The Last Wednesday Reads for a Few Weeks

Three books finished this week. Okay, one was a novella. That’s what happens when you read a series and the author throws them in (or starts with them). Heck, I’m doing the same thing with A Vampire Wedding. Here’s what I read this week:

Jan 13: “Reflected in You” by Sylvia Day, second book in the Crossfire series, an erotica at 338 pages. Blurb from book: Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest pleasures. I couldn’t stay away. I didn’t want to. He was my addiction…my every desire…mine. My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful…except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity. We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession… I do not know what it is about this series that has captivated me so. These characters are so messed up! And yet, I have to know how they’ll work it all out. There appears to be two more in this series (so far). I’ve already ordered them. Yeah, I’m hooked.

Jan 16: “Maximum Exposure” by Allison Brennan, #0.5 in the Max Revere series, a mystery/suspense novella at 83 pages. Blurb from Barnes & Noble: In this thrilling story, New York Times bestseller Allison Brennan introduces tough-as-nails investigative reporter Maxine Revere, the compelling feature character of Notorious, Brennan's exciting new series debut available in hardcover March 25, 2014. Two years before the events in Notorious, Max travels to Colorado Springs to investigate the disappearance of a college student. Frustrated over the lack of interest from both friends of the victim and campus authorities, Max tags along with the leader of search and rescue and his dog through the beautiful and deadly Rocky Mountains in the hopes of finding answers. Every answer she finds leads to more questions—questions neither the police nor the college want Max asking. This is my first taste of this series (this novella was written after the first one as a prequel/backstory kind of thing). I like it. Guess I’ll be reading the rest, now. J

Jan 19: “The Dirt on Ninth Grave” by Darynda Jones, the ninth book in the Charley Davidson series, an urban fantasy at 326 pages. Blurb from book: In a small village in New York, Charley Davidson is living as Jane Doe, a girl with no memory of who she was or where she came from. So when she is working at a diner and slowly begins to realize she can see dead people, she’s more than a little taken aback. Stranger still are the people entering her life. They seem to know things about her, things they hide with lies and half-truths. Soon she senses something far darker: a force that wants to cause her harm. She is sure of it. Her saving grace comes in the form of a new friend she feels she can confide in and the fry cook, a devastatingly handsome man whose smile is breathtaking and whose touch is scalding. He stays close, and she almost feels safe with him around… But no one can outrun their past, and as more lies swirl around her—even from her new and trusted friends—the more disoriented she becomes, until she is confronted by a man who claims to have been sent to kill her. Sent by the darkest force in the universe. A force that absolutely will not stop until she is dead. Thankfully, she has a rottweiler. But that doesn’t help in her quest to find her identity and recover what she’s lost. That is something that will take all her courage and touch of the power she feels flowing like electricity through her veins. She almost feels sorry for him, that devil in blue jeans. The disarming fry cook who lies with every breath he takes. She will get to the bottom of what he knows if it kills her…or him. Either way. I do so love this series and this book just made it better. Can’t wait for the next one. Thank goodness I only have to wait 5 months!

This will most likely be the last of my Wednesday reads for awhile. I’ve got some judging to do (on seven books, so I’m being generous saying that I’ll get them done in a few weeks—it could be longer!) and can’t report on any of it until much later. Gosh, I don’t know what I’ll do on Wednesdays, though. I struggle enough on Mondays and Fridays! Got any suggestions?

Snow is forecasted for the morning commute, so I doubt I make it to the fitness center (my one legitimate excuse that doesn’t involve illness or injury: if it’s snowing, I ain’t going). I’d only be walking on the treadmill anyway, so I’m not missing out on my weight routine. I’m doing well with the walking, though. Back up to 3mph and a little over 2 miles a day. My knee feels fine and my foot feels fine. I swear, it seems like a miracle!

So… Even with the freezing temps and snow on the ground, I’m still finding stink bugs in my house. What a pain. What’s being a pain in your tookus right now?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

P.S. As I posted this, I realized what day it is! 40 years ago today I was sworn into the U.S. Army. It's the day that changed my life and put me on the path to my Hubby. Very glad I made that decision.