Tag: reading

This Chick Read: His Wicked Charm (The Mad Morelands #6) by Candace Camp

What do you get when you combine a conservative young woman in regency dress with a charming scamp? A lively and fun historical romance novel by Candace Camp! Constantine Moreland is handsome and almost too charming for his own good. His flirtatious personality makes him very well liked by the ladies, with the exception of Lila Norcutt. However, his twin brother just married her best friend so they are paired together more than she’d like. When his mother and sisters end up being kidnapped while at a suffragette rally, Lila joins Con in the hunt to rescue them and ends up loosening up her corset strings and actually having fun with the man she professes to hate.

I found His Wicked Charm to be a lot of fun to read. It wasn’t a very serious historical romance (thank god!) and I was able to just relax and read it in an afternoon. Although Con’s personality annoyed Lila at the outset of this novel, he was the perfect remedy for a gloomy Saturday afternoon. Luckily Lila changed her tune and started to relish the chemistry that she and Con had and their romps through the countryside turned into a different kind of romp altogether!

I have not read any of the other books in this series but the characters do all seem to be a bit mad, or at least different for the time period. It seems that they each have a different psychic gift which may make their romantic pairings a bit more interesting. I liked this novel and am willing to give another Mad Moreland a try! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review, and it was honest!

His Wicked Charm

Click this link to purchase! His Wicked Charm (The Mad Morelands)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My Pet Peeves with Female Fictional Character Traits

I tend to gravitate towards female authors because they predominantly write from a woman’s perspective which I enjoy being a woman myself, but after finishing another novel where I was disappointed in the female lead I wondered what was the point to this character? Why even write about her? I started to doubt myself. Is it just the way I’m reading this book? My mood? Admittedly, being a strong willed woman myself I have little patience for reading  from a weak heroines perspective and I definitely have my favorite female personalities. I have also noticed that if I’ve had a rough day at work I have little patience, and I do keep that in mind.

Why is it that romance novels show so many female main characters as being weak and submissive to a man? I’ll admit, I like to read romances where the man is take charge. However, if the woman is in jeopardy too much or is too submissive it takes my head out of the story. I get a little offended for womankind that this is supposed to be a fantasy or role model for women who read these novels. Am I supposed to like this?

YA novels actually do a great job of giving their readers strong female role models. Authors like Sarah J. Mass and Victoria Aveyard wouldn’t be caught dead with a weak female heroine. Worlds would collapse and Kingdoms lost! Their heroines aren’t perfect by any means, but they always learn a lesson and grow as characters. (Although I have my doubts about Mare). I am ecstatic that YA authors seem to take their roles seriously? Why give younger women weak role models to emulate when we can teach them to lead countries and conquer worlds?

Some romance authors make a living by writing novels that let men control their woman. Alexa Reilly comes immediately to mind. They write really well, but their formula is a weak brainless woman who is seduced by the man’s money and will. I’m sure you’ve guessed this isn’t my thing. But why is it anyone’s? People rave about Jamie McGuire’s aptly titled Beautiful Disaster. That female lead was a hot mess! People give 5 star reviews to that book. It amazes me. I know, I know, reading, like admiring art, is in the eye of the beholder. It’s totally subjective. I love that! I do really get fired up about having bad role models for women though, even if it’s just fiction.

My favorite female to read is the warrior. Even if a woman is just a lawyer fighting for a cause I get a charge out of it. If she’s in a fantasy world wielding a sword even better! in romance that sword could be words and clever dialog with her man. I do see a place for learning what NOT to do from reading about weak willed characters. Or those women who start off weak and learn a great lesson and use that knowledge to change their life. Those women are redeemed!

OK, I’m sure you’ve heard me rant enough. I want to ask you, what kind of women do you like to read about?

If you are a writer and have a perspective or thought on why some female authors write about women in the victim role I’d love to hear it!

What books have you read where you’ve LOVED the female lead character? I’m always looking for a new book to read and if the female lead is awesome I definitely want it on my radar!

Until next Sunday,

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads15 Comments

This Chick Read: Covert Game (A Ghostwalker novel) by Christine Feehan

Ms. Feehan I salute thee for writing so prolifically and successfully! I think I read recently that this is her 75th novel? Well, Covert Game is the 14th novel in the Ghostwalker series and I’ve ready about five of them. The great thing about a series with a lot of novels is that you can usually read them as stand alone’s and catch up with the personalities pretty quickly and this novel fell into that category, so don’t let the number in the series scare you away.

Covert Game  started off really quick with our heroine Zara Hightower in China getting ready to deliver a speech about artificial intelligence to a Fortune 500 foreign company. However, not everything is as it seems! Zara is a secret agent placed there to steal secrets from Cheng’s (said business owner) computers while simultaneously giving her AI speech. (You may ask how that can be? Let’s just say she’s got more in her head than her wit and common sense!) Of course things go wrong, Zara is held captive and tortured (pretty horrifically!) and our Ghostwalker team with hunky hero Gino Mazza come in to rescue her from captivity to the evil Bolan Zhu who wants her for his personal submissive.

Like I said, it got off to a really quick start!  I liked Zara a lot. She was plucky, held out against telling secrets while being tortured and just an overall good person. These were my thoughts pre-Gino, anyways. Our hero Gino is introduced to us as a very conflicted guy. Orphaned and brought up by his uncle who is a Crime Lord, Gino is a Ghostwalker with his cousin Joe. Raised together, he always had his cousin’s back. Joe wasn’t in this novel too much, but my understanding is that although he is the leader of these Ghostwalker’s he’s a pretty likable guy. Gino, not so much. Other than when with his brothers in arms, Gino flies solo. Think dark, broody, silent type hero. When they receive their mission to save Zara, he becomes slightly obsessed. Once she is in his hands he doesn’t let go and she doesn’t want him to, becoming totally dependent upon him for her safety.

What happened to plucky heroine Zara? Well, she did get the sh*& kicked out of her, but she absolutely dissolved. I hated that for her. Gino wasn’t that bad a guy, he actually cared for her, but he really wanted her under his thumb and she allowed herself to be there. Now, before everyone goes crazy on me I will back down a bit. You can read a novel like this and take it two ways. One, there is someone for everyone. Gino had a rough life, so did Zara, and they seemed to need what the other person was capable of giving. Sounds pretty reasonable. I fell into the other column.  To me, Zara was a victim that wanted a strong man to take care of her and Gino was that guy who wanted to keep his woman safe and dominated. I was so conflicted! I really don’t like love stories where the woman is a victim. Covert Game started off really good, but the middle was a muddled mess, and then the action amped back up and gave the story a purpose again. A mixed bag for me.

How do you rate a novel that was well written but just did not hit any of my hot buttons? It was a fantasy so I gave it some leeway, but please Ms. Feehan give women a role model in their heroine, not a doormat. For those of you who don’t have trouble reading victim love stories, you’ll love this one. Don’t let my opinion turn you away. ❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this ARC for my honest review, and it was honest!

Covert Game

Click this link to purchase! Covert Game (A GhostWalker Novel)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

When Jasmine Santos first stepped on the ice she felt like she had somewhere she belonged. When she finds out her skating partner dumped her for another her life falls into a tailspin. Trying to gain back her confidence she keeps up her training schedule of early hours on the ice, and afternoons waiting tables. When she is approached by Gold Medalist Ivan Lukov and his coach to be his new partner, she is floored. She has known Ivan for years, and while he is adored by fans, there is no love lost between them. He is her best friend’s brother and has been in her life for years, but they are frenemies at best. Can they make this partnership work? She is determined to take this last chance at a career she loves and agrees to put their hate aside… on the ice.

From Lukov With Love was told entirely from Jasmine’s perspective and at first she made it really hard to care for her.  She was very prickly! The more I learned about her history the easier it was to see through that wall she put up and start rooting for her. Since we were reading this story through Jasmine’s eyes, we were never given any insight into Ivan’s actions, only Jasmine’s interpretation which was not always correct. To give her credit, Ivan did seem to be a bit of a snobby jerk, but as the novel went on actions spoke louder than words and that snobby jerk turned into Jasmine’s white knight making not only Jasmine fall in love, but also the reader.

This was a classic enemies to friends Zapata romance novel. The majority of the novel builds their friendship before turning that friendship into romance. Sometimes in that trope, the man or woman already loves their partner, but in this one I got the feeling that although Jasmine misinterpreted Ivan’s actions throughout the years, their love story really started as they got to know each other better by learning to trust their partnership. That slow build up created a perfect climactic moment when they revealed their feelings to each other. It was perfect. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

From Lukov

Click this link to purchase! From Lukov with Love

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chick Read: Every Dog Has His Day (Bluff Point #3) by Jenn McKinlay

Divorced mom Jessie Connolly has blinders on when it comes to handsome neighbors, but when her two daughters ask Brewery owner and next door neighbor Zach to help get their kitten off his roof her eyes are opened to what a great guy he is. This was one of those novels where the kids are adorable and funny and their interaction with the hero is heartwarming. Zach and Jessie had great chemistry but his interaction with her children made me fall in love with him too.

Zach is totally laid back, charming and has that childish joie de vivre. BUT he was also grown up enough to see what was in front of his face and know that he wanted it forever. Jessie had been through a bad divorce and her ex was a deadbeat dad which made her a little gunshy in the romance department. Zach kept coming through for she and her daughters and that love of life that may have looked childish to other women actually made him perfect in her eyes. The comparison to her ex was so disparate that she couldn’t help wanting him around permanently.

Every Dog Has His Day is one of those books you want to curl up on the couch with when the weather outside is cold and nasty. It warms you from within and reminds you that a little fun in a romance is a wonderful thing. I have not read the other books in this series but really enjoyed Jenn McKinlay’s style of writing and will definitely be checking those out.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Every Dog Click this link to purchase! Every Dog Has His Day (A Bluff Point Romance) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Uppercase Box- March ’18 Reveal

I had a little package waiting for me yesterday and I couldn’t wait to open it!

rubbing-hands-together-gif-14

Have I read last months book yet? Nope! However, I have gotten through a few that had been on my TBR. So I’m feeling ok about adding another YA book to the list. I’ll get to that book in a moment. Uppercase Box is always fun because of the bookish gifts that come in the envelope along with the actual book.

Ink notebook

I love collecting notebooks. I actually carry one around with me and write down my thoughts. I have one that I write notes on at book signings and others that I use for my work notes, so this was a useful gift for me.

bookish magnet

There was a cute little comma necklace and a fun magnet titled Bookish. I like to collect these kinds of gifts to include in giveaways on my blog, so I’m going to add them to my stash. 😉

But what about the book? It was one that I’ve had my eye on. The cover is pretty and the synopsis sounds great! Steam-punk fantasy? Sounds different, but I love Gail Carriger novels so have ventured into the steam-punk genre before. Fun! This sounds right up my fantasy loving alley!

Ink Iron and Glass

Synopsis:

A certain pen, a certain book, and a certain person can craft entirely new worlds through a branch of science called scriptology. Elsa comes from one such world that was written into creation, where her mother―a noted scriptologist―constantly alters and expands their reality.

But when her home is attacked and her mother kidnapped, Elsa is forced to cross into the real world and use her own scriptology gifts to find her. In an alternative Victorian Italy, Elsa finds a secret society of young scientists with a gift for mechanics, alchemy, or scriptology―and meets Leo, a gorgeous mechanist with a smart mouth and tragic past. She recruits the help of these fellow geniuses just as an assassin arrives on their doorstep.

In this thrilling debut, worlds collide as Elsa unveils a deep political conspiracy seeking to unlock the most dangerous weapon ever created―and only she can stop it.

What do you think? The book just came out on 2/20/18. Is it on any of your TBR’s?

If you’ve read this novel give me a shout and let me know how you liked it!

Until next Sunday,

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads7 Comments

This Chick Read: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom gets a very quick start as Kaz and his crew come up with a plan to save Inej, who at the end of Six of Crows was taken hostage by Wylans father Van Eck. There is a clear cut line of good and evil in Crooked Kingdom with Kaz, Nina, Matthias, Jesper, Wylan and Inej all cast on the side of good, even though they are the best of the worst part of Ketterdam. Van Eck is an easy villain in comparison with Wylan who is the angel among thieves, and the easiest to identify with in the crew. Kaz, as the mastermind behind all of their plans plays puppeteer to all of their marionettes. Even as I tried to figure out the plans direction and guess as to the outcome it would change on a dime and I would try to read faster to play catch up. Crooked Kingdom had a beginning, middle and end I just didn’t end up where I thought the path was leading and it was wonderful!

Crooked Kingdom showed an advancement in the relationship of all of the players. Kaz and Inej, Wylan and Jesper, Nina and Matthias all grew as individuals but also as couples. There wasn’t any time for more than a kiss here and there but the emotions behind those kisses were long drawn out and well thought. I was not disappointed in the final outcome to any of these players parts, although I did have a couple of teary moments. We got to know each of them and their reasons behind their actions so that even if I didn’t agree morally with what I thought they were doing I did understand why. Bardugo did a great job of making a band of miscreants honorable and likable. I rooted for them to outsmart their opponents and enjoyed the exchange of wits.

I know that I have not said anything about the plot of this book. I really feel that whatever I have to say can not do the intricacies of this plot any justice. All I can say is that I loved getting to know all of these characters and enjoyed reading their story.

One last thought on the city of Ketterdam. I am glad that it is a fictional destination. I would fear for any tourist who docked their ship in the bay where a sign reading Enter Ye At Your own Risk No Mourners, No Funerals greets their gaze. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Crooked Kingdom

Click this link to purchase! Crooked Kingdom: A Sequel to Six of Crows

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

Do You Want to Start a Scandal (Castles Ever After) by Tessa Dare

Charlotte Highwood is blessed with a mother who loves her very much, but that same mother is also determined to see her married well, throwing her into one awkward situation after another. Charlotte is determined that her mother’s newest prospect will not end up being forced to marry her because her mother has maneuvered a “situation”. When Charlotte sneaks away to have a word with Piers Brandon, Lord Granville, and warn him, I and Piers are immediately charmed by her efforts. Charlotte, in her haste to make him aware that she is not trying to trap him, tells him she’d never find him attractive and he’s not her type. He’s intrigued and I’m laughing at the clever dialog and scene that Tessa Dare has written. The scene is not unusual, but she imbues Charlotte with a naive exuberance that you can’t help but find charming, and Piers definitely does.

As I was reading this novel, I realized that I had actually read Say Yes to the Marquess, the sequel to this one where Rafe, Piers’ brother, falls in love with Piers’ fiancee of many years. Say Yes.. was my first Tessa Dare novel in quite awhile and I think it’s fate that another blogger recommended I read Do You Want to Start a Scandal, the next in the series. That moment of recognition, when Piers’ identity is revealed along with the fact that his brother stole his last fiancee, made Piers immediately interesting. Tying those two histories together made his rather cool demeanor have meaning. That demeanor was a mask for his activities, and the fact that he dropped that mask for Charlotte made me like him for her.

This was a fun novel, and the fact that I fell into the plot so easily showed Tessa Dare’s talent for weaving a charming romantic tale. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Do You Want Click this link to purchase! Do You Want to Start a Scandal (Castles Ever After) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Need You Now (A Mile High Romance #1) by Nicole Helm

The town of Gracely, Colorado has been dying ever since the Evans mining company closed down, decimating the businesses in town. Brandon Evans and his brother Will are trying to atone for their father’s mistakes by running their outdoor company in Gracely, but the townspeople won’t support their efforts, not being able to forgive them for having the Evans name. They hire Lilly Preston as their PR person, hoping she will be able to make inroads with the people in Gracely. Immediately she is able to do what they couldn’t and Brandon has a hard time acknowledging her efforts. As they work together, their acrimonious relationship starts to evolve into attraction.

This is a really tough romance to review because both Brandon and Lilly were so prickly. As I learned why Brandon felt so responsible for the town of Gracely I warmed up to him slightly. Lilly was also a bit standoffish and was obviously out of her element, a city girl living and working for an outdoors company. She had sass, which I loved, but that sass turned into a cold bitchiness that was hard for me to forgive. These two characters had so much to learn about themselves and each other and it was only because of the conflict at the end of the book that they even grew through that difficulty. I loved the scene at the end of the book where they had a heart felt conversation that was just so real… but then their story ended and I felt like I needed to see more of their growth as a couple to fall in love with them.

I’m conflicted. I liked the story up until a certain point in the book and then the conflict hit and my stomach sank. Then there was the most awesome conversation and I felt uplifted. Did I love it for every moment? No. Did I hate it? No. ❤️❤️❤️

Need You Now Click this link to purchase! Need You Now (A Mile High Romance) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Ever the Hunted (A Clash of Kingdoms #1) by Erin Summerill

Britta Flannery is the daughter of a Bounty Hunter to the King. She grows up learning how to hunt and catch not only animals but criminals alongside Cohen who is apprenticing with her father. As they grow up, she falls in love with Cohen but he is destined to replace her father in the privileged spot as Bounty Hunter. When her father is off on a job, he is murdered, leaving Britta alone in the cabin she lived in with her father. Starving, she illegally hunts on the King’s land and is caught. Thrown in the dungeon, she is given a choice. Die for poaching or hunt her father’s killer. It sounds like an easy choice, but Britta wavers because she is told all evidence points to her one time friend Cohen. Believing their evidence she begins the hunt, which turns into a journey of discovery and learns more about herself than what she’d imagined.

Ever the Hunted was beautiful on the outside and on the inside. Seriously, the cover is gorgeous and the book was gorgeously written. The story felt like a hybrid Fairy Tale – Fantasy novel and the words on the page were written lyrically helping create that feel. Taking place mostly in a forest the story had elements of Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, however it was not a copy or re-imagining of any of those novels, but a unique story with only the feeling of a fairy tale element. As with other  fairy-tale and fantasy novels I’ve really enjoyed, this was more than just a love story, it was an action adventure novel with magical realism. Our heroine, Britta, comes to a realization about her feelings for Cohen, but also discovers the depths of power hidden within herself.

Having said all of these wonderful things, was the book perfect? It was perfect up to a point. I will not spoil the ending, but I will say that there was an unexpected twist that I still can’t decide if I liked or not. It felt like the author decided at the very end to turn this into a series when it could’ve very easily been a stand alone novel. That one twist took me out of the world this author created and made me go.. Huh. So because of that, I’m only giving this novel 4 hearts. Until that twist, I was enraptured by the story and world and would’ve given it a higher rating. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Ever the Hunted

Click this link to purchase! Ever the Hunted (A Clash of Kingdoms Novel)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads8 Comments