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Merissa (14003 KP) rated The Hunter (Tales of Pern Coen: Bloodlines #1) in Books
Feb 17, 2023
An Absolute Corker of a Book!
THE HUNTER is the first book in the Tales of Pern Coen (Bloodlines) series and I'm already hooked.
I love the mix of Celtic names and fantasy places. The characters are all life-like, whether you like them or not. And I really enjoyed seeing the war through different eyes. Alekos isn't a bad person but his actions are. He doesn't see anything different. Rhiannon's eyes have been opened and she has heard both sides of the story. She sees herself as weak when she is stronger than she realises. And Conor... what do I say about him? He's the grumpy heart-of-gold character that I fall for every single time!
This is the first book by this author I have read and I read it in one sitting. The plot was great, the pacing perfect, and the characters made me smile. An absolute corker of a book that I highly recommend.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I love the mix of Celtic names and fantasy places. The characters are all life-like, whether you like them or not. And I really enjoyed seeing the war through different eyes. Alekos isn't a bad person but his actions are. He doesn't see anything different. Rhiannon's eyes have been opened and she has heard both sides of the story. She sees herself as weak when she is stronger than she realises. And Conor... what do I say about him? He's the grumpy heart-of-gold character that I fall for every single time!
This is the first book by this author I have read and I read it in one sitting. The plot was great, the pacing perfect, and the characters made me smile. An absolute corker of a book that I highly recommend.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Merissa (14003 KP) rated Gifts for the Season: Winter & Christmas MM Charity Anthology in Books
Nov 6, 2020 (Updated Aug 14, 2023)
Gifts for the Season is a warm-hearted collection of seasonal madness, from new love to old, it's all here. Each one gives you a short story, some with new couples, some with old, but all full of Christmas spirit.
I will admit, I preferred the ones that were new stories but that is because I really don't like reading stories where I think I may have missed out on something!
For me, my favourites were The First Snow of Winter by Joanna Chambers and Driving Home for Christmas by Annabelle Jacobs. The first because it's a historical romance which stands out from the contemporary/paranormal rest and the second because junction 10 on the M42 is well known to me so it gave me a feeling of familiarity.
As with all anthologies, some I enjoyed more than others, but every story is a winner in my book. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 6, 2020
I will admit, I preferred the ones that were new stories but that is because I really don't like reading stories where I think I may have missed out on something!
For me, my favourites were The First Snow of Winter by Joanna Chambers and Driving Home for Christmas by Annabelle Jacobs. The first because it's a historical romance which stands out from the contemporary/paranormal rest and the second because junction 10 on the M42 is well known to me so it gave me a feeling of familiarity.
As with all anthologies, some I enjoyed more than others, but every story is a winner in my book. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 6, 2020
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Battlemage in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Battlemage was so exciting. It held on tight and didn’t let go. I was hooked from the very first few sentences from the first chapter and from there it just got better. It was everything I’d hoped it would be. It had an exciting, well thought-out plot, complex and interesting characters, good writing, great humor, and amazing war-time magic. It had an interesting (subtle) religious and political commentary running through it that added dimension to the world. It made it more real. And it had a character that I had to really think about, really pay attention to, to figure out his true identity! I love that. I love a book that makes me think, and that surprises me.
I love good-guy/bad-guy magic. Magic that can take you to higher levels of selflessness and servant-hood and kindness, and that same magic can be used to pull you and everyone around you into filth and degradation. The Source is so powerful that, if used in the wrong hands, can completely break and ruin a person. And we see that in the battlemages. That’s my favorite kind of magic.
The narration was very good. Addis created a perfect voice for the personalities of the characters. He has superb accents and articulation, spoke clearly at a good pace, and took a book that was at 100% great and made it 200% great (which is exactly what the narrator should do! Add to the experience, not take away from it.)
The only thing about Battlemage I thought was slightly lacking was the very end. It was a little abrupt and open. Open in a good way, meaning it immediately demands a sequel. But I felt like the author was like “Hah! It’s over! bwahahahah!” rather than the kind of gentile ease away that leaves the reader feeling satisfied but still excited for what is to come. However I was still highly satisfied with the story, would totally read/listen to it again, and recommend it to anyone 18+.
I love good-guy/bad-guy magic. Magic that can take you to higher levels of selflessness and servant-hood and kindness, and that same magic can be used to pull you and everyone around you into filth and degradation. The Source is so powerful that, if used in the wrong hands, can completely break and ruin a person. And we see that in the battlemages. That’s my favorite kind of magic.
The narration was very good. Addis created a perfect voice for the personalities of the characters. He has superb accents and articulation, spoke clearly at a good pace, and took a book that was at 100% great and made it 200% great (which is exactly what the narrator should do! Add to the experience, not take away from it.)
The only thing about Battlemage I thought was slightly lacking was the very end. It was a little abrupt and open. Open in a good way, meaning it immediately demands a sequel. But I felt like the author was like “Hah! It’s over! bwahahahah!” rather than the kind of gentile ease away that leaves the reader feeling satisfied but still excited for what is to come. However I was still highly satisfied with the story, would totally read/listen to it again, and recommend it to anyone 18+.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Corralled (Blacktop Cowboys, #1) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
Cowboy rodeo erotica? You have my interest. From the moment I saw this book on goodreads bookswap, I could not wait to read it. I love me some erotica. Add some cowboys in the mix and I am happy as a clam. Until I read it.
Because I dont really have much to say about this book, here goes.
The good: the erotic scenes, the character development, the dialogue,
the writing
The bad: the plot (which bored me senseless), the favoritism
The ugly: the situation
While there is nothing actually wrong with the novel, I just could not get into it. James has a great easy style to read. The erotic scenes were great, some of the best I have read, especially when dealing with such an awkward situation. And oh was it awkward. The dialogue was realistic and had me not only laughing, but cringing as well. The characters and the emotions were also very believable. I found myself becoming attached to them
The plot seemed a little lackluster, however. I will gave James points for having one of the few erotic novels with a well developed plot in the first place. As I said before, however, it was just not a story I was interested in. It was clear from the beginning who the lead female was going to end up with. I dont think James did it on purpose, but her clear favoritism for one man over the other was apparent from the beginning.
This was not an easy book to read in the first place due to the circumstances of the love triangle. All of the ménage a trios novels I have read before, the couples were into it as a threesome. In this novel, two men are vying the attention and love of one woman. It was awkward at best, especially since the men were childhood friends.
Because I dont really have much to say about this book, here goes.
The good: the erotic scenes, the character development, the dialogue,
the writing
The bad: the plot (which bored me senseless), the favoritism
The ugly: the situation
While there is nothing actually wrong with the novel, I just could not get into it. James has a great easy style to read. The erotic scenes were great, some of the best I have read, especially when dealing with such an awkward situation. And oh was it awkward. The dialogue was realistic and had me not only laughing, but cringing as well. The characters and the emotions were also very believable. I found myself becoming attached to them
The plot seemed a little lackluster, however. I will gave James points for having one of the few erotic novels with a well developed plot in the first place. As I said before, however, it was just not a story I was interested in. It was clear from the beginning who the lead female was going to end up with. I dont think James did it on purpose, but her clear favoritism for one man over the other was apparent from the beginning.
This was not an easy book to read in the first place due to the circumstances of the love triangle. All of the ménage a trios novels I have read before, the couples were into it as a threesome. In this novel, two men are vying the attention and love of one woman. It was awkward at best, especially since the men were childhood friends.
Bobby Moore to Thierry Henry: A Girl's Own Story
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Baking Me Crazy (Donner Bakery #1) in Books
Jan 8, 2021
So this starts with Levi and his best friend - and love of his life - Joss heading to Donner Bakery where Joss is starting work. He's been in love with her for the past five years but she just sees him as her best friend. It's on her first day at the bakery that she meets an attractive new guy who openly flirts with her and buys her a cupcake and Joss suddenly has all these feelings running through her. Levi eventually finds out about the guy and realises he has to do something to make Joss see him as more than best friend material.
I'll be honest, this took a lot of getting into initially. It was a slow build up. We know he's in love with her, she just sees him as a friend. It took until somewhere around half way through before anything really happened. It was cute after that. And then we have the PT job that Levi applied to a while ago and how that's going to affect their relationship.
I think this may be the first book I've read where a character is in a wheelchair. Joss was having physical therapy to try and help her walk better since she was only paralyzed from the knees down but she was amazing with her chair. She did pretty much every sport that was possible from her chair, worked out regularly with Levi and could pop a wheelie whenever she wanted.
This was a rather sweet story but it took a little too long to properly get going, in my opinion, so my attention had started to wane by the time they did finally even think of turning their friendship into more.
I read a Winston Brothers book a while ago and I have to admit I wasn't the biggest fan but Cletus popping up in this has made me want to read his and Jenn's story at least.
I'll be honest, this took a lot of getting into initially. It was a slow build up. We know he's in love with her, she just sees him as a friend. It took until somewhere around half way through before anything really happened. It was cute after that. And then we have the PT job that Levi applied to a while ago and how that's going to affect their relationship.
I think this may be the first book I've read where a character is in a wheelchair. Joss was having physical therapy to try and help her walk better since she was only paralyzed from the knees down but she was amazing with her chair. She did pretty much every sport that was possible from her chair, worked out regularly with Levi and could pop a wheelie whenever she wanted.
This was a rather sweet story but it took a little too long to properly get going, in my opinion, so my attention had started to wane by the time they did finally even think of turning their friendship into more.
I read a Winston Brothers book a while ago and I have to admit I wasn't the biggest fan but Cletus popping up in this has made me want to read his and Jenn's story at least.
Emeli Sande recommended track I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl by Nina Simone in Greatest Hits by Nina Simone in Music (curated)
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Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green
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