Hunting Cari – Aliens & Romance = All together good story

Synopsis

Cari has known she is different from most girls her age. She is half human and half Valendran. For most of her life, she has thought that meant she has to be on the run with her uncle. After being captured by Valendrans’ nemesis the Relians, a series of events causes her to begin to understand what it means to be Valendran. When she is saved by Valendran male Scaden, she feels emotions she never knew existed.

Scaden is a Valendran commander responding to a distress call from earth. Once he has met Cari, he feels in his whole being that this hybrid woman is his mate. It is increasingly difficult to follow Valendran cultural traditions and rules if that means being separated from Cari.

My Opinion:

Hunting Cari (Men of Valendra) is an entertaining book with a creative storyline. Valendran males are alpha males who think all females should be coddled and protected. The nemesis alien race Relians wreak havoc wherever they go and provided the conflict for the story. There is a lot going on in the story, so I can only say “Read it” if you want to get the full picture. I do not think you will be disappointed.

Cari lived a very sheltered life but adapted well once she was rescued by Scaden. He was a hunky alpha-male who would do whatever it took to be with his soul mate. There were so many sweet, tender moments in the book. But there was some humor too. To me, some of the funniest parts of the book were when Scaden’s inner beast was getting out control. For their race, irrational jealousy was one side effect of identifying but not yet claiming a mate.

I was in the mood to read an alien romance and found this. What a great find for me! The author told the story in such a way that was easy to follow. It was as if the author gave just enough breadcrumbs to keep me engaged but not so many that I was bored with the story. When I finished Hunting Cari , I was interested enough to want to read her follow up book Finding Jess (Men of Valendra) because I wanted to read more from this author.

Celler 56 – Buckhead Atlanta

Mar22

What do you call tapas if it is not at a Spanish restaurant? Small plates.

This is what Cellar 56 is all about. The nibbles. >>something to know before you go<<

Hubby and I went because we had a Groupon for 2 entrees and 2 drinks. Sounded great. I checked out the menu online. Oooo weee yummy options.

I ordered the lamb chops with balsamic vinegar glaze reduction. I asked the waiter what side accompanied the dish. At this point, I was still thinking this is a regular plate. He said “a bed of arugula”. To me, that response sounded like a fancy way to say “there is no side”. However, I kept an open mind because this was our first visit. Hubby and I ended up ordering additional plates. See picture for my plate #2 which was a BBQ pork eggroll. It was tasty as well. One plate is not enough to fill you up unless you are a bird OR you eat before you come.

For my drink, I ordered a margarita. It was salty, a little sour, and sweet enough for my tastebuds. I enjoyed it.

Each plate is in the price range of $5-10, so it was not too pricey. There are a variety of dishes for every palate. Our server was attentive and helped us decide what we wanted. By the end of your meal, you will still probably spend about as much as you would have in another restaurant with standard size dishes. The only difference is that at Cellar 56, you would have had the chance to try several different mini plates.

Overall, we have a good time. I would go again. I recommend Cellar 56 to anyone looking for something different in Buckhead area in Atlanta.

If you like Fifty Shades of Gray, then read this

Mar15

In my opinion, these are all one heart stories. I know that other people might have a different view. The main reason why I did not like these stories is because I am not into the extreme dom/sub behavior. I do not understand the desire to be totally controlled, punished, humiliated all in the name of love? It is not that I am totally against soft bondage per se (difference between silk ties and handcuffs) in a storyline, but the dom’s attitude has a lot to do with how it colors the whole story. The commanding do-what-I-tell-you-to-do attitude is a major turn off. In my view, physical violence has no place in a healthy loving relationship.

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Yes, Mr. Collins (Natasha and Mr. Collins) ♥ by Anna Antonia (writing as Charlotte deCorte):

Synopsis from Amazon: Brilliant, yet demanding, billionaire boss Mr. Collins will stop at nothing to get his assistant Natasha Reynolds.

Opinion: Natasha should have sued Mr Collins for creating a hostile work environment and for sexually harassing her. Part of the time, I think he forced her into do things because he was her boss. In some twisted way, the author wants to reader to believe his controlling attitude was supposed to turn her on.

Heidi and the Kaiser (Alpha Boss Secretary Office Romance) ♥ by Selena Kitt:

Synopsis from Amazon: When wanna-be designer Heidi accidentally stains fashion mogul Warren Kaiser’s pants, she gets two things she didn’t expect.

Opinion: Kaiser was a supreme TOOL and JERK. Heidi needs her head examined to be for not filing a law suit. Seriously!?!? Why is she willing to do whatever he asks her to do even when her conscious tells her otherwise? Kaiser became her pimp and she was his number one ho. That is not romance.

What He Wants (A sexy New Adult romance) (My Alpha Billionaire) ♥ by Tawny Taylor

Synopsis from Amazon: Billionaire Shane Trant always gets what he wants. He wants Bristol Deatrich, but only complete possession .

Opinion: I read some other books by Tawny Taylor and I was not prepared for the way the story developed. Thankfully in this book, this was not a boss/employee unhealthy relationship. But it was creepy story to me for other reasons. Shane was a friend of the family years ago. She used to call him “Uncle”. Now that she is “all grown up”, he is going to make a move? But he wants to know if she is trust him enough to be his sub. He has an entire room with devices dedicated to him twisted desires. All that was going through my mind was wondering if he lusted after her before he lost contact with her family. She would have been underage and he would have been a perv.

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Why did I choose these books? I was on a billionaire romance kick, and bought all of these in addition to some others. I was looking for light cheesy romances. These were some of the darker, twisted ones that I skipped through most of the book because I was not entertained. These were more about sex than romance. It is not that I do not like a good, steamy love scene, but I want there to be more to the story than that.

I do realize that other readers (especially those who loved Fifty Shades of Gray) will probably give these 5 hearts for being steamy billionaire romances.

Married by Monday

Mar10

Married by Monday (Weekday Brides Series) – Married by Monday ♥♥♥♥♥

This is the second book in the series from this author. The first book Married by Monday was the story of Blake and Sam. This story is about their friends Carter and Eliza. Carter is running for governor and is the best friend to Eliza’s best friend’s husband. Eliza has taken over more of the business responsibility since Sam got married.

In the 2 years their friends have been married, they have verbally sparred so much that Eliza thinks he hates her. So when he proposes marriage as part of damage control during his campaign, Eliza thinks he is out of his mind. But then her past catches up with her and his proposal is appealing in more ways than one.

This book gets my highest score because it was an awesome story. The plot was so original with many twists and more twists. There was an unexpected suspense element that left me on the edge of my seat, holding my breath for what was going to happen. I do not think it is even possible to tell too much of the story without giving anything way. Be assured, it all ends well. I got my happy-ever-after, and the author did it all without some outlandish or ridiculous ending. It seemed farfetched but still in the realm of possibility.

I liked Married by Monday (Weekday Brides Series) even more than Wife by Wednesday and I thought that was a pretty good book. I am stingy with my 5 heart ratings, however this book deserves it. I am hooked with this series and I do not even mind. It is not like I feel I have to read the next book in the series to further the story. I like this author’s writing style and want to keep in touch with her characters because they are so great.

In her shadow is a thriller

Mar5

In Her Shadow ♥♥♥

Synopsis
Claire Fiksen’s parents died on her birthday. She does not like celebrating her birthday because that was the day when she lost both of her parents. So when someone sends her a birthday cake in celebration, she knows someone is toying with her. She cannot understand why someone would intentionally be so cruel.

Meanwhile, the story jumps between Claire and another person who is being held captive.

Opinion:
For most of the book, I wondered how the two stories were going to come together.

What could Claire possibly have in common with this other person?

Additionally, there were parts of Claire’s story told from the point of view of the person who is intent on harming Claire. I was trying to figure out who this twisted person was as well.

With everything that is going on, Claire begins to question her own mental stability. She senses that looking for answers about the death of parents will help her to find peace of mind. The answers she finds will blow you away. With mysteries, I like to try to figure out who is the villain before the author reveals them. I could not guess what was going to happen before it happened. So I think what I am trying to say is that means August did a good job of creating a convincing end-of-my-seat thriller.

I do not usually read thrillers because I like happy endings. With thrillers and so much suspense, there is a chance that the author’s idea of a twist is that the ending will be a cliffhanger or some ironic situation that is frustrating. The ending for In Her Shadow was satisfying to me. When I finished the book, I was like

I was not prepared at all.

In Her Shadow is worth the read, especially if you like thrillers. The story seems disjointed at time because there are a lot of different elements at work. Keep patient and the ending will be worth the time spent.