Wednesday Reads and I Reached My Goal!

Since the Internet was so wobbly during my cruise, I wasn’t able to post what I read last week, not that I had much. But I did manage to reach my goal of reading 65 books (shhh… don’t tell anyone I kind of cheated by reading some novellas there at the end). Next year I will NOT make my goal so high (and here I thought I’d cut back THIS year!).

Here’s what I read the past two weeks:

Book #62

Dates read: December 1-8
Title: “Abducted”
Year of publication: 2015
Author: Tarah Scott and Evan Trevane
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Texas Rangers Special Ops #1
# of Pages: 300
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Free from a convention
Blurb from book: The El Paso gala was slated to be the hottest event of the year and a must do if Liz Monahan, the creative brains behind Nina Bruce Designs, was to vault the company to the big time. Circumstances put Liz at the party in one of her own creations, escorted by a young, handsome model hired to show her off to the well-known and well-established. But Liz didn’t count on her date being an undercover Texas Ranger who is investigating a human trafficking ring. She also didn’t count on being kidnapped and trafficked herself.
    When Texas Ranger Ben Hunter slips away from Liz Monahan at the gala and begins his investigation, he couldn’t be more surprised to arrive in Juarez, Mexico to find her held captive by infamous human trafficker Carols Sanchez. In order to save her, Ben must commit murder. Hers.
My thoughts: I might have enjoyed this book more if I didn’t want to keep editing it. Fallback for being a writer, I suppose. Story kept me turning the pages in any case.

Book #63

Dates read: December 12-13
Title: “Tempted by Midnight”
Year of publication: 2014
Author: Lara Adrian
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Midnight Breed #12.5
# of Pages: 99
Paper or plastic: Nook book
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: Once, they lived in secret alongside mankind. Now, emerged from the shadows, the Breed faces enemies on both sides—human and vampire alike. No one knows that better than Lazaro Archer, one of the eldest, most powerful of his kind. His beloved Breedmate and family massacred by a madman twenty years ago, Lazaro refuses to open his heart again.
    Sworn to his duty as the leader of the Order’s command center in Italy, the last thing the hardened warrior wants is to be tasked with the rescue and safekeeping of an innocent woman in need of his protection. But when a covert mission takes a deadly wrong turn, Lazaro finds himself in the unlikely role of hero with a familiar, intriguing beauty he should not desire, but cannot resist.
    Melena Walsh has never forgotten the dashing Breed male who saved her life as a child. But the chivalrous hero of her past is in hard contrast to the embittered, dangerous man on whom her safety now depends. And with an unwanted—yet undeniable—desire igniting between them, Melena fears that Lazaro’s protection may come at the price of her heart….
My thoughts: I was caught up in the series, but hadn’t read any of the novellas because they were in an anthology I wasn’t interested in buying. I remembered Lazaro from other books in the series (and somehow pictured him way older, but kept forgetting he’s a vampire and doesn’t age—d’oh!), but had to think back to when this storyline occurred. Other than that, I was back into a world I really enjoy.

Book #64

Dates read: December 13-14
Title: “Stroke of Midnight”
Year of publication: 2015
Author: Lara Adrian
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Midnight Breed #13.5
# of Pages: 89
Paper or plastic: Nook book
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: Born to a noble Breed lineage steeped in exotic ritual and familial duty, vampire warrior Jehan walked away from the luxurious trappings of his upbringing in Morocco to join the Order’s command center in Rome.
    But when a generations-old obligation calls Jehan home, the reluctant desert prince finds himself thrust into an unwanted handfasting with Seraphina, an unwilling beauty who’s as determined as he is to resist the antiquated pact between their families.
    Yet as intent as they are to prove their incompatibility, neither can deny the attraction that ignites between them. And as Jehan and Seraphina fight to resist the calling of their blood, a deadly enemy seeks to end their uneasy truce before it even begins…
My thoughts: A minor character I didn’t remember in the series, but still very much enjoyable (although some of the events of this story kind of screamed historical)

Book #65

Dates read: December 14-15
Title: “Midnight Untamed”
Year of publication: 2016
Author: Lara Adrian
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Midnight Breed #14.5
# of Pages: 69
Paper or plastic: Nook book
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: The mission was supposed to be simple. Infiltrate an enemy's stronghold outside Rome and eliminate its leader. For a Breed warrior as lethal as Ettore Selvaggio, AKA "Savage", stealth assassinations are only one of his many cold-hearted specialties. But the last thing Savage expects to find behind enemy lines—in his target's bed—is a woman he once adored.
    It's been years since Savage last saw beautiful Arabella Genova. Years he's strived to banish to his past, along with the fierce desire he once felt toward Bella . . . and the irresistible calling of her blood that stirs in him even now, despite the fact that she belongs to another male.
    But when fate throws Savage and Bella together again in a race for their lives, will his long-lost love prove to be the one woman he can't live without, or the perfect weapon to destroy him?
My thoughts: This is the kind of story that works for a novella – second chance at love. The characters already know each other. Although… I would have enjoyed knowing them more.

Book #66

Dates read: December 16-17
Title: “Love’s Portrait”
Year of publication: 2005/2011
Author: Monica Burns
Genre: Historical romance
Series: N/A
# of Pages: 155
Paper or plastic: Nook book
How obtained: Purchased for free at B&N
Blurb from Goodreads: When Julia Westgard commissions a nude portrait of herself, the painting is much more than a rebellious act. It's an attempt to regain her self-worth after years of a loveless, repressive marriage to her late husband. But the private portrait puts her directly in the path of Morgan St. Claire, one of the Marlborough Set's most notorious seducers. A man who doesn't take no for an answer.
    From the first moment Morgan sees Julia's portrait, he's determined to have her. But the woman he meets is a far cry from the image on canvas. What starts out as a simple exercise in seduction quickly evolves into a quest to reveal the true Julia. With each sensual encounter, he employs every erotic weapon at his disposal in hopes of making Julia see she really is the woman in Love's Portrait.
My thoughts: Very entertaining and very, very sexy. Should have read it long before now. But the only reason I read this book now is because I was reading another historical romance that was bugging the you-know-what out of me and I needed to know if it was the genre or author. It wasn’t the genre.

I hope to get pictures from the cruise posted on Friday.

So… Are you all set for Christmas? I got the tree up yesterday. Not sure how much decorating I’ll do, but that is in the plans for today. Then I have to start wrapping some presents. Especially those I’m handing out this Saturday! Oh yeah, guess I better clean the house a little, too.

Happy Reading!

Stacy