Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

Bookshelf of Holding :: Once Burned Review

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost


"She's a mortal with dark powers... After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire...
He's the Prince of Night... Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames."

Have to say, although I enjoyed reading this book I didn't feel like it held up as well as the Night Huntress series of books. Our main man, Vlad, read Leila's mind 99% of the time, so there was little dialog. Other than that complaint, I enjoyed curling up on the couch to read this book and I'll be running out to buy the next in the series. Like the Night Huntress books it is obvious the next Night Price book will leave off where this started and keep with the same two main characters: Vlad and Leila. This current book, also like the Night Huntress books, didn't have a nice "everything is wrapped up story wise" ending to leave room for the next book. I'll enjoy reading more about Leila giving Vlad a run for his money by refusing to listen :)

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Rhianna (Check me out at Good Reads to see what is on my bookshelf!)

Bookshelf of Holding :: Wicked Nights Review

Wicked Nights by Gena Showalter

"Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless--and if he isn't careful, he'll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions at any cost...until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he's never known before.
Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation--or her ultimate damnation?"

I had a TON of fun reading this book! Zacharel was a pleasure to read about, mostly due to the taunting, harassment, and down-to-earth attitude of Annabelle! I enjoyed her riling up of Zacharel. Gena did an amazing job ending this book with a smooth transition into the next Angel-army book which, I can hope, comes out soon - maybe?! Anyway, I am definitly looking forward to reading about other angels in Zacharel's army and enjoyed the glimpses of the fighters that appeared in this book. The Lord of the Underword had a small cameo which fit into the story line. There was definitly a twist regarding the bad guy in this book that I didn't see coming. I hope you all enjoy reading this book as much as I did :)

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Rhianna (Check me out at Good Reads to see what is on my bookshelf!)

Bookshelf of Holding :: Lethal Rider Review

Lethal Rider
by Larissa Ione "Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, Regan Cooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he's about to become a father.

Demon-slayer Regan Cooper never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he's ever wanted-a family"
 


So sorry this is late, guys! I read this last month and was happy with the outcome. It was pretty good and kept me wanting to read it. I was very happy that Regan never became some cowering "hide behind my man" type of woman. That being said, it wasn't the greatest book ever. I liked how Larissa Ione went a lot into Thantos' thoughts and feelings on the changing magnitude of his life now that a baby and Regan were involved. I am really looking forward to the next book which has the last horseman in it flipping sides from a supreme bad guy into a good guy!!


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Rhianna (Check me out at Good Reads to see what is on my bookshelf!)

Bookshelf of Holding :: Lover Reborn Review

As I said in my preview, I was not looking forward to this book and, to be completely honest, I was prepared to hate it.  But, I am happy to say, I ended up really loving it.  I think what I enjoyed best was seeing that the other previously paired couples were having issues in their relationship.  JR Ward seems to make it a point to show that although these mated couples are in love, they still have relationship issues they need to work through.  This isn't the first book she has shown this concept in, either.  I like that "happily ever after" doesn't mean "ridiculously and unrealistically 100% perfect bliss" it means that love is there, but so is life and life brings issues, problems, and growth within a relationship.

** SPOILERS **

This book seemed really long - but in a good way.  It really focused on Thorment getting passed the loss of his mate (and unborn son). It was torturous to read his journey in dealing with such a huge loss. Having such a monumental issue to deal with would have been ridiculous in a shorter book, so the length was a huge plus. I wish that No'One had more of a backbone earlier on in the book, but you could see her growth as well (just not on as large of a scale as Thorment's).

** END **

Overall, I think this book pulled me, successfully, back on the Black Dagger Brotherhood train. I was starting to waiver with the last few books, but I enjoyed this one so much that I am looking forward to the next one!

Rating: 4 stars (should read)

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Rhianna (Check me out at Good Reads to see what is on my bookshelf!)


Mommy's Drink

A Little Drink for Mommy
   the Opinion of an Alcoholic Natural Disaster by Angie (@angiedjw on twitter)

   Being a mom is hard, kids are the best things that can happened to someone ever, also the worse. It's fun & entertaining but it's also difficult, stressful & exhausting, basically it's chaos in diapers. How do I know this? Simple, I'm a Mom. Not just any mom, a mom of 3. My kidlets, as I commonly refer to them, are 8 and 4 years old and then there's the 15 month old. With needing to get 2 kids to 5 different activities and their associated practices and rehearsal times, as well as us both having full time jobs, and being active members of our church, we spend a LOT of time in the car, hurrying around, stressed, and plain simply tired. True we bring it all on ourself but hey we're molding little minds into active healthy members of society. No wonder Mommy needs a drink every now and then. Mommy's drink of choice, a mudslide! Yes MUDSLIDE, a drink made of alcohol named after a natural disaster, fitting for motherhood wouldn't you say?

Making a mudslide is easy (single serving recipe taken from here):
   Put it in a blender and let it spin, or put it in a shaker and shake, shake, shake senora, shake your alchy right. Or you can just pour the yummy stuff over ice and drink it like that, which is how I do it.
   I ran out of the Kahlua & Baileys not too long ago and asked Hubby to stop by the liquor store to buy another bottle of each, this was a mistake. Not because he doesn't know what the stuff is but because my empty bottles happen to coincide with New Years. Boy do people like to clear out the liquor for that. Instead of bringing me home the actual liquor he brought me home these:


I took this picture, not sure why these are sideways,
maybe the bottles are drunk. I doubt it though.
    Not exactly the same. These are those pre-made drink mixes, that when drank straight from the bottle taste mostly like syrup. You've probably seen similar things like this in a 7-11 or local grocery for margaritas, pina coladas, & daiquiris but those have a lower alcohol %. But same deal, you MUST make these by pouring them over ice into a blender and making them frozen drink style.

Here's an honest review of each of the three:
My Mommy Drink:
  I use a modified version of recipe I found online 3 years ago (sorry can't point you to it since I lost the paper after I memorized it).
  • 2 parts (or shots depending on how you chose to measure it) Kahlua
  • 2 parts Baileys Irish Cream
  • 1 full cup (yep 8 oz) 2%milk (you can also use cream if you'd like it really thick)
  • 1 part vodka 
I don't blend it, but yes it is all over ice just as it is, so there is usually a lot of ice in the cup. As I mentioned, I use milk (and count it towards my daily dairy serving). What? It counts if I consume it right?

Baileys Mudslide:
  I made this one first when I ran out of the "real" Mudslide ingredients. I'll admit, I like those frozen drinks when you buy them at a restaurant, maybe they add an extra shot of one of the ingredients to make it extra yum. This didn't taste at all like those. When I made this I felt it was definitely lacking from the mudslides' I'm used to drinking that I make myself. It really should be noted it doesn't taste like the ones at the restaurants, at least not to me. Also, I'd probably have to drink about half the bottle before I felt any sort of effect from the alchol in it. Over the last two months I've mostly made them using this stuff, with no extra shots since again, I'm out.

Kahlua Mudslide:
  I am currently drinking one of these, as in, while I type this review out. See, look:


Woo are you drunk? Cause this cup is totally sitting upright.
   Taste wise it is very similar to the Bailey's one. This one does have a bit more of a syrupy kick to it though. I love syrup, you know, on pancakes. In my drinks, not so much.  I may have become immune to the it's-not-directly-from-the-bottle alchy effect or something. Again I'm thinking half a bottle later I may feel a tingle.
   For both of the pre-made mixes I fill my blender to the 1/4 mark and add twice the ice as the liquid level. It took about 1/4 of the Bailey's bottle before I found a good Ice-Liquid ratio that removed the syrup taste, this is where I got that equation...experimentation.
   Overall the drink mixes are not bad, just not my taste I'd say. If you are a big fan of the mixes from stores, then I suggest giving them a go. Just make sure you have a working blender. The best part of these drink mixes is that my kids "help" me make them by pushing the blender button. What? We're bonding, and I swear Mommy does not drink that much. Yea, I know, setting a bad example, bla bla bla. Hey FIVE activites, rehersals, practices, church activites, work AND they think Mommy's drink looks like chocolate milk so they are allowed to have that while I have my one drink.
   Sadly until those two bottles are empty I'm not allowed to buy the "real" mudslide ingredients.Sad for me of course. Can't waste money or liquor, afterall there is liquor in there and we've got "healthier" sport related activites to spend on. It's an unfair but understandable compromise between Hubbs and I. Next time though, I'm hittin the ABC store myself, otherwise Mommy might be A Big Crank!


A Real Mudslide, see it's not laying over drunk.
 Have you ever drank an alcoholic natural disaster? How was it?