My Reading List - April 2013

FINISHED - 

1. "NOTORIOUS NINETEEN" by Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum #19) (Unabridged Audio CD) (A++++) Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that coud put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton's premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Unfortunately Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape...or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff's lips seen to be tighter than the security and it's had for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie's Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing Stephanie is forced into working side by side with Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Marelli, in order to crack the case. The real problem is, no Cubbin also means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money, Stephanie accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly Special Forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again - a little food poisoning, some threatening notes and a bridesmaid's dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone...or did they? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she'll have to remember. No guts, no glory.
2. "BUNGALOW NIGHTS" by Christie Ridgway (Beach House No. 9 #2) (A+++++) Combat medic Vince Smith made a promise to a fallen officer to treat the man's young daughter to an idyllic vacation at Beach House No. 9. One month, some sun and surf, a "helmet list" of activities to check off and Vance will move on. But the "little girl" he's expecting turns out to be a full-grown woman. With silky hair, big brown eyes and smelling sweetly of the cupcakes she makes for her mobile bakery, Layla is irresistible. And Vance shouldn't lay a finger on her. Honor - and one heck of a scarred heart - says so. To Layla, Vance is a hero who was injured trying to save her father's life. She intends to spend their month of lazy days and warm nights taking very good care of the gorgeous soldier - inside and out.
3. "FATED" by Carly Phillips (Serendipity #1.5) (Kindle) (A++++) Kate Andrews is the original rebound girl. But she has had enough and has vowed to never be someone's second choice again. Unfortunately, her undeniably intense desire for Nick Mancini is testing her best laid plans because Kate has carried a torch for Nick since high school - she she's always been premanently in the friend zone. Lately, Nick has definitely noticed Kate. Unfortunately he can't get her to take him seriously. He knows he's made some stupid moves in the past but he's determined to get Kate to act on their obvious and mutual attraction. However Kate's stubborn and she's been hurt before, which means Nick will have to pull out all the stops in order to convince her he's not the same boy she used to know and she's not second best...she's everything.
4. "GABRIEL'S INFERNO" by Sylvain Reynard (Gabriel #1) (A++++++) Enigmatic and sexy, Professor Gabriel Emerson is a well-respected Dante specialist by day, but by night he devotes himself to an uninhibited life of pleasrue. He uses his notorious good looks and sophisticated charm to gratify his every whim, but is secretly tormented by his dark past and consumed by the profound believe that he is beyond all hope of redemption. When the sweet and innocent Julia Mitchell enrolls as his graduate student, his attraction and mysterious connection to her not only jeopardizes his career, but sends him on a journey in which his past and present collide. 
5. "THE REDEMPTION OF DEKE SUMMERS" by Gayle Wilson (Men Made in America: Alabama #1) (A++++) A secret past - Deke Summers doesn't need the whine of a high-powered rifle to tell him it's time for a new alias and a different town. Not after someone he loved in a previous life ended up paying the ultimate price. An uncertain present - Becki Travers tries to keep her distance, but she dares to dream when she sees how well the loner and her little boy get along. A terrifying future - When Deke's enemies make Becki's child a pawn in their deadly game, together they race to save him. But if they succeed, Becki will be forced into a choice no woman should ever make to save the life of the man she loves - or her son.
6. "FIRST LADY" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Wynette Texas #4) (A++++++) How does the most famous woman in the world hide in plain sight? The beautiful young widow of the President of the United States thought she was free of the White House, but circumstances have forced her back into the role of First Lady. Not for long, however, because she's made up her mind to escape - if only for a few days - so she can live the life of an ordinary person All she needs is the perfect disguise...and she's just found it. With the entire nation searching for her, she meets a seductive man who has a secret of his own and an appeal that threatens to awaken the woman behind the national icon. With him are two orphaned little girls desperate for a family. Together, they'll take a journey across the heartland chasing their own American dream.
7. "HOME FOR THE SUMMER" by Mariah Stewart (Chesapeake Diaries #5) (A++++) Some of Lucy Sinclair's best days were those spent growing up in small town St. Dennis - working at the family inn and enjoying summers filled with swimming, sailing, tennis and the company of Clay Madison, her best friend. But Lucy's darkest day, the one that shattered her innocence with violence and fear, also happened in St. Dennis. And the town she once loved became the place she gladly left behind - along with the terrible secret she's kept for twenty years. While Lucy headed off for college and a career, Clay remained - more than satisfied with the life St. Dennis had to offer. But now, even after inheriting his family's thriving farm and starting up an organic brewery, he can't help feeling that something's missing. And when Lucy comes back to town to plan a celebrity wedding at the Sinclair family inn, she and Clay reconnect and find themselves reevaluating their long-sleeping friendship that could blossom into something deeper. Like a bookend to those distant childhood days, this summer will be Lucy's chance to finally confront her hidden pain, make peace with the past and plan her own whole new future.
8. "KISS OF CRIMSON" by Lara Adrian (Midnight Breed #2) (A++++) Bonded by blood and dark secrets, they enter a place of danger and infinite pleasure. He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling himself Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world - a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror. Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need - but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm...and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself.
9. "DEEP AUTUMN HEAT" by Elisabeth Barrett (Star Harbor #1) (A++++) (Kindle) Lexie Meyers decides there's nothing sweeter than watching Sebastian Grayson's perfect, wicked mouth devour her coconut cake. He's hot, he's hungry and he's sizing her up like she's the best thing on the menu. But she's been burned in the past and flings just aren't her thing. Too bad Sebastian can't resist a challenge. Worldly, famous and notorious with the ladies, Seb had planned a weekend of fishing and relaxation with his brothers. Until Lexie, with her kissable lips and frosty "get lost" attitude, makes him want to forget his culinary empire and create some magic with her. After he fires up his charm - including challenging her to a televised cook-off to break through her resistance - it's now hotter in the bedroom than it is in the kitchen and Lexie isn't sure whether she's lost her mind...or just her heart.
10. "THE PERFECT HOPE" by Nora Roberts (The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy #3) (A+++) (abridged Audio CD) Ryder is the hardest Montgomery brother to figure out - with a tough as nails outside and possibly nothing too soft underneath. He's surly and unsociable, but when he straps on a tool belt, no woman can resist his sexy swagger. Except, apparently, Hope Beaumont, the inkeeper of his own Inn BoonsBoro. As the former manager of a D.C. hotel, Hope is used to excitement and glamour, but that doesn't mean she can't appreciate the joys of small town living. She's where she wants to be - except for in her love life. Her only interaction with the opposite sex has been sparring with the infuriating Ryder, who always seems to get under her skin. Still, no one can deny the electricity that crackles between them...a spark that ignited with a New Year's Eve kiss. While the inn is running smoothly, thanks to Hope's experience and unerring instincts, her big city past is about to make an unwelcome - and embarrassing - appearance. Seeing Hope vulnerable stirs up Ryder's emotions and makes him realize that while Hope may not be perfect, she just might be perfect for him.
11. "KARMA" by Carly Phillips (Serendipity #3) (A++++) Officer Dare Barron has had a crush on Liza McKnight ever since he was a teenager. But despite his lifelong attraction, the closest he's ever come to interacting with Liza is watching her regularly bail out her brother down at the police station. Dare's dark past with Liza's brother, Brian, has always kept him from pursuing her. But suddenly Liza finds herself in need of protection and Dare appoints himself as the man for the job. And while the sizzling attraction between Dare and Liza draws them together, the past threatens to keep the two apart forever.
12. "SAY NO TO JOE?" by Lori Foster (Visitation, North Carolina #1) (A++++) Irresistible force - meet immovable object. Joe Winston has a routine with women: he exists; they swoon; roll credits. With his smoldering looks, macho style and irrepressible charm, Joe can have any woman - except the one he really wants. Secretly, Luna Clark may lust after Joe, but she's made it clear that she's too smart to fall for him. He can just keep holding his breath, thank you very much. But now, Luna's inherited two kids who need more than she alone can give in a small town that seems hell-bent on driving them away. She needs someone to help out...someone who can't be intimidated...someone just like Joe. Becoming an instant family wasn't exactly what Joe had in mind, but hey, it's a start and you can't blame a guy for trying every angle. After all, where there's a Joe, there's a way...straight into a woman's heart.
13. "FULL HOUSE" by Jackie Weger (Men Made in America - Alabama #1) (A+++) Alabama good ol' boy. Strange things were happening in the Alabama farmhouse next to Tucker Highsmith's property. It wasn't just the arrival of an unattached woman and her unruly brood. There were phantom raids in the pantry, mysterious moving objects and spooky things that went bump in the night. Tucker's heart when bump, too, the moment he met Justine Hale. She was all he'd ever wanted in a woman and he sure as shootin' aimed to be her ideal man. She'd just have to find room in her heart - and her full house - for him.
14. "TRACKER'S SIN" by Sarah McCarty (Hell's Eight #4) (A++++) Wed by necessity...joined by desire. Before his trade became his name, "Tracker" Ochoa was a scrawny Mestizo runaway. Now as as fearsome as he once was frightened, he's joined the notorious Hell's Eight...and they have a job for him. He must rescue kidnapped heiress Ari Blake and deliver her to the Hell's Eight compound - by any means necessary. Turns out that includes marrying her, if he means to escort her and her infant son across Texas Territory. Tracker hadn't bargained on a wife - especially such a fair, blue-eyed beauty. But the erotic pleasures of the marriage bed more than make up for the surprise. Tracker's well-muscled bronze skin and dark, dangerous eyes are far more exciting than any of Ari's former debutante dreams. In the light of the day, though, his deep scars and brooding intensity terrify her. But he's her husband and she's at his mercy. With the frontier against them and mercenary bandits at their heels, Ari feels she'll never feel safe again. Tracker, too, remembers what fear feels like. Though, he burns to protect Ari, to keep her for himself always, he knows that money, history - and especially the truth - can tear them apart.
15. "SHELTERED IN HIS ARMS" by Tara Taylor Quinn (Shelter Valley #4) (A+++++) Sam Montford left Shelter Valley ten years ago. He's a direct descendant of the town's founder, the first Samuel Montford, and for him, Shelter Valley's expectations had become oppressive. Home had become smothering instead of sheltering. Sam returns to the town - and to his ex-wife, Cassie Tate - with a seven-year-old child. This is a complete shock to Cassie. When Sam left, he hadn't known she was pregnant. Or that she had lost their baby. Sam's back in Shelter Valley now, back to stay. But he refuses to become the man people expected him to be ten years ago. Can he be the man Cassie needs now?
16. "ABOUT THAT NIGHT" by Julie James (FBI/U.S. Attorney #3) (A+++++) He's playing games. Though Rylann Pierce tried to figght the sparks she felt for billionaire heir Kyle Rhodes the night they met, their sizzling chemistry was undeniable. But after being stood up on their first date, Rylann never expected to see him again. So when she finds herself face-to-face with Kyle in a courthouse nine years later, she's stunned. More troubling to the beautiful assistant U.S. Attorney is that she's still wildly attracted to him. But she's making the rules. Just released from prison, Kyle Rhodes isn't thrilled to be the star witness in a high-profile criminal case - but when Rylann comes knocking at this door, he finds she may be the one lawyer he can't say no to. Still as gorgeous and sharp-tongued as ever, she lays down the law: she doesn't mix business with pleasure. But Kyle won't give up on something he wants - and what he wants is the one woman he's never forgotten.
17. "THE LOVE OF A COWBOY" by Anna Jeffrey (Callister #1) (A+++++) (Kindle) When Texas beauty Dahlia Montgomery's husband winds up dead in a car crash with another woman by his side, Dahlia is forced to face challenges she had never imagined. Not only had he been unfaithful, he left her broke and saddled with a small Dallas software company under investigation by the SEC and the IRS. She handled all of it with her usual calm efficiency, but she had to take bankruptcy and abandon a promising business career of her own. With no other options, shattered and despressed, she moved back to her small West Texas hometown to live with her father and help him in his mom and pop grocery store. Two years later, her life is going nowhere and she's miserable. She allows her best friend to drag her off to the Idaho wilderness to work on a surveying crew for the summer. The friend's idea is for a different environment to elevate Dahlia's mood and give her a different perspective on life. And it does. Just when she thought she would never meet another man she could or would trust, she runs into, literally, wealthy cattle rancher, Luke McRae. Luke is the manager of a huge, family-owned, ranching dynasty, which includes thousands of acres of grassland and timber. Having found love in the wrong place as a randy nineteen-year-old, he's now saddled with more than taking care of the ranch. He has an alcoholic ex-wife, with whom he has an ongoing feud over custody of their two teenage daughters, a mentally and physically challenged son who suffers from FAS and a mother who has no intention of letting him forget how he got into his predicament. When he meets Dahlia, the new half-Filipino beauty in town from Texas, he's in no mood for love. Sex is all he's after. He usually satisfies his needs out of town, but the mix of beauty and brains he finds in Dahlia is hard to resist. They spend a lusty, romantic summer. As thoughts of her start to fill all of his waking and sleeping moments, he begins to worry over what's he's going to do about her. He loves her, but bringing a woman who's an outsider into his family presents way too many obstacles. His solution is to cut and run. Meanwhile, Dahlia's aged father suffers a sudden stroke and she's called to return to Texas immediately. Neither she nor Luke knows that when she leaves Idaho, she carries Luke's child. Months later, in a letter from her best friend, Luke learns she has given birth to a perfect son, a potential heir to the McRae dynasty. He's driven to travel to Texas to try to recapture what he and Dahlia had through that fateful Idaho summer and to claim his son. That is, if she doesn't send him packing all the way back to Idaho.
18. "BORN TO DARKNESS" by Suzanne Brockmann (Fighting Destiny #1) (A++++++) Dishonorably discharged, former Navy SEAL Shane Laughlin is down to his last ten bucks when he finally finds work as a test subject at the Obermeyer Institute, a little-known and believed-to-be-fringe scientific research facility. When he enters the OI compound, he is plunged into a strange world where seemingly mild-mannered scientists - including women half his size - can kick his highly skilled ass. Shane soon discovers that there are certain individuals who possess the unique ability to access untapped regions of the brain with extraordinary results - including telekinesis, super strength and reversal of the aging process. Known as "Greater-Thans," this rare breed is recruited by OI, where they are rigorously trained using ancient techniques to cultivate their powers and wield them responsibly. But in the depths of America's second Great Depression, where the divide between the haves and the have-nots has grown even wider, those who are rich - and reckless - enough have a quick, seductive alternative: Destiny, a highly addictive designer drug that can make anyone a Great-Than, with the power of eternal youth. The sinister cartel known as The Organization has begun mass-producing Destiny and the demand is epidemic. But few realize the drug's true danger and fewer still know the dirty secret of Destiny's crucial ingredient. Michelle "Mac" Mackenzie knows the ugly truth. As one of the Obermeyer Institute's crack team of operatives, she's determined to end the scourge of Destiny. But her kick-ass attitude gets knocked for a loop when she finds that one of the new test subjects is none other than Shane, the same smoldering stranger who just rocked her world in a one-night stand. Although Shane isn't a Greater-Than like Mac, as an ex-SEAL, he's got talents of his own. But Mac's got powerful reasons to keep her distance from him - and reasons that are just as strong to want him close. She's used to risking her life, but now, in the midst of the ultimate war on drugs, she must face sacrificing her heart.
19. "CUTTING LOOSE" by Susan Andersen (Sisterhood Diaries #1) (A++++) Jane thinks nothing can make her lose her cool. But the princess of propriety blows a gasket the night she meets the contractor restoring the Wolcott mansion. Devlin Kavanagh's rugged sex appeal may buckle her knees, but the man is out of control! Jane had to deal with theatrics growing up - she won't tolerate them in someone hired to work on the house she and her two best friends have just inherited. Dev could renovate the mansion in his sleep. But ever since the prissy owner spotted him jet-loagged, exhausted and hit hard but a couple of welcome-home drinks, she's been on his case. Yet there's something about her. Jane hides behind conservative clothes and a frosty manner, but her seductive blue eyes and leopard-print heels hint at a woman just dying to cut loose!
20. "AT HIDDEN FALLS" by Barbara Freethy (Angel's Falls #4) (A++++) Mysterous dreams draw costume designer Isabella Silviera to Angel's Bay, the California coastal town where angels occasionally dance above the waves. Isabella's drive to Angel's Bay would have ended in tragedy when her car slid off a cliff if she hadn't been rescued by Nick Hartley. As he helps her to safety, she realizes he is the man who has haunted her dreams. Nick, however, is committed to reconnecting with his estranged teenage daughter, refusing to respond to his powerful attraction to Isabella. And Isabella's police chief brother has his hands full with a missing mother, an abandoned baby and an unknown father. What is Isabella's role in the mysteries - both past and present - that swirl around the town? When she starts helping at the Hartley family theater, all the pieces begin to link together. Loves found and lost, heartbreak and happiness, courage and betrayal are all part of the patchwork quilt of the community - and of life. Isabella's gift is seeing the patterns.
21. "A LION CALLED CHRISTIAN: THE TRUE STORY OF THE REMARKABLE BOND BETWEEN TWO FRIENDS AND A LION" by Anthony Bourke & John Rendall (A++++) A Lion Called Christian tells the remarkable story of how Anthony "Ace" Bourke and John Rendall, visitors to London from Australia in 1969, bought a boisterous lion cub in the pet department of Harrods. For several months, the three of them shared a flat above a furniture shop on London's King's Road, where the charismatic and intelligent Christian quickly became a local celebrity, cruising the streets in the back of a Bentley, popping in for lunch at a local restaurant, even posing for a fashion advertisement. But the lion cub was growing up - fast - and soon even the walled church garden where he went for exercise wasn't large enough for him. How could Ace and John avoid having to send Christian to a zoo for the rest of his life? A coincidental meeting with English actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, stars of the hit film Born Free, led to Christian being flown to Kenya and placed under the expert care of "the father of lions," George Adamson. Incredibly, when Ace and John returned to Kenya to see Christian a year later, they received a loving welcome from their lion, who was by then fully integrated into Africa and a life with other lions.
22. "SAND CASTLE BAY" by Sherryl Woods (Ocean Breeze #1) (A++++) In a trade-off she's lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behing the man she loved. For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home. But with his former in-laws threatening a custody suit, the stakes of loving her are higher than ever. Will fate once again separate them - or is the time finally right for these two star-crossed lovers?
23. "MIDNIGHT SECRETS" by Ella Grace (Wildefire #1) (A++++++) (ARC copy) Home is where the danger is. On a hot southern night, with a storm on the horizon, a family is shattered. Three beautiful daughters - Savannah, Samantha and Sabrina Wilde - go on with their lives, each significantly changed, as they bear the memory of the murder-suicide that killed their parents. For years, the sisters have stayed away from Midnight, Alabama. Until Midnight calls them home. Savannah is the first one back, when a grueling case in Nashville leads the young prosecutor to seek shelter in the quiet of the once grand Wilde mansion. But when she finds letters casting doubt on her famiy's dark, shameful past, she realizes that peace in Midnight is a shallow facade and sinister secrets lurk beneath the surface. Zach Tanner, once the town's bad boy, is now the new police chief and still has a wild hold over her. Zach can feel it, too, but he hurt Savannah once. As teenagers, they broke every role together. Now it's his job to keep her safe, even though he isn't sure who her enemies are - or which ones might be his own. 
24. "LONESTAR SANCTUARY" by Colleen Coble (Lonestar #1) (A+++++) Allie Siders is desperate to help her 5-year-old daughter, Betsy, speak again. But with a stalker out for revenge, all Allie can think about is the safety that awaits them at the peaceful Bluebird Ranch, nestled deep in Texas Hill country. Not only is the ranch a sanctuary for abused horses, but also for troubled youths. And Allie is determined to get Betsy, who hasn't spoken a word in nearly a year, all the help she needs - and find a safe haven for them both. Ranch owner Elijah DeAngelo, compassionate and kind, eagerly welcomes the duo. But Rick Bailey, the handsome foreman, hasn't decided to let down his guard...yet. As promises made long ago soon force Rick and Allie to work together to save all they hold dear, will they discover the remarkable power of love along the way?
25. "ICE" by Linda Howard (A+++++) Gabriel McQueen has only just arrived home on holiday leave from the service when his county sheriff father sends him back out again with new marching orders: A brewing ice storm and a distant neighbor who's fallen out of contact, have the local lawman concerned. So he enlists Gabriel to make the long haul to the middle of nowhere and make sure that Lolly Helton is safe and sound. It's a trip the younger McQueen would rather not make, given the bitter winter weather - and the icy conditions that have always existed between him and Lolly. But there's no talking back when your dad is the town's top cop. And there's no turning back when night falls just as Gabriel arrives - and discovers that the weather outside isn't the only thing that's frightful. Spotting strangers in Lolly's home - one of them packing a weapon - kicks Gabriel into combat mode. And his stealth training is all he needs to extract Lolly from the house without alerting her captors. But when the escape is discovered, the heat - and the hunt - are on. And the winter woods are nowhere to be once the ice storm touches down, dropping trees, blocking roads and trapping the fleeing pair in the freezing dark. Now, snowbound, unarmed and literally under the gun, Gabriel and Lolly must depend on each other to endure the merciless forces of nature - and evade the ruthless enemy out in the blackness of the silent night...and out for their blood.
26. "THE SECRET LIFE OF BRIAN" by Lori Foster (Visitation, North Carolina #2) (A+++++) Doubles trouble - Bounty hunter Bryan Kelly has a few rules. Rule #1: Women are for fun, not commitment. Rule #2: He'll do anything for his twin brother, even switch places in order to find out who wants to sabotage the naive preacher's charity organization. Playing benefactor to a bunch of sassy, flirtatious prostitutes means that Bryan will have to be his brother - in every way that counts. But then, he hadn't counted on Shay Sommers. Keeping his cool around the luscious lady of the night with the big heart is doing nothing to keep his thoughts pure, which brings him to instant Rule #3: If you can't avoid temptation, succumb with abandon. Being mistaken for a hooker. Well that's certainly a new one for Shay. The society pages icon has made her name in charity work. Still, this could be her chance to help these girls from the inside out, if she can play the part just right. It certainly won't be hard to act the street siren with the gorgeous preacher who runs the place, even if he does seem less like a shepherd and much more like a wolf in a clerical collar...one with a hungry look that's making Shay feel she might be his next dinner.
27. "BLAZE OF WINTER" by Elisabeth Barrett (Star Harbor #2) (A++++) (Kindle) Frustrated with her job in Boston, social worker Avery Newbridge welcomes the opportunity to reassess her life when family asks her to help manage the Star Harbor Inn. Trying to figure out her future is overwhelming enough, but she doesn't count on distraction in the form of one Theo Grayson, the gorgeous, green-eyed author who she knows is trouble from the moment he saunters into the inn. Not only does he have a talent for writing swashbuckling adventures, but Theo also has a soft spot for big-hearted damsels in distress, especially a woman who's great at helping everyone - except herself. Avery's demons challenge him, but for desire this hot he isn't backing down. With every kiss and heated whisper Theo promises her his heart...if only Avery is willing to open up and accept it.
28. "NORTHERN LIGHTS" by Michelle Cary (A+++++) (Kindle) Ten years after her world was shattered by rape, Brooke Hague has finally picked up the pieces of her life. She worked hard to put that horrible night behind her, but the madman who hurt her is paroled and begins to stalk her. Now, Brooke's life is in danger. Crab fishing captain Nathan Lowery has suffered his fair share of tragedy over the years. He swears he's given up on love, despite the feelings he has for the shy, petite redhead. Learning of Brooke's stalker, Nathan does the one thing he can to help protect her - he takes her with him to Alaska during king crab season. Cooking for six men on a boat in the middle of the Bering Sea presents more of a challenge than Brooke anticipated. It's also the last place she expects to fall in love. But when the season ends and the stalker is still at large, Brooke's fear for her own well being is overshadowed by her need to save her new love's life. She knows, in the end, if necessary, she'll give her own life to save his.
29. "A PERFECT TRIFECTA" by Deliliah Devlin (Delta Heat #3) (A+++) (Kindle) Playing switch in front of a La Forge BDSM club audience was supposed to be a one-time fling. A favor for a friend. Instead, when Craig Eason realizes he's caught the attention of an enigmatic, powerful Dom across the crowded room, he senses this could be the man he's been looking for to test the boundaries of his own sexuality. Firefighter Aiden Byrne is a very private man with strong S&M longings he keeps in check for everyone else's safety. His sub, Jennifer Callum, thinks she likes it rough, but he can't let go the way he'd like to. Until one defiant stare from the handsome cop on the La Forge stage causes Aiden's most dangerous needs to uncoil from the deepest, darkest part of his soul.
30. "FAR HARBOR" by JoAnn Ross (Coldwater Cove #2) (A++++) After her seemingly idyllic marriage turns out to be a pretty illusion, Savannah Townsend returns to her hometown of Coldwater Cove, Washington. Determined to live life on her own terms, she takes on the task of restoring the local Far Harbor lighthouse and making it the cozy inn she had always dreamed of. But she hasn't anticipated opposition from the lighthouse's owner, her grandmother's disturbing memory losses, or the problems of an emotionally wounded teenage girl. Most of all, she hasn't planned on having feelings for Daniel O'Halloran, a caring and passionate man from her past. As affection moves to attraction and then to something far deeper, Savannah learns that in life nothing worth having comes easily. She also discovers that some dreams really are forever.
31. "MOMENTS" by R.J. Scott (A++++) (Kindle) A path chosen, a journey taken, a decision made. Jacob Riley, an actor with possession charges hanging over his head and an attitude that the world owes him a living, is facing such a moment. It is only with the help of other he can ever hope to find his way. Could Mac's and its enigmatic boss, Ethan Myers, be the ones to give Jacob his defining moment? Jacob Riley, star of the time traveling TV series End Game, is a typical Hollywood former child str with issues. He has already had prison time and at the age of 26 has been arrested again. He manages to scrape through and avoid more jail time by being placed into an expedited drug program. Jacob works his time as a general handyman at an education centre in the run down area of L.A. A part of the city that is in the middle of regeneration. It is a sharp shock for the boy-man who had an easy life. Ethan Myers is the owner and manager of 'Mac's', providing teching and learning to local low income families. He lost his long term partner to cancer three years ago. His moment in time was to decide not to die with his life partner and instead bury every penny he had and every part of his education into 'Mac's'. He agrees to take on Jacob as 'Mac's' desperately needs the money, but it isn't a decision he would have made under normal conditions. Jacob hates his jailor Ethan; Ethan loses his cool whenever Jacob aims for an easy ride. He has no respect for the lack of substance in his 'guest'. Sparks fly when attraction becomes something they can't fight and their relationship grows against a background of disenfranchised street gang members, arson, the Oscars and despite their own prejudices.
32. "DIRE NEEDS" by Stephanie Tyler (Eternal Wolf Clan #1) (A++++) The full moon is their mistress. They are predators of pleasure and pain. Fear by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures. Once there were many, but now only six remain, a dangerous wolf pack forever on the hunt. Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop=dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both humans and nonhumans, Rifter's primal instinct is to claim her. Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have racked her body her entire life are incurable - and they're killing her. But none of that will matter if Rifter can't stop the growing threat to them all - trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire Wolves as part of their defarious plan.

Currently Reading -

1. "Secrets She Left Behind" by Diane Chamberlain
2. "Far in the Wilds" by Deanna Raybourn (A Spear of Summer Grass #0.5)
3. "Reflection Point" by Emily March (Eternity Springs #6)

Currently Listening to -

1. "Shattered" by Karen Robards (unabridged Audio CD)

Read:

The Red House Mark Haddon

Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean Richard Logan

The Sheep's in the meadow, Raccoons in the corn or, life in the Country Marguerite Hurrey Wolf

Breakup Dana Stabenow

The Dew Breaker Edwidge Danticat

Calling Invisible Women Jeanne Ray

Beach House Memories Mary Alice Monroe

The Cats of Sanctury House Sister Mary Winifred

Still Alice Lisa Genova

Best Bet Laura Pedersen

Cat Confessions Alluia Nolan

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap Wendy Welch

Gingerbread Cookies & Gunshots Leslie Meier

The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies Laura Levine

The Enders Hotel Brandon Schrand

Gingerbread Cookie Murder Joanne Fluke

Outside Passage Julia Scully

A Grown Up Kind of Pretty Joshilyn Jackson

The Chicken Chronicles Alice Walker

I Totally Meant to Do That Jane Borden

Elaine Viets!! Her Dead End Job series...love it.  Just finished the second and am starting the third...such a great cozy series.

Sarah's Garden by  Kelly Long  Amish fiction....Very Good  A+  finished  4/2

John 3:16 by Nancy Moser 4/5 Very Good  

Finished

Pigs Can Fly by Barry Cryer - Strings of anecdotes about some of the best known (mostly old time) British comedians. Lots of fun stuff, if you know much about older British comedians. No plot or anything, just a bunch of stories.

Stieg Larsson, My Friend by Kurdo Baksi - A short bio of the author of the Millenium trilogy, a working bio anyway. He talks a lot anout Stieg's work and writing motivations but not much about his personal life. Of course he didn't have much personal life, he was a terrible workaholic, but it seems for best friends all they ever talked about was feminism, racism, and writing. It's a good portrait of activism but not much about the man, outside of his work related motivations. Maybe he just didn't want to put out personal details, apparently Stieg was a very, very private man. Not bad but not quite what I was expecting.

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout - Probably the best Nero Wolfe book I've read, and that's saying something. A prize bull is purchased by a rich man so he can BBQ him, upsetting a whole bunch of people and a couple of them end up dead. And guess who just happens to become stranded outside the man's ranch? Rare opportunity tom see Nero Wolfe in action and out of his house.

The Playdate by Louise Millar - A little light as a mystery but a good story about a few neighbors who are all hiding something. Someone on this street is a nut, but who?

Plugged by Eoin Colfer - Humorous and action packed, a quick but enjoyable book. Lots of action but the humor aspect is Colfer's trademark and he does it very well.

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler - It was a very good story but bogged down near the middle with a backstory section that went on way too long. It was constant action and danger then screeched to a halt with the background. Really messed up the flow because it went on too long, and was all in one big section. It's quite gory and not a book you will enjoy if you're squeemish at all, and it does involve hurting children. Pretty badly.

The Demon of Dakar by Kjell Eriksson - Third in a series but easily a stand alone. Very little about the series star detective, which is a little odd. It's a loosely woven book with quite a few story lines that are marginally connected and mostly coincidentally related. The one thing I did like about it is in these detective books the cops always seem to miraculously conclude the right things and directions they should go but in this one their hypothesizing is often wrong. It's more realistic, cops are too often portrayed as nearly psychic in their investigations. There is a brief epilogue that opens up a new vein but with no indication of where it's going to go or how it happened, very open ended. The next book in the series doesn't seem to be about anything remotely related so it looks like that end is just going to hang there. Kind of weird. Not even enough info is given to imagine where the story could go.

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend by Christopher Moore - That title should tell you everything you need to know to decide if this is a book for you. It's the story of Joshua's life before he came to fame at 30, told by his friend and companion Biff. Biff has somehow been written out of the gospel, which he finds quyite a nnoying, but he has been brought back to life by an angel in the modern day to write up their early lives. The first 3/4 were really good but when it got to the point where Joshua turns 30 and comes to the life that has been written about it takes a more serious turn (well, serious for Christopher Moore) and was much less fun. I give the first 3/4 5 stars and the last part 3 stars.

Vettech Tales by Phoenix Sullivan - I think it's ebook only because I couldn't find it here. A short book and not very useful, unless you maybe are a friend or relative of Ms Sullivan (not real name). I've worked in the industry, it doesn't happen like she says it did. Apparently she became a fully capable vet tech and groomer with one days instruction in cleaning cages. Um, ok.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - Pretty fun book, the pictures are great. They're all real vintage photos and some of them are right weird. The writer took these pictures and fleshed out the characters and added them to his story. Story is alright, pretty open ended. I think there may be a sequal planned, seems I heard that somewhere. It could use one.

No Room For Secrets by Joanna Lumley - A somewhat unconventional memoir, where she gives a tour of her house and tells stories about the things in the room that tell her life story. She's a little stuffier and posher than I thought she was but she has done some stuff.

Diners, Dives and Dead Ends by Terri L Austin - This was a really good one. A cozy but full of action, believable action. The heroine is a little supergirl-ish but it's believable. Might be a few too many men falling for her considering how average her looks are described, and her big butt is mentioned several times, but it wasn't a big part of the story so it was ok. Definitely getting book 2, but that seems to be all there is. Too bad.

The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - Good book, better than his Dalhousie mystery series. The cases aren't very deep but they're interesting and the characters are pretty full. It was a little annoying how often he referred to the lead as fat. Mr McCall Smith is no small man himself.

Big Brilliant Book Of Bart Simpson by Matt Groening - Book of Simpson's stories told comic book style. Not really what I was expecting but entertaining. Pretty short, I was disappointed because I actually paid for the book. Read it in about 1 1/2 hours.

Murder On The Thirtyfirst Floor by Per Wahloo - I thought this one sucked. Almost no mystery, lots of details about the detective's digestive tract, and mostly just plodding and boring. I've read one other of his and it was better than this one but not by much, I don't think this is an author I will pursue anymore.

Silence Of The Grave by Arnaldur Indridason - This was a really good one. It's about the skeleton of someone who had to have been killed 40 some years prior and uncovering who it was and what happened to them. Not much in the way of action but very well told and quite intriguing. It alternates between modern day and the activities of the detectives with the story of the people involved 40some years ago.

Stories From Candyland by Candy Spelling - Since the fued between her and her daughter Tori has been so public and she didn't come off very well in it I wanted to see what she had to say. She didn't say too much about it, she doesn't say too much about anything except her stuff. She comes off as extremely shallow and very material. She does seem to have tried with her kids, they just spoiled them so much I don't think they have a good grasp of real life. One weird thing I noticed is everything is "my". Normal people would say for example "I went to ther garage and got in the car" where she says "I went to my garage and got in my car". The word 'my' must appear in the book 5000 times.  The way she tells her story she lives for approval from others and doesn't feel she has anything to offer other than material objects. Kinda sad, and really hard to relate too.

Finished: Cat on a Blue Monday by Carole Nelson Douglas---  [always a fun cozy series]  Temple Barr and her cat, Midnight Louie, are at it again, solving crimes and involving other people, this time a cat-breeder, several nuns, a priest and her good-looking neighbor, Matt Devine.  And they all have secrets! 

Midnight Cactus by Bella Pollen  --- A really wonderful book by an author I'd never previously read. Timely reading in that it deals with illegals coming across the border from Mexico, yet looks at it from the "other side", what those illegals face as they make their way across the desert. How some Americans are helping them once they get across, and also some who will do anything to stop them. Alice Coleman comes from England with her 2 small children to develop property in Arizonia that she and her husband own. She meets Duval, the foreman of the Mexican workers... A beautifully written story, funny and yet poignant...highy recommended.   

Chill Before Serving by Cynthia Lawrence--- A quick little cozy mystery by an author I hadn't read before.  Cat Deean is a LA caterer who get involved in several murders, all seemingly related and tied in with a chef her restaurant has recently hired. An interesting premise for the plot, well developed. 

Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham  --- First in the Bone Island trilogy and it really is a page-turner.  I especially enjoyed it because I was recently in Key West and several of the scenes were familar to me. Katie O'Hara see ghosts and can talk to them. They are trying to tell her how to find the person who killed them...before he kills her!

I'm still  trying to  finish a book I started last month....  Where Trouble Sleeps by Clyde Edgerton.  I'm having a hard time getting into this one.  I usually like Edgerton's books, but this one has so many characters and it keeps skipping from one person and their happenings to another, then another.... I'm having difficulty keeping everyone straight. I'll eventually finish it.

Prime Cut by Diane Mott Davidson  --- A continuation of the Goldy Shultz, caterer, series. Goldy tries to figure out who killed her mentor, chef Andre, along with another person while trying to keep her catering business from being ruined by an unscrupulous competitor.  Always a fun read and lots of delicious recipes. 

Also reading:    Pawing Through the Past by Rita Mae Brown  &   Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich 

Up next:  

 Books read this year:  Jan. --- 13,   Feb. --- 11,   March --- 9

Currently Reading:

Train Your Dog Positively by Victoria Stilwell - It's a lot more just general information than I was expecting. Still pretty interesting if you're a dog owner.

Finished:

Wool by Hugh Howey - I am loving this book. It's a futuristic book about a group of people that have been living in a silo for several generations. The climate outside is so toxic they can't go out, but every now and then somebody commits a crime or goes stir crazy and gets sent out. If you enjoy sci-fi/post-apocalyptic stuff, this one is for you. I finished this one last night, it will most likely be the best book I read all year.

Just Kids by Patti Smith - I wanted to like this one. I had a really great art history professor back in the 80s who mingled with and personally knew several of the visual artists from the 60-70s. Since then I have been facinated with artists/art from this time period. This book could have been so much better if not for the constant name dropping which made it hard to follow and just kind of boring. She has a really interesting story to tell and some of it was really good, if it was more organized and edited better I think it could have been great. 

As a tax preparer, I my time is precious.  I have had any exercise to speak of in a month, but I somehow sneak in reading time - why??

WILD by Cheryl Strayed - As a fan of hiking books (Bill Bryson's Walk in the Woods), I couldn't resist the story of a lost woman hiking the Pacifric Crest Trail.

Mourning the death of her mother, the divorce of her soulmate, and kicking heroin - hiking the trail was thought to be a source of salvation.  Ill-prepared and out of her element she fights physical and mental demons in this very well-written if not over the top tale.  My favorite parts are when she has interaction with other hikers.  Very honest in her self-evaluations, almost to the point of TMI.  A great read.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaaccson - Here is another book that kept me up at night.  I roadmap of how we got to were we are.  Why is everyone on the phone, wearing headphones and text the crap out of each other?  This guys fault!  His faults don't stop there, a non-nonsense look into the man who made stomachs churn and many an Apple employee wish they were never born.  The in-the-boardroom battles, and persistant phone calls - he almost always got his way.  A softer side does emerge, easy to rage but easy to cry.  A long book you wish were longer.

Finished

• The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
• We Had It So Good by Linda  Grant
• Astray by Emma Donoghue
• Light in the Ocean by M. L. Stedman
• The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski

Currently Reading

• Benediction by Ken Haruf

Listening To

• Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

Recently Added to Wishlist

• Return to Oakpine: A Novel :: Ron Carlson
• The Movement of Stars: A Novel :: Amy Brill
• Flat Water Tuesday: A Novel :: Ron Irwin
• Goat Mountain: A Novel :: David Vann
• Dark Lies the Island: Stories :: Kevin Barry
• The Silver Star: A Novel :: Jeannette Walls
• Southern Cross the Dog: A Novel :: Bill Cheng
• Kerrigan in Copenhagen: A Love Story :: Thomas E. Kennedy

Reading The Twelve by Justin Cronin, sequel to The Passage. I really amd into it so far.

I just finished Pariah by Bob Fingerman and Ingledove by Marly Youmans.

Pariah was an odd zombie tale with the zombies more of a backdrop to the storyline. Ingledove wasn't something that I'd normally read, but I enjoyed it.

Just started This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It by David Wong. I haven't read enough of it to have an opinion yet, but I enjoyed the first book and have high hopes for this one.

Thanks for the recommendation for Wool, Lou. It was on my WL for some time and I finally broke down and purchased it, but haven't read it yet. If you haven't already read them, you might like the Afterblight books.

So far this month I have read, A Knight in Shining Armor, The Last Romanov,  and Sex Lives of the Kings Queens of England.

I am pulling stuff off my TBR that has been there for too long.  I plan to start these books but toss them aside if they don’t pull my in.  I just have too many good books waiting these day!  Next up are:

The Bright Forever - done, this pulled me right in, very emotional, somewhat like "Lovely Bones" but very different.

Eating Heaven - can't start this, I keep trying.........

What Southern Women Know-That Every Woman Should - funny so far, butI need a plot based book right now.

Thanks for the David Wong mention Jo, they sound right up my alley!!

I just finished Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum.  After reading Zone One, it was a relief to read a book that was well written.  Blum addresses the emotional and physical suffering of the German people during WWII.  Blum worked on the rememberance project started by Steven Spielburg and really reaches into the depths of the helplessness and hopelessness of the era.  Worth the time.

Am reading "A Hunger Like No Other" by Kresley Cole.

Also nearly finished "The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  Had high hopes for this book, as one of my favorite books EVER was his book "The Shadow of the Wind".  Sadly, it's nowhere near as good as "Shadow", though I am still enjoying it.

Now reading "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn.  Liking it so far.

I am reading a book for a challenge that takes place in New Mexico.  It is really a good one.  Just a little slow.  Takes place primarily in Las Vegas, New Mexico, one of my favorite little NM cities.

Thanks for the recommendation Jo! I just picked up The Culled - that's the first one, right?

Finished: The Thirteenth Tale~Diane Setterfield: Loved it! Ecstatic Gothic Mystery, A Book about books about eccentric family, scandal mixed with philosophy!

The following group is the selection that I brought with me to a trip to Florida: 

New: The Paris Wife~Paula McLain: Really Liking this one, very engaging speculative fiction written in the voice of Hemingway's first wife, about their adventures in Paris and greater Europe in the 20's among expat artists and intellectuals. Could be read in conjunction with "A Movable Feast" Hemimgway's own recollection of the artistic salon of Gertrude Stein. FUN! 

Kindle: The Secret Speech~Tom Rob Smith: Sequel to "Child 44" which was one of my picks for best read of the month a few months ago.

               Firefly Beach~Meira Pentermann: A woman moves to the beach for some privacy and quiet painting time and starts to be haunted by an eerie light on the beach.  For the Basement Book Club

Short Stories: (New Category) Fragile Things~Neil Gaiman: A good mix of stories and ideas by the author of Coraline and American Gods. some absorbing, some not so much, not knocked off my sox yet. 

                                                       Granta 2008: Yet to crack the spine on this one.  

Wild Card: Cutting for Stone~Abraham Vergese: Absorbing story of a pair of twins born of an East Indian nun and a stoic British surgeon. need to pick this one up again. 

Debra, I loved The Thirteenth Tale!  (I think you'd also love Fingersmith, if you haven't read it yet, too!)

Reading:

Digging Up Trouble by Heather Webber (Nina Quinn #3)

Finished:

Trouble in Spades by Heather Webber (Nina Quinn #2)

Supernatural: Coyote's Kiss by Christa Faust

I have been home sick with cold and have been reading some light stuff....

Case Studies and One Good Turn  by Kate Atkinson

Her Hesitant Heart by Carla Kelly

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

The Ladies Maid by Susan Page Davis

Just Desserts by Barbara Bretton

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

Working on Lucifers Hammer by Larry Niven

Finished " A Northern Light", "The Things We Do for Love " and" Mrs. Tom Thumb". Now I am trying to get into "Never Let Me Go", bored so far, hope it gets better. I used somebody's "books to read before you die" list to pull some off of my TBR but many of them seem depressing!

Reading The Cookbook Collector.  I haven't gotten very far with reading this month, I have had too much other stuff going on.