DNF: Beautiful Bitch by Christina Lauren

Title: Beautiful Bitch
Series: Beautiful Bastard, #1.5
Author: Christina Lauren
Published: July 9, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Gallery Books
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Marq

summary from Goodreads
Picking up where Beautiful Bastard left off, Chloe Mills and Bennett Ryan continue their steamy, combative relationship.

Just when Chloe’s career starts to take off, Bennett wishes it would all slow down long enough to spend a wild night alone with his girlfriend. But after he refuses to take no for an answer, Chloe and Bennett find themselves with two plane tickets, one French Villa, and a surprising conversation that, predictably, leaves them wrestling under the covers.

DNF Review: Own the Wind by Kristen Ashley

Title: Own the Wind: A Chaos Novel
Series: Chaos, #1
Author: Kristen Ashley
Published: April 2, 2013
Pages: 448
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Marq

summary from Goodreads
Too hot to handle...

Tabitha Allen grew up in the thick of Chaos--the Chaos Motorcycle Club, that is. Her father is Chaos' leader, and the club has always had her back. But one rider was different from the start. When Tabby was running wild, Shy Cage was there. When tragedy tore her life apart, he helped her piece it back together. And now, Tabby's thinking about much more than friendship...

Tabby is everything Shy's ever wanted, but everything he thinks he can't have. She's beautiful, smart, and as his friend's daughter, untouchable. Shy never expected more than friendship, so when Tabby indicates she wants more--much more--he feels like the luckiest man alive. But even lucky men can crash and burn...

DNF: Sweet Tea for Two by Genell Dellin

Title: Sweet Tea for Two
Author: Genell Dellin
Published: December 31, 2012
Pages: 304
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher (Berkley)
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Ellie

summary from Goodreads
Welcome to Rock Springs, Texas, a quaint town where everybody knows everybody—and everybody's talking!

Meri Briscoe hoped her big city problems were over after moving back to Rock Springs. The former lawyer opened up a café to save her grandmother Lilah’s farm from foreclosure and found love in the comforting arms of handsome rancher Caleb Burkett. But who knew being happy could be so complicated?

Everyone thinks that Meri and Caleb are meant to be husband and wife, but when it comes to their business partnership, the two couldn’t be more wrong for each other. There’s more conflict coming out of their kitchen than there are cookies. But there's more at stake than a café, and Meri and Caleb just need to agree on the right ingredients to make their future as sweet as their tea…

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Ellie's thoughts:
I tried to like this book I really did but after one hundred pages, that took me three days to get through, I had to give up.

Sweet Tea for Two is actually a sequel to Honey Grove but no one is told this. The book is set in a small Texas town and shows what happens after the hero and heroine fall in love. I liked the concept of seeing how the happily ever after works and if there are still problems. My problem was I found the characters on the bland side and there seemed to be way too much going on to keep track of. This book is a cute idea and I’m sure some will love it but it isn’t for me and I was unable to finish it.

DNF: Beauty and the Bounty Hunter by Lori Austin

Title: Beauty and the Bounty Hunter
Series: Once Upon a Time in the West, #1
Author: Lori Austin
Published: October 2, 2012
Pages: 300
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: Publisher (Signet Eclipse)
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Ellie

summary from Goodreads
Love and revenge both come at a price.


Cathleen Chase is no killer—but as Cat O'Banyon, she is a ruthless bounty hunter who always gets her man. Catching one lowlife after another, she continues her search for the only man she really cares to locate. The one whose voice she will never forget; the man who murdered her husband. She'll stop at nothing to find him.

Con artist Alexi Romanov taught Cat every trick she knows. He is a master of deceit, disguise, and desire. He's difficult to trust, and even more difficult to resist, but he has news she can't ignore. The man she's after has placed a bounty on her head. To get him before he gets her, she'll have to team up with Alexi again...and just like before, the two of them together are nothing but trouble.

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Ellie's thoughts:
I love a good historical/western romance every once in awhile but I struggled to get into Beauty and the Bounty Hunter. I kept putting this book down and moving on to others because the plot and the characters would not click with me and I was so bored. I had a big problem from the beginning with the male lead always around other women and sleeping with them while the female lead was around and kept stumbling into them. This killed the book and as much as I wanted to I just couldn't finish this book.

DNF: The Librarian by Logan Belle

Title: The Librarian
Author: Logan Belle
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Pages: 288
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Pocket Star
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Marq

summary from Goodreads
Inspired by the story of the iconic Bettie Page, Logan Belle’s sizzling erotic novel explores the transformation of Regina Finch from shy librarian to the object of one powerful man’s all-consuming desire.

Regina Finch, brilliant and bookish, has worked her way up to her dream job as a librarian at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library. But her discovery of the sordid sexual adventures of a rakish, young billionaire among the hallowed halls and sacred stacks of the library unleashes a confusing blend of repulsion and desire that threatens to consume her. It is only through her introduction to the work of Bettie Page—the world’s most popular ingÉnue-turned-fetish-model—and Page’s own sexual awakening that Regina can hope to discover her sexual prowess and seduce the man she loves.

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Marq's thoughts:
I hate, hate, hate DNF-ing a book. I also hate writing a 'review' for a book that I DNF. Most of the time when I DNF a book, I don't write a review. I stop reading the book and move onto something else. But there are times where I have to let my feelings known. And this is one of those times.

I read the blurb of The Librarian and decided to give it a try. It sounded Fifty Shade-ish but I liked the Bettie Page spin and felt that it would make the book slightly different from FSoG. Mind you, I haven't read FSoG but have heard so much about it and have read so many reviews that I felt like I've read it.

The Librarian is the most boring erotic romance I've ever read. I stopped reading the book at the 42% mark. After Sebastian and Regina had sex. It was the sex scene that finally made me stop reading this book! The sex scene was unimaginative, flat and uninspiring. But let's start at the beginning.

Sebastian is a billionaire (shocker) in his early 30s and he is for some unexplained reason drawn to Regina after seeing her for all of 10 seconds. Regina is from a small town in Pennsylvania. She moved to NY to work at the NYPL. She is a virgin and unaware of her looks. She has a Bettie Page haircut because she messed up cutting her own bangs (stupid ass reason) so of course, everyone tells her she looks like Bettie Page. Only thing is, she has no idea who Bettie Page is. Regina has a roommate that parties, has loud, wild sex and is rich. She doesn't interact with her roommate much because Regina is socially inept. Even though she went to college, she doesn't know how to act around other human beings. One day at the library, Regina goes into a part that is off-limits. This is where she catches Sebastian having sex. Regina is turned on by the sight (again, shocker) but chastises herself and vows to tell someone what she saw. She never gets the chance because the next day at a meeting, she finds out that the defiler of that off-limits room is none other than Sebastian Barnes and that his family donated that wing. And Regina will be working with him on some fundraiser for the library.

Sebastian immediately starts telling Regina what to wear, orders her around about her clothing and basically takes over her life. Regina feebly protests but eventually gives in because she's attracted to Sebastian and blah, blah, blah.

The Librarian was boring but I kept reading to see if the plot would pick up and become more interesting. I didn't understand why Sebastian was attracted to Regina. The story is told from Regina's 3rd person POV and we never know Sebastian's motives or what he sees in her. There was no sexual tension. None. No build up. Nada. Sebastian came off as a spoiled rich playboy and Regina was his new toy. And why virginal Regina gave into Sebastian's demands, I have no idea.

I'm all for hopping on the Fifty Shades bandwagon but at least make it interesting and sexy. This book failed on so many levels for me. The Librarian would have been much more interesting if Regina was a librarian by day and a Bettie Page domme by night. Now that's a book!

Check out Wicked Lil Pixie's review of The Librarian where they use charts in their review. In the chart, they compare The Librarian to Fifty Shades. It's very interesting.

DNF Reviews

Archangel's Storm

Guild Hunter, #4

Nalini Singh

September 4, 2012

337 Pages

Berkley

Ellie's thoughts:

I can’t believe I am doing this but I am DNFing Archangel’s Storm. Like so many others I love this series and was highly anticipating Jason’s book but I found it so boring. I had to force myself to read the first 100 pages and I found myself thinking about anything but what was going on. Jason and Mahiya had no chemistry at all and I kept waiting for a spark or something and it never happened. I am so nervous that I will be lost in the next books in the series but I just couldn’t finish this book it was that bad and it breaks my heart to say that. I really hope it was just Jason and Mahiya that I couldn’t get behind and I hoping that the series will stay great.

That Thing Called Love
Razor Bay, #1

Susan Andersen

July 26, 2012

384 pages

Harlequin

Ellie's thoughts:

That Thing Called Love is not a horrible book but I had a huge issue with the male character that I just could not get over. Jake had a child during his senior year of high school and he sucked it up, married the girl and gave up his scholarship to college. His wife unexpectedly died and her parents offered to raise his child, Austin, while Jake went to college. Austin is now thirteen years old and both of his grandparents have died when Jake decides he wants to be a father. I really disliked Jake and he ruined the story for me. He complained over and over again that the child he abandoned for thirteen years doesn’t want anything to do with him and just expects to show up and everything be okay.

After over a hundred pages I felt that the book just kept going around in the same circle and nothing was happening. My dislike of Jake tained the entire book and I didn’t want him to have his happily ever after at the end. I wish I could have gotten over my feelings about his treatment of Austin but I just couldn’t and it ruined the book for me.

DNF Review: Maidenhead by Tamara Faith Berger

Title: Maidenhead
Author: Tamara Faith Berger
Published: April 1, 2012
Pages: 176
Genre: Fiction
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Coach House Books
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Marq

summary from Goodreads
Myra, naive and curious, is on a family vacation to the southernmost tip of Florida – a mangy Key West full of Spring Breakers. Here, suffering through the embarrassments of a family on the verge of splitting up, she meets Elijah, a charismatic Tanzanian musician who seduces her at the edge of the tourist zone. Myra longs to lose her virginity to Elijah, and is shocked to learn he lives with Gayl, a secretive and violent woman with a strange power over him. Myra and her family return to an unnamed, middle-class, grey Canadian city and she falls in with a pot-smoking, intellectual anarchist crowd. When Gayl and Elijah travel north and infiltrate Myra’s life, she walks willingly into their world: Myra continues to experiment sexually with Elijah, while Gayl plays an integral part in the increasingly abject games. Maidenhead traverses the desperate, wild spaces of a teenage girl’s self-consciousness. How does a girl feel scared? What is she scared of? And how does telling yourself not to be scared really work? As Myra enters worlds unfamiliar of sex, porn, race and class, she explores territories unknown in herself.

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Marq's thoughts:
I will admit that I decided to read this book because the title intrigued me. With the title Maidenhead, a book is sure to grab your attention. Unfortunately this book did not work for me on so many levels and after reading 37%, I had to put it down. I have no idea what the author was trying to accomplish with this book. Whatever it was, it went completely over my head.

I didn't get or understand this book at all. Maidenhead is told in the 1st person POV (Myra) and it's written like it's stream of consciousness. At some point, I'm wondering if she's high or drunk because her thoughts are so scattered.

Myra is 16 years old and is on vacation with her family at Key West when she meets Elijah. Elijah is Tanzanian and he's older than Myra. They chat and then he convinces her to walk back to his room where he proceeds to force her to pee and then make sexual advances towards her which leads to him peeing on her. Yeah, I said pee on her. He did an R. Kelly.  I was going to DNF the book at that point but figured I'd continue reading and hope that the book gets better. Wrong. Myra returns to the scene of the pee crime because she really likes Elijah code word: she's horny, and wants to see him again. She returns to his room where she catches him in the act of going down on a woman. A woman who Myra saw coming out of the bathroom bleeding, holding a towel between her legs. Huh? This is when the book gets even stranger (if that's even possible) and I had to DNF at the 37% mark. It was hard to follow, disturbing to read and again, I didn't get it.

And to make Maidenhead even more weird, mixed in with Myra's POV, we are interrupted by lee and gayl who are "narrators" of the story? I have no idea. Whenever they showed up in the story, it broke up the flow of an already confusing narration.

Another thing that bothered me and this is a personal issue for me, is that the "bad" , the guy who Myra wants to give her virginity to despite her already weird encounters with him, is Elijah, an African guy from Tanzania. And Gayl, Elijah's paramour, is also black (or African). These two infiltrate Myra's life and not in a good way. The stereotype was so blatant and it really bothered me. I thought we were more evolved where we didn't have to fall back on played out stereotypes of white and black. Am I being too sensitive because the bad black people lure the innocent white girl over to the dark side and corrupt her? Maybe I am but I didn't like it and it's another reason why I DNFd this book.

I have no desire to pick this book back up and finish it. The plot was hard to follow, Myra's POV was incoherent at times, it was just a mess. And the sex scenes I did read were just plain gross. If this was a simple book about a 16 year old girl looking to lose her virginity, this would have been a completely different review.

DNF Review: Size 12 and Ready To Rock by Meg Cabot

Title: Size 12 and Ready to Rock
Series: Heather Wells, #4
Author: Meg Cabot
Published: July 10, 2012
Pages: 361
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: Publisher (William Morrow)
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Tabatha

summary from Goodreads
Summer break . . . and the livin' ain't easy

Just because the students at New York College have flown the coop doesn't mean assistant residence hall director Heather Wells can relax. Fischer Hall is busier than ever, filled with squealing thirteen- and fourteen-year-old girls attending the first ever Tania Trace Teen Rock Camp, hosted by pop sensation Tania Trace herself--who just happens to be newly married to Heather's ex-boyfriend, heartthrob Jordan Cartwright. But the real headache begins when the producer of a reality TV show starring Tania winds up dead . . . and it's clear that the star was the intended victim.

Grant Cartwright, head of Cartwright Records, wants to keep his daughter-in-law (and his highest-earning performer) alive. So he hires his oldest son, black sheep of the family and private investigator Cooper Cartwright--who just happens to be Heather's "new" fiancE. Heather should leave the detecting to Cooper. But with a dorm full of hysterical mini-divas-in-training, she can't help but get involved. And after Tania shares a really shocking secret with her, "this" reality suddenly becomes more dangerously real than anyone ever anticipated.

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Tabatha's thoughts:
Having gotten this book for review, I went back and read the other Heather Wells novels. I will say that this book just did not measure up for me. I really enjoyed the other ones. Some more than others, but for some reason - this one was just... off? I feel that the characters were not as developed as they were in the previous books. I also don't think the relationship between Heather and Tania was believable at all. I mean really, who is going to sit there and be kosher with the girl who your boyfriend cheated on you with? Not me - or anyone I know for that matter.

I just found Size 12 and Ready To Rock hard to believe and hard to get into.

Review: Cherished by Maya Banks and Lauren Dane

Title: Cherished
Authors: Maya Banks and Lauren Dane
Published: August 7, 2012
Pages: 360
Genre: Contemporary BDSM Duology
Source: Publisher (Berkley)
Rating: B
Reviewed by: Marq

summary from Goodreads

Exiled by Maya Banks
Enticed to the island paradise where an enigmatic prince is living in exile, beautiful, virginal Talia is introduced to a world of forbidden pleasure where the prince's every whim is fulfilled and her fantasies are rendered in exquisite detail. But when the prince is summoned back to fulfill his duty to his struggling country, reality is thrust upon Talia all too soon. She returns home, heartbroken, convinced she was a passing fancy for an idle ruler and his most trusted men. Until the day they arrive on her doorstep, determined to have her back where she belongs.


Sway by Lauren Dane. Book 1 of the Delicious series
Taken from Ms Dane's website - SWAY will be in the CHERISHED Duology with me and Maya Banks – both our books will have a contemporary BDSM theme. It’s also the start to my DELICIOUS series, the spin off from The Brown Siblings books.

Levi Warner is an established, older man—wealthy, powerful, and above all, respectable. Then Levi meets Daisy, an uninhibited 24-year-old dance instructor and artist, not exactly the kind of woman Levi is accustomed to. But the young, free spirit, brings out something in him he only experienced in fantasies. When their scorching affair turns into something unexpectedly deeper, Levi finds himself torn between preserving his reputation, and exploring a wilder and much more satisfying kind of life.

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Marq's thoughts:
Exiled by Maya Banks- I didn't realize that Exiled was a m/m/m/f story until a few pages in. I've read a previous m/m/m/f story by Ms. Banks and it was not my cup of tea. I wished there was a hint in the plot summary that Exiled was this type of story. A virgin sent to an island to service a prince and his two confidantes is not sexy. After 20 pages, I was cringing and the sex hadn't even started. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book.
Rating: DNF

Sway by Lauren Dane - I really liked Sway. Normally I don't like stories where there's a huge age difference between the hero and heroine but the age gap didn't bother me and it really worked. Really liked Daisy. She's a woman who is comfortable in her own skin and knows what she wants. She had more faith in their relationship than Levi which I thought was a nice change - that the guy was the unsure one in the relationship. Levi was sexy and I loved that there was more to him than the stuffy lawyer. The BDSM aspect of their relationship felt natural, organic. Definitely not forced. The only thing that bothered me was Levi's constant focus on the age difference. It started wearing thin. I loved revisiting the characters from Never Enough and look forward to reading this new series.  Can't wait to read the next book!
Rating: B

July DNFs

Every month I debate whether or not I should "review" books that were DNFd (did not finish). And then there's a question of when do you DNF a book? At what point do you stop reading and know that no matter how much more you read, you're not going to like the book. For me it's 50% (unless the book is really horrible then it will be less than 50%). I think reading half a book gives me a pretty good indication if it's going to be good or not. For others, it may be more or less than that. Either way, I think it's important to share why I could not finish a book. 
Just because a book didn't work for me does not mean it won't work for you. And by sharing, maybe you won't make the same mistakes that we did. Like for instance, the two books Ellie DNFd were part of the series and because she hadn't read the previous books, she had problems following the plot but plans on going back and reading the previous books.

Marq's DNFs:

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost -
Never in a thousand years did I think that I would be DNFing this book. But it's exactly what I did. It took me over a week just to get through half of Once Burned and I have no desire to continue. I've been looking forward to Vlad's spin-off series the moment Frost announced that she was writing it. Vlad is a wonderful character and I just knew that his book was going to give Bones and Cat a run for their money. Wrong. At least, for me, I was wrong. What factored into me not liking Once Burned? Leila for one. I did not like that the story was told from her 1st person POV. She's no Cat and is not funny and badass like Cat. Maybe that will come in book two. I hope so.I found myself being more annoyed by her than liking her. Another annoyance was the mind reading. We know that Vlad can read minds and because of this, this is how we are privy to his thoughts...through Leila. Boo! Vlad is too interesting a character for us to not be inside his head. I was sorely disappointed by this. And the fact that Leila is not an engaging character ruined this for me. Vlad is snarky, scary, funny and an all around smartass. I felt that this was missing (from the 53% that I read). There definitely wasn't enough to satisfy my tastes.

I could have cared less who was trying to kill Vlad. I could have cared less about Leila learning how to harness her power. I could have cared less....PERIOD. I don't know if I'm going to read the next book. The bright side of Once Burned is the brief and funny appearance of Bones and Cat. Of course, Bones stole the show.

Maybe it's me. The consensus is that this book is bad-ass. I must be missing something. I still love the world and am looking forward to the next Cat and Bones book. I'm so sad that Vlad didn't work for me on so many levels.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Even though this is an audiobook it felt like with each chapter, a little more of my life was being drained from my body. This book is SO boring and so wordy and Diana can just go kick rocks. She's dumb. She's a book smart person with no common sense - the worse kind of dumb person. There's so much going on. I think this book suffers from "everything but the kitchen sink" syndrome. A lot of stuff could have been left out. I made it to chapter 18 and I can't take it anymore. I find my mind wandering, I'm tuning out the narrator. The switch from 1st person POV to 3rd person POV is annoying as hell. I know that Matthew and Diana are going to end up together cause he is a vampire and every book that has a vampire, he must end up with the heroine. But I don't understand how or why? Matthew and Diana are both dull as dirt. So actually, they're perfect for each other. I saw in some reviews that Matthew is an alpha hero. Ummm...okay. When does that happen? Cause up until I threw in the towel, I didn't see it.

The Winemaker's Dinner by Dr. Ivan Rusilko and Everly Drummond
I've heard the early buzz about this book. The buzz being that the writer is a male writing erotic romance. When I started reading The Winemaker's Dinner, I found the writing to be very formal. It made reading a little clunky. I also noticed, as I continued reading, that the hero, Dr. Ivan, was described in detail several times but the reader didn't know what Jaden, the heroine, looked like. After reading 50% of the book, I knew that she had black hair, green eyes and is 5'10". There were no descriptive details about her looks ,shape. It was all about Dr. Ivan. And this is why the book didn't work for me (besides the fact that he says "baby girl" and "girl" a lot. Annoying and not sexy. At. All.) Being called "girl" is only sexy when it's coming from Ryan Gosling's lips. The Winemakers Dinner seemed to be one big ego boost for Dr. Ivan. It was all about him; look at how sexy I am. Look at how awesome I am. Jaden was in his shadow the entire time (hence why I think she wasn't described in detail). I read half the book and couldn't go any further. I didn't find any of the characters likable and was not invested in their relationship.After much eye-rolling and muttering "give me a break" throughout the book, I decided it was best for me to leave The Winemaker's Dinner.

I've read rave reviews about The Winemaker's Dinner but this book didn't work for me.

Ellie's DNFs:

The Key by Simon Toyne
I was very excited to read The Key by Simon Toyne since the reviews I read on Goodreads just raved about this book. What I didn’t know is that this is the second in a trilogy and I quickly discovered that the books need to be read in order to be able to follow along. The writing is excellent and I tried so hard to piece together what had happened and catch up but it was impossible. I plan on reading Sanctus, the first book, which I’ve heard good things about too. I am sadly disappointed that I had to DNF this book but it is impossible to read without knowing what happened in Sanctus.

Stalking the Others by Jess Haines
I have attempted to read Stalking the Others on three different occasions over the last few months and I have finally given up. I am not saying this is a bad book, quite the contrary but because I have not read the first three books in the series I am so lost. This is a complex series with a lot of history and there is no way to jump into this series. These books are not written to be stand alones and so I will go back and start at book one and I have a feeling I will love this series. I can’t wait to come back and give a real review of Stalking the Others.

April DNF Reviews

I don't know what is going on with 2012 but I have DNF more reviews this year than I had in all of 2011. Again, I hate not finishing a book but time is a precious commodity and I don't have a lot of it. So I've decided I will no longer commit to finish a book that I am not enjoying.

The Search
by Nora Roberts

This was my first foray into trying audiobooks. Since I work in Finance, I'm at my desk 99% of the day. What better way to help past the time (besides working) and whittle down my TBR list? I've been on the outs with La Nora for awhile and was hoping that The Search would pull me back in. Nuh uh. Didn't happen. If anything, it caused me to break up with her.

I really, really tried giving this audiobook a chance. I don't know if it was the narrator or the plot but either way, I was bored to tears. There were plenty of times where I zoned out (or maybe I fell asleep) while listening to this book. I did not like Simon. I felt that he was a douche and an ass. Fiona had the personality of a paperbag and I did not find her interaction with Simon interesting. I felt no chemistry or spark between the two. The attention to dog training was too much. I felt that this book was a how-to for dog training instead of a romantic suspense.

This was my first foray into audiobooks and I won't let this failure deter me from trying others. The Search didn't work for me on so many levels.

Kiss of Pride, #1
by Sandra Hill

The idea of a viking-vampire-angel was intriguing. And the cover was kinda hot. Too bad it wasn't enough to keep me interested in reading this book. Like I've said before, I don't have that much time to spend on a book that I feel is sucking the life out of me. And I started reading this book while I was swamped at work and at home so maybe that attributed to the reason why I didn't enjoy it. Or maybe the book was as bad as I thought it was.

Kiss of Pride is campy and ridiculous and I can't figure out if it's on purpose or not. The dialog is weird and nothing about the story flows. The campy names are again, ridiculous. Lucipires and Vangels oh my! The Archangel Michael is known as "Mike." The campiness undertone of the story did not go well with the very serious issues the heroine was facing. I thought the Viking Vampire Angel would be something interesting and new in the PNR world but instead it is too much. The hero, Vik, I couldn't take seriously and he was not sexy. Maybe because I only read 20%. Maybe the book gets better as it progresses. I will never know cause reading the little bit that I did was painful. Either way, I think I gave myself a headache with the abundance of eyerolls I did while reading the first 20%. I'm short on time and patience and there are too many books in my tbr that I could be reading instead of this one. So this one is a DNF.

DNF Review: Blood Secret by Sharon Page

Title: Blood Secret
Series: Blood, #5
Author: Sharon Page
Published: March 27, 2012
Pages: 352
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Publisher (Kensington)
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Ellie

summary from Goodreads
Lucy Drake is prepared to do all she must to save her family from financial ruin, even if that means giving herself as a sexual plaything to the Duke of Greystone for two weeks. Desperate to keep her ability to shape-shift into dragon form a secret, she has no idea that Greystone, too, has secrets.

A vampire highly skilled in the ways of erotic pleasure, he plans to seduce the knowledge of his missing nephew’s whereabouts from Lucy. Once he has his nephew back, he is sworn to destroy all shape-shifting dragons, including Lucy and her family. But after fourteen nights of sexual delights, will he defy his oath and give in to love with the woman of his dreams?

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Ellie's thoughts:
Blood Secret had everything I wanted in a historical/paranormal romance: dragons, vampires and lots of dirty sex. Unfortunately nothing in this book worked for me especially the dirty sex. Lucy Drake is a shape shifting dragon who becomes Duke Greystone’s sex slave in return for saving her brother. The dialogue is horrible, the characters weren’t likeable and the sex seemed forced. I had a lot of problems with the sex scenes mostly because our virgin heroine agrees to the bargain and then does straight to having really kinky sex with toys. Everything moved way too fast for my taste and I couldn’t continue reading without wanting to hurt myself.

DNF Review: Wedded in Scandal by Jade Lee

Title: Wedded in Scandal
Series: Bridal Favors, #1
Author: Jade Lee
Published: March 6, 2012
Pages: 336
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: Publisher (Berkley)
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Ellie

summary from Goodreads
The dazzling wedding of fashions of A Lady’s Favor dress shop are guaranteed to make any girl the talk of the ton. But the brides aren’t the only ones falling in love….

Lady Helaine’s father was cast out of society as a liar and a thief—a scandal which renders her unfit for marriage. In order to provide for herself and her mother, she adopts an assumed name and runs a dressmaker’s shop that specializes in bridal wear for ladies of high society. Helaine is happiest immersed in silk and satin, but she lives in terror that someone will learn her true identity and she will lose everything…again.

Robert Percy, Viscount Redhill, is entranced with the mysterious Helaine and weaves a web of seduction sure to ensnare the delectable dress designer. Yet too late he learns the heartbreaking truth about who she used to be. Now he must find a way to overcome the past to claim Helaine as his own. But what chance has love when a secret mistress becomes a scandalous wife?

---

Ellie's thoughts:
Every once in awhile I like to pick up a nice historical romance novel and get lost in the world of the Ton and royal society. When I picked Wedded in Scandal to review, I was excited and then I started reading. It is slow, way too slow for me, and I found myself not even able to read a full page without thinking of other things. I found the characters, plot and especially the dialogue very boring and borderline painful. I am usually a fan of Jade Lee but unfortunately Wedded in Scandal was not a hit and I couldn’t finish it no matter how hard I tried.

February DNF Reviews

I hate not finishing a book. Even if I'm not enjoying the book like I want to, I at least try to finish. But alas, there are too many good books out there to continuing reading one that I am not enjoying.

Something About Witches
by Joey W. Hill

I really wanted to like this book. Joey W. Hill has a huge fan base and even though I couldn't get into her Vampire Queen series, I was looking forward to reading her new series, Arcane Shot. First off, I loved the heroine's name - Ruby. You don't find too many Rubys in PNR. Second, the hero's name is Derek. Love that name! From the start, Something About Witches did not pull me in. The explaining of the magic and the set up of the overall plot seemed to drag the book down. There was not enough dialog to break it up. There would be pages and pages of telling and not showing. It drove me batty. Derek and Ruby have a past and Ruby is into some dark stuff. But I found myself not really caring. I made it to the 50% mark and finally gave it. It took me over a week to read that much. I kept putting the book down and reading something else. I'm passing this book onto my reviewer Ellie and hope that she has better luck. It's a shame. I really wanted to like it.

Lust on the Rocks
by Dianne Venetta

I tried to like this book. I liked the concept of older woman, younger man. I liked that Sam wasn't portrayed as an older woman on the prowl. She's successful, about to make partner at her law firm. Vic is an associate who wants to work on Sam's current case. He has his own motives for wanting to be involved. Vic is definitely attracted to Sam and the feeling is mutual. But I didn't buy the attraction and for me the characters lacked chemistry. I saw no reason for them to be together other than they are in each other's space. Throw in Sam's sister's pregnancy story line and I just stopped caring. I didn't find any of the characters likable and I wasn't invested in their happiness. The writing was ok but it didn't flow. There was a lot of telling instead of showing. And the fact that the author used the term "loins" to describe the hero's junk bothered me to no end. I made it to the 50% mark before I had to throw in the towel. Unfortunately this book just didn't work for me.

Eastern Ambitions, #3
by Mari Carr and Jayne Rylon

After a bumpy start with this series with book 1and coming off the high of book 2, I delved into book 3 with both feet. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Cindi was introduced in book 1, Northern Exposure. She's the admin for Compass Ranch. We learn in book 1 that Cindi likes to have sex with the ranch hands....at the same time. Maybe I purposely forgot that little aspect when I started reading Eastern Ambitions. Sam is one of the younger Compton brothers and he's also a twin. After being betrayed by a woman he thought he could trust, he tucks his tail between his legs and heads back to Compass. Not only has he lost his dream job but his dad is also dying from pancreatic cancer. Cindi loves working at the ranch and the Compton family is her surrogate family. She loves that they take care of her despite her particular kink.

So when I bought the ebook, I paid very little attention to the cover. I saw that it was purple and moved on. Now I wish I had looked closer. I did not see the 5 men in the background!!! So color me SHOCKED when I'm at the 60% mark and realize that despite the obvious attraction and affection between Sam and Cindi, Cindi was still getting down and dirty with the ranch hands. I have no problems with menage but when it's more than 3, that's when I have to say "no ma'am" and put the book down. I knew that Cindi liked having sex with multiple men but I honestly think I chose to conveniently forget it. So, when I started getting a sneaking suspicion as to where the plot was headed, I skipped ahead and read the ending. Let me say that I was not surprised but I was also not happy. Throughout the book, Sam is portrayed as a caring, respectful man. He's shown Cindi nothing BUT respect. Has even told her that he doesn't want to string her along while his head is not totally into being with her. Now I would think any woman would want that kind of honesty from a man! What does she do? She stomps off, gets angry. But of course this wouldn't be an erotic romance if the h/h didn't eventually get their HEA. And they did and I call SHENANIGANS! There is no way Sam would be happy watching his fiancee soon to be wife get it on with 5 other dudes! I'm sorry I don't believe it. It was hinted at that Sam is kinky himself but we saw no parts of it! And then he walks in on Cindi getting banged by 5 ranch hands, he's pissed and then suddenly turned on. Say what? Let me tell you, that is one sex scene I don't ever, EVER want to read again.

So yeah, I dnf'd this sucker. My folks on twitter who'd read the book told me to stop where I was at. To not read the sex scene. But curiosity got the best of me and I read it. And I am so mad that I did. It was not sexy and not erotic. I was grossed out. I'm hoping this series redeems itself with book 4.

Oh and another thing. Cindi was having sex in the barn, on the property. Did she not think she would get caught? Or did she just not give a damn? That was so disrespectful. She got issues that 5 or 6 dicks can not fix. And what's up with her damn secrets about her family background? I guess I'll never find out what they were. Oh well.

Early Review: Lust in the Library by Amelia Fayer

Title: Lust in the Library
Author: Amelia Fayer
Release Date: March 6, 2012
Pages: 100 (ebook)
Genre: Erotic Romance
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: D-
Reviewed by: Marq

summary from Amazon
Some like it hot, and some like it in the reference section

Sara is having a love affair with books. But, since books can't make love to you, it means she's in the middle of a very long dry spell. Until a sexy Brit shows up. Suddenly she's learning just how stimulating a library can be—up against a bookcase, behind the card catalog, on the circulation desk . . .

Meanwhile, Veronica is incredibly frustrated. While Sara and her new man are using the library as their personal adult playground, she's stuck with only her thesis and her sexual fantasies. But Andrew, her crush, isn't above using his . . . assets to get Veronica right where he wants her: alone, in a darkened corner of the stacks.

Who knew reading could be this pleasurable?

---

Marq's thoughts:
Lust in the Library is broken up into two novellas, each novella being 50 pages. I had so much hope for this novella. I loved the premise of the sexy goings on taking place in the library and I loved that the hero in the novella is a British professor. But alas, neither novella rocked my boat and I was rather bored while reading them.

We are supposed to believe that Sara and William have been lusting after each other from afar yet neither one has been willing to make the first move. When they finally do, I expected explosions, hot sweaty make-out sessions that lead to hot, sweaty sex. Thanks to Sara's indecisiveness and insecurities, the lust was mainly green light with an abrupt red light. She put the kibosh on William several times and it got tiring especially since they had only 50 pages to get it on. When they finally get together, I was not impressed. It was not sexy, kinda boring and disappointing. I felt zero connection between the two characters and felt that them together was pretty lame.

The same goes for the second novella. I felt that the premise of Veronica's story was very weak and once I started reading it, I was in a rush to finish. Again, boring sex scenes that were kinda repetitive. A weird blow job given so that a book wouldn't be damaged by wayward cum. I found none of this sexy or erotic. I pretty much was shaking my head in confusion the entire 50 pages.

Lust in the Library was a huge disappointment. With the wonderful cover and awesome blurb and premise, I had such high hopes for this novella. I thought that maybe if this was a full-length novel instead of a novella, where the author could provide more back story and character development, that this could be something great. But then I think back to the uninspiring sex scenes and think, no.

DNF: Gun Games by Faye Kellerman

Title: Gun Games
Series: Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, #20
Author: Faye Kellerman
Published: January 3, 2012
Pages: 384
Genre: Thriller
Source: Publisher (Harper Collins)
Rating: DNF
Reviewed by: Ellie

summary from Goodreads
Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are back in this gripping mystery involving a secret cabal of some of Los Angeles' most wealthy--and vicious--teens

LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep--witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city's most exclusive prep schools.

Gregory's mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen--evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student--a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence. Decker thought he understood kids, yet the closer he and his team get to the truth, the clearer it becomes that he knows very little about them, including his own charge, Gabe. The son of a gangster and an absent parent, the boy has had a life filled with too much free time, too many unexplained absences, and too little adult supervision.

Before it's over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating at a heart-stopping point of no return.

---

Ellie's thoughts:
I have never done a review on a book that I didn’t finish and am a little unsure of how to start.

I was very excited to read Gun Games because it seemed like a different type of book from what I have been reading lately and I felt I needed to shake things up and expand my horizons. Unfortunately I had a very hard time connecting to the characters and the plot. I found myself at times thinking of my To-Do list or wondering if I should cook or get take out for dinner. When I read a book I like to get lost in it and go along on the journey with the characters.

It was difficult connecting with any of the characters because of all of the different points of views going on. I felt that the characters all came off as the same person instead of a teenage boy or a grown police detective which I found highly annoying.

I'm sure fans of this author and the series will enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I sadly could not finish this book and have no desire to try to do so in the future.

Review: Bound by Night by Amanda Ashley

Title: Bound by Night
Author: Amanda Ashley
Series: Bound, #1
Published: September 1, 2011
Pages: 320
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Publisher (Zebra)
Rating: D-
Reviewed by: Ellie

Favorite quote: You’re teasing me.”
“Not at all. You’re beauty puts the moon and the stars to shame.”



summary from Goodreads
A Vampire's Kiss Is Forever. . .

Once featured in a horror movie, the crumbling Wolfram estate is said to be haunted by ghosts, witches, and worse. But Elena doesn't believe a word of it—until she spends the night and wakes up in the arms of a compelling stranger. . .

Tall, dark, and disturbingly handsome, Drake is the most beautiful man Elena has ever seen. For centuries, he has lived alone, and Elena is the first woman to enter his lair—and survive. And Drake is the first man to touch her heart and soul. By the time she discovers who he really is—and what he craves—it's too late. Blood lust has turned to love, and Elena is deeply under Drake's spell. But forever comes at a price for each of them.

---

Ellie's thoughts:
Elena Knightsbridge was just twelve years old when her parents died and she moved from Colorado to Romania to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin. Now seven years later, her aunt has passed away and her cousin has eloped with a young man from their village and Elena is all alone with her uncle. When her uncle declares that Elena must marry him, she panics and flees to the only place she can think of, Wolfram Estate. Wolfram is rumored to be haunted and has stood empty for as long as anyone can remember but Elena soon discovers her new refuge is not haunted at all but is home to the most handsome man she has ever seen Drake Sherrad.

Lord Drake Sherrad is shocked to find a young woman sleeping on his couch late one night and as a five hundred year old vampire, Drake is not surprised easily. After hearing Elena’s story he offers her a place to live and safety from her uncle and his threats. As Drake spends more time with Elena, he finds himself drawn to her as he has never been drawn to another, vampire or human, and can’t help but take her as his bride even though it is forbidden by vampire law. As Drake is summoned by his father to take his place on the vampire council, he and Elena must fight for their relationship and future and convince everyone that love between a vampire and a human can work.

I love vampires. All you have to do to get me to read a book is say that there’s a vampire in it and I’m reading it. With that said this was the worst vampire book I have ever read. It makes me very sad to write that sentence but I have to be honest. The only reason that this wasn’t a DNF is because I’ve heard the second book in the series is really good and I am planning on reading it.

I found that both Drake and Elena to be very boring, cheesy, spineless and so frustrating. The way they interacted with each other and they way they spoke, I found to be something out of a historical romance novel instead of a paranormal romance set in present day. I felt like their relationship was very hurried and I couldn’t believe that they were in love and married by chapter eight. Elena is only nineteen years old and is just such a weak character. Through the whole story I wanted her to stand up for herself and stop being so weak and she never did it. She also asked Drake to marry her without knowing his last name, where he goes at night, how old he is or that he is a vampire. I found their entire relationship laughable and unbelievable.

After the first very cheesy one hundred pages the story starts to pick up a little with the introduction of Drake’s family and the vampire council. This part of the book could have been enjoyable but it included Drake and spineless Elena who and they both just let everyone walk all over them for the next fifteen chapters. The major problem was that I didn’t care at all about anything that was going on and so much of it was cheesy lines and classic vampire cliches that it was painful to read.

The entire book seems like a set up for the next book, Bound by Blood, which is fine because I read the first two chapters in the back of this book and it actually seems like a real paranormal romance. Again, as someone who loves vampire books, especially vampire romance books, this was just plain bad. I love my characters, especially my female lead, to be strong, independent, kick ass characters and Drake and Elena are the farthest thing from that. I know this is a harsh review but I stick by my feelings and I stick by the fact that I did not like this book.

Review: Bloodlust by Michelle Rowen

Title: Bloodlust
Series: Nightshade, #2
Author: Michelle Rowen
Published: July 5, 2011
Pages: 283
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
My copy: Provided by publisher
Rating: D-
Reviewed by: MARQ

Favorite quote: "I'd been warned, but I hadn't listened"

Summary from back of the book


ONE TASTE IS ALL IT TAKES
For those who feat on blood, Jillian Conrad is a fatal attraction. After being injected with a poison that made her blood both irresistible and deadly to vampires, she was used as a pawn to assassinate the vampire king. Now the vampires want her eliminated.

Hunted and unable to return to her old life, Jillian desperately seeks to prevent the formula in her veins from killing her. And she must find a way to help her dhampyr protector, Declan, whose exposure to the poison has aplit his personality into one part uncontrolled desire and one part stone-cold killer.

But an even greater danger is rising. The Amarantos--a secret society of vampires--is seeking the infant daughter of the slain king to complete the vampires quest for true immortality. And if they succeed, no one, living or undead, will escape the darkness.

---

My thoughts:
The above quote is the running theme throughout Bloodlust and why the book and Jillian frustrated to no end.

Bloodlust starts off a week later after the events of Nightshade took place. Declan and Jillian are trying to get information on how to prolong Jillian's life and find a way to get the Nightshade out of her system. Bloodlust was full of twists and surprises and intrigue. People you thought were dead, weren't. The lines between good and evil were truly blurred and you didn't know who was telling the truth and who to trust. Everyone had an ulterior motive and no one was the true Good Guy. It was more like, who is the lesser of two evils? The story moved at a steady pace and with the different vampires involved in a game of chess in the fight for power, the story kept me engaged and wondering what's going to happen next. With that being said, I did not like this book.

Throughout Bloodlust, Jillian made dumb decision after dumb decision that literally got people killed. She acted without thinking and felt remorse after the repercussions of her actions were felt. I've said this previously with other reviews and posts; a heroine who is TSTL without some type of redemption ruins the book for me. PERIOD. And what makes me even angrier, is that the men around her - Declan, Noah, Matthias - never chastised her for her dumb actions!! Every once in a while Declan would yell at her or call her out on her dumbassness but it wasn't enough. Jillian would f*ck up, something terrible would happen because of it, she would say something like "I didn't know" and then all would be forgiven. This was the running theme throughout this book and it worked my last nerve.

Here is proof of my frustration. My Goodreads status updates:

Jillian justifies her reckless behavior by saying that she's never followed rules. *SIGH* Seriously? I think this is an excuse for her to justify making dumb decisions. And speaking of, there's one decision she makes, twice, that had me want to throw my book. As my update at the 60% mark states: "Is that her solution for everything?" I won't say what it is because it is super spoilery but she makes this decision like it's nothing; a no-brainer. Like she's deciding between waffles or pancakes. Well, those two dumbass decisions comes back and bites her in the ass. And the people who are affected are mad at her for like 2 seconds and move on. She has forever changed their lives and that's it? FRUSTRATING!!

Bloodlust would have a much better book for me if I didn't have such an issue with the heroine. For me, she was totally unlikable and I wanted her gone. Unfortunately, there was no getting away from Jill since the story is told from her POV. I don't want the heroine to be perfect but I'd like her to have some freaking common sense! Which Jillian seriously lacked. I want the heroine to come to a point of self-realization where she's finally realizes that she is truly messing up and she needs to get her act together. This never happened with Jill. Another thing that frustrated me was the pseudo love triangle between Jill, Declan and Matthias. What was the point if Jillian's feelings for Declan were never truly tested? I honestly don't believe they cared for each other. I think Declan and Jill's relationship was a matter of convenience. The pseudo love triangle could have been left out. And I never understood what Matthias saw in her anyway other than the attraction of her blood.

I don't know if there's going to be a book 3. With the way Bloodlust ended, it could go either way. Unfortunately, I think I am done with this series even if there is a book 3. I had high hopes for Jill's character. The same issues I had with her in Nightshade returned in Bloodlust times 1,000! I can't stand behind a heroine that is TSTL.

Review: The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald

Title: The Liberation of Alice

Author: Abby McDonald

Published: March 1, 2011

Pages: 424

Genre: Chick- lit

My copy: Publisher

Rating: D-
Reviewed by: Marq

Summary from back of book:

Alice love keeps her life (and boss, and family) running in perfect order, so when her bank card is declined, she thinks it's just a mistake. Sadly, someone has emptied her bank account, spending her savings on glamorous trips, sexy lingerie, and a to-die-for wardrobe -- and leaving Alice with lots of debt. As a dashing fraud investigator helps her unravel the intriguing paper trail, Alice discovers that the thief is closer to home than she ever imagines. What's more, it seems like her alter ego's reckless, extravagant lifestyle is the one Alice should have been leading all along. As the little white lies begin to stack up, how far will Alice go to find the truth? And whose life, exactly, is she fighting for?

---

My thoughts:
I normally don't read chick-lit so I didn't know what to expect from this book. Alice Love is a woman who lives a very orderly and routine life. She's responsible and thorough in her personal and professional life. She doesn't color outside the lines. But all of that changes when someone decides to steal Alice's identity and turns her orderly world into chaos.

The first inclination that I would have a hard time with Alice was when Alice credit card was declined when she was trying to purchase lunch. And she then found out that she never received a credit card that was sent to her. For someone who reviews contracts for a living, you'd think the first thing she would do is check her bank account to make sure everything was okay. But no. In the age of technology and increasing identity theft, she didn't bother checking her bank! She assumes that it was a mishap; no worries. I check my checking account daily; sometimes twice a day. I'm crazy like that. I couldn't understand how someone who is so organized and thorough could let something like this slide without investigating. But then, if she did check her bank account, she would have discovered the identity theft much sooner and we wouldn't have a story.

I had a difficult time getting into the story. The beginning was slow and drawn out. I didn't find Alice's character to be very likable so when the identity theft happened to her and her life was almost ruined, I didn't have any sympathy for her.  I felt that she was judgmental with her friends and family. She came off as too high and mighty. I also felt that Alice lacked personality. Her character was kinda blah. Compared to her sister, Flora who is perky, bright and full of energy, Alice was about as interesting as watching paint dry.

The premise of the book was interesting but unfortunately, the pacing of the plot was slow. The best parts of the book were when Nathan and Alice interacted. Nathan added some much needed life into an otherwise dull story. The banter was witty and funny and we actually get to some some spark and personality in Alice. I'd hoped that this would continue throughout the book but Nathan disappears after their initial meeting and doesn't reappear until the middle.

The bit of personality that Alice showed were the times where the book held my attention. When she finally stepped outside her comfort zone and LIVED even though it was under false pretenses, I enjoyed the book. Too bad those instances occurred when I was already past the point of caring about Alice's liberation.