Any Man of Mine (Chinooks Hockey Team #6) - Rachel Gibson

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS . . . DOESN'T ALWAYS STAY THERE.
Autumn Haven's Las Vegas "to-do" list said to catch a show and play the slots--not wake up married to a sexy jerk like Sam LeClaire. The first moment she saw him eyeing her like a luscious piece of the dessert buffet, her usually responsible self told her run. And she did--right into the wildest fantasy weekend of her life. But Monday morning jolted her back to reality, and before she could say "pass the coffee," Sam was gone.
Now a successful wedding planner, Autumn hasn't clapped eyes on the heart-breaking hockey superstar for over two years... until she organizes his teammate's "Special Day," where Sam makes a BIG play to pick up where he left off! But she has vowed any man of hers plays for keeps. Is Sam the man for her or does she banish him to the sin bin forever?

I am currently up to my eyeballs in deadline hell, so you're all going to have to forgive me and accept a second mini-view of the week. When I'm coming up to a deadline I really don't have time to read anything other than my work, but I just can't sleep without reading a chapter or two of something nice and easy. Not really caring what I read I just opened up a random Gibson (a great go to author) on my Kindle and settled in.

Mini-view: A Rake's Guide to Pleasure (Huntington #2) - Victoria Dahl

True Pleasure. . .

Raised by a titled, yet degenerate, father, Emma Jensen never imagined the gambling lessons she learned as a child would one day serve her well. When she finds herself in dire need of money, she concocts the alias of Dowager Lady Denmore and sets off to bewitch London's noblemen by engaging them in games of chance. The fact that respectable ladies do not gamble does not intimidate her in the least. But the darkly handsome Duke of Somerhart does--for he's awakened a deep, sensual hunger in her. . .  

Is Always Worth The Gamble. . .

The dashing Duke of Somerhart has the notorious reputation of being one of London's most incurable rogues. When he meets the alluring Lady Denmore, he is immediately intrigued. Her recklessness and innocence intertwined titillates him as no other woman ever has. But what secret is the lovely Lady Denmore hiding? He's determined to find out. But first he must seduce her until she surrenders completely to his most wicked desires...

Victoria Dahl is a force to be reckoned with and her contemporary romances are amongst my favourites and any new releases are an automatic read for me. Having just released a new novel in her Jackson series that I can't seem to get hold of in the libraries or on the Kindle over here (grrr...), I decided to pick up one of her early, historical romance novels in its place. 

Review: Wild Child - Molly O'Keefe*

Perfect for readers of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Rachel Gibson, this sizzling romance tells the story of a sexy small-town mayor and a notorious “bad girl,” who discover that home really is where the heart is. 

Monica Appleby is a woman with a reputation. Once she was America’s teenage “Wild Child,” with her own reality TV show. Now she’s a successful author coming home to Bishop, Arkansas, to pen the juicy follow-up to her tell-all autobiography. Problem is, the hottest man in town wants her gone. Mayor Jackson Davies is trying to convince a cookie giant to move its headquarters to his crumbling community, and Monica’s presence is just too . . . unwholesome for business. But the desire in his eyes sends a very different message: Stay, at least for a while. 

Jackson needs this cookie deal to go through. His town is dying and this may be its last shot. Monica is a distraction proving too sweet, too inviting—and completely beyond his control. With every kiss he can taste her loneliness, her regrets, and her longing. Soon their uncontrollable attraction is causing all kinds of drama. But when two lost hearts take a surprise detour onto the bumpy road of unexpected love, it can only lead someplace wonderful.

This book caught me off guard a little and looking at other reviews I was not alone. From the blurb I was expecting a light and delightfully fluffy romance, but light and fluffy Wild Child is not.

Bargain Read Review: No-One Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday - Tracy Bloom

Never has a late-night stand led to such chaos! 

Childhood sweethearts Matthew and Katy agree they must never see each other ever again after they end up in bed together following a school re-union. 

So all is forgotten...until eight months later when a shock meeting at an antenatal class forces them to confront the fact that Matthew could be the father of Katy's baby. Oblivious to the mayhem unfolding, Matthews highly strung wife frets over giving birth to twins and Katy's much younger boyfriend refuses to take fatherhood seriously. 

Love and life are messy but Katy and Matthew take things to a whole new level as deep emotions begin to resurface and hormones run riot. 

How will they navigate their way through this almighty pick-up?

Disclaimer: I really don't like writing negative reviews of books for several reasons: firstly, let's be honest, authors have a considerable amount of talent and have slaved away for hours to produce their work and no one should dismiss that; secondly, someone who knows a damn sight more than I do thought that the book was worth publishing, so it can't be all that bad; and finally, books are so subjective just because I didn't like it doesn't mean that you won't.

Having said all that, this is my blog and these are my opinions and share them I will!

Riffle

Have I told you guys about Riffle yet? I'm a proud romance expert over at Riffle so I thought I should fill you in on a few details.

Riffle is a relatively new site that is somewhat similar to Goodreads, but more list friendly. I love a good list and Riffle lets you create as many as you want, what a dangerous thing. A quick and easy website that lets you see what someone has read and whether they'd recommend it, I describe Riffle to newcomers as the book lovers Pinterest.

See what I mean?

Go check it out and have a look around, you can find me and my ever expanding lists here.

Let me know what you think of Riffle in the comments. Do you think you can ever have too many book websites?

Review: Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

 

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.  

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. 

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . . 

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? 

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? 

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

For anyone who read my review of Eleanor & Park it will come as no surprise that I am a big Rainbow Rowell fan and couldn't wait to read her latest novel. Excitingly, I read Fangirl as part of the launch of Tumblr's first official book club, Reblog Book Club, and have posted a few long winded thoughts as part of that that you can read here.

Shameless Plug

Did you know you can now follow my blog on bloglovin'? Well you can. Along with many other awesome blogs I might add. Bloglovin' is a brilliant tool to keep all your favourite blogs in one place and it even sends you handy notifications when your favourite blogs have new posts! Handy, eh?

Review: 'Starry Night: A Christmas Novel' - Debbie Macomber*

Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author.  

 Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a megabestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly declines to speak to anyone in the press, and no one even knows exactly where he lives.  

Digging deep into Finn’s past, Carrie develops a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart.  

Filled with all the comforts and joys of Christmastime, Starry Night is a delightful novel of finding happiness in the most surprising places.

Is it too early to mention the 'C' word? Because I'm gonna. I ended up reading Starry Night  on the train and initially I did find it a little weird trying to get into the Christmas spirit so early in October, however, it was more than worth it in the end.

Review: All God's Children (the Peacemakers #1) - Anna Schmidt*

Beth Bridgewater, a German American, finds herself in a nightmare as World War II erupts—a war in which she takes no side, for she is a Quaker pacifist. Just as she gains opportunity to escape Germany, Beth decides to stay to help the helpless. Meanwhile, Josef Buch, a passionately patriot German, is becoming involved in his own secret ways of resisting the Nazis. . . . Despite their differences, Beth and Josef join together in nonviolent resistance—and in love. Does their love stand a chance. . .if they even survive at all?

A bit of a change from my usual reads I decided to pick up All God's Children due to my longstanding interest in Second World War History. I do seem to be picking up a lot of alternative reads to my usual romances at the moment, don't worry I'll be back on track soon!