November 6, 2013

The Month That Was October 2013

Lemon Drop: Wee-woo, wee-woo, wee-woo!

Me: Cool costume Lemon Drop! 

Lemon Drop: We got a call that your hopes of hitting 100 books read in 2013 are going up in smoke.

Me: Hardy, har, har.  Yeah, it's not looking too good.  Too much working for a living, losing the summer months to baseball season, working for a living.....

Lemon Drop: Well, I'm here.  Stuck waiting for a grown-up to take me out for candy.  Why not tell me abut the pittance you did read?

Me: Only five books in October, which is pretty sad.  I blame work sucking out my brains.  But what I did get read was pretty good.  Nothing outright terrible and woohoo!  I found an A read!

Title links will take you to full reviews.

The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin - Historical Romance, Harlequin Historical, 2013, Grade = B
  • Take swashbuckling and frontier-style themes of justice, toss them in a blender, and you get this book.  I enjoyed the action-oriented plot and Lin has this knack for including at least one scene between her romantic couple that damn near rips my guts out.
The Suicide Club by Gayle Wilson - Romantic Suspense, Mira, 2007, Grade = C-
  •  My TBR Challenge read for the month.  I liked the idea of the plot, but the execution of said plot, along with the romance, didn't really gel for me. 
Expecting a Bolton Baby by Sarah M. Anderson - Contemporary Romance, Harlequin Desire, 2013, Grade = B-
  • Third book in a trilogy featuring motorcycle guy heroes.  I was "over" this trend before it even began, but I liked the way Anderson wrote about these guys.  They don't come off as hairy, tattooed, misogynistic one-trick ponies.  The book was a little heavy on internal monologue for my tastes, and I wanted more dialogue - but a solid, enjoyable read.
A Cadence Creek Christmas by Donna Alward - Contemporary Romance, Harlequin Romance, 2013, Grade = B-
  • The last book in this series really didn't work for me, but I had high hopes for this one and I thought the author pulled it off well.  The highlight?  While there is the whole Sparkly Small Towns Will Save Us All vibe, the author doesn't fall into the trap of letting her heroine be "rescued."  In other words?  The heroine solves her own damn problems - and falls in love along the way.
Now Or Never: Part I by Logan Belle - Erotic Romance Novella, Moxie Books, 2013, Grade = A
  • The read of the month.  40-year-old woman just diagnosed with breast cancer finds her very own sexual "wingman" in the hero - a guy who trolls AA meetings looking for one-night-stands.  A gut-wrenching read - don't miss it.
Lemon Drop: "Wingman"is that like a pilot?

Me: Uh, go ask your mother....

3 comments:

Sheri said...

Lemon Drop enjoyed seeing her picture on your blog today - she wanted more though....I think she confused it with her Shutterfly page. :)

Lil Sis

Hilcia said...

Lemon Drop is so grown up already!

I just read your review of Now Or Never: Part I by Logan Belle. I'm definitely reading it. Sounds great!

Wendy said...

Lil Sis: Well if you click on the Month In Review tag you gets lots more Lemon Drop. Sometimes I do that and marvel at how much she's grown up!

Hils: I wanted to show off the fire truck my sister made - but there's another picture of her in her costume where she's in a "fighting" stance like she's off to save the day. She looks SO grown up in that one.