Tag Archives: romance

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To Have and To Code

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20557756

To Have and To Code (A Modern Witch 0.5)

by Debora Geary (Goodreads Author), Martha Harmon Pardee (Narrator)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was the second book in this series that I read. After reading the first it was kind of hard not to want to go on with series. I love the characters, who make me feel like I am a part of their life from the moment we meet. The world they live in is not perfect but has enough reality added that you feel like you know it or have at least been there before.

The Sullivan’s are a big and boisterous family who just happen to be witches. But even more than that they are a family of coders and mathematical whizzes who have been running games over the net for years. Enchanters Realm is a popular game among humans and witches, but has a special level that only witches are usually able to reach because it requires the use of magic. Enter the Hacker, a guy who codes better than a lot of people, including some of those Sullivan’s. Nell and Jaime are not happy when they realize that they have been hacked but figure that they person is a witch that they simply have not met.

Daniel is a first class coder and does it for a living most of the time. He does like to peek in the backdoor of games once in a while but nothing that would be considered cheating. He finds himself plying against the wizard, but notices that some of the code seems redundant or useless, not understanding that it is magic. He manages to hold off an attack of real magic with nothing but his code, pretty good. Then he decides he wants to work for them, that could be the craziest idea he ever had.

The writing and the story are light, fun, with a sense of romance. Anyone would enjoy this story and series.

 

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A Touch of Midnight

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18220753

A Touch of Midnight (Midnight Breed 0.5)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the first book I have read in the Midnight Breed series and I am glad this was my introduction. The characters are very well-defined and make you want to know more about them. While I was not pulled into the story from the first moment it did not take long for me to get really involved in the story. The story flowed so well that it was easy to determine what was happening and why things were happening the way they were.

Savannah Dupree is a student at Boston University in 1974 on a full scholarship. She is originally from Louisiana and is a very intelligent girl but has an ability which has always made her feel different from those around her, since nobody knows her here she feels more a part of things. Savannah has the ability to see the history of any object she touches. Gideon is one of the Breed, an elite vampire order which keeps the law by taking out rogue vampires. He has been a warrior for 300 years and in that time has never considered taking a mate.

Savannah is working on a special project in her art history class, helping to identify and catalog items in a collection the school has recently obtained. She finds a sword and after touching it she sees twin boys slaughtered by men who seem wrong in some way. Not long after she finds the sword it is stolen and her friend is killed in a brutal manner by a man who seems to have a lot in common with those she saw kill the twins. While giving an interview on television she is seen by Gideon who seems to know the sword she is talking about and wants to find and question her about it. But when he meets her he finds that the sword may be the least of worries.

There are the usual difficulties for the couple to go through such as misunderstandings about who knew what when and so on. But the story is kind of sweet, in a dark way. I wanted it to go on just a bit longer so I could find out just one more thing about them. I look forward to seeing them again in other novels though. I would say everyone should give it a chance.

“All it took was a chance meeting with a stranger, some unexpected conversation. A few moments of kindness from someone who had no inkling of what she’d been through. Someone who wandered into her workplace on a whim and ended up making the worst day of her life seem less awful simply by being in it. “Nice to meet you, Gideon.” “Likewise, Savannah.”
― Lara Adrian, A Touch of Midnight Lara Adrian
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Away From Him

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22601228

Away From Him

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was immediately drawn into this story, though it was partly because I took an instant dislike to the heroine because she seemed like such a wuss. The story is really nice and moves along a quick pace that has you anxious to see where things are going. The characters are well written and give you the sense that they are people who you might actually know in your life.

Melanie wants nothing more than to live a peaceful existence where she can teach her yoga classes and avoid conflict. It would have been much easier to do if she had not signed up to help people with anger management issues.

Billy Styles is a very successful criminal attorney who has anger management issues. He knows he has them and does not feel that there is anything that can help him. He seems to be right since Melanie is not the first person they have sent him to for help.

When Billy and Melanie meet things will never be the same for either of them. Melanie’s perfect world is thrown off course because she wants to help him but her over optimistic view of life makes him cringe. Melanie does not like messy and Billy is as messy as it gets because he is good at his job, which means he sometimes gets criminals off. They will have to find a way to bridge their differences before they can move forward.

The story made me feel good even if I did not like Melanie at first. She seemed to be a bit of a phony at first, then I just thought she was mentally unbalanced, but she turned out to be just misguided. Billy had a hard life which had shaped him into the angry man he would become and that he would have to temper in order to find the love he always wanted. Definitely worth a read!

“Really? Only one class and you’re ready to kick him out?” the woman on the other end of the line inquired. “I’m sorry, that’s not why I was calling,” Melanie said swiftly. “I’m calling because I wanted to know a little bit more about Mr. Styles, to see if there is a more efficient way that I can help him.” “Mr. Styles has been through three anger management courses and one Hugs for Healing program in the past two weeks. His attempts at fulfilling the court order with these classes have resulted in two counselors quitting, and several restraining orders.”
― Kaelyn Swan, Away From Him
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Dust to Dust

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17608220

Dust to Dust (Experiment in Terror #9)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
 Here we are at the end of a great series that brought a lot of smiles, tears, laughter, dread, and sometimes major scares. This was the kind of send off you would expect from characters who have been involved in the business of ghost busting/investigating who had not a clue as to what they had been doing. This story was closer to home and gave a better look into the life that Dex had led as a child and points out even more why he turned out like he did. This is a walk down memory lane where we get to see where they were and hopefully where they are going in the future. The story is solid, just like every story that has come before it.

Perry and Dex are staying with her parents while Perry tries an experiment on her mother that she last did to test Dex. While they have been working hard on the footage they shot at the school Perry has gone out for some fresh air and left Dex at home with Ada since her parents are also out of the house. When she returns after an encounter that left her disoriented and a little lost she finds that Dex has spirited away and Ada has been knocked out.

Perry and Ada take off to find Dex before anything can bad can happen to him, or so they hope. They have only one clue which leads them to New York, where Dex was born and lived until he could get away. They do not know it yet but they are being herded to a place that will try to rip the very soul from them and make them the destroyer of worlds.

I have loved Dex from the beginning because he was not this straight, boring guy but a total knob who loved everything so viscerally. Perry took a little longer to grow on me because she had so many hang ups, but most of them were due to her parents, but she finally had started to see how amazing she was. Together these two were a power couple os another kind and I am going to miss them. I can hope that they will make an appearance when someone else has a story told or maybe just a short to catch us up on them.

I loved the books for their paranormal elements and the glimpses of a world on the other side that was both good and bad while being neither. There were some serious scares and some minor ones, I got to laugh with them over crazy stuff, and got to cry with them when they hurt each other, and I got to be a part of a love that was hot, sexy, and very real. I would recommend this book and the entire series to anyone who wants a bit of darkness with their love story.

“I love you, beyond death.”
― Karina Halle, Dust to Dust  Karina Halle

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Ashes to Ashes

by

19370020

Ashes to Ashes (Experiment in Terror #8)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reading this book was bittersweet for me because I knew that there was going to be only one more when I finished this one. So I have to say that this one turned out to be one of the most scary adventures that Dex and Perry have been on so far, and as usual their personal life had to make an appearance in the midst of the terror. The characters have continued to grow and change throughout the series, starting as one-dimensional and arriving here as fully formed people who can make you feel their fear, their passion, and anything else which may pass over them. The story is always entertaining because you never really know what might be around that next corner or who might find something behind them unexpectedly.

Dex, Perry, and Rebecca are not going very far from home for their next episode of Experiment in Terror, making a move back to the beginning and the place that they met. There is a school on the Oregon coast that was originally a Sanitarium used for housing TB victims, most of them children. Thousands died within its walls, some of the disease and others with the help of those charged with taking care of them. The building is being haunted and they have been requested by a teacher who has seen and heard things as well as a student who communicates with some of the ghosts.

Perry’s family is still upset over her move to Seattle and into the apartment of Dex, who they hate. They are running a campaign of doubt with Perry, who has a habit of falling for their disinformation. How can she allow them to get into her head and make her doubt her feelings for him or his for her. Dex has shown that she is his world and home, she needs to get with the program.

My only problem is that they seem just as scared now as they did when they first started out. You would think that they would have at least gained a little thicker skin where the ghosts are concerned. This is full of the love they share, the dark and scary place, danger to mind-body and spirit, and the determination they always show in the face of chilling odds. Perry & Dex forever ∞

“When I first met you, I knew, somehow, that you were going to change my life. I just didn’t know in what way. I didn’t know that you’d make me love you. And most importantly, I didn’t know that you’d make me love me. Baby, you make me see the good in myself and the good in everything on this damn earth. You chase my ghosts away, and…” He cleared his throat, and to my surprise, I saw his eyes were watering. Oh fuck. Please don’t cry, Dex, cuz I will fucking lose it. He swallowed hard, blinking tears back. “And you bring me peace. I can’t thank you enough for being in my life. And I want you there for the whole journey. Through everything—the good and the bad, the batshit crazy and the sane, the scary and the sexy. Especially the sexy. Just you and me, baby, until death do us part.” Somehow I found my voice. “Even though we’ve only known each other for eight months?” I asked quietly, afraid of his answer. But he just smiled up at me. “Time has no bearing on the truth. And what we have, that’s true as fucking anything.” He gave my hand a squeeze and reached into his pocket. I sucked in my breath, feeling all my emotions flood me at once, and watched as he took out a beautiful, sparkling ring, and held it poised at my finger. He gazed at me, and it was like I saw every moment we had with each other captured in his eyes. “Perry Palomino, kiddo, baby—will you be my wife?” I didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes!” I blurted out in a sob as the tears started”
― Karina Halle, Ashes to Ashes  Karina Halle

 

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Forever Changed

by

17827517

Forever Changed (Mystic Wolves #4)

 My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have been a fan of this series since stumbling across Mystic Wolves and falling in love with Mason and Darcy. This book picks up the day after their mating ceremony and brings with it not a great start to their lives together but more revelations that could cause them harm. These two never seem to get a break. The writing is fast paced and engrossing bringing out more about all the characters as it moves to a surprising conclusion. The characters are always well fleshed and give you a feeling of being someone you could get to know and like or someone you would avoid at all costs. I love the descriptions of the place they live and can visualize it so easily that it feels like a place I would like to visit and maybe even stay for a while.

After all the trials that they have had to endure Darcy and Mason finally have their mating ceremony and become husband and wife, the Alpha and his mate only to have their happiness come crashing down as more bad news is given to them. A dark evil is coming for Darcy from out of the past and they have to find a way to stop it or her body and soul could be at stake. Devlin, the vampire who has been her best friend since she was a girl drops another bombshell along with this news which causes tension between him and her new mate and friend also. To find the answers they need they leave their home and travel across the country to try to find some type of solution before the evil finds them.

This was a great installment that had me crying for Darcy and all that she had endured. While she did not seem very strong or assertive when we first met her, she has grown into a strong woman who can take care of herself and those she loves when needed. Mason has always been a strong male figure but we get to see that he has a tender side and that his love for her will have him doing whatever it takes to protect his mate and keep him with her forever. Their story touches my heart and I want them to be together and to be happy. Love this and I think anyone would enjoy their story.

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A Stolen Heart

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22758333

A Stolen Heart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received this ARC from the author for an honest review.I was drawn into this story from the very first page because it started with a sequence that went right to the heart of the story. I loved the characters because they seemed so real and a part of their surroundings without fading into them. The dialogue felt modern in tone but still seemed to fit the time and people who were using it. This was just a really great story that held me enthralled and in a world that was part of a time I could only imagine. Each element flowed into the next keeping it moving as you met new characters and found out more information about the inhabitants of the town.Alexandra and her brother Hugh live on a ranch in Kansas, and the year is 1850. They have had many tragedies befall them and others on the surrounding ranches which all lead back to one man who is terrorizing them all in the name of greed and lust. Alex and Hugh have opted to play Robin Hood to thwart their own Sheriff of Nottingham, but he has countered with someone to take them down.

Jarett is a hired man who is to protect a shipment from thieves who have struck several times in the past. The unfortunate thing is that even though other robberies have been free of injuries, this time things become bad for both sides. Jarett wants revenge and stays around to find the person who almost made him sing soprano. Not an easy thing in a town that hates the man he works for.

When Jarett meets Alexandra he starts to lose some of that focus as he finally meets a woman who makes him think about more than just a one night stand. The road to happiness is not easy for either, but getting there is half the battle.

I loved that the point of view seemed to switch between or mains so that you could have a better idea of what they were thinking. This had everything you could want in a story set on the frontier. There are ranchers, horses, cattle rustling, barn burning, fallen women (saloon workers), a corrupt sheriff, a vicious land baron, and some pretty hot sex for the time. Jarett is the kind of man any woman would be glad to have, even an independent one like Alexandra.

If you love stories with cowboys, horses, and holding on to what you worked for, then you will love this. I recommend this highly!

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The Word Exchange

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18666199

The Word Exchange

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book seems to cover a number of genre’s including science fiction, mystery, and romance. The story is basically about the use of language and how it is used and how we would be affected without it. The story starts slowly but builds to a point that you become thoroughly engrossed with what is happening and trying to figure out who and what is behind things. The language is good but sometimes just a little over the head of someone who does not know about library science with references to people who you may have never heard of. I just looked them up to see who they were and learned something in the process. The characters are well written and you can’t help but have an opinion on them because you get a chance to really know those who are central to the plot and get a good look at the others.

Anana and her father Doug work for the Dictionary working on the NADEL (North American Dictionary of the English Language) and are preparing the 3rd edition for print. Doug is totally anti-MEME (a device used for everything from movies to banking) and has caused the deterioration of language because of its invasive nature into the minds of the public. Things seem to be going well though Anana is heartbroken over her breakup with Max, her boyfriend of 4 years and the mastermind behind a game which invites people to make up words, which he sells to Synchronics. This company is trying to corner the market on words and their meanings.

When people start to show signs of aphasia and illness it becomes a race to find out who or what is causing it and to find a cure before the world becomes infected.

This is an entertaining story but it is about more than words, it seems almost to be a cautionary tale about how technology can take away more than we are willing to lose if we are not careful. The romance is very low-key, mostly pining about lost love or not having the guts to say you love someone. The mystery elements are nicely done though you have an idea who is behind it but you need the why. I also have to say that Anana annoyed me a great deal of the time, she seemed to want to get killed to me because she did not really think much for someone who came off as smart and capable, but was acting like a five-year old who just had to be rebellious. Other than her I enjoyed the other characters and the action. This gave me something to think about and I like that.

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Chained

by

19035622

Chained (Brides of the Kindred #9)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well here we are at number nine in the series and things keep getting more interesting with each new bride and each new warrior we meet. Even though I can see a bit of a formula in the construction of the stories but this does not take anything away from the development of the characters or each unique situation these couples find themselves in. The worlds they travel to are always so different and strange but at the same time familiar in some way that makes you feel like you could travel there and fit in. I am drawn in every time and am never disappointed when I start my adventure across the galaxy with my kindred guy.

Korexiroth, known as The Demon on the blood circuit has been bought by Lady Pope’nose as her newest body slave and she plans to break him or have him die, she really does not care which. Maggie Jordon is an earth girl and scientist who has been given permission to go on an expedition to Gaia with a married kindred couple but first they must make a stop on Yonnie Six to make a delivery to Lady Pope’Nose. Maggie is a bit of a klutz and knows it, when she is asked to go down to Yonnie Six anything can happen and none of it all good. Her simple mission to trade a collar for documents belonging to the kindred goes side ways when she decides to free the slave that Pope’nose has paid a great deal for. Kor and Maggie end up traveling a great distance together and apart before they find their way to each other.

There were a few things that bugged me about Maggie like the fact that she kept talking about her fiance who was obviously not a good fit for her, but you would have thought he was the greatest guy around. The more I heard about Donald the more he annoyed me, it also seemed as if someone likes The Big Bang Theory a lot because he reminded me a lot of Sheldon from his aversion to kissing to the way he talks.

These are some of the hottest books with some of the hottest alien men I have read. The love scenes are super hot and always leave me with a smile. I laughed a little, cried a little, and was ready to yell at everyone a lot. My emotions were all over the place and they were not settled even at the end. Enjoy this entry.

“Her hand shook as she raised the loincloth and she gave a little gasp at what she saw beneath. Even only half hard, he was big. Way bigger than anyone else in her limited experience—especially Donald whose equipment reminded her of a shy, skinny worm afraid to come out of its hole.”
― Evangeline Anderson, Chained  Evangeline Anderson
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Sin City

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9753487

Sin City (Hot in the City #2)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a very hot series and gets better every time I read one. I was grabbed right out of the box by the prologue which gave me all the incentive I needed to continue reading. It had one of the hottest phone sex scenes I have ever read and got me interested in both the characters who were involved. The characters were also all written extremely well from the mains to the side ones you get to know something about who they are. The situations depicted were beautifully written and definitely made the temperature rise for me. I loved the setting because I love the place, Las Vegas is my idea of heaven, partly because it was an anything goes place, not so much anymore.

Diana Marsh lives in Baltimore and has a great family, though they tend to be a bit controlling. When her sister in New Orleans breaks ranks and decides to go her own way for love, Diana decides that she must give up her bad girl ways and be the good girl her family wants. That is easier said then done since she has been flirting with a co-worker by phone and email for months, and she is very interested in him, even though they will likely never meet.

Marc Davenport works in the corporate office in Las Vegas and has been calling on Diana regularly for her help on various problems. He has also been flirting shamelessly with the attractive woman in marketing whose picture he has committed to memory. He knows she has a boyfriend, though she does not seem into him, but he really wants to get to know her better. That chance presents itself when a team member leaves and they need a woman to complete their task, and Adrianna calls in Diana to help them. How good can you be when there is a hot man waiting to do the most delicious things to you, how good would you want to be.

Great story with characters who are smart, sexy, and very human. This has BDSM play, mmf play, and mff play. Recommend to all.