Tag: confessions

Books, great reads, Reviews

Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster

debra

Ms. Foster is one of my favorite go-to authors.  I love her writing.  You see her characters as real people that you just can’t help but grow to care about.

We finally have the story for Armie and Rissy and Ms. Foster does not disappoint! Fighting Dirty is the fourth and final installment of her Ultimate Series.  This series follows the lives of several fighters in the SBC, a fictional ultimate fighting company. In many series, I think there is one character that seems to capture the imagination and affection of the readers and all of us wait for that character’s book.  In Ms. Foster’s Ultimate Series that character is Armie.   I, along with a lot of her readers, have been fascinated by Armie from the very beginning. We have seen small snippets of their story throughout the prior books in this series.  He is a character with a dark secret in his past, an uninhibited outlook on physical relationships and he absolutely has a heart of gold towards people he cares about.  He has been in love with Rissy for years, yet he never admitted it and never pursued her due to his belief that he wasn’t the right man for her.  Rissy is the little sister of Cannon Colter (the hero from No Limits), Armie’s best friend who has stood by him through everything—including Armie’s past.  That alone made Rissy off limits for him.  Coupled with the fact that Rissy is a “good girl” in Armie’s book, he knows that they will never have a future.  What he did not count on was Rissy herself and her views on things.  Rissy loves Armie just as he is and accepts him for who he is.  I was glad that Armie shared his secret with Rissy early on and I thought her acceptance of Armie was a well-written scene.  Rissy is a strong female lead and a great match for Armie.  There is also a suspense plotline ranging from a bank robbery where Armie saves everyone to an attack on one of the characters just to keep things  interesting.

I loved this story.  Both Armie and Rissy are great characters and the chemistry between them is smokin’ hot yet there is also a sense of sweetness about them.  You actually root for these characters to make it.  This story also has some nice humor in it.  I also enjoyed seeing the characters from the previous books  in this book. I have always enjoyed Ms. Foster’s dialogue in her stories.  The dialogue is believable and well-written.  I hate to see this series end but am always looking forward to the next series she writes.

I received an ARC of Fighting Dirty in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Reading,

Debra

 

 

Books, great reads, Reviews

Shifter Planet by D.B. Reynolds

debra

Hey everyone,

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.

I really enjoyed this book.  I have been a long time fan of Ms. Reynolds since I found her Vampires in America series several years ago which is still on-going.  She writes very well and is wonderful at the craft of world building. Both characters of Amanda and Rhodry are well-developed.  Their motivations are understood throughout the book.  I think Amanda is especially strong and she shows it especially as what happens to her and then Rhodry unfolds.   She also did a good job of describing the antagonists in the story and what they wanted as well. One thing that I really liked about this book was that the relationship between Rhodry and Amanda was a slow build.  The author did not rush and it worked.  Honestly, once Amanda entered the trial to pursue entry into the Guild, she and then Rhodry were so busy trying to survive, they didn’t have time for a whole lot to happen fast.  Anyway, this really involved learning more about the planet of Harp, some of the history of Harp’s genetically altered shifters, Amanda’s ability to  “hear the trees” and get back to the City.

This was a great combination of some fantasy, some space travel, and paranormal. I am looking forward to more books in this series.  There are several very interesting characters that hopefully will have their stories told as well.

Happy Reading,

debra

Books, indie author, Out of the Box Blogs

Do $$$ Effect How We Rate?

Karen

I just finished Time Heist by Anthony Vicino. It’s been on my TBR for awhile, and I got it on sale for $0.99 so it was a steal. I like Anthony’s writing, sometimes a bit overelaborate, I’ll give you an example at one point the helicopter thingy (not his words) is crashing and the windshield cracks. This is what Tom the main character thinks Asphyxiation on account of too much air felt too paradoxical a way to die. Though, in the end, I suppose breathing eventually does us all. I was thinking what would have summed it up better? Oh shit. But that’s me, not a writer. And there are times when the clarity of Anthony’s writing is just stunning to me. Tom is addicted to a drug called Quick Sliver. There is a moment when he is detoxing in the middle of the, well everything honestly, and he really doesn’t have time for it (yeah that’s a pun, time) so his partner gives him a hit. It’s then he thinks this...I pitied the living. The dead were my idols. This drug was my god. I read that and thought Anthony you talented s.o.b.

But that’s not what I’m really talking about, what I do want to know is this, I gave this book 4 stars because for $1 it was quite good. In fact if I liked the ending I would have given it 5 stars and written glowing reviews to high heaven everywhere I could think of. But what if the book cost $7 or $8? Now if the ending was different I would have gone with 4 stars, but if not 2-3 stars. And that got me thinking, should my reviews have price factored in? Is that fair, especially if your dealing with a published author who has no control over the price? I do it because I think I was always raised that, the more you pay for it, the higher standard it must adhere to. But is this a proper additude to have in my book reviewing? I’m feel like it’s almost unconscious for me but I’m curious to hear others thoughts on the matter.

Out of the Box Blogs

Siblinghood of the World Award

Karen

This is our first nomination so a very special THANK YOU to Bibliomad for nominating us!

I know I’m just one of the three bloggers on our page but it’s my day to post so you get stuck with me. Here are the 10 questions Bibliomad asked:

  • What is your most treasured memory?

For me it’s sitting on my mothers bed, with my mom and sister, reading a book while they talk about anything. I’ve learned when dealing with my mothers cancer to appreciate the small moments. You never know if that’s all you get.

  • Press shuffle. What is the first song that comes up? What does it mean to you?

That’s awesome, The Monster by Eminen came up, which is funny since 90% of my music is hard rock. Everyone has weaknesses people!

  • What book did you have to read for school, yet you hated it? (If any.)

The Canterbury Tales, I’m sure it was hilarious in its time, but not my cup of tea honestly.

  • If you could only listen to one song for the rest of eternity, which would it be?

You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC. Loved it from the minute I heard it and it still never gets old.

  • What is the weather like whilst you’re writing this?

It’s about 85 degrees out and the sun is shining. No tradewinds though so everything is a little voggie from the Big Islands volcano.

  • If any one book character were to become a real person, which would you choose to do so?

This is a great question! Ben from Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series. Smart, snarky and has a dark past, sounds like bff material to me.

  • Which book character do you have the biggest crush on?

Vhishous from Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward.

  • If you could recommend one book to the whole world, which would you choose?

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. It has always been one of my favorites and its a classic so it can appeal to a broad audience.

  • What is your favourite holiday?

No favorites for me!

  • What is your dream holiday/vacation?

I have a list! I would love to visit South Africa, in fact all of Africa has been on my list for awhile. If it has to be somewhere I’ve been I loved New Zealand, I would love to go back there someday.

The official rules of this award are:

  1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog in your post.
  2. Answer the questions that the blogger who nominated you has provided.
  3. Nominate ten other bloggers (or up to 10).
  4. Create ten questions for your nominees and notify them of their nominations.

Our nominations are:
Clayton the Page Turner
Scifi and Scary
Records of the Ohanzee
Heron There & Everywhere
Vrushali21
The Bookish Khaleesi
Metallic Wolff
An Acquaintance with Letters
Read it or Not Reviews
Stacey is Sassy
One Book Two

Okay, that’s technically eleven but I know many of you are very busy writing books, or working or both so I figured I’d throw it out there and see who wants to try it. I also randomly picked a few names (though I’m eagar to hear your answers) so if you weren’t nominated and want to answer my questions,go for it!

My Ten Questions

  1. Who is your favorite author that’s alive? How about favorite author that is dead?
  2. Are you primarily a reader or a writer?
  3. What books are on your preorder list right now?
  4. If you could go live in the world written in a book what book would you chose? Would you still be human?
  5. If you could co-author a book with anyone who would you pick?
  6. If you had to write a biography about anyone, who would you write it about?
  7. If you had the choice between given lots of money but never being able to pick up a book again or being poor but having an unlimited supple of any book you want which would you chose?
  8. If you could build your dream library, where would you put it?
  9. What’s your favorite genre? Why is it so much better than the rest?
  10. Who’s your favorite bad guy/villain in a book?

Thanks again Olivia!