...das den Ernst der Nervenlage demonstriert: Noch 20 Tage bis zur Prüfung....
Comfort food to fight exam nerves - 20 days to go...
Thursday, 29 December 2016
Tuesday, 27 December 2016
Kill Without Shame (ARES Security #2) by Alexandra Ivy
Blurb:
Five brave military heroes have survived the hell of a Taliban prison to return home—and take on civilian missions no one else can. They’re the men of ARES Security. Highly skilled, intimidating, invincible, and one by one, tested again and again…
Lucas St. Clair’s prestigious family had a political future neatly planned out for him—one that didn’t include his high school sweetheart, Mia Ramon. Under their pressure, Lucas gave her up. But since surviving captivity, he’s a changed man—and a crucial member of ARES Security. When he discovers a dead man clutching a picture of Mia that bears a threatening message, his fiercest protective instincts kick in, and he knows he must go to her.
Mia has never forgiven Lucas for breaking her heart, and she’s convinced her feelings for him are in the past. But it’s soon clear that isn’t true for either of them. Now, determined to solve the crime and keep Mia safe, with his ARES buddies backing him up, Lucas will have to reconstruct the murder victim’s last days—and follow a lethal trail that leads right back to the fate of the woman he still loves…
Wow, this book was amazing! I simply couldn't put it down but walked around with my kindle and tried to get my chores done while reading.
Lucas and Mia are wonderful characters and despite being a teeny tiny bit upset with Lucas for breaking Mia's heart, I came to understand his actions and could (almost) forgive him, especially as he has obviously learned from his past. And Mia - well, how could one not like Mia? She ist just sweet and, well, awesome.
But it's not just Lucas and Mia but all the side characters as well that are complex and interesting as well as authentic. I really loved the other members of ARES and the way they all care for each other and protect each other. Every one of them is very special in his own way and I loved to get to know them.
And don't forget about the story - this story was thrilling and captivating and I just had to read on and on and on and ...... Amazing! Many unexpected twists and turns, a wonderful and suspenseful plot - how could I have put this book down?!?
Well written, wonderful characters and a great plot - I loved this book!
★★★★★
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
They came from everywhere...
... and then - HE came as well!
*****DRUMROLL*****
And suddenly Christmas was there!
And, well, do you know why you don't hear/read from me that often at the moment
and
why Christmas suddenly crept up on me?
THAT's why......
Right at the moment I'm preparing for an exam on January 18th and to say that I'm a bit nervous is putting it very mildly... I read a lot actually when I'm not reading "serious stuff" but the reviews for most of those books will have to wait till "after".
Don't worry though, I'll shower you with reviews then because most of them are already there, I just have to write them down and, well, I need some peace and quiet and whatever for that because right at the moment I resemble rather some kind of energizer bunny...*oops*
So, please bear with me just a little bit longer, evrything will be back to normal after the 18th!
And then I'll also tell you about the rest of our summer trip because I think you left me right in the middle of Dumfries next to one of the most wonderful book shops (okay, there're worse places to be left, aren't there?) but I still had to get further up north and back home so... after the 18th.
I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all the best for 2017!
Monday, 26 December 2016
FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!
Sie kamen von überall her...
... und dann kam ER
*****TROMMELWIRBEL*****
Und dann war es auch schon Weihnachten!
Und wisst Ihr, warum es im Moment hier so ungewohnt ruhig auf dem Blog ist
und
warum Weihnachten dieses Jahr für mich so überraschend plötzlich da war?
Das liegt DARAN...
Im Moment bereite ich mich auf eine Prüfung am 18. Januar vor und bin hier ein wenig am Aufgeregtsein und zigtausend Dinge gleichzeitig machen und ...na ja, wie das so ist. Lesen tue ich nebenbei auch noch, also auch noch andere Dinge, aber die Rezensionen dazu und auch der restliche Bericht über unsere Reise im Sommer müssen bis nach dem 18. warten. Und keine Bange - dann überschütte ich Euch wieder mit Rezensionen, im Kopf sind sie alle schon fertig, ich brauche nur die Ruhe, um sie aufzuschreiben!
Also - haltet durch, ab dem 18. Januar geht es hier wieder weiter!
Frohe Rest-Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch
in ein hoffentlich wunderschönes neues Jahr wünsche ich Euch Allen!
Tuesday, 20 December 2016
The Lady Who Drew Me In (Soul Survivor #3) by Thomasine Rappold
Blurb:
Daisy Lansing's ability to transfer images from people's thoughts onto paper was a novelty she used to trot out to amuse her friends. But when her “entranced drawing” begins to cause serious trouble for her guardians, she is banished to the country and forced to marry a man twice her age. After the joyless wedding, Daisy is determined to bury forever the strange skill that upended her life. However, she soon finds herself a widow and in dire financial straits. Suddenly, her curse may be her one chance at true independence.
Jackson Gallway's reputation as a rogue has far surpassed his success as a lawyer. In the wake of yet another scandal, he decides to head west. But before he can escape Misty Lake, Jax makes a promise to find an elusive killer. When he encounters a lovely young artist with an unusual talent that could help him in his search, what he finds is something neither of them can escape . . .
Wow, this book was really great, it kept me glued to my reader from the first page to the last!
It's not just the story itself but also the characters that make it so special. When circumstances throw them together and they end up married without really knowing each other, Daisy and Jackson are on a very rough road towards marital bliss.
Both of them have issues of their own that make it hard for them to trust and, well, let's say that Jackson's lifstyle up to date hasn't really been that of the potential husband of one's dreams and on top of that he is a wanderer, never meant to sit still and stay in one place. The countryside? Oh, thanks, but no thanks, he's a city guy through and through - married to a young widow living in the countryside. Wellll...things happen, right? Unfortunately that doesn't mean that those things are easy to overcome. Add a murderer on the loose, an orphan in danger and Daisy's very special talent of transfering images from peoples' thoughts onto paper and you get a brilliant story full of suspense and twists and turns that keeps you captivated till the end.
I really really enjoyed reading this book and its wonderful heroine and hero and I know that this wasn't the last time that I've read this book and even though it was the first book by Thomasine Rappold that I've read, it won't be the last time by her.
★★★★★
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
Wicked Wager by Mary Gillgannon
Blurb:
When hardened gamester Marcus Revington wins Horngate Manor in a card game, he's delighted to finally own property, and undeterred when he learns he must marry the heiress of the estate to claim it.
The heiress, Penny Montgomery, is happy with her life raising horses at Horngate and has no desire to wed anyone. When she discovers what her guardian has done, she comes up with a scheme to convince Marcus she's unsuitable as a wife so he'll give up his plan to marry her.
Who will win in this battle of wits and wills? Or will they both discover the name of the game is love?
I've had this book on my wishlist for a long time. Every time I wanted to buy it, I stopped before the deed was done because I wasn't really sure what to expect. I really love the cover, I think that it is beautiful but I wasn't sure if the cover or the blurb was an indication of the content. Sure, the blurb tells us what all of this is about but it doesn't tell us whether the emphasis is on the erotic part indicated by the cover (and somehow contradicted by the story told in the blurb) or on the story.
Actually it is a mixture of both I think. It has this captivating and really nice story about Penny and Marcus who fall for each other despite their very rocky start with Penny being part of her cousin's loss at the card tables and it also has a lot of rather steamy content. Tastefully written and sweet but a lot of it nonetheless. I must admit that I skipped several pages every now and then because of that. I wanted to read more of the story and how that turned out and less how compatible they are in bed. (They are, don't worry about that!)
I would have loved it better if the emphasis had been more on the story itself and the battle between hero and heroine and less on their mutual sexual attraction and its consequences. It was a nice story but it could have been much more as the characters are really great and I really enjoyed their verbal sparring.
★★★★
Tuesday, 6 December 2016
Tempest in the Highlands (The Scottish Relic Trilogy #3) by May McGoldrick
Blurb:
Rob Hawkins, the half-English privateer known as Black Hawk, has a mission from the Tudor king to find and kill the rogue commander, Sir Ralph Evers. To complete his quest, Hawk must find Miranda, a young woman Evers is pursuing. Caught in a tempest, he is shipwrecked with a "boy" who demonstrates an uncanny ability for saving him. Cast away on the mysterious Isle of the Dead, Hawk realizes that the "boy" traveling with him is actually Miranda MacDonnell and having her means that Evers will come to him. What begins as a ploy —using her as bait—soon changes, however, as he falls in love with her.
Ancient forces are at work, drawing the four possessors of the relic’s power to the Isle of the Dead in the Outer Hebrides for a final battle where good must overcome the forces of evil in this spectacular finale to the Scottish Relic Trilogy.
I really
loved this captivating and highly enjoyable last book in the Scottish Relic
Series by May McGoldrick. Historical Romance books by May McGoldrick are those
that I buy without even looking at the blurb because up to now they have never
disappointed me.
Once
again the hero and the heroine were wonderful, well developed, very likeable
and also very interesting. Especially the contrast between Miranda whose life
has always been dominated by the unexplainable, the mystic and Rob who doesn't
believe in anything that he can't touch makes them an interesting couple, even
more whn Miranda has to draw on all of her definitely not touchable and
inexplainable knowledge of the future to try to keep Rob alive and well.
Easier
said than done, obviously, with a man like him and of course with all those
enemies around. Not very healthy surroundings for a man like Rob. Alas, Evers
is still searching for the other relics and uses all of his power to find
Miranda so it is not only Rob who is in danger.
Evers…everybody
who has read the other books of the series won't have forgotten him. His search
for the other parts of the Wheel of Lugh is intense and brutal. He won't give
up till he has found them all.
Will
Miranda, Innes and Kenna be able to protect their powers and stop Evers?
A
wonderful book and a great finale to another great series by May McGoldrick,
I'm already looking forward to future books by these amazing authors!
★★★★★
The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill (Tales from Ivy Hill #1) by Julie Klassen
Blurb:
The lifeblood of the Wiltshire village of Ivy Hill is its coaching inn, The Bell. But when the innkeeper dies suddenly, his genteel wife, Jane Bell, becomes the reluctant owner. Jane has no notion of how to run a business. However, with the town's livelihood at stake and a large loan due, she must find a way to bring new life to the inn.
Despite their strained relationship, Jane turns to her resentful mother-in-law, Thora, for help. Formerly mistress of The Bell, Thora is struggling to find her place in the world. As she and Jane work together, they form a measure of trust, and Thora's wounded heart begins to heal. When she encounters two men from her past, she sees them--and her future--in a different light.
With pressure mounting from the bank, Jane employs innovative methods to turn the inn around, and puzzles over the intentions of several men who seem to have a vested interest in the place. Will her efforts be enough to save The Bell? And will Thora embrace the possibility of a second chance at love?
I really enjoyed reading this book with its unusual and complex story and its interesting and authentic characters.
From the moment Jane "wakes up" and starts to realise that the inn is in danger and what its loss would mean for the whole village till the last page I feared and felt with her. I was upset when some people showed their true colors and I cried a little bit with her, when things got too rough. On the other hand there were those who did their best to help her and the inn and I love how Jane and Thora slowly found a way to trust each other and to care. Seeing Jane grow into someone who cares and who takes over responsibility, who is accepted and respected by her neighbors was great.
But it wasn't just Jane and Thora but also the many minor characters that made the book remarkable. All of them are complex and authentic and you just have to like them - and then there are those that make you feel wary and you want to protect Jane and all those around her from them and what they could do to the inn and its people.
Apart from the story itself I also liked how it showed the interaction between the people of a village and its businesses and how it makes you understand why all of them rely on each other and that this is how a community is built. The success of your own business is related to the success of the other businesses around you. And it is also a book about family, about friendship and loyalty and about love and caring for someone.
★★★★
Monday, 5 December 2016
Mistletoe & Mayhem (A Regency Yuletide Collection Book 4)
Blurb:
Merrily Mismatched by Virginia Brown
This Christmas, Miss
Lily Jardine is getting something any girl would want – a betrothal
offer. Too bad she’s falling for her soon-to-be fiancé’s brother instead
. . .
The Snow Princess by Jo Ann Ferguson
The Snow Princess by Jo Ann Ferguson
Lady
Lucia Crossclyffe can’t resist the charms of Marquess of Rillington, a
holiday visitor to her isolated island home. Little does she guess that
he’s come there to ruin her . . .
Christmas Truce by Karen Frisch
Christmas Truce by Karen Frisch
After
years of being presumed dead, Major Jeremy Stanhope has come home from
the war. His first order of business – to propose to Lady Rosalie
Partington, the woman who’s waited for him all these years. Only Rosalie
is already betrothed . . . to the traitor who left him for dead!
Miss Montague’s Mistletoe Match by Sharon Sobel
Miss Montague’s Mistletoe Match by Sharon Sobel
Charles Hudson, the
Earl of Westerly, has come to Windermere for Christmas with one
intention – to offer for the woman whose letters have captivated him for
the last year. But is the letter-writer the woman he thinks she is?
These
four sweet stories are the perfect choice to get in the mood for christmas and
the holiday season. They are charming, well written and every one of them is
just the perfect mixture of sweetness and some suspense. The problems
"our" heroes and heroines encounter are not insurmountable and even
though those problems arise the reader never fears that something really bad
would happen.
Of course
this may sound a bit …well, boring, I guess…but it isn't because this is exactly the
kind of story that you want to read when you're sitting in front of a cozy fire
in your most comfortable armchair with a cup of tea or hot chocolate at your
side while the snow keeps falling outside. Something light and sweet,
dependably positive and charming that reminds you of the spirit of christmas.
No need for the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present or Future - you just need
those stories to remind you what christmas feels like or at least what it
should feel like -cozy, sweet and peaceful with the certainty that you can
overcome all obstacles.
At least
that's what I expect when I read a christmas story and that's definitely what I
got when I read these stories!
★★★★