Otherwise Occupied by Shay Savage

My thoughts

After having read Otherwise Alone, I’m intrigued if Evan Arden will be able to meet Lia in book two, Otherwise Occupied. This isn’t the first book I’ve read from this author, Shay Savage. Surviving Raine is my all-time favorite book and its sequel Bastian’s Storm will be always special to me. Seeing Bastian in a happy ending is the best way to conclude his story and knowing a kind of guy like him deserves his second chance.

Otherwise Occupied is about Evan Arden whose life revolves around his job and lives to please his mob boss, Moretti. He’s living in denial and crave for the companionship of a hooker, Brigitte, in return he gave her special attention. He doesn’t normally show care or concern with anyone except for Brigitte.

To avoid nightmares at night, he took Brigitte home to let her give him blowjob and allow her to sleep in his bed. That closeness, her smell and warmth of her body gives him peace of mind and nightmare-free at night. With someone beside him during the night, he could sleep. But then, his thoughts automatically wanders to that woman who unexpectedly arrived in his shack in the middle of the Arizona desert. Lia Antonio. As much as he wants to forget Lia, the thoughts of her and their lovemaking in that one lonely night in his shack kept coming back to him.

Reading about a hit man isn’t my first read. My first hit man was Cain, Killing Game by Felicity Heaton and it’s a novella. I’m not going to compare since they are different books although the heroes are both professional hit man. Both are hired to kill without remorse. My first hit man came from a rich family and isn’t even a broken guy. He isn’t even suffering from any emotional anxiety unlike Evan. He was just compelled to do the job because he ran away from home. He’s broke and needed the money to survive alone in New York. 

What I’m saying is that my experience reading Evan Arden who’s one heck of a damn Marine sniper, suffering from psychosis, tried to pretend that his life is normal and nothing is wrong with him. Just like normal people, we are a master of disguise. We pretend that we are fine but deep inside we are just like Evan.

Evan was having trouble with his PTSD. He’s in denial. He wants to feel nothing and deals with it with flying colours. But then, a person has his limitations. Everyone has their breaking point. He is like a balloon, when he can’t contain his thoughts and emotions he exploded big time, which is imminent for someone who is suffering from PTSD. The last part of the book, Evan frightens me and at the same time my heart weeps for him. I pity him because he has no one to care for him at the time he needed someone to be at his side. Odin was just lucky that at the last part Lia was there. Lia saw Evan broke down and being tugged down by a team of SWAT Team.

Otherwise Occupied isn’t an all-nighter book for me. I could go back to reading it without annoyance and remember the details even if I skipped from reading it in a day or two. If I was stoked with reading Surviving Raine series, Otherwise Occupied is still a book worth-reading but be prepared for some explicit sex scenes and violent killings.

Of course, I’m off to reading the third book, Otherwise Unharmed.

Ratings:       4 Stars

Bastian’s Storm

My Summary

Bastian and Raine are now living off in a condo in Miami near the beach. It was a truce they both agreed since Raine didn’t want to be reminded  her life in their own little island. For Raine it was hell, to him it was his heaven. The island is his own salvation; his paradise.

Everything she loved, I hated. Everything that frightened her, I loved.

After being rescued, Bastian has been struggling to control his anger and kept it securely locked somewhere in his control system so that he wouldn’t get into trouble  with Raine. At the same time,  he’s been fighting  to keep himself sober since they were rescued but the call of the alcohol in his body was always there inviting him; teasing him to get at least a sip. He knew he could control the urge but the talk he just had with Landon was weakening his resolve to stay sober. He needed the drink but he knew his relationship with Raine would end the minute he took that drink. He needed it but he couldn’t live without his Raine.

But then being out of the mob doesn’t mean you’re really out. Leaving is not an option once you are part of it. He knew that at the back of his mind but still believe he could get out of their control. Bastian has no choice but to go and fight again this time for Raine and his son, Alex. After learning from Landon that he has a son and the boy’s under Franks custody tightened his resolved to accept the fight leaving him no option. This is the fight he wanted most to win. He knew the cycle  would never end. Landon would always ask for a favor and would always assure him that he will be released after he won the tournament but not really. He knew that his family – the family that he never had – will always be used as pawn against him and to push him to do their bidding.  He knew he must kill Franks including Landon, his father figure.

My curiosity was pricked by Evan Arden, the guy representing  Moretti in the tournament. He is an ex-Marine sniper and Bastian’s  best contender in the tournament. Bastian knows  little about him; and the more he needed to be cautious.

The twist was a surprise for me. Although I am tempted to give out some spoilers, this time I wouldn’t give in.

My Review

I’ve been putting this off for a while not because I don’t like it. I’m a bit afraid that this book may not outdo its first installment.  Surviving Raine is my all time favorite and being disappointed in book two is like a disaster I would like to avoid as much as possible.

What I love most other than Bastian is his son, Alex. Physically,  Alex was a copy cat of Bastian. He’s cute and adorable. Seeing the boy  is like watching himself in that same age he was. Seeing his mannerisms from the boy melts his warrior heart.

Always the sex scenes are smoking hot. it always makes me wish to be in Raine’s place for once. That It was me humping Bastian. Lol. Nothing has changed. Their love for each other was stronger than before. Raine is always there for him even if he’s grumpy all the time.

I like how Bastian love Raine. His love for Raine is a woman’s dream to have that kind of man beside her. RAINE HERE is extraordinary. How she put up with Bastian’s behavior whenever he is being overly grumpy around her friends has shown her maturity to understand him and keep their relationship strong and intact.

The action scenes are bloody but on a tolerable level.

There are two things that annoyed me. One Lindsay; two, the book cover.

Lindsay is insensitive and childish for bringing in and drinking wine while Sebastian had been struggling for a while to keep himself sober. It’s rude to bring in wine when it’s not even her house; much more inviting someone to ask a toss and drink iced tea instead. If I would be in his shoes, I would be insulted.

Two, I agree with some reviewers. The book cover needs revision. Really. There’s no way I pictured Bastian would look  that way.

Other than these two I find the book worth reading. If like me you’re really into Bastian there’s no way that you shouldn’t pass on this. It’s a must read. Though I love more Surviving Raine, Bastian’s Storm will be always be special to me. Seeing him have his own happy ending this time is a bliss for me.

★★★★ stars

J.J. Graves Mysteries by Liliana Hart

When it rains, it pours. 

I was on a trip with my husband and left my Kindle back home which I normally do. Being captive and unproductive in a place made me uneasy and restless. The place we’ve been to was calling  for a good book. It was green, peaceful and quiet.  I checked my Samsung Note for anything to read since I have installed Amazon Kindle in it. I’ve got a few loan books which I downloaded from Amazon but never read any of it in my smart phone. Having read some of Liliana Hart’s Mackenzie series, I opted to pick Dirty Little Secrets without any idea about the book.

Dirty Little Secrets is one of the four books in the series. I learned this when I got home and checked Goodreads about the book. If I learned  earlier that these are series and that there is a fourth book coming up by Fall of this year I wouldn’t have read it. I honestly have low tolerance for books in installment. I could put up with two up to three series but not with book four on its tow. Reading book series is like shopping on impulse. It makes you buy more things you don’t need and will only add up in my growing list of to-be-read-books. You’ll just learn later on that isn’t worth a dime and end up disappointed or the new series had just destroyed  the earlier installment or vice versa. A new installment could make or break an already phenomenal book.

But in this case, I was so wrong. After I read book one, I was craving to read all the series and ended up buying books two and three.

The book was written in JJ’s POV. JJ Graves is a fourth generation mortician. She used to have a well paying job as a hospital doctor when she was later forced to move back in Bloody Mary, Virginia after her parents died. Moving in in Bloody Mary was a setback in her plans since she needed to pay her  loans and a single woman with a kind of job she has now would not land her a boyfriend in this small town.

She’s broke and lonely. She hated her job but had no choice. She took over her family’s legacy, Graves Funeral Home, even if she despised it. She volunteers as a coroner out of guilt for her parents’ status as undesirable citizens of their town. She works with her hot best friend county sheriff, Jack Lawson.

JJ is a believable character. I could relate myself with her. How she make do with what she have and doesn’t take advantage of Jack’s offer to borrow money from him. She’s smart – ass with a great sense of humor. She could make you laugh with her sarcastic and witty humor.

There’s a serial killer on the loose killing some of their friends. They are discovering secrets from these deaths that even themselves caught surprised. It’s the usual formula in a suspense romance novel one could read from the same genre. But what made this interesting and worth buying is that, for me, it’s something new and without having read its reviews prior to reading this book, is like finding a gold mine in a barren land.

I love Jack. He has ways of making his feelings known so that  JJ would get used to it. He expressed his feelings even in an awkward situation and yet he comes out so cute. Every time he did that I couldn’t help but giggle and swoon. He’s lovable without being too mushy. His persona as a sheriff is as tough as a rock but when he lets his feelings come out, boy, I envy JJ. She’s so damn lucky. Sigh.

Reading book installment is like an unopened gift you will never know what’s inside it unless you opened one. I was surprised to have read the first book and couldn’t stop from reading it till the end. When I got home, I took out my Kindle and read the second book, A Dirty Shame.

Book two, A Dirty Shame, is much more enjoyable than its previous installment. Here, JJ and Jack’s love story was given a chance. In book one, you could only feel the slight built up of romance between the two but no one dared to open up each other’s feelings. Just oblique hints from gorgeous hunk county sheriff Jack Lawson. In book two, Jack made known his intentions with JJ. If he’s patient in the first book, here he showed who’s in charged. I love how Jack made me feel his love for JJ.The second book started to clear some issues that concerns her roots. Here she learned some of the secrets her parents had kept from her all her life.

In book three, Dirty Little Scoundrel, JJ was surprised to find out a dead body hidden in her parents’ bunker. And to her shock, JJ’s father is alive. She also learned his boyfriend’s past which intrigued her ever since he came home to Bloody Mary. She knew Jack had a great career as a SWAT cop in DC but something came up and he had to leave the job he loved. In this installment, someone is killing off all of the members of Jack’s former SWAT Team. Also, Jack’s old flame showed up in Bloody Mary which somehow complicated their relationship.

The only problem I have right now is I have to wait for the fourth book which will be released by November. I’m frustrated because I want the FOURTH INSTALLMENT NOW!  I hope it would be the last installment. Although the three books are worth buying, and since I’ve read the three books IN RAPID SUCCESSION, I would likely buy the fourth book, and I pray it would be the last. Although all three books are great, I honestly could tolerate another installment.

 4 Stars each for Dirty Little Secrets, A Dirty Shame, and Dirty Little Scoundrel

Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household

One good thing about reading a book written in first person POV, it gives me access to the protagonist mind. It excites me. He lets me see and feel his emotions over things that he’ll going to do next. I could feel him through his words.  I could feel I was there right beside him. I could feel everything.

Rogue Male was my second quest in my pursuit to read something ‘classic’ and outside of my comfort zone. The first attempt was the The Collected Short Stories of Lydia Davis which I don’t think I could finish immediately. This was a task I imposed lately upon myself to widen my reading experience.

Our male protagonist was a wealthy aristocrat Englishman and well traveled. He was unnamed the entire book but every where he went every one knew him. He was named Rogue Male, a sobriquet given to him by the law enforcement and those who wanted to kill him. Eventually, he was captured and tortured.

He was accused of stalking and plotting to assassinate Hitler and they believed he was employed by his government to do the job. They believed he was on a solo mission and were shaken that a man like him could undertake  such impossible quest. He vehemently denied their accusations against him but no one believed him. After he was brutally  tortured, they took him over the cliff and left him there alone. He considered death as his escape; a cure for his pain. He should be happy of this but couldn’t feel it. He moved slowly out of the marsh where he dropped and looked for a place dark enough to hide his body, get some sleep and gather his strength.

He knew it would not be long before Hitler’s minions would be back to look for his body and make his death appear an accident. Now, the hunter is being hunted. He needed to survive. 
He went back to his mother country because he thought he would be safe there. But he was wrong. Hitler’s minions are still after him.

He devised a plan. His present condition had forced him to live like an animal and think like one. Hiding under the ground in a small space isn’t one would wish to live forever. He knew his hunter  will soon discover his hiding place.

The events that followed made me antsy and edgy. The throbbing of my heartbeat was up notched enough to make me deaf. Oblivious of the loud whizzing of my decrepit old electric fan near at the corner of my bed didn’t distract me from tearing my eyes off of the page.

Reading Rogue Male was a big surprise for me. I was like watching a James Bond movie only in a paper back version. I pictured Sean Connery as the Rogue Male here.

A great deal of the story was spent on how he built his underground hole and how would he live there without attracting  attention to himself. Which I find too detailed, too long  and made me a little sleepy. But I understand the author. It was really needed so that as a reader I would know how one could live like an outlaw. How would it feel like  being hunted by both the law enforcement and the hired killer. One wanted him locked up in jail. The other one wanted him dead.

The part how he outsmarted Quive-Smith made me fist into the air and shouted ‘Yes!’

How did he survive Quive-Smith? What drove him to go on a solo mission to plot and kill the worst leader of all time? I’m not going to write it here. I suggest you read Rouge Male.

Louder Than Love by Jessica Topper

I came across this book when I checked  one of my favorite reviewers in Goodreads and she gave it 5 star ratings, which surprised me because it wasn’t her usual genre. It intrigues me.  It must be that ‘good’ because reading all her past reviews gave me impression that she’s brutally honest about her feelings for every book she had read. I thought I should give it a try.

This book was written in Katrina’s POV. Katrina ‘Tree’ Lewis has been a widow for four years with a four and a half year old daughter named Abbey from her deceased husband Pete. Pete died in a train accident even before Abbey turned one year old. Bereaved and lost, she packed all their things and moved back to her small town Lauder Lake to live with her parents. With the encouragement and support of her four awesome friends, she tried to move on and start a new life at Lauder Lake.

Tree has been planning to invite a children’s musician to perform in her town’s small library. The idea struck her when she finally noticed Abbey’s growing obsession to her all time favorite cartoon Maxwell MacGillikitty, which its opening song was written and sung by a certain Adrian Graves. Her daughter’s obsession to this song inspired her to search his other works. Being forced to listen to the song repeatedly, her curiosity and infatuation for the man behind the voice slowly developed.

Her uncanny skills for research to find her elusive singer had paid off. She showed to Marissa the sample CD entitled “Songs for Natalie – Adrian Graves,” which she accidentally found at the Bruised Apple bookstore, a second hand bookstore she loved to visit when she was still young. The CD was her only clue to track down the whereabouts of Adrian Graves.

Adrian Graves appeared late and drunk on the day of his live performance. Tree was partly annoyed because he seemed unfit to perform in front of the children. She was having second thoughts if she made the right choice because she didn’t want to disappoint the children. She expected to see an older Adrian but was surprised that he looked younger.  The drunk Adrian finally loosened up as he nailed one song after the other. He got his audience attention including the parents as they sang along with him. Don’t be immediately discouraged if you were also disappointed at Adrian, believed me he had reasons why he did that.

You know, this is a romance novel so I wasn’t surprised to read that ‘unexpected electric zing’ once their hands accidentally touched each other. Obviously, there was  instant physical attraction between them.

Her attraction to Adrian made me smile and sent me howling with laughter when they had their first kiss. Sorry, I can’t say a word about it. But for those who already read the book, they knew what I was talking about.

There are chapters that would make you close the book for a while like you remember putting on hold cleaning the house because the itch to read the book kicks in. Since the succeeding chapters aren’t as appealing as the previous ones, going back to the chores you left before you picked up the book has become much more exciting than ever. That’s what I did. I get back to cleaning my place and tried to forget this annoying thought that the book isn’t engaging as it said it was. I don’t abandon the book just because the story is making me loose my sanity. I always gave the book a second chance. For now, I have tons of patience. I repeat, Tons.

I know it wasn’t easy to write a book the same way to be able to publish it. I now understand the hardships and sleepless nights some authors were going through so that they were able to write their books and publish it. It’s maturity I guess. Having read so many books in the past, even though some of it are hard to digest because the words are like jewelries, too expensive for my taste. Some were like a piece of cake suited for my taste, suited for my too ordinary vocabulary. No matter what words they created, I started to respect them. Going back, as I was saying, this was the part of the book some reviewers find it slow because I honestly and totally agree with them.

Succeeding chapters gave us a glimpse of how Tree and Pete met. How she went through overcoming her loss and heartaches for the untimely death of her husband. This also gave us a glimpse of how she solely raised her daughter and seeing her growing up without her father being around was difficult to bear. Depression came in and she indulged in it for quite some time but fought it for herself and for her daughter Abbey.  While Katrina has a lot of baggage which is too much for her to carry and a daughter on her sleeves, she enjoyed what she could get from Adrian and what they have for a moment.

I liked Adrian’s character. He’s a rockstar in the 80’s with a British accent and I could feel Kat’s shuddered delight whenever Adrian called her ‘luv’ in his accent. Like Kat, he too has his own ‘personal demons.’

As any relationship, it has its ups and downs. The relationship turned topsy-turvy. Adrian has been like opened book about his past except for one thing which he is trying to share with Tree. Tree on the other hand had kept Adrian at a guessing point. Both characters were matured adults who knew how to handle their past. They gave each other a space to tackle their own demons and learn to forgive themselves and take their second chances at life and love.

Abbey loved to spell her name like A-B-B-E-Y with an emphasis to ‘with an E.’ She’s cute, bubbly, witty and asked a lot of questions. All throughout the book, Abbey would give you the first impression that you would wish she is your daughter.

Finally, after reading this book, what I’ve learned was that sudden death in the family would make one enraged, haywire or ballistic.  I don’t understand before why this book took on a slow build up but after reading it, contemplate on it for a while, and now I came up with my conclusion. It just showed me how one was going through if one member of the family tragically died especially in the case of Katrina. She’s lowly building up her own family and then her husband died in a tragic accident and gone forever in her life and in her daughter’s life.

I also understand what Adrian was going through after so much being popular in the music industry and kept himself hidden in the public’s eyes. The popularity, the huge money he’s making was quite overwhelming for him. Being popular had also caused him betrayal and love lost from family and friends.

This is a good book, quite long but well written.

Fighting Redemption. Kate McCarthy

It took me long to read Fighting Redemption because I felt I wasn’t ready for this book. I read from numerous reviews that it was stuffed with intense emotions – angst, insecurities, selfishness, etc. which kept me putting off this book for a while. What made me decide to read this? I was itching and dead curious why it got such high ratings and tons of reviews from Goodreads. I guess the only way to find out is to read it.

Before I proceed, you are forewarned that there are some spoilers here. Read at your own risk.

Fighting Redemption is a poignant story of a boy’s struggle, so determined to get out of his father’s custody and the only way to achieve it is to pursue his dream of becoming a SAS soldier. It’s also a poignant story of a man’s struggle who kept his feelings hidden for someone who he considers his life.

Ryan Kendall, Jake and Finlay Tanners started their friendship since childhood. They went to the same school. Ryan first saw Finlay in his school when she stumbled in front of him, helped her and scolded his friends who laughed at her. Then came Jake, Finlay’s older brother. Jake has this easy – to – love, hard – to – resist charming personality who immediately unloose Ryan’s wary personality. From then on, they were inseparable. When Ryan saw Finlay for the first time, he knew then that Finlay was the one. A young love started to bloom since then.

Ryan was a broken boy, beaten up by his drunken father and a mother who couldn’t protect him from his abusive father. He stayed with the Tanner’s most of the time, which became his extended family in order to avoid being beaten up whenever his father was on the drunken spree.

“Don’t let anyone stop you from being who you need to be.” He once said this to Finlay and he told her he’s leaving come morning for the Army. This was the time Fin started dating. This was the stage in Finlay’s life that gave him more reason to leave because he couldn’t bear to see her in someone’s arm making her happy like he used to do.

Ryan and Jake became more than blood brothers who both served in the Army and belong in the same group. They went home and both stayed at Finlay’s cottage. After six years of no communication from Ryan, Finlay had moved on (or so she thought). She had a promising career and Ian who loves her. When Jake and Ryan returned from their service, they decided to move in in her cottage. Seeing Ryan once again, Finlay remembered the pain she felt when he left her.  She tried to move on with her life but Ryan, being constantly around her, complicated her relationship with Ian, making her more confused. This where my head started to ache.

As much as Ian wanted to give everything for Finlay so he could have all her love and attention, he knew then that he didn’t own her heart from the start. He knew he was coming second best to everything she did in her life. Who would not be tired of that? He gave his 100% but then, it wasn’t enough for her. He didn’t stand a chance with Ryan being around or not. So, he cut her loose.

Finlay did try to work things out with Ian. She did try at least. She was fair with Ian. She didn’t want the guilt hanging around while she’s into Ian and at the same time she still loves Ryan. But, as much as she tried to love Ian, she knew Ryan was all she wanted from the beginning but couldn’t have.

Ryan. You are a very difficult man, really. What didn’t work for me was how Ryan kept running away from Finlay which was contrary to what he felt towards her for years. That I don’t get. As much as I don’t want to say it, I don’t much like it. How could he run away to someone he declared she’s his life and yet, he kept doing it?  Why all these drama? Couldn’t he give himself a chance to be happy for once? He’s been yearning for a relationship with her for years yet, he kept pushing her away. Ryan believed he’s not enough for Finlay because of who he was. He served his country well by becoming one of the best SAS soldiers in their group. He was able to get away from his father.  He’s broken, I get that. He loves his career more than anything else, I get that too. (When one reached the peak of his/her career, isn’t it about time to focus on the ‘love’ thing. Isn’t that the usual thing? I don’t know, I may be wrong but that’s what I would do. If I have everything in life and love is the missing link in my life, I would work harder on that and would take my chance. But, anyway, this isn’t about me. This is about Ryan. Sigh.) There were more unhappy moments when they were together than the happy ones. Every time they were together, they made out, argued and then Ryan would walk away right through the door. Running away and going to war was his own escape rather than confront his fears and tell Finlay what was eating him. Everything that happened to him was already in the past.  He can’t undo everything. He can only do is face the now but that isn’t the case in this book.  He loved to wallow in his pain.

The scene that touched me most and tore my heart to pieces was when a chaplain knocked to Finlay’s door to announce the death of her brother, Jake. That scene really made me teary because I knew this happened in real life. I felt her pain and the families who had lost their loved ones in the war. This scene really broke my heart. This was the only scene and Kyle, helped me to get through this book.

The title said it all about Ryan. He’s fighting his own redemption. Ryan and Finlay gave me headaches while reading this. Don’t worry, there is HEA here which is obviously written in the prologue. What I have learned in reading this book is this: It’s like eating fish. You swallow the meat and you throw away the bones. Don’t swallow everything. Yes, this story is very emotional and irritating for me most of the times. The POV of the characters are at times confusing, which I had to go back and read the last paragraph to figure out who was talking.

This is just my personal opinion. This is how I see the book. I don’t owe anyone. If you want über drama book, try this one. Happy reading!

3/5

13 February 2014

Searching For Someday. Jennifer Probst

I decided to read this book, kept an open mind and kicked skepticism behind. My sole purpose in mind is to be entertained, experienced it at my own pace at my own time. I have no high expectation. I picked the book because of its blurb and catchy book cover which I find classy and interesting. Although I have read much of its reviews from Goodreads with opposing reactions, I wanted to know for myself what the book has to offer for me. Kindle ready, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and delved into the story.

This is the gist. Kate is an entrepreneur and successful in her own way who partly owned and managed Kinnections, a match-making company set up in Verily, with her two other business partners and friends way back in college. After her 100^th date gone bad, she swore never to date again and promised herself to focus more in her business.

Slade is the hot shot divorce lawyer. Accomplished everything he had planned and had his eyes of becoming one of the partners in his law firm. He could get any woman he wanted and be gone after getting laid.

It was opposite poles attract thing. Kate believed in love with happily ever after ending. Slade thought there was no such thing. Kate wanted permanent relationship. Slade liked it temporary. She believed in love. He believed in oxytocin. Both were very aware of their attractions to each other like magnet pulling them together even if they fought it.

The plot was believable for me. Really, it was. Kate could determine if the couples were meant for each other or soul mates. Her troubles started when she was accidentally touched by Slade and that ‘spark thing’ like strong volt of electricity jolted both their bodies and knocked up their primal needs. It was like their hormones gone wild even at a slightest touch. They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other.

They had this push and pull relationship thing. Slade wanted Kate but then he wasn’t sure whether to push the relationship forward and pull out immediately if things turned rough. Kate didn’t want to push things further because Slade couldn’t give what she wanted in a relationship.

This book isn’t for skeptics and cynics because of Kate’s ability. It inspired subtle fantasy, a make believed for someone looking for her soul mate and hoping someday for a relationship with a happily ever after ending. This book is suited for individuals who deep in their hearts could still believe in magic, who could still giggle like a teenager who hadn’t touched yet by skepticism and cynicism.

The story didn’t drag me to sleep. I did finish it at the phase I set for myself. I did enjoy reading it although I didn’t feel like re-reading it again. Why? It’s an enjoyable read, predictable, funny at some point and cute. Really, it isn’t bad to give it a try.

Besides, I got what I wanted. I was entertained and it left me smiling until the last page. It made me think about my present relationship with my man. I was always wondering if he was my soul mate. I kept on thinking if I made the right decision of spending my life with him. Sometimes, we disagree or argue a lot. It was always like that especially during our first two years of being together living under one roof. Back then, giving up was the easiest way out than patching things up to make the relationship work. Now, as I see myself after we were able to pull out that disastrous two years we had, I could only laugh at it. At the end of the day, we were able to compromise our differences. We agree to disagree, patch things up and take it one day at a time. This book reminded me that, “love is a funny thing. There are no guarantees, just the day-to-day and the moment. You make vows, hope for the best, and do your damnedest to love the person you’re with.”

3/5

27 January 2014

Bone Deep. Bonnie Dee

I promised myself not to start reading a new book when I was about to go to sleep. I should have listened more to myself. But then, the ‘itch’ couldn’t stop so I promised myself I could read one more chapter then I would go back to sleep. It’s like addiction, once I started reading Bone Deep, I COULDN’T STOP. I find myself going to the other room so I won’t get caught by my man still awake in the wee hours of the morning.

This book will not make you feel the carnival setting at all. The introduction yes, but throughout the entire story it isn’t. Tom was tattooed from his shaved head down to his toes. Even his face was tattooed. Every part of his body was inked like a canvass full of colors and images each depicting different stories. He grew up in the carnival under Art Reed’s carefully laid manipulated lies, who subject him to constant abuse like starving him so that he could be turned into a human canvass, forcing him to receive ‘visitors’ so that he could be sexually abused and earn him extra food. He was uneducated and worst of all, unloved. He was part of the show where people went to his tent to pay for a quarter and then gawk at his body where only a loincloth covered his private body parts. Then he saw Sarah in front of him, their eyes met and there was this instant connection between them. There was no talking on their part but it was their eyes that do that for them.

He had this deep blue eyes gazing only at her. When he looked at Sarah, I felt like he was also looking at me. It’s like I also felt what Sarah felt when he looked at her. My belly wobbled and my toes sweat. Really, when I read that part, it was like I was with them. Maybe, if I came across a blue – eyed guy and looked at me that way, I would offer him a cup of coffee and let me stare at his eyes until he drunk the last drop of it. Seriously, I might. (So, where are they?) Lol.

It wasn’t a chance meeting. Sarah went to her barn the following morning and was surprised to see him there. She instantly recognized him because the minute she saw him inside that tent, she had never forgotten him; never forgotten his eyes. He didn’t have to talk much to convince her that he meant no harm but it was his eyes that made Sarah instantly trusted him so she offered him a job as her handyman in exchanged for food and bed.

Tom, for me, was sweet, sexy and unique even if he didn’t open his mouth. He’s a quiet man who was deeply attracted to Sarah and couldn’t verbally say what he felt but his mere presence around her and those intense eyes solemnly gazing at her which turned into different shades of blue when he got turned on were like electric current crawling into her skin. It rebounded in to her skin causing her to back away.

“His maleness and his body heat crowded her. It was too potent. He was too potent.”

Oh, man, I was like drooling for Tom the whole night I was reading this. I couldn’t blame Sarah if she fought for something that made her happy even if up to the extent of going against what their townsfolk considered unconventional and ‘sinful.’ Tom was unorthodox in different ways. He was too damaged and she was too lonely. It was year 1946 where wearing a tattoo and a single woman living alone didn’t allow a man in her home was considered taboo. Prejudice from her nosy town people hit them hard when they turned out as lovers. Should I say more about the sexy, steamy, hot scenes in the bedroom and the barn? Well, you have to read this book to find out. I didn’t know how I would describe what I felt while reading those scenes. It’s like I wanted that too for myself though. Lol.

Going back to the story. I felt for him so much my heart hurt when Tom described to Sarah the story he created from that piece of cut out magazine he always carried inside his pocket which revealed how much he loved to have that kind of family he would never have. I felt sorry for him.

I was thrilled towards the end of the book when they have both their HEA. They both deserved to be happy especially Tom considering what he went through all his life. I don’t want to give out everything in this book so I would leave you all guessing. Hahaha!

These are my two wish lists for this book. I would like to hear more from Tom’s POV aside from his short monosyllable answers to Sarah. I would have given anything just so I would know what was he thinking every time he looks into Sarah’s eyes like he is in a state of trance pulling her into his world as if only the two of them exist. It was too short, at least for me. There should be at least an epilogue but nonetheless, Bone Deep will always be one of my favorite romance books.

Lethal. Sandra Brown

I got impatient. So, I cheated. I skipped the part about the assassin’s dilemma and went to reading the last few pages.

“What the f@ck was going on?” I asked myself. I couldn’t believe what I’ve read! I didn’t get it, so I went over it again twice, no, four times.

Then, realization dawned on me.

Now, I’m stuck with this book. I don’t want to go back reading the other chapters I’ve intentionally skipped. All I want is Lee Coburn’s happy-ever-after story! Why is he such a jerk?? Why did he do that to himself?!

Now, I’m broken-hearted. I felt like cheated big time. It left me hanging and feeling incomplete. No wonder some readers loathed this book.

Coburn is lethal in every essence – masochistic, deadly and dangerous. He has to kill or be killed. No pretense, no sugar-coating of reality on his part. He’s just so damned honest to accept death as his final destiny. That’s the best part of reading this book. He made me feel his angst, frustrations and loneliness. It pains me deeply to see him leave like that. I hated him for doing it, but at some point, I realized that’s what he is and should be.

The hopeless romantic part of me hopes that if only he’s been honest with himself he wouldn’t end up alone. But he’s not like that. He’s oozing with courage but deep inside of him he’s afraid of something.

I felt like I wanted to do something for him. But… Nah. I’m so deeply rooted into his character I almost forgot this isn’t real. I couldn’t have Lee Coburn but neither Honor. Silly of me. LOL. I still like this book even if this is quite a sad story.

The Fifth Favor. Shelby Reed

My version of Adrian

The cover didn’t do justice for this exquisitely, well written book. It deserved more considering the numerous positive reviews it received from GR reviewers and readers. I won’t elaborate more. YOU have to read this book.

This is about über gorgeous high paid escort Italian man, Adrian. Adrian is an epic seducer, a gigolo. He’s the epitome of every woman’s fantasy in terms of giving pleasure. While reading this, I’m bowled out, blown away, and swept away by Adrian. I want him for myself too! LOL

This is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, toe-curling prose of sensuality, dammit, why can’t I write like that.

My favorite quotes:

“Because of how I feel for you. I won’t cheapen it by buying what you sell to strangers. I’m not a stranger.
I’m the woman who loves you.”

“Walking away from you with a broken heart is easier to handle than selling my soul to make love with you. I’m sorry, Adrian. I might be lonely, and naïve, and all the things you think about me. But I’m also true to myself, and I won’t denigrate my feelings for you.

They’re much too precious in a world that offers so little love.”

Cheesy right? That’s the point. It’s romance. It’s fiction.