Pleasure of a Dark Prince

Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Despite chapter one starting with erotic plot, this book really turned out well. The true plot of the book shaped itself out so that the romance and eroticism were not the full focus. Lots of action and well-done dialogue. One thing I appreciated is that the placement of the story fell more towards the beginning of the series, which meant that I didn't need to remember what happened in the other stories. Someone just picking up this book would find it easy to follow, if they could keep some of the name dropping straight.

Synopsis: Lucia the Huntress is as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destory her - and those she loves. Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae is the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own. From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly expoit Lucia's greatest weakness - her wanton desire for him.

Recommended Reading:
Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole
First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Lone
Defeat the Darkness by Alexis Morgan
Master of Fire by Angela Knight
Atlantis Redeemed by Alyssa Day
Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole

Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner

Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There is, in my opinion, nothing better than a book written by Diana Gabaldon. I think this is the best Lord John book she's written. The plot point was clear from the beginning of the story. There were the usual twists and turns - and characters! - that make DG's stories so easy to fall into. There's always that pang that comes when turning the last page, the wish that the story would just go on and on. This story led brilliantly into The Outlander series, covering a part of Jamie's life after Claire went back to the future. It was also a peek into how the relationship between Lord John and Jamie developed into the friendship of peers that is portrayed in the later Outlander books. I look forward to the Lord John books just as much as The Outlander books.

Synopsis: London, 1760. For Jamie Fraser, paroled prisoner-of-war, life is coming apart at the seams. In the remote Lake District, where he’s close enough to the son he cannot claim as his own, Jamie’s quiet existence is interrupted first by dreams of his lost wife, then by the appearance of an erstwhile comrade still fighting to rally the Irish. But Jamie has sworn off politics, fighting, and war. Until Lord John Grey shows up with a summons that will take him away from everything he loves—again. Lord John is in possession of explosive documents that expose a damning case of corruption against a British officer. But they also hint at a more insidious danger. Soon Lord John and Jamie are unwilling companions on the road to Ireland, a country whose dark castles hold dreadful secrets, and whose bogs hide the bones of the dead.

Recommended Reading:
The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabaldon
Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade  by Diana Gabaldon
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon
A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

The Post Where I Talk About My Nook

I'm revamping the book challenge a little bit. I'm having w-a-a-a-a-a-y too much fun with my Nook Tablet, so I'm continuing the NookBook selections into May (speaking of... I have two reviews to post). And then I'm taking the book challenge out of a month to month format. I'm still sticking with my so-called "genres", because they're fun and that's where the challenge part comes in. How many can I read in a row without getting bored? We'll find out!

I'm finishing up the current NookBook for the book club read and then I'm moving on to Trashy Romance Novels. I have three or four Kresley Cole books on my shelf, I've been watching Charmed re-runs, and my personal love life is falling apart so I'm totally ready for mindless, supernatural trashy romances.

I've been trying really hard not to gush about my Nook Tablet... but ohmygosh... it's AWESOME! It's epic! It's legen - wait for it - dary! (Before Charmed I watched six seasons of How I Met Your Mother. Can you tell?) Of course, the awesomest thing it does is read books. And plays Plants vs. Zombies. And connects to the Internetz. So things that I like / don't like:

• At first I didn't like the backlight. I'll be honest. I hated it. Now I've gotten used to it and learned how to adjust the brightness depending on the situation... it's so nice to be able to read during a two hour roadtrip at midnight. Or, you know, lying in my bed at 4 a.m. unable to sleep...
• I don't like that navigating isn't as intuitive as my Nook WiFi was, but there is a great video tutorial that I can access any time any where.
• Apps. What can I say? I have Plants vs. Zombies installed on my computer. I've been known to hijack The Spawn's Nintendo DSi to play the game... so when I saw the app for PvZ... I was sold. There are a lot of free apps, which have kept The Diva busy during long shopping trips. Or when I need five minutes to go to the bathroom. Alone. Apps are cool.
• I don't like the page turning. The swipe, tap, easy touch feature is cool the first few times you do it, but is very sensitive and becomes annoying. I don't like that when turning pages I always have to use my right hand (or hold my left hand in front of the page that I'm trying to read, which defeats the point of continuous reading). With my Nook WiFi, I could turn pages back or forward from either side of the reader. With the Nook Tablet I'm stuck turning the page on the side in the direction I want to go (forward: right, back: left). 
• I don't like the DC charger. The plug folds in - which is great for traveling, but makes it really hard to actually plug into the wall. It's a pain in the ass to get plugged in without it folding. I finally committed an outlet solely to my Nook just so I don't have hassle with it.
• I LOVE that my Glamour subscription comes with a free Nook app (for Nook Tablet or Nook Color only), so that every month the new magazine automatically downloads. I still get magazines in the mail for those articles that I may want to refer back to. I wish more of my magazine subscriptions were that cool.

Okay, these are just a few things that come right to the top of my head when people ask me for details about my Nook Tablet. Overall, I seriously love the thing.

If you have a Nook or Kindle (or any other reader), what do you think of yours?

One of Our Thursdays Is Missing

One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde
I'm not rating this one as I 1) didn't finish it and b) may come back to finish it at a later date. So first, why didn't I finish it? I couldn't get into the story. It's always that way for Jasper Fforde books - they're complicated and I have to read for quite a bit before I get into the swing of the book. I had trouble remembering what happened in the last book and that the character POV was not the same as the other books in the series made it that much harder for me to fall into it.