ARC Review: My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Pub. Date:	April 3, 2018
Publisher:	William Morrow
Length:	652 pgs
Source:	Edelweiss

I love the Dray-Kamoie writing duo. I think I've learned more from these two ladies than I did in my entire high school American History class. That is just sad. But their captivating writing draws me in and keeps me turning the page (until 3:30am consequentially). I only wish more authors of history books wrote in this storytelling style as we would surely retain more than I did from the bare recitation of facts in a history book.

My Dear Hamilton is the story about Elizabeth Schulyer Hamilton, the wife and champion of founding father, Alexander Hamilton. Told from Eliza's point of view, we get an intimate and eye-opening glimpse into the life of a great, but flawed, man. We also see the strength and courage of a female patriot of the time, working to support her husband through thick and thin, despite danger, strife and betrayal. I have the utmost respect for Eliza, truly one of the mother's of our great country.

Audiobook Review: Lauren's Barbarian by Ruby Dixon

Series:	Icehome #1
Pub. Date:	March 20, 2018
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrators:	Felicity Munroe Sean Crisden
Length:	8 hrs 24 min
Source:	Publisher

Lauren's Barbarian is the first book in the Icehome series, a spinoff of Ice Planet Barbarians. As I have committed to listening to Ice Planet Barbarians in audio, I have not finished reading that series before embarking on this spinoff. While I don't think it's absolutely necessary that you have finished the first series... I didn't like starting this spinoff without reading the other books. There was just too much that had happened on the Ice Planet and I felt like I was missing out. Otherwise, this book is just as good as the others that I have read.

ARC Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Pub. Date:	April 24, 2018
Publisher:	Wednesday Books
Length:	352 pgs
Source:	NetGalley

Sky in the Deep is the debut fantasy novel from Adrienne Young, and I see good things in this author's future. While this book has been classified as fantasy, don't expect many fantastical elements.  There are no magical or futuristic elements. We are basically operating in a made-up world that had a Viking feel with two warring people's who follow different gods. So you can expect lots of action and fighting and conflict.

ARC Review: Savor You by Kristen Proby

Series:	Fusion #5
Pub. Date:	Apr. 24, 2018
Publisher:	William Morrow
Length:	288 pgs
Source:	Edelweiss

This is my first read by Kristen Proby, and I'm sure I will be reading more of her in the future. I delved into the Fusion series with Savor You, which is the fifth installment. I haven't read the earlier books and, while there is some character crossover, I didn't feel too horribly lost or overly curious about the other couples and characters. 

Audiobook Review: By His Touch by Adriana Anders

Series:	Blank Canvas #2
Pub. Date:	June 20, 2017
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	Wendy Tremont King
Length:	13 hrs 25 min
Source:	Hoopla

This is another of my blogger shame books that fell through the cracks last year, but I was happy to find it in audio for my latest road trip. I really liked the first book, and I was glad to see that the Blank Canvas series is staying in small town Virginia with our philanthropic dermatologist and her tattooed and traumatized patients.

Audiobook Review: Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon

Series:	Ice Planet Barbarians #2
Pub. Date:	March 20, 2018
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrators:	Hollie Jackson Mason Lloyd
Length:	6 hrs 27 min
Source:	Publisher

I just love these big blue freaky barbarians. The audiobooks simply can't come out fast enough for me, and its been really hard not to binge through the print copies on Kindle Unlimited. But the narrators do a good job with the story and they keep me entertained as I drive and clean the house, so I'm committed to waiting on the audio versions.

ARC Review: Loving the Secret Billionaire by Adriana Anders

Series:	Love at Last #1
Pub. Date:	April 19, 2018
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	113 pgs
Source:	Author

Loving the Secret Billionaire is the first installment in Adriana Anders' Love at Last novella series. I am a fan of Anders' writing style and having been reading the Blank Canvas series, but I wasn't able to connect with this story. The writing style was fine - I just got caught up in the pitfalls of a novella and wanted more information.

ARC Review: A Match Made in Bed by Cathy Maxwell

Series:	Spinster Heiresses #2
Pub. Date:	April 17, 2018
Publisher:	Avon
Length:	384 pgs
Source:	Edelweiss

This is the second installment of Cathy Maxwell's Spinster Heiresses series featuring a group of three heroines with "new money" so to speak, and less-than-desirable family connections. Our spinsters, Leonie, Cassandra and Willa bonded over their struggle on the marriage mart, each with a father seeking to purchase a title with his daughter's life. Last season, when the newly-appointed Duke of Camberly appeared on the scene, our trio made a game of his attention.

Audiobook Review: Making Faces by Amy Harmon

Pub. Date:	March 19, 2014
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrators:	Rob Shapiro
Length:	6 hrs 33 min
Source:	Audible Romance

This is a book from my blogger shame pile that I got from NetGalley some time ago. I actually picked it up and put it down a couple times due to the age of the characters. I am not much of a young adult reader and I didn't realize that this was a young adult coming-of-age type novel. I generally like Amy Harmon, so I didn't want to write the story off so it has sat out there lingering for a while. But when I saw that it was available on Audible Romance, I decided to give it another shot. I'm glad I was listening while I was at home, as there was definitely some ugly crying and tissues needed for this one.

Audiobook and Movie Review: The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toro and Daniel Kraus

Series:	The Protector #1
Pub. Date:	March 6, 2018
Publisher:	MacMillan Audio
Narrators:	Jenna Lamia
Length:	13 hrs 27 min
Source:	Publisher

So this book is totally out of my wheelhouse for romances that I normally read, but I had heard of the movie and the sci-fi/fantasy aspect of the story intrigued me. Now that I have read the book, I decided to rent the movie to see how it compared. Stay tuned below for the movie review!

This story is told from multiple points of view, most of which I will touch on briefly below.

ARC Review: What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell

Series:	School of Dukes #1
Pub. Date:	March 27, 2018
Publisher:	Avon
Length:	384 pgs
Source:	Edelweiss

What a Difference a Duke Makes is the first installment of a new series by Lenora Bell, School for Dukes. This was a beguiling story inspired by Mary Poppins and I had such a good time reading it.

Miss Mari Perkins is our heroine, and  that's Mari-rhymes-with-starry, if you please. Mari was raised in an oppressive orphanage and has come to London to find work as a governess and find out more about her her parentage. When the proprietor of the employment agency refuses Mari a position, she takes it upon herself to present herself to a duke's residence and pose as a quality governess. Mari was a delightful heroine. She was courageous, compassionate and cheerful. I was really surprised at Mari's optimistic nature given her difficult childhood, but I appreciated it all the same. She was great with the children, and even better with the distracted duke. My only hang up with Mari's character was her name... the rhymes-with-starry bit just didn't work with my southern accent, so I called her Mary most of the time.

Audiobook Review: Kill Without Shame by Alexandra Ivy

Series:	ARES Security #2
Pub. Date:	Feb. 27, 2018
Publisher:	Recorded Books
Narrator:	Jim Frangione
Length:	9 hrs 44 min
Source:	RBDigital

Kill Without Shame is the second book in the ARES Security series featuring five soldiers who were bound together in horror when they were taken prisoner by the Taliban. These protective alpha males have returned stateside and maintained their closeness to include starting a security firm together - ARES Security. Now each one will exercise those protective instincts to save a damsel and bring her into the fold.

Audiobook Review: Untouchable Darkness by Rachel Van Dyken

Series:	Dark Ones #2
Pub. Date:	Feb. 27, 2018
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrators:	Chris Chambers Hollie Jackson
Length:	8 hrs 12 min
Source:	Publisher

I tried really really hard with this book. I gave it 6.5 hours of my life - that's 80% of the audiobook. But I was really forcing it for most of the book. I think that this writing style just does not work for me. It's very abrupt and almost jarring at times. The transitions threw me out of the story... and I can honestly say that after listening to most of the book, I barely know what the storyline was. I felt like this was more of an outline of a story than an actual full story.

Review: Dangerous Promise by Megan Hart

Series:	The Protector #1
Pub. Date:	Jan. 2, 2018
Publisher:	Swerve
Length:	255 pgs
Source:	3M Cloud Library

I've been a Megan Hart fan since the way back, loving the incredibly emotional erotic romances that she published. It seems she is branching out over the last few years and crossing genres into the realms of suspense and thrillers. With The Protector series, Megan offers a futuristic romance with an enhanced heroine and billionaire hero struggling through a contentious relationship.

Review: Beautiful Lawman by Sophie Jordan

Series:	Devil's Rock #4
Pub. Date:	December 26, 2017
Publisher:	Avon
Narrator::	Jill Tanner
Length:	368 pgs
Source:	Overdrive/Library

This is my first time reading a Sophie Jordan contemporary, and I don't know what took me so long. I am very intrigued by this series and I need to get to earlier books ASAP. While I haven't read the earlier books yet, I think they work well as standalones and I didn't feel overly lost of like I was missing information as I read. There appears to be a very small amount of character crossover, but nothing substantial enough to warrant the books being read in order.

Audiobook Review: So I Married a Sorcerer by Kerrelyn Sparks

Series:	The Embraced #2
Pub. Date:	August 29, 2017
Publisher:	Recorded Books
Narrator::	Jill Tanner
Length:	16 hrs 6 min
Source:	NetGalley / OverDrive

This is another book from my blogger shame pile, and it took me so long to get to it because, once I got behind, I really wanted to try this one in audio. So it took a while for me to come off the library wait list. The narrator, Jill Tanner, did a good job with the narration. Her character affectations were varied and it was easy to tell who was talking most of the time. My sole complaint was that her voice sounded fairly old for our young heroine.

This second installment of the Embraced series takes place about a year(ish) after the end of How to Tame a Beast in 10 Days. Luciana has married the Beast of Benwick and they are now King and Queen of Eberon. Luciana is expecting their first child and all her sisters are traveling from the Isle of Moon to see her and assist with the birth. However, as they are en route, their ship is overtaken by both the Tourin military fleet and the infamous pirate, Rupert.

Audiobook Review: How to Date Your Dragon by Molly Harper

Series:	Mystic Bayou #1
Pub. Date:	Jan. 23, 2018
Publisher:	Audible Studios
Narrators:	Amanda Ronconi Jonathan Davis
Length:	6 hrs 33 min
Source:	Audible Romance

I thought this story was just as cute and fun as all get out, but that is kinda what I expect from Molly Harper. I can't wait for the next books in the Mystic Bayou series to see what the magi are getting up to down in the Lousiana swamp. 

This book is an Audible Original - so the print copy has yet to be released. But I encourage you to listen to the audiobook if you are able. The narrators did a great job... but I really really liked the female narrator Amanda Ronconi. She did a great (and believable) Cajun accent, probably the best I have heard in an audiobook. I wish she had narrated the whole book just to have continuity, but Jonathan Davis didn't do a bad job either.

ARC Review: Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks

Series:	The Embraced #3
Pub. Date:	March 27, 2018
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Length:	435 pgs
Source:	NetGalley

I'm a huge fan of fantasy romance, and there doesn't seem to be many traditionally published adult fantasy romances being published these days. So I'm always very excited when a new book comes out in this genre. This third book takes place about 3 years after the previous book, So I Married a Sorcerer. 

To recap for the series: In the fantastical realm of  Aerthlan, the Embraced are born on the night of the two moons eclipse. This special birth gives them special powers which, in the past, was seen as dangerous by the kings of the land. The Embraced were executed if found, so they must live in secret, and are sometimes sent to the Isle of Moon as infants to be raised in hiding. This is where we met our five heroines, girls who were raised in a convent on the Isle of Moon - Luciana, Brigitta, Gwennore, Sorcha, and Maeve. Having grown up together, these girls share a special bond and consider themselves sisters who will be together forever. Luciana and Brigitta met their fate, married and are each queens in their own right. As a result, things have been changing across Aerthlan and the Embraced are coming out of hiding.

ARC Review: Counting on a Countess by Eva Leigh

Series:	London Underground #2
Pub. Date:	March 27, 2018
Publisher:	Avon
Length:	389 pgs
Source:	Edelweiss

Counting on a Countess is the second book in Eva Leigh's London Underground series, which features noble heroes who become entangled with less-than-lawful women of the commoner class.

Our hero in this second installment is Christopher "Kit" Ellingsworth, who has returned home a war hero and been awarded an earldom for his service in the fight against Napoleon. Kit has the reputation of being a spendthrift and womanizer, and his new title hasn't added a penny to his coffers.  But Kit's laissez faire lifestyle is really his way of coping with the horrors of war, and this vulnerability drew me into Kit's character and created a good emotional connection with his character. When Kit's mentor, Lord Somersby, dies and leaves him a fortune with some very unusual conditions, Kit's dreams are within reach if he can only find a willing and supportive wife. 

Audiobook Review: The Dark Ones by Rachel Van Dyken

Series:	The Dark Ones #1
Pub. Date:	Jan. 30, 2018
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrators:	Chris Chambers Hollie Jackson
Length:	7 hrs 1 min
Source:	Publisher

The Dark Ones is the first book in a series of the same name by Rachel Van Dyken that features a diverse cast of paranormal characters including vampires, werewolves, sirens and fallen angels. 

Our heroine is named Genesis, a human whose number has been called to go and serve immortal society. The way Genesis was raised has given her an inferiority complex, and you really wanted to shake the spit out of her hateful mother. But this results in Genesis arriving before the immortals wholly ignorant of her role and what is expected of her. She adapted fairly quickly and took things in stride without freaking out, which was commendable.