Things I've learned this year

I have to admit I didn't quite manage to be as organized in my blogging as I planned at the start of the year. My first mistake was to not write the reviews as I read the books. I've also learned that I need to have more diverse posts, not just memes and reviews. I need to interact more. I've blogged before, but it was my first blog was mostly filled with rants and talks between me and some dear friends of mine. Kind of like a public e-mail. But I do know that interaction is important, so I'll do more of that next year :D

Another thing I've learned is to respect schedules. I had a lazy summer, letting myself get pulled by that reading funk I get every year. You know, the one where no book is appealing enough. I promised myself I won't do that in the future. I'll search books that I hear a lot of talk about, at least to figure out why it's so liked.

Another thing this experience has taught me is to be very open-minded about the genres I'm willing to read. I've had a few pleasant surprises and I found that there are some genres that I actually enjoyed more than I thought.

Last but not least it's best for me to start reading challenges with less expectations. That way, they don't look so hard to fulfill.

So this is what I've learned this year from my book blogging. What have you learned this year?

Winter cleaning

So I realized my blog looks like a bomb went off on it, for some reason. Because of that I've decided to redo everything and to redesign a template. Let's hope it takes less time than the last time. I really hope it won't become something permanent, like every year Blogger forces me to do this LOL. That and I'm not very good with html, so I don't know if the problem is in the encoding or whatever the name. Anyway, I hope I'll be back in about a week or so. Happy reading until then!

Book Review: Cowboy Casanova by Lorelei James

Author: Lorelei James
Series: Rough Riders #12
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

His rough touch makes her lose control…

In Sundance, Wyoming, you can't throw a boot without hitting a McKay cowboy, so Ben McKay is used to fading into the background. Except on weekends, when he's Bennett, imposing Dom at The Rawhide Club, surrounded by a bevy of female subs eager for the attention of his long…whip.

As for the curvy brunette eying him from across the room? He'll eat his Stetson if she's the experienced Domme she claims to be. Bennett offers her a deal—he'll let her call the shots for one night. But the next night he gets to prove to her how freeing it'll be when he takes the reins.

Ainsley Hamilton is amazed by how well Bennett read her every secret yearning during that one explosive weekend—and she's stunned when they come face to face in their everyday lives as rancher and new bank president. Now Ben's urging her to explore her submissive side outside the club, and there's something in his commanding gaze that makes it too easy to let him take control—of her desires and her pleasure.

Can Ben help Ainsley overcome her fear that a relationship built on dark sexual appetites won't survive the light of day?

I know I've said it before, but I feel the need to repeat myself: I don't think I've ever read about cowboys that are sexier than those from Ms. James' stories. I'm actually sure of it. That being said, I have to say I'm in a very happy place right now and I'm sure I'm not the only reader out there feeling the same way. I mean, let's face it! A McKay story is more than good. Two McKays getting their HEAs and I for one am in heaven! Yes, I'm addicted. There, I said it!

I loved Ben McKay. What's not to love? He's sexy, dangerous, dark, sensual... He's a Dom. But he's also a great listener, a great friend and brother and cousin, always having a good advice for everyone, always trying to calm his cousins or brothers when they get into a fight. He's also the type of hero I love, the one who makes mistakes and has the balls to admit doing them.

Then there's Ainsley, who's been hurt by the people who're supposed to care for her and accept her as she is and not judge her. So she's afraid of losing control and afraid to trust someone with a part of her that is so vulnerable. She's willing to change that though and I think that's all that matters.

The sex scenes were hot, the scenes with more than two McKay cowboys were sometimes funny, sometimes touching and sometimes sad, the scenes where Ben and Ainsley were acting like a couple were plain sweet. Here's another moment when I feel the need to repeat myself. Few authors manage to write series this long and make every character different and interesting at the same time. Lorelei James manages to do so and the fact that we get those little snippets of the old characters' lives is amazing. So I'll say it again: I hope this series never ends.

My Rating:

Fall Into Reading : Weekly Question (#3)

I'm finally on time with this question *pats self*. Fall Into Reading is a reading challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. This week's question for the Fall Into Reading challenge is:

Where do you love to read? Do you have a favorite chair, a favorite room, a favorite place…somewhere that inspires you to put everything else aside and pick up a book?



There are few places that really get me into that reading mood. It doesn't have anything do to with noise or how many people are around me, it's mostly related to how comfy I feel.

Where I read: I love reading in my room, in bed, under a very warm blanket (if it's cold, otherwise no blanket for me :P). I love reading in bed because I can sit however I want for how long I want, especially since my bed in kinda huge.

I also love to read when I'm at the beach. The sound of the waves hitting the shore is the perfect soundtrack for almost any book. I also love reading when I'm on a bus or a train, even if I sometimes forget to check the station, see if I passed the one I was supposed to arrive to.

This might make me a bad student, but if the class is boring, I'll take out the book in my bag and start reading. I haven't gotten caught before, lucky me. But it's either be silent and read or leave the classroom and loose time doing nothing. I choose reading every time.

What inspires me to read: Well,  it depends. Like I said before, I love the sound of waves, so that's one source of inspiration. Also, the sound of rain makes me want to read. Old music makes a good soundtrack for books, mostly because some of them are slow and they don't distract me with catchy beats. I find it difficult to read when I'm feeling like I just got locked into an oven. If it's really hot outside, I can't exactly concentrate. I prefer either just warm or somewhat cold weather for reading. I know, I'm weird like that :P.

Where do you like to read?

Book Review: Make Me, Sir by Cherise Sinclair

Author: Cherise Sinclair
Series: Masters of Shadowlands #5
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

Her job is to make his life miserable. His job is to make her submit. Whose heart will surrender first?
Across the country, rebellious BDSM submissives are being systematically kidnapped, one from each club. When her friend falls prey to the slavers, FBI victim specialist Gabrielle volunteers to be bait in a club not yet hit: the Shadowlands.
She finds that being a bratty sub comes naturally, especially when she gets to twit the appallingly conservative Master of the trainees. But she soon discovers he's not as stuffy as she'd thought. Or as mean. She'd expected punishment, even humiliation, but she sure never expected to fall in love with a damned lawyer.
Courtesy of a prima donna ex-wife, Marcus loathes disobedient submissives. When the club owner insists he admit an incredibly bratty trainee, he's furious. But as he comes to know Gabrielle and sees the alluring sweetness beneath the sass, he starts to fall for her.
Unfortunately, Marcus isn't the only one who believes the feisty redhead is a prize worth capturing. And in the world of the slaver, such treasure is worth a hefty fee.

While waiting for the next Master of the Shadowlands Club, Master Raoul, to get his story, I've decided a little re-read is in order. Though I reread some of the scenes that I liked most in the series before, this is the third time I actually read the entire book, without skipping any scenes.

The thing I like most about Master Marc is that he is nowhere near perfect. Yes, he's gorgeous and yes, he's a successful lawyer. But he's the kind of guy that makes mistakes. I think the ones who've read the book can imagine the scene that made me want to shake the guy. And yet right after that he apologizes and tried to make things better. But, let's face it, all of Ms. Sinclair's heroes are charmers. What I totally loved about him was the fact that he surprised me so much. When he was first introduced, I couldn't see him as someone who could easily turn his dominant side off and just have fun. Maybe it was Gabi who made him be more playful.

Gabi is a very complex woman. I think she's the best friend someone can have, the kind of friend that would do anything for those she cares about, even if it means putting herself in danger. Gabi doesn't care that she has to face two sets of demons (the really bad guys and her past traumas), she all she cares about is her friend and rescuing her. I liked that about her. I also loved her sarcasm and her humor. I think she's the best girl for Marc. She forces him to relearn how to have fun and I'm sure Marc needed that.

We also get some glimpses into the lives of the couples that already had their stories told. I love it when an author manages to do that, when even if their book is over and they're not the main characters anymore, the past heroes and heroines aren't forgotten.

The next book in the series, To Command and Collar, is only 14 days away. I can't wait for Master Raoul's story.

My Rating:

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My Teaser today is from Lethal Remedy by Richard L. Mabry:

Three hours later, John Doe lay on a gurney in a corner of the ER. An IV ran into one arm, a blood pressure cuff encircled the other. Spittle dripped from his open mouth and dotted his unshaven chin. His eyes were open and staring. 

Remember my review of the book Diagnosis Death by the same author? Well, Lethal Remedy is the fourth (and latest) book in the series Prescription for Trouble. Hopefully, this book won't be the last. I really liked the previous book.

So that's my teaser for the week. What's yours?