Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2014: Status Update

When I saw this challenge back in December I decideed to enroll in it. The other day I went back and re-read the rules and realized that I could include books I added in 2014 as well. To, I've updated my lists with everything that is in my TBR pilesit was one I was glad to take. I decided to go for the Gold challenge (50 Books). 

To read the reviews for the books I've conquered so far, please visit here. Occasionally, I don't post reviews to my blog but I do post them to Amazon, LibraryThing, Smashwords, Shelfari and Goodreads.

2013 Netgalley TBR list:

1. Dead Sexy Dragon
2. Expecting a Bolton Baby
3. Vampires Need Not...Apply
4. Mistress of the Solstice
5. A Shimmer of Angels
6. Awakening the Warriors
7. Broken Forest
8. Compliance
9. Dark Wolf Running
10. Dead Beautiful
11. Defy
12. Dragonwitch
13. Dream Girl
14. Echo Prophecy
15. Endless
16. Escaping Reality
17. External Forces
18. Forbidden to Love
19. Hereafter
20. Hero's Lot, The - Patrick W. Carr
21. King Hall
22. Mage Fire - C. Aubrey Hall
23. Mind Bond
24. Night Creatures
25. Rebels Divided
26. Rival
27. Runes (book one) - Ednah Walters
28. Safe in His Arms
29. Scrap - Emory Sharplin
30. Sekret
31. Shadow Allegiance
32. She Is Not Invisible
33. Spirit - Brigid Kemmerer
34. Stargazing from Nowhere
35. The Bane - Keary Taylor
36. The Dominant - Tara Sue Me
37. The Naturals
38. The Silver Chain
39. The Trials of the Core
40. The Waking Dreamer
41. Tin Star
42. Turned
43. Unspoken
44. Will in Scarlet - Matthew Cody
45. Winds of Purgatory
46. A December Bride
47. A January Bride
48. A February Bride
49. Elfin

2014 Netgalley TBR List

1. The Millionaire Affair
2. Sheikh's Scandal
3. The Billion Dollar Bachelor
4. Only With You
5. Alex + Ada volume 1
6. Waking up Pregnant
7. Wrecked
8. Catch Me When I Fall
9. A Secret Colton Baby
10. Black Rook
11. Blind Faith
12. Blood Orange Soda
13. Clipped Wings
14. Darkness
15. Dark Wolf Returning
16. Desired
17. Divided
18. Don't Judge a Lizard by His Scales
19. Dragon Defender
20. Fire Heart
21. Forbidden
22. Freed
23. Lingering Echoes
24. Longing
25. Love's Paradox
26. One is Enough
27. On Her Watch
28. Outshine
29. Raytara - Judgement of the Stars
30. Shadow Heart
31. Star Trek: Khan
32. Stitching Snow
33. Street Fighter Origins: Akuma
34. Tales from OZ
35. The Circle
36. The Fifth Vertex
37. The Mark of the Dragonfly
38. The One
39. The Professional
40. The Thirteenth Tower
41. We are the Goldens
42. Worth the Fall

Books that have been completed and/or reviewed

15/50 goal

35 to reach goal

1. The Millionaire Affair
2. Sheikh's Scandal
3. The Billion Dollar Bachelor
4. Only With You
5. Dead Sexy Dragon
6. A December Bride
7. A January Bride
8. A February Bride
9. Expecting a Bolton Baby
10. Vampires Need Not...Apply
11. Dark Wolf Running
12. Awakening the Warriors
13. Dead Beautiful
14. Mind Bond
15. Sheikh's Scandal

Kishaz Reading Corner: MAID in the USA (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series Book 2)

Disclaimer: I received no compensation from the author or publisher for this honest review.

About the Book

WHO EVER SAID BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS AND MODEST MAIDS DON'T MIX? 

Celine Santini couldn't have been more shocked when billionaire bachelor Pierce D'Amato offers her a job as nanny to his four-year-old charge. After all, he hardly even knows her. But after finding herself thrown into an unexpectedly intimate encounter with him, are they really strangers? Celine is captivated by the green-eyed heartthrob who takes her heart ransom but how can she give in to her feelings when they're from two totally different worlds?

From the first day he lays eyes on the dark-eyed beauty, Pierce D'Amato knows he is lost. He immediately devises a plan to get her under his roof...and it works. But the more he gets to know the sweetly seductive Celine Santini the more he realizes there's a lot more to this woman than he could ever have imagined. Her intriguing combination of sophistication and innocence keeps him forever off-balance and, before he knows it, his bachelor heart turns traitor. The heart knows what the heart wants and it wants Celine Santini...whatever the cost.

A thrilling romance with twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages...

Buy the Book

AMAZON  | All Romance Ebooks  |  Smashwords

Here's what I'm giving it:

Rating:  4 stars

Here's why:

All though there are a few cliches in this story, I gave it 4 stars because of the flow, characters and the overall warm fuzzy feeling it gave me when I reached the happily ever after ending.

I've been on a bit of a romance kick as of late and so I'm looking for that special something in the story. I will admit that I wanted to see Celine be a little bit more wary about Pierce's initial offer but other than that, I thought her reactions and behavior fit the story.

Pierce was interesting because he defied my idea of what kind of person/character he was going to be when he started waving around money and telling Celine that he needed her help. He was a little high-handed but that passed as the story unfolded.

Would I recommend this? Yes, I would.

Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2014: Oct part 2

Disclaimer: I received no compensation from the author, Netgalley or the publisher for this honest review.

About the Book

Love is the Biggest Gamble of All . . . 

Cocktail waitress Sophie Dalton doesn't exactly have a life plan. She's perfectly happy being everyone's favorite party girl. But when a Las Vegas bachelorette party goes awry and an uptight businessman mistakes Sophie for a prostitute . . . well, Sophie wonders if it's time to reevaluate her priorities. Swearing off her thigh-high boots for good, Sophie slinks back home with damaged pride-and a jackpot of a hangover.

Yet what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there. On a trip to Seattle to open a new office, Grayson Wyatt meets his latest employee-who turns out to be the same woman he recently called a hooker. Wealthy and gorgeous, Gray is a man used to getting what he wants. And it doesn't take long to figure out that smart, sassy, sexy Sophie is everything he's been looking for. As their late nights at the office turn into hot morning-afters, they realize their Vegas misunderstanding may lead to the real thing . . .

Buy the Book

AMAZON  |  All Romance EBooks

Here's what I'm giving it:

Rating: 4.5 stars

Here's why:

I was expecting a little of the same-old song and dance when it came to this but I got a fireworks show instead and loved every minute of it.

Sophie is the kind of character that you don't see every day in stories. She has issues and yet, she is very sensitive to those around her to point of not taking care of her own emotional needs. She has spunk, yet a vulnerability that kept me glued to my seat as eagerly read through the story.

Gray drove me bonkers because I've met people like him and the urge to shake some emotion into him made me scream in frustration on more than one occasion. At the end of the day, you find out some surprising things about Gray and sympathy as well as a reluctant cheering him on develops.

The two were fantastic as a couple and the humor as well as snappy dialogue between the two was well-written.

The secondary characters were no slouches either. Overall, everything from the plot to the characters to the scenery were awesome and I would willing come back for more.

Would I recommend this? That's a resounding YES!

5th Annual Spooktacular Giveaway Hop (Oct 15-31)

I don't do as many blog hops as I used to but I love doing this one. Don't forget to check out the other participants. This giveaway is international. Autographed copy is US & Canada only.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Please visit the other participating blogs

Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2014: Oct part 1

Disclaimer: I received no compensation from the author, Netgalley or publisher for this honest review.

About the Book

Jax Morrow is a dangerously handsome, spectacularly wealthy entrepreneur whose world is turned upside down when Pandora Garret walks into a dark, smoky bar one night—a stunning combination of sex and innocence. He knows she’s trouble at first sight, but Jax can’t let her leave…unless she’s leaving with him.
　
Pandora has had enough. Kept under lock and key by her powerful, controlling father, she aches for freedom. When she briefly escapes and meets Jax she knows he is just what she has been looking for: forbidden, unforgettable passion. After one night in Jax’s arms, Pandora knows she can never go back to living under one man’s domination. Determined to control her own life she tries to resist Jax, but a dangerous desire rises between them—one that threatens to destroy them. But both Pandora and Jax discover that they just can’t be pulled away… in The Billion Dollar Bachelor.

Buy the Book

AMAZON

Here's what I'm giving it:

Rating: 4 stars

Here's why:

I truly enjoyed this story and the pairing of Pandora with Jax was well done. You really feel for Pandora who has been raised in a rather uncaring environment. The same goes for Jax who comes from a family with lots of secrets to hide.

The romance was believable and the character development and plot were well done.

I really did despise Pandora's father and felt that the ending of this novel was great. I would definitely read more by this author.