Glory in Death by J.D. Robb, Narrated by Susan Ericksen

It is 2058, New York City. In a world where technology can reveal the darkest of secrets, there's only one place to hide a crime of passion-in the heart.

Even in the mid-twenty-first century, during a time when genetic testing usually weeds out any violent hereditary traits before they can take over, murder still happens. The first victim is found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second is murdered in her own apartment building. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both victims were beautiful and highly successful women. Their glamorous lives and loves were the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with men of great power and wealth provide Eve with a long list of suspects-including her own lover, Roarke

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Science Fiction for people who don't like Science Fiction!

Glory in Death is the second book in J.D. Robb’s wildly popular, futuristic, In Death series, and just like the first book, it’s an exciting, gritty, thrilling read.

The Story -

Two prominent women and a third ‘accidental’ have been found with their throats slashed, and as primary on the case, Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has her hands full. With the list of suspects rising along with the death count, Eve is mentally and emotionally pushed to her limits, and so is her relationship with Roarke.

My Thoughts -

Honestly, even though I’ve listened to my daughter rave about these stories, and despite the number of 4 and 5 star reviews on Goodreads, I just never felt the urge to read this series. But thankfully I stumbled upon the audio version of Naked in Death at my public library and now I’m hooked!

Glory in Death is an intriguing murder mystery filled with twists and turns and suspects and probable causes… plenty of possibilities to keep me guessing – even though I had a fairly good idea, I wasn’t certain – as to the identity of the murderer. And the budding romance between Roarke and Eve is done so well that even though it’s frustrating at times, it’s also what I’d expect from these two, strong willed people.

The series is set in the future, mid 21st century. Since I’m not a fan of Science Fiction, I was worried about how well I’d like these books. Fortunately, while they’re futuristic, they’re not at all overly Science Fiction, and I think people who aren’t usually fans of the genre will enjoy these. In fact, if you're familiar with Stephenie Meyer's The Host, I'd say this series is even less SciFi than that.

Now, a bit about the audio. Susan Ericksen is just so, so talented! She gives these characters such distinctive voices that it’s as though she’s breathed life into them. She gives them the level of passion, fear, sorrow, hope... all the emotions become so much more vivid. They truly do start to feel like real people, and that’s exactly how I love my audio ‘reads.’

Overall, Glory in Death is fast paced, exciting, passionate, and even romantic in a two-steps-forward, one-step-back sort of way, and I loved every minute of it!

  

Own the Wind by Kristen Ashley Blog Tour!

Welcome to my contribution to the Own the Wind Blog Tour! 

Today I'll be sharing my review of Own the Wind, and giving ya'll a peek at my afternoon with Kane "Tack" Allen!

2012 brought me an amazing year of reading, and at the top of the "amazing" is Kristen Ashley and her incredibly romantic, sexy, passionate, edgy, thought provoking stories. And totally blown away, I had the honor of being one of the lucky recipients of a print ARC of  Own the Wind, Shy and Tabby's story, one of the best novels ever!

So go ahead, take a look around, but be sure and keep reading to learn about how my chocolate cake got me a teeny - but totally awesome - tidbit about Hop and Lanie's story in Fire Inside. Getting the information out of Tack wasn't easy, but I love yous so I put it out there and got what I got and now I'm passing it on to you all. So yeah, keep reading!

My keeper shelf just got bigger!!


Those of us who had read Motorcycle Man knew that Shy and Tabby would get their story someday, and it’s a story we’ve been looking forward to. Well, that story came much sooner than I had expected it, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am about that!

Own the Wind is totally, completely, amazing. It’s a beautiful tale filled with growth, passion and the kind of romance we mere mortal readers only dream of. It’s a story of letting go of the past, living in the now, with an eye to a future filled with nothing but the best things life has to offer. It’s sexy, romantic, funny... insightful, thought provoking and inspiring. It truly does not get better than this.

And for those who are concerned, I know a lot of us were worried that going with a publisher would change the way she tells her stories, that we'd lose the voice we've come to adore. I'm telling you now... No worries. Seriously, this is Kristen Ashley at her finest, and you won't be disappointed.

My thanks to Kristen Ashley, Chas, and Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishers, for providing BlithelyBookish Reviews with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was, start to finish, brilliant!

~~~My Afternoon With Tack~~~

So, here I am, standing in my kitchen frosting a cake, when suddenly I feel a presence with me. I look up and standing right there watching me is a tall, built man with messy, overlong salt-and-pepper hair (mostly pepper), a goatee that’s longish at the chin and lots of tats. He’s wearing faded jeans, a tight black t-shirt is spread across his wide chest, and on his feet, dusty motorcycle boots

“Yo,” he greets in his gravelly voice. His deep blue eyes drop to the cake on its stand and then move back to mine. I see his lips, surrounded by that goatee, are twitching. “That smells good.”

My mouth goes suddenly dry, and I have no reply.

He moves closer to me and I bite my bottom lip.

He notices this and smiles. I think he can tell he’s making me nervous!

My heart stops.

“You wanted a word?” he prompts.

“Umm.”

His brows go up and his lips are twitching again. “That the word?”

“Well…”

When I hesitate, he says, “Babe, Kit said you want a word. You want a word, you gotta give me a word.”

I clear my throat and say, “Uh… first, maybe we should introduce ourselves. But I know you’re Tack. I’m Ruth.”

He grins again and replies, “Yo, Ruth. Nice to meet cha.” His head tips to the side. “Now, your word?”

“Well,” I start hesitantly, “I wanted… that is to say…” I swallow hard. “I had hoped that maybe you’d teach me how to roast a hog.”

This time, his head jerks in surprise. “Roast a hog?”

“Yeah, like when you have hog roasts at the Compound.”

Slowly, he states, “You want me to teach you to roast a hog.”

“Well—”

Tack interrupts me, “You got a hog you want to roast?”

“Well, no, they don’t sell them at the market and I don’t have a hog hunting license, but that’s okay because I had an even better idea!” I smile real big, and this time, it’s him who appears uneasy.

“A better idea?”

“YES! I want to go for a ride on the back of a bike with a badass biker dude!”

To this, I get a full-blown smile before he replies, “Just sayin’, I can get you a hog. I can also teach you how to roast it. But if you want a ride, I can do that, too.”

I nod eagerly and Tack tips his head to the cake. “So, you wantin’ that ride now or are you gonna finish that? And, I’ll say this, darlin’, I’d prefer you finish that so I can have a slice of it before I put you on the back of my bike.”

Thinking of Tack eating a piece of my oh so fabulous cake, and getting to watch, I tell him, “I’m going to finish it, definitely finish it.”

He moves to a stool, still smiling and orders, “Then get to it, babe. As you know, shit goin’ down with the Club and got a woman and kids to get back to. But we’ll swing you by there if you wanna meet them. I know Red’ll wanna meet you.”

“I’m up for that,” I agree.

“Then get frostin’, woman,” he demands.

I go back to frosting, now finding it somewhat difficult, doing it while Tack Allen is watching.

To take my mind off things, things like Tack, and not just any Tack, but the Tack, watching me frost the cake, I ask, “So, uh… how are you with Tabby and Shy being together?”

“No man finds it easy to give up his girl. But, people read Own the Wind, they’ll get where I’m at,” he answers.

I look up at him. “I’m sorry about what happened to her.”

Tack gives me a soft look. “Thanks, darlin’. Me too. But she bounced back all right.”

“That she did,” I murmur, going back to the cake. “As you know, I’m sharing this with my readers so can I ask you to give me a little something for them?”

“And what little somethin’ would you want?” he asks.

I look at him again and bite my lip as I ponder how much I should ask. I take a deep breath and go for it. “I know Kit isn’t big on spoilers but maybe you can share something about what’s next. Maybe with Lanie and Hop?”

He shakes his head. “You’re right. Kit isn’t real big on spoilers, but, babe, you bake cakes, you’re sweet, I already know I like you so I’ll give you this. Folks got an idea about my brother Hopper. They also got an idea about Red’s girl Lanie. And I think, with both, they’ll be surprised.”

“How so?” I pressed on, hoping for more.

“Bob Seger,” he replies and I feel my brows inch together.

“Bob Seger?”

Tack grins. “All I’m gonna say. You’ll get it soon enough.”

I look back down to the cake, mumbling, “All right.”

I put the finishing touches on the cake and figuring Tack being a badass biker dude would probably like a badass biker dude sized piece of cake, I slice off nearly a quarter of it, put it on a plate and slide it across the breakfast bar.

“Milk?” I ask, then frown, thinking badass biker dudes probably don’t drink milk, so I amend, “Or, tequila?”

His eyes light and his brows shoot up. “You got tequila?”

“Well…no,” I have to admit.

“Beer?” Tack asks.

“Umm. No,” I reply, despondently.

He flashes another grin. “Then I guess milk is gonna have to do.”

After Tack finishes his cake and washes it down with milk, he asks, “You ready to ride?”

I look up, smile, and, channeling my inner Tabby state, “I’m livin’. So, let’s ride!”

So we did, and it turned out to be one of the happiest, most exciting rides of my life!

*****

Thank you, Kristen Ashley, for giving me this very special treat. It was such an awesome experience, and an incredible honor...

...and it turned out to be one of the happiest, most exciting rides of my life!

Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward

“The quick and the dead are all the same.
Everyone’s just looking for home.” - LASSITER

(Spoilers are marked)

Hear ye! Hear ye!
Leteth it be known that on this day, March 31st, 2012, I solemnly vow that I shall never doubt the WARDen again!

So, now that that's out of the way, my thoughts on the book...
I wasn’t sure she could do it. Pffffft! Silly me.

I didn't think she could pull it off. *sigh* Whatever was I thinking?

And had I had actually considered skipping this book and not reading it at all? Yes, yes I had. *hangs head in shame*

In fact, I've spent the past year angsting and fretting and worried and crying and angry… and over what? That Wellsie would be replaced? That the whole ‘Wellsie can’t move on until you do…’ storyline would feel too contrived? That I'd have to sit through more Qhuay drama than any human being should be forced to endure? Yes, in fact, I worried about all of those things and much, much more, but like I told my Goodreads friends in the JR WARD BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD GROUP, never, ever, will I doubt the WARDen again!

Okay, let's get down to business...spoiler thoughts:

Tohr and Autumn and their story: I honestly wasn't sure what to think about No'One because we'd never been given enough of her character to form any real impressions. I'm thrilled to say that I think she's all kinds of awesome! I loved that she didn't try to hide behind her mistakes, that she came out, faced them, admitted to them, and did everything she could to make things right.

And Tohr... what a male of worth! Amazing, honorable, hot... But wow... I felt so much pain for him. The WARDen did a great job, I think, of showing that it was not easy for him to let go. That it tore him apart to even think about it. In this one book I was able to feel what he'd been living for the past years since Wellsie's death, and I needed to feel those emotions in order to buy this story.

This was a tough one for me, because I was very upset, very worried about Wellsie being replaced, worried that it would be a 'they were never meant to be' couple... but I think the WARDen did a fantastic job of handling a difficult subject and she did it with compassion, understanding, and a great deal of love and respect all the way around.

That's not to say that I'm not sad still. Even after I finished the book, I cried for Tohr and Wellsie, and their baby, Tohrment, son of Tohrment, and for all that had been taken from them. I'm truly not sure if I'll ever be okay with it, but it is what it is.

John Matthew and Xhex: I always thought it was a little easy for JM to accept Xhex as a fighter. It just seemed too simple for a bonded male to be able to send his mate out into the field and be okay with it. That's why their story in Lover Reborn, I felt, was perfect. We finally were able to see how JM really felt, and how his feelings affected Xhex. I really appreciated this glimpse into their relationship and am thrilled for the way things worked out for them.

The Band of Bastards: I can't say enough about them. I hated them, despised them, sat imagining all kinds of horrible ways to kill them, and loved every single minute of it! I can't wait to read more, especially about Xcor. He's the Bastard I'm most excited about!

Assail: Hot damn! I'm digging Assail... I wonder if he's part Sympath and that's how he and Xhex knew each other?! He's a male to watch!

Qhuinn and Blay: Over the years I've become ambivilant about their story. I had reached the point where I just wanted their book so it would end already... be put out of my misery! I thought if I had to spend even a moment more watching their crap I'd rather drink bleach!!!

Yes, well, that's all changed. In one scene of several paragraphs, Qhuinn took me from loathing them to adoring them, and I am so, so stoked that their book is next!!!!

Layla: I still say she's a female of worth who's just misunderstood.

The epilogue: You can't get much more Harlequin Presents than this without changing publishers.

What made this book all kinds of brilliant...

The entire message of this book is summed up by Qhuinn, in one of the best, most poignant scenes of any Black Dagger Brotherhood book ever, and had me throwing fist punches and shouting, YES!:

All that simple-and-easy ended as he turned around. In the library, through the open doors, he saw Blay and Saxton talking. And then his cousin stepped in and pulled Blay into his arms. As the pair of them stood together, body on body, Qhuinn took a deep breath and felt a little death of his own come to him.

He guessed this was how it ended for them.

Separate lives, separate futures.

Hard to think that they had started out inseparable—

Abruptly, Blay’s blue stare found his.

And what Qhuinn saw in it caused him to falter: Love shone out of that face, unadulterated love untempered by the shyness that was very much a part of his reserve.

Blay didn’t look away.

And for the first time… neither did Qhuinn.

He didn’t know whether the emotion was about his cousin—it probably was—but he’d take it: He stared right back at Blaylock and let everything he had in his heart show in his face.
He just let that shit fly.

Because there was a lesson in this Fade ceremony tonight: You could lose the ones you loved in the blink of an eye—and he was willing to bet, when it happened, you weren’t thinking about all the reasons that could have kept you apart. You thought of all the reasons that kept you together.

And, no doubt, how you wished you’d had more time. Even if you’d had centuries…

When you were young, you thought time was a burden, something to be discharged as fast as possible so you could be grown-up. But it was such a bait-n-switch—when you were an adult, you came to realize that minutes and hours were the single most precious thing you had.

No one got forever. And it was a fucking crime to waste what you were given.

Enough, Qhuinn thought. Enough with the excuses, and the avoidance, and the trying to be someone, anyone else.

Even if he got shanked, even if his precious little ego and his dumb-ass little heart got shattered into a million pieces, it was time to stop the bullshit.

It was time to be a male.

As Blay started to straighten, like a message had been received, Qhuinn thought, That’s right, buddy.

Our future has come.

AMEN Qhuinn!!! And the future doesn't get better than that!

One final thought...

And in closing, I feel the need to point out that I'm thrilled that I am not the one who has to change the sheets in the Brothers' rooms at the Mansion. You couldn't pay me enough.

Just sayin'....