So I read 12 books in August, but some of them are getting clumped together because they’re short and related. Some are standalone, which were fine too, and one was a cookbook, which is tough to “read” since it’s recipes, and the last half of all of them were mostly the same. Still, here we go.
So I read TK books in August, but some of them are getting clumped together because they’re short and related. Some are standalone, which were fine too, and one was a cookbook, which is tough to “read” since it’s recipes, and the last half of all of them were mostly the same. Still, here we go.
Healthy Meal Prep Instant Pot® Cookbook – Carrie Forrest
I just got an Instant Pot on Prime Day, for half price. I’ve made butter chicken twice for it, but that’s it. I wanted a cookbook just in case the internet failed me (It hasn’t). This was an interesting one, because it’s healthy meals. The recipes are pretty solid, and if you weren’t looking, you wouldn’t notice they’re healthy/clean eating types of recipes. I like that, as it shows you can have a nice, healthy meal without resorting to random hard to find ingredients, or sacrificing flavor.
The Everlasting Rose – Dhonielle Clayton
As much as I enjoyed The Belles, the first of the two books, I thought I would enjoy this more. Instead, it took me 4 months to get through. I just couldn’t get into it. And that sucked, because more of this book centered around how the country of Orleans functioned, and how the things the Belles used were applied or gotten. There was backstory I wanted from the first book, but I just wasn’t interested. I really wanted to be, too.
Camielle discovers in this one she’s a special Belle, and there’s one in each generation that’s stronger than all her sisters. However, this doesn’t do anything other than make her want to take down Sophia more than ever. She doesn’t really change, other than learn she has more powers than she’s been taught about. Her desires and personality stay the same, and she doesn’t learn or grow. It was disappointing because there was more there we could have learned about and enjoyed, but we didn’t get it.
Keatyn is the daught of famous actress Abby Johnson. She lives a life out of a movie script, with everything plotted to her liking. But not everything is perfect. Her boyfriend would rather drink than have sex with her, she has a crush on the surfer dude next door, her supposed best friend is threatening to spill the beans that Keatyn’s boyfriend won’t sleep with her. Plus, her mom has a stalker that’s getting threatening.
I wanted to like this, but Keatyn’s a shit. She doesn’t know what she wants, which is fine, she’s 16. But she flip back and forth between so many things that it;’s obvious she’s looking for someone to direct her. And when her supposed BFF and queen bee does just that, Keatyn goes back to being damn near a mean girl.
Maybe I just can’t relate to a girl who has endless money and freedom at her fingertips. Her parents let her spend the summer wandering around Europe, especially France, with her surfer dude crush/boyfriend/whatever. They’re fine with them sharing a bed and having sex, and surfing all over, without any adult within 100km that is invested in them. This is all just a few weeks after dumping the perfect boyfriend, dating Cush (who I liked) and other drama. Keatyn can’t make up her mind.
Then there’s the plot of the book, which shows up at Keatyn’s 17th birthday party, after being hinted at for a while. Keatyn’s mom has a long time stalker that she”s mostly ignored, as he’s harmless or something. But then the mom films some more adult film scenes, and the stalker loses his mind. He decides Keatyn’s mom is a whore and unworthy of his affections, and moves on to Keatyn. It’s pretty obvious from the beginning who the stalker is, and the way the whole thing is treated, by not being able to press charges, and the idea it’s his work vs the girl he was trying to kidnap (with witnesses) just put me off. At that point I was done.
Protecting Her, Protecting What’s Mine, His Obsession – Hope Ford
Want to write short fiction? Study what’s popular. Currently that’s romance with a curvy, or heavier, younger woman paired with an Alpha male that wants to protect her. Throw in a bit of instant interest, sexytimes, protection, and a happy ending, and you have a lot of what’s on the top 100 paid Kindle Short Reads for under an hour.
These three are in that genre. It doesn’t do much for me, I enjoy a good Alpha male book now and again, but these guys were a little too pushy for my takes. However, if I had been the woman in the book, 20-25ish, and going it alone, I would probably welcome them. Reliability and protection go a long ways when you don’t have someone to watch your back, even when no one’s gunning for you.
These are cute, sweet, easy reads, nothing more. I find the words a little stilted at times, and the dialog not really what I’d imagine being said, but they’re harmless fun. Not all books need to be heavy and deep, some are purely for wish fulfillment or enjoyment, like popcorn. And at an hour’s read, they’re much like a snack for folks who don’t want something longer.
Royal Monsters, Royal Alphas, Royal Villians, Royal Rivals – Avery Free
Another one that was up in the paid Short Reads in Kindle. The covers caught my eye, and they didn’t look like the standard romance novels that were all over. So I took a look, and now I’m elbow deep in a paranormal, reverse harem, episodic book. That’s quite a specific sort of book.
So, this book deals with Cat Cross, who cannot die. Well, she can die, as based on the first chapter of Royal Monsters, she can die in many terrible, painful ways. However, she doesn’t stay dead. She always comes back, tired and sore, hungry as hell, and unhappy. Her adopted parents are thrilled at finding all the ways she can die, leaving her a worn out husk of a person. All of this at 13 too. Her only salvation is her twin brother, Simon. He’s human, and she’s doing all of this to protect him.
Thankfully, the book doesn’t linger on 13 year old Cat, but instead gives us a nice inciting incident (a kidnapping) and moves us along to 20 year old Cat. The preceding 7 years haven’t been kind, but she’s found out where her brother was kidnapped and spirited away to: Savage Magic Academy. A home for werewolves, necromancers, incubi, and vampires, Cat’s signed up for a suicidal position: whipping boy. Or girl, in her case. Since she can’t die, she’s not concerned.
Then she meets the guys she’s to be a whipping girl to: Carter, alpha of the werewolves; Zach, alpha of the Vampires; Aaron, alpha of the Incubi; and Eric, Alpha of the Nexcromancers. All of them future leaders of their clans, all of them the sort to kill a whipping boy, or girl. Maybe not intentionally, but they’re powerful, and they delay satisfying their hungers until they have to, often with deadly results.
The mutual attraction between Cat and her 4 Alphas is impossible to deny, and sparks, and sexytimes, fly between them. This prompts savagery and competition between the Alphas, until they realize she’s too precious to be squabbled over. By the end of book 4, they’re setting out to protect her against anything that might try and hurt her, including The Chosen: a young man who looks suspiciously like Cat’s twin brother, Simon.
Another short read, insta love, happily ever after. Lucy is getting mugged when Jesse saves her. Sparks fly. They get pie. They fall in love.
Cute, easy read, nothing to write home about. I really have very little to say about the book beyond that.
Again, short and sweet, interest at first sight, love right away. This one had a little more conflict in it than most, as Jessa has a rule of not sleeping with her customers at the bar she works at. Eric, in addition to being a customer, owns the hotel the bar is in, so technically he’s her boss. There’s a little conflict, which I think makes the story better. Not much to say beyond that.