Weekends are for finishing projects

This is gorgeous! How on earth did you create something so intricate?

Kim Harrison

I did more than watch the Superbowl this last weekend, and I took some time out to finish out a couple of projects that had been sitting around waiting to be finished. I couldn’t tell you why I didn’t spend an hour to finish them when they were fresh. I think in the case of the Monarch it was that I just didn’t want to be done. But the Monarch is by far one of my favorite pieces. It’s my own pattern, and I’d post it, but it uses a lot of my own shorthand, and I don’t know how to really put it out there so someone else could duplicate it. In any case, it’s done and gracing my mantle next to the lead soldier we found tucked into the floorboards and marbles I’ve found on the grounds while gardening. I’ll probably make a second Monarch next fall when…

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Book Review – The Chase, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Kate O’Hare is ex-Special Forces and currently a Special Agent in the FBI. She cool in a crisis, smart as a whip and can beat up the bad guys without mussing her hair. Kate is, of course, flawlessly beautiful au naturel and considers putting her hair in a pony as “doing it”. She caught, somehow, one of the biggest thieves in history, Nick Fox. Nick is of course, just as flawlessly good looking and as glib as the creator of the Blarney stone. The FBI turns Nick loose to catch the badder guys, with Kate as his handler. A fast paced story, technically good, yet there didn’t seem to be much substance in the characters. The dialogue was good and repartee was fun, yet Kate and Nick have no chemistry. Not one of of their alone time scenes felt anything other than contrived. There were a few inconsistencies also; at the beginning during a chase Kate thinks of nibbling Nicks ears. Really?! Nick is a large part of a heist, visually, and no one recognizes him. At least one of the guards or maids had to have seen a true crime/FBI most wanted show so someone had to have known his mug. This was a Good light read, a little too pat and predictable to make me want more of Nick and Kate.

Book Review – His Client, by Ava March

Mr Nate Travers, nephew to a viscount and inheritor to a small shipping company, has been visiting Mme Delacroix genteel brothel for five years. Though he’s madly in love with his best friend, Peter Edmonton, he contracts the services of Jasper Reed exclusively during those five years. Nate and Jasper play sexy and wonderful games, using costumes and their own acting abilities to satisfy themselves thoroughly. Jasper, of course, falls completely in love with Nate, although he is never given the luxury of just having one client. Jasper continues to whore himself out at the brothel past his possible retirement date just to continue seeing Nate. On the eve of Peters’ marriage to a young woman, Nate whines and moans about the the pain and unfairness of loving someone who will never love him back. Jasper realizes that Nate will never really be with him, and finally retires to a lovely little cottage in an obscure village. Nate does finally come to his senses though, and all ends well. The sex was hot and well written, Nate and Jasper are pretty wonderful, although I don’t see how this can possibly end well for either of them

Book Review – Dangerous Ground, by Josh Lanyon

Will and Taylor are agents for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which seems to be a federal agency, and have been work partners for 3 years. They take some time off together to camp and hike in the California foothills about a month after Taylor is shot on the job. Of course, they traipse into a mystery; a crashed plane, a parachuter decomposing in a tree. The 2.3 million in the backpack of the dead man in the parachute harness guarantees the arrival of bad guys. Will and Taylor are well drawn, the dialogue is cool and realistic, with no hokey leering or inconsistencies. The sex scenes were intimate and well written (and hot!). Their relationship develops as they work together to stay alive. I really enjoyed this story, there was just enough plot to keep me reading with no unnecessary flashbacks or info dumps. Well done! This was a free read on ARe, now I’ve got to go buy the rest

Book Review – If It Drives, by L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov

There’s a little gay brothel in London town, the Market Garden, where a guy can get anyone he wants, or needs. James Harcourt is one of the needy ones; he’s a tremendously wealthy yet lonely investment banker who needs to get out of his own head every now and then. He’s been a regular at the Market Garden, as his driver Callum is painfully aware. He’s been crushing on his boss, and one night James can’t find his favorite at the garden, so he turns to Cal. Angst and hot sex ensue, and Cal goes way of his way to be everything James needs. This was a well written book, great story, I squeed at seeing Spencer and Nick again…. just a good read all around, and a great addition to the Market Garden series. I sure can’t wait to see Percy get his own 😉 also, great line – “so this is the Market Garden; Bankers, lawyers, and prostitutes. All the people who screwed other people for a living, converging in one dimly lit place where the booze flowed ”

Book Review – Raw, by Aurora Belle

Alexa is a social worker in Australia, having decided to be one after her stint with foster families. She gets attacked in a parking lot, and is saved by the man in a hoodie who’s been stalking her. Of course, she lets him in, after a few days they bang, without protection, even though he only identifies himself as “Twitch”. Right. Of course he’s domineering, spanks her, treats her like shit, and she is just AOK with that. Of cooooouurse…. It turns out he’s a gazillionaire she needs to appease to keep her job. Endless typose, grammatical errors, character inconsistency and stupidity. Ugh. Just, yuck. I quit reading this right after twitch took someones eye out, as a punishment, while the guy was alive. Pointless violence, stupidly bad sex…. Not well written. People went gaga over this on Amazon, they must have been paid off

Book Review – the Boy from Reactor 4, by Orest Stelmach

This story starts with Bobby, a young high school hockey player in New York City, but takes the reader around the world into the Russian and Ukrainian mafiya underworld, and into those countries. The story telling is marvelous , and the characters engaging. Nadia Tesla is an unlikely hero, but her cleverness and honesty make her a joy know. I love the relevance this book, as communist Russia is again invading freed Ukraine. The crimes and atrocities committed against the Ukrainians seem to have been forgotten by other, yet these are a people who do not forget. This was a great read, and made me want to delve into the past.

Book Review – The Silver Chain, by Primula Bond

This could have been a good book, but is bogged down by mediocre writing, tepid sex scenes, and countless continuity errors. The book starts with an excruciatingly long and boring monologue/diatribe as Serena leaves her first love behind, and ends with a sharp drop off in to nothing. Serena is young and beautiful blah blah, Gustav is extremely wealthy and mildly sadistic blah blah. He offers her a contract, which is not well defined, to be his “protegee” and sex slave, blah blah. I am pretty sure I’ve read this somewhere else…..

Book Review – Indulgence by Caitlyn Black

This story opens with Katie Jade interviewing for a personal assistant position at a brokerage firm that she hopes will be a step up from her current position with a female stockbroker. I found it hard to believe that an applicant as gauche and fidgety as Katie is in this interview has ever held a job for any period of time. She doesn’t seem to be able to define her work qualities and abilities, she breaks down immediately and calls her current employer a bitch. Very unprofessional in the interview, and then continues to underwhelm. She sounds like an immature valley girl (omg, he is so hot!!!) in her thoughts. Somehow, she gets the job, and of course is swooning over her hot shy employer Lance Hardy, even though he doesn’t seem to have any more depth than she does. When a story starts out unbelievable and dull it’s hard to finish. I slogged through this story, and was happy to reach the predictable end.

Book Review – The Treasure of the Fantastic edited by Sandner and Weisman

This is a great, pretty comprehensive tome of fantasy tales. I have read and enjoyed almost all the authors and was pleased by the diversity of the tales, from gothic romance to horror and time travel, with authors who are not always associated with fantasy. The 44 stories here are all imaginative, some surreal, and created a spring board for budding writers in the following years. The stories were written from the late 1800’s to 1920 so there is an old world feeling to them. This wasn’t a book I could get through quickly, so I read the stories with days between them which helped me enjoy each story. A classic to keep on the shelves, and a great way to introduce yourself to the fantasy authors who helped shaped the current generation of fantasy writers