Stud by Cheryl Brooks

Science Fiction Romance

I have followed The Cat Star Chronicles from the beginning and was thrilled to see new offering in the series.  Stud was released in February and is a great addition to the series.

Just a quick background for any who have not read the series.  Zetithian males are the greatest lovers in the universe.  A jealous man destroyed the home planet of the Zetithians along with most of the Zetithian race.  A few survived but have been hunted and ran the risk of being killed if found.  That changed when the man guilty of the destruction was found and killed.  Zetithian are no longer hunted and killed.

I met Tarq in Virgin, book seven in the series.  He thinks the only thing he is good for is producing new Zetithians and he in traveling the universe offering his services to any woman who will bear his children.  He does not feel he is worthy of love so he is doing the only thing he thinks he can do to help his people.  I wondered how Cheryl was going to handle his story because he is truly deserves the title Stud.

Everything changes for Tarq when he walks into a restaurant owned by Lucinda Force’s father.  The minute he smells Lucinda (yes I said smells) his world changes.  Lucinda had no hope of romance.  Her family does not treat her well.  She does all the work and gets none of the credit.  When Tarq arrives she takes the chance for one night of romance, a night that will give her children of her own.  Her plan is to leave and start a life of her own.

Both Tarq and Lucinda want more than one night but both are afraid to speak what is in their heart. Lucinda because she does not think anyone could love her and Tarq because his only useful skill is in bed.  There is conflict and danger to make the changes needed for both to accept love.

I think Tarq’s story is one of my favorites of the series.  His insecurities come for a learning disability that makes reading a problem.  It gives a nice touch to the story and a reason for him to feel less than others.

Sourcebooks published Stud by Cheryl Brooks in February of 2012.

I received an ARC of Stud from Netgalley.

Between the Duke and the Deep Blue Sea by Sophia Nash

Historical Romance

Between the Duke and the Deep Blue Sea is the first book in a new series by Sophia Nash.  I received an ARC of the book from Amazon Vine.

Alex Barclay, the new 9^th Duke of Kress provided the liquor for a bachelor party attended by several dukes and the Prince Regent.  All of the attendees had a night to remember except they had so much to drink they could not remember.   This is the event that starts the Royal Entourage series and the first book is Alex Barclay’s story.

It seems that the group’s good time was witnessed by many and chronicled by a reporter resulting in a groundswell of public outrage.  Because Alex provided the liquor he is the first to be punished.  He is banished to his country estate, told to fortify the estate and marry a heiress to shove up his fortune.  When he is almost home he comes across a woman, Roxanne Vanderhaven, clinging to a cliff face.  Her husband, a local peer, left her to die and Alex arrived in just the nick of time to save her.  The story develops from there. 

I loved the first part of the book.  The dialog was filled with understated humor.  The situation was set up for a comedy of errors.  The characters were varied and had the possibility of being interesting.  With all of that it just did not work well for me after the first 100 pages.  I have always said that in a romance we all know the destination so it is the journey that is important.  In this case the journey kept changing and it was about 100 pages too long, In addition there was not enough character development for the characters to work for me.  All in all, the entire book was a disappointment.

Avon Books published Between the Duke and the Deep Blue Sea by Sophia Nash in 2012.

Waiting on Wednesday (WOW) February 15, 2012

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This is another series I have followed for several years.  I confess to beings confused by the description attached to the book.  It sounds like book 12 so I am not including it but everything else says it is a new story.  I have it pre-ordered and it is coming out in March so I will see.

Intruder (Foreigner # 13) by C.J. Cherryh

Teaser Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Since it is Valentine's Day I though a love story would be in order.  My teaser is from Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas.  I read the book over a year ago but did not own a copy.  I just picked up a used copy at my local thrift store this week-end.  This is a short book that is the first in Lisa's Friday Harbor series of contemporary romances.

"And she added in another hesitant but perfectly audible whisper, "Her name is Clover."

"In the shock of hearing Holly's whisper, Mark forgot everything: their surroundings, the woman behind the counter.  Six months they's been trying to get Holly to something, anything." 

Musing Mondays, February 13, 2012

 

This week’s musing asks…

What is your favorite romantic book –or book that includes a love story? (an adult romance, young adult, kids’ story, anything)

This one took a little thought.  There are several love stories that I like.  I love the flow of the Sebastian St Cyr Historical Mystery series and the budding romance between Sebastian and Hero Jarvis.  Another slow developing romance I really like is in the Sarah Tolerance Historical Mystery series and is between Miss Tolerance and Sir Walter Mandiff.   Both of these series have book I like to reread but if I am looking for one book and not a series the Finders Keepers by Linnea Sinclair would have to be my favorite.  That is the book I take down from my comfort shelf and re-read the most.  Finders Keepers is also my all time favorite type of book to read, a Science Fiction Romance.

Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas

Contemporary Romance

Rainshadow Road is the first in a new trilogy by Lisa Kleypas.  However an introduction to some of the characters is in Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor.  Even thought Rainshadow Road can stand-alone I recommend reading Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor first.  It will give you some background on several secondary characters in Rainshadow Road.

Lisa Kleypas really knows how to structure a story.  Before we even get to the romance we get to know the characters.  Lucy is a glass artist who has just found out she is being dumped by her boyfriend of two years.  Not only dumped but for dumped for her sister.  Lucy’s family has some very strong issues and those are explained and developed.  Sam Nolen has issues of his own and we know all about them before he and Lucy become involved.  Nothing is rushed.  Although Lucy meets Sam on the day of her breakup they do not meet again until several months have passed.  All of those factors make the story much more realistic. 

Lisa Kleypas also does a very good job of jumping from historical to contemporary in her writing.  This is her second series set in modern times and I think it is even better than her first.  The next two books are due out in August of 2012 and February of 2013. 

ST. Martin’s Griffin published Rainshadow Road by LIsa Kleypas in 2012.

I received an ARC of Rainshadow Road from Amazon Vine.

In My Mailbox, February 12, 2012

In My Mail Box is hosted by The Story Siren and is an opportunity to share the books I get each week. 
There was not much in my mail box this week. 
From Amazon Vine:
Grantville Gazette VI edited by Eric Flint
From NetGalley:
Candlewax by C. Bailey Sims (This is YA.  I saw a review of this .  on Book Beginning on Friday at A Few More Pages and had to read it.  It has a wonderful cat right at the start.)
From My Local Thrift Shop:
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas (I picked this up for .25.  I sat down in the bookstore and read this when it first came out.  I have a review of the second book, Rainshadow Road coming out tomorrow.  I got an ARC of that book from Amazon Vine so I decided to re-read the first book in the series.)

 

Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference, 2012

Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference

If you are a book blogger this is the conference for you.  It is held over several days and you can participate live or the panels are recorded so you can listen later.  I had been blogging for a little over two years but had not interacted with other bloggers when I attended last year.  I learned so much from the conference.  Whether you are a beginner or an experienced blogger this conference has something for everyone.  I have already signed up for this year and blocked the days off on my calendar.  I was glued to the computer last year afraid to miss one minute and I expect to be the same this year.

If you would Post the word on your blog.  I heard about the conference last year when it was posted on a blog I visited. 

 Here is the body of the email I got announcing this years conference. 

We wanted to give everyone a heads up that the Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference 2012 will be held March 7-12. We already have some great panelists lined up including Sue Grimshaw from Random House Romance, Jennifer Bonnell from Penguin YA editing, Lindsey Rudnickas from NetGalley, Kristin Lamb from Wana Consulting, Don Dauria from Samhain Publishing, Kate Lied from Bloomsbury Teen, Ariel Tachna from Dreamspinner Press, Danielle Poiesz from Book Country, to name just a few. You can find the tentatively scheduled panels at  http://pacomediagroup.com/?p=45 . 

Like previous Conferences, most panels will be recorded live with attendees able to listen in, call in and chat online with other attendees. The recorded panels will be available for approximately one month after the Conference has ended so you can listen again or catch any that you may have missed. A few of the panels will be pre-recorded based upon the availability of the panelists. If there is a specific topic you would like to hear please let us know.

Registration is now open at  http://pacomediagroup.com/ . We have free books for all paying attendees generously donated by different publishers. In addition, we are giving away a group of books to one blogger who posts about the Conference, you can read the details on how to enter  http://pacomediagroup.com/?p=91 .