I need to start by saying that I LOVED Billie. She was so sure of herself and upbeat, even when things were looking down. Her way of turning just about any situation into something just a little more fun by use of only her personality makes her someone I wish I really knew. It certainly helped that she loved Wuthering Heights and had a soft spot for animals. She sets out to save the historical house from being gutted and turned into a minimalist retreat at the hands of Mason Christian. She tries to teach him the value of roots and tradition along the way.

Mason has been running from the tragedy in his past for a long time when before he hires Billie. He has a truly sad story, that I can unfortunately relate to. Bound and determined not to let anyone get close enough to touch him again seems to be the safest way to protect his heart. Billie puts cracks in his walls from day one and he's not quite sure what to do about the whole thing.

Mason and Billie have a love story and romance that was fantastic. Seeing her bubbling personality bringing out the softer and more fun side of him was great! The city of Footsteps Bay and Stanley (the dog) really rounded things out and made for a beautiful escape from reality for me.
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I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I've never been one to crush on a famous person and Lacey dwells on the fact that Billy was her big crush in college a little too much. I really didn't see a whole lot of development in her as a character. I don't expect life changing events to completely change a personality, she just seemed a bit stagnant. Now, Lacey's idea for her new cafe - I absolutely love. If there were one of these in my town, I'd be there every chance I had. Billy was better. I liked that he seemed to genuinely regret his fast life and playboy habits that he had the last time he was a star - I just never quite figured out why he wanted to be a star again? Billy was the one that changed the most, and it was mostly just a realization of what was truly important to him, he needed to realize what his dreams really were.

I did love the added drama that Billy's ex brought. She was a welcome bit of very comic relief and a reminder that pretty packages aren't always very great on the inside. Billy and Lacey's romance was sweet but I didn't get the fireworks moment that I was hoping for.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-reforming-cowboy-by-marisa.html#sthash.2cUUbVeG.dpuf

I think I went into this one expecting too much. I had heard over and over again how great this series was going to be, and it was just a little more hyped that what I got out of it. It is a good book and I did enjoy it, just not enough to rave about it.

Jolie was humorous. This is a very sarcastic and joking type of paranormal romance that seems to becoming more and more popular. I love her attitude and her banter with the people all around her - and her best friend is quite the character as well. She's the perfect play off of Jolie. Rand was far too serious for me to really get into, but I can see that he needs to be that way to play his part of the story well.

I'm not one that likes my leading characters to have "relations" with others in the book, so when this occurs it is a bit of a turn off for me. There was plenty of supernatural creatures to go around, and quite a few interesting abilities that were fun to read about. I'm still not sure if I will continue on the series or not.

I really really wanted to love this book. Not much is written about the goddess Nemesis, and I wanted to see what the author was going to do with her. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. Nemesis really didn't show much of her goddess side, but was constantly trying to repress it. I really wanted to see her go all goddess of vengeance on the bad guys and totally destroy them. Her abusive father, Zeus (another thing that I found disappointing) drove her from Mt Olympus to live among the humans, but if she looses sight of her mission she will become mortal and die. Her partner, Sanchez, was just too good to be true and I got a little tired of hearing about what a great guy he was.

The upside to the story was the case of the murders. They were intriguing and had an amazing concept behind them with a fantastic back story for the bad guys. With just enough information given throughout to keep the reader hooked and trying to figure it out before the characters did. If the book had concentrated on just the suspense and left the romance to the background I would have loved it. So this one gets an overall of 3 stars, 2 for the romance paired with 4 for the suspense.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-for-love-or-vengeance-by-caridad.html#sthash.6d5vxNnv.dpuf

While part of a series, this book can be read as a stand alone. Rose Warren wasn't your typical English historical female. She doesn't fit the typical idea of beauty for the time and she actually wears spectacles (I laughed when they used that word - it was great). But she's not ashamed of any of it. Partly because she doesn't need to try and catch a man this season - she's been engaged to Simon Trumball since they were both children. Now Simon was a little more stereotypical - the womanizing rogue rebelling against the social norm. He's been this way since the day he found out he wouldn't be able to choose his bride, but had already been promised to Rose. When Rose recruits him to help solve the a mysterious death she is determined was the result of poisoning, he realizes what he's been missing out on all these years. She's intelligent, strong, and determined - perfect. But he spent so long trying to avoid her that he's not sure she'll still want to take him. Their romance blooms throughout the story as they gather evidence and solve the crime. The downside of this story was that it had a bit of a YA vibe to the writing - until there was a romantic scene. I love YA and I love romance, but they require different frames of mind to read and this one was a bit confusing in that respect. - See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-romancing-his-english-rose-by.html#sthash.P8HJy7nK.dpuf

Emma Wong is quite the character and she isn't afraid to let it show - primarily in her clothing from the sounds of it. I loved her vibrant personality and outgoing outlook (most of the time). She gets a bit down when she is told she will be staying with her estranged mother, her new step dad, and their new baby in England for the summer. But there's a hot research assistant staying with them as well that she quickly develops a crush on.

During one of Emma's explorations she meets Ash - a young woman claiming to be a druid - part of a group of people trying to figure out how the old religion really worked - and it does seem to work. After taking part in a couple rituals Emma is ready to jump on board and become a believer, but even this outrageous trip won't end up being that simple and easy.

Things aren't what they seem and she quickly finds herself in way over her head. The suspense in this one built all the way up until the end and still left you wondering just a little bit. The downside was that the Emma wasn't my favorite character - I fell in love with Ash about two sentences after she appeared and wish she had more scenes in the story. With lots of twists this one was hard to put to put down at times.
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I didn't enjoy Moon Child quite as much as By Blood. I had a much more difficult time relating to Diana than I did to Emma - her family life seemed just way too perfect. I wasn't surprised that Emma thought Diana's new boy interest was a vampire, he certainly made it seem believable. But with a killer on the lose draining women and girls of their blood before killing them, he makes the perfect suspect.

This book seemed to be mostly about Diana trying to figure out how to ask Nicholas about his life as a vampire and took longer to get into the real story. The murders were almost a backseat rider in the story even though they were the most interesting part. About half way through things begin to get really interesting though and it takes off from there. Not quite enough suspense spread throughout for my taste.
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I've been looking forward to this series for awhile - everywhere I hear such great things about it. I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint one bit. From page one Victoria Danann draws you into Elora's story as she is quite literally ripped from her own dimension into another. The story related her experience beautifully. With just enough of the world alike to ours that it's easy to understand and relate to the strange but little differences Elora experiences.

Saying Elora's arrival in this dimension was painful would be an understatement. The men that witness her arrival aren't even sure if she's human at first. But one, Storm quickly comes to the rescue and whisks her off to the infirmary where they patch her back up. Storm sits by her side and the two become very close. But when she is introduced to Ram, he realizes he almost missed out on meeting the most important person in his life. These men that surround Elora are part of The Order of the Black Swan - vampire hunters and protectors of the "real world" from the paranormal.

Elora is eager to help her new friends and in the process runs into a very unique vampire by the name of Istan Baka. I can't say too much about him just yet, but he's quite the character and I loved him. Now it may seem like there is a lot going on...and there is...but the book paces everything beautifully. Keeping the action going without being overwhelming. There were several points that had my heart racing and unable to put the book down. The romance was touching, but it did keep you guessing which wonderful guy she would eventually pick.

I couldn't wait to pick up the next. These books were written perfectly to follow one after the other. Enough of a cliffhanger to make you extremely curious, enough of an ending to give you a little resolution.

Not Pretty Enough has to be one of the most humorous stories I've read in awhile. Chessie is a wonderful character that has lost her way in life - as in she's about as far off the path as she can get. She is dying her hair crazy colors, walking into lamp posts and generally making a fool of herself for one very special boy by the name of Lloyd Layton. She's sure they were meant to be, a match made in heaven - he just doesn't realize it yet.

Chessie's blunders, both big and small, are all life lessons, but they don't always feel like it. The author isn't hitting you over the head with her point over and over, which is a very good thing. Sometimes Chessie's antics got a little over the top and unbelievable, but that just made her an even more lovable character. You never stop rooting for her, even when you see her heading into trouble, and I love that you can see her best friend, Debs, has the same attitude.

The ending was a little predictable, but very fitting for the story. It really opened Chessie's eyes to the ways of the world without causing too much hurt at the same time. This is an excellent book for any young adult.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/09/blog-tour-not-pretty-enough-by-jaimie.html#sthash.KLW9NcFc.dpuf

"A hopeless romantic." This is what everyone thinks Penny Rosas is. Many say it with love, but others say it with disdain. Penny thinks that passionate love is out there for everyone and when a cowboy walks into her antique shop, her heart skips a beat. The cowboy, Kurt Bold, isn't as romantic as she hoped. He's a planner and has his life all laid out in front of him step by step - and it sure doesn't include passion.

I adored Penny. Her love for antiques and history was present on every page. I loved having a leading lady with a passion for something other than guys - it really rounded here character out well. Kurt seemed a little more one dimensional, but towards the end his character really rounded out well, too. Their romance is an interesting one. Kurt wants logic and lists, Penny wants passion and romance. It takes really getting to know Penny - and a chance at losing her - before he rethinks his position.

There was a little bit of a side story that allowed Kurt to be the cowboy on a white horse riding in to save the day. It was nice to see a lot of background going on around the romance to fill the story without overshadowing our main characters. This is a great sweet romance, I'm glad it was sent my way.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-antique-love-by-helena-fairfax.html#sthash.OWOlPQFh.dpuf