Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The Last Kiss Goodbye: A Charlotte Stone Novel by Karen Robards

This book is the second in the series after The Last Victim and the publisher sent me a free e-arc.

Even though I have been reading books by her for over 20 years and she is one of my favorite authors, I was hesitant about this series.  I really love romantic suspense when it is well-written.  What made me hesitate was the hero.  Michael was convicted of being a vicious serial killer and is currently on death row when Dr. Charlie Stone starts to study him as part of her research.  Nothing too out of the ordinary yet.  That comes when Michael is stabbed to death by another inmate and his spirit attached itself to Charlie.  Yeah- the hero is a convicted, dead serial killer.

But don't stop reading because of that!  Both books contain a fabulous mystery, a love-triangle, a fun secondary couple and some really hot ghost/dream sex.  I have no idea how Ms. Robards will end this series, but I cannot wait.

Book 2 takes up about 30 seconds after Book 1 ends.  This time, a new serial killer comes to Charlie's door and she calls on Tony and his FBI team for help.  The best parts are when Michael contributes to the investigation.  Not only can he converse with the other spirits, he actually has a good head for this work and helps solve the case.

I hope the next book is about how Michael was convicted in the first place because it looks like he was innocent.  Which would totally solve the icky loving-a-serial-killer issue that Charlie faces.  I cannot wait to see how the series ends.  It is romance after all and there has to be a happy ending somewhere!

Rated A

Friday, June 7, 2013

Some Like It Hot by Susan Andersen

I was very excited about this book as soon as I finished "That Thing Called Love."  I wanted to know all about Jake's quiet, manly brother!  And I knew I would enjoy this book just like I do all of the other ones by Susan.

The book takes place in the same town just a few weeks after TTCL.  Deputy Max Bradshaw is attracted to Harper who is new in town and working at his soon-to-be-sister-in-law's inn.  Even though he looks imposing and is quiet, Max is not your typical romance hero.  For one thing, he loves to dance!  He also volunteers with teens in a group home.  And he has never tried any beer besides Bud!

Harper is not upfront with her reasons for being in town.  While she is adamant about frequently traveling and not settling down, she is there to make sure that the group home is a good match for money given out by her parent's charity.  She finagles a volunteer job there to make sure and that puts her into even closer contact with Max.  Sparks fly from the beginning, but the story is not just about them.

Harper's frequent moves left her without having close female friends.  Soon, Jenny and Tasha bring her into their group and she discovers what she has missed.

I love the way both characters stood up for themselves at the end.  The outcome flt real because of the emotions that they spent the book working through.  I really liked this books and I like to think she modeled Max after Joe Manganiello.

I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher


My Fave Song This Week

This SONG is amazing!!!!!!  Very inspirational AND great drum parts!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Things that annoy me about books Part 1

1. Rated R Cover.  Seriously publishers...I admire hot bodies as much as the next chick, but it is somewhat embarrassing to have your kids see a bunch of them on your Kindle.  I also will not read them out in public.  Actually, I have NOT BOUGHT several books because of the cover.  If I can't enjoy it in front of my kids, sorry.  Save the hunky dudes for Pinterest!

2. Covers that have nothing to do with the book.  I don't mean ones like 50SOG popularized.  Those are fine.  But I do get ticked off if the woman on the front has blond hair and the heroine has red hair...????  Or the motorcycle on the front never appears in the story.


 This was what was bugging me today.....

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Flirting With Disaster by Ruthie Knox

This book comes out on June 10th and I was lucky enough to win a copy from her newsletter contest.

Ruthie is not only a fun person to follow on Twitter, she is becoming one of my favorite writers because of the seamless ways she finds to make her characters human...and hot!  This is the third book in her Camelot series and is about newly-divorced baby sister Katie and Sean the stuttering hacker.  I know....ever heard of a stuttering hero?  Not me.

While Katie has been separated from her husband for awhile, she just recently went through the divorce.  Now she all about not being a doormat and improving herself after the years she spent playing "helper" to her ex-husband.  Since her older brother Caleb owns a security company, she decides that her empowerment needs to take the form of moving from office manager to bodyguard.   I loved how Caleb equally supported her and was worried sick about her.  He pairs her with Sean, a consultant who is helping Caleb with computer issues.  What he does not know is that Sean spent the last 2 years of high school crushing on Katie.  While Katie and Caleb's family dynamic is enviable, Sean's family is where the dysfunction is.

Sean's left Camelot and never looked back in order to get away from his mother.  Ashamed of his stuttering, she refused to even consider speech therapy and told everyone that he had severe social anxiety.  So Sean just stopped talking until he escaped with an older friend to college.  They went on to have a successful Silicon Valley company.  But when his mother dies, Sean has to come back and settle her affairs and gets...stuck.  His stutter is back and he can't seem to get anything packed up at his mom's house.

The story is about how these two help and heal each other.  There is also a secondary love story involving Judah, the rock star they are guarding.  Things between Sean and Katie are HOT and unfold in a believable way.  I love it when the hero falls in a book before the heroine does.  Actually, Sean's stutter makes him even hotter when he finally starts talking to Katie.  Before that, he communicates through texts and one hilarious note in a hotel lobby!

My favorite quote: "She felt grounded around him, soothed and appreciated in a way that she wasn't accustomed to."  As someone happily married for almost 18 years, that is more important than anything!

I would recommend reading the series in order since previous characters show up later.  Here are the links to her Amazon and BN pages
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/ruthie-knox
http://www.amazon.com/Ruthie-Knox/e/B0062BHO4Q/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1370186788&sr=8-2-ent

Bravo A+