May In Review

Books Read:  22
Books on the Currently Reading Shelf on Goodreads: 14
Days I Wrote Productively:  11
Approximate Word Count: ~12,500

Can't talk.  Reading paranormal romantic smut.

Book List:

• Who Will Take This Man? by Jacquie D'Alessandro, historical romance, 4 stars
• I didn't like it as much as I liked her other books, but I still liked it.

• Where the Heart Leads by Stephanie Laurens, historical romance, 4 stars
• This book and the previous one kind of ran together.  It was really good though.

• Heart of Stone by C. E. Murphy, urban fantasy, 3 stars
• Maybe because I took so long to read it, but it just sort of...didn't do it for me.  However, I already have books 2 and 3 in the series, so I will finish it out.  I didn't hate it obviously.

• A Dance of Blades by David Dalglish, fantasy, 3 stars
• This was another book I spanned.  2 problems.  1 - It's a prequel to an already existing series that I have not read.  2 - This entire damn series got re-released in print with revisions and I bought the 3-pack on Kindle a while back.  I still got book 3 to read (this was book 2), and then there's a book 4 that's either coming out soon if it's not already out.  It's an interesting story, but this whole thing is annoying as hell.  I should've just waited to read it.  I'd've bought it in print.  Depending on how I feel about book 3, I might just go back and re-read the entire updated set.  But geez, I'm annoyed.

• "Can't Get Enough" from the anthology Everlasting Bad Boys by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 4 stars
• Ailean and Shalin's story in the Dragon Kin series.  Oh my gosh, it was every bit as good as I'd hoped it would be.

• "Dragon on Top" from the anthology Supernatural by G. A. Aiken, paranormal romance, 4 stars
• Ghleanna's story.  Hilarious.  I feel the need to share this, because it's everything you need to know about the Dragon Kin series:
• If anyone knew how ill-equipped Ghleanna was for babysitting duty, it was her brother. Even their own mother stopped allowing Ghleanna to babysit Bercelak after she’d dangled him over an active volcano, threatening to toss him in. And then there was that other time when she’d left Bercelak alone on a mountaintop when he still couldn’t fly, but not before she told him, “It’s not that Mum and Da don’t love you—they just don’t want you anymore. But I’m sure someone will come along who does.”

• Lady Amelia's Secret Lover by Victoria Alexander, historical romance short story, 4 stars
•  Victoria Alexander got me into historical romance. This has been out a while and I finally read it.  Wasn't disappointed. I'll be getting her newest one ASAP.

• Web of Love by Mary Balogh, historical romance, 3 stars
• Spanned.  This book was really heartbreaking.  The heroine's first husband is alive for the first 100 pages, and then the hero is sick and she's tending him...and oh my gosh.  It's really good, but really sad, and doesn't run like the usual romance at all.

• Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare, historical romance, 4 stars
• Hey look, something that came out this year!  For the most part, I like Tessa Dare's books.  However, her heroes do tend to skew like the a-holes from the glory days of the bodice-rippers.  That is NOT okay.  Docking a star.  Other than that, it was funny and sweet, and oh my gosh.  The hero and heroine both showed a lot of growth, which is ALWAYS important.

• Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• This is just brilliant.  God, I love this series.

• An English Bride in Scotland by Lynsay Sands, historical romance, 3 stars
• Wasn't terribly impressed, but the characters were okay.

• Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• Probably the weakest in the series, but it ended great.

• How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G. A. Aiken, paranormal romance/smut, 4 stars
• Didn't like it as much as the rest of the series, but still.  ANNNND, now we wait for December for the last book to come out.

• The Beast in Him by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance/smut, 4 stars

• First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• It's finally over.  I freaking love this author's books.  It's an excellent series.  Excellent.  Just excellent.  The best fantasy series no one's ever heard of.

• The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance/smut, 4 stars
•  Sissy Mae and Mitch Shaw.  Fun stuff.

• The Mane Squeeze by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance/smut, 4 stars
• This was probably my favorite in the series.  A geeky bear who loves honey and plays with his toes.  Hm mm.

• "Like a Wolf with a Bone" from Howl for It by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 5 stars
• I ought to be ashamed of myself.

• Beast Behaving Badly by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 4 stars
•  Bo is why I don't typically like smut.  He's an a-hole, but he gets better.

• Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 4 stars
• This is the one I've been waiting for!  I love Dee-Ann and Ric.

• Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 4 stars
• I adore the bears.  I want a bear shifter.

• Wolf with Benefits by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 5 stars
• I like Ricky Lee and Toni.  Theirs was a sweet romance.

Note:  Shelly Laurenston and G. A. Aiken are the same person.