Tuesday, February 08, 2011

January re-cap - Jennifer

Haven't mentioned it here yet, but I'm officially OUTTA the 8 to 5 grind, laid off again. Nervous about the no paycheck thing, yes. But happy to be the only boss of me again. And WOW am I reading more. In 2010, I didn't read 50 books. In 2011, I've already read 18 books.

Here is a recap of January's reads:

What A Rogue Desires by Caroline Linden
I am literally years behind on some of the trilogies, series, etc. I wanted to finish or catch up. Linden's follow up to What A Gentleman Wants is one I've had on my list forever. So glad I didn't just move on. I really enjoyed the relationship between David and Vivian--forged while he holds her imprisoned in his home. And I was pleasantly reminded of how much I like Linden's voice. Not a word wasted. Drawing us helplessly into the romance while all the while subjecting us to the tension wrought by their circumstances. I love survivor heroines, less than perfect heroes and impossible odds. Even more so when the author uses humor--that dry, dry wit--to make it all more bearable.

The Other Side (Antho), specifically J.D. Robb's Possession In Death
Really, really good one. Highlight? When Roarke points out the tatoo to Eve. Priceless.

A Lady Of Persuasion by Tessa Dare
Finished up this trilogy and am very happy to add Dare to my list of go-to authors. I particularly like Dare's heroes--commanding men really, once you get beyond their good intentions and hilarious humor.

Shoulda Been A Cowboy by Lorelei James
Jumped into this series out of order, but enjoyed myself anyway. Loved Cam--every single thing about him.

Skin Tight by Ava Gray
Catch-up mode again. Unfortunately, I didn't love this one as much as I did Skin Game. It was tightly-written and Gray's characters were pretty unapologetic--which I like. But I was less sure of the plotline (the evil scientific experiments stuff) and the heroine's role overall. Those pieces didn't fit as seamlessly as I wanted. It was almost as if the characters came together again and then just lingered, not doing much of anything to propel the story forward. Dunno. I was captivated here and there--it just didn't grip like the first book. Not giving up on this series though--that first book was just too good.

Precious And Fragile Things by Megan Hart
Compelling. Extraordinary. Almost didn't read this one because the idea of being torn from my child is not one I can stomach. I turned the first page however and was instantly immersed. And while I couldn't relate to this woman (as much as I feared or hoped), I could see life through her eyes. It felt a very honest telling of a hard-to-hear story. One I would recommend to anyone.

Captain Jack's Woman by Stephanie Laurens
In addition to catching up on my TBR list, I also organized my walk-in--where my actual TBR pile lives. Too many books in there, LOL. Don't know why I grabbed this one, but I did and enjoyed myself very much. So much that I promptly reviewed my reading logs, determined where I'd left off on her Bastion Club books and got to catching up.

Mastered By Love by Stephanie Laurens
There. All caught up on this series. When the urge strikes, I can now move on to Laurens new bride series.

Breathless by Anne Stuart
Too much. In the end, Stuart's typically dark hero goes too far, subjecting the heroine to just too much, violating her in a way I thought unforgivable. She had me right up until that point--very near the end of the book. I finished it, despite my unease, and can honestly say that if it weren't for that single disturbing scene, that one step too far, the book could have been a great read. As it was, that scene turned everything--sharply--and the HEA never recovered. Unfortunate given how much I enjoyed Ruthless (the first in this trilogy).

Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase
I think Chase may be on my historical podium, right up there with Joanna Bourne and Jo Goodman. I laughed my way through this one and fell in love with both of these crazy kids.

Hot Pursuit by Christina Skye
DNF'd this one. Couldn't figure out why this woman involved herself to this degree in the life of her beyond-stupid, rock-climbing instructor/neighbor. I hung in to the halfway point before donating this one to my library.

Right Here, Right Now by HelenKay Dimon
Also in my TBR pile. Lots and lots and lots and lots of banter in this one. A light, fun read.

Almost Like Being In Love by Christina Dodd
The fourth! book out of my TBR pile in one month--that space is getting downright tidy. And wow, this book packed a punch. It has this light, airy cover that made me think light, airy love story. Not so. The hero is Special Forces and the heroine is on the run from a ruthless killer. And this couple has a dark past together. Sexy, intense stuff. I enjoyed having a book at hand that I couldn't wait to get back to every night--after dinner, bath, bedtime, etc. Now that's why I read romance, LOL.

What She Wants by Anne Rainey
A blogger rec I think and a pretty good read. Short but solid.

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Screwed around with book cover images until I was good and fed up. Next time, promise.

6 comments:

  1. It really shows when you have more time on your hands!! :) It's great to see a monthly recap from you, Jen :)

    looks like you enjoyed yourself :) lots of books there that I haven't read :) Which one was your favorite?

    Good luck for job hunting ;) But enjoy the time off :P

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nath!

    My favorite? Ummm, I'll say Almost Like Being In Love by Christina Dodd--because of the way it made me feel, because I couldn't wait to get back to it every time I had to put it down.

    I know a lot of these books are old, so to speak. I'm afraid a lot of my reads this year are going to be that way, LOL. I have sooooo much catching up to do. ;-)

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  3. I'm so glad to see you've been spending your newfound time so wisely! :)

    I'm planning on reading Precious and Fragile Things. I love pretty much anything Megan Hart writes. So thought provoking, right?

    Can't wait to see what you get to in February! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so glad you have more time to read and blog! It's great to see a post from you. I am really sorry about the job though. :(

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  5. Oh, you read some great books. And you have the entire Rough Riders series to look forward to. *loves*

    I also really loved the Linden & Dare trilogies. Wonderful.

    And so happy you found the time and inclination to post (at the same time!). Hope you'll do more this year :)

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  6. Christine - Precious and Fragile Things was thought provoking. But Hart somehow "writes deep" but stays up on the surface at face value. Hard to put into words...she's honest in an "it what it is" kind of way. Let me know what you think of it.

    Thank you Holly :-)

    And I'm wanting to post more for sure Lori. But hell if I can sit down and pen a full length review. Totally rusty there.

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Have you read it? What do you think?

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