Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Romantic Themes

Hey, ladies! Happy Valentine's Day!



It's Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and The Bookish! In honor of Valentine's Day, this week's theme is all about your favorite romantic themes or tropes, or anything romantic. Have fun with this one!


I'm a romance junkie. I love it, and hardly ever read anything without at least some romantic threads. Today I'm doing my favorite themes or tropes in romance. In no order!




10. Antagonistic to Lovers 


When this trope is done well, I adore it. The tension and banter that always comes with it just ratchets up the intensity between the pair. This series is hands down my favorite antagonists to lovers romance!




9. The roommate








8. Fantastic banter





7. Raunchy sex






6. Slow burn






5. Long term couples





4. Travel romance!






3. Legitimate Angst 







2. Second chances





1. Friends to lovers 






Monday, February 13, 2017

Mini Reviews Monday

A typical day in the life of Charley Davidson involves cheating husbands, missing people, errant wives, philandering business owners, and oh yeah...demons, hell hounds, evil gods, and dead people. Lots and lots of dead people. As a part time Private Investigator and full-time Grim Reaper, Charley has to balance the good, the bad, the undead, and those who want her dead. In this eleventh installment, Charley is learning to make peace with the fact that she is a goddess with all kinds of power and that her own daughter has been born to save the world from total destruction. But the forces of hell are determined to see Charley banished forever to the darkest corners of another dimension. With the son of Satan himself as her husband and world-rocking lover, maybe Charley can find a way to have her happily ever after after all. 

4.5 stars!

I just adore this series, and Lorelei King adds a whole new layer to the awesomeness with her impeccable narration. It's one of those series that's a genuine joy to read, and I'm always eager to get back to it when I'm forced to put it down.
While this book didn't add too much to the overall storyline or do much to push the points of the previous books into the spotlight, it was still incredibly enjoyable, and I flew through it. I was endlessly entertained and amused by Charley and her merry band of misfits, swooned over Reyes, and even teared up a time or two over Charley's cases. 
It leaves with a bit of a cliffhanger, though! Book 12 releases on Halloween of this year!


Vanessa Mazur knows she's doing the right thing. She shouldn't feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.

But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she's beyond shocked.

For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn't find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He's asking for the unthinkable.

What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?


5 stars!

This was quite possibly the slowest burn romance I've ever read. Ever. 
That said, I really loved it! The characters were well developed and quite likable, the plot had good pacing, there was a good bit of humor and steam when the heat finally hit. It was a pleasure to watch the friendship and romance between Vanessa and Aiden unfold, and once the intensity between them finally  picked up, they felt very solid and well deserved. 
It's not a short book by any means, at around 670 pages, but I was surprisingly not bothered by that. Most contemporaries just can't handle that many pages, but Mariana Zapata has quietly proved to me that she can pull these lengths off. 




She was my nightmare. Every time I closed my eyes, I watched her fall into that inferno. Over and over, I failed to save her.

I hadn’t been able to reach her, and the guilt only burned hotter over time. Four years later, I was the unreachable one.

Heroes aren’t always saints. Sometimes, we’re nothing more than jaded sinners driven by sleepless nights and hearts full of darkness.

And then I met her. She was a dreamer who managed to soothe my scars and heal my wounds.

But, as the flames closed in around us, I feared I wasn’t the right man to save her. That is until I realized she was the one woman I’d burn the world down to protect.
 

3 stars!

Aly Martinez is one of my auto-buy authors, and she's written three of my all time favorite books (Fighting Silence, The Fall Up and Retrieval). She's an insanely talented writer and her stories are riveting and intensely emotional. 

Unfortunately, this one just didn't jibe with me, and it's entirely a case of "it's not you, it's me" here. 
While the writing was great and the plot pretty solid, I just wasn't invested in either hero or heroine, and couldn't connect to either one. 
I love a good alpha, but more often than not Jude was too alpha, giving me the unfortunate feel of reading a Kristen Ashely novel...if KA's heroes could speak in complete sentences and use proper grammar. And if the books had a viable plot.... And the heroine at least had some personality.... And the side characters were enjoyable... But I digress.

That said, I couldn't put it down and finished in just over a day. I definitely wouldn't take my word on this one, since nearly everyone else is loving it!




#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning returns with the epic conclusion to her pulse-pounding Fever series, where a world thrown into chaos grows more treacherous at every turn. As Mac, Barrons, Ryodan, and Jada struggle to restore control, enemies become allies, right and wrong cease to exist, and the lines between life and death, lust and love, disappear completely.

Black holes loom menacingly over Dublin, threatening to destroy the Earth. Yet the greatest danger is the one MacKayla Lane has unleashed from within: the Sinsar Dubh—a sentient book of unthinkable evil—has possessed her body and will stop at nothing in its insatiable quest for power.

The fate of Man and Fae rests on destroying the book and recovering the long-lost Song of Making, the sole magic that can repair the fragile fabric of the Earth. But to achieve these aims, sidhe-seers, the Nine, Seelie, and Unseelie must form unlikely alliances and make heart-wrenching choices. For Barrons and Jada, this means finding the Seelie Queen who alone can wield the mysterious song, negotiating with a lethal Unseelie prince hell-bent on ruling the Fae courts, and figuring out how to destroy the Sinsar Dubh while keeping Mac alive.

This time, there’s no gain without sacrifice, no pursuit without risk, no victory without irrevocable loss. In the battle for Mac’s soul, every decision exacts a tremendous price.


4 stars...I think?

I don't think I've ever been more conflicted on how to rate a book. Parts of Feversong were amazing, stunning, freaking spellbinding 5 stars. Annnnnd other parts were purple prose, sketchy plot issues (not sure if I can call them plot holes, per say, but it's something along those lines!),unnecessary POVs and outlandish developments 2 stars. As you can imagine, I'm quite conflicted!

Not gonna lie, I skimmed a good portion of the POVs that weren't Mac's. I've never been a Dani fan - but I will give props to Moning for taking me from despising her to finding her okay over the course of this story -, and the other view points I found a bit irrelevant, especially once I hit the end.

But back to Mac, and more importantly, Barrons! 
Ahh...Barrons. That man is fine, and will forever rein as one of the kings in my book boyfriends society. There was quite a bit of relationship development between Barrons and Mac in this story, and I freaking reveled in it. A lot of the issues I had with how they were handling themselves and each other post-Shadowfever, and I'm happy to report that they were all resolved. The development that happens in this story left me teary eyed and swooning something fierce. Seriously, I can't put into words how much I adored where they went in this book.
I do wish there were some more sex scenes, though. ;) Especially considering there were paragraphs of moderately graphic sex in the other books!


Despite the sometimes ridiculous turns this book took, I was completely addicted and wrapped up in what was happening. I barely put the book down, and finished the near-600 page novel in about 6 hours. This series is definitely one that grabs your attention and refuses to let go. 

I feel a bit sad that it's over, even though I'm happy overall with how things wrapped up. This is one of my all time favorite series, and it's a bittersweet feeling to have it finished. Huge thank you to KMM for brining this series to such vivid, glorious life! 



Well, that review definitely wasn't mini, haha. Let me know your thoughts on that one if you've read it! 









Sunday, February 12, 2017

The Sunday Post/It's Monday What Are You Reading?

Hey, ladies!



The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next. 


Not much going on this week that wasn't mentioned in Friday's post; guess doing those takes away anything I've had to say for these posts! I will say that it was a great reading week, and I'm excited to start diving into all the books I've downloaded lately. 



Fitness

Stayed on track with steps, yoga, healthy eating and drinking plenty of water!

Steps this week:

Sunday - 11,573
Monday - 11,347
Tuesday - 14,642
Wednesday - 11,134
Wednesday - 11,227
Friday - 11,456
Saturday - 11,655

Total - 83,035



This Week's Recap








Coming Up

Mini Reviews Monday

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Romance Tropes

Waiting on Wednesday 

TBR Thursday

Five Things Friday OR Cover Lust 


Read This Week

5 stars!
Sloooooow burn romance with a few swoony moments and great characters.
3 stars!
Not sure if I'm heartless or if this just didn't resonate with me. 
3 stars!
Oh, it hurt me to give this rating. I'll talk more about it tomorrow!
5 stars!
A reread for me, going the audio route this time. Freaking love the series, and narrator! 




Currently Reading

Almost finished with this and I'm really enjoying the Mac/Barrons! Kinda skipping through the other POVs though....
About 15% into this audiobook, and while I'm not sold yet, it seems okay so far!



What Will I Read Next?

Can't wait to start this one!

Friday, February 10, 2017

Five Things Friday, No. 1

Hey, ladies!


I've seen the Five Things Friday posts on KimberlyFaye Reads and Brandie is a Book Junkie, and they're some of my favorite post types, so I wanted to jump on the bandwagon. Also, I'm lazy and was getting bored of Cover Lust. ;)

Let's jump right in!

1. Book of the Week


I really loved this super slow burn (like, slow burn) romance! Mariana Zapata is officially on my auto-buy authors list.


2. New to my shelf




3. Fun Things this Week

Everyone, meet the newest addition!



This little fluffy thing is Lucinda, a 9ish week old rescued kitten. She's joined my other cat, Salem, as the resident feline crew here at Good In The Stacks. She's hilarious and so friendly, and has fit in with the rest of the gang perfectly.
Fun fact: She's named after the heroine in the book The Hating Game, which I enjoyed much more when I read it after listening to the audio.


Nola is the best dog, I swear. 




4. Pic of the Week



5. Looking Ahead

Starting some new work things this coming week, and some more big life changing things coming up that I can't wait for!




Thursday, February 9, 2017

TBR Thursday

Kimberly @ Kimberlyfaye Reads started a new weekly feature that I'm excited to join in! This feature is to showcase what's on your to be read shelf (or eReader, or Audible library) and see what others think of it. Have you read it? Should I read it or put it back on the shelf? It's a way to dust off the books on your self and decide if they're worth reading!

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. 

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. 

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

I've heard really good things about this one, but I'm not sure I have the attention span for it. Thoughts?



Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!   



February 28th

In New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s gripping new novel, a young woman comes home to reclaim her life—even as a murderer plots to end it. . . 

It’s been ten years since Sasha Keaton left her West Virginia hometown . . . since she escaped the twisted serial killer known as the Groom. Returning to help run her family inn means being whole again, except for one missing piece. The piece that falls into place when Sasha’s threatened—and FBI agent Cole Landis vows to protect her the way he couldn’t a decade ago.

First one woman disappears; then another, and all the while, disturbing calling cards are left for the sole survivor of the Groom’s reign of terror. Cole’s never forgiven himself for not being there when Sasha was taken, but he intends to make up for it now . . . because under the quirky sexiness Cole first fell for is a steely strength that only makes him love Sasha more.

But someone is watching. Waiting. And Sasha’s first mistake could be her last.
 

JLA is a very hit or miss author for me, but this sounds different from her usual books. I admit to being very curious!




Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday: More and Less

Hey, guys!

It's Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and The Bookish! This week's topic is 10 books you wish had more/less of X theme. Your choice!


I'm doing both, and will tell you what I wished each had more or less of. No order, and let's jump right in!


6 Books I Wish Had Less...

Four beautiful days. Three steamy nights. One breathtaking love. 

Levi Michaelson. He wanted four dates. Four opportunities to prove I could trust him. Four chances to change my mind about him. 

I agreed. 

Probably not my smartest decision. He was everything I knew to avoid—gorgeous, charming, sexy as hell—but I couldn’t help myself. When he touched me the whole world disappeared. I should’ve known I could lose myself to him, that he could be the one man to destroy me. 

I guess it’s true what they say—some things are too good to be true. And Levi Michaelson might just be one of them. 

Unzip this sexy, southern contemporary romance that’s guaranteed to make you sweat and make you swoon! 

Less sugary sweetness! No one is that obnoxiously sweet. No one. 

Four consecutive weeks on the New York Times and #1 in Romance. 

It started out like any other morning on the train.
Until I became mesmerized by the guy sitting across the aisle.
He was barking at someone on his phone like he ruled the world.
Who did the stuck-up suit think he was...God?
Actually, he looked like a God. That was about it.
When his stop came, he got up suddenly and left. So suddenly, he dropped his phone on the way out.
I might have picked it up.
I might have gone through all of his photos and called some of the numbers.
I might have held onto the mystery man's phone for days―until I finally conjured up the courage to return it.
When I traipsed my ass across town to his fancy company, he refused to see me.
So, I left the phone on the empty desk outside the arrogant jerk's office.
I might have also left behind a dirty picture on it first though.
I didn't expect him to text back.
I didn't expect our exchanges to be hot as hell.
I didn't expect to fall for him―all before we even met.
The two of us couldn't have been any more different.
Yet, you know what they say about opposites.
When we finally came face to face, we found out opposites sometimes do more than attract―we consumed each other.
Nothing could have prepared me for the ride he took me on. And I certainly wasn't prepared for where I'd wind up when the ride was over.
All good things must come to an end, right?
Except our ending was one I didn't see coming.

Less drama! Especially this specific type of drama. You'll know what I mean if you've read it. 

Jason Thorn… My brother’s childhood friend.

Oh, how stupidly in love with that boy I was. He was the first boy that made me blush, my first official crush. Sounds beautiful so far, right? That excitement that bubbles up inside you, those famous butterflies you feel for the very first time—he was the reason for them all. But, you only get to live in that fairytale world until they crush your hopes and dreams and then stomp on your heart for good measure. And boy did he crush my little heart into pieces.

After the stomping part he became the boy I did my best to stay away from—and let me tell you, it was pretty hard to do when he slept in the room right across from mine.

When tragedy struck his family and they moved away, I was ready to forget he ever existed.

Now he is a movie star, the one who makes women of all ages go into a screaming frenzy, the one who makes everyone swoon with that dimpled smile of his. Do you think that’s dreamy? I certainly don’t think so. How about me coming face to face with him? Nope still not dreamy. Not when I can’t even manage to look him in the eye.

Me? I’m Olive, a new writer. Actually, I’m THE writer of the book that inspired the movie he is about to star in on the big screen. As of late, I am also referred to as the oh-so-very-lucky girl who is about to become the wife of Jason Thorn.

Maybe you’re thinking yet again that this is all so dreamy? Nope, nothing dreamy going on here. Not even close.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish this had less sex. 

Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…
 
More world building! This book had such a fresh idea and while the world was intriguing, I wish there was a bit more depth. 

A typical day in the life of Charley Davidson involves cheating husbands, missing people, errant wives, philandering business owners, and oh yeah...demons, hell hounds, evil gods, and dead people. Lots and lots of dead people.
As a part time Private Investigator and full-time Grim Reaper, Charley has to balance the good, the bad, the undead, and those who want her dead. In this eleventh installment, Charley is learning to make peace with the fact that she is a goddess with all kinds of power and that her own daughter has been born to save the world from total destruction.
But the forces of hell are determined to see Charley banished forever to the darkest corners of another dimension. With the son of Satan himself as her husband and world-rocking lover, maybe Charley can find a way to have her happily ever after after all.
 
I loved this one, but I wish it had a bit more story and was less of a filler. 

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Less pages! I loved this book so much, but only after the first...200 pages or so. Those first pages could've easily been 75 pages. 



4 Books I Wish I Had More....

Vanessa Mazur knows she's doing the right thing. She shouldn't feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.

But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she's beyond shocked.

For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn't find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He's asking for the unthinkable.

What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?
More romance! It was a fantastic slow burn, but the actual romance only occurred in the last 85-90%. I wish there was more, because I loved this couple so much. 

Once the flames are ignited . . .

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.
 
More paranormal elements! 

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.
More sex in this series! I'm really not a fan of fade to black, especially in an adult novel, especially one that has fairly graphic violence. 

“Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.” — MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. — Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh -- a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.

Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it.
More backstory on Barrons and The 9. I consider this series finished after this book, so I have no clue if the other books expand on it.