no kink

The King by J.R. Ward

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Paranormal, Vampire
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #12
Published: 4/1/14
Reviewed by Kate
592 ebook pages


I’m relatively new to the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.  I worked my way through the series and finally caught up with the release of Qhuinn and Blay’s story last year.  I’ve reread the first few books a second time, but have not reread the entire series.  I was really looking forward to the release of the King.


I would love to give you a synopsis of the story, but honestly that would probably take close to the 592 pages that the author used to tell the story.  It follows so many people and covers multiple story arcs.  It was such an involving story.  While I normally average 150 pages read each day, I got through this giant book in just under 48 hours.  And that includes taking breaks for things like feeding my family.  And truthfully, you really need to read all the other books in the series before you start this one.


Let me say that this book was everything I was hoping that it would be.  It was Wrath and Beth, and so much more.  We get more from the Band of Bastards, Assail, and Trez and iAm, as well as glimpses of all our favorite Brothers and their shellans.  We also see some romances forming between some of the (currently) secondary characters.  The ending left me with a huge contented sigh.  A part of me would like to see the series to end at this really happy point, but there are so many loose ends left to be tied up that I know there must be plenty of new books left to be written (and I want to know how those ends are tied up).


Because I have not read my way through the series multiple times and my memory is not the greatest, I did struggle at times dealing with so many characters, who they were and what happened to them in the last books?  Especially the female characters that look like they may be featured in some of the upcoming books.  A quick wikipedia search provided me with a list of characters that I kept next to me through the first half of the book.


So, my review in a few sentences:  If you already enjoy the Black Dagger Brotherhood you will love this one.  If you haven’t started this series yet, what are you waiting for?  Start with the first one (Dark Lover) and you won’t be able to stop.

The Cowboy’s E-Mail Order Bride by Cora Seton

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Mail Order Bride
Series: The Cowboys of Chance Creek #1
Published: 4/30/13
Reviewed by Kate
228 pages

After a series of bad events in his life, Ethan is drunk and goes on a rant about what the perfect ranch wife would need to be.  Unknown to him, his friends video tape the rant, edit it, and post it to YouTube as a “looking for a wife” add.  Autumn works for a hoity-toity magazine in the city.  Due to upcoming cutbacks, her job is on the line.  She responds to the YouTube add and plans on writing a story about her adventure.


Mail order brides are some of my absolute favorite romances to read.  Although this is the first modern day one I’ve read.  I was a little nervous about it, to be honest.  Just how would an e-mail order bride story in today’s world really work?  What kind of situations could the hero and heroine be in that would make this the solution?


By page 15, I was pretty sure that I hated Autumn.  Ethan’s friends had gotten him into this mess, but Autumn jumped in with eyes wide open-planning on using Ethan.  By page 20, I was starting to like Autumn a little more. She’s battling her own inner demons and I began to see where she was coming from a bit.  Of course it helped that Ethan didn’t come clean with her right away.  It wasn’t a book where one person was lying and the other was a saint.  It became a story of secrets, which I typically despise.  Not so with this book.  Watching these two work through all the secrets was an enjoyable journey.


If you like mail order bride stories give this one a chance.  Cora Seton has created a pair that I rooted for in Ethan and Autumn and she’s introduced us to a cast of secondary characters that leaves me wanting more.  I’ve added the rest of the Cowboys of Chance Creek series to my TBR pile.


Have you read any modern day mail order bride romances?  Do you have any I should add to my TBR pile?

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
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Eleanor & Park
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Ember
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Published: 2/26/13
Reviewed by Anne
(audiobook)
 
Sometime last year I heard a lot of buzz about this book.  I jotted down the title and decided I should read it one day.  Then when I was burnt out from my 3rd re-listen to the In Death series by J.D. Robb, I thought I’d listen to Eleanor & Park instead of reading it.  I remembered that it was about high schoolers.  I downloaded my copy and started listening.  And I listened and l listened and I listened.  It was so good, but it was also heartwrenching.  
 
I’d stumbled into a trigger of mine and I had a hard time putting it down.  I kept inventing chores to do so I could continue to listen.  That night when I went to bed only half way through the story, I felt like I was abandoning Eleanor and her siblings!  It haunted me!  I managed to finish it the next day, and it’s still haunting me.  In a good way, but disturbing, too.
 
Sixteen year old Eleanor has just moved back in with her family after a year away.  They’re in a new house and a new school district, so besides her family, she knows no one.  And after a year away, even her family feels like strangers.  
 
Park first sees Eleanor on the bus.  She’s clearly going to be a target to be bullied, with her bright red bushy hair and weird clothes.  When she can’t find a seat on the bus he surprises himself by reluctantly making room for her in his, all while hoping it won’t draw the bullies’ attentions to him.  
 
The way their relationship unfolds is sweet and so true!  This is the best description of first love I’ve ever read!  Rainbow Rowell just nails it.  Along with their relationship, we also hear about Park trying to live up to his father’s expectations and dealing with his own issues as a half-Asian kid.  And we hear about Eleanor’s horrible step-father who abuses her mother and looms over the whole house like an awful shadow, infecting everything they do.  And then there’s the abject poverty Eleanor’s family lives in.  It’s just painful to read about.  But the sweetness and hope that comes when Eleanor and Park are together is so wonderful, it balances out some of the bad.
 
Eleanor and Park were great characters.  They weren’t perfect and they both made mistakes that strained their relationship.  They came across as very real and three dimensional.  They grow and change as the story progresses.  Even the bullies in the story are multi-dimensional.  
 
The story takes place in the eighties, and it’s quite a contrast to the anti-bullying climate we see in schools today.  Eleanor bullied at school and there are times that the teachers not only don’t help, but make Eleanor’s life even harder.  I’ve rarely been so rage-filled toward a character as I was toward Eleanor’s gym teacher!
 
This book made me wish I was back in high school or in a traditional book club and could analyze it to death.  I hated that in high school, but now I want to know what people think.  Did they see this big twist coming?  Why did this character act in this way.  Was this just a perception in his head, or was it a real thing?  WHY did Eleanor make that choice?  What was up with Eleanor’s mom?  How much did Park understand?
 
I loved this story, and it’s really stuck with me.  I highly recommend it, with the caveat that it’s emotionally wrenching!  Honestly,  I avoid a books like this because the kids in the story just break my heart.  i wouldn’t have read this one if I’d known about the abuse in it. I’ll for sure read Rowell again, though!