Kidnapping the Lorax by Patricia K. Lichen

Though I am not a tree hugger, per se, I do take a slight interest in animal and wildlife rights and I love books with strong heroines. This book definitely has a strong heroine.. she doesn't even like to be called feisty. Here's why:

"Feisty is a diminutive term. one virtually never hears it applied to men, and that alone should be enough to make one suspicious of it. It is a term that lessens the power and strength of a woman and as you will discover should this excursion continue beyond this point, i am not a woman to be lessened. You may refer to me as 'self assured,' 'strong willed,' 'brash' or even 'cocky,' but you will not refer to me as feisty."

Whoa. Food for though and the excursion, Lacey (the Lorax) is referring to is her own kidnapping at the hands of some extreme environmentalists to hope to gain her aid in changing an upcoming law that should it pass, will cause the ruination of their beloved Pacific Northwest forest.

The kidnappers consist of Walden, a know it all, a lady's man, an argumentative fellow, Fern aka Maggie (not sure why she didn't abide by her fake name throughout the book as the other ones did. Maybe I missed something somewhere), a timid girl torn between the two men, and Tracker, a big quiet buy. Obviously, Walden is the leader and he and Lacey butt heads OFTEN as they hold her in captivity in the woods. She must complete a list of outdoorsy tasks before they let her free.

I really enjoyed this, especially the beginning. There are burst of humor and laugh out loud moments throughout the book. Anytime the red shovel was mentioned, I laughed. Especially enjoyed Walden's explanation of its usage. Unfortunately, that's all I liked about Walden. His character tended to pontificate and give too many lectures and start too many religious arguments. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but at times when Walden started one of his lectures, I spaced out a bit. 

However, this was a great read. I learned a lot of things though I can't say I am going to take up camping myself. LOL There was more to the story, such as tensions between the kidnappers, friendships formed and broken, and so on and readers get an educational experience along with Lacey.

Four stars and I received this from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin

I read both Butterfly Swords and The Taming of Mei Lin and consider myself a fan of this author. Both historical romances took place during the Tang dynasty and those and this one are all very well written, a perfect blend of story and sex, of description and action. All three of them make me feel as though I have stepped back into the Tang dynasty into a world of warriors, swords, emperors, courtesans, paper lantern festivals, and danger.

This one is a bit different from the previous two, however. In Butterfly and Taming, the heroines were strong fighters, their weapons were their swords. In this one, the heroine, Suyin, is a former courtesan with a secret she could die over. Her weapon is her body. I must confess, though I loved how this was written and the above praise still stands, I preferred the first two books for that reason. I'm more into the warrior woman than courtesan thing. 


Suyin is Li Tao's captive. (He is from Butterfly. Readers will recognize him and get to know him better in this one... much better.) She feels an intense desire for him despite the circumstances, or maybe because of. There's something about a threatening war load.... Anyway, she agrees to surrender her body in exchange for his protection as someone wants her dead. But she ends up surrendering her heart as well and soon she is struggling to protect him more than herself and make him see the error of his war lord/anti emperor ways. 


The book is filled with hot sex (wish there had been some with that tattoo scene...) and thought these two don't fight with swords like the heroes and heroines in the previous novels, they fight with words. 


A good book bringing to life the Tang Dynasty. I liked it, just not as much as Butterfly and Taming. I love those fightin' females. :) 


Three stars and I got this from netgalley.


P.S. How about that cover??? Wow!

Broken Paradise by Cecilia Samartin

This is one of those books that I don't even feel worthy enough to write a review for.. It's just too beautiful and too well written.

The setting is Cuba, pre Castro.. two cousins and best friends are growing up together. Nora looks at Alicia and thinks she has it all, the looks, the boys... but things change after the revolution and Castro. Nora goes to the states and she has the "charmed" life. Alicia chooses to stay and her life is not what anyone thought it would be.

And Alicia.. does all that she does for love. Kinda stupid, but kinda beautiful too. Imagine selling your body just to make sure your husband gets oranges and soap while he is in prison for speaking his mind, for revolting against a dictator.. Imagine wasting away to nothing in hopes that you can buy his passage to freedom. That's some strong love.

And there's a beautiful blind girl too. There's the rise and fall of communism. When does it become a dictatorship? There's interracial relations and the heated arguments it raises. There's hunger, thirst, and drifting at sea while sharks thump against the boat.There's two women who realize they can't wait for hope to find them, but must seek it themselves.

The descriptions: Superbly done. Not over done. The characters: wonderfully developed. The history: very thought evoking. The book overall: Terrific. 


Five stars and I bought this on Amazon.

Under Fire by Rita Henuber

This is a very exciting book full of nonstop action, great sex, and a tough Coast Guard Helo flying chick!

Olivia has a top notch career with the USCG and has earned a lot of respect, but she's willing to throw it all away to avenge her twin brother's death. He was an undercover killed by drug dealers. Someone gave him up. Olivia is bound and determined to find out who.

Thus, she meets Rico. Rico is an undercover as well and they are both after the same people, but Rico doesn't really want a family member getting in his way. That's before he realizes how very persistent Olivia is.

They end up in a partnership. Goal: Take down kingpin Silva and find out who's been ratting on the undercovers.. and stay alive while doing so. That may not be easy.. These are some bad seeds they are getting involved with. Rico has been made so it's up to Olivia to infiltrate the organization. Meanwhile, everyone is looking for them.. the Feds, the CG, the DEA....

There's hot sex, dancing, humor, hand to hand combat, shootouts, helicopters... It's all good! It's obvious to me that the author really did her research on Military and specifically CG procedures. I am very impressed. There are a lot of things in here that I didn't know.

I have only one quibble: Sometimes it was too much sex, too little story. There were just a few spots in the book where I said, "they're going at it again???" Almost as though sex was inserted just for the sake of them having sex. LOL

LOL moment:

Rico: "What's it going to take to get you to dance with me?"

She crooked her index finger and motioned him to come close. "A million in your bank account and seven inches in your pants."

Without missing a beat he replied, "The million I have, but even for a woman as beautiful as you, I won't cut off three inches."

I received this egalley thru netgalley.

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Running Wide Open by Lisa Nowak

I rarely read books with male leads or narrators, but this one has a female mechanic in it so I decided to give it a go. Though it was a bit too much testosterone for me at times, it is an enjoyable read.

Cody is 15 and a juvie... and he is an ungrateful brat. I didn't like him at first.. but as the story unfolds, I could see WHY he is the way he is.. full of anger, insolent, disrespectful, ungrateful, bitter. His family has made him that way. His mother is a nightmare, his father a wuss, and his grandparents are no better. So when the you know what hits the fan, nobody wants him and he goes to live with his uncle, Race, who's very into stock car racing. (He's got the lady mechanic.)

Funny thing I noticed.. When Cody gets his life together, his mom decides she wants him back. Hmph.

I'm not going to go on and on about the plot, but I will say there is more to this than appears at first glance. It's the story of a boy and his teenage angst and anger (I did get a bit tired of this at times. Simply not my thing.) and about family learning to accept each other and also about admitting you love someone and even allowing yourself to love someone. And then there is a story of determination, an injured man who wants to race again.. It's about pulling yourself up from the dirt, brushing yourself off, and getting back on that horse.

Four stars. It was very well written and thought I didn't always like Cody and his attitude, I did appreciate his sarcasm and sense of humor. He's a funny kid.

Favorite quote: "Everyone makes a bad decision now and again. Only time it gets to be a problem is when you don't admit to it and set things right."

I received this from the author.

Lots of car stuff in this book and and just for fun.