Synopsis

Autumn is a self-proclaimed nerdy good girl in her first year at college.

Hunter is also a college student but he is a bad boy. As a testament to his badness, he is in an illegal frat club (more like a fight club).

The two meet and are drawn to each other. They have some classes together. They hang out more and more with each other as their relationship develops.

Opinion

This book was not my cup of tea for many reasons.

ONE: I like characters that are mature. Autumn was not. I rolled my eyes at the overused “Oh my God” and the many variations of the phrase. Since the story was written in first person from Autumn’s POV, I got even more annoyed with her character because she seemed to lack common sense.

Example 1: drug deal scene. She was shouting at Hunter WHILE he is trying to do a covert drug deal. I am in no way condoning that type of illegal activity. I do know that drawing attention to people who are trying to hide their nefarious dealings usually ends up with a person getting shot.

Example 2: Autumn’s relationship with her friend Evie. Her friend Evie is a lesbian who has a crush on her. Instead of telling the girl she does not feel the same way, she refuses to address it. It was almost like she was leading the girl on. Evie had to pointedly ask her what the status was. If Autumn was as good of a friend as she proclaimed, it should not have come to that.

TWO: How is Hunter still in college? He does not go to class most of the time. And when he is in class, he is not paying attention. Plus, I did not get the impression Hunter was the most adept fighter. The reason for his joining the fight club did not make much sense either. As with fighting in book or movies, my first thought is “How is it that the person does not have brain damage yet?” I think Hunter did have brain damage but does not realize it. He got hit in the head a lot.

THREE: By the end of the book, the author tried to bring all the elements of the story together, but it seem forced to me. After all Autumn had been through, she was still acting like a juvenile and it annoyed me. Meanwhile, Hunter magically appears to save the day at the end. How he extricated himself from his own precarious situation and still had time and the mental capacity to be a hero while defending his girlfriend is beyond me.

I read other reviews of this book and wondered if we were reading the same story. The reviewers were talking about how great Hunter and Autumn were. I was scratching my head trying determine if I was being too hard on the characters. In the end I decided that even though I know I sound like a grumpy old lady, I thought it was all ridiculous. I was reminded why I do not read young adult romance novels.

Should you buy? I do not recommend it. However if you like teen hero/heroine romance, you might enjoy it.

Seven Deadly Sins of Reading

Jun14

Tag: Seven Deadly Sins of Reading

I was tagged by Romance4thebeach to participate, and it has taken me a while to get my act together to respond.

Defined as: An intense and selfish desire for something.

What is your most expensive book?

I am a cheap person when it comes to buying book. I usually by books at thrift stores and the clearance rack at bookstores or in compilations on Amazon. My most expensive book that I can remember is Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. It was a book club choice and had a long waiting list at the library. I have not started it yet but I think I will read it next weekend.

Defined as: Extreme anger.

What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Eve Langlais. I need her to write faster or longer books. Or give me little short cyborg stories to tide me over until she gets the next book finished. From the first book, I fell in love with her cyborg series. But the book is over too soon! I need more. I don’t want to leave the world she created, but the book is finished and I have to wait months before I get the next book.

Defined as: Intense over-indulgence.

What book have you devoured over and over with no shame?

Dangerous, Ravished, Rendezvous and pretty much any of those one word title books by Amanda Quick that she wrote the 90s. Her heroines are pretty much the same independent women with ingenious ideas that may not always go according to plan. Thank goodness there is a strong, silent, honorable hunk of hero to assist. It was all that I wanted my own romance life to be. And to a certain extent, I think that I display some of the characteristics of Quick’s heroines. And my hubby is very similar to Quick’s heroes.

Defined as: a reluctance to work or make an effort.

What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?

Any books from the Outlander series. I was excited about getting into her books because my friend said they were “awesome!”. I went to Amazon to buy it and saw it was 800 pages. Nope. Nope. Not for me. I like to read a whole book in one sitting. So the most I can read is about 500 pages a day. I am not trying to read a book like it’s a job. I got tired thinking about reading Outlander.

Defined as: satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

What book do you talk about most in order to sound like an intellectual reader?

I think that I sometimes drop Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte into a conversation to let people know that I do not JUST read trashy romance novels.

Defined as: a strong sexual desire.

What attributes do you find attractive in male characters?

I love an alpha male. He is intelligent, witty, has a touch of a bad attitude, and comes across as a little cocky, but no one can argue because he has it going on. However, he becomes a softy in the hands of the heroine. He takes care of what is his and is fiercely loyal. While being rich (i.e. billionaire status) does not have to be part of the equation, it does help if money no object.

Defined as: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.

What book would you most like to receive as a gift?

So, I have to admit that I am a little greedy. I cannot just choose one book. I would LOVE it if someone would gift me the rest of the Billionaire’s Obsession Series by J.S Scott. I have read Simon, Sam, Max, Travis, Jason, and Tate’s stories. I NEED the rest. Even the ones that have not been published yet. I know the stories are going to great.

I nominate any bloggers that reads this to participate if they so desire. Let me know if you do this challenge because I would like to read your answers. Leave your link in the comments below.

Can’t help falling in love #Sullivanseries – #BellaAndre

Jun10

Can’t Help Falling In Love (The Sullivans Book 3)

Synopsis

Megan is a widow whose first husband was an adrenaline junkie died in a plane crash. Now mother a 7-year old daughter, she lives in an apartment in San Francisco. When there is a fire, the firefighter who saves her and her daughter is Gabe. While she is attracted to Gabe, she has a rule not to date men whose jobs are dangerous.

Gabe is a firefighter who is used to being the hero. However, he gets tired of people putting him on that pedestal and expecting him to be perfect. That is why he has a rule not to date women that he saves while firefighting. The rule was a result of a failed relationship that he attributed to that fact. Even though he tries hard to avoid a relationship with Megan, it seems that the attraction is too strong.

“There was an earthquake going on inside her from nothing more than Gabe’s hot eyes staring at her from across the room.”

Opinion

Gabe was a hottie firefighter. Love him. When he decided what he wanted, he was a man with a plan.

While in the beginning Megan and Gabe has their reasons for thinking they were not right for each other, it seemed the rest of the characters were conspiring to ensure they got together. Megan’s daughter was the most devious of the bunch in that aspect. It was humorous the way that Gabe and Megan were fighting the attraction.

“The growing heat in his eyes was response enough for her to realize that she already gone off course on the whole ‘nothing but friends’ thing”

I understand Megan’s reasons for trying to avoid a relationship with Gabe. As the wife of a firefighter, I know the reality of fighting fires is that their lives can be in danger. But after a while, I wanted to tell Megan to get a grip. She was sending so many mixed messages to Gabe. At least she worked out all of her hang ups and let herself be happy.

SIDENOTE: A long time ago (about 3 years), I read a book by Bella Andre and I thought it was trashier than my normal trashy. I cannot remember the story line but I remember thinking it was ridiculous. For a while I would not read any of Bella Andre’s books. I think because I have a soft spot for firefighters, I decided to give her a try again. I enjoyed reading “Can’t help falling in love” and I am looking forward to reading other books in the Sullivan series.

For the record, this book does not qualify as a trashy romance.

Weird Sci-Fi stories challenging notions of what is #Romance #sciencefiction

Jun5

Weird Sci-Fi stories challenging notions of what is romance ♥♥♥

I go through phases at times where I want to read a particular genre. I was in a science fiction mood and searched Amazon for books that I thought might be interesting. It started because I read a book about 3 years ago and I cannot remember the title or any of the main character names. I think I got it from the library. All I can remember is that it was a sci-fi and the main characters had a lot of conflict with each other but end up falling in love. Then she gets kidnapped and he saves her. I want to capture the emotion when I read that story but my search is has been fruitless. I wish I could get that book back. In the meantime, I read sci-fi romances trying to evoke similar feelings.

As the saying goes:

And I have been reading a lot of “frog” like books trying to find the book of my dreams.

Trek Mi Q’an series ♥♥♥

The Empress’ New Clothes (Trek Mi Q’an, Book One) – Zor & Kyra
No Fear (Trek Mi Q’an, Book Five) – Jek & Brenda
No Escape (Trek Mi Q’an, Book Four) – Cam & Kara
Devilish Dot Trek Mi Q’an, Book 6.5 – Vaidd & Dot ( Included in the book collection Manaconda)
Seized (Trek Mi Q’an, Book Six) – Dak & Geris

One Thousand Brides (Star Brides) & Bride’s Holiday Gift ♥♥♥

Planet Mail ♥♥

Suddenly a Bride (Across the Stars Book 1) ♥♥♥

One thing that I realized was that if a book is published by Ellora Cave, it probably is more about graphic, explicit love scenes than romance. I mean how romantic is the aliens-need-human-women trope?

Of all the books I read, Suddenly a Bride (Across the Stars Book 1) was my favorite. Yes, she was “married” without her consent, but her alien guy really tried to make sure she fell in love with him.

The books One Thousand Brides (Star Brides) & Bride’s Holiday Gift were freebies at the time because of a promotion. Even though the women were in effect kidnapped, I think I liked this story because (1) these aliens valued larger sized women (2) the heroine developed and embraced what she thought was important in order to fight for the male she wanted. I skipped over the excessively graphic scenes because it becomes redundant after a while.

In Planet Mail, while the heroine was not kidnapped, she was supposed to feel that it was a privilege that the king was going to try to get her pregnant. He is doing his duty with all women to try to get an heir. Because she is not tripping over herself to try to get preggers, he is intrigued. In the end, he is forced to choose between duty and love. Everyone has a happy ending in more ways than one **wink wink**. I skipped the multiple-parties-involved love scenes in this too because I am traditional one male-one female type of girl.

A common theme in Jaid Black’s books is that the female (even when forcibly snatched from the life she knew) is supposed to acquiesce because she is the soul mate of the alien. Plus, monogamy is a tenuous concept with a lot of grey area. It may seem that since I read a lot of the Jaid Black books that I must have enjoyed her series. I am confused myself why I read all of them.

The first book I read was No Fear (Trek Mi Q’an, Book Five). It was okay but a lot of it did not make sense because (1) some of the character names were similar (2) I had no idea about the back story of the worlds and (3) everyone seemed to have no problem with any weird-looking alien bring them pleasure. Not my idea of a party.

I read mostly a mixture out of curiosity as to what the author could imagine next and slight interest into the worlds that she created. I think of all the heroines, I liked Brenda (No Fear (Trek Mi Q’an, Book Five) the most and Geris (Seized (Trek Mi Q’an, Book Six) the least. Brenda’s easy acceptance was because her life on earth was not getting any better than being kidnapped by an alien swearing to love her forever. It seems that Geris was written with the stereotypical ghetto girl in mind. While I guess I supposed to be glad women of color were getting kidnapped too (at least she was being made a queen and not a slave…but I digress) I still did not like how she was portrayed. Kara was also annoying, but she was immature as well, which that had a lot to do with her decision-making. Dot was okay and the most realistic (as possibly could be when being kidnapped by aliens).

I did not buy the books on Amazon, but borrowed the series from a friend. I think the Jaid Black books are overpriced considering they are novella length. If I had bought for 99cents each, I would say it was worth checking out. However, the $3- 6 range for each book is way overpriced in my opinion, especially when a book is 100 pages or less. If my friend had not already had this books, I doubt that I would have bought any of them on my own.

My suggestion to Jaid Black: Think about lowering the price of your books

Should you buy? Go for the freebies if you want something different, but be prepared for gratuitous love scenes and possibly some explicit language.

Foodie Friday #FreshCatchKAIMUKI #Hawaii #foodie

Jun4

It’s Foodie Friday!

Fresh Catch KAIMUKI
3109 Waialae Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 735-7653
MON to SAT 10:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
SUN 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

I heard about Fresh Catch from Guy Fieri on the show Diner’s Drive Ins and Dives. As you know I have said before, Guy’s recommendations can be hit or miss. I have gone places that were as awesome as he said they would be. However, I have also gone places and wondered if they cooked a special meal for him and had actors posing as dedicated restaurant patrons ( I heard that happens).

So here we were.

I ordered the poke shrimp and fries covered with pork gravy and cheese.

Hubby ordered the deep-fried sushi roll.

The poke shrimp were okay. The sauce that coated them was too sweet for my tastes. I am used to shrimp cocktail with extra horseradish. Salty and a little spicy. This was not. Poke is okay but I do not envision myself eating it by the pound.

When I tasted the fries covered in pork gravy and cheese my reaction was very different.

WHAT IS THIS DELICIOUSNESS ?

The pork gravy was more of a pork stew. There were big chunks of pork in brown gravy sauce with melted cheese on top. The dish did not look very appetizing and I honestly did not expect it to be a flavorful as it was. I only ordered it because I knew the poke shrimp would not fill me up and I wanted something hot.

Everything about this dish was good. The fries were cooked just long enough that they were not crispy but held up well enough so as not to become mush under the gravy. The seasonings were on point. No additional salt needed. It was such a wonderfully made dish that I still dream about it. If this restaurant was not a 12-hour flight away, I could see myself trying to arrange another trip just to eat this dish.

The hubby also enjoyed his deep-fried sushi roll.

I agree that Fresh Catch is a great place to eat. Guy Fieri hit a home run featuring this restaurant. Personally, I needed to redeem myself because the last few of Fieri’s picks that I suggested to hubby were not up to snuff. I was beginning to lose my “restaurant selection” rights.

If you are ever in Honolulu, you need to try this place. If you did not rent a car, you need to rent one to go here. I am telling you, it is worth the trip.