So, if anyone still comes here, I wanted to let you know I've moved. You can now visit me at my new home: http://dishingwithdev.blogspot.com. I'm trying to de-compartmentalize my life a bit so I don't disappear on my online friends like I have in the past. Please be sure to update your bookmarks (if you still visit me here!)

Labels: Updates

So I just finished Julie Lessman's Daughters of Boston series, and the first book of her newest series, Winds of Change. If you are looking for something great to read, or if you just want to sink into a new series - I highly recommend it! She has now solidified a spot on my auto-buy list and cannot wait until her next book comes out.

These series are connected, so I do recommend reading them in order.....and if you do pick them up, let me know what you think!

Julie is a Christian Romance writer. You can learn more about her here: http://www.julielessman.com

Labels: Excellent, Inspirational Romance, Julie Lessman

Just Finished:
Synopsis: Branded Hearts By Nelissa Donovan
When Lily Whitman agrees to a wager with her two single cousins to abandon her prim and proper ways and go after the first man who "trips her trigger", she knows she's finally fallen off the deep end of loneliness. There's always the hope that Nic or Bri will welch first. Lily just has to wait them out. In Big Sky Montana. On a working dude ranch. Surrounded by big and beefy, hard-bitten, real-life cowboys. Of course, the wrangler who trips Lily's trigger is the last type of guy she'd go for. As big and as wild as the Montana sky, ranch owner Shain Stevenson is only a shade less cultured and refined than grain alcohol and just as flammable. As is the atmosphere of the Red Bear Ranch where, Lily discovers, things are not always what they seem.

Hearts Afire By Patrice Michelle
Book 3 in the BAD IN BOOTS series, but may easily be read as a stand-alone story.
One man: a hot, seductive cowboy who smells of leather and fresh outdoors and who's more than willing to take a woman on the ride of her life. One woman: a sexy, petite firecracker whose emerald gaze and silky black hair can make even an angel want to sin. The mystery: a steamy chance encounter, a burned-out barn, and a potential killer on the loose, waiting to strike.

Wild - Wild Hearts By Cheyenne McCray
When Nicole Landford makes a bet with her cousins to go after the first man who "trips her trigger", little does she know that she's in for the ride of her life. Unfortunately it's with the last man on earth she wants to be with. Kev Grand's had his eye on Nicole for years. Now that he has her attention, he's got more than his hands full with the wild thing who claims her heart's not up for grabs. Not if Kev has anything to do with it. He intends to tame Nicole's wild heart and make her his for keeps.

Note: Wild Hearts is loosely connected to the Wild series, but may easily be read as a stand-alone story.

My Thoughts: I’ve never read any of these authors before. I think my favorite would be Hearts Afire by Patrice Michelle. Josh and Sabrina’s story easily sucked me in as a fan girl for this author and I’m looking forward to reading more from her. So much so, in fact, that I intend to get the entire Wild series just to read up on the past stories of some of the characters in this one.

My second favorite would be Wild Hearts by Cheyenne McCray. Wonderful read. I enjoyed Nic and Kev’s story very much ~ there’s nothing like two former adversaries to get the blood boiling. Literally. This story was pretty hot.

My least favorite hands down was Hearts Afire By Patrice Michelle. I just could not get past the dialect on this. I’m not sure Ms. Michelle realizes that Montana is not in Texas. We do not have a lot of the Southern Drawl going on up here. To be fair, I did like the characters of Shain and Lily and the story was told well ~ I just got real tired and real irritated with all the “Darlin”, “Ma’am” and , “Howdy” speak.

Verdict: This was Good. It was a great introduction to some new to me authors and it’s made me look forward to some other reads in the near future.

Labels: Cheyenne McCray, Erotic Romance, Good, Nelissa Donovan, Patrice Michelle

Just Finished:
Synopsis: THE AWAKENING

Safe, steady…and unsatisfying — that pretty much summed up Maggie Stanton's life. Until a stranger stirred her imagination until she blushed, a stranger who made Maggie do the unimaginable: take a risk….

Shockingly, the man who'd compelled her to forsake predictability for passion was the full-grown version of her childhood best friend. Only, this Matthew Stone wanted marriage, not a walk down memory lane.

For a while, Maggie almost believed that their whirlwind wedding was the union of soul mates. Almost. Then she learned the secret Matthew was keeping.

My Thoughts: I think I expected more out of this one. Probably because I’d just finished Otherwise Engaged (The 3rd in the Sunrise Key Trilogy) and wanted something close to caliber of Pres and Molly’s story. The story of Maggie and her Jungle Man, Matt, just was not it. There were some good moments, and I did finish it, so that’s something.

Verdict: This was Okay. It’s not a keeper because I doubt I’d ever read it again, but it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

Labels: Contemporary Romance, Okay, Suzanne Brockmann

Synopsis: Kissed by a phantom at midnight, she had no choice but to surrender….

When Dr. Marshall Devlin spotted Leila Hunt alone on the dance floor, he yearned to charm the violet-eyed Cinderella into his arms, but how could he court the lady when they fought over everything, and always had? Then the clock struck twelve, and Leila was possessed by the passion of a familiar stranger. He'd captured her lips -- and her soul -- in a moment of magic, but could she learn to love the man behind the mask?

In a debut that celebrates the delights and disasters of falling in love with the boy next door, Suzanne Brockmann wins every heart! He'd teased and tormented her since childhood, hidden his white-hot desire for the woman she'd become, but once a fleeting embrace threatened to reveal his secret, could he make her his forever?

My Thoughts: I enjoyed Marsh and Leila’s story very much! Theirs was a great tale with just the right amount of obstacles to make this an enjoyable reading experience.

Verdict: This was Very Good and really set the bar for me to want to read other Brockmann tales in the future..

Just Finished:
Synopsis: He knew just the right moves to melt her resistance….

Allowing Simon Hunt to play her partner on her latest assignment probably wasn't Frankie Paresky's best idea ever, but the P.I. found it just as hard as most women did to tell him no! When a chase to solve a long-ago mystery sparked a sizzling attraction between old friends, Frankie wavered between pleasure and panic. Could the best bad boy she'd ever known be the man she'd always love?

Utterly seductive, irresistibly inventive, Suzanne Brockmann’s merry romp celebrates a love as torrid as the Florida sun – and as steamily passionate as a first kiss! She'd vowed never to be a notch on anyone's belt or settle for one night only, but could she turn down a dare that promised a real taste of heaven?

My Thoughts: This was the first book I read in the trilogy, and my least favorite of the three. I admit, the pretty cover sucked me in. But in my own defense, the story sounded right up my alley. The problem was there was no angst, there really was no pinnacle turning point of the story. It just was.

Verdict: This was somewhere between Okay and Good. I liked the characters ~ there just unfortunately wasn’t much of a story there.

Just Finished:
Synopsis: His lips made an offer no woman would dare refuse . . .

Funny, charismatic, and one heck of a temptation, Preston Seaholm made a wickedly sexy hero as he rescued Molly Cassidy from tumbling off the roof! The pretty widow bewitched him with a smile, unaware the tanned sun god was Sunrise Key's mysterious tycoon -- and one of the most eligible bachelors in the country. He needed help fending off unwanted advances, but once he convinced her to play along at pretending they were engaged, would he discover the pleasures of surrendering to her temptation?

Weaving a fast-paced tale as touching as it is passionate, as witty as it is irresistible, Suzanne Brockmann reveals the perfect gift for the man who has everything: true love! He promised her the world if that would make her happy, but would a notorious pirate confess that the only prize he yearned to capture was a lady's heart?

My Thoughts: This was another awesome tale by Suzanne Brockmann. I enjoyed Pres and Molly very much, as well as Molly’s son Zander. I couldn’t stop reading this once I started and it was a great way to spend a few hours on a rainy day.

Verdict: This was Very Good and was a great story to end the trilogy with.

Labels: Contemporary Romance, Good, Suzanne Brockmann, Very Good

Just Finished:
Synopsis: IT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN A LITTLE LUCK TO BRING THEIR TEXAS HEARTS TOGETHER….

They were calling it the Bad Luck Wedding Dress, and Jenny Fortune knew that spelled trouble for her Fort Worth dressmaking shop. Just because the Bailey girls had met with one mishap or another after wearing Jenny's loveliest creation, her clientele had begun to stay away in droves. Yet Jenny was still betting she could turn her luck around--by wearing the gown herself at her very own wedding. There's just one hitch: first she has to find a groom...

Trace McBride seemed as likely a candidate as any. An attractive widower raising three little girls who were fast becoming three little outlaws, Trace badly needed a woman's loving touch. Jenny wasn't altogether sure she knew how to get a man to propose marriage, but she was willing to take off her spectacles, let down her honey-blond hair, and even give flirtation a try. But when seduction turns into red-hot passion, Jenny will find herself risking everything--even her life--on the chance that she'll be lucky in love..
My Thoughts: It dawned on me that I own series of books by authors that I’ve never read. This is the start of one them.

I enjoyed this book very much (in spite of the fact that my copy was missing 30 pages and that the binding was skewed on another 10). Trace and Jenny were a great combination and I thought Ms. Dawson did an excellent job with the telling of their story. This tale had as much humor as it did heart which made it a wonderful reading experience for me.

There were also several background characters that made this book so enjoyable ~ the McBride Menaces (Trace’s three daughters) would be at the front of this list. These girls have a gift for mischief and it was so fun reading about their exploits. They all three have stories in the Bad Luck Brides series and I can’t wait to find out how well they grew up.

Verdict: This was Very Good. Next up will be Trace’s twin brother’s story, The Bad Luck Wedding Cake. I’m looking forward to reading about the further exploits of the McBride family.

Labels: Geralyn Dawson, Very Good, Western Historical Romance

Bliss is when you find a book you can't put down.

Despair is when you realize pages 217-249 are missing in said book.

Dilemma is deciding whether to finish the book anyway, or to wait and get a new copy.

I chose to finish it anyway. I'll read the 30 missing pages as soon as I can get my hands on another copy of the book. It's that good.

Those who love Westerns ~ have you read the Bad Luck Brides series by Geralyn Dawson? I'm reading The Bad Luck Wedding Dress now and absolutely love it!!!

Labels: Ramblings

Sorry folks ~ I've been a very bad caretaker of my blog as of late, but I have a great reason. I've been reading (and I'm talking real books, not just my Economics stuff).

I've read:

Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James ~ Excellent
Kiss and Tell by Suzanne Brockmann ~ Very Good
The Kissing Game by Suzanne Brockmann ~ Good
Scenes of Passion by Suzanne Brockmann ~ Good

Next up will be the 3rd in Brockmann's Sunrise Key Trilogy, Otherwise Engaged. Can you tell I've recently read my first Suzanne Brockmann and am hooked (sorry Holly!)?

Labels: Book Crazy, Ramblings

Well, I think I'm done. I wish I could show you a picture of the whole thing, but the angle of the room makes it almost impossible to get the whole thing on camera. I've done my best though!!!

This is what I started with (well, technically this is what I started with after I painted):











Then I added my books:


Then I had to clean out some of my books, which I either posted on PBS and/or donated to the library (you have to imagine several of these to get the full effect):


Which brings me to the final product:

I have to say, it's my favorite room in the house now. I still don't have as much shelf space as I initially planned on, but it works. I had to double up my books, so I have two rows on each shelf, but at least they're organized, alphabetized (yes, I'm that girl), and taken out of their respective boxes. And even if it didn't turn out exactly perfect, it's still a far cry better than this:

Labels: Book Crazy, Ramblings

The ladies at Breezing Through are holding an anti-Valentines Day Contest. Please click on the image below which will take you right to their page!

Labels: Contests, Friends