Sins of the Flesh - Caridad Pineiro

one sentence summary
genetic experiment gone wrong finds love when a mercenary is sent to clean up the scientists mess (with her being the most volatile mess left behind)

review
a strong start to a new series, it has everything, action, adventure, romance and science fiction all well executed and combined to make a great story. The characters are all really well developed and as Cat and Mick's relationship unfolds you will be drawn in to their world. This novel has ups and downs that keep you guessing and interested from beginning to end. A definite page turner.

6/10

Faeries Gone Wild - Mary-Janice Davidson, Michelle Hauf, Lois Greiman, Leandra Logan

one sentence summary
A collection of four short stories all with happy endings and a dash of love.

review
Mary Janice: absolutely hilarious with characters from her other novels flitting about. Well written and witty - the best story in the book for sure.
Michelle: another hilarious story, the tooth fairy is losing her job because the mothers in her district are forcing their kids to stop believing. She has to figure out a way to save her job with the help of a hunky sandman. a story worth reading for sure.
Lois: an author I hadn't read buy will keep an eye out for. Her story was sweet but she was trying to fit too much plot into too few pages. Well written if a bit rushed feeling.
Leandra: the age old story of trying to find your place in the world, well told and entertaining but ultimately forgettable.

8/10

Triangles - Ellen Hopkins

one sentence summary:
Three women look for love and understanding.

review:
I found this a very interesting read but not particularly well written (it is done in an off putting style IMO) which detracted from the story quite a bit. The three lead characters were all very interesting and realistic and I enjoyed getting into their heads and looking at their worlds through their eyes. Each of them could easily have had an entire book written on their own stories. The connections made and broken between all the characters made me want to have a more adventurous life than my own (but then I thought about it and decided no, I am happy with my mundane, safe life). The highlight of the book for me was how well researched spinal muscle atrophy was.

6/10

Aftertime - Sophie Littlefield

one sentence summary

The world as we know it has ended and the remaining humans struggle to survive.

review
The romance angle of this seems like an afterthought, and, in my opinion the novel would have been a lot better without it. (my theory is that when sending it out to publishers harlequin said "sure, but add some sex" because that is what it feels like, tossed in and not thought through.) The story line is interesting Cass, a recovering alcoholic is searching for her daughter in a world torn apart by mind melted cannibals. The character of Cass is wonderfully flawed and realistic, trying to keep sane and to find her child. It is worth reading if you enjoy end of the world stories.

7/10

Silver Dragon Trilogy - Katie MacAlister

one sentence summary:
Romance and dragon/demon politics do not always go together but love always finds a way.

review:
These are quirky comical easy reads with a healthy dash of sexy. The characters are all really well drawn out and the interactions between them are charged with human emotion. I enjoyed the settings that MacAlister used from the underworld to the apartments of characters from her earlier series. I also really liked the bits about the characters from earlier series, it was kind of like catching up with old friends. I recommend this series to anyone who likes quirky romances.

6/10

Dragonborn - Jade Lee

one sentence summary:
Dragons + Politics + Deceit + Sex = Entertaining Read

review:
A trashy, quick read with better descriptive (in the bedroom) skills than actual plot devices. It was entertaining and I don't regret the time I spent reading it but I will not be reading the sequel (unless I hear really great things). The flow of the novel wasn't very good. The trashy bits were pretty solid (short but solid) and the politics/world building bits were really well done but the bits of "romance" were just terrible. That said I will be checking out Jade Lee's more traditional fantasy novels or super trashy romances (I am not sure which she writes).

4/10

The Bearskin Rug - Jennifer Stevenson

one sentence summary
sex demon freed from his bonds vs good guy cop, which will she choose?

review
an entertaining smutty read. not "well written" but not terrible.  Apparently this is book 3 in a series, I will be going back and reading the first two if I happen to ever find them used for cheap. The plot is a bit wishy-washy and the characters feel stale (but that might be because I missed the first books... but it should be better). It is fluff, a brainless read with an adequate amount of smut.

5/10

 

Remember Me - Sophie Kinsella

one sentence summary:
a 25 year old average girl with bad teeth and no carer wakes up three years in the future and is living the "dream life"

review:
The writing on this one isn't as good as Kinsella normally puts out, but it isn't the worst I have read, could probably have just used some more editing and a few rewrites. But it is an entertaining airplane/beach read, a quick moving story that will have you laughing out loud. the characters are all endearing and the plot is cleaver. I would like this to continue as a series with the protagonist pulling her life together. If you like chick-lit and want a brainless read this is for you!


6/10

Supernatural - Larissa Ione, Alexandra Ivy, Jacqueline Frank, G.A. Aiken

one sentence summary:
You love  who you love and not even the supernatural can keep you away from them.

review:
I read all four of these authors, and these short stories were all quite well done. I enjoyed all four of the stories. The best IMO was Larissa Ione's The quick romance between a were and her vampire boss, with just a dash of family drama thrown in. My next favourite was by G A Aiken, the story of two very different people being forced to spend time together and realizing that differences do attract. Jacqueline Frank's story was smut filled and entertaining enough. Alexandra Ivy's story was pretty good, but easily forgettable. I recommend this book for people who want to read some pretty good romance without wanting to read a whole novel.

8/10

Moirin's Trilogy - Jacqueline Carey

One Sentence Summary:
Moirin is not like anyone else that she knows, strange gods speak to her and she must find out why.
8/10
10/10


Naamah's Kiss (Moirin's Trilogy #1)
One Sentence Summary:
The child Moirin is raised to adulthood and begins her quest to discover and follow her destiny.
Review:
Carey tackles this new series with the same ability to look life in the face and not shirk away from the more difficult subjects. The prose are beautiful and the descriptions of scenery are moving. The characters are all very well thought out and Carey is successful in making you love them or hate them. The action and adventure is a bit slow to start but once it does you will not be able to put the book down.
10/10
10/10

Naamah's Curse (Moirin's Trilogy #2)

One Sentence Summary:
Moirin continues her journey travelling from far to find her true love.
Review:
The adventure in this volume has snowballed and can not be stopped. Carey thrives on description and as Moirin travels the world she encounters new lands and new people which Carey describes with such detail that you honestly feel that you are part of the adventure. Reading this, like anything by Carey, is an experience you will not soon forget.
8/10
10/10

Naamah's Blessing (Moirin's Trilogy #3)


One Sentence Summary:
Moirin and her love, Bao, travel to Terra Nova and the adventure continues.
Review:
More beautiful prose and more thrilling escapades. This concludes the story arch very well, in an unexpected way and closes the door on the story of Moirin and Bao. Carey has said she has no intention of returning to the world of Phedre and Moirin but I hold out hope that one day she will have a new story to tell as the world is such a wonderful place I hate to think I will never return to new adventures.
9/10
10/10

Notable Quotes:
"I seek words of such surpassing beauty that they might melt the hardest heart of stone." - Kiss

"Our eyes met. We had so very many shared memories between us, Bao and I. Some were wonderous, and some were terrible. Some were both." - Blessing

"I have seen the impossible. I have seen great and terrible wonders, and I tell you, the world is a vaster and stranger place than ever I had reckoned." - Blessing
If you enjoyed this read:

Everything else by Jacqueline Carey
The Wayfarrer Series - Sara Douglass

Beyond the Dark - 4 novellas - Angela Knight, Emma Holly, Lora Leigh, and Diane Whiteside

one sentence summary:
a supernatural element always makes smut somehow smuttier.
review:
All four of these stories were pretty all right. The strongest was the one by Lora Leigh, another of her breeds stories, genetically altered humans who are biologically compelled to mate for life once they have found their destined partner. A lot of pre-coitus drama and not all that much smut, but the drama was entertaining. The second and third strongest were pretty well the same level of entertaining, Whiteside and Holly both have strong females as their protagonist. Whiteside  is more of an alternate history style story where as Holly's can be categorized without any second guessing as erotica. I would say 75% of her story is sex. It is highly entertaining. Angela Knight had the weakest story of the bunch, which is odd because usually she is good, but she fell into the trap of trying to fit to much plot into to few pages. I must admit, by the time I finished the book I didn't really remember much about her story, it is the first or second story in this edition. I recommend it to people who like this sort of thing

6/10 *smut rating based on actual smut may be as high as 8 but the stories were not all particularly good*

Black Dagger Brotherhood Series - J.R. Ward

one sentence summary:
The vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood find love while battling both their internal demons and the literal ones who are out to destroy everything they have worked for.
review:
Great writing this is not, but it is well written enough to be called descriptive and flowing. These action-packed stories are perfect for the inner rebel in us all. The characters are well developed and the plots all interesting these novels will leave you feeling satisfied when you turn the last page. That said there is an over arching story that runs through each novel as well. Full of smut with enough drama to be interesting I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys the genre of "paranormal romance".
6/10
8/10
*I have only read the first 10 books in this series... but I have read all ten of them because the characters are so enthralling*

If you enjoyed check out the series by:
Laurell K Hamilton (Anita Blake Series)
Rachel Vincent (Shifter Series)
Gena Showalter (Lords of the Underworld Series)
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Hunter Series)

50 Shades of Grey - E. L. James

One Sentence Summary: 
Naive young woman enters into BDSM sexual relationship with older man.


Review:
This is one of the most poorly written books I have read this year, we get it - his name is grey and his eyes are grey.  Also I hate Anastasia and would like to say f*ck off to her inner goddess. I will not finish this trilogy

2/10
5/10
  

Notable (for how god-awful the writing is) Quotes:

“My inner goddess is jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a five year old.” 

“Does this mean you’re going to make love to me tonight, Christian?” Holy shit. Did I just say that? His mouth drops open slightly, but he recovers quickly. “No, Anastasia it doesn’t. Firstly, I don’t make love. I fuck… hard. Secondly, there’s a lot more paperwork to do, and thirdly, you don’t yet know what you’re in for. You could still run for the hills. Come, I want to show you my playroom.”

“So you've just slept with him, given him your virginity, a man who doesn't love you. In fact, he has odd ideas about you, wants to make you some sort of kinky sex slave.”

“How does he do this to me? He's just touching a small area of my body and the hormones are flying.”

“What is it with all the immaculate blondes? It's like Stepford here.”

"“Darling, you know what they say. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince." I give her a lopsided, bittersweet smile. "I think I've kissed a prince, Mom. I hope he doesn't turn into a frog.”"

“That scares me... you scare me... I am completly caught up in your spell, considering a lifestyle with you that I didn't even know existed until last week, and then you write something like that and I want to run screaming into the hills. I won't of course, because I'd miss you. Really miss you. I want us to work, but I am terrified of the dept of feeling I have for you and the dark path you're leading me down. What you are offering is erotic and sexy, and I'm curious, but I'm also scared you'll hurt me- physically and emotionally. After threee months you could say good-bye, and where will that leave me if you do?”

“Inside, I'm doing graceful cartwheels in my head, knowing full well that's the only place I can do graceful cartwheels.”

If you enjoyed this (but want way better writing) you should read:

The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy - Anne Rice (as A. N. Roquelaure)

Geek Love - Katherine Dunn

This book made me shake my head and go WTF so many times it can't possibly be a bad book. The back of the book says it all: "the story of the Binewskis, a carny family whose mater- and paterfamilias set out–with the help of amphetamine, arsenic, and radioisotopes–to breed their own exhibit of human oddities." The book was just as weird as it sounds. Really well written and it made you genuinely care for the genetic freaks and take sides in the family feud. You will laugh with them, you will laugh at them, and they will make you want to cry (from pity most likely). I would recommend this book if you like weird books or family sagas and don't mind a bit of weirdness. (also not recommended if you are sensitive about anything at all or easily offended and/or don't like being offended)

7/10 (umm... Family Saga I guess...)

If you enjoyed this you are just as disturbed as me and I have no recommendations because I have never read anything like it. I'm sorry. 

Mysteria Nights - P. C. Cast, MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant & Gena Showalter

This is a collection of 8 short stories by 4 of the leading paranormal romance writers out there. I enjoyed all of the stories with The Nanny from Hell and A Tawdry Affair being the best of the bunch. Mysteria is a town where paranormal beings are drawn and live with their powers out in the open, it is an interesting concept. The stories intersect with characters from one playing bit parts in the other. All in all I would say it was an all right read, but if you like the genre it is worth picking up.

(As an aside it has the stories of "Mysteria" and "Mysteria Lane" in it, so if you have already read those you do not want to read this as it will be a repeat or if you already have Mysteria Nights do not get the other two anthologies as you already have the stories.)

5/10 (Trashy Paranormal Romance in Short Story Form)
9/10

If you enjoyed this check out:

Bite - Laurell K Hamilton et al

My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding - P. N. Elrod

Cupid Cats - Katie MacAlister et al