Ye Olde Booke Reviews

As I have stated in my last post, I am a full time student and will be swinging from "fun reads" to "required reads"... that being said - I will still be posting reviews of what I am currently reading. I have decided to change my thought process on reviewing.

I will review books that I have agreed to (ARC, New Books w/out reviews, what-have-you...) as soon as I am able. They will take precedent over my "fun reads" - I shall call them "review reads" (Very creative today if you can't tell.......) BUT nothing will take precedent over my "required reads" for school. I will review some of my "required reads" and finally, I will pick and choose which of my "fun reads" I will be reviewing.

However, I will be creating a list of books I have read and come up with some way of ranking them so you all can tell where my feelings lie in regards to them.

Review importance in Summary:

1. "Required Reads"
2. "Review Reads"
3. "Fun Reads"

So... starting today - I will be reading Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare - because I am taking a Shakespeare Class!! YAY! and then in a few weeks I will be starting British Literature! YAY! Again!!

Izzy's Bizzy

So.... I'm a full time student and the summer session has started as of today. I'm taking a full load - so I'm going to be swinging away from a lot of the PNR and Urban Fantasy. Any prior commitments I have I will complete, but going forward I will be focusing on Shakespeare and Classical British Literature.... along with Accounting and Business communications... but neither of those are worth talking about on here....

Never fear - when I have free time (the two weeks before the fall session starts) I'll get caught up on all of the PNR and Urban Fantasy reviews....

Happy Reading!

Eternal Hunger by Laura Wright

Eternal Hunger by Laura Wright

Reading Source: Library

Series: Mark of the Vampire

Book #: 1

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

Rating:

Let me start off by saying that I've read the entire trilogy and I'll probably again.

That being said, let us talk about Eternal Hunger. I'm not going to lie to you. I checked this out from the library because of the cover. I was like "Hmmm does that shirtless man really think he's sexy like that? Does anyone else think he's sexy... Maybe I'll get this book to cement in my mind that I've grown out of PNR." Well, that same day I got Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione (I was having an "L" day... it happens) and between that one and this, I was so totally wrong.... This was a great spin on the Vampire PNR. I've never heard of the way these vampires were and lived and it was refreshing.

In the world that Laura Wright has woven around the Roman Brothers, Vampires are able to walk in the sun up until their 300th year, and forever if they are female. There are three different kinds of vampires too. Pure blood, like the Roman Brothers, those Pure bloods are the creme de la creme of vampires, the Godiva Chocolate of vampires if you will (I'm feeling the need for chocolate if you cannot tell...) The next step down is Impure vampires. Those are the ones that have something other than pure blood vampire blood in them. They are not allowed to breed and are generally the poor class of vampires ( I would compare them to chocolate, but I can't think of a kind of chocolate that isn't good... perhaps left over Easter candy in July?????) And then there is the Imitation Vampire, the human who has drank vampire blood, but has no vampire lineage.... The Ovaltine of Vampires (for those of you unfamiliar with Ovaltine... it is imitation chocolate milk mix.... you know the strange powder you put into milk to make it look and taste  like chocolate milk... until you get that strange gritty aftertaste....)

Well, back to business... Alexander Roman is the oldest Roman Brother and he is tapped for the change 100 years before his time because the high council of Vampires (they have a name... the 10 or something like that) needs him to hunt down an Impure that is trying to rebel against the pure bloods. It is during this change that were are introduced to Dr. Sara Donohue. You see Alexander was caught outside near dawn on the night of his change, and in an attempt to shield himself from the sun, he hides in the bottom level doorway of a brownstone apartment, Sara's apartment. This is where the story gets even better.

I could wax poetic about this book for a while, and I feel like I have already gone into a lot of detail... which reading back I have... partially due to my intense need for chocolate right now, but I'm on a roll, so bring on more butter.... The Roman Brothers are unique in the fact that they are sons of the Breeding Male, and each of them could potentially become a breeding male at the time of their change. If they do not change and then have the mark of a true life mate they will turn into rutting bastards who run around impregnating anything that moves.

That one thing is a driving force of the entire series... READ IT!!!

Izzy Out!!!

---

If you like the sound of this book, check out

Banged Up by Jeanne St. James

Banged Up by Jeanne St. James

Reading Source: Library

Genre: Adult, Romantica

Rating:

 *** Warning Explicit content in both the book and my review. Please do no read if you are under aged ***




Okay - so here is the truth. I cannot for the life of me remember the characters' names. Not even a little bit. Now granted I've read quite a few books since finishing this one... but I don't think I could have told you their names while reading it.

Give me a second while I visit Goodreads.com to check out their names... hold please....

Ahhh that's right Colby and Mace. Colby - the heroine in this Romantica novel, is a bio-chemist house sitting for her friend, who in turn is house sitting for her brother, whom she has never once mentioned to the our little luscious heroine. Mace is a bastard, not literally, his parents were married - but his attitude and general demeanor is just awful. He has his good moments, but the changes he undergoes as a character, and his thought processes in general are just so off the wall and unbelievable. Oh - I should have prefaced that by saying Mace was very badly hurt on the job and is recovering from an awful loss of major musculature of his thigh. Granted, that probably has a lot to due with his attitude, but after what he learns about Colby, one of his actions just pisses me the heck off.



Now - I must say this - The ONE redeeming quality of this book is the sex scenes. They are good. Very good. I jumped my guy more than once during the course of this book. I'm a fan of anal in real life, so when it comes up in a book.... I'm all about it. Kudos to St. James for going there.

Overall, its okay if you want good sex scenes, but if you are looking for emotional and personal enrichment, I would go somewhere else, try a Nora Roberts book... or someone else like that... maybe Susan Mallery... who knows... Nicholas Sparks could float your boat....

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

Pleasure Unbound
Written by Larissa Ione

Reading Source: Library
Series: Demonica
Book #: 1
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Rating:






For a very brief while I thought that I grew out of paranormal romance.... Horrifying, I know.... that was until I read Pleasure Unbound. I loved this book. It was the tall cool glass of water my dehydrated paranormal lust-o-meter needed to start working again.

Tayla and Eidolon's story is unlike any other PNR I've ever read. Reading the summary that was provided, I was a bit skeptical... a Demon Killer falling for a Demon Doctor, and a Demon Doctor to boot.... but my skepticism was totally uncalled for.

Tayla is a demon slayer, an Aegis. She believes in the cause with every inch of her being. After being mortally wounded in a fight with a demon, a fight in which her partner dies, she is brought to the only demon hospital around.

Eidolon is a doctor first and a Seminus Demon second. He fights his nature because he knows what lies on the other side of 100, an unrelenting need to copulate with any female able to bear his children. Eidolon is trying to stave off the change using his medical knowledge, but nature is hard to fight.

From their first conscious encounter both Eidolon and Tayla are drawn to each other. Both unable to tamp down on the overwhelming sexual need coiling within them. It doesn't take them long to join together, the only problem is Tayla cannot reach her peak. Baffled by this, the Incubus Eidolon feels that this is why he is continually drawn back to Tayla, despite her being Aegis.

The two are an unlikely duo to solve a mystery, but the original sexual connection, and Eidolon's hormones, create a need in him to save her, so upon taking her home, Eidolon and Tayla stumble across a horrifying discovery.... Someone is selling "supernatural" body parts on the black market.

This was a fantastic book and I can't wait to read the next one... and then the next one and then the next one.... I think you get the picture.... Larissa Ione - you rekindled my love of PNR!

Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Don't Look DownWritten by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Reading Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Suspense
Rating:


Lucy likes making dog food commercials, so directing the movie "Don't Look Down" is definitely not her big break, despite what her sister has been telling people. She's only come to do the movie because her niece, Pepper, cried -- Pepper is not a crier.

J.T. thought he was making a little extra money while on leave. Little did he know that his Special Ops training would be needed so much on the set of this movie. Evil is afoot, and it smells like swampy cheetos.

Lucy only agreed to direct the movie because she could tell that something was really wrong. When she gets on the set nothing is making any sense, not even the script. When things start to go wrong, and people are almost hurt she tries to stop the movie, only to find out that the contract would make her liable in the event the movie was not done in its entirety.

Captain J.T. Wilder didn't really want to be there, he had a hangover. He thought he'd make some easy cash doing some stunts while on leave, only he's been tapped for a special project for the CIA. Smugglers are using this movie to bring in artifacts and J.T. is there to make sure things go off without a hitch and to find out any additional information he can.

It doesn't take long for Lucy and J.T. to come to each other's attention, and with the help of a Wonder Woman party, it doesn't take long for J.T. to realize he's a gonner.

This is one of my favorite Jennifer Crusie books, and I think it might be due in part to the second author, Bob Mayer. There's action, there's sex, there's a gator with one eye... I think it's the balance that I enjoyed the most. If you like this one, read Agnes and the Hitman. It's written by both of them and it's good too.

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

Linc never lies. Daisy doesnt' either - She tells stories, unreal, but not untrue. This time however, Linc lied and now he needs a wife - in about three days. The wolves are at Daisy's door - and Linc might be exactly what she's been looking for.

Linc needs this job and to do it he needs to have a wife at his interview. This is where Daisy comes in. Since Linc doesn't actually have a wife/fiancee he pays Daisy to be his fiancee for the weekend. Linc gets the job - but, as part of their deal, their Cinderella Deal, Daisy and him part. Only Linc's new boss doesn't take "irreconcilable differences" for an answer.

Daisy agrees to go back with him, she needs a fresh start on the new Daisy. Everything appears to be going well for a while, but neither one of them are completely happy. Can they make it work before the Midnight hour?

This is one of my least favorite Crusie books. Its okay - by no means did I not enjoy it. I think it is one of her older stories that were reprinted. It has a different feel to it. It doesn't have that same "new Crusie smell" to it.

It's a good book. Just doesn't have that "new Crusie smell" that I love so much.

Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie

Manhunting 

Written by Jennifer Crusie

Reading Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating:  5 Stars

What happens when you send an uptight business woman to a golf resort in the sticks of Kentucky? What happens when that same business woman gets served up a dish of ambitious-business-woman while on vacation? Exactly what should happen in a romance novel - she realizes that is just like her and she sets out to change her ways.

Kate wants to get married, she wants a partner in life and in business. At least she thinks so. Egged on by her best friend and scatterbrain cake artist, Jessie, Kate makes a "business plan" for a man. The only thing left to do was find a hunting ground - and the perfect place happened to be the golf resort a few hours south in Kentucky.

Jake had his taste of the city. He even had his taste of an ambitious career woman of a wife. All he wants is some twenty something who thinks he's god, or so he thought. Initially Jake saw Kate as comic relief at the luau. Then she needed to be rescued from group activities and ended up drunk in his boat. Neither of them realized what was going on until they'd reached the point of no return.

This is one of my favorite Crusie books. Just like with Bet Me, I can see myself in the female lead - this time not so much physically - as mentally. I enjoyed watching both lead characters grow and start to fully understand not only each other, but themselves as well.

Crazy For You by Jennifer Crusie

Crazy For You by Jennifer Crusie

This book is all about Quinn and how her "beige" life has got to go. She starts by ditching her man and getting a dog. Everything starts to roll down hill from there. Her friends and family start to change things up in their lives, which adds to this comedy of errors. Then things take a turn for the creepy. Her ex is not the hero the town thinks he is, and no one really believes her, until someone gets hurt.

This is where Nick, her sister's ex-husband and one of Quinn's best friends, really starts to come into the plot. He's always tried to remain detached, but there is just something about Quinn... she's the fuzzy half of the velcro to his rough prickly half (you know what I'm talking about... ) Despite his 'pizza' brush-off - he cares, and everything that is going on with Quinn and the coach is scaring the crap out of him.

This is one of Jennifer Crusie's more serious romance novels. I hesitate to call it a romantic comedy, as a good chunk of her other books could be called. This one has it's funny moments, but for the most part it is a story of growth and change, and how that is not always easy to cope with.

My general belief is that you cannot go wrong with a Crusie book. She is by far one of my all time favorite authors. 

This book is well balanced and fun to read. You get a good mix of serious and humor and it leaves you wanting more.

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

One: Hot Town Boy


Two: Versions of one Movie


Three: Dempsey's


Four: Generations of Tucker's holding office


Five: Hours to finish the book


This is another good book  by Jennifer Crusie.

Welcome to Temptation, a small town in Southern Ohio that hasn't had a lot of excitement in a long while, until the Dempsey's come to town to make a sort film

Sophie has always been the good girl, but her family can't really say the same. Coming from a long line of Con-artists, Sophie knows how to get what she wants.  From the point Sophie and Amy Dempsey first arrive in Temptation, Sophie can tell that trouble is brewing.

Phin is trying to keep his mother and the town happy without completely losing his mind. He is the Mayor of Temptation, but all he really wants is to sell books and play pool. He lives for pool. Phin has no idea the trouble that the Dempsey sisters are bringing into Temptation.

As everything stars to go crazy, Sophie and Phin find themselves wrapped in a world of blackmail, gossip, death, adultery and headbanging sexy. As things go from bad to worse, Sophie and Phin start to realize they're getting more than the excellent sex they both were looking for. They're also getting love, unconditionally.

I really enjoyed this book - Phin is so unexpected as a hero - and really, when it comes right down to it - he's not - in a traditional sense of the word. The women are the heroes in this book, Sophie mainly, but Phin's mom, who starts out as a stone cold bitch, really comes through at the end. She's still a stone cold bitch, just not to Sophie.

I liked how Crusie was able to put great sex scenes throughout the entire book - but still make Phin a single father. I hope that if I ever decide to have kids - that I'm able to continue to have great sex where ever I want.... ( I highly doubt it will happen - I think the bond is a little bit different in real life and with mothers....)

Overall this book was fun, and that is what makes it so appealing. Great sex scenes, good plot and subplots, good characters and a lot of laughs.

This is a really good book  - I have read it before, and I'll probably read it again.... It's not every day that you get "Discovery Fantasy Sex" in a contemporary romance.

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie





Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie is probably my all time favorite book. I can relate to Min and the emotions she encounters in this humorous, romantic and sexy love story. It is because I can relate so much to Min that really draws me to this book. I find that after reading it for a third time, that I could still come back to it again and again.


The story starts out in a bar, in which Min is being dumped by her boyfriend of about 2 months, whom she doesn't even really like, she just needed a date to her sister's wedding. It is this event that is the impetus for the entire book! Min now needs a date for her sister's wedding, and her friends pick one out for her to pick up. Only to have her ex bet him that he couldn't get the "grey checked suit" into bed inside of a month.


Cal couldn't believe that David bet $10,000 on whether or not he could get a woman into bed, he figured that once the alcohol wore off David wouldn't believe he made the bet either. To distract David from the "big" bet, Cal bet David $10 he could get the "grey checked suit" to leave with him, and that was it.
Overhearing the bet as she heard it, Min is outraged. But she's got a plan. She'll use the bet to her advantage and get a date to her sister's wedding. Neither one was ready for what was about to come next.


The growth of the two main characters were so subtle yet profound. I can see these types of changes happening in real life. Min is not a skinny girl, and she doesn't yet understand that sexy is a state of mind. Cal has never found someone he can be totally comfortable with. I love the way their relationship evolves and how the supporting characters are not just fluff thrown in to bulk up the story.

Great Book - This is the third time I've read it and I'll be reading it again!

My Rating System

I've decided to use purple faces to rate the books I read. This is what they mean.

This was impossible to finish.

This was hard to finish.

This was OK - but I wont read it again

This was good - I might read it again.

This was great - I will be reading this again.