Pam's Review: Darn Good Cowboy Christmas by Carolyn Brown

Darn Good Cowboy Christmas
~Carolyn Brown

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages 
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca 
Publish Date: October 1, 2011 
ISBN-10: 1402261578 
ISBN-13: 978-1402261572
ASIN: B005EU50QK

From Goodreads:
Born and raised in a traveling carnival, all Liz Hanson ever wanted for Christmas was a home that didn't have wheels. After she was old enough to date she added one more item: a sexy cowboy.

She's about given up on Santa ever bringing either one when her father dies and leaves her an ugly house and twenty acres in Texas. Then rancher Raylen O'Donnell walks onto her property...

Lizelle Hanson is a carnie, as she calls herself. She traveled and worked as a fortune teller and belly dancer for most of her life. But what she always wanted was roots; somewhere to call home, a house that has a foundation and not wheels. In fact, that is a Christmas wish that she has; she wants a house and a cowboy. The first part of her wish comes true when her uncle moves out of his house to take care of his father and is going to leave it to her if she still wants to live there after she tries it out for a few months. Liz is ecstatic. She arrives at the house in Texas to find her uncle’s neighbor, Raylen O’Donnell, there. He is the very cowboy that she had a crush on when she used to visit her uncle, and she has been fantasizing about him for years. Could this be the second half of her wish coming true?

My Thoughts:
This is the first book that I haven’t finished since I started reviewing. I definitely gave it a chance though; I read to page 225. Besides just not being interesting, there were a lot of things that bothered me about this book.

First, the shifting of the characters points of view. There was constant shifting with no clear breaks. It gets very confusing, especially if the shift happens within a single paragraph, which it did!

Second, the repeating of thoughts. Liz would think a thought, and then say the thought out loud to someone else. Then she would repeat it later to another character. I get how perhaps the author is trying to show how the third character found out about what she was thinking, but this isn’t the way to do it.

Third, Liz’s character herself. She would ramble a lot, and it just wasn’t attractive to me. Also, everything was handed to her on a silver platter. Where’s the challenge? She wants a house, gets it from her uncle. Wants a job, gets one handed to her right when she moves to town. Wants to decorate her house like the Griswold’s, the neighbors pitch right in to help. It was annoying. I feel like she acted very juvenile too. Here’s Liz talking to Raylen about what kind of Christmas tree she wants.

“I want a real one but Momma reminded me that I’m allergic to cedar and pine trees. Do you think they’ll have one that doesn’t look perfect? I want it to look real even if it’s not.” (p. 181)

I guess I just feel like a grown woman should know what she was allergic to. It wasn’t just that though, it was all things like I listed above.

I can’t imagine the work it takes a write a book, I really can’t. But Darn Good Cowboy Christmas was not worth the read.

My Rating:

 Pam
Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Some Recent DNF reads

Going Cowboy Crazy
~Katie Lane

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Forever
Publish Date: April 26, 2011
ISBN-10: 0446582786
ISBN-13: 978-0446582780

From Goodreads:
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Faith Aldridge wants answers. Bramble, Texas is the only place she can find them . . . as well as Hope, the identical twin sister she never knew she had. But the townsfolk reckon that shy city-girl Faith is really her long-lost sister Hope, back in Bramble at last. And they're fixin' to do whatever it takes to heat things up between her and Hope's long-time flame, Slate Calhoun. If that means rustling her car, spreading rumors like wildfire, and reining in some explosive secrets, well, there's no way like the Lone Star way . . .
But Slate's no fool. The woman in his truck may look like Hope, yet the way she feels in his arms is altogether new. He's determined to keep this twin in his bed and out of his heart. Trouble is, the real Hope is headed home, and she's got her own designs on Slate. If Faith wants to avoid heartbreak, she'll have to show a certain ruggedly handsome cowboy that this crazy-impossible love is worth fighting for.

I read to page 166 and I just couldn't go any further. Faith is looking for her separated-at-birth twin sister, Hope, and when she gets to town, Hope is gone. The town thinks she's Hope and she goes along with it. She's attracted to Slate, and the town is thrilled that Hope and Slate are "finally gettin' together again", but after she sleeps with Slate and then figures out Slate and Hope dated in the past, she's furious! Even though every word out of the townsfolk's mouth alluded to it and the local Sheriff hides her car so she can't leave - thereby giving Slate and "Hope" more time to work things out and get together. The townsfolk were all TSTL and, honestly, Faith and Slate both annoyed the heck out of me.

Bound by Honor
~SE Jakes

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 716 KB
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Publish Date: March 1, 2011
Language: English
ASIN: B004IK8GV8

From Goodreads:
One year ago on a mission gone wrong, Tanner James failed to save the life of Jesse, his Army Ranger teammate. Before dying in that South American jungle, Jesse extracted a promise that won’t let Tanner rest until it’s fulfilled—no matter what it costs him.

Damon Price loved Jesse, but problems in their relationship had come to a head right before Jesse left on his final mission. Now a reluctant Dom and a man still in mourning, he’s not happy when Tanner appears at his BDSM club. And even less happy with Jesse’s last request—that Tanner sub for him for one night.

After a rough start, Damon realizes that the tough soldier, despite his protests, aches for someone to take control. And Tanner senses a hesitance, an insecurity in Damon that makes him wonder if he’s simply a placeholder for Jesse, or if their tentative connection could grow into something more.

For Jesse’s sake, they agree to try one weekend together. Then duty calls, and a series of attacks that have been happening near the club hits too close to home, making both men wonder if giving their hearts is a maneuver fraught with too much risk…

Product Warnings:Contains rough language, rougher sex and warriors who fall hard for each other.

I got 38% in before I decided not to continue. Tanner is an Army Ranger, who is going to see a Dom to honor the final request of a dying friend, Jesse. He feels guilty he couldn't save his Jesse's life, so he feels honor-bound to go. Damon Price was Jesse's boyfriend and still isn't over his death a year later. He's angry that Tanner has come and agrees to top him, and ends up humiliating him in front of the patrons of his BDSM club. He regrets his actions and goes to Tanner, asking for a second chance. Tanner agrees, then stands him up, but gets himself into trouble and Damon rescues him. They get together again but then Tanner leaves. For me, although the sex was very hot, the back and forth of "I'm sorry, let's try again *leaves*, I'm sorry, let's try again *leaves*" was too frustrating. And I thought Damon was a jerk. I couldn't get into the mystery that the author was working into the story because I was too annoyed with Damon and Tanner.

This book got good reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, it just didn't work for me.

My Ratings:

These books were provided by the publisher/publicist in exchange for an honest review.

Review: With Good Behavior by Jennifer Lane

From the Publisher's website:
In a world gripped by organized crime, family dysfunction, and dim hopes of redemption, can true love persevere? For Sophie Taylor, a beautiful psychologist who lost everything when she violated an ethical boundary, and Grant Madsen, a handsome naval officer who sacrificed everything to protect a loved one, finding that love may carry an unbearable cost.

Starting their lives over in Chicago, both are fighting influences from their family and running as fast as they can to escape the past. When their paths cross outside the parole officer's door, the attraction is instantaneous. But a hidden connection may not only shatter their fledgling love, but prove deadly to them both.

____________________

The premise of this story caught my attention: Two ex-cons meeting at the parole officer's office and falling in love. It started out interestingly enough - I liked the parole officer and the hero and heroine seemed like they had interesting stories: she's an ex-psychiatrist who had an affair with a patient, he's an ex-naval officer who did some sort of crime.

From there, however, things went downhill. The characters were inconsistent and unbelievable. Grant is a former Naval officer but he seems very simple-minded and child-like; I couldn't figure out how he made it so far in the Navy. Sophie seems smart and dedicated but then does something she knows she should not do - date a fellow parolee, despite the fact that her parole officer, psychiatrist, and roommate tell her she shouldn't. It seems to me that this was basically how she ended up in jail in the first place. These two just kept making one bad decision after another - things like drinking tequila before driving a tour boat cruise around Chicago's harbor. Once Grant's brother came into the picture as the patient Sophie had an affair with and we get his thoughts and reactions to Sophie's incarceration, I decided this was not the book for me and put it down.

(This is a case of me wondering if I'm reading the same book everyone else is, as With Good Behavior has gotten great ratings on Goodreads.)


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 713 KB
Publisher: Omnific Publishing; 1st edition
Release Date: July 13, 2010
ASIN: B003VU00QU
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-936305-26-1

My Rating:

I received this e-book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

DNF: Dangerous by Diana Palmer

From the author's website:
Tall, lean and headstrong, FBI agent Kilraven lives by his own rules. And one of those rules includes keeping his hands off Jacobsville’s resident sweetheart, Winnie Sinclair, no matter the temptation. Shy and innocent, Winnie couldn’t handle a man like him—a merciless man with a haunted past. And this small town may hold not only the woman he fights to resist, but the answers to a cold case that is very personal to Kilraven....

Winnie has had her own share of sorrow and senses Kilraven’s pain. Even though she tries to deny it, the gentle 911 operator feels a connection with the darkly handsome agent. When he makes the disturbing discovery that her family’s unsavory past might have a bearing on his case, Winnie is determined to help him crack it...and the ice around his heart.

As they combine forces in a dangerous investigation, the stakes rise ever higher. Winnie’s life is on the line, and she’ll need Kilraven more than ever. But if they are to have a future together, her ruthless Texan will need to confront his past and risk it all for their love.


I hadn't read anything by Diana Palmer before I got this book, but I'd heard good things about her books and the blurb looked good so I was looking forward to reading this. This book is part of her Long, Tall Texans series.

Winnie Siclair is the heroine, a 911 dispatcher who pines for FBI agent McKuen Kilraven. Kilraven is tall, dark, and glowering. We learn he had a family who were murdered and the case was never solved. Winnie has her own dark history - her mother left them when she was 10 and her father physically abused her as a result.

I wanted to care about these two, really I did. But I didn't. There were so many
characters I couldn't keep up with who was who, and how they were all related was a bit confusing. Kilraven was cold and then hot and then cold again with Winnie - I didn't feel like there was any rhyme or reason to his actions. The murder mystery portion of the story was also confusing. I felt like I needed a spreadsheet with lines and arrows on it to follow along. When Kilraven proposed marrying her for the weekend so they could have sex while on an assignment and divorcing her once it was over (knowing she's a virgin and that she has a huge crush on him) - that's where I put it down for good. Now, maybe Ms. Palmer worked that storyline into something great, but my distaste for Kilraven and my apathy towards Winnie prohibited me from continuing any further.

I've heard wonderful things about Ms. Palmer's writing, so I will probably try something by Ms. Palmer in the future, but I think I'll need to start with an earlier title or go with a stand-alone.

This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Wolf Tales by Kate Douglas

I'd seen a recommendation somewhere about this series, and after checking around saw that Ms. Douglas has written 9 books in this series, so I figured it would be pretty good. There are shapeshifters and maybe menage so I was ready to read. It was off to a good start, the sexin' started on page 6.

As the story begins, Alexandria Olanet (Xandi) is out in a snowstorm, her car having gone over a cliff. She'd been out driving in the storm to get away from her fiance; she'd walked in on him having sex with another woman. As night falls and Xandi is still wandering around in the snow, she passes out, but wakes up in a warm bed with a large penis beween her legs, rubbing up against her from behind. She has crazy wicked sex and passes out again. When she wakes up she's at a rest stop. A limo stops to offer her a ride and she immediately knows the man in the back seat is the man she had sex with. Then she gets a good look at him - he's really hairy..all over, even his face, but she finds herself attracted to him.

Stefan Aragat was a famous magician who suddenly disappeared from public view. Apparently he pissed off his mentor, who turned him into a wolf. After several tries, he got himself back to semihuman form but cannot rid himself completely of wolf characteristics. Xandi is attracted to Stefan and overlooks his wolfy traits, and they have crazy sex again. So far so good...



Here's where it started to go bad for me - page 34:

After a moment's struggle, she found the zipper, tugged it slowly down, released the pressure holding his damned cock in place. It practically jumped out of the opening, all glistening animal cock that it was. He might have changed his hands, but the penis still looked like something a dog would sport...a very large dog. He wondered if he'd ever get used to the sheathlike foreskin, the strange shape, the extra-sensitive surface of this organ.

See, here's the thing...I grew up in a dog family - great danes to be specific. Anyone who's ever been around a male dog when he's excited knows what a "red rocket" looks like. I just cannot get past that. Am I misunderstanding, or is she having sex with a canine penis? *blinks and rubs eyes*

Apparently I've found my limit. There were a couple of more scenes where she mentions his red penis, and how she hopes if Stefan gets changed back to human form he'll be able to keep this penis. I had no problem with Stefan taking it from behind by his mentor while Xandi watched, but every time sex came up all I could think about was that damned red rocket and I finally shut the book for good.

If anyone else has read this series, I'd love to hear from you. Is this not as bad as I'm imagining? There are 9 books in the series, should I try again with book 2? Obviously it's a popular series - is each book different? I'm all out of brain bleach so if it's more of the same I don't think I can do it.

Review and Request: The Queen's Bastard by C.E. Murphy

Alright, alright, I give up already! I really, really tried to finish this book. It's not that it was a bad book. It was interesting. There was political intrigue, murder, witchcraft, and sex.

How could I not like this book? I don't know. I read 338 out of 432 pages. It's just that I felt like I was waiting for something to happen that never did. The heroine is Belinda, from birth she's been secreted away in a castle, her parents were dead and her "uncle" would come visit sometimes. No, not that kind of uncle. Actually, he does have a secret but he's not Chester the Molester. Belinda realizes she has some kind of weird ability to hide herself, and once she realizes it, her uncle somehow makes it go away. She ends up as an assassin, craving her uncle's acceptance? favor? I don't know. Her motivation was unclear. If it was me and I had been in that castle, alone all that time I would have left at the first opportunity. I guess that was my first problem, I didn't understand why she did the things she did.

Then, there was also the fact that I can't keep up with all the characters and places. I thought there were two queens until halfway through the book when I realized there were three queens! I still don't know who held which country. I know Belinda worked for the Red Queen, but I can't remember which country is hers or what it is they're trying to do - kill the other queens or just take their lands? And it seemed like everyone had more than one name!

The prince, Javier, seemed like a pretty okay guy to me. He was the son of one of the Queens. I think he may have either been illegitimate or she faked her pregnancy and was not really the Queen's son. Again, not sure. I liked that he was able to help her discover her hidden talents. His friends were another story. I liked Marius, who seemed like a true friend, although I felt sorry for him, but Eliza and Sacha were unlikeable. I couldn't tell if Sacha was a friend of Javier's or was secretly working against him politically.

I'm not saying this was a bad book, as I said earlier, it's full of all kinds of interesting stuff - I just couldn't keep it all together. I've had a lot going on in my personal and professional life, so it could just be that it was not a good time for me to be reading a book that required this level of concentration.

*SPOILERS AND REQUEST*
Despite all my complaints, I'd like to know what happened to Belinda and Javier, I just can't force myself to keep reading... If anyone has read this book, I got as far as Javier asking Belinda/Beatrice to marry him and Robert and the Red Queen finding out she was engaged. I'd like to find out if they did eventually marry, or if she betrayed him. Did she find out who his parents really are? My secret worry is that they were actually related - ewww!!! And what about her father? And who in the hell is Dmitri?

He Lives In a Lair

This was actually a post I did on my other blog back in April but I thought it was appropriate to post it here...

Okay, so I'm always searching for something to read. I search the internet sites I like for reader recommendations. Several sites mentioned this Carpathian series (it's 20 books - yay!). Well, I started reading them and wow. Kinda disappointed. They are like vampires but not. When they go bad they become vampires, but not undead. Anyhoo, I'm up to book 3 (I'm so disappointed I keep reading them - yeah, I have issues) and the vampire kidnaps the "independent young heroine" and brings her to a cave. "Where are we?" she asks. "In my lair," is his reply. I mean, please. Who says "this is my lair"? Honestly. Then he proceeds to chain her to the wall. Where are all these caves with convenient chains attached to the walls? Maybe here in Louisiana the water table makes the cave walls to weak to support chains so if you kidnap someone and bring them to your lair you have to just tie them with rope and put them in a corner (technically not a corner since caves are not square - okay put them in a crevice?). In all of the photos of caves I looked at, not one set of chains....hmmmmm.... Oh yeah, my point is....I'm going to call either my house or my bedroom my lair. I can't decide which.

*Update: I never did finish that 3rd book. I dont' know if it's just me or if I'm reading the wrong series because I know Ms. Feehan has a huge fanbase. Maybe I'll try them again later...keep them on the back burner so to speak.