Review: Mistletoe Cowboy by Carolyn Brown

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Mistletoe Cowboy
Series: Spikes & Spurs #5
Author: Carolyn Brown
Genre: Romance
ISBN: 9781402270154

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

‘Tis the season for… 

A matchmaking grandma on a long-disantance mission 
Mistletoe temptation in every doorway 
A sexy cowboy with a killer smile

When Gran Presely agrees to sell Creed Riley the Rockin’ C Ranch for a song at Christmastime, he can hardly believe his good fortune. There’s just one little catch-her tantalizing granddaughter Sage is part of the deal…

MY THOUGHTS

It is the season for Holiday romance!  I enjoy curling up by our fireplace with a roaring fire, cup of cocoa, and a sexy romance to read.  I was looking forward to reading Mistletoe Cowboy by Carolyn Brown this holiday season because I usually love anything by this author.

Unfortunately, this was not one of my favorites by this author.  I couldn’t get into the plot and Sage was not a favorite character for me.  She was snotty and stand offish.  I just couldn’t bring myself to care about her turmoil and personality.  Creed was a little more likable, but he was still on the dull end of the spectrum.  When these two are put together in an unlikely situation, the chemistry fizzled and never really took off for me. This book has a bunch of stereotypes including speech that kept me from truly enjoying it.

While I consider this a light and fluffy read for the holidays,  I don’t consider it a feel good romance that filled that reading hunger I was looking for.  It wasn’t a book I couldn’t stop reading and it wasn’t one I kept wanting to finish until the last page.  Others might enjoy this type of read, but I wanted a little more substance and chemistry in my reading.

MY RATING

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!

Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega Graphic Novel #1)

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Cry Wolf
Series: Alpha & Omega Graphic Novel #1
Author: Patricia Briggs
Source: Gifted
ISBN: 9780441018482

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

The long-awaited collection-the first four issues of the graphic novel adaptation of the #1 “New York Times” bestselling author’s novel “Cry Wolf” 

“Cry Wolf” is Patricia Briggs’ “New York Times” bestselling novel about the werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham. Now, these characters come alive in full-color graphic novels. 

Anne never knew werewolves existed, until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack she’s learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. 

Then Charles Cornick-the son of the leader of the North American werewolves-came into her life. He insists that not only is Anne his mate, but she is also a rare and valued Omega wolf. And Anna may be the key to stopping a rogue werewolf that threatens the entire pack.

This is a re-issue of Ace’s compilation of the Dynamite Entertainment Cry Wolf graphic series. It contains new artwork and a never-before published version of issue #1. It is NOT identical to the Ace edition though it does have the same ISBN.

MY THOUGHTS

When a friend of mine sent this to me as a gift, it was originally suppose to go to my oldest daughter who is seventeen.  She loves graphic novels and manga, so I thought this might be a great little surprise for her.  When I saw the cover of this book though, I thought the artwork was amazing and decided to give it a try.

I will admit — while waiting for things to be thrown at me — that I have not read the original series that this is based on.  I am behind the times so to speak in the urban fantasy world.  I have to say that this graphic novel didn’t give me much insight into the original world.  It left me with questions that would probably be addressed in the original works of fiction.  So the story in the graphic novel wasn’t as strong as I was hoping it would be in clearing up some confusion.

Now let me talk about the artwork.  The cover is gorgeous.  I fell in love with the cover at first sight and I am still in love with it.  The artwork though on the pages — which is done by someone else — was seriously lacking in my opinion.  The art didn’t portray the emotions that I was reading about in some frames.  I also wasn’t a fan of the character renditions either.

Fans of graphic novels and author Patricia Briggs will definitely want to add it to their collections, but as for casual reading of this art, I would recommend starting with a different one.

MY RATING

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!

Otherkin by Nina Berry

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Otherkin
Series: Otherkin #1
Author: Nina Berry
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Publisher
ISBN: 9780758276919

MY SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

I thought I knew myself. Then I met Caleb.

Dez is a good girl who does as she’s told and tries not to be noticed.
Then she rescues a boy from a cage, and he tells her secrets about herself.
Now inside her burns a darkness that will transform her.

Everything is about to change — and neither Caleb, nor the Otherkin, nor those who hunt them are prepared for what Dez will unleash.

MY THOUGHTS

With a book that starts out with a bang, the reader would expect it to be amazing throughout the rest of the story.  Unfortunately, while the story could have been amazing, it turned out to be just okay for me.

While I enjoyed the fact that this book focused on a female shifter trying to embrace her powers,  for me that was the only thing that really seemed to set this book apart from others.  The characters were bland, with no real substance and emotion.  The characters seemed to roll with the punches and not express shock, denial or anything else before moving straight to acceptance of the weird things that happen.  It felt like they had limited emotions and were afraid to feel anything more.

As other reviewers have mentioned — and I agree on this — the romance in this book is instant love and not believable.  If anything, the only emotion that came from it was forced and lacking of any real spark.  While the only saving grace of this book was the action, it wasn’t enough to make me want to run out and buy the next book in the series on release day.  This is one of those books that just left me with an okay feeling by the last page.

MY RATING

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

The Taken by Vicki Pettersson

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The Taken
Series: Celestial Blues #1
Author: Vicki Pettersson
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: PR/UF
ISBN: 9780062064646

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was back when gumshoes hoofed the streets . . . and he was still alive. Fifty years later, he’s an angel, but that doesn’t make him a saint. One small mistake has altered fate, and now he’s been dumped back onto the mortal mudflat to collect another soul–Katherine “Kit” Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation is about to get her clipped.

Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let the sable-haired siren come to harm. Besides, protecting her offers a chance to solve the mystery of his own unsolved murder–and dole out some overdue payback for the death of his beloved wife, Evie.

Joining forces, Kit and Grif’s search for answers leads beyond the blinding lights of the Strip into the dark heart of an evil conspiracy. But a ruthless killer determined to destroy them isn’t Grif’s biggest threat. His growing attraction to Kit could cost them both their lives, along with the answer to the haunting question of his long afterlife . . .

MY THOUGHTS

The Taken is the first book in the Celestial Blues series by author Vicki Pettersson.  I have seen this book classified as many things.  It has been noted as an Urban Fantasy, a Paranormal Romance, a Steampunk, and even a regular Fantasy.  Seeing it thrown into so many categories left me feeling confused.  I wasn’t sure it if was going to be a book that I would enjoy or come to loathe.

Starting out with the first couple of chapters, I settled in for a enjoyable read.  I thought to myself that this wouldn’t be too bad if the first few chapters have kept me interested and in all honesty pretty good.  The writing was well done and the book was being set up nicely.  Then it just sort of fell off the map and my interest waned.  What I thought would be interesting — Kit being a different sort of heroine than normal — turned out to be blah and nothing to be too excited about.  At times I even found her boring.  Griffin is suppose to be a smart PI but I found him lacking in sense and promise.

I can see what the author was trying to do with this story in the ways of the characters. She was trying to bring a fresh face to the urban fantasy world, but I found it to be just on the surface.  The characters were bland and fell in the usual trap of just acting out the scenes with no excitement for the reader.  While it wasn’t a bad book,  it lacked the intrigue and suspense that I was expecting.

MY RATING

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

I Own the Dawn by M. L. Buchman

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I Own The Dawn
Series: The Night Stalkers #2
Author: M. L. Buchman
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Source: Publisher
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9781402258138

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Name: Archibald Jeffrey Stevenson III
Rank: First Lieutenant, Dap Hawk Copilot 
Mission: Strategy and execution of special ops maneuvers

Name: Kee Smith
Rank: Sergeant, Night Stalker Gunner and Sharpshooter
Mission: Whatever it takes to get the job done

You Wouldn’t Think It Could Get Worse, Until It Does…

When a special mission slowly unravels, it is up to Kee and Archie to get their team out of an impossible situation with international implications. With her weaponry knowledge and his strategic thinking, plus the explosive attraction that puts them into exact synchrony, together they might just have a fighting chance.

MY THOUGHTS

I Own The Dawn is the second book in the Night Stalkers series by M.L. Buchman.  Even though it is the second book in the series, it can be read as a stand alone novel.

This book wasn’t as great as the first book in the series.  While the author kept with her usual theme of writing, I found myself disliking the characters.  Kee is a character that you have to read more of before you actually start enjoying her character. Archie was more of a passive hero than I am used to.  He just didn’t fit the bill of an Alpha hero in my mind.  They both have some issues that need to addressed before they can improve in personality and relationships.

I will warn the reader of this romance that if you are not familiar with much of the military lingo, you will be wondering about some of it.  I am not a big fan of all the military speak — since I am not around it — so it did become repetitive and frustrating for a majority of the book.

While this wasn’t a favorite book of mine,  I will still give the book points for being thorough and written at a good pace. Again, just be aware that this is a military themed romance with it being prominent in the story.

MY RATING

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*