Showing posts with label Meghan Quinn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meghan Quinn. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Top 10 of 2019: Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2020


Top 10 of 2019 is hosted once again by Kimberly Faye Reads, and this year she has a co-host Ginger @greadsbooks.   Today's topic was the easiest, because even though there are tons of books I'm looking forward to next year, there are ten that definitely stand out the most!

1.

Loved the original His Fair Assassin series, and the book that started us back, Courting Darkness, so I need this one soon!

2.

I really liked the first two in this series and have been patiently waiting for this one, has it been over a year?

3.

Christina Lauren books can be hit or miss on whether I am excited for what the book is about, but this one sounds perfect!

4.

Seeing as the first book in this series was on my top list for last year, it's probably obvious how anxious I am for this one!

5.

I've also mentioned how much I love Cletus Winston, so a whole series where he is solving mysteries?  Sign me up!

6.

I also can't wait for Jackson James to finally get his own HEA.

7.

No cover yet, but I am ready for the conclusion? or at least the third book in yet another series by JLA that I adore!

8.

Even though I don't think I picked the first book, The Haunted, on any of my other Top 10 lists, it was a really good book, so I'm eager to see where the author will take it next.

9.

So, I'm not positive if this is coming out in 2020, it says it is, but the author also mentioned that she is having a bit of trouble with it. But I hope it does, because I love this series!

10.



Now this one comes out in January, so I'm ready for it now though!  I love Hunting's hockey boys, new and old, and I love when she brings the older characters back in these stories as well.



Were any of these books on your TBR for 2020?  If not, I hope maybe I've given you a few to add to your list.

I always love doing these Top 10 lists every year, but kind of sad it's over.  Now on to determining what challenges I'm going to do for next year!


Also, while you're here, make sure you go enter into my weekly Cleaning Up My TBR Giveaway HERE.  It's open until this Friday until midnight!

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Top 10 of 2019: Favorite Book Boyfriends


Top 10 of 2019 is hosted once again by Kimberly Faye Reads, and this year she has a co-host Ginger @greadsbooks.   Today's original topic, OTP or favorite couples, was one that while it might be fun, I changed it to something I thought was more me, favorite book boyfriends.  I'm going to have to narrow it down to only 10 for this year, when I read so many good books!

1.

I love Austin Jacobs, that's all there is to it.

2.

I think it was Sam, the bearded ginger, who started my year off right though!

3.

I had to pick the Irish bad boy Roark!

4.

Landon makes me wish I could find a guy from my past that things could work out with.

5.

I could honestly probably pick any guy from any Emma Hart story, but I'm choosing Jay!

6.

A new sexy hockey player to fall in love with, meet Porter!

7.

This story actually was similar to the first one on my list, So That Got Weird, but I loved Reece and his role in this story.

8.

I can't decide which Winston brother to pick, so I pick them all!!

9.

Loved Will, and how he dealt with the whole porn film bit at the beginning!

10.

So, when you read over 200 books, it's really hard to narrow down to just 10, even with a whole series up above!  Maybe I should have stuck to favorite authors and the boyfriends I got from them.  But I loved Jason, he cracked me up so much!


Have you met any of my book boyfriends yet?  Want to fight me for them?  LOL!!  Who were your book boyfriends this year?


If you're interested in joining in to the Top 10 of 2019, you can go to the links at the top for the hosting blogs.  Here are the other topics you'll see coming up:


Also, while you're here, make sure you go enter into my weekly Cleaning Up My TBR Giveaway HERE.  It's open until this Friday until midnight!

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Top 10 of 2019: Books I Wish I'd Made Time to Read in 2019



Top 10 of 2019 is hosted once again by Kimberly Faye Reads, and this year she has a co-host Ginger @greadsbooks.   The first topic of this is books I wish I'd made time to read in 2019.  And that was easier than some of the other topics, because I narrowed it down to just those published in 2019.  So here we go!

1.





So I read the first one, and then the one after, but I had so many other things booked when the second book came out, I was unable to fit it in. But I need to do that!

2.




I didn't get a physical ARC before it was published, but I did get one through books for trade on Twitter after, and I just need to fit it in!

3.




Another one that I didn't get a physical ARC, so didn't request the e-galley because I had so many other books already scheduled for reviews.

4.



Definitely need to read this one.  I bought it for my students, so when it's not checked out some time, I'll try to read it!

5.




Another one that I love the author, but didn't get a physical ARC until after it came out from books for trade.  Still need to fit it in!

6.




I think this one is similar to another Helena Hunting book that I didn't get to read right away, Good Luck Charm, but I do own this one, so hopefully in 2020!

7.




Another one I'd really hoped to get an ARC of, but didn't.  I again bought it for my school library and when the popularity dies down with students, I'll try to get it read!

8.




Now, I love every book by Maggie Stiefvater that I read, but often I do end up getting to them late.  And that's where I'm at once again.

9.




So I've only read one book by Ruta Sepetys, Between Shades of Gray, but I really had hoped to get the jump on this one.  We had an ARC at the bookstore where I work, but since it was a young adult book club pick, the person who runs those got it.  I hope to get to it soon!

10.




Okay, so, no, this didn't come out in 2019, but I had really hoped to get this second book in the Outlander series done and move on to the next.  But I didn't.  Here's to next year!

Tell me, did you read any of these this year?  Are any on your TBR?  What other books do you wish you'd made time to read?

If you're interested in joining in to the Top 10 of 2019, you can go to the links at the top for the hosting blogs.  Here are the other topics you'll see coming up:



And by the way, Merry Christmas!





Also, while you're here, make sure you go enter into my weekly Cleaning Up My TBR Giveaway HERE.  It's open till Friday night at midnight!

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

L-L-L-Little Reviews: Six Favorite Adult Contemporary Romance Series Audiobook Reviews

So, while I'm pretty caught up on most things I've been reading, because most of them are for blog tours, I am behind on my audiobook reviews that are ones I'm just listening to for myself.  I've been going through the Knitting in the City series and the Winston Brothers series, the ones that were available on Audible Escape and I hadn't read yet, so those are what I mostly have to share with you today. 

Beauty and the Mustache (Knitting in the City #4, Winston Brothers #0.5) by Penny Reid:
Release Date: August 21st, 2014
Source:  Borrowed from Audible.com as part of Audible Escapes program
My rating:  5 stars
  


Since I had already read some of the Winston brothers books before I got to this one, it was fun to read through their actual introduction.  Although it would have been hilarious to have my first introduction to Beau as how it happens in this book.  We got some awesome lines in this book, for instance:

"Bearded masturbating hillbillies!"

And since I hadn't at the time, or still haven't read all the brothers' books, I have one or two more still, I was wondering and guessing if any of the characters in the book were ones they'd end up with.  Now, there were a couple times with the whole Jackson James bit that I felt the story maybe contradicted something it had said earlier. But I need to grab a physical copy to go back and see if what I heard was right, or if I wasn't paying attention that well.  Like when Ashley says that Jackson James was her first and he used to be her best friend, but then she said she wasn't attracted to him either.  

There was a scene where Ashley overhears her mom and Drew discussing her, and I love those scenes if they're done right.  A great book, both for tying into to the KITC series and getting the Winston brothers going as well.  

Now the cover above is for the paperback version not the audiobook version, but I like this one better.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston:1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit. 

Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston’s preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can’t escape the notice of Drew Runous—local Game Warden, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone’s favorite guy. Drew’s irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can’t seem to keep his exasperating opinions— or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands— to himself. 

Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee. 

Beauty and the Mustache is book #4 in the Knitting in the City series, and book #0.5 in the Winston Brothers series. Each book is a standalone, full length (110k words), contemporary romantic comedy novel, and follows the misadventures and exploits of seven friends in Chicago, all members of the same knitting group.


 Happily Ever Ninja (Knitting in the City #5) by Penny Reid:
Release Date: January 19th, 2016
Source:  Borrowed from Audible.com as part of Audible Escapes program
My rating:  4.5 stars
  


I wasn't sure if I'd read this one because I'm not really a fan of reading romances about married couples since I am single, never been married.  It's just hard for me to feel sorry for them when I want what they have.  However I feel like the author did a good job in grabbing my interest and making me feel for these characters anyway.  Now one reason I went ahead was also because Will Watt was one of the narrators and I love his voice. Although he really didn't have that many chapters.  I also feel like maybe I need to go ahead and listen or read the prequel to this one as well.  But once again there were some of the best lines in this book. For instance, Greg would always tell his kids to end arguments by saying:  "That sounds like something Hitler would say."  Another funny line was "Angry oral sex."  lol.  But Greg, who was away for his work all the time, also had this rule that they couldn't let their kids do things that were just for girls for the girl or just for boys for the boy.  So their son couldn't play soccer unless his sister wanted to, and she didn't get to take dance unless her brother did.  So he didn't want things to be sexist for the kids, but then he was totally sexist about not letting Fiona do things that she was much more qualified than he was to do!  So in the end, I liked this one enough to bump it up to a 4.5, but towards the end we did get a little of the stuff that is the reason I don't like to read about married couples.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
There are three things you need to know about Fiona Archer… I would tell you what they are, but then I’d have to kill you. 

But I can tell you that Fiona’s husband, the always irrepressible and often cantankerous Greg Archer, is desperately in love with his wife. Yet as the years pass, Greg has begun to suspect that Fiona is a ninja. A ninja mom. A ninja wife. A ninja friend. After fourteen years of marriage, Greg is trying not to panic. Because Fiona’s talent for blending in is starting to resemble fading away. 

However, when unexpected events mean Fiona must take center stage to keep her family safe, her response stuns everyone—Greg most of all. It seems like Greg’s wish has come true. 
Except… not.


Dating-ish (Knitting in the City #6) by Penny Reid:
Release Date: May 16th, 2017
Source:  Borrowed from Audible.com as part of Audible Escapes program
My rating:  5 stars
  
 
 


This book started out hilarious and didn't stop.  It is the perfect book to read for any single woman.  I mean I have a new line when I want to date someone, but they can't seem to get it, "Step back from the stupid dehydrated horse."  You need to read the book, but it makes sense when you do.  This book also made me want to look into a professional cuddler as well as the other professionals she was looking into.  This is the book that I just totally wondered how the author can always seem to write characters that have so much "me" in them!  It's like she knows exactly how my mind works!  Some fun things at the beginning of each chapter was some kind of AI or other technology that seems way out there, but from asking the author on Facebook, all of it is true, which in some of the chapters is kind of scary to think of.  Another thing I love about Reid's stories is that there always seems to be someone talking about books to someone, or giving them a book, etc.  I just love it!  They're so my people!  One moment that is totally relatable is when Marie thinks about how she's so happy for her friends, but it's also hard to not be jealous or sad for yourself.  Like in the movie Bridesmaids, how she felt when her best friend tells her she's engaged.  She's happy, but it still hits her.  And then there is the line about how when you tell a single person there is someone out there for them, it's like telling an X-Files fan that you have proof of aliens, but no way to show them the evidence.  The last term I have to say that I'm stealing for my own use is "whore-mones".  Yep, it's a perfect way to phrase it.  Marie and her horrible blind date are one of my favorites in this world and I loved this book to death!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
There are three things you need to know about Marie Harris: 1) She’s fed up with online dating, 2) She’s so fed up, she’s willing to forego the annoyance and consider more creative alternatives, and 3) She knows how to knit. 

After the most bizarre first date in the history of dating, Marie is looking for an alternative to men. With the help of her friends, she quickly identifies a few possibilities: Need a cuddle? Use a professional cuddler. Need affirmation? Get yourself a life coach. Need an orgasm? Try orgasm meditation! Why does she need the hassle of a romantic partner when she can meet all her needs with paid services? 

But then her irritating date resurfaces. And he’s not at all the person she thought he was. And he suggests a different—and crazier—solution to her dilemma . . .



Grin and Beard It (Winston Brothers #2) by Penny Reid:
Release Date: March 21st, 2016
Source:  Purchased from Audible.com
My rating:  5 stars
  
 


I've been jumping around it seems with this series, and this was me now just reading #2.  Everyone seemed really protective of Jethro, his family, his friends, etc., well except his brother Billy of course.  So much that they were warning Sienna off from him.  I really liked Sienna.  I did not like her sister though.  So much to love about Jethro and his family from this book.  I love that he wanted to watch Marx Brothers movies with her, especially since I love those movies!  This was such a sweet book, and Jethro is just perfect in how he dealt with all of the issues that Sienna's famous life caused.  The sexy scenes were steamy, and yeah, just a really great book. I did like the little glimpses into Claire/Scarlet in this book, especially as I was in between the two last books in the series at the time and waiting to see how it would all end for her and Billy.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite “fat” funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna. 

But she has a problem, she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the backroads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston. 

Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often. 

Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?



#Heart (Hashtag #6) by Cambria Hebert:
Release Date: November 4th, 2015
Source:  Borrowed from Audible.com as part of Audible Escapes program
My rating:  4 stars
  
 


I do love Romeo and it was nice to be back in his world.  This was a continuation of Romeo and Rimmel, as well as Braeden and Ivy's stories.  I loved being back in the world, and it definitely kept me going, but it was a lot of the same kind of things happening again, and definitely some unrealistic happenings in the world of NFL I'm sure.  But it's fiction and fun, and so it's all okay.  Definitely a good read after the rest of the series to know how things are going with the crew!  I do know that now I need to read Trent and Drew's books.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Family isn't always defined by blood. Sometimes family is born of love, loyalty, and choice. Sometimes the bond that comes from someone having your back through the shittiest of times is stronger than anything you get from genetics, and sometimes you find that piece of your soul you didn't even know was missing. I'm a lucky guy like that. I found a love that will never fade. I found a group of people who aren't just my friends; they've become my family. There's only one place to go from here. I'm gonna bind myself to Rimmel in every possible way. I'm gonna bring our family even closer together. The past has taught me it won't be easy, but that's okay. Family doesn't quit each other. Love like ours never dies. Happily ever after isn't just for storybooks.


Back in the Game:  A Dating by Numbers Novella by Meghan Quinn:
Release Date: April 30th, 2018
Source:  Borrowed from Audible.com as part of Audible Escapes program
My rating:  5 stars
  
 
 
 


This was short, hence the novella right in the title.  And I didn't like the male narrator's voice.  And for a while I was worried we wouldn't get one of the author's signature steamy scenes, but we did in the end.  A cute and fun addition to this series.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Single dad and hockey star, Calder Weiss has put his love life on the back burner for the past five years, raising his daughter and keeping up with the demands of his profession. But all that changes the minute Rachel Perry runs into him in the most unlikely of places, right outside the men's bathroom. 

Vibrant and enchanting, she captures his attention, making it impossible for him to walk away without scoring her number. Their connection is immediate, their attraction palpable, and their relationship undeniable. 

But Rachel isn't the only girl in Calder's life, which scares him, because Calder's daughter already lost her mother. He doesn't want Shea to lose someone close to her again, making Rachel's task of breaking through Calder's wall that much more difficult.
 

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Blog Tour Review with Excerpt: The Lineup (Brentwood Baseball #3) by Meghan Quinn

 
 
Book info:
TitleThe Lineup
Author:  Meghan Quinn
Series:  Brentwood Baseball #3
Genre: Adult contemporary sports romance
Release Date:  December 5th, 2019
Source: E-galley from Candi Kane PR which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

   
AVAILABLE NOW!  

Blurb:  
Want to know a secret?

It's about that girl over there. Don’t look, but she’s the one in the power suit—with the long, black hair and the serious expression, the one I’m about to go on a date with . . .

Yeah, according to her, she “accidentally” donated an obscene amount of money to my charity — The Lineup — to win said date but I found out the truth. Miss. Button Up Blouse has a secret, passionate crush on me.

I didn’t know her name until two days ago, despite the friends we have in common.  
Was I oblivious? Probably.  
Was I blind to it? Definitely.

But I’m no fool, I see it now. The High Heel Harlot wants more than just a date with Jason Orson, she wants to be able to claim the best butt in baseball as hers.

Here's another secret . . . she has no idea I know. 

My Review:
Oh my gosh, at first I didn't remember Jason from the first book, but he is hilarious, and he started out the book making me laugh and gasp at his audacity and total maleness, well, very immature maleness.  And once again, I must point out that Meghan Quinn really knows how to make things hot!  There was one scene, where Jason described something to Dottie, without actually doing it, and I was fanning myself and extremely hot just reading it!  I loved the whole back and forth thing between the characters, the banter, the crankiness of Dottie, and how Jason handled it and gave his brand of snarky silliness right back.  Not to mention Jason's interactions with Knox and Carson, oh my gosh, those were some of the best!  Jason was really such a sweetie though, you had to adore him.  At times he was like a total teenage girl when it came to love and romance.  Like when he first got Dottie to go on a date with him, and they discussed about kids, and when he said their 6 kids, and she said there was no way she was having that many, he said they'd adopt them from all around the world, you know, like a Brad Pitt and. Angelina Jolie type of thing. But then he walked in to his friends and the first thing out of his mouth was that he was going to be a father!  I was sitting on my lunch break at work, only a cubicle wall away from someone else on their plan time, and I couldn't stop giggling at his antics.  

But as hot as Meghan Quinn can make a story, damn does she know how to make me cry!  There was the part that must be where she said she had to make it even worse for our characters and that's why it took her a bit longer to finish than planned.  And boy, I had tears running down my face at that part.  So much that my dog had to climb up and get in my face like he does when I'm crying and he is trying to comfort me. But I had to move him so I could finish reading, because I knew there was going to be a happy ending.  And then, well, let me just say there is a 10 year part that Quinn put in, and thinking back to the first book, because I haven't read the second one yet, I seriously screamed "NO!" when I read that line.  I'll let you read it yourself, but let's just say that soon after she was making me laugh and I was okay with the 10 year thing.  Because, that's just Jason, and we'll leave it at that.  

 

   

Excerpt:  

**JASON**

It isn’t in my nature to cry over burnt ham, but here I am, tearing up like a jackass, because the meal I’ve been reluctantly slaving over for the past four hours is two shades away from charred dust.

I had it all planned out. The timing was right, the recipes perfected, the table decorated with impeccably folded napkins that impersonated angelic swans, and polished silver that I scrubbed for an hour until I could see my balls in the reflection. Nothing says polished silverware like a spoon that gives you a clear upside-down view of your gonads.

But even with countless hours of preparing this feast, naked as the day I was born with only an apron to cover my man-loins, I still ended up with a scorched ham doused in fire extinguisher agent because somehow, the damn thing caught on fire.

Imagine this, a grown-ass man—no, not just a grown-ass man, but a man at the fresh age of twenty-eight, built like a linebacker with buttocks you can bounce rocks off . . . thanks to squatting for a living—dancing around the kitchen on his twinkle toes, arms flailing with pink and white potholders attached to his hands, screaming like a banshee, as flames light up the Jenn-Air double oven where the brown sugar and pineapple ham resided.

Are you seeing it?

Add the imagery of said man naked, dick and balls harmoniously bouncing in panic while the apron his “girlfriend” got him that says Eat my food, Lick my dick, unravels in the fit to unleash the fire extinguisher.

That was me . . . a minute ago.

Frantic, screaming, and all in all losing any last shred of my man card I had left.

It’s why I’m currently weeping like a nitwit into the flaps of my apron, wondering where I went wrong.

If we’re going to be honest with each other—and I would like to establish honesty with you—I’ll admit, I’ve always leaned toward the sensitive side. You know, the cuddly grizzly bear. Big and intimidating but a fucking gooey butterball heart on the inside.

Tell me a love story. I’ll listen the crap out of it.

The Bachelor? Why yes, that’s one of my favorite shows.

Do I smile when sharing a candlelit dinner with myself, followed by a nice long soak in a bubble bath while Enya—the fucking goddess of all voices—plays in the background? I sure as shit do.

But if some ignorant asswipe gets in my face on the ball field, stirring up trouble, I’m the first to lay a fist across his jaw and the first to be thrown out of a game.

And I’m not even sorry about it.

People are arriving in an hour. I’m vulnerable as fuck with my bare ass resting against the cold white-oak floor of my girl’s apartment, while a lonely tear streams down my freshly shaven cheek. I have no main dish, and the apartment smells like burnt rabbit turd.

Why am I in this hopeless predicament?

Because of one person.

One single person who flipped my life upside down.

A bombshell in a suit, a ravenous sex-fiend in the sheets, a classy and sophisticated tight-ass in the boardroom. She’s a knockout who’s always on my mind. She’s the girl you do things for, that you never thought you’d ever do . . .

Like cook a fancy-as-fuck four-course meal for her and her business associates while practicing interesting conversational starters to ensure the night flows smoothly.

Back in college, I might have been referred to as the mother hen of the boys. I might have cooked at least two meals a week for the guys in the loft, and yeah, I was the ironing wizard, the one everyone turned to, to get out the most stubborn wrinkles. The title has carried on over the years, but my creativity in the kitchen has dwindled with the lack of time, my ironing is now done by my apartment keeper once a week, and the fresh flowers scattered around my place? They’re more dead now than alive.

My point—I’m not the lady of the house I used to be. But I’ve been getting back into the swing of it.

So when my girl asked me to perform the impossible feat of an intimate dinner for four, I should have ordered in, tossed everything in serving dishes, and called it a night.

But nooooooooo, I had to attempt to be a goddamn hero and try to cook everything myself.

And all for what?

For one girl?

No. Not just one girl. The girl who owns my balls, who has a grip so tight on them that if she asked me to bellow out my ABCs in soprano while swirling my finger around my belly button . . . I would.

Who is this girl that has brought me to the brink of boo-boo smush bear insanity and caused me to weep like a schoolgirl in the corner of the apartment?

There’s only one lady with more than enough ovaries to buckle the knees of the mighty Jason Orson.

The one and only Dorothy “Dottie” Domico.

   


About the Author:  
USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

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