Beast (Part 3) by Ella James

Return to La Rosa Prison as Annabelle tries to save Beast from his grizzly fate. Her tongue and hands are doing most of the saving. 

Okay, not really. 


I know that I had mentioned that this series wasn't really doing it for me. But then again, I hate DNFing a book or a series that I have already started so here I am again. Although I admit that this could be blamed to my fascination with the show Prison break from years ago.

So here we are, at the third novella of this series. One again, I went through pages of dirty cops and the evil of money. Other than that, I don't know what else to think because the story just got ridiculous and was kind of all over the place. 

I wanted this story to really work because I had really loved all its possibilities when I came across the first novella. Thankfully there's only one more novella to go through. Let's see if that one would be this series' saving grace.


Final verdict: 5/10. Okay read.


Beast series reviews:
Beast (Part 1)
Beast (Part 2)

Sexting The Limits by Remy Richard

Celeste Benning lost her phone-the lifeline that connects her to everything social. Luckily, she's able to retrace her steps and find not just her phone, but a hot bartender who leaves her head spinning and a mystery man who sends her sexy text messages that leave her phone smoking. When a gorgeous woman comes into his bar looking for her phone, Grant is only too happy to save the day...and ask her to go out with him the next night. Then he impulsively sends her some anonymous text messages designed to tease and titillate, realizing only too late that he's just become his own romantic competition. While Celeste wonders how to choose between the sexy, exciting mystery man and lovable, gorgeous Grant, Grant wonders how Celeste will react when she realizes that both men are the same person...and how he can convince her to stay with him forever.


Saying that this is a pretty busy week is an understatement. I barely had time to read a full length novel so my best option was to find a good novella to read. This was the one that got randomly clicked. 

I didn't expect much because this was the first time I'm reading this author. This novella turned out to be between so-so and okay. I understood that based on the premise of the book, there isn't much of a story to go on. But in the first place, I really couldn't complain much since I knew what I was going into after reading the blurb.

To cut a short story shorter, I am in between two opinions about this read. My first reaction was I wish I have the same result if ever I lose my phone. Which has never happened. Never. But as I was going through the story, my reaction eventually turned to thinking I would never do what Celeste did with a stranger. How does one text that much when they are, uhm, otherwise occupied? Gggggg. I don't want to find out. But all in all, I guess I'm a bit okay with the entire book. I will not say not to read this book BUT I would leave it to you to decide if you would want to read this book or not.


Final verdict: 5/10. Hmm, so so.

Your Wicked Ways by Eloisa James

Helene, the Countess Godwin, knows there is nothing more unbearably tedious than a virtuous woman. After all, she's been one for ten long years while her scoundrel of a husband lives with strumpets and causes scandal after scandal. So she decides it's time for a change--she styles her hair in the newest, daring mode, puts on a shockingly transparent gown, and goes to a ball like Cinderella, hoping to find a prince charming to sweep her off her feet...and into his bed.

But instead of a prince, she finds only her own volatile, infuriatingly handsome...husband, Rees, the Earl Godwin. They'd eloped to Gretna Green in a fiery passion, but passion can sometimes burn too hot to last.

But now, Rees makes her a brazen offer, and Helene decides to become his wife again...but not in name only. No, this time she decides to be very, very wicked indeed.


I cannot believe that I actually finished this book. Prolly because I was desperate to like Eloisa James' works. Remember that July was becoming a very bad reading month save for a few old fave rereads and, of course, THE book of the century (check previous post for details). Nevertheless, I plowed on page after page because I was hoping there might be a surprise somewhere that would save my opinion of the book. Unfortunately for me, there wasn't any.

Infidelity will always leave a sour taste in my mouth so I dunno how I lasted through this book. I can't stomach the thought of a husband throwing out his wife from their home and have the gall to put his mistress in her room. It was made clear that he was only after her for her voice so that she could help him with the operas he was making--but it was a pointless argument since they did sleep together. And worst of all, he didn't want to give his wife the divorce she had repeatedly asked for because it would be too costly--even if he could bloody well afford it. Deffo not a hero material.

And the heroine wasn't much of anything either. She wanted to have a child and since her husband wouldn't divorce her, she sought to make this happen with another man. Ugh! (As my friends would say: Cannot be, borrow one!) And even if her husband already treated her shabbily, she just went along with his plan to live with him again so long as he was willing to father her child. And let's not forget: the mistress was still in the house, too.

I dunno. The story only got from bad to worse. I know it worked for other readers because how else was I to know about EJ and be desperate enough to read her stuff. I don't think I'll be getting some of hers soon though.

Final verdict: 5/10. Meh.

Afterglow by Catherine Coulter

Matchmakers' victims...

What were their friends thinking of? Chelsea Lattimer and David Winter couldn't have been more different. Chelsea was a writer. She lost herself in the past to make up for the inadequacies of the present.

David was a doctor, a man of the here and now, with no time for the flights of fantasy he was sure writers indulged in.

But the passion they shared was no fantasy - it was so real, even Chelsea couldn't deny it. Could the matchmakers have been right after all?


I have to unearth some of my older books in my quest to read only contemps until Easter (you know the story to that). I was quite excited when I found this book 'cause I liked reading this CC novel the first time time I did.

But I was extremely disappointed after this reread. Meh was all the reaction I could come up with. I distinctly remember liking Aftershocks, the story of Dr Elliot and Georgina Mallory, the matchmakers referred to in the synopsis as well as the bestfriends of the hero and heroine respectively. I probably just let my curiosity get the better of me when I got this book because I so loved Aftershocks (which I don't have a copy of) and I was too prolly too carried away at the thought of a sequel.

I did like Chelsea being a writer of romantic fiction. She said that she wanted to write the kind of stuff that she wanted to read. She was proud of what she did and defended the whole process of escapist lit, both in the writing and the reading sense. It reinforced my belief that I shouldn't be embarrassed by what I like reading--romance, romance, romance 95% of the time. But I just detest it when people hide a smirk when they find out that I read those stuff. I'm sure I've learned more from reading these stuff than them trying to judge a person from what she's reading.

All in all, there just wasn't enough chemistry between Chelsea and David in the book. I'm into too much McDreamy and McSteamy that any fictional doctors will always surely come up short in comparison. Maybe it was just the appearance of Elliot and George every so often that made me enjoy the book the first time around. I just might give this to an office mate who has been wanting to borrow a book from me for sometime now...and then just conveniently forget about it.

Final verdict: 5/10. So-so.

The Burning Point by Mary Jo Putney

Kate Corsi always dreamed of working for her family's world-famous explosive demolition business--a wish her old-fashioned father denied her until the day he died. According to his will, Kate will receive a fortune, while her ex-husband, Donovan, will inherit the family business--but only if they agree to live under the same roof for one year.

Forced into a tentative alliance, Kate and Donovan must discover the truth about her father's death--and confront the past that almost destroyed them both. And as they face all their shattered dreams, their wrenching secrets and bitter resentments, they find themselves sliding perilously toward the burning point where passion catches fire once more...


I've read some reviews about how good MJP's books were. Her historicals, I mean. But y'all know why I'm staying far, far away from those. So when I found this book, I didn't hesitate about buying it. And especially because it said that this was her first contemp--that added more to my curiosity.

Unfortunately, it was a bad choice. Oh, I'm sure a lot of people really liked it. But MJP's writing style dust didn't do it for me. The story seemed to drag on and I had to really work it to get through the first few chapters. I couldn't even believe that I've read everything until somewhere in the middle, before I began skimming through the pages. Then...I just skipped right over to the ending.

But I have to say that what MJP did by headlining domestic violence was a really brave thing to do in the romance genre. Between one of the lead characters and an antagonist, maybe. But between the two leading characters, daring. Maybe I plowed on through the story because my curiosity got the better of me and I really wanted to know how they were going to work things out.

But personally, I don't think I could ever work things out in that situation.

It is fair to say that the plot did not turn me off from the book. Although now, I can't see even see myself picking up another MJP in the near future. Not even her historicals.

Final verdict: 5/10. So-so but won points for originality.

The Beloved Scoundrel by Iris Johansen

She was a hostage torn between passion and loyalty. Marianna Sanders realized she could not trust this dark and savagely seductive stranger who had come to spirit her away across the sea. She possessed a secret that could topple an empire, a secret that Jordan Drake, the duke of Cambaron, was determined to wrest from her. In the eyes of the world the arrogant duke was her guardian, but they both knew she was to be his prisoner in his sinister plot--and a slave to his exquisite pleasure.

For years, brilliant, deadly Jordan Drake had schemed to destroy the emperor who threatened everything he valued most in the world. Now that he held this defiant woman who was the key to his final triumph, he felt a fierce sense of satisfaction...and the first stirring of desire. She was only supposed to be a pawn in his plans, but once alone with his captive, Jordan realized she was a prize he could never surrender.


There's something missing in the book and even after a few rereads, I still can't put a finger on it. Maybe it had something to do about the fact that the hero lusted after the heroine even when she was fifteen. So he left her alone for three years to grow up, but at the same time time kept her as his prisoner. But so what?! I still was not feeling it.

The plot just didn't have enough appeal to me. Some parts dragged on and no matter how I try to read their every word, I just fail miserably. I always find myself skimming through the pages.

But there was a part that I like though. When Marianna ran away to destroy the secret every one seemed to be after, Jordan followed her in anger. But it ended up with him and his troops trailing her in as much as to know where she was headed as to let her do the journey in Russian winter completely "her own." He wanted to help her, even attempted to bring her food one night only to find her trying to catch fish--and successfully getting one, too. When his tracker reported the fish gone and suggested going ahead of her and leaving her food in her trail for her to find, Jordan refused.

"I'll be damned if I steal away the victory itself. Not one woman in a thousand could make this journey without help. She deserves to know she did it all herself."

That and the book being one of the three I got from my sisters for my 18th birthday are the only reasons why I haven't given, burned or thrown it away.

Final verdict: 5/10. For the 437-page effort.