Book Drunk Sloth

My name is Britney and I'm a bookaholic. The books I read tend to be in three genres, however I do try to read things outside of my favorites. Fantasy, Historical Romance (usually Regency), and Fantasy Romance (though I'm not the craziest for Urban or vampires and zombies).

A Rogue by Any Other Name

A Rogue by Any Other Name - Sarah MacLean This is the first book I have read by Sarah MacLean, and I have to say that I was delightfully impressed. I've read through everything that my favorite historical romance authors have written, and trying new authors was a little of a gamble.

I loved the world of this scandalous and dark casino. It made for a great setting.

I've always enjoyed romances where one person has been in love with the other for a very long time. I think in this case it was kind of both of them. They just didn't realize it.

Penelope (one of my favorite names by the way) was a great female lead. She was so concerned how her choices would reflect her family, especially her sisters. It was something she struggled with though, because she always wanted more from life. The word "more" means so much to this story, and to Penelope's growth as a character. I liked that she learned from her mistakes and found her back bone.

Michael is a guy who lets himself be defined by his past actions and mistakes. He's been seeking revenge for almost a decade, and will do anything to achieve his goals. He feels like he ruins everything he cares about so he tries to keep space between Penelope and himself. He learns a lot about what he really needs, and he grows a lot as a character as well.

This was a very good read. I found it difficult to put down. MacLean's writing was beautiful and I was definitely swept away in her story telling. I am excited to read the next of the series, One Good Earl Deserves A Lover. I will most likely have to read more of her books.

Don't Bet On Love

Don't Bet On Love - Sheri Cobb South Well, that was just as adorable as it was when I read it in high school. This is an adorable high school romance set in the 90s.

At first I couldn't remember what the book was called. All that I could remember was that a girl taught her brother's friend to be cool to ask out a popular girl to prom. The scene I had remembered was of them throwing a basketball back and forth to help him talk to girls without being so nervous. I had also remembered her wearing a pink dress to a party and having a feeling similar to the Never Been Kissed prom dress. Honestly, it's nothing like that in the book but it just reminded me of it.

Anyways, this is a short read, but I loved going back to my teenage self with this one.

Moon Demon

Moon Demon - Lynne Ewing This has to be the best so far of the series. I can definitely tell Lynne Ewing is getting better as she goes. There are still some awkward bits, but they happen a lot less often than they were.

I dislike how easily Vanessa gets swayed by evil guys. It makes it seem like that's all she cares about and that she's weak. Hopefully, this will be done for the rest of the series.

I did find it entertaining what her secret birthday wish turned out to be. The whole time, I was thinking it be sex, and that made me sad because the girls are all so young.

Oh, another frustration that I have had actually since the first book. When the girls all lock arms together, and used their combined power, what the heck is happening? I doesn't describe what's going on very well. Just some sort of force pushed at their enemy. How is that not a violent thing? I thought they couldn't use violence.

Anyways, back to the story, it was interesting to learn a little more about Maggie's past, and I liked that the whole book wasn't centered around Planet Bang. Vanessa grows as a character and begins to acknowledge parts of herself that she's kept hidden.

Deceived by a Duke

Deceived by a Duke - Erin Knightley Another adorable short story from Erin Knightley. We are taken to somewhere a little more exotic... SPAIN!!

Libby is a very fun and happy person who mostly just seems to enjoy life. She does have some sad points in her life, but I love how it doesn't take her personality away. She is also multilingual.

Phillip is a Duke on a mission to help his younger brother escape the bad life he is leading. So he decides to take his brother to Spain, away from all of the bad influences. While there, he plans to hide his status to get a breather from it.

Libby helps interpret for the brothers, and then the two traveling parties site-see together. It's very cute.

I think this would have been a little better as a full length novel. It just seemed slightly rushed. All in all though, it was nothing surprising from Erin Knightley, who seems to continually put out hits.

Scandalized by a Scoundrel - An All's Fair in Love Novella

Scandalized by a Scoundrel - An All's Fair in Love Novella - Erin Knightley This was a very cute, short love story. Honestly, it even taught this reader a little about self defense! That is definitely not a bad thing.

Gabriel is a mutt basically by being half English and half American. With his newly acquired title though, he is sickened but the sudden mob trying to get him to marry their daughters. It makes it hard for him to trust a woman's intentions.

Amelia has an unfortunate past with her mother death and she has to care for her paranoid father. She feels stuck because of her situation and thus decides she cannot marry.

Through some self defense classes and quite a lot of adorable teasing the two find they care for one another. It was very sweet.

Ruined by a Rake

Ruined by a Rake - Erin Knightley First things first.... ERIN KNIGHTLEY NEVER EVER DISAPPOINTS!

I have absolutely LOVED every book she has put out. She made me fall in love, again!

Nicolas is the perfect man. He is perfect because he puts his love first. He would rather ruin his entire life, for Eleanor to have a happy one. He took my heart:)

Eleanor id put into a difficult situation and tries to do what's best. Mostly, she is just trying to protect her younger sister. When she realizes what Nicolas means to her, she is brave enough to face her fears for him.

Considering this is just a novella, it's incredible the love story inside it. When novellas are this good, I always seem to be surprised. Maybe, with Erin Knightley, I should just get used to the amazingness!!

It's in His Kiss

It's in His Kiss - Julia Quinn Oh Hyacinth, how I had missed you. This is my second favorite of the Bridgerton series. Mostly, this is due to Hyacinth's character, Lady Danbury's character, and the mystery behind the hidden jewelry. With all of the entertainment from the drama between Gareth and his father, the romance part almost plays the back story.

Gareth isn't one of my favorite male leads, but I definitely don't hate him. Mostly, he is just frustrated with Hyacinth's apparent lack of consideration for her own safety. He grows as a character though which was good.

I find I see a lot of myself in Hyacinth. She's smart and straightforward and she knows exactly who she is. She owns up to it. I wish I pulled it off the same way. Loved it:)

The Lost One

The Lost One - Lynne Ewing I must say that The Lost One has been my favorite of the series so far. I find this pretty hilarious considering that I remember not liking when I read it back in my teen years.

The author's writing style is still the same, but I do feel that she has grown since her first book.

This story was full of action because Tianna is almost always on the run. She wakes up one morning in an unfamiliar place and realizes she's lost her memory. As she puzzles through her missing sense of self, she finds out she is telekinetic.

What frustrated me the most with this book was how quickly Tianna would change her mind. At one second she's feeling trapped and she feels an urgency to accomplish some task or to run. In the next second she's all sultry and into a guy. I hate that this make it seem that guys are the most important things in a girl's life. This isn't very different from Ewing's previous books though.

Also, while Tianna's confidence in her self is admirable, she acts kind of slutty. I found this confidence pretty weird considering she's never been kissed. That just doesn't make all that much sense.

The problems with this book were not often however, so it didn't annoy me all that much. I am enjoying this trip down memory lane.

The Bride and the Brute

The Bride and the Brute - Laurel O'Donnell Mostly, this story was meh...

Jayce was the female lead and she confused me a lot. She seemed to get over her father's death quickly. She also seemed to forget the awful way Reese would treat her fast. Her emotions just changed really frequently and fast.

Reese is just a complete ass. He treats Jayce like crap and his actions confuse the heck out of her. But I guess that he was supposed to be a brute.

The ending just didn't really sum things up too well. What happens to Nicole and Morse? I understand that its a novella so there wasn't a lot of time to tell the story. I think it needed to be a full length book to tell the tale properly.

Elantris

Elantris - Brandon Sanderson 2nd Reread: Oh I just love reading this book. I know that this won't have been the last time. There are still parts that get me worried and many parts that make me smile stupidly. I actually bought the audiobook and listened to the last half. (I was trying to be more active than just reading on the couch). It was great! The narrator had a wonderful voice and when he spoke for members of the opposite sex, it didn't sound weird. The only thing that I did truly notice this time around was the growth that Brandon Sanderson has shown through his writing. I just recently finished his latest book, Words of Radiance, and his writing is much improved. It wasn't something I really noticed until now. Regardless, Elantris still holds the position of all time favorite for me.

This is absolutely my favorite book of all time! I have recommended it to more people than I could ever count. This book has it all: action, mystery, romance, magic, religion, politics, comedy, and so much more.

It is different from the typical Epic Fantasy in that there really isn't a physical quest to find any talisman or complete any action. Almost the entire story takes place in the area of two cities that are very near each other. At the time I first read this book, I found this bit to be so refreshing.

The magic system is trully unique, and discovering some of its mysteries is a key part of this whole book. Following the progression of the discoveries was absolutely fascinating.

Sarene (the female lead) is an amazing woman. She is courageous, intelligent, and strong of character. She does many amazing things and pushes herself to help others. She's just awesome!

Raoden (one of the male leads) is the perfect man for Sarene. He is also intelligent, courageous, and strong, but he also trully sees people. I find this quality spectacular in people as they can really accomplish things, and they tend to be really good people.

Hrathen (the other male lead) has a strong character as well. His character grows a lot throughout this book, and I really like that he thinks for himself. His side of the story really focuses on religion and his mentality was interesting to learn about.

There is a bit of romance in this book as well (for all the ladies out there!) which really added to everything.

The fact that this is Sanderson's first book, showed his true potential as an amazing writer. I first read this when it was his only book out, and he became my favorite author. I have read everything his has published since then and I have never been disappointed.

The Sacrifice

The Sacrifice - Lynne Ewing It's always a little exciting to be in the Point of View of the bad guys. The Sacrifice lets us look through the eyes of Stanton. His love for Serena is great, and he tries to stay away from her for her own safety.

I still think the whole love situation between a 16 year old girl and a guy who has lived for hundreds of years is weird. Just because he looks like a teenager, doesn't mean its any less disgusting. And when Stanton tries to convert a girl who doesn't look much older than 14, its really gross. If I ignore those things though, I like the story better.

Things do progress almost too quickly in these books. At one point, the four goddesses release Stanton from the evil that has hold of him. Then they party right after to celebrate. It doesn't seem like even an hour passes and the girls are fine to let him leave on his own. Especially when he has no powers to defend himself. Then when they lose Catty, they all blame him?? What is that?? He had no powers and didn't personally involve them at all in the battle.

What's funny is I don't know what it is that still makes me like this book. I have so many problems with it but I still liked it. Maybe it's the bad boy who is trying to do his best thing that has me. I don't know.

A Reason to Love

A Reason to Love - Alexis Morgan I was lucky enough to get this book ahead of time from the Author in exchange for an honest review.

Normally, contemporary romances aren't really my thing. I receive Alexis Morgan's newsletters because I am in love with her fantasy romance series, Warriors of the Mist. I love her writing style so well, I decided I'd give this book a try since she offered the free ARC.

The things I didn't like:
1. The cursing. Normally, I can handle a little of this, but I did feel it was pretty extravagant. I almost felt it took away from the book.
2. The speed of the romance. First, they were like acquaintances which turned into friends with benefits pretty quickly. Then out of nowhere we figure out that they're in love. Then not even 5 minutes after declaring their love for each other, he's proposing! It seemed way too fast for a contemporary romance.

The things I did like:
1. Both characters were dealing with their own issues and confided in each other and helped each other as much as they could.
2. The military influence of the book. I loved the whole "soldier incorrectly determined dead who comes back and has to figure his life out" thing. It was a romantic theme.
3. The small town of Snowberry Creek sounded so adorable. I want to go live there!

Reading the last book for the whole series first usually isn't my sort of thing. Regardless, I didn't feel lost in the story line at all. Nothing was confusing, and it was very sweet. I didn't put it down very often.

When He Was Wicked

When He Was Wicked - Julia Quinn Wow, reading this book for the second time was a completely new experience. The first time I read this I was still in college and while I did feel for Francesca's issues, they weren't anything I could relate to. Now, several years later, I have experienced some of her feelings and it struck my heart so much harder.

Francesca starts out this book already married to John Stirling. She is in absolute love with him. John's cousin, Michael, is like a third wheel to them because he is more like a brother to John than a cousin. The three become fast friends.

All the while, Michael is hiding from the both of them his deep deep love that he felt for Francesca since the day he met her. Sadly for him, the day he met her was the day before her marriage to his cousin.

This book is different for Julia Quinn in that there really isn't that much comedic relief. The whole story is quite dark until the end. There just is so much sadness and torment. While it is a strong story and really touched to my personal experiences lately, I still found it a struggle to get through in comparison to Quinn's other works. While it isn't her worst; it's still nowhere near her best.

The first half is extremely slow. While I see the necessity in this, it really just dragged. I like my romances to be a little bit brighter. This one had me much too sad.

Romancing the Duke

Romancing the Duke  - Tessa Dare This was one of Tessa Dare's best! I loved it from beginning to end. It was romantic and funny and a little magical what with the Goodnight Tales.

Izzy is the daughter of the late author of the Goodnight Tales. The Tales are a very popular series of bedtimes stories that the author tells to a nine year old Izzy to help her fall asleep. Now that little Izzy has all grown up, she struggles with the little girl conception that follows her. The Tales even have a following where people dress up and have secret orders. Since she was raised in a world of fairy tales, Izzy has always dreamed of her own fairy tale though she does realize the realities.

The beginning of her story is when her godfather leaves her a castle upon his death. As glamourous as that might sound, the castle is completely worn down and it comes with a surprised grumpy Duke. His name is Ransom and the surprise that his castle was sold has him very angry. Izzy is strong and stubborn though and refuses to leave so that they can get to the bottom of whether or not the castle is actually hers.

The story from this point on is very realistic and has it's own touch of fairy tale whimsy. I adored so much of it. Can't wait for the series to continue!

Firstborn & Defending Elysium

Firstborn & Defending Elysium - Brandon Sanderson So I'll start with Firstborn:

This novelette definitely had Brandon Sanderson's "signature" writing. The only difference was the SciFi setting. This setting is in both of the stories and it's the only reason why the rating is a 4 star instead of a 5 star. I'm not that into SciFi, but I absolutely love everything that Brandon writes so I had to read it.

Dennison is a high ranking commander type for a fleet, but try as he might, he cannot succeed at his position. This is difficult for him because he is constantly in the shadow of his perfect older brother who is amazing at what he does. He tries to convince his father and the emperor to just let him leave his position, but for some reason unknown to him they continue to refuse. He gets reassigned to another commander's ship and is told to put all of his efforts into studying his older brother's ways. From this point, Dennison learns a lot about his family, and his own strengths. The ending was great.

Last, we have Defending Elysium:

This novelette also was evidence of Sanderson's signature where everything that is confusing in the beginning sums up at the end with an exciting twist. The fact that Sanderson can accomplish this in such a short amount of story is pretty phenomenal. Honestly, for both this and Firstborn, I really felt like I got to know the character's personalities so well. It is pretty incredible what this man can do.

Summarizing this story is a little more difficult than Firstborn. Basically, Earth is now in contact with several different species of aliens. Because "The Phone Company" was the first to make contact and the only group to possess the technology to communicate with them, they negotiated peace for Earth and now are above the law. Jason works for the phone company and is on a mission to go to a space station type place. The mystery he digs up and figures out is pretty interesting. Jason is blind but possesses a power to "Sense" his surroundings, enabling him to "see". His abilities are also quite interesting.

Together these books were good to put into one book. They were great stories and took a very short amount of time to read. I think total I spent about 4 hours reading this. I would highly suggest Sanderson enthusiasts to read this, and anyone who is into SciFi. You would probably appreciate them more than I did.

The Selection Stories: The Prince & the Guard

The Selection Stories: The Prince & the Guard - Kiera Cass I really enjoyed The Prince. It was interesting to peer a little into Maxon's head. He's the guy I'm rooting for to win America's heart. I feel like I understand him a little more. It was refreshing to realize how nervous he was about the whole situation.

The Guard really threw me for a loop. I was completely against Aspen's attentions towards America because he acted stupidly to let her go. Unfortunately, this story made me feel for him a little. Dang it, I didn't want to like the guy so much.

What I did like was that I now see that for he guy that America does not end up with, he has someone else. Aspen doesn't quite realize it, and Maxon is so stressed to make a bad choice for himself and his kingdom. As long as Maxon does not choose Celeste, I think he should be good. I don't know. Whatever, I'll be excited to read the conclusion.