Review: Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

Blurb:

Liberty Jones has dreams and determination that will take her far away from Welcome, Texas—if she can keep her wild heart from ruling her mind. Hardy Cates sees Liberty as completely off-limits. His own ambitions are bigger than Welcome, and Liberty is a complication he doesn’t need. But something magical and potent draws them to each other, in a dangerous attraction that is stronger than both of them.

When Hardy leaves town to pursue his plans, Liberty finds herself alone with a young sister to raise. Soon Liberty is under the spell of a billionaire tycoon—a Sugar Daddy, one might say. But the relationship goes deeper than people think, and Liberty begins to discover secrets about her own family’s past.

Susi's Review:
Before I start squeeing and ramlbing about this fantastic book let me make one thing clear: I started this book without any expectations besides reading a good contemporary. I got many recommendations for  this series so I just thought why not and started it. I didn't even read the blurb- I just took a peek at the reviews- or better said the ratings and thought, yep most reviewers liked it so I will buy it. I started reading it before I even looked at the back and just started reading.

This book is pretty addictive and I just couldn't seem to stop. It has a quite different feel than the ordinary romance novel. For me, it felt more like a biography told out of our heroines view. We start in her youth and experience her life while she tells us about how she remembers it. This made the whole book so much more intimate that it touched me deep inside. The writing is so smooth and just seems so real, as if you're really in Liberty's mind and listen to her recollections. I loved to see her mature through the story and my heart broke for her more than once. This book definitely is a tearjerker. So many hard and sad times in her life but Liberty survived them.

It is weird because I usually like the more relationship centered romance novels but this book is more about Liberty than the romance. It's her story that's being told and I'm sure that is also the reason that some readers were disappointed. I just glimpsed at some reviews and they all mention that we meet the Travises too late. It seems it was for once good that I didn't read the blurb before because it really is misleading. Everything it says actually happens near the 2/3 of the book and readers expecting this early are sure to be disappointed.

I can't say enough how much this book made me feel. It grabbed my heart at the start and never let it go for just a second. It is more about family, friendship and intimicy (not the sexual kind). This book shows us how hard it can be to let people close and how much actual friendship means in life. I loved to see the interaction between Liberty and all the wonderful sidecast. They helped me through the story as much as they helped her.

I loved that, at least for me, the romance came with a surprise. For me those is always the best kind. I loved to see how such a wonderful love grew out of nothing- even less than nothing. The slow buildup made all that sweeter for me too. These two are so good for each other. *happy sigh*

One thing I have to point out again. This book is, even though the series is called The Travises, not really about them. Yes they play a rather big role but they join the story really fast and the focus never leaves Liberty. So if you want about them you will actually be dissapointed. It is about Liberty and for me it was the right way to tell this story. She deserves the spotlight and her story is heartbreakingly good. So give her a chance.

This is a wonderful book that I just can't seem to praise enough. It made me heart skip some beats, made me smile and laugh and it made me cry. Reading Sugar Daddy was a very emotional ride and I'm sure I will go that road again in the future. If you love romance with a good story and a good characterization this is the book for you.

with a perfect happy sigh HEA

Last Note: The title is also a bit misleading- even though it makes sense at the end. But don't expect the obvious here- you won't get that. 

Author Links:
Website, Twitter, Facebook

Book Links:
Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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Romance and Cowboys- Yeehaw or neehaw?

I have a confession to make: I had prejudices. (notice the past tense please) Big surprise I know. But for me Cowboys were never something I would have imagined I would like reading about. The big question is why? After talking on twitter about my first real cowboy experience I came up with some reasons:

1.) I'm European and it seems the whole Cowboy world is just so foreign to us. For us Germans in particular it mean Carl May movies and I always hated those. We don't have rodeos here either so I have no idea what this is like. I just have my prejudiced imagination about how bad for the animals that is.

2.) Cowboys smell like horse and animal dung. LMAO Yes I said it. And I know it's stupid. *hides in shame*

3.) They have old fashioned views on woman and their role in life. This is something I gathered from the experience with German farmers who all seem to want a good wife who will cook, make the laundry and bear a bunch of children.

4.) Cowboys are country bumpkins and don't know how to party. Yes I'm a city girl through and through. For me living in the country means as much as never going out and not be able to get a burger when I want one at 3 AM (even though I never feel like that- but I could if I wanted).

I read Long Hard Ride by Lorelei James last week and she cured me (cuz it is for free right now at amazon and b&n - thanks to Nadia Lee for pointing out to me that I can also get it for free in German Kindle store now). I was totally blown away by her story and the way she presented her cowboys. This was a really naughty and dirty read and her men weren't at all how I pictured them. Her series is set in a contemporary world and follows a group of cowboys who earn their living through participating in rodeo. They all have their farms too but we see them letting loose while on the road.
So why do I like it all of a sudden? I think it has to do with the contemporary  setting. I wouldn't like it playing in the past. I don't even want to imagine how that guys would behave. *ick* (me picturing guys spitting around)

So now I'm curious about what you guys think. I asked around on the interwebs and here are some opinions:

NellDixon

Love cowboys, am sucker for a cover showing man in stetson

CheekyReads

I'm not a fan of Cowboys in Western romances. If more contemp-feel then maybe. Only a few I've enjoyed.

Hate to say I think it's because I grew up in Cowboy country & know what they are really like. NOT SEXY. At least to me

On the other hand, Carolyn Brown & Vicki Lewis Thompson have created modern cowboy romances I've loved.

NadiaLee  

I don't really like cowboys in general.

I prefer big cities in my contemp romance. Cowboys =
not city. Also after they've been working w/ horses? Sweaty and stinky.

I also I don't find ranches particularly romantic or
interesting. Rodeo seems just suicidal to me.

I feel like rodeo cowboys are going to end up dead
or something. Not my idea of HEA.

I think cowboys are popular b/c of romanticism &
what they rep: rugged American individualism, etc.

blodeuedd83

This may be silly but to me they are "exotic" and hot of course...it's the hat I think, and the horse lol

LauraSummers

I love cowboys stories, I think it's because that life is so remotely different from my life, you don't get cowboys in UK!

PaulaSHx

I like them when there is something to them. When they are just brutes I wouldn't waste my time.

Stella @ Ex Libris:

As an European I find cowboys a kind of hero I have difficulty to make up my mind about.. first my urban European prejudices would make me think of cowboys as not very intellectual and rather "simple"
but then I read a few Westerns and they were so much better than I would have thought. I love the thought of a man on a horse but as an urban girl through and through I would find it difficult to live happily ever after in a ranch far away from cities.
I will have to read more cowboy romances because now my opinion is not too favourable: the books I have read so far the H/H were quite old-fashioned: with mindsets as if stuck in thze '50s.. I havent given up hope that there are good Western rmances, so if you can give some recommendations, I'm open =)

It seems I'm not completely alone out there. 

So what do you think? 

What is your biggest prejudice concerning cowboys?

Do you like to read about cowboys?

Do you have a favorite setting?

  

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We're talking about German covers!

Herzlich willkommen to our next German cover post. After last times French sneak attack we decided to take a look at what the German publishing industry has to show.

We have a vast variety of covers this time- some good, some bad and yes we have the third kind too.


Come take a look at what we found...

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Guestpost: Blodeuedd's perfect HEA - Gladiators and Pirates?

Today we are happy to welcome our next guestblogger: Blodeuedd from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell will share with us today what her thoughts about a perfect HEA are. Blodeuedd is one of the first bloggers we met when we our blogger days started. She's one of the most committed and chattiest persons we know. Please give her a warm welcome.

Thank you Caro and Susi for having me over. Your new place looks great! I have been asked to guest post about the perfect HEA, could you have asked me about anything harder to write? I do not think so. I have been thinking about this for some time now and I just do not have an answer so I will just wing it and let my thoughts fly away and we will see where they land.

My perfect HEA is obviously where the couple is together and everything is happy and good. I do not need to know that they married a week later and got a baby a year later. I just need to know that they are together, and then my mind takes care of the rest. They live happily ever after, because that is of course what HEA means. I do not want to think that it lasts for five years and then they break up. Noooo! I want a HEA, not happy for a while.

I hate endings with no happy ending. They make me throw books at the wall. Ok so Gladiator is not really a perfect example but you get my meaning, he dies! No HEA for him. I have watched that movie more times that I can remember…but in a way not really, because I have watched the ending once. At the movie theater I was devastated. I loved the movie but I could not handle the ending. I want happy endings. Take Pirates 3, not a good ending, but then you watch the after text and yay…(or however it was, perhaps it was just an article I read about how the producers meant it to be..). Evil HEA hating peeps were they anyway. So there we have it, I throw books at walls, and I do not always watch movies to the end when I watch them again. Bittersweet is not a word in my vocabulary.

But there are times when I break all the rules. I shall not mention the title and spoil it but there was a book where boy met girl, they fell in love, she had a problem that could not be fixed and at the end he watched her die. I should have hated it, but at the same time I realized that if she would have been cured it would have ruined the whole fairytale vibe the book had. It could not be fixed, there could be no HEA, and for once I was fine with it. But trust me; these things do not happen that often. HEA and I go together.

Am I rambling, I think so, but then I said that I would just write whatever came into my mind. And it was so hard to go after that perfect guest post they had about the subject. Talk about daunting!

What more do I have to say. Well the perfect HEAs do not be the ones where the couple rides into the sunset. Sure those are sweet and lovely, but it can just end with them two together and working on a future together. Like I said, I just want to be secure in my fantasy that it will last. And that people live cos I am not a like a friend of mine who likes the tragic endings where they suffer and then someone drowns and the book ends. Talk about depressing.

What have we learnt? Not much, other than I want happiness at the end, because that is all that matters, that they are happy =)

So this is Blodeuedd's take on HEA. Tell us about yours? What makes a HEA perfect in your eyes?

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Susi's over @AboutHappyBooks talking about Magdeburg

Today I'm visiting Sabrina @ About Happy Books and I'm talking about Magdeburg and my love for books.

My post is part of her From Europe to the world series- where Sabrina invites book bloggers from all around Europe to talk about their hometown/country and what brought them to join the book blogging world. I really love this idea and so I said hell yes when she asked me.

So come on over and see what I have to say about the metropolis that is Magdeburg.

A little bribe- I made pics. *wink*

Come on over, learn something new and see shiny bookshelves.

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Earworm of the Week - Eurovision 2011 edition

This week we want to tell you about the Eurovision Song Contest. If you follow any of us on twitter you might have seen a few  *cough*lots*cough* tweets about this competition on Saturday night.  If you don't know the Eurovision, it's a competition where every country is represented by a singer/band and every country votes for its favorite. It's usually very funny because some songs are just damn hilarious.  We got quite a few weird songs and now we want to share we you...*evil grin*

Ireland: Jedward - Lipstick

Caroline: Having never watch X-factor I had no idea who these guys were (I was lucky indeed). These twins with the weird Gaga costumes and and weirder hairdo made me laugh. When I first saw it I really didn't like it...and sadly...now it's stuck in my head. AHHHH. It's my earworm of the week!

Susi: I agree those two make my eyes hurt. And actually love red LOL. And the song is awfully catchy. *bobs along while blushing* And the is the first sign of the bad shoulder trend this year. LOL

Caroline: Indeed we we attacked by weird shoulder thingies from a few different countries (see Angel song)

Moldova: Zdob&Zdub - So Lucky

Caroline: I thought that this was the funniest song of the show. I would have voted for them. They were funny and the song was catchy. At first when I saw their costume I went all O_o o_O.

Susi: I love the Moldava one. LOVE it is awesome and bf already bought the song yesterday at like 2 AM. You see what I will sing all week. I lurve the crazy. And the hats are just awesomesauce. LMAO

Recap of all the songs: The winners are the #19

Caroline:  I had a soft spot for the Greece song (#9). Ok let's be honest...that singer is just too damn hot and his voice is smexy. Too bad there was another singer with him singing Rap o_O It tooooooootally ruined the song. But damn the guy was some good eye candy. I took an immediate dislike for Sweden's singer (#7). He will definitely not be 'popular' with me. I felt like it was addressed to teenagers. Some songs were just plain boring and some countries had very weird clothes.  I am SOOOO disappointed that Azerbaijan (#19) won. OMG it just sucks. O_O  I did enjoy Slovenia (#20) which as Susi pointed out reminded of Christina Aguilera. Iceland's song (#21) was really good but it's a bit sad cause one of their member died. But I really liked the song. Ukraine (#23) also known as Were-Eagle lady, was fun to watch because there was this woman drawing with sand on the screen, and it was impressive. Serbia (#24) was just too cute!! I loved the 60s theme and the song was catchy. I really liked it.

Susi: I so agree about Greek. That guy was OMFG hawt. Don't tell BF. But the rapper ruined it. I hated Sweden (#7) and the UK (#14)- boyband *puke* and LMAO the french guy didn't even comb his hair. And Lena's song wasn't that bad but too mysterious LOL (that's what they advertised it like here on tv) And I also really like the Jazz song from Italy (#12). And the Iceland band was really cute too and the heartbreaking story behind the song. *sniffs* And LMAO Ukraine (#23) and the killed cherubs. LOL And yes again I agree about the Serbia song. We are musical twins. LOL And Azerbaijan (#19) was so bad- they sang so bad. Really don't get it.

Caroline: Ohh yes I forgot about the Italy guy! He was quite good! *g*

Have you watched the Eurovision? 

Which was your favorite? Which was the worst in your opinion?

Who would have you voted for?

Anyone else suffering from the Jedward earworm syndrom? 

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I've been naughty: Proof by pre-orders

Today, I want to talk about a very serious matter (now you know it really won't be)...Pre-orders!

Usually when I order books I feel bad 3 or 4 days later when I receive them.  But Pre-ordering is worse! Why? Because I pre-order months ahead, then forget completely about them and when I get the books in the mail I realize how much I spent (or better said my parents point it out for me lol).  With a book already out, I know that I'll have to check the mail a few days later and 'hide' them from my parents (well I'd like to think it's more about 'sneaking them in' lol), but with pre-orders it's more difficult.

I realized my Pre-ordering addiction today when I looked at my Book Depository account. Ahem...so here's the list of books I've pre-ordered:

My excuse for Pre-ordering is that they usually ship the books before the release date *g*

Susi's tiny 2 cents:
Ahem...yeah I always forget to pre-order much in advance. I usually do that a week or so before release date. But I actually have 2 books pre-ordered right now- Magic Slays and Hunt the Moon. Yes now I feel like the less-book lover. LOL

Caroline: What Susi isn't saying is that she went a little crazy on book ordering last week! LOL  So I don't feel as bad ;)

Are you a pre-ordering kinda person? Please tell me I'm not the only addicted here ;)

Any of these books you're waiting for too?

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Guestpost: A real life HEA by Julia Rachel Barrett

When we first started thinking about Secret HEA Society we already knew that  we would love to see what others think about about HEAs in general. Every person seems to see it as something else so we started asking friends around the blogosphere about their two cents. Today we are happy to welcome our first guestposter here at Secret HEA Society. Julia Rachel Barrett is a wonderful author and a really good friend. Julia will actually tell us about her own personal HEA. 
Please give her a warm welcome and be sure to tell us what your thoughts are.

Lysander:
Ay me! for aught that I could ever read,

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth;

But either it was different in blood—

Hermia:

O cross! too high to be enthrall'd to low.

Lysander:

Or else misgraffèd in respect of years—

Hermia:

O spite! too old to be engag'd to young.

Lysander:

Or else it stood upon the choice of friends—

Hermia:

O hell! to choose love by another's eyes.

- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act One, Scene One, William Shakespeare.

I agree. The course of true love never did run smooth, at least not in my case. When Susi asked me to blog about an HEA, or my idea of an HEA, I figured I should simply tell a story…an interesting story about true love.
Any of my readers familiar with my romantic suspense, Come Back to Me, know parts of my story. James, my hero, is actually based upon my husband. Many of the events in the book are true – some have been changed to protect people I love.

My husband and I met at a tough time in my life. I think I fell in love with him the very moment I saw him, but I was fourteen years old, screwed up as hell, and certainly not prepared to have a relationship with anyone, let alone someone who was older, wiser, and in a position of authority. Despite the fact that we lived nearly four hundred miles apart, we became friends. Not a day went by that I didn’t think about him.

Over the next three years, until I graduated from high school, we kept in touch, writing letters, talking on the phone and spending a few days together each year. After that, when it was possible to actually become a couple, we seemed to be at cross purposes. We’d get together, but something would happen and I’d push him away. I was very wary of getting close to people in those days.

When I was twenty (yeah, I know, I was way too young), I finally got together with my James. It was the most amazing time of my life. The stars were aligned and I was in a good place at last. But then tragedy struck. What happened to Cara in Come Back to Me, happened to me. I barely survived. Once again I pushed everyone I loved, everyone who cared about me, away. Like Cara, I ran off, straight into the arms of a man who was just like my James, except he was his evil doppelganger.

Took me three years to extricate myself from that hell, but I had to in order to save the lives of my mother and my infant son, in addition to my own.

So where’s my HEA?
Fast forward two years. I was on my own, a single parent, working nights, foregoing sleep to support my son, and trying to stay under the radar of anyone who might be interested in me in the wrong way. I hadn’t heard a word from my James in five years. I thought it was time to find out if there was any chance for us.
What does a woman do when she wonders if the love of her life is married to someone else? Why, she telephones his mother, of course.
“Hi, Stella, this is Julia.”
“Julia, it’s so good to hear from you. He’s not married. Let me give you his number. You should call him.” (She always did love me. Despite everything I’d put him through, she still believed I was right for her son.)

I called. He didn’t answer. I called him off and on for two weeks, but he didn’t answer. I think his mother must have told him to answer because at last, he answered. We talked, caught up; exchanged information. We agreed to meet in one month.

A month went by and on the appointed day of our meeting, he didn’t show; he didn’t call, nor did I call him to ask why he didn’t show. I knew the reason for his absence. I’d hurt him terribly five years before and he was afraid. A week after our planned meeting, I received a letter. I read the following words: “I’ve met someone else and I want to see where this might lead. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be with you.”

Calm, I set the letter on my bed and reached beneath my mattress. I pulled out a box I’d kept safe for many years. In the box was everything he’d ever given me, every letter he’d ever written. Still calm, I carried the box into the backyard. It was the middle of February and there was three feet of snow on the ground. I opened my barbecue grill, set the box on the grate, along with the letter I’d just read. I squeezed an entire bottle of lighter fluid over the box and lit it on fire. As I watched our history go up in flames, I ordered myself to get on with my life, without him.

Over the next eight months, I tentatively entered the dating pool, with mixed success, I must admit. I dated the occasional doctor, spent some time with an old classmate, and at last, out of the blue, met a great guy. He was smart, funny, sexy, rich, had a smokin’ hot future ahead of him. His family owned an entire island, not to mention a private jet. Most important, he liked my son. He and I really hit it off. When he left town to spend time with his family on the East Coast, I felt confident we’d pick up where we left off as soon as he returned.
Here’s where the story gets weird. Picture this – early October. All the leaves have turned color and they’ve begun to drop; they’re scattered all over my yard. The afternoon is pleasant. I take my toddler outside with me and we rake leaves into big piles –jump into them, scattering leaves far and wide, rake them again so we can jump into the piles. At last, my son grows tired and the two of us lay down in the leaves. He falls asleep in my arms. I stare up at the sunlight filtering through the branches of a big oak tree, more at peace than I’ve been in many years.

As lay quiet, a disembodied voice speaks from the branches of the oak tree. The voice rings out like a bell and it’s as true a voice as I’ve ever heard. The voice says, “Your life is in good hands.” That’s all it says. I don’t run; I’m not frightened. It’s the clearest voice I’ve ever heard.
I get up, lift my sleeping son into my arms, and carry him to his crib. An hour later, the man I’m currently dating calls. He tells me he’s sending his private jet to pick us up – tomorrow – my son and me. The pilot will fly us to his family’s island. He wants his family to meet us. How do I respond? I say the following, “No, I’m so sorry, but no. And I don’t want to continue the relationship.” I don’t know why I say this. I can’t believe the words coming out of my mouth, but these are the words I hear coming out of my mouth. Why am I saying this? What’s wrong with me?
I didn’t have to work that night so I was able to get a decent night’s sleep. I went to bed around eleven p.m. At two a.m., my phone rang.
Groggy me…”Hello?”
“Julia, it’s James.”
“James? Why are you calling me?”
“I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Where are you?”
“Superior, Wisconsin.”
“What are you doing there?”
“I was supposed to go on a kayak trip, but I want to see you.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Now.”
“But you’re six hundred miles away.”
“I know. I’ll be there around noon.”
“Okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
I turned over and went back to sleep.

He showed up just after noon the next day, the kayak secured to the roof of his car. I stood in the drive. Without a word, he lifted me into his arms, whisked me off to bed like a good romance hero should, and then, once we’d paid our long overdue dues, asked me to marry him. HEA…it does exist.

So this is Julia's take on HEA. Tell us about yours? What do you think make a HEA perfect?

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We're talking about French Covers

We're at Book Lovers Inc today talking about new French covers!

This week we have an unexpected French covers invasion. Caro visited her French amazon site and was bombarded with new, more or less, gems for our post series. Here is what she found. Be prepared for optical illusions, whory lipstick and messy heroines that never change their shirt. Enjoy and please leave us your two cents in the comments.

Come tell us your two cents! 

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Earworm of the Week - Week from Hell edition

Welcome again to our evil plan to spread the earworms in the blogosphere. This week we kind of have a European edition even though we didn't do this on purpose. Here's our attempt at making this week more bearable *wink*

Susi's Earworm - "Bettina, zieh dir bitte etwas an" by Fettes Brot + Modeselktor

Susi: This song is already a few years old but it sneaked up on me in the last few days. The song is about a rather annoying habit the German tv stations developed in the last decade. We have those late night "quiz" shows where a woman is on the screen and wants to make you call her and tell her for example an car brand that starts with an A. In itself just annoying cuz the whole thing is just a sham to get your money but why are so many men calling those show at night? You can look for yourself here. When the moderator woman, let's call her Bettina, receives a correct answer she will start to undress. So the band Fettes Brot dedicated a whole song to one of these girls and in summary they tell her to please cover herself. It is a funny song and the lyrics are just hilarious. And as Caro told me the music is catchy even when you don't understand the lyrics.  Here's a relative good translation of the song if you want to find out more.

Caro's earworm -  L'horloge Tourne by Mickael Miro :

Caro: Why this song? Because every French radio is playing it everyday...of course everyday while I drive to work so I start the day with it in my head and it get stuck! This song is pretty depressing to be fair. The lyrics would go a bit like that:

"I just got a Text, I'm 25

A tsunami took it all away

even the children's games

The time is ticking, the minutes are wrinkles

And me I dream of turning back time..."

So every chorus is at a different age, with a different message. It's pretty much about how when you're young you want time to go faster and when you get 30 you want to go back and you lost your innocence. Depressing huh?! lol

So that's what's in our heads this week! What's in yours? 

Go on, tell us which song annoys you or which you just love to pieces!

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April's HEAs

Susi's reads:
For me April really sucked reading-wise. I had so much to do with the 2 jobs (yes I'm that crazy) and the uni starting again that I actually had days I didn't read at all. Yes it was that crazy. But I'm slowing regaining speed so I think I still might reach 150 books this years. *cheers herself* And yes 3 Megan Hart stories. *blush*
1. Passion Model by Megan Hart
When this one came out in print I just couldn't resist. Wonderful scifi romance AND there is Amidst a Crowd of stars at the- my all time favorite novella ever. Must Buy!

2. Stranded With Her Ex by Jill Sorenson
First of Sorensons new releases and I devoured it. Fun and sexy but I have to admit that I felt the difference between this one being a category romance and her other full novel length titles. Still very enjoyable though.

3. The Chase (Fast Track, #4) by Erin McCarthy
I was a bit unsure about this one because I never thought much about Evan in the previous novels but he won my heart really fast. Cute and sweet contemporary.

4. Collide by Megan Hart
OMFG I never thought I would like this hero but I did- so much. Wonderful novel with a lot of things to think about. Still sorting through my thoughts before I will be able to form a coherent review. Stay tuned.

5. Magic on the Hunt (Allie Beckstrom, #6) by Devon Monk

Not sure what to say about this one- it was gripping and I liked it but for the "special" factor was missing. I'm not sure if it's the urban fantasy genre in general though- I don't seem to be as addicted to those I was in the past.

6. The Edge of Night by Jill Sorenson
A love story in the middle of gangterritory- heart-wrenching and again characters you just can't help but fall for. I was a bit sad that the YA plotline wasn't what I imagined it could be though. Helpless romantic- that's me. =P

7. Three to Tango by Lauren Dane, Megan Hart, Emma Holly, Bethany Kane (my review)
This is one of the best anthologies I ever read. I loved it so much and I discovered a new to me author- Emma Holly. Alone for that it was worth it. But we also had perfect stories by Dane and Hart. Highly recommended read.

8. Sabine (And the Beast #1) by Moira Rogers (my review)
Very good fantasy short story- the setting was great and again I love how Rogers always builds the setting and world with such an easy and flowing way- you don't even notice how much you actually learn. Wonderful and already highly anticipating Kisri, book 2 in this series.

9. Touch and Go by Michelle Rowen
This one caught me by surprise- perhaps I should really start reading blurbs cuz I thought it would be a contemporary cuz it is a Blaze but it was more of a PNR read. But I still enjoyed it really much- very sexy and so much fun. I really love Rowen's humor.

Caro's reads:
Wow that was a good month reading wise for me =P I have NO idea why, but last month I went on a YA book binge.O_O I hadn’t read a YA since August last year but I ended up reading 7 of them O_o what is UP with me?!!! Go on Susi slap me lol


1. The Bride (Lairds' Fiancées, #1) by Julie Garwood
I don’t read Medieval romances often but one in a while I do appreciate it. This was cute and refreshing. The alpha hero being all alpha was sometimes a bit hard on my feminist side. ;)

2. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
I was pleasantly surprised by this book.I admit I bought it thinking I’d hate it because it was set in Paris (city I really dislike)and that it would be full of clichés. But nope it's addictive and really romantic. I loved the hero! Very cute book who will make you smile.

3. Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry, #1) by Simone Elkeles
I LOVED it.Wow fantastic book with ‘real’ Young adults. I think it helps that these YA have smex and curse and everything. The love story was heartbreaking and beautiful. *happy sigh* And since the hero is Mexican I got to learn a few Spanish curse words LOL I highly recommend it *g*

4. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
A real page turner. I really enjoyed it. The characters act like real teenagers and I found myself in the heroine. I wish there had been more to the story though...we never get into the ‘hero’’s life. It would have made it perfect. A nice YA book. I'll be waiting for the next book by this young author.

5. Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
This is the 2nd book int he series by Simone Elkeles. This time it’s about the 2nd Fuentes brother. I loved it as much as the first book. I just couldn’t stop reading, it’s just that good. I can’t wait for the last brother’s story coming out in August. NOM nom!

6. Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts, #2) by Stacia Kane
This is the 2nd book int he series by Simone Elkeles. This time it’s about the 2nd Fuentes brother. I loved it as much as the first book. I just couldn’t stop reading, it’s just that good. I can’t wait for the last brother’s story coming out in August. NOM nom!

7. The Iron King (Iron Fey, #1) by Julie Kagawa
A few months ago, I ordered the 3 books in the series on a whim. This is a page turner and I will give it this, I was never bored. BUT it wasn’t anything I hadn’t read before. It was good but It made me think of quite a few books on faeries I’ve read before.

8. Winter's Passage (Iron Fey, #1.5) by Julie Kagawa
This is a short novella of what happens exactly after the end of book 1. It was nice and fast to read. I don’t think it brought much to the series ARC though.


9. Collision Course (8th Wing #1) by Zoë Archer 
This is a fast read too. After so many YA it was a great change to read this hot sci-fi romance. Nom nom.


10. Sabine (And the Beast #1) by Moira Rogers (my review)
What a cute and smexy fairy tale! I recommend it highly. Major NOM


11. Enclave (Razorland, #1)by Ann Aguirre
WOW. This is how I felt when I finished this book WOW. I loved it to pieces. I’m still recovering from it. What a fantastic book. i’m not sure I even have words for it. One of my favorite books this year. Waiting for the next book in the series is going to be very hard *sob*

12. Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne
I LOVED this audiobook. I story was very funny,interesting and original. It reminded me of the Dresden Files. I also loved the narrator reading this audiobook *roar*. And his impersonation of Oberon was hilarious!  I can’t wait for book 2. *sob* I can’t recommend this book enough.

So how was your April? What was you're favorite read? Anything we just NEED to check out?

PS: Susi tortured me until I tightened all my reviews!! Yes this is the short version...lol I don't do short very well LOL  <===yes Susi I'm totally telling on you! lol

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