Wednesday Reads

Since this is a rather LONG posting, I’ll just stick to what I read in the past two weeks:

Oct 24: “One Moment’s Pleasure” by Rue Allyn, Book 1 of the Wildfire Love series, a historical romance. Blurb from book: One Moment’s Pleasure will become a lifetime’s passion when Boston spinster, Alexis Alden, embarks on a search for her missing sister. Pretending to be a rich bored woman looking for an interlude with an anonymous male, Alexis enters the San Francisco bordello where her sister was last seen. She escapes the bordello almost too easily, but she can’t escape the passion ignited by a stranger’s kiss. Born and raised in the brothels of the California gold rush, Dutch Trahern worked for years to erase a childhood spent committing petty crimes and worse in order to survive. That past comes back to haunt him in the form of a woman he rescues from prostitution. Now his hard won respectability is threatened by an irresistible desire for a woman he shouldn’t want. When I started reading the book, I wondered who this Edith character was, since she’s not listed in the blurb. Well, it turns out Alexis isn’t mentioned in the book! I guess they changed names and forgot to change the blurb, because the same blurb is on Goodreads. Hmmm… It was an entertaining read for a genre I don’t normally read. But I bought this book because I met the author at Lori Foster’s Reader and Author Get Together, and also because she’s a Rom Vet like myself (www.romvets.com). I would have preferred to read one of her erotica stories, but none of them were for sale! But I can handle a historical romance when set in the States. No Lords or Ladies about! Haha! J I would have liked the sister-line be wrapped up better, but I guess that’s in future books.

Oct 25: “A Winter Wedding” by Gemma Brocato, a contemporary romance novella, #2.5 in the Five Senses series. Blurb from Goodreads: With their hearts in harmony, tying the knot should be a piece of wedding cake for Pippa Sanders and Clay Mathers. But Fate’s a nasty mistress. One week before their special day, Pippa narrowly escapes when fire erupts in the ballroom they’d reserved for the ceremony. They’ll have to use every resource at their fingertips to implement Plan B. In this case, B stands for the barn at the Sleepy T Christmas Tree Farm. Hobbled by a sprained ankle, Pippa is unable to help with the preparations. In spite of the grime accumulated over twenty years, Clay is determined. He promises Pip he’ll transform the barn into an idyllic location for a winter wedding. Plus, he’ll make time to throw in a special surprise. What Clay doesn’t factor into his plan is the snowstorm bearing down on them. With predictions of up to two feet of snow, will Mother Nature prove too much of an obstacle to overcome? I’ve become hooked on this series and it has nothing to do with the fact that the author is one of the Sassys on the Sizzle and Sass page I help run. I wanted to read this book, but she didn’t have an epub version. My husband is looking for projects to practice with and I offered his services. So of course, I had to read it and make sure it was formatted correctly, right? J I loved the story and I loved being back in Pippa’s and Clay’s heads. Gemma has a way of making me choke up in almost every one of her books. That’s high praise, don’t you think?

Oct 27: “Speak No Evil” by Allison Brennan, a romantic suspense. Blurb from book: The murder of eighteen-year-old Angie Vance was exceptionally vile—her mouth was sealed with glue, an obscenity was scrawled across her skin, and she was suffocated in a garbage bag. The killing seems personal, so police detective Carina Kincaid focuses her efforts on the victim’s much older ex-boyfriend, Steve Thomas. But without physical evidence, Carina can’t make a collar or a case. She also can’t stop Sheriff Nick Thomas, the prime suspect’s brother, from conducting his own unwelcome investigation. Though Nick is still scarred and unsteady from a recent confrontation with a serial killer, he’s determined to prove his brother’s innocence. But his confidence is shaken when he learns of Steve’s dark side, and when a friend of the murdered girl meets a similarly gruesome fate. With no time to lose, Carina and Nick work together to trap a psychopath, before another unlucky woman faces an unspeakable end. When I found out that the Kincaid family (from the Lucy Kincaid series) was featured in previous books, I decided to read them. Didn’t know I would find characters from other books I’ve read. Nick Thomas is one such character. I love how everyone is connected! Heck, I just love Allison’s books. Now I wonder who I’ll discover next. The story in this one is a bit gruesome (not that I mind—just warning you), and very suspenseful. I couldn’t put it down. Which is what I suspected would be the case and the reason I saved this series to read on the cruise. No guilt! J

 

Oct 28: “See No Evil” by Allison Brennan, a romantic suspense. Blurb on book: A troubled teenage girl has been charged with the grisly murder of her stepfather. The evidence is damning: Emily was found alone at the scene with blood on her hands, and an incriminating e-mail she wrote outlines a murder plot identical to the method of the brutal slaying. But deputy district attorney Julia Chandler believes her niece is innocent, and she’s determined to keep the promise she made to protect her dead brother’s daughter—even if it means hiring private eye Connor Kincaid…the man who blames her for forcing his resignation from the police department. Together Julia and Connor uncover a chain of unsolved violent crimes tied to an unorthodox therapist whose anonymous online patients purge their anger by posting lethal fantasies. But someone in the group has turned vigilante, turning the game of virtual murder into a flesh-and-blood vendetta. Having so much fun reading these books back-to-back. It’s like binge-watching a television series. So I guess I’m binge-reading. Better than binge-eating. Oh wait, I think I did that on the cruise! I want more. Of this series, that is. Good thing I have the next one!

Oct 30: “Fear No Evil” by Allison Brennan, a romantic suspense. Blurb on book: Instead of preparing for her high school graduation, Lucy Kincaid is facing a vicious execution. Lured by an online predator, she’s destined to die horribly—live on the Internet—while hundreds of heartless viewers watch and vote on the method of her slaughter. Her family’s only hope rests with Kate Donovan, an FBI agent who took on the same sadistic killer once before…and lost. Blamed for another girl’s gruesome murder, Kate’s been fighting to clear her name. But she agrees to join the hunt for Lucy—and reluctantly steps back into her worst nightmare. With time running out before the bloody webcast airs, Kate teams up with forensic psychiatrist Dillon Kincaid to get inside the head of her twisted quarry, zero in on his chamber of horrors, and reach Lucy before grim history repeats itself and another innocent’s brutal death goes hideously live. Even though I already knew the outcome of this story (because I’ve read all the Lucy Kincaid books to date), I was fascinated to see how it all happened. So glad I was able to read it straight through. But now I want the next series—which I don’t own. Dang! I’ll certainly rectify that soon. This really is a great series and I could kick myself for waiting so long to read them.

Oct 30: “Freaks” by Tess Gerritsen, a Rizzoli & Isles short story. Blurb from Goodreads: Homicide cop Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles have seen their fair share of mortal crimes, but the death of Kimberly Rayner may qualify as inhuman in more ways than one. When corpse of the emaciated seventeen-year-old girl is discovered next to an empty coffin in an abandoned church, mysterious bruises around the throat suggest foul play. Caught fleeing the scene is the victim’s closest friend, Lucas Henry, an equally skeletal, pale teenager who claims he’s guilty only of having a taste for blood—a craving he shared with Kimberly. But the victim’s distraught father doesn’t believe in vampires, only vengeance. And now, another life may be at risk unless Rizzoli and Isles can uncover the astonishing truth. This has been sitting on my Nook forever. Interesting little story. Somehow those never really satisfy me, though. I much prefer meatier ones. But hey, I got credit for reading ANOTHER book, so I’m taking it! J

I’m only one book behind in my reading goals, now. Yay! Yeah, my writing took a hit, but I was on vacation, so I’m letting it slide.

 

So... Do you have guilty pleasures that you can feel guiltless about during vacation?

Happy reading!

Stacy