Rancher Book #1

 A Hero's Honor by Tessa Layne 

Not a bad start to the series. Travis is the police chief and a former SEAL. Elaine is a single mom working at a diner. They make googoo eyes at each other but nothing ever happens. He has rules that she doesn't fit. Then, he ends up running for sheriff and she becomes his treasurer. He is dealing with demons from his last mission and finally decides to get therapy. She is dealing with probation and the guy running against Travis tried to assault her but got away with it. Travis handles the news of her previous arrest badly but apologizes after beating up the guy he's running against. He loses the race for sheriff, but has already decided on being a rancher. They get married. This wasn't as high stakes as some of these types of books can be, which was nice. I enjoyed it and will be continuing the series.  

Paranormal Cozy Mystery

 If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell 

I love a cozy mystery. I don't mind a paranormal cozy mystery. This should have worked but the male characters all fell flat. Mel is a contractor. She is friends with Matt who is redoing a historic house. Kenneth gets attacked at the house and dies as a result. Now, he's haunting her. The police investigator isn't concerned with the case. Cal-OSHA is involved and a guy she had a crush on before her marriage and divorce is the one on the case. She does all the work and figures out that the investors were behind the attack. She also puts to rest another ghost who was haunting the house. I wouldn't mind if this was just her ghost busting while remodeling houses. But, with a cozy mystery there is always a love interest and the available options are not good. 

Dark Fairytale

 Scarred by Emily McIntire 

I was disappointed in this book. I wanted to like it but I never connected with any of the characters. I liked book 1 and was looking forward to this, but it fell flat. Sara is sent to marry King Michael and then kill him because he killed her father. Michael is horrible, but she plays the game. Prince Tristan is the younger brother and he also wants his brother dead, because he killed their father, and because he thinks he would be a better king. Tristan is the leader of the rebels and they are working on taking over the kingdom. Tristan and Sara has similar goals, but they don't know that about each other until Sara discovers Tristan with the rebels. Then, her uncle tells her that it was the rebels that really killed her father so now, she's fully in love with Tristan but feels betrayed. But, she won't stop sleeping with him. Then, she finds out that this was all really orchestrated by her uncle so he could be in charge and that he killed her father. Tristan gets captured, but Sara breaks him out. They get married and rule until Simon, Michaels bastard, is old enough and they crown him king. It should be been good; I love political intrigue, but it just wasn't.  

YA Paranormal Romance #1.5

 Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This was book 1, but entirely from Daemon's point of view. Also, they insist on pronouncing his name Demon and I refuse to do that, so I called him Damon the entire time. I love a POV change and this was enjoyable, if a bit redundant.  

Disappointing

 Children of Anguish and Anarchy  by Tomi Adeyemi 

I am so disappointed because I wanted to like this. Book 1 was amazing. Book 2 was a bit of a let down, but that happens. But this? First, it wasn't where I expected the story to go. Second, the emotional punch of the ending was lackluster and I didn't believe it; if there is another book I fully expect the ending to be undone. Zele and company have been captured. They are being held captive on a boat. The captain is killing hostages while he looks for some mystery person that can join with a medallion that is eventually going to turn him into a god. Surprise, it's Zele. They managed to counteract her powers but now, with the medallion she has new powers: storm powers. Her brother leads a rebellion and they all get off the ship and end up on an island somewhere. Zele is having visions of a girl she has to find and protect. They set sail for a different island and immediately get attacked by the locals. But, Zele is able to talk them out of killing them. And, the girl she was looking for is right there. Something happens and Zele dies but they bring her back to life. They make a plan to go attack the captors. It was a setup. Zele dies again but Inan exchanges his life for hers and she lives. They kill the captors. Zele and company, minus Inan who is dead (again), return home. I was expecting a story focused on uniting their people after the civil war. I was not expecting human trafficking and transatlantic slave conditions. This did not live up to book 1 and did not rebound from book 2.  

Boring

 Tales of Troy and Greece by Andrew Lang

This was quite possibly the most boring retelling of Greek stories that I have ever experienced. Achilles and the Trojan war? Boring. The Odyssey? Boring. Jason and the Argonates? Short and boring. Perseus and Medusa? Boring. And there was another story, but it was so boring I zoned out and forgot all about it.  

Emotional Damage

 Sunrise on the Reaping  by Suzanne Collins 

This was by far the most emotionally devastating of the series. Haymitch doesn't even get legitimately reaped; the guy that got reaped ran and he was killed. Then Lenore Dove, Haymitch's girlfriend tries to intervene and he has to get involved to save her. That act gets him assigned as the replacement. He wants to work with Louella, who he has kind of been looking out for since forever; she used to follow him around call herself his sweetheart so now he calls her that. He doesn't want to work with Maysilee or Wyatt - her because she's mean and him because he comes from a family of gamblers. Then, at the parade their horses get spooked and Haymitch tries to save Louella, but she dies. But, she doesn't stay "dead" because the Capitol brings in a body double that is being controlled by (presumable) Snow. They call her Lou Lou and have to take care of her. Haymitch get approached by Ampert to join his non-careers pack. He brings the other 3 tributes from his district with him. But, Haymitch is sent to a meeting with Snow and he knows he's being targeted; he gets a 1 as his score for sponsors. Haymitch decides it's best if he goes it alone, but not completely alone because he was approached by Beetee about destroying the arena. Therefore, he has to work with Ampert because Beetee is getting in the explosives through him. Haymitch manages some sabatoge, but not enough. Ampert dies, violently. Beetee had to watch his son get mauled by mutts. Lou Lou dies. He and Maysilee team up since they are the only ones left from their district. That doesn't last long because of how few are left. Maysilee makes a stand against the game makers and she gets killed violently by mutts. Haymitch ends up winning by staying by the edge of the arena, dodging an ax, and watching it bounce back up from the force field and impaling the thrower. When he gets home, it's just in time for the funerals of the 3 fallen tributes. Then, the house he grew up in is set on fire and they can't save his mom and little brother. Then, Lenore Dove is also killed. Everyone he has ever loved is dead and he knows that he's a target so he turns to drink and distances himself from all of his friends to keep them safe. Then we find out that Katnisses dad, Burdock, was one of his best friends, and that he watched Katniss grow up. Also, there had never been any victors from District 12 so Mags and Wiress both volunteered to be their mentors. This answered to many questions about Haymitch and his past, and some that I didn't even realize I had.  

 

Prequel

 The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband by Julia Quinn

This was exactly what you expect from a Julia Quinn novel: romantic and funny. Cecilia shows up in New York looking for her brother, Thomas, who has been fighting in the American Revolution. When she gets to the hospital she doesn't find him, but instead finds Edward, his best friend. However, she isn't allowed to see him until she declares that she is his wife. He wakes up and has lost his memory, which is good for her since they aren't actually married. Once he recovers enough they move into a room above a tavern and there's only one bed. They consummate the marriage. He starts getting his memory back. He discovers that Thomas is dead and that he's not actually married to Cecilia, but he loves her so it's complicated. She books passage on a boat heading for Ireland. He manages to get reassigned so he can go with her. He confronts her on the boat. They get married by the captain, who just so happens to be an old school friend of his. And then to be safe they get married again in Ireland. Despite the fact that I hate secret keeping as a plot device, I really enjoyed this book.  

Hockey Romance #6

 The Long Game by Rachel Reid 

This was heartbreaking and so much more emotional than the previous books! It also shares a timeline with book 5. Ilya and Shane are together, in secret. Ilya is playing for Ottawa and the team sucks. Shane is still at Montreal and just won another Stanley Cup. Ilya is having mental health issues but refusing to talk about them. Shane and Ilya are really refusing to talk about a lot of things. Ilya is tired of hiding, but they have a plan so he is going to stick with it. Troy gets traded to his team and Ilya makes a friend, which helps some. Then, Ilya decides to start going to therapy. The commissioner calls Shane in for a meeting and basically tells him: don't come out. Shane panics. Ilya invites him to a party with his team and Shane refuses. They fight and Shane leaves. Then, Shane realizes he's been selfish and a bad boyfriend. It takes days before Ilya returns his call and they start talking about it. Shane proposes and it's beautiful but he got the wrong ring size so Ilya wears it on his necklace. Hayden accidentally outs them when he is recording a fan message and Shane and Ilya are in the background making out. The commissioner calls them both in and gives them a prepared message claiming it was a prank. Shane stands up to him, tells him they are getting married, and there's nothing he can do about it and if he tries they will sue. They leave and Shane tells Ilya not to worry because he recorded the entire meeting. Ilya's team handles the news well. Shane's team does not. They face each other in the playoffs and it comes down to game 7; Shane trips and Ilya scores. Shane's team accuses him of throwing the game for Ilya. Shane's contract is up and he signs with Ottawa. They get married in Ilya's (now their) backyard. This was so emotional. It was nice to return to some previous characters and see where they are.  

Done with This

 Aunt Dimity's Christmas by Nancy Atherton 

I did not enjoy this book and the series is really starting to grate on me. Obviously, it's the holiday season. Lori has had them going nonstop and Bill is tired. She agrees that he doesn't have to go to any more holiday parties, except for the one they are throwing on Christmas Eve. His dad is in town and he agrees to take over the role of Joseph in the Nativity Play. The next morning, with the help of the twins and the magic stuffed bunny, they find a man in the snow in their lilac bush. They call for help and he is flown to a hospital. Nobody knows who he is, other than homeless. Bill finds out that a friend has died and he has to go back to Boston for the funeral and to help the widow. Lori goes to the hospital to check on the guy and meets a priest. They work together to figure out who the man is and what his past is. During this time Lori develops a crush on both the homeless guy and the priest. This is the second book where Bill has been absent and Lori starts developing crushes on randos; it's pissing me off. They discover the homeless man lived next door to Dimity when he was a child and it was the best time of his life. Now that he's done trying to deal with the fallout from his father's military career and his subsequent suicide, he agrees to take a job at the place he grew up. Lori's friends all come together to help decorate her house since she was out gallivanting and couldn't be bothered to uphold her promises. I need to step away from this series because I'm not enjoying it; it's not even fun to read it and be mad.