Review: Baby Don't Lose My Number: Fated, Book 2 by Karen Erickson

Never press the “ignore” button on love…

Fated, Book 2

In these uncertain times, Mia Skinner’s Blackberry is her lifeline to independence…and a twenty-four/seven chain to her overbearing boss. When she loses it on a girls’ night out, it’s a disaster with pink slip written all over it—until she takes a chance and calls her number. And ends up talking to Mr. Sexiest-Voice-Alive.

The moment Jacob Miller lays eyes on the phone’s beautiful owner, a bolt of lust makes him want to make a sexy mess of her tidy outfit and perfectly straight hair. Which is a good sign. It means he’s almost fully recovered from a near-debilitating construction accident. Perhaps a little horizontal healing will get him back on his feet for good.

As their passion burns bright and hot, a funny thing happens. Mia’s ignoring her phone—and Jake’s the one itching to get back to work. But he’s building a plan that’ll let her hang up on her increasingly creepy boss for good. If Mia’s willing to meet him in the middle.

Warning: Delicious, toe-curling sex including a lusty scene in a truck flying down the freeway. A hero whose greatest thrill is lavishing all his attention upon the woman he wants more than anything in the world.

Jake Miller is hot. I want me a Jake of my very own. ::dreamy sigh:: He's big, buff, funny, sexy, sweet and steady. He's the kind of guy who's rock solid and always there for the people he loves. I don't care how independent and feminist we may be, there's still a part of us that wants that strong, stable partner than we can lean on when life gets stormy, and Jake is that guy.

Mia is a great heroine. She's a workaholic that's afraid of change and afraid of losing her job to the point of putting up with the escalating inappropriate behavior from her douche of a boss. Her friends try to get her to lighten up and not take so much crap from him, but she just keeps going....right until she meets a sexy guy that makes her laugh, and feel sexy and special in a way that no one else ever has. She's kind and capable and not afraid to lean on Jake when she needs to, but she's also there for her man to lean on when he needs it too as he recovers from the physical and psychological damage of his accident.

Baby Don't Lose My Number is a short, sweet and sexy read. The relationship progresses fast and that might bother some readers, but for me, it worked for Jake and Mia and I loved how they could be hot and sexy or sweet and tender together.

Final Grade: A-

You can download a sample of this book to your kindle or the kindle for pc program if you have it.

Author's Website

Review: My Give A Damn's Busted by Carolyn Brown (DNF)

Summary (from Goodreads):

The latest in a line of (formerly) unlucky in love ladies to run the Honky Tonk, Larissa Morley is ready to show the world she means business! But trouble walks into her happy life when tall, handsome and rich Hank Wells shows up at her bar determined to see the doors of the Honky Tonk closed for good. With her happiness on the line, Larissa will stop at nothing to save her beloved bar. Honky Tonk patrons and readers alike are in for one heck of a sexy showdown as these two lovers face off!

Ok, so I had to have this book just based on the title and the summary. A smartass, witty heroine and sexy man bent on closing her down, but he didn't count on the heat, baby? Sounds like my kind of fun and sexy read. Except it wasn't all that fun....or even that sexy. ::sigh:: I feel led astray, peeps. Let me explain...

Larissa Morley is billed as a feisty (god help me), sassy, witty, tough cookie of a character. She's so country that it feels like she majored in country at the local college. She drives a vintage Mustang (I give her total props for good taste) and runs the local "beer joint." It's so rustic and "vintage" that she won't even call it a bar, it's a beer joint, get used to it. The thing is that all this sass and brass and quoting country songs like there would be a test at the end, felt a bit forced. Especially considering her background and the fact that she basically reinvented herself as this person. Also, her feisty wittiness came across more like immature bitchiness, but that could honestly just be me. She can be funny and she does have revelations about herself and the people around her through the book, but...it just wasn't enough.

As for our hero, Hank Wells (as he sometimes goes by), he's supposed to be this rich and savvy businessman that moonlights as a cowboy from time to time. He comes across as more of a pansy assed mama's boy to me and let me just say it's good that he wasn't in charge of building the family fortune because he's dense as a brick and makes assumptions (usually wrong ones) left, right and center.

The last thing I'm gonna pick on is that the book seems to want to box people into caricatures of who they're supposed to be. The rich are all stuck up and snobby sticks in the mud and the hard working lower class are all fun, interesting and hard working people and you have to pick a team. You're either one or the other, there aint no middle ground. Again, to be fair, I got 3/4 of the way through the book before I stopped so maybe the last bit isn't that way, but that's how it felt to me through most of the book. And frankly, the love scenes between Larissa and Hank left a lot to be desired. As a romance, it felt lacking and as a fun and witty read, it just didn't deliver for me.

I can see how others might enjoy this book, it just didn't have the magic touch for me.

Final grade: DNF (did not finish)

ARC Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: HarperTeen
Pub Date: 02/01/2011
ISBN: 9780061726828

Note: I received a copy for review from NetGalley.

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

It was hard to write a spoiler free review for this book. My feeble words just don't seem to do it justice, but I'm going to make the attempt anyway ;)

Delirium is a beautiful story of forbidden love and the strength of the human spirit. The writing is lush and evocative. You smell what Lena smells, feel the sensations she feels and see the world as she sees it as she navigates through this dystopian world where loving is a crime. Ms. Oliver is adept at writing characters that the reader just can't help falling in love with. From the vibrant and beautiful best friend, Hana, to the handsome and brave love, Alex, to Lena's mother who we learn about in stories of Lena's childhood but she seems so alive that she rivals any other supporting character for a memorable place in the reader's heart.

Our main protagonist, Lena, is just an average every day teenager who is looking forward to life after high school. She looks forward to having the procedure that will keep her from becoming infected with Love, the most deadly of deadly diseases, and her life after graduation, going to college, getting matched with her ideal mate and living in peaceful contentment for the rest of her life. Safe. Secure. Smooth. Then Hana introduces her to an underground world of forbidden music and people and she meets Alex, who opens her eyes and her heart to a world that she never knew could exist. As she evolves farther and farther from the girl that just wants peace and contentment, she begins to realize that the government has lied about so many things, is it possible that they've lied about the dangers of love?

I really enjoyed this story and I love that Ms Oliver isn't afraid to break your heart, in the best possible ways. It's poignant and beautiful and leaves you aching for more.

My final grade for Delirium: A.

Microwaves

Who cleans their microwave? I mean, I always just figured that the radiation from the microwaves would just, I don't know, kill all the yuckies in there. But I'm beginning to think that I'm in the minority here, so I put it to you: Do you clean your microwave? How often: Annually? Semi-Annually? Monthly? Weekly? Can you convert me to your anal-retentive microwave cleaning ways? Maybe I'm just some kind of cave-woman throw back. ::hangs head in shame::