January Round-Up & Catching Up on My Reviews

January went by very fast and I didn’t read that much!

As a lot of other bloggers, readers or tweeps I’m also trying to find a better balance between reading, blogging, bloghopping, emailing, tweeting on the one hand and my EDJ (evil day job), RL friends, hubby & other hobbies on the other hand. And I have especially a hard time finding a balance between all the activities in the first group, because there’s only this small amount of free time in a day (and the EDJ and my man do the demanding thing very well ;) so no worries there).

But the more I bloghop or twitter for example the less I read. Every time the reading gets the worst of it compared to one of the other activities, which sucks to be frank. Don’t think I don’t wanna bloghop or tweet, nope, that’s not it, I really enjoy doing that (that’s part of the problem). It’s just that I want to read more, especially after hearing and reading about all the great book recs on your blogs and in your emails and tweets *sigh*.

Has anyone found a solution to this dilemma yet? Please let me know!

And then there’s the reviewing part! I don’t mind reviewing a book a few weeks after I’ve read it, in fact I prefer to create that little distance in time to look at a book with a more objective view. But even for me it’s taking too long now – I still haven’t reviewed this fabulous book that I’ve read in 2009 and then some more in 2010! The thing is that I’ve read all these books that were 4 or 5 stars reads for me and because of that I want to do a proper review, nice and long (for example my High Five, Low Five format).

But I better face it: that’s not gonna happen!

So I decided to do a January reading AND reviewing wrap up in one post. They will be short an it’s not that I’ve read that much so this shouldn’t take too long… And I already reviewed a couple of them earlier...

(P.S. It turned out to be longer than I thought. So, sorry for that – maybe you can read it in several small pieces or skip most of it ;) – I just had to get it out of my system!)

Here’s my reading list:

Read in 2009
The One That Got Away by Madeleine Urban & Rhianne Aile, 5 stars

This was one of the best M/M reads of 2009 for me! I can really recommend it. For a change it’s a book with no angst in it. The characters are well developed and the smexing is long anticipated but scorching hot when they finally get to it. The story is about two friends, one gay one straight. One of them breaks his shoulder and needs some help during his recovery. So his straight friend moves in with him. Because of the injury, the heroes share some very intimate moments and something starts to sizzle. I thought that the authors did a great job of making their feelings tangible and showing how lust and love developed steadily. This book is especially highly recommended to all my M/M virgin friends because of the new to gay sex hero who’s been lead into this wonderful experience by his kind and loving friend.

January 2010
1. Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels, 5 stars

And boy did my year start with another great M/M read! It has the potential of becoming the best M/M book of 2010 for me. At least one of the best! Here we have two alpha guys, both cops who become friends after the wife of one of them died. Their lonely souls connect and gradually they start coloring each other’s lives again. The buildup is beautiful. One day an intimate touch of consolation opens the door to a more physical relation. Everything is new to both of them since they never were with a man before and one of the heroes has to deal with his feelings of guilt towards his deceased wife. All elements that are worked out very well. The opening scene is heartbreaking so be prepared to shed some tears and the angst is big in this relationship. This made it not a light read, but every now and then I love an emotional rollercoaster like this one!

2. Cuffed and Dangerous by Bronwyn Green, 4 stars

I actually reviewed this one. It was my first experience with the paranormal genre and it was good! I received this book from Bronwyn Green as a present!

3. Mind F*cked by Mia Watts, 4 stars

This was another fabulous paranormal romance, this time of the M/M kind. It’s about a very attractive half-breed faery who has the ability to read other people’s minds. Due to that fact he became quite cocky because everybody is lusting after him thanks to his looks. When he meets (his average) Joe he can’t read his mind which is unusual and makes him very insecure. During the security job they are involved in together he starts falling in love for the first time in his life but Joe is skeptical about his feelings and his feary background. It was foremost a very funny book! And the characters were wonderful and very right for each other (even the magic approved of it). The security mystery was a nice addition to this pretty original love story although that particular part was a bit predictable and lacked real suspense. It’s the first book in a series, the next books feature Sage’s siblings and I’m really looking forward to their stories! Even for the humor alone I would want to read them!

4. Beth's Acceptance by Teal Ceagh, 4 stars

And yet another paranormal romance! I did a good job on this new to me genre, didn’t I? This is also the first book in a series (of three) which seems very promising. Take a human, a vampire and an elf and put them together in between the covers of a book and you get one very steamy romance! That’s what this book is in a nutshell. Then there’s something going on with ugly evil creatures and a war that has to be fought. The three protags have to prevent the creatures taking over by forming a holy trinity. I know, this sounds like pretty heavy stuff but it was not that bad. I could easily comprehend what was going on and had no trouble believing any of it. The only thing that happened too fast for me was the woman’s acceptance of the paranormal world she had no clue about until then. And this world saving thing is not wrapped up in this first book of the series but will go on in the next two I presume. The romance story did have a nice happy ending though. I like that in a series! The smexing in this book was excellent too. To become a real trinity there was some unusual love making going on between these three sexy protags, really unusual *won’t say more*. In short, I loved this novella enough to wanna read the sequels, that have different H/h. I won this book over at the Blackraven's Erotic Cafe blog.

Look here for my selection of a sexy, smutty scene from Beth’s Acceptance.

5. Blind Faith by Claire Thompson, 4 stars

Great short M/M novella about two on-and-off lovers who haven’t seen each other for over a year. When one of them returns from one of his wanderings around the world and want to meet the other again, it turns out that his lover has been in a car accident almost a year ago. He was badly injured and lost his sight permanently. This comes as a shock and changes their relationship. I loved the dynamic of this couple. The heroes are hot and have a good chemistry going on. Their loving is sweet and Ms. Thompson knows how to develop a story well. It was too bad that this wasn’t longer, that’s the only thing I disliked besides the overly clichéd ending (it involves a cruise ship, need I say more?).

Look here for my selection of a sexy, smutty scene from Blind Faith.

6. Hard to Hold (Hold trilogy, #1) by Stephanie Tyler, 3 stars

I did a High Five, Low Five review about this book last weekend. It was a bit disappointing due to my own high expectations.

7. The Broken H by J.L. Langley, 4 stars

Last but not least, another good M/M story, recommend to me by K.C. from Smokinhotbooks who is celebrating 14 days of man love over at her blog (with great giveaways!).
It’s actually the second book in this author’s Ranch series, but can be read as a standalone. I myself have yet to read the first book, The Tin Star. And there even is a third one! The Broken H is about two stepbrothers who haven’t seen much of each other the past decade. But now they are forced to run their father’s ranch together for a while after he had a heart attack. One of the heroes is a cowboy with Indian blood who is the adopted son and the other hero is the more muscular but younger one and the town’s sheriff. Turns out that their split from ten years ago is caused by their mutual feelings of lust and love. They start to figure out how deep their love really was and is while they explore each other’s bodies eagerly. Not much of the ranching is actually involved it was just the immediate cause for their renewed friendship and new loving. I liked their inventiveness in the bedroom (verra steamy!) but I loved their emotional relationship! It was nicely developed and the information was well dosed. Really good read!

So this was my first month of the year. I better turn up the reading speed, otherwise I won’t get the 100+ books of the Reading Challenge done!

And as a reward for those who have made it to the end of this post... here's some man candy. Enjoy!

High Five, Low Five Review of Hard To Hold by Stephanie Tyler for the DIK Book Reading Challenge

Stephanie Tyler
Hard To Hold
Mass Market, November 2009

Genre & Keywords: Contemporary, Military Romance, SEALs, Suspense, Violence, Africa

Rating: êêê
Heat level: ¹¹

There are some books you really look forward to reading and then they just can’t live up to your own high expectations. There’s no one else to blame but yourself. Hard To Hold by Stephanie Tyler turned out to be such a book for me. Based on three Blaze novels about three SEAL friends by this author I really wanted to read her new contemporary military romance series about the brothers Jake, Nick and Chris, all Navy SEALs too. The first book about Jake was released on November 24, 2009 and the third one a few weeks ago. It took me a while to finish Hard To Hold because I struggled a little bit with the book.

I’ve read this book for the DIK Reading Challenge which made me finish it this month and also makes me write a review now, very shortly after reading the last page. I usually like to wait a little bit longer before putting my thoughts on paper because I like the little distance and objectivity the lapse of time provides, so I can look at a book without it still being under my skin. But I have to post my review in January for the Challenge, so here are my High 5, Low 5 concerning Hard To Hold. The High Five are five things that have impressed me or that I really enjoyed, and the Low Five are five things that had me shaking my head in a less admiring way.

First the Back Blurb:
Lieutenant Jake Hansen has survived some of the riskiest missions known to man. But now the wounded Navy SEAL faces his toughest job yet: smuggling Dr. Isabelle Markham out of Africa without triggering an international incident. Not easy to do when the gorgeous hostage happens to be a senator’s daughter—and about as easy to resist as an oasis in the desert.

If it weren’t for Jake, Isabelle would still be halfway across the world, where rebel forces left her for dead. The special ops warrior may have saved her life, but she doesn’t need him to protect her now. Tell that to the ruggedly handsome hunk in full battle fatigues who’s just been assigned as Isabelle’s personal bodyguard. Close quarters aside, Isabelle won’t let Jake anywhere near her heart—until danger throws them together again. And nothing in the jungles of wildest Africa could prepare them for a passion this wild. This crazy. This hot…

High 5

• The hero Jake
One of the highs of this novel for me was definitely Jake’s character. He’s adorable, attractive, wounded, caring and hot. His tormented soul and anger are very sexy and his consideration for Isabelle is really sweet. He’s struggling with his own feelings while protecting Isabelle’s. Maybe his life story was a bit extreme (he had a very abusive youth) and we are made to believe that he joined the navy at the age of 15 or 16 without anyone in the army noticing or doing something to prevent it. That’s quite unbelievable. His grander than grand issues with his past were probably necessary to make Isabelle realize she’s not the only one of them who is struggling with abuse and guilt. For me it would have been enough if Jake just helped her heal by being patient and kind like he was from the beginning without the addition of their shared problems as a remedy to make her whole and trusting again. But that has more to do with one of my lows I guess.
One of the sweetest Jake moments was the one where they have a love scene on the couch in which Jake cuffs his hands behind his back while Isabelle sits on his lap and he tells her that she is safe and can touch herself.

• Good secondary characters
I like a story in which the protags are surrounded by friends and family. Mainly Jake has great people in his life. I especially had a soft spot for Nick, Jake’s stepbrother. He’s easy going, tough and sexy with his habit to walk around the house without clothes.

• Great story building
Ms. Tyler tells a rounded story that is well build. All pieces of the puzzle fall into place in the end. It’s all very well plotted. Her story contains a lot of suspense as well, but to be honest it didn’t bring me once to the edge of my seat.

• Easy writing
Ms. Tyler’s writing style is pleasant. With seemingly little effort she can make a scene visible and tangible. Sometimes she tends to explain a bit too much for my taste and she becomes repetitive, while in other moments (towards the end) she skips a few things. But overall her writing has an easy vibe and doesn’t ask too much (or less) from her readers. For example I like the way she described Jake:
“Nothing about him was overtly pushy or blatant or cocky. He didn’t have to be. He moved with the quiet confidence other men envied, tried to emulate and failed. His commanding presence wasn’t something to be copied, it was something to be earned.”

• Interesting world
Ms. Tyler has the ability to evoke a whole world with her words, an interesting world that I wasn’t familiar with but that became vividly alive before my eyes. She provides us with a lot of information and details to reach that. The lives of SEALs, mercenaries and social/medical workers in Africa were all new to me.


Low 5

• The heroine Isabelle
As much as I liked Jake, I could not feel the same sympathy or tenderness for Isabelle. In fact, she pretty much annoyed me a great deal of the time. And I feel bad about that, given her abuse and ordeal during the kidnapping and all. She sure did deserve my sympathy, and she had it most of the time. But not so much when it comes to the way she treated Jake. Okay, she had trust issues, I got that and sure, she had a hard time giving up her control sexually, I got that too! But I didn’t get her selfishness and her being mean to him at one point. And after denying him his pleasure a few times while she had hers, she finally is ready for him – you know, all the way – after Jake has shown his anger and then she tells him:

“I want you,” she repeated in a husky voice against his ear. “Don’t deny me this.”

The nerve, to be so demanding!

• The very distracting multiple POV’s
From the beginning I was struggling with this book because of the often changing POV, not just between the hero and heroine but between many secondary characters as well. And not their POV on the H/h, nope they all had their own storyline and personal issues. I found these very distracting, since I hardly knew the H/h at that point. Gradually I got used to the multiple POV’s and in the end they were reduced to just a few besides that from the H/h (mainly Clutch and Sarah’s, which was an interesting couple btw).

• Many flashbacks in italic
I don’t really mind flashbacks in a story, they can add something essential, but in most cases it’s enough when the narrator just tells what happened. The showing with the help of flashbacks is not always necessary, especially not when the telling is already done. In Hard To Hold often both the telling and the showing takes place. That’s superfluous imo. Besides that, I don’t need the italics to know that I’m dealing with a flashback – the italics can be omitted!
The bad thing really was that a great part of these flashbacks were from the secondary characters! That was just too much for me, I couldn’t care less. Their POV’s and secondary storylines were enough distraction from Jake’s and Isabelle’s love story, their flashbacks were over the top for me…

• Incomprehensible love
Why Jake and Isabelle fell in love with each other? I have no idea, except that they experienced an intense ordeal together maybe. Perhaps I can see why Isabelle liked Jake in the end, because I myself fell in love with him a little bit, but I never felt her love! I needed more of her thoughts and perspective concerning her feelings for Jake, because now I didn’t believe it. And why Jake loved Isabelle is really beyond me! Not only because what I wrote about her (see my first low) but also because of the lack of an explanation of his feelings.

• Lack of love scenes
There weren’t many love scenes between Jake and Isabelle. And no, I’m not only talking about the hot kind (although I’m a big fan of those and to be honest the love scenes between Clutch and Sarah were a welcome addition). I’m also talking about tenderness and sweetness between the two. Of course, the physical part of their relationship was hindered by Isabelle’s abuse experience. But that part was stretched out way too long I think.

Those were my five highs and lows. Overall, Hard To Hold was an okay read for me. It didn’t meet my high expectations by far and I’m the only one to blame for that ;). My dislike of certain elements in this story is personal. I hope that the second book, Too Hot To Hold, about Jake’s brother Nick, will be more than an okay read for me, since I already purchased it. When my high expectations had something to do with my rather harsh judgment of Hard To Hold than maybe my very low expectations of Too Hot To Hold will make me like that one way better!

Happy Gay Friday, What I’m Reading & Dean Day

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It’s almost the end of a working day and the beginning of the weekend! Yay! So, it’s time for a M/M cookie.
I’ve been away for two days the past week for my work, which was tiring (sleeping in a hotel bed most of the times is) and I had no internet access and was too busy to blog, mail, twitter or do blogrounds. So, I’m double happy that it’s almost weekend!

I did get some reading done, because I had some travelling by train to do. After finally finishing Hard Too Hold by Stephanie Tyler Thursday I immediately started the second book in the series, Too Hot to Hold, because I already purchased it and I was afraid that If I didn’t start it right away I never would at all. I’ve made a start now so after that I could put it aside for a while and read some M/M smut I was craving for…(that’s how my mind works sometimes ;)) I picked The Broken H by J.L. Langley, which is about two cowboys, stepbrothers, who have the hots for each other. I’m really enjoying it so far!

This afternoon on Twitter me and a few girls were gushing over Supernatural’s Dean and decided to have a Dean Day on V-Day (it’s in writing now girls!) on which we bring a ‘Ten Things I Love About Dean’ tribute to the guy! If you wanna join, just let one of us know. Pixiedust from Pixie’s Ponderings is making Dean Buttons for this little blog tour. The Dean girls are:

Pixiedust: ponderingpixiedust.blogspot.com
Donna Grant: donnagrant.com
Belly: hangingwithbells.blogspot.com
Stacy: trelainastarblazer.blogspot.com
Leontine: leontine1976.blogspot.com

So, we have a Valentine’s date with Dean on Februari 14!

Todays Man Candy & New Exciting Book Blogs

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I choose today’s hottie with the hero of Hard Too Hold by Stephanie Tyler in mind. I’m reading that novel about stubborn, sexy SEAL Jake right now. I must admit that I’m having a hard time with it. But I also gotta say that it’s maybe my own fault because my expectations were unrealistically high, after reading many positive and exultant reviews.

What I’m having troubles with is the shifting focus on almost all the secondary characters all the time, which includes their POV’s and their memories that result in rather annoying flashbacks printed in italic. This keeps me from really getting into Jake and Isabelle’s love story. I want to know more about thém, their thoughts, their feelings and I want to see more of the two of them together *sigh*

Am I asking to much? (for the record I’m at page 121 of 265).

And than there are a few new book blogs that I really like and have high expectations of (oh oh ;)) In case you haven't found them yet, check them out:

1.
The first is The Raving Readers blog, run by three friends since the end of December. They already had a great contest and guest appearance from author Susan Lyons. They have romance book reviews and column like topics as well.

2.
The second is Quick ‘n Dirty Romance Reviews, the new blog from fellow Dutch girl Pearl, who created this blog because she lacks the time to give all the books she reads a proper, full review. This mini-review blog is enjoying to read because of the nice format of Pearl’s reviews.

3.
And the third blog is one I found out about today and is having its grand opening tomorrow: it’s called Book Lovers Inc. Ten Book Lovers, all very recognizable, will review books from all sorts of genres, host giveaways and have guest authors.

Are there other new romance blogs I have missed?