Colt’s Choice by Patrice Michelle

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COLT’S CHOICE
Bad In Boots #2
Author: Patrice Michelle
Source: Personal Purchase

Paperback: 239 pages
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave (April 30, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1419951440
ISBN-13: 978-1419951442

SUMMARY:

Colt is very aware the sexy part owner of his rodeo ranch is way out of his league. But the more he tells himself Elise Hamilton is ‘hands off’, the more he wants to put his hands on. 

Elise knows her broad-shouldered and lean-hipped cowboy partner has all the makings of Mr. Right. First, she has to convince Colt she’s serious about helping him run the ranch without her libido getting in the way. 

Then again, maybe she can rope her cowboy and have him, too. 

MY THOUGHTS:

This is the second book in the Bad In Boots series by Patrice Michelle.  I hadn’t even heard of this series or author before until I came across this book at a used book store.  The summary sounded fun and thought this would make a quick read to pass some time at night.  Needless to say, my night went without sleep and I fantasized about cowboys more than I should have.

I know it is hard to read about the highly coveted cowboy that sweeps you off your feet.  The author did make her cowboys to be better than what you would expect in a romance.  The character of Colt actually could be a male you could find on a ranch and instantly have drool running down your chin from his sexy good looks.  I liked Colt, but there was one thing about him that made me cringe just a little.  I didn’t like how possessive he became with Elise.  It was constantly Mine,Mine,Mine out of his mouth whenever someone made a play for her.  I can understand the possessiveness if say they were engaged or in an actual relationship, but Colt made no mention at first of them seeing each other exclusively.

Elise was smart and sexy in her own right.  She could turn on the sex hormones just as quickly as the cowboys.  Yet, underneath all the sexy, she also had a brain and knack at business and computers.  I liked her input in handling the ranch.  I also liked how she wasn’t afraid of a little hard work around the ranch.  She kept up with the ranch hands and earned their respect. 

I loved the side characters of Mace and Cade who just happen to be Colt’s sexy and single brothers. They each brought a certain personality to the book that made them enjoyable to read about. I do hope the author plans to continue their stories in future books.

I am happy to have found a new author to read that has a way with writing believable cowboys who happen to be sexy!  Now I must go and purchase the rest of  her books along with the first book in the series.  Don’t worry if you haven’t read the first book though.  This book did wonderfully as a stand alone book.

MY RATING:


Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS

Guest Post and Contest with Shelly Laurenston

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It is my great pleasure to welcome author Shelly Laurenston to My Overstuffed Bookshelf today.  She is here to talk about “Writing the Flawed Heroine”.  Let’s give her a warm welcome and stay tuned for a contest at the end of the post!

“Writing the Flawed Heroine”

I’ll admit it. I don’t like perfection. Or at least what I perceive to be perfection. And romances seem to have a lot of perfect heroines. They’re pretty but not too pretty. Thin but not too thin. Not too tall but not too short. Dainty hands, small feet, bright smiles, lush, thick hair. If the heroine does have a flaw it’s usually her inability to trust the hero…at least for the first three-quarters of the book. Then it’s all good.  
So from when I first started writing, none of my heroines were perfect. Far from it. Most of them are riddled with flaws. They can be too loud, too pushy, extremely tall, extremely short, lots of scars or sometimes plain. Many of my heroines are only sorta human, it’s true. Wolf shifters, cat shifters, bears, dragons…these are my people. So to speak. But quite a few heroines I’ve written are all human and just as imperfect. I find imperfect just more fun to write. 

And yet, I approached writing my latest heroine, Dee-Ann Smith with a bit of trepidation. And it isn’t because Dee-Ann is heavily flawed. She actually isn’t. Dee-Ann is what she is. A killer. Not a with-air-quotes “killer” that never gets around to killing anyone, but an actual, it’s-her-job killer. And she’s proud of what she does. She has no nightmares, no insecurity, no self-doubt. She’s an out-and-out predator and has no problems with that. When my editor talked to me about the cover for BIG BAD BEAST, I always had to remind her that the hero, for once, was not the beast in the story. I could tell my editor was nervous but she trusted me and I think it paid off.  

In the end, what it comes down to for this character is that Dee-Ann of the Smith Pack is not your usual wolf shifter. Although she has a pack, she’s much more comfortable on her own, she ambles where she needs to go, and doesn’t let the little things bother her. But Dee can also be short of temper, long on grudge-holding, and persistent as a pit bull.  

She’s tall, she’s powerful, she’s good with guns and knives. But she’s not chatty, not real affectionate, and if you’re annoying, she’s liable to tell you that in no uncertain terms. So writing Dee-Ann was definitely a challenge. How do you make a stone-cold killer with hard-set boundaries likeable? Well, first I had to like her myself. I only write heroines I like. Nothing is worse than spending several months with characters you hate. And I do like Dee-Ann. Then again, I really like predators. My old dog was a hardened predator. Nothing was safe in his world, other than me. He ruled with an iron paw but when it was just him and me in the house, he was the sweetest sociopath I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. So when writing Dee-Ann I kept that in mind. I thought of her as wolf rather than human, which meant that those inside the pack are safe and loved, but those outside the pack… 

And that’s how I approached Dee-Ann’s way of thinking. If you’re kin or friend or someone she’s been assigned to protect, she will risk absolutely everything, including her life. Dee doesn’t get bored, she doesn’t lose focus, she doesn’t lose interest. If she’s locked on you, she’s locked. And once I had that, once I had Dee-Ann’s core, the rest was relatively easy. And fun! Because when you like your characters, you enjoy writing the ins and outs of their lives. 

There won’t be many heroines like Dee-Ann in my work, but I’m really glad I took the risk. Taking a chance—even with a heroine most psychiatrists would run screaming from—and having fun is what writing is all about. 

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BIG BAD BEAST
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Release Date: April 26th 2011
SUMMARY:
When it comes to following her instincts, former Marine Dee-Ann Smith never holds back. And this deadly member of a shifter protection group will do anything to prove one of her own kind is having hybrids captured for dogfights. Trouble is, her too-cute rich-boy boss Ric Van Holtz insists on helping out. And his crazy-like-a-fox smarts and charming persistence are making it real hard for Dee to keep her heart safe…

Ric can’t believe his luck. He’s wanted this fiercely independent she-wolf from day one, but he never expected teamwork as explosive as this. And now is his last chance to show Dee what she needs isn’t some in-your-face Alpha male – but a wily, resourceful wolf who’ll always have her back in a fight…and between the sheets.
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 Thanks to Kensington Books,  I have ONE copy of this book to give away!
CONTEST RULES:
  1. to enter, please fill form out below
  2. entrants must be 13 years of age or older
  3. contest deadline is May 17, 2011
  4. contest open to USA only!
  5. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON! 

CONTEST CLOSED!!

CONTEST: Flawless by Lara Chapman

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FLAWLESS
Author: Lara Chapman
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SUMMARY:

Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She’s got killer blue eyes,
gorgeous blond hair, and impeccable grades. There’s just one tiny—all right, enormous—flaw: her nose. But even that’s not so bad. Sarah’s got the best best friend and big goals for print journalism fame.

On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into her journalism class and, well, rocks her world. Problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too. And when Rock and Kristen stand together, it’s like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her nab Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do—she agrees. For someone so smart, what was she thinking?

This hip retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is filled with hilariously misguided matchmaking, sweet romance, and a gentle reminder that we should all embrace our flaws.

  

———————————————————-
 Thanks to Bloomsbury Books, I have ONE ARC of this book to give away!
CONTEST RULES:
  1. to enter, please fill out the form below
  2. entrants must be 13 years of age or older
  3. contest deadline is May 17, 2011
  4. contest open to USA only!
  5. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON! 
 CONTEST CLOSED!!

(ARC Review) Flawless by Lara Chapman

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FLAWLESS
Author: Lara Chapman
Source: Publisher
*I received this ARC copy free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books (May 10, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599906317
ISBN-13: 978-1599906317

SUMMARY:

Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She’s got killer blue eyes,
gorgeous blond hair, and impeccable grades. There’s just one tiny—all right, enormous—flaw: her nose. But even that’s not so bad. Sarah’s got the best best friend and big goals for print journalism fame.

On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into her journalism class and, well, rocks her world. Problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too. And when Rock and Kristen stand together, it’s like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her nab Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do—she agrees. For someone so smart, what was she thinking?

This hip retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is filled with hilariously misguided matchmaking, sweet romance, and a gentle reminder that we should all embrace our flaws.

MY THOUGHTS:

I admit, the cover was not too appealing to me.  When I first glanced at it, I had that ‘meh’ feeling. Even after reading the summary, I was still not convinced that it would wow me by the last page.  Boy, was I wrong.

Sarah has always been insecure around people due to the size of her nose.  Honestly, reading the book and trying to imagine her nose, the only image I could bring up in my mind was Gonzo from The Muppet’s.  Then as I read more, it would morph into the nose from that movie Roxanne that Steve Martin had.  Even though this book was focused on Sarah and her nose,  I eventually started to enjoy the story that was underneath it all.  I loved the character of Rock, even when he was naive and easily fooled by the antics of Sarah and Kristen.  I wasn’t a big fan of Kristen though in this book.  Yes, she was protective of Sarah, but she lacked a certain depth that would have made me connect better with her.  I couldn’t understand why she was trying so hard to impress one boy.  After I sat and thought about it though, I realized Kristen was doing  it based on looks alone that rounded out the story and gave us the outlook on both sides.  One was scared to be noticed due to a flaw, one was scared to show her true self due to being based solely on her looks at times, and one wanted to be accepted in a new school with new people.

Each character brought something unique to the story which made the book that much better.  I will state that I was not a big fan of the ending.  While it had the outcome I was cheering for, I felt it was too quickly resolved and done within a few pages.  I would have liked to have seen a little bit more and the results of the outcome with other characters included.

Overall a good book especially for teen girls struggling with fitting in and trying to fix their image. It has a great message behind it and is easily adapted for a teen to enjoy.

MY RATING:




Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS

(ARC Review) Die For Me by Amy Plum

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DIE FOR ME
Author: Amy Plum
Source: Gifted

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (May 10, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062004018
ISBN-13: 978-0062004017

SUMMARY:

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.
Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent. 

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.
Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind. 

While I’m fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family’s—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

MY THOUGHTS:

Die For Me is the debut book from new author Amy Plum.  After reading this book, it is hard to imagine this being her first book!  The author did an amazing job with her writing and character building that can keep up with even seasoned authors in this genre.

After the death of her parents, Kate and her sister Georgia move to Paris to live with her grandparents.  They are both trying to work through the loss of their parents, but they each do it in a different way.  Georgia is a party girl who wants to live in the fast lane.  She goes clubbing and always seems to run with the wrong crowd.  Kate is quieter in her suffering.  She would rather read in her room or coffee shop, stay to herself and focus on returning to school, and try to move her life forward slowly.  You can tell that both girls are still grieving but processing the loss in their own ways. 

When Kate meets Vincent, she is instantly attracted to him.  He is sexy, sweet and mysterious.  They balanced each other out nicely and each brought something unique to the romance.  The paranormal theme of this book was something refreshing and exciting.  I loved the side characters as well, with Jules being my favorite. As you read further into the book, the characters really start to come alive in your mind and you can’t help but pick your favorites. 

Again, I am in awe that this is the authors first book.  I finished reading this book within a matter of hours and was sad when the story ended.  The romance may be a bit predictable, but the story within the romance is something unique and creative.  I personally can’t wait to see what Ms. Plum will come up with next.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that Jules will get his own book as well.

MY RATING:


Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS