Book Review- Tessa Dare Lord Dashwood Missed Out

This was a lovely, sweet, romantic and sexy Spindle Cove novella by an author that never disappoints. Nora Browning has been left heartbroken and desolate after the childhood friend she has loved all her life suddenly leaves her high and dry in a public fashion choosing to travel the world as a cartographer instead of marrying her. Instead of retiring to the country in shame Nora pours all her frustration into writing and publishing a pamphlet called Lord Ashwood Missed Out which soon becomes a girl power screed. She becomes a sought after author and speaker. Meanwhile, the cause of her despair and humiliation returns after many years abroad looking for answers. Lord Dashwood wants to know exactly what it was he missed out on.

This is a road trip, childhood friends, unrequited love story. Basically all my favorite tropes stuffed inside one delightful package. Like all Tessa Dare books, it is well written and full of humor and romance not to mention the hot love scenes. I’m also happy to report that for a novella the characters and plot are well developed. There are appearances by previous characters in the series but this book can definitely stand alone. My only quibble is that I didn’t understand fully why Lord Dashwood left Nora. Seemed that that part of the plot could have used a little more clarification. Quick excellent read and I highly recommend it. 4 1/2 stars

Book Review- Rick Yancey’s The Infinite Sea

The first book in the series The Fifth Wave was such an intense,exciting ride that I devoured whole thing in one sitting. In contrast, The Infinite Sea took me over a week to slog through. I am sad to say that this book suffers from a serious case of sequilitis. The pacing is slow, the entirety of the book takes place in two main locations; a fleabag motel where the ragtag of survivors from the first book hole up and later a hospital room in one of the feared military bases. There’s also lots of flashbacks and holy metaphors Batman! The entire book felt sometimes like a mystical,esoteric treatise on humanity and the meaning of it all. The dialogue and conversations were so dense sometimes that it took a few readings just to begin to guess what was maybe being said. That’s  all well and good but not what I’m looking for in YA fiction or in a alien apocalypse book and certainly not when it takes up so much space which brings me to my next point. Filler. This book was filler, nothing happens. Literally nothing happens except a big reveal about the aliens at the very end so this trilogy could have easily been two books and been better off for it. Also,that big reveal? A big letdown if it’s true and I’m curious to see how the author is going to work that into the final book abd make it not, well, suck. In the end, my biggest problem with this book was the complete shift in point of view. The Fifth Wave was Cassie’s story. The story was driven by her quest to find her brother and so the reader became emotionally invested in her story and her journey. I rooted for Cassie, I wanted to see her story continue but instead here she becomes a secondary character along with Evan who we don’t see until much later in the story and then spends much of his time prostrate in bed from his injuries from the last book. So, who is the main character? Well, that’s a little muddy since the point of view changes in almost every chapter with little warning and it takes a few minutes in each to realize who the heck is narrating. The bulk of the point of view belongs to Ringer who takes center stage here to the detriment of the story. Frankly, Ringer was never really interesting except as a secondary character and she is just unlikable, the development of her character here is minimal so I never really came to care for her as much as I did for Cassie in the first book. There’s an extraneous love story between Ringer and a new character that ends stupidly and negates all the never ending pages of their interactions that went on for almost half the book. All in all, I really disliked this book. So, why two stars? I really love Rick Yancey’ s voice. He is an extremely good writer and I love the world he has built here. I have every faith that the is just a hiccup for him and let’s face it all the middle books suffer from a bit of a slump. Hopefully, he finds his mojo again for the last book in the series. Recommended only for those who have read the first book but save a few dollars and check it out from the library. 2 out of 5 stars.

Book Review-Kristen Callihan’s The Game Plan

Started out with a bang but ended on a disappointing note. Ethan Dexter is a quiet, unassuming hero, a man of few words. But you know they say still waters run deep and Ethan is no exception. He burns with unrequited passion for Ivy’ s ( the heroine in the second book The Friend Zone) little sister Fiona. They haven’t laid eyes on each other since college but as soon as they meet up again Ethan decides to finally make his move. The gentle giant forces Fiona to open her eyes and see the sexy piece of man mountain that he is. Fi hesitates since they live in different cities and she doesn’t think a long distance relationship would work but Ethan makes a pretty convincing case and she decides to give him a shot. Sexy times, conniving co workers and cameos by the previous h/h in the last books abound which just turns what started as a lovely story into a bloated one that could have used some serious editing.
Sexy, quiet, sensitive beta hero who is rumored to be a virgin. Oh I couldn’t get this in my eyeballs fast enough. This was like book catnip to me and while I mostly enjoyed it I can’t rate it more than three stars. As I’ve mentioned Ethan was the best part of the book. He was a great drawn out character. Fiona was okay though far from the vivacious, funny, smart mouthed little sister from The Friend Zone. She underwent a change in the intervening two years that did her no favors. There were glimpses of her bubbly personality from that book but she mostly came off as whiny and angsty. Which I could tolerate until the last half of the book when she made such a boneheaded move that sent her on a first class trip to too stupid to live land. This plot point bothered me immensely and I believe the book could have well done without it. Fiona made a hasty decision that greatly affected Ethan without communicating a word to him. We already had a conniving co worker, the angst of a long distance relationship an internet scandal so why add this to the mix? It felt tacked on and honestly made me question the solidity of their relationship. Also,like other reviewers mentioned this book was nowhere near as funny as the first two. I love some angst and I expect it in a NA title but this started as a strong, romantic tale and ended in a messy, melodramatic note. I could have bought it all if it had made more sense but it didn’t and it ruined the book for me. Besides Ethan I did like reading what the previous characters were up to and the love scenes were still steamy and well written. In the end, it’s a well written book with a strong first half, an excellent, dreamy hero, a gorgeous cover and a good premise. But the last half just didn’t do it for me. Recommended with reservations.

And in Fall fashion….

Book Review- Lisa Kleypas Cold Hearted Rake

Words cannot convey how excited I was to hear that Lisa Kleypas was finally publishing another historical romance. I loved Blue Eyed Devil but the rest of her contemporaries were not my cup of tea. Historical romance, in my opinion, is where Kleypas shines and Cold Hearted Rake is a perfect example of her insane talent.

Devon Ravenel was a rake, a wastrel and a scoundrel and he saw no reason to change those descriptors. Until one day his cousin took a drunken tumble off a horse and made him the next Earl of Trenear. His lucky break turned out to include a ramshackle estate, mounting debts, three unmarried girls and the prickly widow of the previous earl. The attraction between Devon and Kathleen is not immediate but comes gradually and then all at once. Suddenly Devon finds that he’s not as heartless as likes to believe and his newfound conscience won’t let him wash his hands of the enormous responsibility he has inherited. He is unwillingly charmed by his cousins, intrigued by the challenge of turning the failing fortunes of the Ravenels around and captivated by the poised and proper widow.

Visiting Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens

A day at the zoo is a great way to spend quality time together plus who doesn’t love a zoo? Cincinnati Zoo is the second oldest zoo in the nation (Philadelphia is the oldest) and several of its buildings are in the national historical register. I found it to be an exceptional zoo and a great value for the money. We saved time and $7 buying our tickets at Kroger. Parking costs $9 and food can be costly as it tends to be at these places. We paid over $50 for all five of us to eat but the food was tasty food what it was. Was it worth the fifty bucks? No. The menu was standard pizza, sandwiches, burgers and salads.  One way to save money there is to pack your own lunch. We were already lugging three kids, a stroller and a bag full of necessities so I decided to opt out of packed lunches. Next time I think I just might. In spite of pricy food, we had a great time. The kids loved the exhibits, we saw species we had not seen before such as the red panda (loved!)and some we don’t usually see at zoos like polar bears. All in all a great family outing.

Baby giraffe was a highlight.

The rare white lion. Pretty much extinct in the wild.

Polar bears were a huge hit

Polar bears. My personal favorites.

Curious penguin.
For more info http://www.cincinnatizoo.org

Book Review: Rock Redemption by Nalini Singh

Well, this was the one book I have been anticipating throughout this mostly disappointing series by one of my favorite authors. And I’m a bit torn up about the rating because while I somewhat liked it, it still wasn’t anywhere as wildly sexy, interesting and romantic as her paranormal series. In the first book Rock Addiction Noah St John was introduced as the man whore bad boy of the band. Hints were dropped thoughout that things were not as they seemed and Noah was hiding something. We also get a glimpse of an animosity between him and friend of the band up and coming actress Kit Devigny. In RR we get to finally see what happened between them and what drove Noah to push Kit away. At the start of the story Noah is on the edge and Kit pulls him back. Despite his douchebag behavior Kit still loves Noah and puts her heart on the line once again. He makes it clear he can’t be anything other than a friend but doesn’t elaborate as to why. Eventually, Kit gets the hint that it really is the “it’s not you, it’s me” cliche with Noah. His reticence and almost fearful way he avoids any real emotional intimacy hints at some terrible trauma. Noah is a tortured, traumatized hero with a dark terrible secret. He was friends with Kit before it naturally grew into something more. He believes himself unworthy and she believes him indifferent. All my romance catnip in one book. Perfect recipe for an angsty filled, dark erotic romance. I wanted to love this book, I wanted to inhale it and sigh happily as I turned the last page. It came so, so close but I’m sad to say that this book suffers from the same problems as the other two full length stories in this series. The plot just lags, it starts out with a bang but seriously dragged for the most part. Singh even threw in a stalker which I thought unnecessary. In my opinion Noah ‘s issues and his clawing his way out of the darkness by the love of a good woman was enough. There was enough there for a seriously good book but for some reason Singh pulls back on the angst level and instead of that we get a extraneous stalker plot, Noah being an insomniac, Kit talking about the movie business and her career, her unconventional upbringing and a set up for the next book in the series. Noah ‘s big secret doesn’t doesn’t get revealed until well over halfway into the story and by then I had a pretty good idea of what it was so the shock value was not there. Also, I’m all for a slow burn but when I’m sixty percent of the book in and the h/h haven’t even kissed well then you better make that eventual love scene one for the ages. It was not. There was so much Singh could have done with this. **spoiler ahead**

Noah was a virgin for all intents and purposes. Technically he was a man whore but realistically he had never even been kissed. I really wished the author had explored his awakening into real intimacy more thoroughly instead Noah and Kit’s first kiss is forced and borne out of anger. Their first love scene is fast and furious and that’s pretty much it. What a different book it would have been if I could’ve been given more than a few chapters to see Noah and Kit develop this side of their relationship which given the circumstances would be the more challenging aspect of their lives together. But that wasn’t the case.

The ending felt rushed and the stalker’s identity was pretty obvious even with the red herring. Still, there were scenes where the book shined and I held my breath in anticipation but then they would suddenly fall flat. Noah was a great character and Kit suffers in comparison. Somehow I just didn’t find her relatable on any level. She like much of the book fell flat. I also must warn there are several triggers in this story and for those who dislike heroes sleeping around ,well be forewarned that though it happens before they get physical it happens more than once. In the end, I stick to my opinion that these books would have been better off as novellas. David’s story was novella length and near perfect. Alas, I hold very little hope that Ben’s story will end this series with a bang. I recommend this book to fans of Singh or for anyone who enjoyed the previous books or enjoys really slow burns but if you’re new to her do yourself a favor a find her
other series. These books pale in comparison to her others. Recommended with reservations.

Truths

Just Another Meatless Monday

http://http://ohmyveggies.com/cheesy-taco-casserole/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

Need a coffee break?

Raid the recycling bin for empty water bottles, jars, squeeze bottles. Fill with water, drop in some food coloring and voila! At least thirty minutes of play for Thing 3 and a blissful coffee break for me. Also, water tables are awesome. I stalked it on Amazon until it went down in price and got it for a song.