April/May 2016 Wrap Up

Hello everyone!  I'm sorry for not updating in April but I figured since I really hadn't read a whole lot during the month of April I had decided to combine April and May together.  Although I have to be honest, I have been reading a lot actually it's just been random stories on WattPad.  Seriously that site is like a black hole that I've found myself sinking deeper and deeper into.  I've also upped my reading goal on GoodReads from 40 to 60 books.  Mainly because I've gotten into a couple of novella series that have helped with my books read number.  So for this update I've read a total of 16 books but half of them where novellas.  But I am quite proud of myself despite that I really haven't worked towards my challenge goals.

1. A Shade of Blood by Bella Forrest is the second book in the Shade of Vampire series.  This series has a total of 28 books, and I find myself getting so wrapped up into them.  I have to say the Twilight series has nothing on this.  I love how the books just flow from one to the other.  New characters get introduced and things are constantly happening.  While this series is in the young adult realm, I have to say there is way more violence and intimacy, so I would recommend this for older teens depending on their maturity level.
2. Stop in the Name of Pants by Louise Rennison is the 9th book the the Georgia Nicholson series.  This young adult, comedy novel was actually one of my favorites.  I went though a huge gap of not reading them leaving off at the seventh or eighth book, and I didn't really know if I wanted to continue with the series, but I did read on.  In this book you find that while there is still craziness going on, Georgia is starting to mature and find herself.  Which was something that I really enjoyed.
3. A Castle of Sand by Bella Forrest is the third book the the Shade of Vampire series.
4. A Shadow of Light by Bella Forrest is the fourth book in the Shade of Vampire series.
5. A Blaze of Sun by Bella Forrest is the fifth book in the Shade of Vampire series.
6. Are These My Basooma's I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison is the tenth and final book in the Georgia Nicholson series.  I have to be honest, I was a little sad the the series came to an end.  While I liked the ending I felt that it was a little abrupt though.
7. A Gate of Night by Bella Forrest is the sixth book in the Shade of Vampire series.
8. A Break of Day by Bella Forrest is the seventh book in the Shade of Vampire series.  This story is essentially where the characters Sophia and Derek's story ends, but of course the series does continues one with their children and I believe a few couple of other characters.  I do plan on reading the whole series just to find out.
9. Steeled by Ophelia Sikes is the third novella in the Vegas Nights series and leaves off where the previous one left off.  The one thing that you find with this novella series is that you'll want to read them in order because you're left with major cliff hangers at the end of the series.
10. Forged by Ophelia Sikes is the fourth novella in the Vegas Nights series and leads off where Steeled left off.  More excitement and you find out there there is a lot of more the the story and there are a lot of twists in this.
11. Uncovered by Ophelia Sikes is the fifth novella in the Vegas Nights series and starts off right after Forged left off.  Again because there is always a major plot twist and cliffhanger makes me read the next one right away.
12. Atoned by Ophelia Sikes is the final novella in the Vegas Nights series and again follows right after Uncovered had left off.  I love how this book had just as much action as the previous books and had a wonderful conclusion.  I'm a sucker for happy endings and this book gave me a much needed one.
13. Key West Dreams by Ophelia Sikes is the first novella in the Cozumel Nights series and a spin off of the Vegas Nights series.  This series follows Phoenix (her real name is Sonja) while she is on a cruise with her loving but overbearing parents.  She meets Dylan O'Connell who is on a trip with a group of friends celebrating a marriage where he runs into Phoenix and can't help but be attracted to her.
14. Caribbean Deceptions by Ophelia Sikes is the second novella in the Cozumel Nights series and it leaves off where Key West Dreams left off. Just like that Vegas Nights series, you'll want to read this in order because the novellas flow right into each other and they all end in a cliff hangers.
15. Mayan Sacrifice by Ophelia Sikes is the third novella in the Cozumel Nights series.
16. Cancun Betrayal by Ophelia Sikes is the fourth novella in the Cozumel Nights series.

So these were what I read for the months of April and May.  I hope you guys have a wonderful June and I'll be back with more updates and hopefully reviews.

2016 March Wrap Up

Well March was a e-book heavy month for me, but I knew it was going to be since I was going on vacation and I didn't want to bring a bunch of physical books for me to read.  I'll usually read about 4 to 7 books when I'm on vacation, but this year because I have a kindle, so I was able to have a lot more at my fingertips.

• Play With Me by Piper Shelly is a young adult contemporary romance and is part of a series.  The book wasn't bad but nothing spectacular either, just a nice quick read. RATING: 3 out of 5 stars.
• Jace by Kenzie Cox is a paranormal romance novella and is the first in a series by this author.  It was a nice and quick read, but there were a lot of unanswered questions about the two main characters pasts, which probably won't be expanded on since the following stories are about other members of the pack.  It wasn't something that pulled me in and made me want to find out more or read the rest of the story.  I might if it is part of kindle unlimited though but other than that I have other books that I can read.  RATING: 3 out of 5 stars.
• Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn is a young adult historical book set in the last 1800's to the early 1900's and also involves the Titanic.  Yes part of the book takes place with the Titanic's maiden voyage.  I plan on doing a more in depth review, but I wasn't a big fan of this book, in fact I had actually started to read this book about 2 years ago and stopped because I couldn't seem to get into it. RATING: 2 out of 5 Stars.
• Under the Cowboys Control by Lynda Chance is a contemporary romance and follows Selena Taylor as she makes her way from Mexico (as a citizen) into the US after all of her family had been killed,  where she finds herself at the ranch of retired bull rider now ranch owner of Travis Blake. I actually liked the story and was another quick and fun read. RATING: 4 out of 5 stars.
• Flirting With Felicity by Gerri Russell is a contemporary romance novel about a hotel chef Felicity Wright and the hotel owners estranged nephew, Blake Bancroft.  After the owner dies, he wills the hotel to Felicity,  The nephew wants the hotel, which makes to two have to be around each other and as they get to know each other, sparks fly.  This was another story that I loved and that I felt read at a good pace.  The plot wasn't overly complicated but there was enough conflict that kept me interested. RATING: 4 out of five stars
• Southern Fried Blues by Jamie Farrell is a contemporary romance novel and it's the first in a series (not quite a series but more of a themed book line).  The story followed newly divorced military wife Anna Martin, as she tries to pick up the pieces of her life.  Soon she is back in school earning her degree and has found new friends.  Not wanting marriage or any kind of relationship, especially with another military man, meeting Jackson Davis was the last she wanted, but every where she turns he's always there to be her knight in shining armour.  I loved this story, it had the right level of romance and humor.  As someone who is independent I sympathized a lot with the character Anna but was also rooting for her to get with Jackson.  RATING: 5 out of 5 stars.
• A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest is a paranormal young adult romance and is part of a series (28 freaking books).  I really enjoyed this book and I ended up getting kindle unlimited just so I could download the sequels for cheap.  I'm actually almost done with the second book in the series, but I did get slightly distracted by fan fiction.  RATING: 4 out of 5 stars.

Well, that is what I read for the month of March.  I'm going to try to make April not be so e-book heavy, but no promises, especially because I've been addicted to the vampire series.  

2016 February Wrap Up

Well another month has flown by and I've read a total of 8 books.  And sadly only one was a actual physical book.  Kind of sad I know.  But it is so much easier to read e-books since I have the kindle app on my phone.  I'll try harder to read more of my physical books in the coming months.

1. The Blood & the Roses by Callie Hart is a complete series that I downloaded a few months ago.  This series had well over 800 pages and had so many twists and turns.  I thought that the plot was well thought out, and I felt for the characters no matter how messed up they were.  I believe that the series has 6 or 7 books to it, but it was only around $0.99 to download the whole series.  Side note: there are spin offs that I really want to purchase and read, because I liked the authors writing and how her plots seemed to move so well.  I started to read this book at the tail end of January and finished it up in February.
2. The Island by Jen Minkman is a dystopian young adult novella that is a little more than 100 pages long and the first in the series.  It was a nice quick read, and I plan on downloading the other two in the series to see what happens with the main character.
3. Gypsy Brothers: the complete series by Lili St. Germain was another complete series that I downloaded.  While the book by Callie Hart was descriptive, this one was a lot more focused on sex and violence.  You feel for the characters, but you're also cringing as you find out was is happening to them.  This is another book that has sequels and spin offs.
4. Toughened by Ophelia Sikes is the second story in the Vegas Nights series.  I downloaded this right after I finished Hardened and again it was short, sweet and left off with a freaking cliff hanger.
5. At Any Price by Brenna Aubrey is the first book in the Gaming the System series and is a full length novel (around 350 pages).  I really enjoyed it.  I loved the characters, while there wasn't a whole lot of action in the way the a couple of the books had, there was a lot of back story and understanding.  This book did a good job of setting up for the next book since this one had a lot of unanswered questions that need to be worked out.
6. Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball is a autobiography/memoir written by the legend herself.  This is the third biography that I have ever read in my life (the first two were autobiographies by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart that  I read probably 10 years ago).  But I have to say, I loved this book.  And made me love and admire Lucille Ball even more.  When I got to the end, it left such a nice warm fuzzy feeling in me and made me realize that this should be required reading for young girls in high school, so that they know how to act like a classy woman.
7. At Any Turn by Brenna Aubrey is the second book in the Gaming the System series.  This starts off where At Any Price finished and it is loaded with drama and romance.  I really enjoyed the series and once I finished I immediately downloaded the next book in the series.
8. At Any Moment by Brenna Aubrey is the third (and essentially the last book that follows the two main characters) in the series.  When it comes to romance stories, I'm a sucker for happy endings, and for the two main characters they got one.  Since both of the characters ended up on a roller coaster of drama, it was nice that they finally had what deserved.  There is 2 other stories in the series, that follow other characters that were a part of the first three stories in the series.  And yes I plan on downloading those as well.

Well that is my February wrap up, I think I've read more full length novels instead of novellas this month, but unfortunately only one was a physical book.  I plan on catching up on those in the next couple of months.

2016 January Wrap Up

Wow, I have to say, I started this year off with a bang by reading a ton of books!  15 in total!

Starting off, I actually read 3 books at the tail end of 2015, but I decided to count them towards my 2016 goal for numbers.  But if I keep going at the rate I am, That might have been unnecessary.  So the three book that I had read were Kindle books, that I had downloaded to read specifically during my holiday shut down at work.

1. Bad Boy Daddy by Chance Carter.  This was a first for me, I have never read a romantic erotica that was written by a male before.  I thought the story was good, but it was definitely vulgar.
2. Unwrapped by Lacey Alexander is a short holiday story.  It was another one that I thought was good, but also on the vulgar side of erotica.  
3. The Stocking was Hung by Tara Sivec was another short holiday romance story that I downloaded on my kindle to treat myself and by far out of the three was my favorite.  While there was yes; romance and sex (and a touch of vulgarity), it was freaking hilarious.  I laughed so hard when I read this story, that I downloaded another one of her books to whip out if I ever need a good laugh.  In any of you read the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, then imagine those characters amped up by 10,000 points.  Seriously, someone gets shot in the balls at the "Christmas Story" (the movie) museum.
4. Stepbrother UnSEALed by Nicole Snow.  I can't quite remember if I read and finished this one in 2015 or if I actually finished it in 2016, All I know is that I did it all during that week I had off from work.  This was another one of those raunchy romances that were nice quick reads.
5. Shift out of Luck by Ruby Dixon, is a short romance novella that was of the paranormal kind, following bear shape shifters.  I enjoyed this book so much that I ended up buying and reading the three other novella's that were a part of this series, titled Bear Bites.
6. Get Your Shift Together by Ruby Dixon is the second book in the Bear Bites series.  Who doesn't like the thought of a hunky bear shape shifter coming to your rescue when you're out in the woods?  
7. Shift Just Got Real by Ruby Dixon is the third book in the Bear Bites series.  Out of the four books I liked this one the least.  
8. Does a Bear Shift in the Woods by Ruby Dixon is the fourth story in the Bear Bites series, which involves a wolf shape shifter with a bear shape shifter.  
9. Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James.  Let me just say that I was so happy to be done and over with this train wreck of a series.
10. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich.  This is the seventh book in the Stephanie Plum Series, and I have to say it didn't disappoint.  Because it had been quite some time since I've read any of these book I forgot how funny they are and was delightfully thrilled by the hilarity and mishaps that happened in the book.
11. The Duchess Wars by Courtney Milan is a historical romance book that I had downloaded onto my kindle a while back.  I started off just reading the first 3 or 4 chapters here and there, but once I actually sat down and dedicated a lot of time to it, it got exciting.  This is essentially a part of a series, so I may end up downloading the others at some point.
12. Kissing my Killer by Helena Newbury is a contemporary romance that has a Russian mob assassin and a computer hacker.  I had to say this was a nice story to read since, I haven't read something that involved a bad boy who has done something horrible.
13. Punching and Kissing by Helena Newbury is a contemporary romance that is centered around underground illegal boxing.  This was actually attached to the download of Kissing my Killer so I decided to read this as well.
14. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich is the eighth book in the Stephanie Plum series.  In all seriousness, this book did not disappoint, Four vehicles ended up exploding and a man in a bunny suit decided to harass our hilarious bounty hunter.
15. Hardened by Ophelia Sikes is a short novella that is part of the Vegas Nights series by this author.  This story was actually a part of my February TBR but I ended up reading it because it was short and sweet.  The only problem is that it ended on a cliff hanger so I downloaded the next one.  This series alone is the reason why I'm seriously considering signing up for kindle unlimited since it's a free with that subscription.

Well, these are all of the books that I read in the month of January.  Some were short reads others took longer.  All in all, I have to say, I'm glad to be done with the Fifty Shades of Gray series though.  Don't worry, I plan on doing some book reviews for some of these.  If there are any that you'd like me to elaborate on more, please comment below and I'll try to put it on the top of my review list.