Rainy Day Reader

Audiobook
Author: Molly Harper
Genre: Paranormal
3hrs 43mins

Author: Susan Mallery
Genre: Contemporary Romance
329 pages

Anthology
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: NetGalley- Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
136 pages

★★★★☆

Author: J.M. Darhower
Genre: Contemporary Romance; Young Adult
Source: NetGalley- Gallery Books
530 pages

So much happened in this book I'm not sure where to start.  This book encompasses so much.  It's not just about human trafficking.  It's not just about the mob.  It's definitely not just any young adult romance.  I feel silly saying it but I had a hard time starting this book.  I was expecting something set in South America and that there would be a lot of violence in the book.  There was some violence but the story of Haven and Carmine make up for it in spades.  There were so many twists, turns and surprises in this book it blew my mind.  I found myself getting anxious thinking my gosh what can happen next?  By the end I was so totally engrossed with the book that I read for 4 hours straight to finish it.

     Haven was born a slave.  I thought since reading the synopsis that since she was a slave this book was set in another country because we aren't supposed to have slavery anymore in America.  The book starts out in California where haven has lived for her 17 years.  Just as there are all kinds of other illegal activities after reading this book I can believe that there are still slaves.  That thought is very upsetting.  Haven has spent her entire life secluded from the outside word.  Her views on things are sometimes very funny in their simplicity.  Haven gets taken from the house in California and her mother at the beginning of the book and is taken to a new house in North Carolina to live with the DeMarco's.  She has to adjust to a whole different life and her journey was interesting to read. 

     There are 2 DeMarco sons.  Dominick and Carmine.  Dominick is your regular high school student.  Carmine is just a mess, there's no nicer way to put it.  He's seen some terrible things in his 17 years and in addition to that is considered a mafia prince.  He drinks and does drugs a lot.  He gets into fights with everyone.  But he can't understand why Haven doesn't like him.  The changes in Carmine once he decides to be nice to Haven and try to get her to like him are great.  The relationship between Haven and Carmine is one of the best I've read in a book considered Young Adult.

     Why do I say the book is "considered" Young Adult?  Well, it might be categorized as that since they are technically both 17 and then 18 in the book but there is drinking, drugs, sex and violence in this book.  I would say that it should be considered New Adult despite their ages.  The topics that this book covers are something that I'm not sure that many teenagers would be able to understand or enjoy. 

     When the book finished I thought to myself huh I think there could be a second book... and there will be.  Apparently Sempre is book one of the Forever series.  Book two is called Sempre Redemption and I'm sure it will be even more action packed than the first book.  Its publication date on Goodreads is December 23rd. 

Picking a few favorite quotes has been difficult with this book.  I highlighted a lot!

Favorite Quotes:

"Colpo di fulmine.  The thunderbolt, as Italians call it.  When love strikes someone like lightning, so powerful and intense it can't be denied.  It's beautiful and messy, cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see.  It turns a person inside out, and there's no going back from it.  Once the thunderbolt hits, your life is irrevocably changed."

"The girl who had never been able to call her life her own taught a boy who had the world at his fingertips exactly what it meant to live."

Since it's been awhile since I read them I'm just going to group together all 4 of these books for my review.  I got all of these books on audio so that I would have something to listen to while I was sick.  I liked books 3 and 4 more than the others but the series as a whole was a bit disappointing. 

★★★☆☆

A Werewolf in Manhattan is about Emma and Aiden.  The only reason that I gave this book 3 stars is because I really liked Aiden and it had a good storyline.  He was a nice and genuinely caring person.  He seriously didn't deserve the way he was treated by Emma.  Emma was a complete snob.  She's one of those people who has her own beliefs about the way things should be and if anyone else is different than they must be wrong.  I liked her at first until she kept getting more and more worked up about Aiden's money.  Like it's his fault he was born with money.  Then there were her beliefs about the environment and my gosh nobody better disagree with her there.  Aiden seemed to think she had spirit.  I did not, I just found it annoying.  Poor Aiden should have found another girl.

★★★☆☆
A Werewolf in the North Woods was a little bit better than A Werewolf in Manhattan but I still didn't feel like it was a 4 star book.  This one is about Aiden's brother Roark and Abby.  Roark is visiting another pack to help with the backlash from Abby's grandfather's bigfoot sighting on the other pack's land.  It was a cute story but at the same time the whole I shouldn't be with a human thing gets kinda old.  I liked both Roark and Abby and found the treck to find bigfoot with a geek that they picked up along the way highly entertaining.

★★★★☆
Werewolf in Seattle was a lot better than the previous two books in the series.  Perhaps because they are both werewolf's?  But still there's the whole she's half-human.  *gasp*  What a scandal.  I liked Colin and Luna a lot.  There was a great storyline with a few surprises along the way.  Colin goes to America to sell the house of his aunt that had died... but Luna doesn't want him to sell because it's the only home that she's been happy at since her human mother died when she was 8.  This is one of those pretty much love-at-first-sight-but-too-stupid-to-realize-it books.

★★★★☆

Werewolf in Denver was the best book out of all 4 that I read from this series.  Duncan is Colin's brother from the last book.  In Werewolf in Seattle Colin rushes back to Scotland to talk his brother out of mating with a human.  Duncan realizes that he was only wanting to mate with her to make a point that werewolfs should be able to mate with humans.  In Werewolf in Denver he takes that to a whole new level by being the leader of a group called WOOF that wants to out themselves to humans. Standing in his way is Kate leader of HOWL.  She wants to keep the secrets.  She of course is a werewolf.  Not what Duncan thought he'd fall for.  Kate didn't expect to fall for him either.  This book was hilarious.  Especially the werewolf version of Twitter.

There is one more book in this series that is out already and that is Werewolf in Alaska. The problem is it's main character is Jake who I couldn't stand in Werewolf in Denver.  I hate it when authors make us hate a character and then expect us to just like them in the next book.  Jake hates humans so of course the book is about him and a human neighbor Rachael.  I read several reviews trying to decide whether to listen to this one too and decided against it.  It seems that it's more of the same humans are bad, bla, bla, bla.  So there you have it... my reviews on 1-4 and why I didn't read 5.  If you're looking for some funny werewolf humor than you might like this series.  The books get better and better with each one.

Author: Alexandra Ivy
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: NetGalley- Kensington Books
352 pages

     When I was flipping through the NetGalley site and saw Alexandra Ivy's name I had to request the book. I love her Guardian's of Eternity series. After reading Born in Blood I think that The Sentinels series could be even better. I really liked this book. It had me hooked from the start. It's not really a fast-paced book but more like a mystery where you're trying to figure out what's going to happen next. Add to that a steaming hot romance and this book has it all. My only complaint is that the cover model looks like Anya and not Callie. Callie has short spiky hair and Duncan describes her as looking like a pixie. I guess that isn't as photogenic. I hate it when they do that!

     My favorite character in this book was Duncan. He's the kind of guy any girl would be happy with. A good guy through and through. Duncan and Callie have worked together for years and both have fantasied about the other through that time. When there's a really strange murder Duncan sees his chance and insists on going to Valhalla with Callie. Sparks fly and it's one of those sweet relationships that you don't see enough of in the Paranormal Romance genre. Of course with every book like this we need the enemy... so there's Zak and Anya. As far as bad guys go I felt kinda meh about these two. It's the classic take over the world scenario and I just wasn't feeling it.

     All in all this was a great book and I look forward to more from The Sentinels series. I expected nothing less from Alexandra Ivy. The concept of "high-bloods" and Valhalla was unique and refreshing. Especially since two humans could produce a high-blood child. To me, it seems more like The X-men type of idea really. People born with special abilities are expected to stay together in basically a city in a bubble not interacting with "humans" unless they are needed like Callie is to help solve murders and such. I can totally see something like this happening in real life because people always fear the unknown. The whole book except mabye some parts with Zak was very believable. The next book in the series Hunt the Darkness is set to be published in June of 2014.

Author: C.J. Barry
Genre: Metaphysical Thriller
Source: NetGalley- (Forever) Grand Central Publishing
336 pages

Redemption is like Celestine Prophecy meets Angels and Demons.  I decided the closest description for genre would be metaphysical thriller.  I've read a lot of metaphysical type books and this book actually contained a lot of my personal spiritual beliefs.  Yet, I had a hard time reading this one.  I loved the beginning and the ending but somewhere in the middle I feel like C.J. Barry could have cut out 100 pages and the story would have been fine.  Despite liking the book I felt like it dragged on once I got about halfway through.  It took me almost a week to finish the second half.  It picks back up at about 80%. 

     Redemption is not your usual good vs evil type of book. It deals with the spiritual salvation of the entire planet. Kind of serious stuff there. A little too serious for me truthfully. I tend to avoid any fictional books that touch on religion. I actually thought this was an urban fantasy book when I read the description. Redemption is about Reya who is a redeemer. Basically she tells people their sins before they die and ask them if they are sorry. She's been caught on several surveillance cameras near people right before she dies and this flags the polices attention. Namely officer Thane Driscoll. Thane has a major chip on his shoulder and a terrible attitude through most of the book. I really liked Reya a lot but most of the time Thane annoyed me. 

     Around the time that Reya and Thane meet up and start working together people start catching fire and burning to death. Then churches start burning down. All hell breaks loose, literally, in New York City and it's up to Reya and Thane to figure out what's going on. It turns out they work really well together. Between the two of them they know all kinds of people who help them out throughout the book. It's like a wild goose chase and a lot of it links back to Thane's past. Which of course makes Thane even more volatile than he was before. All in all this was a good book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something different. It's not your usual urban fantasy or paranormal romance that's for sure.


Favorite Quotes:

"She was the most beautiful crazy person he'd ever met. What a waste."

"I still don't get how you have human responses, and yet make yourself thin as air," he said as he looked through the file. 

"It's a gift," she said. "At least that what they keep telling me. I'm beginning to not believe them. Really, if they wanted to give me a gift, I can think of a lot better things. Like balls of fire on demand or sonic sneezes or something useful."

Author: Julia Crane
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance
Source: NetGalley- Indie Inked
284 pages

  Let me just start off by saying I am so excited that there will be a second book!  It is called Fractured Innocence.  The cover is badass!  There's no release date on Goodreads but according to the author Julia Crane it should be out sometime in December.  I loved Freak of Nature.  I was originally drawn to this book because of the cover art.  It's so beautiful I had to read it.  When I saw it available on NetGalley to review I jumped at the chance.  It didn't disappoint me at all.

     The story centers on Kaitlyn.  She is basically the first cyborg.  She doesn't remember who she was before she was a cyborg because they took away her memories.  They were supposed to take away her emotions as well but when Lucas is around she has strange feelings.  It's so funny how she tries to figure out her reactions to things such as 'Kaitlyn felt like she couldn't breathe.  That was ridiculous; there was nothing blocking her airways.'  It was interesting to see human emotions and reactions from a computer point of view.  Always analyzing everything.

     Lucas is a young and brilliant scientist who wrote the coding for Kaitlyn.  They spend a lot of time together and he has found himself attracted to her.  Which upsets him greatly because he doesn't know that Kaitlyn can feel so he thinks he's attracted to basically a robot with a female body.  By the time he does discover that she can feel it's too late.  She is to be sold to the government as an assassin.  The only other character that's in Freak of Nature enough to mention is Quess.  She is a thirteen year old girl who's grandfather, Professor Adams, works on Kaitlyn's team.  Quess is really smart for her age and realizes that Kaitlyn can feel.  They spend a lot of time together with Quess explaining things to Kaitlyn like what "roll your eyes" means.  I really enjoyed their relationship and their banter.  It was very entertaining to have this little girl try to explain basic things to an adult robot.

     Altogether this was a great story.  It had a lot of twists and turns that I hadn't expected.  I actually liked it more than I expected to.  Don't be turned away by the young adult tag... there's really nothing young adult to it.  It's set in a laboratory environment and Lucas is 21.  I still dubbed it as young adult myself because changing it would give away part of the story.  Other than that all I can say is it's worth the read... I think I read it in record time!  I couldn't put this book down once I started it.  

Favorite Quotes:

"How could a kiss take her breath away?  The effect he had on her wasn't rational, but she gave in to it anyway.  He made her feel alive."

"She wasn't sure why they were so impressed.  She was programmed to be this way."

"'Caution' flashed on her internal screen.  Thanks computers, she thought, slightly annoyed.  I'm well aware the situation is problematic."

"Why can't I have this fancy map already installed in me and be able to ask Siri to search info for me on the all-knowing Google?"

Author: Dana Marie Bell
Genre: Paranormal Romance
97 pages

This will be a mini review for a mini book... Dana Marie Bell classified this as a novella but I swear it's more like a short story. Out of the 97 pages at least 10 were advertizements for her other books. Normally I don't mind that with her books but this one just felt rushed. I was really looking forward to Chela and Steve's story. It was good but it could have been so much better.

If you haven't read the first book in the Pocono's Pack series Finding Forgiveness then I would suggest you read it first. Without that book you would be lost reading this novella. Mr. Red Riding Hoode centers around Ben and Dave's wedding so if you haven't read their book then you won't know who Charlie is or really even Steve. Another must would be Steel Beauty from the Halle Pumas series. It involves Rick and Belle the Alpha and Luna of the Pocono's pack. So really I wouldn't suggest Mr. Red Riding Hoode unless you are caught up with both series. You'd just be lost and it would take away from your enjoyment greatly.

I have adored Chela since Steel Beauty. She is the pack's Omega. She comes into her Omega powers in Steel Beauty. It was great to see in Mr. Red Riding Hoode how much she's grown into a strong and capable person and how happy she is. Before this book we only hear about Steve. There was a big mix up in Finding Forgiveness where Dave thinks that Ben is in love with Steve. I was pleasantly surprised that the Steve I had pictured was all wrong. I imagined this stuffy rich guy. Actually he's really laid back and cool. There really isn't mention of his money at all in the story.

Mr. Red Riding Hoode is so short because Steve sneaks into a pack meeting and sees everyone change into wolves at the beginning of the story. The rest of it is him coming to grips with them all being wolves. His relationship with Chela seems to be more of a forethought. This really disappointed me because I love all of the other books in the Halle Puma, Halle Shifters and Pocono's Pack series. I think that 3 stars is the lowest that I've rated any of Dana Marie Bell's books. Like I said earlier in the review it just felt rushed. It could have been longer.

Favorite Quote:

"Leave it to him to go on vacation in the one place that was chock-full of Team Jacob."

Author: Cora Seton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
228 pages

I decided to read this book after I'd already read The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire which is actually book 4 of the Cowboy's of Chance Creek series. The Cowboy's E-mail Order Bride is book 1 of the series. This was a cute story. I liked Ethan and Autumn. It was a quick and easy read. Ethan's sister Claire was fairly annoying and I'm not sure if I want to read the next book since it's about her. It also drove me nuts that the person doing the most harm to their relationship, Lacey, had my name. I swear I cringed every time that I read it. If there is or will be a story with Lacey I won't be able to read it for that reason. I can't imagine how annoying it must be for people who's names are in books often. 

I liked Ethan's friends and think that the whole set-up with the Youtube video was hilarious. Cora Seton is very talented at thinking of unusual ways to get people to meet. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series to find out how Ethan's friends do. Ethan is a good guy, a hometown cowboy. Autumn has some issues in her past regarding her father that make it hard for her to trust. Her mother really messed her up if you ask me. I like Autumn, at first I wasn't sure about her because of the snarky magazine reporter vibe she was giving off. I've read books where I have no idea what the guy sees in the girl and was worried that this would be like that but it all turned out good.

Autumn falls into life on the ranch like a fish to water. I liked how the townspeople treated her (except Lacey) and how she treated them. Ethan is going through some major difficulties after his parents deaths and she is right there with him not only supporting him but helping him through it. Their relationship is very genuine and instantaneous. A little love at first sight with some added trepidation because they're both lying to the other about the reasons they're together. The lies pile up and things get pretty rocky. Everything ended out fine though. This was definitely a fun read and I look forward to more from Cora Seton. She has opened me up to yet another genre that I wouldn't normally read.

Author: Peggy L. Henderson
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Source: Kindle Freebie
278 pages

After finishing Peggy L. Henderson's book Come Home to Me I was looking at her other books on Amazon and realized that the first book in the Yellowstone Romance series was also a kindle freebie. I jumped at the chance to read this book as well. I absolutely loved Come Home to Me and while I didn't like Yellowstone Heart Song quite as much I still liked it a lot. One of the main reasons that I didn't like this book as much was I was never sure how much time had passed. At one point it says 'This man, who had become her whole life over the course of the last six weeks' and I made a note saying finally it tells how long it's been!

This was a really great story. It's not one of those romances where they fall into bed with each other from the start. Both of them are hesitant to have a relationship for their own reasons and the story evolves over time. Although I love series where at least one of the people know right away the other is their mate or life-mate or however the series puts it there is something about the relationship development in stories like this that is really touching. The story starts with Aimee realizing that she is in Yellowstone and that what she thought was a crazy old man's stories are actually the truth. She has been transported 200 years into the past for the ultimate wilderness adventure. She soon meets up with Daniel who is untrusting of white women because of the way one treated him in the past. Aimee and Daniel's interactions varied from sweet to hilarious to beautiful.

I really liked Aimee and Daniel. I liked Daniel's Indian family. My favorite part of the story was the end so I can't really talk about that. I don't like spoilers. This is my second time travel romance and I have to say I think I've found a new genre to love. Most historical romances are pretty boring but adding the time travel element really brings out the story. I look forward to reading more of Peggy L. Henderson's books including the rest of the Yellowstone Romance series.

Favorite Quotes:

"I would follow you to the ends of the world if I had to."

"I am not good with words, but you make my heart sing, Aimee."

"I have fought my affection for you all these weeks. I cannot fight it anymore. You are my heart song," he whispered.

Author: Peggy L. Henderson
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Source: Kindle Freebie
252 pages

     I was looking for something different to read and since I'm doing the clean out your e-reader challenge I went through my kindle freebies and found this little gem.  I absolutely loved this book.  I'm actually very disappointed that the next book in the Second Chances series Ain't No Angel isn't out yet.  According to the author Peggy L. Henderson the book should be coming out this month!  For those of you who follow my reviews my reaction to this book may come as a surprise.  For over 2 years now I've read mostly paranormal romance.  I think I'll have to look for more time travel romance because this was really neat.  

     Come Home to Me starts off in present day with Jake in jail for murder.  His new lawyer offers him a second chance if he scouts for a wagon train on the Oregon trail.  Little does Jake know that agreeing to this sends him 150+ years into the past!  This is where he meets Rachel.  Rachel is traveling with her family and finds herself attracted to Jake from the start.  But she has a lot in the way... like a husband and 3 kids.  There are a lot of surprises along the way in the 5 months that Jake leads the emigrants to Oregon City.  I found the whole story captivating.  I loved Jake and Rachel.  I cheered for them and cried for them.  

     Although this isn't my regular genre it has opened up a whole new genre to me and I look forward to the next book in the Second Chances series.  This is a romance like no other I have read.  I'm not sure how many other books there are out there like this but I think Peggy L. Henderson did a wonderful job capturing what life was like on the Oregon Trail.  It makes me glad for modern conveniences while longing for a simpler way of life.  

Favorite Quote:

"A man doesn't look at a woman the way he looks at you with the intention of walking away."

Author: Cora Seton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: NetGalley
286 pages

This is totally not the type of book that I would normally read. I've just not had much interest in regular romances. I'm more into paranormal romance or even sci-fi romance. So imagine my surprise when I loved it! This book was recommended to me by Lexxie through the COYER challenge. Yes, I added and read the book after starting the challenge. So much for cleaning out my e-reader huh? But I'm so glad that I read this! It is book 4 in the Cowboys of Chance Creek series but I didn't find any part in the book that was lacking due to not reading the previous books in the series. The title of the first book is so funny I'm dying to read it: The Cowboy's E-mail Order Bride. Yes, that's right I think I'll read more. Even if it's only Cora Seton.

The concept for this book sounds cheesy at first... a reality show where a broke person competes against a billionaire. But it's not like it sounds at all. Bella is tricked into going on the show and Evan is doing it as a last chance to keep his company. The competition between the two is fierce as well as the attraction. Bella and Evan were very believable characters. Despite the whole billionaire thing Evan was relatable and I found myself torn between rooting for Bella and Evan to win the contest. Both of them bring a lot of phobias and issues from childhood to the table and seeing them overcome their fears was great.

The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire had me up half the night and I think I finished it in record time! It had me laughing so hard at times and also made me cry a few too. My favorite part other than the ending was the golf course part of the competition. I was also really excited about the geocaching competition because I geocache! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good romance. It was a fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Favorite Quote:

"He wanted a whole year with his sexy, little veterinarian to convince her she wanted to spend a lifetime with him."

Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
526 pages

     It might surprise you that it took me two and a half weeks to get through this book.  Especially when I was so looking forward to reading it.  I had a bad feeling the day that the book came out and I saw a news headline comparing Veronica Roth to George R. R. Martin.  

Author: Sara B. Gauldin
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: ARC
86 pages

I find it ironic that I was just commenting on a novella and saying that they usually leave me feeling like the book lacked something. To Conspire was only lacking in the sense that I would have liked for it to go on. Perhaps author Sara Gauldin was hoping to leave the rest to our imaginations. I know I have my own ideas of what I would like to happen next. Actually I'd be very interested in another novella or book with Avery Rich and Ryan Kain. I love watching movies like this but seldom read books in this genre anymore. Despite being short it was action packed.

The main characters are Avery and Kain. Avery is a police detective that is new to the area. Her commanding officer tells her that he has brought her in to help investigate the disappearances of bankers. He tells her that he can't trust anyone else to investigate and that it's off the books. He tells her to meet up with Kain who is a known conspiracy theorist. I would love to read more about Kain. It's understandable in the story that the doesn't go out and give all of the info from his whole life away but the little crumbs that were given left me wanting more. Avery and Kain team up to find the missing bankers but end up finding out a lot more and nearly lose their lives in the process.

This was a fast paced and action packed read. Despite being a novella it doesn't lack in details. I would recommend this to anyone who likes crime dramas, mysteries, conspiracy theories or are just looking for something different. I would definitely read more from author Sara Gauldin.

Favorite Quotes:

"Part of me wondered if there was another side to this paranoid person, a side that could be open and receptive to another human being."

"Even if I survive this chain of events I doubt I will ever truly understand Ryan Kain. Every time I think I am making headway figuring him out he says or does something to throw me off."