It’s almost done!

Hi folks! I know, I know, it’s been a while, but not for lack of reading! I’m wrapping up grad school in the next week and beginning life as a librarian.

For those of you who don’t know, the past few years have been an amazing journey personally, intellectually as well as professionally. I feel like a completely different person, though I know I’m fundamentally the same. Transformed with purpose, I guess you could say. I’ve lost my mom, my dad and my favorite grandma, lost 80 pounds and in a week will have a Master’s degree and a new profession, 2 kiddos will be seniors next year and the other a junior. My husband and I joke about being on a 2 year plan now, but it’s really true. In all likelihood, in 2 years, we’ll have one in college, one in a technical school and one on the way to the military. Life surely does look different now than it did 2 years ago.

 

What have I been reading?

I’ve been savoring the final book in the Wheel of Time series, Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. So far, 5 stars and I can’t anticipate changing that. If you want to read a truly epic tale, this is one for your must-read list. I should preface this by saying make sure you have a bit of time though because the series has almost 12,000 pages. The audio books are fantastic if you would rather listen, most of them are between 30 and 40 hours with a grand total of 461 hours.

I read the second Vlad book in the Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost: Twice Tempted. I’ve always loved Vlad and it was fun to meet his love, but I’m really looking forward to reading another Cat and Bones book, which should be out soon. 5 stars. Ms. Frost knocked this one out of the park.

Black City by Christina Henry was another fantastic read. 5 stars.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. 5 stars.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin . 5 stars.

The Color of Earth by Dong Hwa Kim. 5 stars.

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. 5 stars.

Touch of the Demon by Diana Rowland. 5 stars.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. 4 stars.

I’ve read others too, some for my Young Adult Literature class, but these were the ones I really enjoyed and think people who read similar books will enjoy as well. I’ve probably read more that I can’t remember right at this moment, but I can always tell you about them later! Happy reading!

Recent Books Read

Waking Up Married by Mira Lyn Kelly:

It’ a pretty hokey start: hot, rich bachelor determines a girl he meets in Vegas is his ideal mate, computer programmer girl approaches said bachelor and asks him to play along. See, she approached him to get her fellow bridesmaids off  her back. Boy convinces girl to marry him because “his plan is better” (she wants to have a baby and is planning artificial insemination. Both are anti-romance but hero still does some wooing as they get to know each other. Blah blah blah, predictable, mediocre writing. I don’t read romances for the “surprise” of oh-my-goodness-are-they-really-going-to-get-together? I do, however expect something fresh, really good dialogue, likeable characters. The author didn’t deliver; I didn’t really care about either character and honestly got frustrated with the two of them.

Rating: 2.5 stars

 

Black Lament by Christina Henry

This picks up right after the events of the last book (Warning! Spoilers for previous books in this review). Granddaddy Lucifer comforts a grieving Maddy at the beginning of the book and gives readers a shock. Since the author loves to put Maddy through the wringer, not much time passes until she’s presented with several impossible obstacles. Nathaniel is an active part of this book, along with her normal crew of Beezle, Samiel and J.B.

Azazel is just as vile as before, but thankfully, we do not encounter him very much. Throw in some more Faerie shenanigans and Agency politics and you have an action-packed book. Maddy begins down a dark path in this book and I’m not certain she will be returning to her previous way of life. That said, I’m a bit intrigued with where the author is headed with the series as some really big events occur at the end. Big. Huge. Still can’t tell which guy she will choose, but it appears it will be Nathaniel or JB (I totally called that in Book 1!  Gabriel was just very boring.).

If you like supernatural-themed books with a lot of action and smart-alleck sidekicks, you should try this series. Start at the beginning with Black Wings as you will have a difficult time with the amount of backstory involved if you just pick this one up.

Rating: 4 stars

 

Other recent books I’ve read:

Command Indecision (Lexi Graves Mysteries) by Camilla Chafer

Rating 4 stars

 

Head Rush (The Disillusionists Trilogy) by Carolyn Crane

Rating: 3 stars

 

Mr. Real: Code of Shadows Book 1 by Carolyn Crane

Rating 3 stars

Wild About You (Love at Stake) by Kerrelyn Sparks

Rating: 4 stars

Update: Still Alive!

I promise, I’m still alive and kicking, but school is simply consuming all my spare time this semester! I’ve read very little, although I did read Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and Ilona Andrews’ Gunmetal Magic (from the Kate Daniels world. This one is about Andrea and Raphael. That was a fun book, reading about those crazy boudas!

I’ve also been reading Pride and Prejudice. I confess: I’m 40 and I am just now reading it. I’ve tried a few times before but never made it past the first few chapters before. I’ll actually finish it this time! I’ve been losing myself in the language; it’s quite different from what I usually read and I’m finding it’s very immersive for me this time around (maybe I just need to be able to lose myself for a few minutes at a time and escape the school pressures). I have to admit: I’m looking forward to treating myself to the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice once I’ve finished. Colin Firth. Enough said. I’ll probably shanghai my youngest daughter and make her watch it with me I don’t think anyone else in the house will tolerate it, but that’s ok. Anyway, back to school stuff, I’ll write more when I’ve finished the book!

Book Review: The Principal’s Office by Jasmine Haynes

Book Description:

Rachel Delaney, divorced mother with two boys, isn't complaining. Her life is fine. Really. There is one thing that could make it better, though: a strong, warm, male body to help her make it through the occasional lonely night. No strings, and no relationship, thanks. Just a little fun with a perfect stranger. And there's no more perfect a stranger than Rand.

He's tall, blond, unattached, smokin' hot, and looking for the same thing Rachel is: wild, abandoned sex with no limits, no last names, and no complications-until Rachel's eldest son gets in trouble in class.

Only then does Rachel discover that her down-and-dirty, dangerously sexy mystery lover is also the new school principal. They're not exactly the ideal role models for a troubled student acting out his own frustrations. With Rachel's life turned upside down, Rand's the only one who can make it right-by maybe taking their hot-bodied hook-ups into a warm-hearted new direction... (from amazon.com)

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Book Review:

This was a delightful surprise! I found this gem listed as a suggestion when I bought another book and decided to try it. I expected it to have a decent amount of sex, and it did, but was completely floored by the amount of character building included. The book described a wide variety of sexual experiences ranging from flirting to fantasies, role-playing to voyeurism.

I loved watching Rachel grow from a tired, beaten-down divorcee (though not a mouse) to a woman confident in her sexuality. I found it very easy to relate to the characters. The author did a great job with the characterizations of Rachel and Rand as well as the ex, the kids and Rachel’s co-workers. I’ll be re-reading this one and also reading the other 2 books in the series that deal with Bree and her guy and Erin and Dominic.

The hero and heroine are a little bit older than many written about today. At 39 and 40, they each have some life experience yet quite a lot of life left in them, no inexperienced miss fresh from the schoolroom making her first appearance to the ton here. It was quite refreshing to read about characters my own age with a similar past. I loved reading the role-playing scenes Rand and Rachel acted out. “Playful” doesn’t even begin to describe them. This is a grown-up erotic romance, steamy and real. If you are looking for something with extremely simple sentences that reads like Penthouse or Playboy letters, you’ll need to look elsewhere because this is excellently written, classy and has real depth to it. There’s joy, laughter, tension, anger, frustration and much satisfaction.

My only complaint about the book is Rachel was a little wishy-washy while she grows as a character as a result of facing some really tough decisions. That said, she reacts believably and in-character, it was just a little  bit frustrating to read it. The author did a great job alternating between Rand’s and Rachel’s PoV, but I would have liked to read just a bit more from Rand’s viewpoint.  Rachel’s discovery of Rand’s school position occurs a little later in the book than I really expected. That’s not a bad thing, just another example of how surprising this book was.

If you are looking for an erotic romance with real characters, that is fresh and playful, this is a great place to start. I highly recommend it.

Sensuality: many descriptive sex scenes

Rating: 5 stars