Definition of a Hero

Do you have an idea of the ideal hero?  Mine is being challenged by all these MC books that I have been reading.  My hero needs to be smart, tender, tough and able to respect his woman.  Do you have a concise definition?

TBT - Oldie But Goodie

Each Thursday, I like to bring you a book recommendation for an oldie but a goodie.  This week I am bringing you Dream Man by Linda Howard.  This 1994 novel is one I have read numerous times.  It has a different premise than most books that I have read.  The main character, Marlie Keen is a clairvoyant psychic whose powers are most unusual.  The hero is a detective with the Orlando PD named Dane Hollister.  He is skeptic of the woman who shows up to give the department information about a recent murder. The serial killer in the book is seriously strange and his brain activity is what Marlie locks onto when he is in the midst of committing his crimes.  She sees the scenes through his eyes while in a trance like state. This gift makes her extremely vulnerable abut she has an inner core of strength too.

It's been a while since I read this one but I think you will enjoy it if you like suspense mixed in with your romance.

Monday Needs a Hero - The MC edition

Because Mondays are hard enough, I like to bring you a bit of eye candy and a book recommendation. Today I bring you Own The Wind by Kristen Ashley.  It is the story of Parker "Shy" Cage and Tabitha Allen.  Shy is member of Chaos where Tab's dad, Tack, is the president.  That right there is trouble!  The story of Shy and Tab started in Motorcycle Man but you don't have to read it (you're crazy if you don't though!) to know what is going on here.

I always think of Jax Teller when I think about Shy though the hair color is wrong.  Shy's hair is nearly black but I think the image is pretty close otherwise.  Definitely a badass!

Weekend Reading

What's on your reading list this weekend?  I've finished Love and Let Die, the fifth book in the Masters and Mercenaries series by Lexi Blake.  Loved it!

I'm currently in reading Craving Redemption by Nicole Jacquelyn, the second book in The Aces series. Loving it as well, so far!

I'm 32% done and hoping to finish up tomorrow morning but I'm not sure what to read next.  I'm open to recommendations and suggestions!  Bring it!

Happy reading!
~becca

TBT - Oldie but Goodie!

This week I have a one of my favorite Suzanne Brockmann books from her Troubleshooters series.  Over the Edge was published September 1, 2001 and I think I probably read it in November of the same year. The events of 9/11 certainly weighed heavily in my mind as I read it.  If you are unfamiliar with this series, it features a team of SEALs and the author usually weaves in a subplot from WWII.

Over the Edge tells the story of Senior Chief Stan Wolchonok and Lieutenant Teri Howe.  There's your first hint of conflict!  Lt. Howe, a helocopter pilot, has left a job in the civilian world and has gone active duty with the Navy Reserves. As a woman in a world that is dominated by men, she faces different challenges than her male counterparts.  Ms. Brockmann drew me right into the story with this.  Stan comes to her rescue after one particularly obnoxious officer refuses to take "No" for an answer. Stan is disturbed by what he sees and quickly begins a project to make her more assertive.  When the team gets an assignment that will take them out of the area for a while, he maneuvers to have Lt. Howe be assisgned with the team.

I don't like to give away spoilers but I will tell you that the action part of this novel revolves around a commercial flight that has been highjacked out of Greece to a country known as "the pit".  The highjackers don't like Americans and take a special interest in one particular passenger on the flight. The SEAL team is diverted from their training exercise to assist an FBI hostage negotiating team at the site.  The WWII subplot was also amazing in this novel.

This is actually the third novel in the series but you can read it out of order.  I think it might have been the first one that I read in the series too.  A lot of the characters you will meet in this book will be featured heavily in later books.  The story is intense and I should mention that it does describe some pretty horrific events.  If rape and child abuse are triggers for you, you may want to skip this book.  The events are portrayed and discussed with care but I wouldn't want you to be surprised by this.

Updating the Wait List

I think it is time to update my "Hurry Up! I Can't Wait!" list.  It's not a complete list by any means but it's a start!

Bianca Sommerland, who has the Dartmouth Cobras series is working on a new anthology of hockey stories and her contribution will be Blind Pass which will tell the story of Tim and Madeline Rowe and how they met.  It will be a prequel to the series and a bittersweet read for sure.  I know she has other books in the works but this one will be special.

Cherise Sinclair has her next Doms of Dark Haven coming out in late spring, early summer which I hope means a May or June release date. This fourth volume will be the story of DeVries (the sadist) and Lindsey. Definitely watching for that date to firm up.  Also, she is participating in the 1001 Dark Nights with Show Me, Baby which is due out August 12, 2014.  This one will be a Shadowlands story for Jake and Rainie. So that's two to watch here!

Kit Rocha has the next novel in the Beyond series coming out March 2014.  This will be Beyond Jealousy, the story of Ace, Rachel and Cruz.  This is one I have been waiting to read for so long!  The teasers are killing me! Then Kit will follow it up with a novella, Beyond Solitude, which is the story of Ford and an as yet unnamed heroine.  The novella will be part of a larger project and no further information has been released yet.

Monday Needs A Hero!

Today is a great day for another Dom!  Have you read Club Shadowlands?  It is the first book in Cherise Sinclair's Masters of the Shadowlands and introduces us to Master Z who owns Shadowlands. Master Z comes across as slightly older, debonair and smart but totally dominant. He has some special gifts that he uses to read people and they only make him a better Dom.  He makes appearances in all of the books in this series!

Here's some eye candy to put you in the right frame of mind for Master Z!

Marked

I waited anxiously to read this anthology and I am happy to report that it did not disappoint!  I was most anxious for Kit Rocha's novella in the Beyond Series, Beyond Temptation (#3.5).  This is the story of Noah and Emma.  Noah can do all things tech and not part of the O'Kane gang.  Emma is apprenticed to Ace (His story is on the way!!!  Cannot wait!) and definitely part of the O'Kane family.  They have a past history and Beyond Temptation is definitely where Noah finds himself.

The other writers in the book were new to me.  I enjoyed Vivian Arend's Rocky Ride which begins her new Thompson Brothers series.  I have read another book by this author now and enjoyed it as well.  Rocky Ride tells the story of a RCMP (Anna Coleman) and a bad boy mechanic (Mitch Thompson).  It's a different take on the hero cop when that is the woman.  I liked it.

The big discovery for me was Lauren Dane's work.  The novella here is All That Remains.  It is futuristic and set sort of post-apocalyptic. The author has stated that it is not dystopian. In the story, an horrific illness has claimed much of the population. The population balance has been thrown out of whack and males now outnumber females by a large percentage.  Menage relationships have become the norm for many.  I don't want to give much away but I will tell you that this story featured m/m as well as mmf and mfm.  I am not normally a fan of m/m and mmf but something about the story here made it fit and work for me.

This book is on sale now through the end of February for only $2.99.  I think you should definitely treat yourself this Valentine's Day!

happy reading!
~becca

TBT - Oldie But Goodie

If it's Thursday, it must be time for another #TBT!  Today's Oldie But Goodie is by one of my favorite authors.  Susan Elizabeth Phillips writes romances to treasure.  They are funny and sweet and easily some of the most re-read books on my shelves.  Today I bring you Kiss An Angel which tells the story of Daisy Devreaux and Alex Markov.  This couple is forced into a marriage that neither wants and then sent on the road with a small family run circus for the summer.  I don't want to give you any spoilers here but you should definitely read this one!

Monday Needs a Hero

Mondays are sometimes the hardest day of week.  It's hard to get back into the routine after a wonderful weekend so I've decided to bring you Monday Needs A Hero to make the day better!

This week's hero is none other than Kane 'Tack' Allen from Kristen Ashley's Motorcycle Man.  OMG I love him! He's tatted, he's hot and he's a badass biker. What's not to love?  Seriously!

Here's a few images to bring him to life!

This one is Richard Rawlings from Fast N' Loud.  He's a Texas boy to boot!

And this one is Eric Dane.  Maybe not enough tattoos but definitely feeling the Tack vibe here!

Hope your Monday is to a great start!
~Becca

TBT - Oldie but Goodie

I'm introducing a new feature this week! Every Thursday is going to be Throw Back Thursday where I will look back at home of my non-recent favorite books.  Feel free to share yours in the comments too.

I was reminded recently about one of my favorite books ever.  It isn't recent at all and in fact dates back to October 1993. I love this book so much that I bought it for my kindle in the past year. The humor and romance in this book are nearly perfect. Some things may seem dated to read it now but the humor and romance never go out of style.

So by now you want to know what book I'm talking about so here it is!

Ms. Crusie quickly became a favorite author after reading this.  It might be the perfect quick read to put you in the mood for Valentine's Day if you like your romance quirky and funny.

Monday Needs A Hero

Mondays are sometimes the hardest day of week.  It's hard to get back into the routine after a wonderful weekend so I've decided to bring you Monday Needs A Hero to make the day better!

This week's Hero is Adam Montague from Nobody's Hero!  Kallypso Masters had said many times that Mark Harmon is her inspiration for Adam and I'm not gonna complain!

Hope your Monday is to a great start!
~Becca