I'm working on the blog LOL this will hopefully be done by tomorrow. However if anyone could help me with the header I would truly appreciate it. I can't seem to find one long enough. I just want something to reflect reading or something LOL if that helps.

Otherwise I will figure it out in a few. Thanks for bearing with me. I plan to post my review on Willow Bend tomorrow or Thursday and I hope to have some thoughts on The Host soon!

TITLE: The Other Queen
AUTHOR: Philippa Gregory
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: historical fiction
PAGES: 438 (in ebook format)
SERIES: Not that I’m aware of

REASON FOR READING: This was a free Sony book when I rec’d my e-reader and I have always enjoyed her works

SUMMARY: [from Goodreads ]
Two women competing for a man's heart. Two queens fighting to the death for dominance. The untold story of Mary, Queen of Scots. This dazzling novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory presents a new and unique view of one of history's most intriguing, romantic, and maddening heroines. Biographers often neglect the captive years of Mary, Queen of Scots, who trusted Queen Elizabeth's promise of sanctuary when she fled from rebels in Scotland and then found herself imprisoned as the "guest" of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his indomitable wife, Bess of Hardwick.
The newly married couple welcome the doomed queen into their home, certain that serving as her hosts and jailers will bring them an advantage in the cutthroat world of the Elizabethan court. To their horror, they find that the task will bankrupt them, and as their home becomes the epicenter of intrigue and rebellion against Elizabeth, their loyalty to each other and to their sovereign comes into question. If Mary succeeds in seducing the earl into her own web of treachery and treason, or if the great spymaster William Cecil links them to the growing conspiracy to free Mary from her illegal imprisonment, they will all face the
headsman.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Um yeah this one just didn’t hold a candle to her previous works. The book was too long, it repeated too much and just didn’t do anything for me. Its about Mary Queen of Scots and I believe it was meant to make the readers feel for Mary and her unfair treatment. However, all it did for me was make me roll my eyes and think that Mary deserved everything she got.

Things I enjoyed:
There wasn’t much. I did enjoy see Queen Elizabeth from different perspectives and I realize that she probably wasn’t as liked as many believe. I do believe that she was a fantastic leader and I honestly think she was an excellent queen but after reading this I can see how others might not view it the same.
I also enjoyed watching the conflict between the two Queens and seeing how Mary thought that Elizabeth moved to slow while the whole time Elizabeth knew if she waited long enough Mary would tangle herself into some foiled plot after another.

Things I didn’t care for:
Pretty much most of it. I didn’t care to be told over and over how the Earl’s wife was one of the only women in the land who owned property, how she brought herself up from being poor to an Earl’s wife, then repeat that every time we got her perspective. I didn’t care for Queen Mary’s thoughts she was repeating everything as well, she also came across as a spoiled little brat who threw spats b/c she could. She didn’t care about anyone but herself which means to me she must have been a horrible leader. And honestly I just didn’t care for any of the characters in this book. Not a single one of them struck a cord with me.

Would I recommend this book? No

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Nope the author wasn't new to me. Unless the book is free I will probably pass on it.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? If I could delete it I would

SCORE: 4 out of 10

Anything else? I think a lot of her works are fantastic and would highly recommend them but not this one.
**************************
100 + reading Challenge

6 / 100 words. 6% done!


ebook Challenge

5 / 10 words. 50% done!

TITLE: Death of A Pirate King (AKA: DOAPK)
AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: M/M
PAGES: 248 (in ebook format)
SERIES: Yes 4th in a series
Book 1 review: Fatal Shadows
Book 2 review: A Dangerous Thing
Book 3 review: The Hell You Say

REASON FOR READING: Come on I am a rabid fan girl now and I won’t miss a book

SUMMARY: [from Goodreads ]
Gay bookseller and reluctant amateur sleuth Adrien English's writing career is suddenly taking off. His first novel, Murder Will Out, has been optioned by notorious Hollywood actor Paul Kane. But when murder makes an appearance at a dinner party, who should be called in but Adrien's former lover, handsome closeted detective Jake Riordan, now a Lieutenant with LAPD -- which may just drive Adrien's new boyfriend, sexy UCLA professor Guy Snowden, to commit a murder of his own!

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Wow Josh sure knows how to hit you in the gut with emotions. This book took me on a rollercoaster ride from page one to the end. I ended up laughing, crying, grinding my teeth in anger and annoyance at people’s behavior, to turn around and cry again. This book effected me in a way I wasn’t expecting. For some reason (and yes I know that reason) I was completely able to connect with Adrien. I understood every emotion he had when he thought of Jake, I understood the anger when he found out things, I understood the snapping at people you love b/c of that anger, but most of all I understood the hurt.
This showed me (not that I had any doubt) that Mr. Lanyon is truly a fantastic author who writes with such depth and clarity that one doesn’t realize they are reading a book. They forget that these people aren’t real.

Things I enjoyed:
I really enjoyed seeing Adrien and how he was coping since the last book. I loved watching him go through all the emotions he thought he had worked through only to discover he hadn’t. This is one of Mr. Lanyon’s best skills, writing emotion in a way that every one can relate to it.
I also love that Mr. Lanyon showed us a different side to Old Jake. A side I wasn’t expecting to see, was happy to see but at the same time still wanted to kick his arse. He made a character I hated last book so real that I couldn’t help but understand and sympathize with his struggles. My God I actually like Jake at the end. (weird considering my feelings for him at the end of the last book)

Things I didn’t care for:
Yeah I can’t think of anything and that in itself is just strange

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would highly recommend this series. Hands down one of my favorites and a must re-read for me.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Nope the author wasn't new to me. I will read anything and everything this man puts out.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping

SCORE: 10 out of 10

Anything else? This is definitely a series I wouldn’t miss out on
*****************************

100+ Book Challenge:

6 / 100 words. 6% done!

Ebook Challenge:

4 / 10 words. 40% done!

Yep Iz finished with it. Did I like? What did I think? And how come I didn't post my thoughts as I was reading? For all those answers and more I will have to post a review this week. However, I will tell you YES I loved it, I didn't post as I read it b/c I only took 2 work days to read it and the review is coming I swear. I plan to post on Death of A Pirate King Monday over at reading romance books. So look for that.

Maybe by Wednesday I will post this at the reading challenges blog. Next on the list? Willow Bend I believe that or Katie Reus' new release. We shall see what strikes my fancy first.

TITLE: Dead Sexy
AUTHOR: Kimberly Raye
COPYRIGHT: 2007
TYPE: paranormal romance
AGES: 224
SERIES: Surprisingly yes it’s the first in a vampire series. Although I think the series is part of the Blaze line.

REASON FOR READING: This is one of 2 category romances I had in the TBR and this month's challenge was to read one.

SUMMARY: [from Goodreads ]
She was looking for long-term. She wasn't expecting eternity! Just when Nikki Braxton has given up on finding a normal guy, she meets cowboy Jake McCann.
Tall, dark and delicious, he could be the ideal man if he wasn't a vampire. Well, at least that explains his...uh... hunger for her. Meanwhile, that down-and-dirty sex they're having is giving him the energy he needs to destroy his nemesis and break the vampire curse. Good thing, because being with Nikki makes him long for a normal life that much more.
But then Nikki is abducted. If Jake saves her, he may lose his only shot at becoming human again. Talk about damned if you do.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Quick summary Nikki is the good girl next door that doesn’t really know who she is or what she wants. She is split between what her loose and free mother thinks is best for her and what her tight and perfect aunt thinks is best for her. She doesn’t know how to be herself b/c she hasn’t discovered who she is. That is until Jake comes along and shows her that doing what she wants is okay nothing bad will happen.
Jake on the other hand is having a problem all his life he’s been tied down and trapped to one person or another never truly free. All he wants to do is kill his sire so that he can be human again and do whatever he likes not trapped by the hunger of the vampire in him.

Things I enjoyed: I liked both characters a lot. I understood where they were coming from and the final choices they had to make. It was refreshing to see Nikki’s reaction to her behavior the night after a “one night stand with Jake” she freaked out when they told her she was engaged b/c she would never do anything like that. But then got mad that they wouldn’t think she could do anything like that. A typical woman response LOL!! Jake was sexy and macho but still conflicted for good reasons. He was caring and wanted so badly to prove to Nikki that he wasn’t like the rest of the guys in her life that he was different.

Things I didn’t care for:
I didn’t care for the ending it wrapped up to HEA for me. I won’t spoil it here but it really upset me how the villain turned out to be… and how that all seemed to be okay in the end. I also didn’t realize this was a series so it made sense how it ended but still kind of disappointed me.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. All and all it was a quick sweet read.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yes this was the first time I read this author and I might pick up something else by her if I happen to see in the stores. Her writing was nice, neat and sweet and the sex scenes she wrote were HAWT

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing I don’t usually hold on to categories

SCORE: B

Anything else? I don’t know if this was the first in the series or not but it was good enough to be a stand alone.
***************************************
This post is apart of the TBR 2009 challenge and we are kickstarting with a category romance. Many readers have the choice to read a category or read whatever is in their tbr piles. Please, visit the other readers in this challenge here and thank you for visiting!

TBR Challenge:

1 / 12 (8.3%)

100+ Books:

5 / 100 (5.0%)

1st in a series:

1 / 12 (8.3%)

I'm on page 71 of the 4th Adrien book. (I would have been done by now but I've been working doubles YIKES)
Anywho so far we have learned some things (being one major thing) about Jake and Adrien's relationship I didn't know and really, really pissed me off. The sad part being I don't think that's the biggest thing yet. STUPID JAKE. However, I heard I will learn more about Jake as it goes and I'm hoping it will change my mind.

I have to say this is the one time I can actually relate to Adrien. I feel the betrayal he feels, I can understand his emotions why his reaction is shorter and full of anger. I can even understand why he is pushing his lover Guy away.

Gawd Josh is a master at playing with our emotions no? Now I know why I put off reading his books but at the same time I can't stand not reading them. I'm torn AHHHHH!

TITLE: Like a Thief in the Night
AUTHOR: Bettie Sharpe
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: paranormal romance maybe?
PAGES: 99 (in ebook format)
SERIES: Not that I’m aware of

REASON FOR READING: I’ve had this sitting on my computer for awhile I thought it was a good time to break out with it.

SUMMARY: [from Goodreads ]Death comes like a thief in the night. For reclusive thief Sevastien Aniketos, death comes in the form of slinky assassin Arden Black. But Aniketos has a surprise for his would-be assassin—he is immortal. And he is about to turn the tables on the pragmatic femme fatale. Arden finds more than she bargained for when she sneaks through the window of Aniketos’s glass penthouse to take his life. The immortal thief is no victim; he’s a clever strategist who has set his sights on capturing the lethal lady and making her his own. Trapped with a man she cannot kill, Arden slowly succumbs to Aniketos’s scheme of seduction, ceding her secrets, her loyalty, and eventually her heart. But when Arden’s wicked past catches up with her, Aniketos is faced with a choice. An endless life without Arden, or a paltry mortal lifespan with the woman he is increasingly sure he cannot live without

THOUGHTS/OPINION: All and all I enjoyed this book. It had some great things going for it. Word to the wise though this is a strong book, lots of crude language, lots of violence and violent sex. It all fits with the story but some might be turned off by that.

Things I enjoyed: I really like the mythology back ground on why Sevastien was the way he was. It was a very interesting background I think it flowed well. I liked that the “heroine” was strong, independent and never faltered from that. A lot of the times authors will have this “strong” heroine who is strong until she faces one thing then she collapses and becomes the damsel in distress waiting for the hero to save her. This was not the case. I also enjoyed the story and discovering the company that Arden works for and how they work.

Things I didn’t care for: The violent sex. Yes I understand that it fit the characters. Yes I understand why it was used. However, I personally just didn’t care for it. I don’t feel comfortable reading scenes where the “hero” strangles the “heroine” to help her get off. And yes before you ask she did want it, doesn’t mean I enjoyed reading about it.

Would I recommend this book? Yes

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? I have read this author before when she did Ember and I highly recommend it as well.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping

SCORE: 7 out of 10

Anything else? I think this is a fantastic author that we should keep an eye out for.

Ebooks read:

4 / 10 words. 40% done!


100+ books read

4 / 100 words. 4% done!

2nd in a series challenge

1 / 12 words. 8% done!

The Other Queen by Phjilppa Gregory is done. Review to follow sometime next week. I'll probably post it on Monday at reading romance.

So that makes 3 for the year all 3 ebooks. Man I am diggin the ereader.

Up next is Death of a Pirate King by Josh Lanyon!!

Problems I've got 'em. First off don't keep telling me over and over and over and over and over that this woman Bessie was poor, sold her self up to a marriage and kept selling herself higher and higher until she is in the position she is in. Also don't keep having her tell me over, and over, and over, and over that she is the only woman in England that has possession of land in her name and her own money and not all of England but possibly the whole world I DON'T CARE!!!!!

First time fine it fit, made sense, actually was interesting. By the fourth time within 4 chapters I was ready to KILL Bessie or Bess or whatever the hell her name is. I get it, you think you're important, I get that you own land and that's rare, What I don't get is why this is SO important you have to repeat it in your own head numerous times over. Are you that insecure?

Same with the Queen Mary she does the same thing repeating how important she is how she is an ordained Queen how everyone should worship her, bow to her, give her respect. But the difference it fits with how she views everything. Seriously.

Okay rant over. Thank you!

Besides reading Like a theif in the Night by Bettie Sharpe (which I've put on hold at work due to content LOL)

I am also reading The Other Queen by Phillipa Greogory



This was a free ebook that came with my reader. I have to say so far pretty good. Its about Mary Queen of Scotts and her time as a captive of Queen Elizabeth. Queen Mary is Queen Elizabeth's heir, she is the rightful Queen of Scotland and of course the Queen of France by Marriage. However, right now she has been thrown out of Scotland, her son kidnapped by her half brother. She is stuck in England hoping Elizabeth will be kind and unable to reach family in France.
That is about where I'm at. My only reservation is: Am I getting too much Tudor?

Wow just wow. Talk about blowing a person away in a short amount of time. And I'm not even half way through it yet LOL.

Okay so far we have an assasin who goes to kill a man who can't be killed (I won't spoil it for you but the fairytale/myth story she has going on rocks). Needless to say the "cold" assassin is now the captured. Slowly we discover why the man has taken her and what his plans are... And by slowly I mean rather quickly b/c the book is only 90 or so pages.

I am enjoying it and I have to say I wouldn't recommend it for work. The language is strong lots of F*ck and of course lots and lots and lots of push the edge sex LOL. So when people ask you what your reading and you tell them. Then they get curious enough to ask what's it about you might find it hard not to blush ebook or not.

TITLE: Shades of Dark
AUTHOR: Linnea Sinclair
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: sci/fi romance
PAGES: 392 (in ebook format)
SERIES: Yes 2nd one in the series first was Gabriel Ghost

REASON FOR READING: I loved GG and couldn’t wait to see where Ms. Sinclair took the main characters

SUMMARY: [from Goodreads ]
Before her court-martial, Captain Chasidah “Chaz” Bergren was the pride of the Sixth Fleet. Now she’s a fugitive from the “justice” of a corrupt Empire. Along with her lover, the former monk, mercenary, and telepath Gabriel Ross Sullivan, Chaz hoped to leave the past light-years behind—until the news of her brother Thad’s arrest and upcoming execution for treason. It’s a ploy by Sully’s cousin Hayden Burke to force them out of hiding and it works. With a killer targeting human females and a renegade gen lab breeding jukor war machines, Chaz and Sully already had their hands full of treachery, betrayal—not to mention each other. Throw in Chaz’s Imperial ex-husband, Admiral Philip Guthrie, and a Kyi-Ragkiril mentor out to seduce Sully and not just loyalties but lives are at stake. For when Sully makes a fateful choice changing their relationship forever, Chaz must also choose—between what duty demands and what her heart tells her she must do.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:Alright this book has action, romance, hawt menz, suspense, and of course a dozen or so plots that all come together at the end. (I mention this b/c I was really worried as we got close to the end on how she was going to wrap this up)
This book is the second in a series however, I don’t believe you need to read the first in order to understand what is going on but it would help. Reading the first would help to understand how the characters work together and even got together. This is a fairly complicated book in the sense of all the different subplots and different storylines going on.

Things I enjoyed: I really liked being able to see Sully and Chaz’s relationship as it grew. There were times when I worried they wouldn’t make it and other times when I knew they would struggle through it. The relationship that Ms. Sinclair has set up is priceless. She shows how hard it is to work in a relationship and a relationship is just that work. She doesn’t make it easy on these two and for that their relationship really grows. Ms. Sinclair had me laughing, crying, shaking in anger, and really hoping that these two would end up together. She is a powerful writer when it comes to this aspect.

Also her world building is to die for. I could perfectly see what a Kyi killer was. She gives just enough description to make you understand what the weapon or for that matter the ship should look like. But not so much description you can’t add in your own thoughts.

Things I didn’t care for: Ms. Sinclair was really bad about having us in Chaz’s head but then making sure that Chaz told us everything we might not have remembered from reading the first. It was annoying b/c I know when I am thinking of Kyi in my head I am not giving a full on description of what I know about them. Then turning around and explaining “to myself” how I know this information. I just felt like everytime she did this I was pulled out of the book.

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would highly recommend both this one and the first

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Nope the author wasn't new to me. I have read a couple of this author’s works and enjoyed everyone.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping

SCORE: 7 out of 10

Anything else? I think if you are going to read this you should also look into reading GG you won’t regret either choice.

MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT. I had a hard time at the beginning with the author repeating me information I should have gotten from the first book Gabriel's Ghost. Which I already knew so that was annoying but once we got past that it flowed so well I even managed to ignore it when it happened further along in the book.

The plot is complicated but moving smoothly. However I have only 100 more pages and I'm wondering if she is going to be able to wrap it all up smoothly or not. There are numerous subplots that are starting to tie together but the end is iffy for me... We shall see if she can make it work (I have no doubt that she won't but sometimes you never know)

Still need to start Dead Sexy simply b/c that book review is due 1/21 I have no doubt it will be a quick read due to shear size but we shall see. Other than that I haven't been reading anything else.

This book will count towards the Ebook challenge and the 100+book challenge

Do you ever just reach a point in reading where you want to continue but you know you may not. Not b/c the book isn't good its just you've been reading the same one for so long now your not sure you want to finish. Even though the book is good and you really, really want to know what happens?

Well that's where The Lady Elizabeth and I are at right now. Just when I think it is almost over I realize I have 200 more pages *drops head* Never fear I will finish this book if it kills me.

Now on to some lighter news I did manage to finish one book. you can see my review at http://readingromancebooks.com/2009/01/snagged-by-jet-mykles/ Until next time tootles!

Okay in the book and I mean I really hate to give this away... but according to Ms. Weir's fiction (fiction being the key word here) she has Elizabeth not only loosing her virginity to the Admiral but also having a miscarriage of his child.

Normally this wouldn't bother me and I'm not sure if it does yet but it has kind of rocked my world. So I will have to ponder this and see if I can except that or not. This sadly enough might be a make or break thing for this book. If she does it well and it contributes to the overall story I can forgive it... if not I might not rank it that high IDK

I'm really not sure why this bothers me so much. I know that odds are Elizabeth wasn't a virgin when she was Queen but to have a miscarriage by her step mother's husband I would like to think that didn't happen at the same time it is possible conflicted I am....

Okay so I am on page 209 before lunch and have gotten to the part where Katherine Parr (the Queen) is starting to figure out that her husband has a thing for Elizabeth. Again having a problem with the story b/c it is being told in 3rd person and I am not connecting at all with Elizabeth.

I feel as if I am being told what is happening and how I should react. For example the Queen and her husband the Admiral have cut away Elizabeth's mourning gown from her father's death as a joke to prove to her that she should not waste her life mourning:

"You must forgive my lord's boisterousness," she told Elizabeth, "and take this in good part, child, for we both felt it was high time you put off your mourning. We but thought to make it easier for you by turning it into a game, and we are quite private here, so no once anc see. Thell Mrs. Astley that I will replace the gown iwth another, finerone, and that peticoat too - its torn." Elizabeth nodded, aware that the Admiral's eyes were straying to the low neckline ofh er chemise. "I thank you madam,: she said unsteadily, then turned and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster. Behind her, on the gravel lay jagged strips of black cloth.

Okay here's my problem with that: How much cooler would it have been if we would have heard what Elizabeth was thinking through this whole thing. Instead we are told that she might be embarressed simply b/c she walked away with as much dignity as she could muster...

IDK maybe I'm just being picky but right now I am slightly disappointed with this story.