Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath

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The April book for Crystal and Jen's book club, Rake Appreciation Society is Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath. This is the first in her Texas Trilogy (although there's three books and one novella). This is an older book of Lorraine's and set in Texas!

This book definitely had a more western feel and I haven't read something like this since I was in high school and middle school. My paternal grandmother had a lot of small (harlequin probably) historical romance novels that I read back then. So this book actually has my favorite trope, wrong sibling! Amelia is a mail-order bride coming to Texas to marry Dallas, the owner of a fairly large ranch and looking to get a son and heir. He ends up breaking his leg and sends his brother Houston to pick her up. Houston has been badly scarred from the civil war and is very much the stereo-typical scarred hero. I absolutely loved this book and it was 5-stars up until about the 80% mark. They're travel to the ranch from Fort Worth is supposed to take a couple weeks, so we get a lot of forced proximity and even some only one bed. 

Amelia is not necessarily looking for love from her partner, but is very excited to have children and create a family. She's very talkative and was constantly asking Houston questions. Even though he was gruff and only gave small answers, I love that he still answered everything. I really enjoyed how into horses he was. I loved when Amelia convinced him to go after the wild horses how he just seemed to open up and really enjoy doing something he loved. It was such an important and lovely scene that brought them a lot closer emotionally. Amelia being able to watch how he was with the horses and let his guard down just really gave me all the "competence porn" vibes. 

Now I expected the angst and repressed feelings once they got the ranch, but where it really lost me was Amelia actually marries Dallas! I didn't like it one bit. She gets kidnapped right after so they never actually consummate the wedding, but I wish she was kidnapped before the wedding happened. I was practically yelling at Houston to say something during the wedding and really couldn't handle how he just stayed silent and then went to a bordello. Nothing happened, but I feel like we could've cut that part out. I don't know, it just really bothered me that it took multiple things to get Houston to tell her he loved her. I also wish that the rift between Dallas and Houston was addressed a little earlier. 

Overall I still really enjoyed the book and am super excited to continue the series. It's fun reading something different from Lorraine Heath. I've read some of her Regency romances and loved them and it was super fun to read something really far back in her backlist. It also wasn't as steamy as I wanted (especially based on her other books), but there was great tension throughout most of the book. Like I mentioned, I'll definitely be getting to Dallas's book soon, his looks to be a marriage of convenience which is always fun, especially with historicals! I'm excited this was the book Jen and Crystal chose and really enjoyed the discussion that was had (link to the video)! I can't wait to read the next book for the Rake Appreciation Society and am super excited for the books they announced through August!

Have you read Texas Destiny?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Texas Destiny, Lorraine Heath, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 384 pages, published in 1997

Trouble with the Hotshot Boss by Holly Renee

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With a little bit of free time before getting to a book club book, I wanted to continue with a series I had already started earlier this year. After going through my reads, I decided to go with contemporary and went back to Holly Renee's Rock Bottom series. The second book is Trouble with the Hotshot Boss, but was originally titled Double Shot when it was originally released. The first book in the series was also retitled, but it looks like they were both retitled and got new covers to match the third book when it came out last year. 

I was a little nervous about this book being that the main trope of this is second-chance romance, which is one of my least favorites. However, the "first chance" wasn't quite as pronounced as I was expecting and it more fell along the lines of brother's best friend and office romance. This book focuses on Sophie, the younger sister of Tucker from book 1, and his good friend Jase. We got a little bit of animosity between them in the first book, and it all stems from Sophie's 18th birthday party. She had been in love/serious crush with Jase since she was 10 years old and decided that she wanted to lose her virginity to Jase. As they start getting hot and heavy in the woods (her party's at a cabin), Tucker calls out for her and Jase runs and hides, rejecting her. 

One thing I absolutely loved about this book was that the "hate" between them was resolved very quickly. I loved how once they put aside their dislike, all those old feelings came back to the forefront. What led this to a 4-stars for me and not 5-stars is how quickly they fell into bed together. And also how often they go it on in the office. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the sexy times. It just seemed a little unsafe for how often they were at work, especially knowing they worked in a fairly small architectural company. That's another interesting thing, they are both architects. I don't read about that profession very often so it was very unique and fun. It would've been nice to see a little bit more "competence porn" in that aspect and see her really excel at her job. There's also the drama with Tucker and Kennedy's wedding, but I really enjoyed seeing everybody hanging out together. 

This misunderstanding was pretty obvious, but I did get a little frustrated with Jase that he didn't even try to talk to Sophie before yelling at her and assuming the worst. It felt so out of character for him and I really didn't like that instead of just being rude or yelling at her, he went the worst route and completely ignored her. I absolutely hate that and it always makes me cry. I did like that Sophie immediately chased him down and told him how he was wrong before breaking it off herself. It really helped that after the shock it wasn't her moping but trying to move on (and failing).

I am definitely planning on reading the third book soon and can't wait. There's been hints throughout both books so far and I'm really excited to see how it goes down. I also am interested if the 4th friend Ryan will get a book, only the first three have been posted on goodreads so far. I usually don't read full length contemporary novels, but I am really enjoying Holly Renee's writing and will definitely see what else is on her backlist. 

Have you read Trouble with the Hotshot Boss?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Trouble with the Hotshot Boss, Holly Renee, 4-stars, 2 days, eBook, 260 pages, published in 2019

Saving Verakko by Victoria Aveline

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Before jumping into some book club books, I wanted to read something quick that wasn't historical. After debating a few different books and sub-genres, I realized I hadn't read the third book in Victoria Aveline's Clecanian series, Saving Verakko. The first two books came out in 2020 and I read both pretty soon after their release and absolutely loved them!

On the planet that these girls are kidnapped and brought to is unique in the way that mates are chosen. I've read other alien romances where the women are dying out kind of trope, but the way that this advanced and civilized planet has dealt with that is such a unique idea. So the male partner in a couple actually goes to husbandry school. They learn how to pleasure and keep a wife happy and healthy. They learn how to do the finances, cook, clean, sexual health and even massage. Once a man has reached a point to choose a marriage, they are chosen for a selection. This is kind of a line-up then one-on-one interview for a woman to choose a husband. Now since there are such little women, they have complete rights in choosing. Marriages are also treated as a contract where they are together for at least 3 months and then the woman can decide if she'd like to try to have children with her chosen partner. This means that husbands can be chosen multiple times. It's also a big form of punishment to no longer be allowed to be chosen. 

Another aspect in this world is that there are mates and markings that will show on the beings of this planet (of which there are a few different kinds). It has been a long time since a true mating has happened (the last couple being the parents of the heroes in the first two books). Another little thing to note is that it's believed that humans and the beings of this planet all descended from the same species, so that allows for the romance between everyone. I know I went a little in depth in the set up, but since it's laid out pretty well in the first book but I didn't have my blog at that point, I wanted to give a little primer on the series. Also good to note, is that human women are being captured (which goes against almost all laws of this planet) and are being genetically experimented with since they are found to be compatible. The people doing this are traitors and we seem their secret bases being hunted down and human women rescued throughout the series. 

Now to what's actually going on in this book. We meet Lily whose one of the two ladies that decided to rough it in the wild than wait for whatever "aliens" were coming when their secret base was found. Surprising Lily has been kind-of forced to live wild by her parents growing up, so despite being a city girl at heart she knows how to forage and make water and start a fire and just survive. Verakko is a being that lives in a separate area than the first two heroes, but feels like an outsider since he's very techy and nerdy. He wants to live in the city with all the fun technological advancements. Verakko is actually being kidnapped by a traitor and escapes into the forest, coming across Lily when she's been separated from the other girl Alex. I really enjoyed getting back into this world. I did get a little frustrated with Lily near the end. She was so understanding, practical and logical about a lot of their choices in the forest. When they finally reached his city though it felt like she almost suddenly had to create drama because it needed to be there. I did understand her almost dying and that was needed to make Verakko's mate marks finally show (outside of just his eyes), but I didn't like that she wanted him to hid them. It just felt like extra unnecessary drama. It was already super crazy them surviving in the forest and just getting to civilization. 

We do get hints about what happened to Alex after her and Lily were separated, but I'm not sure if she's the next book or not. I can't wait for Victoria Aveline to write more. I also absolutely love the covers and have to have these in paperback. From what I can tell the Choosing Theo was her debut novel and I'm super intrigued for whatever she writes next! If you're interested in sci-fi or alien romance and haven't tried this series, I highly recommend it. The first is probably my favorite, but I've loved them all so far!

Have you read Saving Verakko?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Saving Verakko, Victoria Aveline, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 336 pages, published in 2021

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

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The first paranormal I've read this year was for the Smart Women Read Romance podcast's exclusive patreon review. The theme this month was vampires and the winning book was A Hunger Like No Other. This is book 1 in Kresley Cole's long running, highly popular Immortals After Dark series. I have read Kresley's historicals before, but hadn't quite jumped into IAD yet. Partially because it's such a long series. Also because I knew I would enjoy them and completely get sucked into reading this and nothing else. That would lead me to kind of disregard some of my book club and buddy reads I've been looking forward to. When I was mostly reading paranormal and fantasy a few years ago, I was already sucked into other long series (like Patricia Briggs') and wasn't quite ready to add another. But now, the time has come.

This romance is between the Lykae (think werewolves) king Lachlain and half-valkyrie half-vampire Emmaline. Lachlain is chained up in the catacombs and has been tortured (killed over and over by fire, but not quite completely so he constantly regenerates) and one day smells his fated mate. He finally finds the strength to escape since he's been looking for his mate like 1200 years. He ends up having to "cut" off (really maul) his lower leg on one side and crawl his way out. This scene completely made me cringe; I don't do well with gore. After a little bit of time he tracks her down and pretty much kidnaps her to get back to Scotland (they're in Paris).

I really enjoyed the feel of the world that Krelsey is creating. It feels paranormal, but yet different than the typical feel. Already I am enjoying the mix of Valkyries and werewolves and vampires and I know that there are other mythologies that Kresley weaves in through the series. While some might find Lachlain's alphaness too much, it really "floated my boat." I love the alphaness and I feel like with it being paranormal and a fated mate situation on top of Lachlain being tortured the last 150+ years it felt natural for their characters. Despite this being their romance, it also felt more focused on Emma finding herself. Emma did frustrate me a little towards the last 30% of the book, but I understood her decisions. I also really enjoyed how Kresley laid little hints of future books throughout.

I do have a little bit of a mention, if you have read or are starting to read Immortals After Dark as well, there is a great podcast called Fated Mates. Their first season was focused on IAD and goes in depth for each book. I actually started listening to the podcast over a year ago, so while I hadn't read this series yet, I know a good chunk about it going in. Fated Mates is hosted by historical romance author Sarah MacLean and romance critic Jen Prokop. They have great banter and I've really enjoyed listening to their podcast. Now that I've actually started reading IAD, I plan to go back after each book and listen to it's corresponding episode. 

I definitely plan on continuing the series, but want to try to space them out a little and not go on a complete binge. I also know that even though there's been 17 books released plus a novella, Kresley has switched to independent publishing and had some personal things happen. The last book released was in 2017 and the 18th book was supposed to come out in summer 2020, but has been postponed. I have a lot to get through, but if it seems like the next book will get a new release date, I might start getting through them quicker.

Have you read A Hunger Like No Other?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Hunger Like No Other, Kresley Cole, 5-stars, 2 days, paperback, 360 pages, published in 2006

Under the Highlander's Spell by Donna Fletcher

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After getting through the Kindle Clear Out readathon and subsequent mafia binge I went on, I needed a little bit of a change of pace. I went back to my new comfort read, Donna Fletcher. I decided to jump back into her Sinclair Brothers series after reading the first for the Kindle Clear Out. Book 2 is Under the Highlander's Spell. This book did take a me a little longer to get through, but that was mainly due to putting together a new bookshelf and rearranging my room on top of a lot of Avalanche games.

In this book our Hero is Artair and the second oldest son. His romance is with the healer Zia and starts out with him rescuing her from being burned as a witch. It's woven throughout the book, but since Zia is a very learned and skilled healer, when she's in areas where she is there early enough to prevent any or little deaths, some people get scared and call her as such. One small reason this is a four star is because of the town of Lorne's messenger (where Zia was rescued). He's so fanatical that she's a witch that when faced with logical reasoning he just screams more loudly about her being a witch. I understand when he was with the town and how the mob mentality could've effected him, but we had confrontations with him a few times and he still was so adamant that she was a witch despite everybody else saying otherwise. 

The main reason I gave this 4-stars is Zia. Now I understand how Artair and Zia are at face value an opposites attract trope. She's very free and open to the world and almost hippie-like in her views while Artair tries to stay responsible and logical most of the time. They do clash at times, but it felt like it was Zia causing the clash most of the time. It took too long for Zia to understand that there were different ways to show passion and that not everybody needed to show passion like she did. Sometimes she was a little too okay with everything going on. It took to like 70% for her to understand that Artair is very passionate, just in a different way. Plus she drove me nuts because when she would show her care for him or tell him she loved him, she would stop him before he could respond. I get that she was scared about how he would respond, but then she would get frustrated with him that he hadn't said he felt the say yet. She just grated on me sometimes. Also Artair was so protective of her and just trying to look after her but she fought him every step of the way. He wasn't trying to smother her or keep her from doing her healing duties, but just wanted to keep her healthy and rested. 

As I'm sure you can tell, I absolutely loved Artair. He was so accommodating and patient with her. I really loved Cavan (his older brother in book 1) and enjoyed Artair just as much, just in a different way. I loved that even though it wasn't insta-love, he still felt drawn to her and realized that someone needed to help take care of her since she wasn't doing it herself. He felt so protective of her and really wanted to understand her down to her soul. He just was so dreamy.

I have a few book club books to read before jumping into the third book, but I'm super excited to see Lachlan get his HEA. He's the lady's man of the brothers and it was teased that he's going to have to chase after his woman and she won't be one that easily falls for his ways. I'll definitely be jumping back into this series as soon as I can! Plus I want to know what happened to Ronan and can't wait for his book to find out what's been going on with him. I'm really loving Donna Fletcher and actually had my name put on hold for any of her books at my local used book store. I definitely have to have her books and adore the covers!

Have you read Under the Highlander's Spell?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Under the Highlander's Spell, Donna Fletcher, 4-stars, 4 days, eBook, 374 pages, published 2008