Instant Temptation

Instant Temptation is the final book in the Wilder Adventure series by Jill Shalvis. From the back cover.~

GET YOUR PULSE RACING

To Harley, the landscape around Wishful, California, is exhilarating, untamed, and more than a little dangerous. The same could be said for T.J. Wilder, who’s invited himself along on her trek to study a rare coyote. Harley’s career is riding on this trip, and she doesn’t need a stubborn, incredibly sexy distraction. But T.J. is a professional guide who knows when to stay back and when to provide invaluable expertise-just like he’s done since they were in high school. And Harley, as usual, is torn between throttling him and giving in to the raw attraction that’s been smoldering all these years.

T.J. knows how proud and capable Harley is, but he’s damned sure not letting her put herself at risk when there are illegal hunters in the area. She needs him, with the same soul-stirring urgency that he’s always craved her. And here, in this beautiful place days from civilization, he’ll finally have a chance to prove it-over and over again…

I’ve said it before and will say it again, I’m a huge fan of Jill Shalvis. I’m pretty sure I’ve read almost every book she has ever written (Simply Irresistible is in my TBR pile right now). With the Wilder Adventure series, I really love both Cam and Stone from the first 2 books. However, I’ve had something for T.J. since he first appeared in Instant Attraction. I’m not alone in those feelings, as many of my friends have expressed how much they love T.J. too.

Of course, Harley is the lucky one when it comes to T.J. She actually has been attracted to him since high school and even lost her virginity to him in high school. Would be nice if he actually had any memory of that night, but it was a time in T.J.’s life when he was a little wild. Years later, Harley is still attracted to T.J. and it seems that the feelings are mutual the more time they spend together. Harley does try to fight her attraction to T.J. for a while, but can’t fight her feelings forever. I love that when T.J. kisses Harley, she loses the ability to finish a sentence or even hold a coherent thought. Harley doesn’t really want to get involved with T.J. since she hopes to take a job in Colorado soon. When T.J. and Harley stop fighting their attraction to one another, they are explosive together. Since Harley still plans to leave if offered the job in Colorado, neither believes their relationship can never be more than just physical.

Of all the Wilder Adventure stories, Instant Temptation is my favorite. I love getting to see all the characters from the first 2 books, one of my favorite things about reading books in a series. But most of all, I love T.J. and Harley. Both are such strong characters and it was so fun to watch them not only fall in love, but finally admit those feelings.

Instant Gratification

Instant Gratification is the second book in Wilder Adventure series by Jill Shalvis. From the back cover.~

THE DOCTOR IS IN DEEP

Wishful, California, is 3000 miles from Dr. Emma Sinclair’s last job in a New York City ER. It may as well be another galaxy. Here, running her father’s clinic for a summer, Emma treats bee stings, stomach flu, and the occasional pet cat. Plus, she has to contend with patients like Stone Wilder: gorgeous, laid-back, and irritating beyond belief. The man laughs at her. A lot. And Emma loathes him. All except that tiny part of her that wants to throw him on her examining table and break every doctor-patient rule in the book…

When Stone tries to help Emma learn to loosen up a bit, he pictures white-water rafting or scenic mountain hikes. Not a mind-blowing affair that shakes them both to the core. Emma’s sure she has no place in a town like Wishful, but Stone know different. Emma belongs here-in this town, in his life. And convincing this strong-minded, stubborn, sexy woman of that fact will be a challenge no Wilder man could resist…

I’m a huge fan of Jill Shalvis and she totally delivered once again with Instant Gratification. Stone is a super-sexy alpha male all the way…unless he needs to have a shot or stitches. He all but passes out at the site of needles and believes all things medical could be fixed by putting a band-aid on it. Dr. Emma Sinclair is used to the pace of the New York City ER, so coming to Wishful means is a big adjustment for her. When Stone comes in injured and needing stitches, Emma won’t just let him put a band-aid on it. She also find herself incredibly attracted to Stone, in a way she has never been attracted to anyone. Stone is equally attracted to Emma and wants to help her learn to like Wishful, maybe even enough to stay. Stone and Emma fight their attraction for a while, but they are explosive once they give in to their attraction. However, since Emma has no plans to stay in Wishful, and Stone has no plans to move to New York, it seems like their relationship can never be more than just a temporary thing.

I loved Instant Gratification so much. It picked up right where Instant Attraction left off and was a winner in my book. I’ve already read Instant Temptation, the third and final book in the series and will post about it tomorrow. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes strong women and super-sexy alpha men.

Goodnight Tweetheart

Goodnight Tweetheart is the first contemporary romance by Teresa Medeiros. From the back cover.~

@WhatTheHeckHappenedToMyLife

Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing. Namely writing her next novel. A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah’s stamp of approval, she is stuck at Chapter Five and losing confidence daily. But when her publicist signs her up for a Twitter account, she’s intrigued. What’s all the fuss about?

Trending Topic: True Love

Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, “MarkBaynard”-a quick-witted, quick-typing professor on sabbatical-Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time. And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life. After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living?

Or is he?

Told almost entirely in tweets and DMs, Goodnight Tweetheart is a truly modern take on a classic tale of love-a Griffin and Sabine for the Twitter generation.

Goodnight Tweetheart is the first book by Teresa Medeiros I’ve read. I know she is famous for her historical romances, and after reading Goodnight Tweetheart, I will have to go back and read her back list. I follow Teresa on Twitter and had seen Goodnight Tweetheart was coming out. Since I knew the majority of the book was told almost entirely in tweets, I was intrigued to read this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Goodnight Tweetheart. I will admit I was a bit worried about Abby in the beginning of the book. She was depressed and even seemed to be to the point of being afraid to leave her apartment…you know except to run to Starbucks for her daily frappuccino fix. Once Abby joined Twitter and made friends with Mark, she started to want to have a life again. As Mark tweets her pictures of his travels, Abby starts writing again, and finally gets past the dreaded Chapter Five. Abby and Mark are growing closer as each day passes, until Mark drops a bombshell on Abby. Abby is not only mad at Mark for dropping his bombshell, she is also very hurt, as she had really started to trust him.

Goodnight Tweetheart is a fast-paced and fun romance story. I’m really hoping for more books along this line from Teresa Medeiros. I would love a sequel for Mark and Abby so we find out more about them. I also would love to see Abby’s best friend Margo get her own book. Margo was a fun secondary character in this story, and I really would love to read her story.

Twice Bitten

Twice Bitten is the third book in Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampire series. From the back cover.~

Merit, Chicago’s newest vampire, is learning how to play well with others. Other supernaturals, that is. Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene-and to spy for the vamps while she’s at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan’s offering some steamy one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission.

Merit must accept the assignment even though she knows that she’ll probably regret it. And she’s not wrong. Someone is gunning for Gabriel Keene, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She’ll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals-not least between her and a certain centuries-old green-eyed Master vampire.

I’m a huge fan of Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampire series and her readers get another winner with Twice Bitten. First I have to say how much I love Merit. She was kick-ass before, but now that she is a full-fledged vampire, she is even more so. As always, the sexual tension is there between Ethan and Merit. Only this time, we finally get Merit and Ethan together…at least for a little while. Ethan realizes his feeling for Merit could affect how he responds to others. So of course, Ethan is a total bonehead and tells Merit they can no longer be together. I realize it is because he got scared, but he hurt Merit and he also pissed me off. Much like Merit, I still love him just a little bit, but was mad at him for the last third of the book. There was lots of action as Merit and Ethan protected the shapeshifters and it was fun to watch them in action.

I love this series and think Twice Bitten is my favorite in the series so far. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Hard Bitten, which is scheduled to be released on May 3, 2011.

2010 in review, and 2011 blogging goals

In 2010 I managed to read about 75 books. I was really hoping to read more books this year, but am happy with the books I read. Of the 75 books I read, 18 were by new-to-me-authors. I'm pretty sure that is a record for me. I finished up December with 2 amazing books (Jaci Burton's All She Wants for Christmas and Chloe Neill's Twice Bitten), and now I'm hoping to get back on track with my reading.

My blogging goals for 2011 aren't too different from 2010, with a few exceptions.

1) Read at least 1 new-to-me author each month.

2) Read at least 2 books a month from my TBR mountain range(seriously, it takes up an entire bookshelf)

3) Keep a spreadsheet of all books read and thoughts on book

4) Post my thoughts on books I've read in a more timely manner(really sucked at this in 2010)

5) Post about my fitness and health goals at least once a month

6) Post about favorite movies and shows at least once a month

7) Read more books on my Kindle and buy most of my books for my Kindle(running out of room for books in my house)

I really want to make my blog a little more diverse than it has been in the past. I turn 40 this year, and I want to post about the changes and choices going on in my life as I turn 40.