On My Wishlist (76)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. If you want to know more click here.

Talk Dirty to Me (Dirty Laundry, #2) by Ginny Glass

“Tell me what you want. Talk dirty to me."

For Nora MacGregor, the sinful voice of a stranger gives her permission to explore her deepest fantasies – fantasies that only exist outside her daily drudgery in the science lab. ‘James’, challenges Nora’s icy, clinical ideas about the power of sex. The arrangement – she talks to him and he returns her lost dissertation notes, page by page. What he can’t give her is human touch, tangible sweetness, attributes she finds in the company and gentle romance of Dr. Jarod Reed.

Jarod, who seized an opportune moment and became the mysterious James, is now trapped in a mess of his own making, unable to let Nora know that he wants more than an naughty bedtime story. The anonymity of being Nora’s cell phone lover frees Jarod to reach into the not- not-so-scholarly pursuits of the flesh but may have cost him the chance to make those fantasies a reality.

 

Jinxed by Inez Kelley

When opposites attract, they are screwed three ways from Sunday.

Frannie learned the hard way that a McHottie doesn’t always equal marriage material. She-s happy with her vanilla life. She has friends, a career and a double-D-powered vibrator. Then Fate shoves her, literally, into Prince Charming’s lap. His declaration of love at first sight is cute-and spikes her bullcrap meter into the red zone.

She-s more than willing to give in with her body. But she’s barricaded her heart behind castle walls-and permanently welded the gates shut.

Tragedy taught Jinx that time is too precious to waste, so when a series of uncanny coincidences thrusts Frannie into his life, he holds on tight. He knows she thinks he’s several fries short of a Happy Meal, but he’s determined to breach the fortress around her heart and give her a Happily Ever After.

Even if he has to carry her fanny-first into his kingdom.

Warning: Includes jelly shoes, a narcoleptic cat, and meatloaf. The steamy sex scenes may lead to fogged windows and wet panties, so proceed at your own risk. Do not attempt to read without the following items: tissues, napkins for spewed beverages, and a booty call on speed dial.

 

Tangled Up in Love (Chicks with Sticks, #1) by Heidi Betts

Ever since Dylan Stone beat Veronica Chasen out of a prime position at the Cleveland Courier, they’ve been bitter rivals, engaging in a very public war of words in their competing newspaper columns. They routinely challenge each other to go bungee jumping, white water rafting, or into tattoo parlors to see who will wimp out first.  But Veronica’s latest taunt may be Dylan’s toughest assignment yet: She dares him to learn to knit.

Dylan is not going to let something his grandmother can do scare him off. He’s man enough to make a scarf—and attend Veronica’s weekly knitting circle. But when the infuriatingly handsome Dylan shows up at the craft shop and charms all the ladies, Veronica starts to get all knotted up in something that feels a lot like love...

 

Hearts in Darkness by Laura Kaye

Makenna James thinks her day can’t get any worse, until she finds herself stuck in a pitch-black elevator with a complete stranger. Distracted by a phone call and juggling too much stuff, the pin-striped accountant caught only a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on his hand before the lights went out.

Caden Grayson is amused when a redhead literally falls at his feet. His amusement turns to panic when the power fails. Despite his piercings, tats, and vicious scar, he’s terrified of the dark and confined spaces. Now, he’s trapped in his own worst nightmare.

To fight fear, they must both reach out and open up. With no preconceived notions based on looks to hold them back, they discover just how much they have in common. In the warming darkness, attraction grows and sparks fly, but will they feel the same when the lights come back on?

 

What’s on your wishlist?

Excerpt & Giveaway [CLOSED]: Deadly Sins by Kylie Brant

Today I have an excerpt for you from Kylie Brant’s upcoming release, Deadly Sins, as well as a giveaway. Enjoy!

REVIEW: The Best Laid Plans by Sarah Mayberry

Title: The Best Laid Plans
Author: Sarah Mayberry
Format: paperback, 275 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Harlequin Ambassadors
Published: November 2010 by Harlequin

Boundaries. The key to how corporate lawyer Alexandra Knight manages her busy life. However, lately all her precisely drawn lines are getting blurred. Blame it on her out-of-control biological clock that is ignoring her single status…and on Ethan Stone.

Because her sexy, no-strings colleague has posed an outrageous solution to her dilemma—he'll be her baby daddy. This from the guy who avoids all commitment? Okay, so they're attracted to each other. Really, really attracted. But crossing the line from coworker to co-parent with Ethan could ruin Alex for all other men. After all, when you've had the best…

Why I Read this Book: I usually don’t read romances where there are pregnancies and babies involved  because why would I want to read about that stuff when I’m living it? We read for an escape, right? And that wouldn’t be much of an escape for a mom of two, with one on the way, like me. But for some reason, and probably because I am pregnant at the moment, this book held an interest for me.

What I Liked: I read Her Best Friend (my review) and fairly enjoyed it. I like this author’s writing style and I like the Australian setting. I’ve been wanting to read more by this author and when this book came in the mail, I couldn’t wait to start reading it. (Confession: as soon as I got this book in the mail, I bumped it to the top of my TBR pile.) As much as I love reading paranormal romance and romantic suspense, sometimes a vixen needs to add some realistic romance to her reading mix. After reading the blurb on the back of the book, I really wanted to know how things were going to turn out for the hero and heroine.

The Best Laid Plans had somewhat of a friends to lovers feel to it. I say somewhat because Alex and Ethan are exactly ‘friends’. While they are colleagues who work at the same law firm and they play racquetball once a week, they don’t share personal details from their lives with one another. Still Ethan offered to help Alex with her baby situation which is a big thing to do.

I loved the chemistry between Alex and Ethan. Sure, they find each other physically attractive but I enjoyed watching their relationship go beyond that.

Poor guy, that Ethan. I just wanted to give the guy a hug. He’d been through hell and back. That ex-wife of his did a number on him; ripped him to shreds emotionally and pretty much damaged his chances of trusting another woman or falling in love again. Ethan’s ex-wife did the worst thing imaginable, something worse than having an extramarital affair. And Alex has her own past that she’s trying to overcome as well. Seems like the odds are stacked against these two with their troubled pasts but I was rooting for them.

What I Didn’t Like: I enjoyed this book for what it was. Nothing Earth moving; just a light contemporary romance read.

Overall Impression: If you’re looking for a realistic romance novel that sucks you right in with its storyline and characters, one that you won’t want to put down until you find out how things turn out, then I’d recommend reading The Best Laid Plans. That’s what it did for me. Well, that and the ending gave me the warm and fuzzies.

 

The Book Vixen’s Rating:

REVIEW: Only Mine by Susan Mallery

Title: Only Mine (Fool’s Gold, #4)
Author: Susan Mallery
Format: eARC
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: NetGalley
Published: July 26, 2011 by HQN Books

You can't win if you don't play...

Her town's lack of men may make headlines, but it isn't news to Dakota Hendrix. The beautiful blonde has bigger problems to deal with, such as overseeing the romance reality competition filming in Fool's Gold. Screening eligible bachelors is a difficult enough task, but Dakota hits an unexpected snag when a sexy stranger comes to town.

Finn Anderssen will do anything to keep his twin brothers— the perfect contestants— off the show. Despite Dakota's better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the mysterious outsider. Like her, Finn knows about heartbreak and how a family can fall apart, so she doesn't dare to hope for anything more than a fling. After all, even in the Land of Happy Endings, finding true love is never as easy as it looks on TV.

Why I Read this Book: I am really enjoying the Fool’s Gold series. If it were an actual town, I’d move there! Only Mine is Dakota’s story, the first story of the Hendrix triplets.

What I Liked: I love the overall gist of Dakota and Finn’s story. Even though there were a few rough patches for these characters to get through, the ending totally made me swoon.

I liked Finn’s character. Yeah, there was some angst and overprotectiveness going on but he’s a responsible guy whose dedication stays true until he gets a job done. His parents died when his twin brothers were young so Finn pretty much ended up raising them. Finn just didn’t know how to let go and because of this, he hasn’t been able to live his own life.

I like that Finn didn’t just automatically take Dakota’s “news” with full acceptance. He got mad about the situation, justifiable so, and questioned her motives. This made the story more realistic and believable.

What I Didn’t Like: My biggest problem with the book was that the main story line involving Dakota was too predictable. When I was 31% into Only Mine, I pretty much knew that 3 things were going to happen by the end of the book – and I was right on all 3 accounts. If you want to know which 3 things I’m referring to, click on the SPOILERS button. (I don’t recommend you read the SPOILERS if you haven’t already read the book. They are indeed SPOILERS!)

*SPOILERS* (1) Dakota was going to get pregnant, (2) Finn was going to move to Fool’s Gold and (3) Finn was going to buy the local airplane business. *ENDS OF SPOILERS*

The game show element wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be so it turned out not to be too much of a focal point for me when I was reading Only Mine. Speaking of the game show, while I enjoyed reading the parts about game show contestants Stephen and Aurelia for the most part, I felt like their I Love You’s came too soon. It felt too rushed for these characters.

One of my biggest book pet peeves happened in Only Mine: Dakota had unprotected sex with a man she barely knew. Let’s just forget about the possibility of pregnancy for a moment here; what about STD’s people?!! And the subject matter doesn’t come up until Finn mentions it 2 days later. They should know better. Tsk tsk.

Overall Impression: Even though it was a bit predictable, I still enjoyed reading Only Mine. I love a good swoon-worthy romance novel and Only Mine fit the bill. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series, especially about the other two Hendrix triplets.

 

The Book Vixen’s Rating:

Monday Bites: Twilight Re-Read Along Chapters 16-20

The Twilight Re-Read Along is hosted by GReads, Lisa the Nerd, The Secret Life of an Avid Reader & The Reading Housewives. If you’d like to re-read along too, you can get more details and sign up here.

This week’s questions – Chapters 16-20:

1. {SERIOUS question} If you where in Carlisle position, do you think you would have been able to fight off your vampiric urges? Would you ever bring someone into that life, as he did with Edward and Esme?

I have no idea if I would have been able to fight off vampire urges. Seeing as I have no self control when it comes to chocolate, I’d say probably not.

I wouldn’t want to be alone forever so I probably would find myself a mate and turn them. Unless, of course, I found a suitable mate that was already a vampire (hello, Eric Northman, are you listening?).

2. {FUN question} We are introduced to Edward's playful side in these chapters, before he gets all manic about the new vampires, I think we have a better picture of who he is. If you had to describe him in 5 words, what would they be? Good and Bad qualities, whatever you like!

1. Old-fashioned
2. Funny
3. Protective
4. Melodramatic
5. Alluring.

3. {LONG question} While re-reading I have been taking notes: observations that I have come across re-reading and comparisons to the movie. One of my notes deals with page 383, in which Edward screams at Alice there is no other option. The first time around I didn't get that he meant the future that Alice saw for Bella as a vampire (because we obviously hadn't gotten to that part), but now that I know the whole story I see that is what he meant... Has this happened to you? Do you have any examples of things that are clearer now or things that you have realized while re-reading?

There are quite a few differences between the book and the movie that I’m noticing during the re-read, as well as some things I had forgotten about. One thing that I forgot about was that Rosalie and Jasper are twins. It’s mentioned in the book but that wasn’t the case in the movie.

The baseball scene in the book is rather short, whereas in the movie it’s longer and for me, was one of the best scenes in the movie. I love how it was lengthen in the movie.

I hate the ‘spider monkey’ line in the movie. It’s so cheesy.

4. {PERSONAL question} We haven't talked about this yet, but I think the idea of your human gifts amplifying in your vampire life is interesting (Jasper's control of emotions, Edward's mind reading), what do you think your gifts would be?

I have no ‘gifts’ to speak of so I’m going to just pick whatever gift I’d want if I were a vampire – I’d want to be able to read minds like Edward (I’m nosey like that) or I’d want to be able to teleport.

5. {SURVEY question} We are coming to the end of the book, what has been your opinion on this re-read? First, when was the last time you read it? Second, do you feel you like it more, the same, or less this time around?

The first, and last, time I read Twilight was in early 2009. This is my first time re-reading it (I’m not much of a re-reader).

I’m finding that although I still enjoy this story, I liked it more the first time around. It was the first book I read that had vampires in it so it was all very new to me. Because I’ve read a lot of vampires books since I’ve first read Twilight, I’m finding that Twilight was just an okay read; it was a good starting point for me in the world of PNR. Now I need my vampires reads to be a little more ‘grown up’.

Kindle Deals: The BIG Deal

Amazon is doing it again – they’re having a HUGE deal on Kindle books. They’ve got over 900 Kindle Books on sales for 99¢, $1.99, $2.99 and $3.99. The BIG Deal is going on now through Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Here are just some of the amazing deals going on right now:

99¢ Kindle Books:

$1.99 Kindle Books:

$2.99 Kindle Books:

$3.99 Kindle Books:

Also, Sourcebooks is having a Time-Travel/Time-Slip ebook promotion. These Kindle books are just $2.99 from now until Monday, July 25, 2011:

I also tweet Kindle freebies and deals from time to time. If you’re interesting in more Kindle deals be sure to follow me on Twitter @TBVKindleDeals.

A small percentage of commission is received for purchases using these links. Commission earned will help maintain the site (domain name, blog design, postage, giveaways, etc.).