Tag Archive | a to z challenge

Completed #atozchallenge @AprilAtoZ #reflections

I decided to participate in the A-to-Z challenge last April 2017 as a way to challenge myself to post more frequently. As expected, I was DRAINED!!! So much so, this reflections post is about 2 months late. It was definitely a challenge this past month to get my posts done (almost the whole alphabet).

The hosts of this challenge decided this year that bloggers should post the link of their posts daily instead of a signing up at the beginning of the month. Because of this, I missed a lot of traffic that I had the last time I participated. Since this is a hobby, I prioritized going to my job that pays the bills and taking care of my grandmother over posting my links. Any who.

My theme was ROMANCE AUTHOR NAMES.

Click on any letter to see the corresponding post .

As you can see, some letters are missing. It is what it is.

Image result for sorry not sorry meme

Z is for Zero Factor #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr30

Zero Factor (Cybershock) ♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Via is a psionic. This is a person who can see future events by touching a person. The government required all psionic persons to register and become government property to be used as the government sees fit.

Locke is a man with mechanical enhancements working as a soldier in a militia to keep order and protect the general public. He takes his job very seriously.

Via sees Locke’s death because of a tear in her glove and her skin touches his. She kisses Locke so that he can see her vision. From that point on, the Locke is trying to avoid being killed while trying to figure out how to deny how Via makes him feel.

Opinion
This is a sci-fi story and the setting is in a dystopian future and made me think of the Hunger Games (no other book/plot similarities though). I rated this book 3 hearts and then 4 hearts and was going back and forth, but decided to stay with 4. I am stingy with my hearts, but in this case, I thought it deserved 4 hearts because it was a story that I kept thinking about long after I finished the book. The story is short (only 68 pages), but it is action packed with a cute little love story.

I liked the characters too. Via is trying to survive and has a “Woe is me” attitude in the beginning. Soon enough she develops enough to embrace her gifts to the fullest. Locke believes that has to be order and the psi cause confusion. But when a psi woman saved his life and his commander tried to kill him, his world is turned upside down.

The villain’s reasons for causing havoc and mayhem was as usual insane-in-the-membrane. No real logic as to why he wanted to do what he did, but the reader is suppose to take it for granted that it needs no explanation.

But I thought it was weird that he was so over the top crazy and no one else noticed. How was he able to do all those outrageous things and the government not know about it. Of course, the book ends with all ends tied up neatly.

Should you buy? I thought it was a great book but I do think it was overpriced for the length. I probably would not have got this book if it had not been for the A-to-Z challenge and I needed a “Z” book.

Book details from Goodreads
Unknown Binding, 68 pages
Published August 1st 2011 by Samhain Publishing
Available on Amazon

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So this is the last post for A-to-Z blog challenge hosted by http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

I am so happy that I was able to stick with it and post every day. I met a lot of great bloggers that I am sure I will keep in touch with in the future. I am tired but in a good way. This makes my usual posting schedule of every 5 days seem easy. I wanted to challenge myself more this year and the feeling of accomplishment shows me that it was worth it. So now, I share with you some of my favorite celebratory gifs.

Y is for Yielding #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr29

Yielding for Him ♥

Synopsis
Donovan (Van) is a billionaire who has everything and he is finally serious about a woman.

Lisa is his girlfriend but wants eventually to get married. She feels that Van is the one and she will do whatever kinky thing he suggests because she is so in love with him.

Opinion
Where do I begin?
Point #1 – As a fundraiser coordinator, Lisa is known for being able to get billionaires to part with their money for charity. Van admits to himself that he does not agree with all the causes. I am not sure if that is because he is stingy or if Lisa does not really vet the charities that she works to help. Either way, not a good start for character development.

Point #2 – Lisa seemed like she was only with Van for what she could get.

“She learned exactly which buttons to push to get what she wanted from him.”

Translation: She knew how to get him to agree to buy stuff by performing various kinky sex acts. He would agree to almost anything while in the throes of passion. In her latest “transaction”, it seems that if he helps monetarily with the latest fundraiser, she agrees to whatever sex act/fantasy he wants her to do

Point #3 – Van says that having a threesome would be hot and give her so much pleasure. Plus he threw in some screwed up logic about how acting out the fantasy would make their relationship stronger. To Lisa’s credit, she did hesitate a brief moment and ask some thoughtful questions, like, why wouldn’t he be jealous?

His response, “This is supposed to be fun. Hot. It not supposed to be something you analyse (sic) to death.”

I was still scratching my head. I did not imagine that the word “yielding” mentioned in the title would mean three people in the party. I was thinking possibly light bondage, maybe. However, I am not into the group sex scene. Two people getting it on is enough for me. When I read out the synopsis blurbs on Amazon, I choose books that match what I like to read about.

From 38% of the book to the end is a long threesome sex scene. I did not read because as you probably inferred from my comments above, threesomes are not my thing.

Should you buy? If you like threesomes, you might find this book hot. Take away the sex, and the characters were average, almost forgettable. Van was a billionaire without much depth. Lisa seemed to me to be only concerned about her personal gain and what she needed to do to get it.

Book details from Goodreads
ebook, 37 pages
Published April 1st 2013 by Total-E-Bound Publishing
Available on Amazon

X is for Xavier #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr28

Xavier ♥

Synopsis

Isaac and Xavier are the main characters.

Opinion

Did not read. I was looking for a romance novel that began with the letter “X”. The only one I could find was this book. Unfortunately, it was a male/male romance. That is not my thing.

I was despondent because I needed an entry for my post. I could not find any hetero romance on Amazon that began with the letter “x”. I came this far and did not want to fail the challenge. I began thinking about using a title with “x” in the word (e.g. extreme). I did not want to do that, but I was running out of options and time.

I was explaining my dilemma to my boss and he said, “Why don’t you do a post about that?”

Here is the post for the sake of the ABC of Romance “X” entry.

If you are into the male/male romance, you might enjoy the book. I would not know, so you are on your own.

Book Details
79 pages
Available on Amazon

W is for Wedding Trap #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr27

The Wedding Trap (Second Service, Book 1) ♥♥♥

Synopsis

Alex is a CIA agent trying to catch another agent who is selling secrets to Venezuela.

Beth is the maid of honor in her best friend’s wedding. Her pretend boyfriend Charlie is her way of making sure her ex-boyfriend does not try to put the moves on her. After catching Alex in a compromising situation, she blackmails him to pretend to be Charlie.

When Beth sees something she should not have and the attempt on her life fails, Alex is not just a pretend boyfriend. He becomes her protector as well.

Opinion

This book was enjoyable. It was a like one of those corny action romance movies.
You have to suspend belief to get into the plot.

The banter between Alex and Beth made me chuckle at times but groan at other times. It seems that all the characters are off-the-wall with their questionable decision making, but it all comes together in the end.

I did enjoy the final elevator scene. Beth came out of character and did the unexpected. Good for her!

Should you buy? I recommend it as entertainment and do not take the story too seriously. It is part romance, part suspense with enough over-the-top hijinks to keep you amused.

Book Details from Goodreads
Kindle Edition, 166 pages
Published July 2nd 2013 by Adrienne Bell
series Second Service #1
Click here to buy on Amazon