Re-Read Challenge: Kiss An Angel by SEP

My April entry for Nath's Re-Reading Challenge is Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Seneca recently wanted some SEP suggestions and I recommended KaA, my first SEP ever. KaA is also one of the first romances I read way back in the day, over 10 years ago.

So what did I think after 10 plus years for a book that I always felt fondly for and oddly enough never re-read?

Wedding Day

Pretty, flighty Daisy Devreaux can either go to jail or marry the mystery man her father has chosen for her. Arranged marriages don't happen in the modern world, so how did the irrepressible Daisy find herself in the fix?

Alex Markov, as humorless as he is deadly handsome, has no intention of playing the loving bridegroom to a spoiled little featherhead with champagne tastes. He drags Daisy from her uptown life to a broken down traveling circus and sets out to tame her to his ways.

But this man without a soul has met his match in a woman who's nothing but heart. Before long, passion will send them flying sky high without a safety net...risking it all in search of a love that will last forever.

Well first of all, back when I was a younger, I loved the fact that Daisy had a pet tiger. LOL I love animals, always have, and that was the biggest draw for me reading this as a teenager.

Fortunately, I'm older (if not wiser-LOL) and I appreciated Kiss An Angel for a completely different reason (although the pet tiger still kicks ass, imo).  KaA is a truly well-written story.

So Daisy Devreaux is the illegitimate daughter of a Russian-American diplomat and a model.  Raised by her flighty mother who always wanted to be in the limelight (even if it meant stealing the limelight from her daughter), Daisy grew up with a low opinion of herself.  She wasn't as pretty as her mother and she definitely wasn't as charismatic.  Raised and educated unconventionally, Daisy's father also has a low opinion of Daisy.  And when Daisy lands herself in a heap of trouble after her mother dies, her father gives her two options:  jail or marriage to a man of his choice.  

Daisy chooses door #2 and is less than impressed with her prize.  She marries a cold, humorless, merciless circus manager.  And Daisy is afraid of animals.  LOL

Ok, I have to be honest, I loved KaA, just as much as I did the first time I read it.  I still loved the animal aspect and didn't find it silly at all.  SEP did an excellent job of showing how Daisy interacted with the animals and how that reflected Daisy's personal growth.  Daisy was a girl that never had to be serious in her life and all of a sudden she has responsibilities and she's standing up for things she's believing in.  Daisy definitely made this book.

Alex was just the whipped cream topping on a decadent dessert.  He starts off cold and kind of cruel, not making any allowances for Daisy's former lifestyle.  Which is good for Daisy.  But Daisy's innocence and pride eventually wear down Alex's walls and he begins to thaw.  And he's not perfect.  Far from it.  He doesn't something really bad towards of KaA that takes a very strong woman (which Daisy definitely is) to understand and forgive.

And when these two were driven apart by Alex's stupidity, I still had that squirmy feeling in my stomach that I did when I read this the first time.  You know the feeling, wondering if the h/h are going to end up together or not.  *sigh*

Six by Opal Carew

Harmony leads a secret life. On the surface, she's a respectable, straight-laced professional. But once a year, she reunites with her old college friends--the infamous Group of Six--for a decadent sexual free-for-all. Here, there are no limits. Nothing is forbidden as they push every boundary to reach dizzying new heights of pleasure. But this year, Harmony has a serious boyfriend in her life…and he has no idea about her naughty annual retreats. Now Aiden is about to enter an intoxicating world of explosive sensuality and mind-blowing group sex. But can their relationship withstand Harmony's wild side? And when an old friend reveals his true feelings for Harmony, how far is Aiden willing to go to win her heart?

Reason for Reading: I saw a review at one of the sites I lurk it. It intrigued me and I've never read OC before so I decided to give it a shot.

Summary: Harmony is leading a double life - she's this wild woman in bed, but only with her good friends. With her boyfriend, she hides that side of her personality and comes across as kind of vanilla. In the past, when she let loose in bed with a significant other, he acted disgusted after the fact and Harmony learned never to open up. But her yearly trip with her close friends is looming and she's torn between going and inviting her boyfriend along.

My Thoughts: I liked Six. Harmony's friends from university have been meeting faithfully every year for a week of hedonistic fun in the sun. Every fantasy is acted out and every wish fulfilled. But the friends don't see each other outside of their one week allotment, which is why their vacations continue to work. But this year, Harmony is the only friend with a significant other and the rest of the crew are open to having Aiden along for trip.

Aiden is surprised that his sweet Harmony is actually a passionate woman with wild desires. He thinks its hot and is open to trying everything out with Harmony.

There are two kinks in this year's trip however: Aiden's ex-girlfriend, whom he still feels deeply for, has followed him down to the tropics in an effort to win him back and one of Harmony's friends wants to start a relationship with her.

I really enjoyed Six. Yeah there's a ton of hot luvin', but there's also a plot and character growth. Harmony needs to learn how to trust again and Aiden needs to deal with his unresolved feelings towards his ex. Pure escapism if you're looking for it. And with summer almost upon us, this is the perfect book to start heating things up. LOL I'll definitely keep an eye out for OC's backlist.

random shtuff

Thought I'd share some pics of my babies. Max rarely let's She-Ra touch him in their sleep, so I'm lucky to have taken this shot.

I need to make some changes around my blogging. I want to blog more but there's no time. I think I can make time in the mornings if I wake up earlier. That means going to bed earlier, but there's nothing that I'll be missing out on. I realized I had time the other morning when I randomly woke up at 5 am. I usually pull myself out of bed at 7:15.  So I wrote a review.  But nothing since.  LOL

Also, I'm officially committing to Kristie J's Read 5-Buy 1 tbr reducing stratagem. LOL The truly funny thing is I keep typing that as Buy 5-Read 1.  I wish I could do that instead.  So yeah, no more books until I've read 5.  And I'm not counting 5 ebooks either.  5 physical, paper books.  I can do this, my tbr has almost reached 1000.  My TBR Pile is so big, it gives my mom anxiety.  *g*

One more thing - thanks to everyone who is still stopping by.  :P  

Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst

WHAT IS THE PROMISE OF THE WOLF?

NEVER CONSORT WITH HUMANS.

NEVER KILL A HUMAN UNPROVOKED.

NEVER ALLOW A MIXED-BLOOD WOLF TO LIVE.

At least that's what the wolves of the Wide Valley believe. Until a young wolf dares to break the rules — and forever alters the relationship between wolves and the humans who share their world.

This is the story of such a wolf. Born of a forbidden mixed-blood litter and an outcast after her mother is banished, Kaala is determined to earn a place in the Swift River pack. But her world is turned upside down when she saves a human girl from drowning. Risking expulsion from their pack and exile from the Wide Valley, Kaala and her young packmates begin to hunt with the humans and thus discover the long-hidden bond between the two clans. But when war between wolves and humans threatens, Kaala learns the lies behind the wolf's promise. Lies that force her to choose between safety for herself and her friends and the survival of her pack — and perhaps of all wolf- and humankind.

Reason for Reading: I was at the library and plot intrigued me. There are no werewolves in this book my friends - this is a book told from a wolf's POV. How's that for different?

Summary: Promise of the Wolves, I believe, is told with a real understanding of wolf pack dynamics.  For example, only the alpha couple can breed.  This is to prevent too many puppies being born to the pack.  So when Kaala's mother gave birth to an unsanctioned litter, Kaala's mom knew there was a chance her pups were going to be killed.  And that's exactly what happens.  Except for Kaala.  She refused to go down without a fight after watching the alpha male kill her siblings.  When it was her turn, "divine intervention" in the form of the Greatwolves kept her alive.  You see, there is a prophecy that a wolf with a crescent moon on her chest will either bring good luck or bad luck to her pack - and the wolves won't know which kind until she fully grown.

So Kaala has some things against her.  She's from an unsanctioned litter, her father is not a wolf from the Wide Valley (thus making her mixed blood) and she has white fur on her chest in the shape of the crescent moon.  As Kaala grows, she also becomes fascinated with humans - which is another no-no for wolves.

My Thoughts: Kaala annoyed me! LOL

I thought it was very interesting to read a book from a wolf's POV. And this book takes place 14,000 years ago - so there's a whole legend built in around wolves becoming domesticated. It's not put in so many words, but basically if wolves work with humans, humans will become more powerful and less respectful of that Balance (the natural order of things). Which is exactly what happens with the humans in Kaala's story. The humans become so numerous (no population control like with the wolves) and they think they deserve all the meat to be had in the Valley. So they're going to kill all the prey animals.

But back to Kaala annoying me. She knew the rules, kept breaking them and kept being an annoying little brat! In some cases, she was TSTL. Example - she leads the pups into a herd of horses. Little pups + horse hooves = 1 dead wolf pup. I don't know, I felt like Kaala was doing all these things heedless of the consequences and it got on my nerves. It works out somewhat in the end (I believe this is going to be a trilogy but I couldn't find any info on the other books) and I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens. Promise of the Wolves was a B for me.  Yeah Kaala is annoying, but it's a good story.

TBR Day: Hot Item by Carly Phillips

This month's TBR Challenge was to read a fantasy novel, but I've been on a contemporary kick so I chose Hot Item (2006) by Carly Phillips.

Seen On The Sidelines

What star quarterback has been spotted with a new flavor of arm candy? It's notorious bad boy Riley Nash, but his newest flame is the last person this reporter could imagine -- none other than Sophie Jordan, beautiful, buttoned-down co-owner of The Hot Zone, the industry's top sports management agency.

What's behind this unlikely team? Some say it has to do with the sudden disappearance of superagent Spencer Atkins. Could there be a connection between the red-hot quarterback and the missing dealmaker? Or has the famous groupie magnet simply met his perfect match in cool, collected Sophie? Watch this space, because the resulting news is bound to be one Hot Item.

Hot Item is book 3 in the Hot Zone series. I know I read the first two books and I liked them, but it was so long ago, that I don't really remember what was going on. Hot Item quickly brought me up to speed.

Summary:  Sophie is the middle sister and as such, has a slightly anal personality that likes order and logic. Which really comes in handy when Spencer Atkins, the Hot Zones newest partner and family friend, disappears after it is revealed in the press that he is gay.  The disappearing act couldn't have happened at a worse time - right before first round draft pick.  (Umm...I get that this is a big deal, but I'm not keen on football, so I was like meh for this part.  LOL)  Sophia loves Spencer, who she grew up thinking of as an uncle.  She just needs to find him before their biggest potential client signs with another agency.

Also affected by the news (and not so much the disappearance) is Riley Nash, Spencer's unacknowledged football star son.  Raised by a conservative senator, Riley wants to find dear old dad and ask him not to divulge the family secrets to the press - because doing so will affect his stepdad's dreams of the White House.

My Thoughts:  I enjoyed Hot Item.

Riley Nash is an impulsive jock who uses his charm to get his way out of tricky situations and lives a somewhat carefree lifestyle.  Which is the exact opposite of Sophie Jordan.  But something about the other draws them in and while they go looking for Spencer, they give into their mutual attraction.  I liked the fact that Sophie didn't try to deny herself what was going on with Riley.  And him?  He realized fast enough that he was falling for Sophie and he didn't fight his feelings either.  But Sophie, who was orphaned at a young age, has some definite abandonment issues that she needs to deal with first.  

Well-written characters and an interesting story - Hot Item gets a B from me.  

Review @ Breezing Through

Chantal, Nath and I have a review of Angels' Blood up at Breezing Through.

Check it out HERE.

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option...even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn't destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break...

Review @ Book Binge

It's been a while, but I have a review up at Book Binge.

I reviewed Succubus Dreams, the 3rd installment of the Georgina Kincaid series.

Check it out HERE.

Some days, a girl just can’t catch a break...

...especially when the girl in question is Georgina Kincaid, a shape-shifting succubus who gets her energy from seducing men. First there’s her relationship with gorgeous bestselling writer Seth Mortensen, which is unsatisfying on a number of levels. It’s not just that they can’t have sex in case Georgina inadvertently kills him (generally a turn-off for most guys). Lately, even spending time together is a challenge. Seth's obsessed with finishing his latest novel, and Georgina's under demonic orders to mentor the new (and surprisingly inept) succubus on the block.

Then there are the dreams. Someone, or something, is preying on Georgina at night, draining her energy, and supplying eerie visions of her future. Georgina seeks answers from Dante, a dream interpreter with ties to the underworld, but his flirtatious charm only leaves her more confused—especially as the situation with Seth reaches crisis point. Now Georgina faces a double challenge—rein in her out-of-control love life, and go toe-to-toe with an enemy capable of wreaking serious havoc among mankind. Otherwise, Georgina, and the entire mortal world, may never sleep easy again…

Tuesday Tease

What is a roguish young nobleman supposed to do with a shockingly lovely young ward?

The Duke of Blakewell believes he''d better marry her off as soon as possible, before he gives in to temptation himself...

But Henrietta doesn't want a husband? She wants her independence...

Sure that she carries a curse that killed her previous guardians, Henrietta just wants the duke to sign over her inheritance before something terrible befalls him...
In a moment of passion, they become scandalously entangled, and suddenly the duke must take Henrietta''s curse seriously, and she must take drastic measures to save the one man she could love...

This one really intrigues me. It was available April 1 - so I'm going to hunt it down.

furry friends

My Precious

Tulip

Maximus Decimus

She-Ra, Princess of Power

Awww, I love them. Even when they're evil (Tulip).

Anyway, I needed a break from the computer after my week. I've been trying to finish up a big work project and I'm almost done, there's just some reports to compile. But the majority of the grunt work is done. Thank goodness. Let's just say I'm sick of excel right now. LOL  

But all that work meant overtime and barely any reading got done. :(  Or blog hopping.  But hopefully things will slow down now. 

The sad thing is, I've been waiting since September for things to slow down. Very frustrating.

So what's new in blogland? How is everyone? I'm very jealous of those with sunny skies and warm temperatures, let me tell you! LOL

haha mother nature - you win

So today is April 1st. You know what's happening right now? It's snowing! And it snowed last week and while all this is happening, there's flooding going on.

It's going to stop sometime, right?