot stay and marry a man who does not seem to love her. Her parents seem to think what he is doing is fine and that she should just give in.

Rosalie goes to her cousin Audra’s homestead on the frontier and learns a lot about herself and what she is capable of doing. She also meets Garrett Ballinger who shows her that first impressions are not always what they seem to be.

I expected this to be tame but it had some spice that gave it another dimension. Recommend to all!

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“I am very fond of you. Surely, you know that. Our match is a good one. We will have a good marriage.” “Winslow, that is not what I asked you.” Rosalie searched her mind for a way to make Winslow understand her feelings. It wasn’t the humiliation, though that was acute. It was the deception—and his plan to continue it. “Don’t be a goose. Marriages are about financial considerations and social position. That is the way of things.”

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The Vampire Huntress Legends

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he Vampire Huntress Legends: Dawn and Darkness
(Vampire Huntress)
by L.A. Banks

Not perfect ending

The conclusion was a little less than satisfying and seemed really rushed. The battle was like 4 panels and done. I wanted something a bit more dramatic since they were facing off against a creature that held so much of the darkness. But it does give a mini finality to all the team has gone through. Still worth it for a true fan.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
L.A. Banks’ Vampire Huntress #2: The Hidden Darkness (L.A. Banks’ Vampire Huntress Vol. 1)

by L.A. Banks,
Jess Ruffner-Booth
, Gregory Titus (Illustrator)
, Brett Booth (Illustrator)
Perfect action

These are the characters I met in the novels. The mission continues as it has always been, destroy the evil in the world. I love having this extra time with all of them. Perfect for fans.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
L.A. Banks’ Vampire Huntress #3: The Hidden Darkness (L.A. Banks’ Vampire Huntress Vol. 1)

by L.A. Banks,
Gregory Titus (Illustrator)
, Brett Booth (Illustrator)
Deeper and Deeper

The story continues to evolve and with only one more entry I cannot see where it is headed. Damali is being reckless, Carlos is being overprotective, and Marleen is not stopping either of them. The conclusion is going to be explosive. Enjoy!

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
L.A. Banks’ Vampire Huntress #4: The Hidden Darkness
(Vampire Huntress)
by L.A. Banks,
N. Steven Harris (Illustrator)
, Brett Booth (Illustrator)

Not perfect ending

The conclusion was a little less than satisfying and seemed really rushed. The battle was like 4 panels and done. I wanted something a bit more dramatic since they were facing off against a creature that held so much of the darkness. But it does give a mini finality to all the team has gone through. Still worth it for a true fan.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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The Christmas Kitten

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The Christmas Kitten
(Polly Parrett Pet-Sitter #2)
by Liz Dodwell

I like these stories because they are always sweet and have a nice mystery at the center. The main characters are all well defined while those introduced are still shadowy since they have no real back story. The language is always perfect and a part of the people who use it. I gave this a low star rating because it stated a side story but did not really deliver on it as I had expected. The story itself was actually kind of thin and even though who the perpetrator was came as a surprise, it was mostly because you had no major interactions with the character.

Polly arrives home to find a box on her porch when she was not expecting any deliveries. When she opens it and finds a kitten in pee soaked tissues on a freezing day. After checking with her boyfriend on whether he dropped it off she goes to the Sheriff to give him the diamond bracelet she found around the kittens neck.

Nicole Whittier, a new resident in town , has been murdered and her two step-daughters are missing from the scene. Who could have killed her and why are the girls missing, where is their father, and what does the kitten have to do with it? All really good questions, with some interesting answers.

I think even though there are some flaws with this it is still a good clean mystery story. Good for anyone who likes a mystery without a lot of blood.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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Christmas Alpha

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Christmas Alpha
(Alpha #1)
by Carole Mortimer

This is a new to me author who I would like to read more of in the future. This is a book with Christmas in the title that has little to nothing to do with the holiday. The story and dialogue go back and forth between the main characters giving you a look at both. The characters are a little vague none the less because there is no real development to start with. I was lost for the first half of things but knew it would be something simple and a bit mundane because that is how it was set up, not that it was a bad thing.

Things start out pretty strange with Finn Devlin telling the girl who comes to his door to get undressed and on the bed. Eva Shaw has come to the house to deliver a package and finds herself being told to get naked before the door is open good, not your typical request. But with a major storm brewing and no way to leave, she may have to deal with the situation the best way she can.

I ended up liking this and the characters even if they fell in love a bit fast for my taste. There were some hot moments and some emotional moments. Even if its not a real Christmas story it kind of fits the season.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Bah, Humbug!

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Bah, Humbug!
(Christmas Street #1)
by Heather Horrocks

This is an author I have never read before but I really enjoyed this and plan on reading more of these stories in the future. The characters were all likeable and easy to relate to. There was a lightness and sweetness to the story that made it feel like the holiday and not just a title.

Lexi Anderson and her children move onto Christmas Street and they fit right in. Lexi has been touted as the next Martha Stewart and has the television show to prove it. Kyle Miller is an author of a successful series of books who unfortunately finds himself with writers block. When he destroys the snowman of the people next door, thinking it is for him, he finds himself getting in deeper than e expected with his new neighbors.

I just found this to be a quick, fun read that had me from the first page. I could not put it down until I finished!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“The grieving has been going on long enough, Kyle. It’s been twenty-two years. It’s time we get over it. Alyssa would like this to be a healing Christmas for our family. Mama would want it.” If there was anything Kyle didn’t want to do this year, it was deal with that particular hurt. “I’m going to hang up now.” “Okay. Hey, I’ll see you next spring at one of your book signings. It might come as a surprise to you to know that some people don’t care about books, and not everybody in the world cares that you’re a bestselling author. And maybe one day you’ll learn that there’s more to life than deadlines. Like family.” Kyle fought back his irritation. “I bet the next person I speak to knows my name.” “That’s really nice. Too bad so few of your family can remember it.” A click told Kyle that Keefe had gotten the last word in their conversation.

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Vampire for Christmas

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Vampire for Christmas

by Felicity Heaton

I liked this book a lot more by the end of it because it did not really start off very strongly. The characters started off doing a lot of internal monologues even though they were together and you really did not get a sense of who they were. The story moves fairly well though there is not a lot of action involved. I was really happy with the fact that Christmas was a fairly important part of the story and not just in the title.

Shannon is a demon hunter who wants to be transferred away from her current partner, who happens to be a vampire. Rafe is a vampire doing time with the agency for misdeeds in his past. He and Shannon have been partnered for two years and are going on their last mission before they are to be split up. Rafe wants to convince her that they should stay together.

When a demon threatens Christmas, the season of peace and goodwill, its the chance Rafe needs to show Shannon what is real.

Rafe is a little bit of a stalker, Shannon is a bit of a bi**h a good deal of the time, but they have a serious chemistry. This is a nice read for the holiday.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“The demon began to bubble and melt into a big pile of ooze. Rafe looked confused, but he was staring at her, not the demon. “I saw you stick your fingers in its eye,” she said and ran her hands down her chest and legs, squeezing some of the slime out of her clothes. “That was disgusting.” He smiled and shrugged. “It was the only weapon at my disposal, and it weakened it enough for you to kill it.” Shannon frowned. “What do you mean by that? That I couldn’t kill it without your help?” He shrugged easily again. “I could have killed it… although, your distracting it by letting it play with you like a ragdoll was appreciated.” She smiled and then it fell away when she caught a flashback of how violently the demon had tossed Rafe around. “You okay?” He”

― Felicity Heaton, Vampire for Christmas

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Eve’s Gift

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Eve’s Gift
(A Christmas Tale #2)
by Nicole Garcia

This second book in what I believe will be a trilogy was a little predictable but no less entertaining than the first book. I like that the female characters are not completely about having a man but only want a partner. The characters are interesting and intelligent which makes them easy to relate to. Once again there is an issue with misused words, grammar, and punctuation which can be somewhat distracting as you read.

Eve McIntyre is happy that her best friend Noelle has found her happily ever after, even if she does not really believe in it. She wishes she could find that type of love but feels that it will not happen. So she just continues to work and go about her life not expecting to ever find what her friend has.

Adam Winter is a rich, powerful, sexy man who comes with a bit of baggage. He does not start out looking for love but sometimes things just happen. He is partnering with Parker Industries for a charity event which will be good for his company as well as the charity Parker has set up. But can he get through Eve’s barriers to find a little happiness.

This was another sweet story with a little edge to it. The sex scene was pretty hot, though the one in the first book was luke warm. The Christmas spirit is on display here as well.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Great. Just fucktabulous. Look at all this! It’s going to take me hours to get it all organized again.” Well, I guess I better get started. Mr. Winters will be here in two hours and I don’t have any time to waste.

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A Christmas Cackle

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A Christmas Cackle: F*cked-Up Festive Shorts

by Matt Shaw

This book has a parental advisory on the cover because of language but it is fairly mild in actuality. The stories themselves though could be a bit offensive to some people. There is no character development just descriptions of who the people are and what they are like. The language is rough but not totally crude like I expected it to be. These were not even shorts, more like micro stories. It was not scary or edgy or really even that interesting to me. It was however very much about the holiday and what it has become.

Our narrator is on the first floor of a families home as they sleep upstairs on Christmas Eve. He wants to be present for the arrival of Father Christmas, who he wants to see taken out for making Christmas about gifts. He wants it to go back to being about the religious day it had been before his advent.

It was a quick read.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My name is Jesus and I hate Christmas. I used to love it when it was all about me. It was, after all, my birthday, but then this big, fat cunt came along and stole the limelight from me by giving everyone else presents.

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Noelle’s Wish

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Noelle’s Wish
(A Christmas Tale #1)
by Nicole Garcia

This started a little slow but picked up pretty quickly and pulled me right along with it. The characters are interesting and well crafted enough that you cannot help but like them. I was even happier that it actually had a lot to do with the season itself and not just a title. There are some issues with grammar, word misuse, and missing words which kind of make you stumble as you are reading.

Noelle Andrews attends the Christmas party given by her employer with her best friend Eve but is not particularly happy about it. Noelle’s mother died during childbirth on Christmas day but had already named her baby and loved her. Noelle’s life after that was less than pleasant until she met Eve and her family who have made her a part of their lives. She wishes for the fairy tale but does not expect to get it.

This is a sweet story about a girl who had nothing and wanted only what she felt she was worth. Sometimes the fairy tale does come true.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I turned to walk out of the room, but he grabbed my arm preventing me from leaving. “There’s no need for you to leave. I enjoyed watching your eyes widen and the expressions you made when you saw all the books. I think you’re beautiful,” he said in a raspy voice.

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Ghost Story

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Ghost Story
(The Dresden Files #13)
by Jim Butcher,
James Marsters (Narrator)

I have been reading the Dresden files for years and still cannot get enough. This is my second time around with this particular title having read it for the first time in 2012. I even watched the short lived television series, which may not have been perfect but was nice for those who wanted to see Harry brought to life. He truly lives in these books however with James Marsters as his voice.

While this may not be the best of the series it still gives us the true feeling of who Harry and his friends are. We have a lot of growth from characters that we have seen in the past for a short time. A lot of the usual characters are only seen sporadically in a limited capacity. I would have liked to get more from Murphy and the Alphas as well as Thomas, though it was nice to have Butters in a more active role. This picks up from the end of book 12 with Harry realizing what has happened.

Harry Dresden once a Warden of the White Council and the only practicing wizard in Chicago finds himself on the other side of the veil. There he is met by several people who he knew in life who inform him that he has to go back and identify his killer or some of his friends will die. In order to communicate he has to go find Mortimer Lindquist who is an ectomancer (?), he can see and speak to ghosts. What Harry does not know is that with his death all the power hungry supernaturals have converged on Chicago and his friends are the only thing standing between them and a nightmare.

Yeah, like I said it may not be the best but a true Harry Dresden fan will still have to read/listen to it. If you have not tried the audible book version I would suggest you do just that, the narration is well worth doing this again.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars