What I read this week...

Thanks Jennifer for setting up this forum! So.... Well, my goodness. Take a woman away from her family and her responsibilities and she has a whole lot of free time on her hands. So, on my weeklong business trip to Atlanta, I read about a dozen books. I'm not very wordy or big on plot summaries, but I'll give it a try. Hopefully you can get the gist of the type of stories these are by my comments. Here's the low-down on this past week's books...

Naked Truth by Amy J Fetzer:
This is my first book by her. Can I say how much I love men in uniform, secret agents and operatives, etc? I loved this book. It had just the right amount of action, romance and sex. Thumbs up.

Too Wilde to Tame by Janelle Denison:
Much anticipated, this is Mia and Cameron's story. It's hard not to like a book about a Wilde. Although, I must admit that Steve and Liz's story Wilde Thing was definitely my favorite, followed closely by Eric's story, Something Wilde (in the I Brake for Bad Boys anthology). Too Wilde to Tame still delivered that great Wilde story, lots of hunky alphas, and lots of steamy sex. Can't wait for Joel's story next. Thumbs up.

Wicked Fantasy by Nicole Jordan
This is the 3rd in the Paradise series. I love this series! Every one of the books has been great! Secret missions, major alphas, hot sex, and Nicole Jordan's storytelling touch. I loved getting to revisit some of the characters from the other books, too. If you like Regency historicals (even if you don't!), this is a definite winner! Thumbs up.

A Mutual Favor by Ann Jacobs
Call me sentimental, I love those "best friends turn into lovers" books. This one started out great, but I felt like it got really bogged down. I wasn't sure that I bought the idea that the hero all of a sudden left his wife, hugely pregnant with twins, to do the dishes every night, to run the entire household, and to make her give him a backrub every night. And what the hell was she thinking, giving him a backrub every darn night and not asking for a little in return? It just seemed totally contrary to his personality when they were friends. I liked the "wicked stepson". The bitchy ex-wife only seemed to exist to be a bitch. Hmmmm.... novel idea. Now don't get me wrong, I did truly like this book, I just thought there were some credibility issues. Iffy Thumbs up.

The Panty Episode by Jessica Darian
Well, it was good to read Kris' story (the travel agent friend from Hedonist's Paradise). The whole entire first day made me roll, I was laughing so hard. I mean, what else could have gone wrong for her? Unless I missed something (I think I must have) by reading it at 3 am (darn those time differences traveling west to east!), I couldn't ever figure out why she was so darn dead set against a commitment. I mean, if an incredibly hunky guy wanted to completely romance me, and kiss me from head to toe constantly (albeit sans actual intercourse), who am I to complain? But no, Kris just wanted the sex. Crazy woman! Anyway, although the rest of the book wasn't quite as comical as the beginning, I still really enjoyed the humor throughout, as well as hunky Derek (sorry Ladies, he's now taken) and nice steamy sex (errr... romance) scenes. A great light read. Definite thumbs up.

Slip Knot by Gail Faulkner
Holy moly! Hot alphas. Here is another special ops alpha team *fanning self*. This is Rem and Kathryn's story. He is one aggressively sexual dude. She is one emotionally scarred ex-stripper. Sparks are flying from the get-go. So when Rem realizes that someone is out to kill Kathryn, all of a sudden, he turns into this pussycat - not an outward sign of the aggressively sexual dude. That is my only complaint. I had a hard time picturing Rem able to turn it on and off like he did. Otherwise, this is an awesome story. I must say, there is a bit of a torture scene (not between the H&H) that if you are squeamish might make you a tad uncomfortable. I think it just showed how well Gail Faulkner wrote the story that that scene made me feel uncomfortable and on edge. I loved all the interaction between Rem's special ops team, and between Rem's sister Tammy and his buddy Miguel. Loads of humor buried underneath all that suspense. Definite thumbs up.

Family Secrets, and The Cattleman, both by Mlyn Hurn
I could tell that these are earlier books by Mlyn Hurn, especially Family Secrets (©2002). It's not quite as developed as her later books. Having said that, I did really enjoy The Cattleman. It is a historical, but I didn't realize it until I started reading it. No worries - I love historicals. So on I read. I liked it a lot. It does jump around a bit in terms of flashbacks, and never tells you what time you are in. If you can get past that (a minor annoyance) then you will really enjoy the story. The H&H have a love-hate relationship their entire lives (Hero is Heroine's big brother's best friend). They get over the "hate part", but have to keep their affair secret (wouldn't want anyone to get a bad rep). H&H get into a buggy accident and Hero is hurt badly. Hero's mother-from-hell is determined to keep them apart, but Hero will have none of it. After he knocks up said Heroine, he insists on them being together for a HEA. I love it when men are so willing to admit and show their love for their women (an EC trait that I truly love). Thumbs up.

Family Secrets: I didn't enjoy this as much, simply because I felt like the herione was a simpleton. If she wasn't, she sure acted like it! The story and characters aren't as fully developed as in some of her later books, and it reads like an early effort, too. Thumbs 3/4 down. Hey, it's not a science!

Twice Upon a Roadtrip by Shannon Stacey
OMGoodness! This was one mishap after another, starting from the very first scene where the heroine inadvertently calls the hero's beloved mother a bitch, dents his car, and altogether makes a complete fool of herself. This was a laugh riot from beginning to end. I loved that the Hero wasn't perfect - he was a mess too. And together they are messy, but very passionate! And Hero makes me really want my own mild-mannered DH to turn into an aggressive, talk dirty guy in the bedroom, too. Definite thumbs up!

OK, I read a few more, but I will save them for another time. I think I've shot my wad for the night.