Books 32-39
Nov. 10th, 2020 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavendersparkI have yet to figure out a way to keep up with this properly, I apologize. Not having consistent time for myself makes regular updates hard.
I noticed I left a couple books off my last update, so I'll start with those.
A sexy ghost. A wicked movie star. A forbidden love.
New Orleans is famous for awesome jazz, fun Mardi Gras, and haunted mansions. Few people know the city's best kept secret: Club Desire - a place for the rich and powerful role play their kinkiest fantasies.
What club goers don't know is that it is haunted. Marcel Revault, bound to the house for over a century, has learned some naughty tricks, he doesn't shy away from using on unsuspected visitors. But when the club member senses his presence and interacts with him, things get hot.
Clara Hervaux, mega movie star, indulges her darkest fantasies with the help of an expert Master. As an empath, she bonds with Marcel like no other club member has done before. Their attraction is immediate, undeniable. Yet it is doomed from the beginning. There is no future for Marcel and Clara, even if they are soulmates.
Or is there? First of all, this is absolutely NOT a reverse harem. However, it was an interesting story. I can't remember exact feelings any more, but I feel it lacked a little something and I'm not sure why the house had to be a sex club in order for the two characters to meet. It does set up nicely for a sequel, though I'm not sure that I'm invested enough to read it.
Hair black as night, lips red as blood, skin white as snow. Beautiful. Ethereal. Enchanting.
Profitable.
Bought and sold for male entertainment, Neva Valkoinen, or Snow White, as patrons know her, dances for the wealthy and lecherous at the Wicked Lyre Tavern in the city of Ascor.
Void of her memories, Neva’s life before the age of twelve, is a mystery she has no time to solve, chained as she is to the cruel whims of her master.
Enter Herrick Vorst. The most handsome stranger Neva’s ever seen. Herrick purchases a night with Neva but doesn’t touch her. Instead, he asks her questions she can’t answer and reveals his belief that she’s a witchling capable of great magic.
When Neva is purchased by another stranger a few nights later, she learns this one wants her heart. To carve out.
Narrowly escaping certain death, Herrick comes to Neva’s rescue and brings her back to his cottage where she meets his brothers, Reve and Malvolo. Reve is currently stuck in the land of dreams, courtesy of a curse. And Malvolo is surly, letting it be known he wants nothing to do with Neva. Well, he might want something to do with her body…
With no other options, Neva is forced to put her trust and hope into these three sinfully sexy brothers who hide a secret of their own…
Searching for answers to her past, the four embark on a journey into the shadowy world of magic and monsters, wars and treachery, and lustful desire.
Something dark brews on the horizon.
A huntsman lurks in every shadow.
But nothing can keep Neva’s mind from her burning need for Reve’s touch in the land of dreams, for Herrick’s stolen kisses and for Malvolo’s all-consuming hunger. Now this one is 100% reverse harem. Again, I don't know why the need for the strip club. The story was actually really good, an interesting twist on the fairy tale. Seven dragons instead of dwarves, evil queen has an evil boyfriend, there's a war... this one may actually need to go on my list to find the rest of the series.
And now the more recent list (though "recent" is a relative term...)
eBooks:
Benella is concerned with two things--avoiding the two village boys who torment her and scrounging for food to help feed her family. Unfortunately, the best wild fruit and vegetables are near the walls of the estate, a dark misty place inhabited by an unforgiving beast.
When her tormentors lock her behind the massive gates, Benella knows her fate is sealed. Yet, the fate isn’t one she expects. Her encounter with the beast starts a bizarre cycle of bargaining for her freedom, a freedom the beast seems determined to see her lose.
A classic fairy tale with a seductively dark new twist, the Beauty and the Beast saga begins with Depravity. I have mixed feelings on this one. I feel it would have been a better story with all of the sex taken out. All the sex in the book was negative and non-con/dubious-con. It didn't sit well with me. But I liked that it called back to earlier versions where Beauty has sisters and we get to see her home life and understand why she makes her decisions.
Andi's been denied funding-again-to expand her cookie business, and walked in on her boyfriend screwing another woman. Saying she's had better days is an understatement.
Kane and Isaiah, her online gaming partners and the cutest couple ever as far as Andi's concerned, know exactly how to cheer her up. They're thinking road trip to Las Vegas, compete in a national first person shooter competition for a cash grand prize, and find her a one night stand to take her mind off her cheating ex.
Andi's all in... except she's not sure she can seduce a random hookup. Isaiah and Kane offer to give her some hands-on experience. With each new lesson, it becomes harder for Andi to remember the guys are just friends.
If Andi can't put some distance between their seductive three-way hookups and her heart, it will cost their team the competition, and she'll lose two of the best friends she's ever had. I'm not sure I liked this one either. I really don't even have anything to say about it. The story was random and there wasn't really any effort put into getting to know the characters.
Paperbacks:
There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can read in them stories of brief or long lives and use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. 206 Bones opens with Tempe regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. Who wants Tempe dead, or at least out of the way, and why? Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...
Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy -- and the case. Someone made an incriminating phone call. Within hours, the one man with information about the call was dead. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third. I didn't realize this was book 12(??!) in the series when I bought it or as I was reading it. I enjoyed the tv series, so I thought I'd try the books. I was surprised to find the character names are not the same at all (except for the main character) and that the main character has a family. But the book was enjoyable and I wouldn't mind reading others in the series.
It all begins here...
Nevada Barr's The Rope details Anna's early days as a park ranger, and the events that shaped her life.
It's 1995. Fresh off the bus from New York City, a broken-hearted 35-year-old named Anna Pigeon takes her first job as a park employee: a decidedly unglamorous, seasonal stint at the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. On her day off, she goes hiking alone in the park - never to return. Her co-workers assume she's moved on since her cabin is cleaned out. But when Anna wakes up - trapped at the bottom of a well, naked, with no supplies and no memory of how she got there - she must draw upon all of her strength, courage, and skill to survive. Because whoever set Anna's trap isn't through with her yet... This was a good read. Lots of twists. Get ready for one near death experience after another though. This woman goes through a LOT.
When the bones of a boy are found scattered in the Hollywood Hills, Harry Bosch is drawn into a case that brings up dark memories from his past.
Unearthing hidden stories, he finds the child's identity and reconstructs his fractured life, determined that he won't be forgotten. At the same time, a new love affair with a female cop begins to blossom - until a stunningly blown mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before. The investigation races to a shocking conclusion and leaves Bosch on the brink of an unimaginable decision . . .This is another one that has the main character go through some things. Though these are mostly emotional. I really enjoyed this book, though I wasn't happy with the resolution for the case in the story. There just wasn't enough evidence for me and just seemed to back track on the character.
And I'm currently reading The first of the defeated kites whirled out of control. They fell from the sky like shooting stars with brilliant, rippling tails, showering the neighbourhood.
Amir and Hassan grow up together in Kabul. Amir in the beautiful house his father built, filled with marble, gold, tapestries and mosaics; Hassan in the modest mud hut in the servants' quarters.
The two are inseparable, and when twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament, his loyal friend promises to help him. But neither boy can predict what will happen to Hassan that afternoon – as the kites soar over the city – and how it will change their lives forever.I've been warned I'll need tissues and at only 19 pages in, I can already feel it's a heavy story.
I noticed I left a couple books off my last update, so I'll start with those.
A sexy ghost. A wicked movie star. A forbidden love.
New Orleans is famous for awesome jazz, fun Mardi Gras, and haunted mansions. Few people know the city's best kept secret: Club Desire - a place for the rich and powerful role play their kinkiest fantasies.
What club goers don't know is that it is haunted. Marcel Revault, bound to the house for over a century, has learned some naughty tricks, he doesn't shy away from using on unsuspected visitors. But when the club member senses his presence and interacts with him, things get hot.
Clara Hervaux, mega movie star, indulges her darkest fantasies with the help of an expert Master. As an empath, she bonds with Marcel like no other club member has done before. Their attraction is immediate, undeniable. Yet it is doomed from the beginning. There is no future for Marcel and Clara, even if they are soulmates.
Or is there? First of all, this is absolutely NOT a reverse harem. However, it was an interesting story. I can't remember exact feelings any more, but I feel it lacked a little something and I'm not sure why the house had to be a sex club in order for the two characters to meet. It does set up nicely for a sequel, though I'm not sure that I'm invested enough to read it.
Hair black as night, lips red as blood, skin white as snow. Beautiful. Ethereal. Enchanting.
Profitable.
Bought and sold for male entertainment, Neva Valkoinen, or Snow White, as patrons know her, dances for the wealthy and lecherous at the Wicked Lyre Tavern in the city of Ascor.
Void of her memories, Neva’s life before the age of twelve, is a mystery she has no time to solve, chained as she is to the cruel whims of her master.
Enter Herrick Vorst. The most handsome stranger Neva’s ever seen. Herrick purchases a night with Neva but doesn’t touch her. Instead, he asks her questions she can’t answer and reveals his belief that she’s a witchling capable of great magic.
When Neva is purchased by another stranger a few nights later, she learns this one wants her heart. To carve out.
Narrowly escaping certain death, Herrick comes to Neva’s rescue and brings her back to his cottage where she meets his brothers, Reve and Malvolo. Reve is currently stuck in the land of dreams, courtesy of a curse. And Malvolo is surly, letting it be known he wants nothing to do with Neva. Well, he might want something to do with her body…
With no other options, Neva is forced to put her trust and hope into these three sinfully sexy brothers who hide a secret of their own…
Searching for answers to her past, the four embark on a journey into the shadowy world of magic and monsters, wars and treachery, and lustful desire.
Something dark brews on the horizon.
A huntsman lurks in every shadow.
But nothing can keep Neva’s mind from her burning need for Reve’s touch in the land of dreams, for Herrick’s stolen kisses and for Malvolo’s all-consuming hunger. Now this one is 100% reverse harem. Again, I don't know why the need for the strip club. The story was actually really good, an interesting twist on the fairy tale. Seven dragons instead of dwarves, evil queen has an evil boyfriend, there's a war... this one may actually need to go on my list to find the rest of the series.
And now the more recent list (though "recent" is a relative term...)
eBooks:
Benella is concerned with two things--avoiding the two village boys who torment her and scrounging for food to help feed her family. Unfortunately, the best wild fruit and vegetables are near the walls of the estate, a dark misty place inhabited by an unforgiving beast.
When her tormentors lock her behind the massive gates, Benella knows her fate is sealed. Yet, the fate isn’t one she expects. Her encounter with the beast starts a bizarre cycle of bargaining for her freedom, a freedom the beast seems determined to see her lose.
A classic fairy tale with a seductively dark new twist, the Beauty and the Beast saga begins with Depravity. I have mixed feelings on this one. I feel it would have been a better story with all of the sex taken out. All the sex in the book was negative and non-con/dubious-con. It didn't sit well with me. But I liked that it called back to earlier versions where Beauty has sisters and we get to see her home life and understand why she makes her decisions.
Andi's been denied funding-again-to expand her cookie business, and walked in on her boyfriend screwing another woman. Saying she's had better days is an understatement.
Kane and Isaiah, her online gaming partners and the cutest couple ever as far as Andi's concerned, know exactly how to cheer her up. They're thinking road trip to Las Vegas, compete in a national first person shooter competition for a cash grand prize, and find her a one night stand to take her mind off her cheating ex.
Andi's all in... except she's not sure she can seduce a random hookup. Isaiah and Kane offer to give her some hands-on experience. With each new lesson, it becomes harder for Andi to remember the guys are just friends.
If Andi can't put some distance between their seductive three-way hookups and her heart, it will cost their team the competition, and she'll lose two of the best friends she's ever had. I'm not sure I liked this one either. I really don't even have anything to say about it. The story was random and there wasn't really any effort put into getting to know the characters.
Paperbacks:
There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can read in them stories of brief or long lives and use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. 206 Bones opens with Tempe regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. Who wants Tempe dead, or at least out of the way, and why? Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...
Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy -- and the case. Someone made an incriminating phone call. Within hours, the one man with information about the call was dead. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third. I didn't realize this was book 12(??!) in the series when I bought it or as I was reading it. I enjoyed the tv series, so I thought I'd try the books. I was surprised to find the character names are not the same at all (except for the main character) and that the main character has a family. But the book was enjoyable and I wouldn't mind reading others in the series.
It all begins here...
Nevada Barr's The Rope details Anna's early days as a park ranger, and the events that shaped her life.
It's 1995. Fresh off the bus from New York City, a broken-hearted 35-year-old named Anna Pigeon takes her first job as a park employee: a decidedly unglamorous, seasonal stint at the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. On her day off, she goes hiking alone in the park - never to return. Her co-workers assume she's moved on since her cabin is cleaned out. But when Anna wakes up - trapped at the bottom of a well, naked, with no supplies and no memory of how she got there - she must draw upon all of her strength, courage, and skill to survive. Because whoever set Anna's trap isn't through with her yet... This was a good read. Lots of twists. Get ready for one near death experience after another though. This woman goes through a LOT.
When the bones of a boy are found scattered in the Hollywood Hills, Harry Bosch is drawn into a case that brings up dark memories from his past.
Unearthing hidden stories, he finds the child's identity and reconstructs his fractured life, determined that he won't be forgotten. At the same time, a new love affair with a female cop begins to blossom - until a stunningly blown mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before. The investigation races to a shocking conclusion and leaves Bosch on the brink of an unimaginable decision . . .This is another one that has the main character go through some things. Though these are mostly emotional. I really enjoyed this book, though I wasn't happy with the resolution for the case in the story. There just wasn't enough evidence for me and just seemed to back track on the character.
And I'm currently reading The first of the defeated kites whirled out of control. They fell from the sky like shooting stars with brilliant, rippling tails, showering the neighbourhood.
Amir and Hassan grow up together in Kabul. Amir in the beautiful house his father built, filled with marble, gold, tapestries and mosaics; Hassan in the modest mud hut in the servants' quarters.
The two are inseparable, and when twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament, his loyal friend promises to help him. But neither boy can predict what will happen to Hassan that afternoon – as the kites soar over the city – and how it will change their lives forever.I've been warned I'll need tissues and at only 19 pages in, I can already feel it's a heavy story.
no subject
on 2020-11-15 05:06 pm (UTC)Thanks for all these reviews!
no subject
on 2020-11-15 05:12 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2020-11-15 05:46 pm (UTC)I haven't read to book 12, only the first five or six or so, maybe it's not as obvious in the later ones anymore.