Tag: book review

Out of the Box Blogs

Dragon on Top by G. A. Aiken

Les

*****WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS ONE VULGAR WORD IN A QUOTE********

WOW! This book is short, but AMAZING! All about dragons. Dragon queens, Dragon Warriors, Dragon politicians. I didn’t want to put it down.

Main character Ghleanna, is a dragon warrior captain, and she is hilarious. She is sent to protect Bram the Merciful on a peace treaty mission. Along the way her family of warriors becomes involved and the family dynamics are so freaking awesome. Of course there are fights, love, sex, banter, and foul language. I love it.

Everyone knows I love good banter, but this was awesome and I found myself loving all the characters. I love they way they interact with each other. The name calling, head butting, sibling affection.  The author did well with the characters, they told you key points about all of them.

All in all, I loved it, I would read it again. It is not a cliffhanger. So it has an ending, and if I might add, a good one.

I will give you some quotes from the book. I mean, you know I leave you guys hanging so you will read it, but I am in a giving mood today. HA!

“Wake up, ya lazy sow. Wake up!” – Ghleanna’s aunts

“Leave me be, you mad bitches!” – Ghleanna

And my favorite:

“I didn’t go through half-a-century of training and more than that in battles to end up the babysitter of Bram the Merciful.” -Ghleanna

Bram the Merciful responds “Would you like an actual blade to twist in my gut, Ghleanna?”

“It’s nothing personal,” she responds.

Ha! I love it! I could probably find one hundred quotes I loved. So you need to read it, so you can see what I am talking about.

GO NOW! RUN MY FRIENDS! YOU HAVE A BOOK TO READ!

Peace

Les

Books, great reads, Reviews

All I Want by Jill Shalvis

debra

Hey everyone,

Blurb for All I Want:

Pilot-for-hire Zoe Stone is happy to call Sunshine, Idaho, her home base. But her quiet life is thrown for a loop when her brother’s friend Parker comes to stay with her for a week. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent is a handsome flirt with a gift for getting under her skin. And the situation only escalates when Parker hires her to fly him around the area while he collects evidence on a suspected smuggler.

Now she has to live and work with the guy. But when they’re in the air, she sees another side of him. He’s driven, focused, and sharp. And while he enjoys giving commentary on her blind dates, she quickly realizes with a shock that it’s Parker who gets her engines going.

My review:  This is the latest book in her Animal Magnetism series.    The entire town, (including all the animals) are additional and necessary characters in this series.  You can’t help but like the town.   Zoe and Parker are nice, fun characters.  Zoe is a hotshot pilot yet can’t fix anything at her own house.  Parker, a special agent for the Fish and Wildlife Department, is a friend of her brother and is in Idaho for a much needed vacation, even though he is secretly working on a case.  He goes behind her back all the time fixing little things in the house—and drives Zoe crazy in the process.  Zoe’s dog, Oreo, is possibly my favorite character in this story. The only thing that fell short for me in this book is that the case Parker was working on ended without much pizzazz.   I like Jill’s books—they are light, fun reads.  They make me feel happy when I am reading them and I never fail to smile.  Sometimes we need books to do that for us.

Happy reading!

Debra

Books, great reads, Reviews

Shifter Planet by D.B. Reynolds

Karen

Shifter Planet Cover

This was my first book by D.B. Reynolds but not my last. I really enjoyed the world that she built, but let’s make this blog official, blurb first then a review.

Blurb:

Specialist Amanda Sumner is one of the first to make contact on the Earth-like planet Harp and discovers she’s the only Earthling, who can hear the trees sing in the strange forest. Determined to remain and learn more of the planet’s secrets, Amanda sets out to become part of the elite Guild there…

But there is a secret involving some Guild members-one that could get her killed.

Shifter Rhodry de Mendoza wants the Earthlings off his planet before they destroy it–even if that means denying what he feels for the fierce and lovely Amanda. The pair is thrown together in what becomes a fight for their lives. And they might just lose everything-including each other-in their battle for the right to live in peace.

Now the review: I loved this book! I have to admit in the beginning I was not a Specialist Amanda Sumner fan. I found her arrogant and annoying. For example she practically throws a hissy fit when she finds out there are shifters on the planet and no one told her. Really? This is one of they’re biggest secrets, your people have done nothing but harm but they should have told you because your breathing? That irritated me. But I loved Rhodry from go. He was protective and honorable, plus being smoking hot didn’t hurt. And truth be told Amanda grew on me, her personally became less entitled and more independent (it they’re a difference? Of course there is) which also coincided with the story really picking up. The less I worried about her the more I realized that this was a really good book. The world building was spot on, I was never confused about where they were or what something looked like. The relationship between Rhodry and Amanda was refreshing, instant attraction but not insta-love. And the story itself was great, just enough angst to make you want to read, just a little more.

I recommend reading this, the book comes out October 26th. Grab it, you won’t be disappointed. I did get a free copy from netgalley, so thank you for that!

Books, great reads, Reviews

Needing Moore Trilogy by Julie A. Richman

debra

Hey everyone,

This is a longer than normal review—I couldn’t decide what to leave out!!

I think this trilogy is possibly the best story I have read this year.  If you have not read it, you owe it to yourself to try it.

Two friendly warnings upfront:

  1. The story takes all three books to tell.  Books 1 and 2 are cliffhangers!! Be forewarned.
  2. This story has a lot of emotional upheaval in it, especially as it relates to the character of Mia.  Emotions, both good and bad, are very strong in this story.

Now, for a brief synopsis.  Schooner (I love this name) and Mia meet in college.  They are soul mates and know it.  Through a misunderstanding, the characters’ immaturity in knowing how to straighten out misunderstandings, and some devious behavior on the part of another character, they are torn apart and their lives take very different paths.  Twenty-four years later, they find each other again and are determined to be together.  The story starts present day and their lives are told largely in flashback, so to speak.  We learn what happened in college and their respective lives apart while they are re-discovering their relationship and figuring out how to make things work.  I laughed and cried throughout this story.  The moments of humor, largely due to a secondary character, are so very important, especially in contrast to the moments of total heartbreaking sadness that occurs as the story unfolds (see warning #2 above).

What I thought made this story so strong:

  1. The characters.  Obviously, Schooner and Mia are front and center.  They are well-developed throughout the story and we fall in love with them for who they were and who they become.  Mia in my opinion is a very strong female who is not afraid to tell Schooner what she thinks when he needs to hear it. Schooner is a wonderful character.  Also, all the secondary characters are completely essential to the story.  They all play an important role in the story of Mia and Schooner’s lives.  There are not any extra characters who just take up space.
  2. The story itself.  I don’t think the author uses any extra “filler” materials.  Everything that happens in the story (especially in Mia’s life) is important to how Schooner and Mia matured and developed as characters.  Life happens (the good, the bad, and the very ugly).  The author wasn’t just using up pages in the books.

This story is an emotional roller-coaster, but a ride well worth taking.  Do yourself a favor and if you decide to read it, go ahead and get all three books—you will need them.D

Happy reading,

Debra