A Time for Space Dragons to Create Stories in Land, Sea and Sky by L'Poni Baldwin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed it. Granted, this is outside of my reading comfort zone, but once I got used to the writing, I enjoyed this collection. Some of the song/ poems had an epic feel to them, and I love reading things like that. I especially like the inclusion of the writers inspiration at the end of the song/ poems. I'd recommend this to someone who's open-minded, and looking for something new and different. Every now and again something comes along at the right time, and this was just what I needed right now.



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Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really like the world building in Fire Baptized. In addition to the supernatural beings being forced to live in caged city away from humans, there was a murder mystery, and a love triangle. The heroine Lanore was a nice change of pace for me. She was put into some situations right from the very beginning and had enough sense to be afraid, but would also do what she had to do to defend herself- the balance was so refreshing! She was definitely interesting enough that I'd like to see how things play out in the rest of the series. The other characters were interesting enough too, and I expect to see them grow as the series progresses. One thing though, I was able to predict who the killer was very early on before the author start giving up the information. Overall, very well written, and I'm so glad that Lanore had locs!



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What the Earl Desires by Aliyah Burke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Loved it! There definitely needs to be more historical romance novels written like this. I was staying away from historical romance due to the lack of people of color, lack of variety in heroines- always the genteel sort, but reading this has me craving more books within the historical romance sub-genre. I'll just be looking to read novels with more interesting couples.



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The Throwaway Year by Pepper Pace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was an amazing read! There were moments where I identified with Hayden- the way she felt about herself, her relationships, interaction with her best friend, and the things she felt she needed to do to get right with herself. I loved reading about her transforming herself from the beginning to the end, not only mentally, but physically. I also enjoyed reading the positive affirmations written throughout the book. Reading this has left me feeling great!!



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Juicy by Pepper Pace

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


**Spoiler Alert**

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*I'm not really sure what to say. I enjoyed Juicy and Troy's separate back stories, but I didn't like the way they came to be couple, and just didn't feel the chemistry between them. I liked the way Pace went into Troy's mental illness, and life as a homeless person- that had me rooting for Troy to get a happy ending. I liked the way Pace went into Juicy's relationship with her mother and her mothers racism, and how it led to Juicy disliking a race of people for no reason other than her being raised that way- isn't that true for a lot of people? There were a few major issues that I had with this novel overall- one being Juicy's medical treatment at the county hospital. As a nurse, I don't doubt that persons presumed to be without resources to pay for hospital care can be treated poorly, or receive the bare minimum treatment, but c'mon! She was discharged not even a full 24 hours after waking up from a 3 day coma, and having a hole drilled into her skull to relieve the pressure on her brain following a head injury- whatever! Another issue I had with Troy's character was that although he was homeless, he had a large amount of money in a trust, was getting a social security check- but instead chose to live on the street. I know that his character is mentally ill, and makes decisions from a different perspective than most, but it was just too convenient that he had the money, and Juicy needed the money to open her own hair salon. I like things to work out, but the convenience was a bit much for me.



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The Search by Shiree McCarver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I love reading romances that take place during this time period that features people of color having unique occupations. That and the gothic twist to this story was what drew me in. I could easily picture the heroine Rain's arrival and first meeting with the sheriff. Then when Rain and Wen the hero first met- I loved that scene! I really hope to see more IR romance taking place in this era with that gothic romance element in it.



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The Blacker the Berry by Lena Matthews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I liked it. I liked Tamara as the heroine. She was plus sized and owned it. The entire story wasn't spent on her feeling insecure about her size, and Russell needing to make her feel better. Although I enjoyed the story overall, I felt like Russell's possessiveness was a bit too much too soon. He reminded me of one of those the alpha heroes you read about in a werewolf/ shifter novel with him thinking "mine" all the time. Where did that come from after just meeting each other through mutual friends? At one point, while making love, he even bites Tamara, huh? Some parts were a bit much for me, and had me rolling my eyes, but not so much that I wouldn't read more novels by this author. This was the first novel I've read by Lena Matthews, and I plan on reading more soon.



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The Bad Death by Naima Haviland

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The synopsis of the book was so interesting that I was excited to read The Bad Death,and had really high hopes. However, it just fell short for me in many ways. The way in which Anika first appears led me to believe that I was in for a good read. But as soon as Anika opened her mouth, I started to have doubts. I kept reading in hopes that I would grow to like her character. As the story went on, I had a hard time feeling anything for Julian, Anika, or Marcus. I believe there's a prequel to this that probably would've filled in some
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and I wouldn't have been left with unanswered questions. Out of curiosity, I probably will read Bloodroom at some point.



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Knight by Kristen Ashley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I don't know. I just enjoyed the story. I don't normally read erotica/ BDSM-ish novels, but I just couldn't help reading this one after hearing so many good things. I found Knight to be one of the most interesting heroes I've come across lately; especially as the author gave us tidbits about his past. He and Anya made for an interesting read that I couldn't put down, not even during the scenes that had me rolling my eyes. I loved the supporting characters, and would've liked to see the author go a little further in depth with them. I kept hoping Vivica would be the heroine in another book, LOL! I definitely plan to continue with this series.



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Bride of the Water God, Volume 1 by Mi-Kyung Yun

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm not too familiar with manga. For the first in its series, I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to reading more.



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Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


First off, I've never been to Austin, TX, but thanks to this author, I'm dying to take a trip NOW! That said, this is a dark urban fantasy novel that started out great, and I couldn't put it down. Then, towards the middle it slowed down a bit for me, and I found myself struggling not to skim. Aside from the great description of Austin, the overall world-building felt incomplete to me, but I feel like the gaps will be filled in as the series progresses. I love Miranda as a heroine, even though there were a few cheesy scenes, I can't wait to get more into her character in the next book. I loved, loved, loved David! He was one of the few male leads that I've read about lately that's not an extreme alpha that see's the heroine and he's saying "mine!" all the time. I loved the fact that he was geeky too- just loved him! I also hope to read more about Faith, Dev and Jonathan.



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Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I think Tempest Rising is a great start to a new series. The world building reminded me of some other series that I've read, but has totally different beings, and a solid mystery that kept me reading. I know some reviewers compared Jane to Sookie Stackhouse, but I just didn't see it. I found Jane to be a unique heroine, with a background different from anything that I've read. There's some more that Jane can do as the series progresses. I'll continue with this series at some point so I can see Jane grow as a character, and get more in the Ryu/ Anyan backstory.



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Iced (Dani O'Malley #1) by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have to say I really enjoyed it. I love world that KMM created, and I loved Dani as the main character. However, there were definitely some eyebrow raising things that took place. I wouldn't want anyone getting confused by Dani being 14years old, and thinking this is YA novel. It most definitely is dark, with sexual references all over the place! I think the "Fever" world KMM tops most of the urban fantasy/ pnr novels I've ever read. I'll admit, I had trouble wrapping my mind around a Christian's growing affection/obsession towards Dani; but he's definitely a troubled individual, that I'm hoping will be redeemed as the series progresses. Ryodan- I'm not exactly seeing that he's in love with, or waiting for Dani growing up, or anything like that. I was beginning to think that, but then the relationship with Jo was introduced into the story. I truly enjoyed Dancer's character, and can't wait to learn more about him. Now, he's the one I'm rooting for to get the girl! In regards to Kat: At first I was thinking that having her narrate was just adding "fluff" to the story, but I was wrong! Definitely added more depth and something more to look forward to in the next book. Even though I feel somewhat cheated by having yet another cliff hanger from KMM, and not getting enough background on Ryodan, and Dancer, I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.




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Parallel Attraction by Deidre Knight

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I've had this one in my TBR pile for a long time. I can't believe I waited this long to finally read it. From the beginning, without giving away any spoilers, I was rooting for Jared and Kelsey to get together. Jared is a hero that a reader can really get into in my opinion. I would've liked a bit more background info on him, and there were a few things mentioned that felt like filler, but overall I enjoyed the world building, the romance between Jared and Kelsey, and really feel that the other characters- Scott, Thea, Anika etc, really added some depth to the story. I'm hoping that they have their stories told in the other books in that follow.



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Diary of an Ugly Duckling by Karyn Langhorne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really don't know what I can say about this book. Audra as a heroine definitely has some layers to her! The author went much deeper with Audra's emotional and body image issues than I expected she would. I think she's one of those characters that everyone can relate to because they've either been in her shoes- in one way or another, or know someone who has. I liked how the author Karyn Langhorne focused on body image, the idea of beauty, and self-perception. This one definitely made me think, and I'd recommend it to anyone that might need reminding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.



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Taken By Moonlight by Violette Dubrinsky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book had everything! Druids, witches, vampires, werewolves, twins etc. You name it, it was in this novel. This is the first novel I've read by Violette Durbrinsky, and although I thoroughly enjoyed, at times there was just too much going on for my personal tastes. The romance between Vivienne and Conall was sweet and erotic at the same time. The other characters such as Drew and Max etc. already having me planning to purchase book 2 the day its released :)



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The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I absolutely loved this book! For the first book in the Blood of Eden trilogy, it was just so "complete." The story was just meaty. Allie's pre and post vampire status, and everything along the way was well written. There's was no character that felt like a place holder, or filler to me. Everyone served a purpose, and contributed to the story in some way. Allie was tough, but not so tough that she thought she could take one any, and everything. She wasn't an extreme tough girl- definitely one of the better written heroines. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.



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