Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


who would have thought it? me, in love with a virgin hero. =O oh Courtney Milan, the things you do to my insides with your books, some of the most wonderfully written historicals I have ever read. most of all, they are romantic. swoonily, dreamily, deliciously romantic. the kind of romance that makes you realize that romance really IS missing from most of the books you're reading today.

don't get me wrong, I love the books that I'm reading but in between all the fighting, killing, paranormal occurrences, fucked up lives & upbringings, devastating life events, aliens, fairies, killer clowns, etc., something is missing. yes, there is love & sex & passion & laughter & many other things but wherefore art thou romance? hast thou forsaken your loving readers? not in this novel, my darlings, absolutely not.

Sir Mark Turner is a man, capital M.A.N. a virgin man for that matter, but never mistake his virginity for innocence. it was refreshing not to have the whole alpha/beta/I have no idea what type of man should follow beta (delta?) argument. that kind of crap seriously annoys me. Mark is a genuinely good, kind, sweet without wanting to smash his teeth in man. he has integrity, so very impressive.

Jessica as a courtesan, or "fallen woman", is very likable & lovely. you understand her motives even as you want to strangle her for the decisions she makes, and she breaks your heart with her thoughts that she will never be worth what Mark thinks she is. but her constant belief in Mark & his goodness melt even her resolve in the end & that is a beautiful thing. The sexytime at the end totally makes up for the unresolved sexual tension in most of the story & was definitely worth the wait.

I am more & more pleased these days with books that give me a happy ending as opposed to a happily ever after. leave that shit to Disney, yes?

in closing, I found this story wildly romantic, and I cannot wait to start Smite's story next. I have a feeling he will be breaking my heart into teeny, tiny pieces but I can't wait for him to find love.



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Broken (aka this book tied me in tiny, completely emo knots) by Megan Hart

Broken by Megan Hart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


wow. I don't exactly know what to say. this book was heart-wrenching. I cried, I was turned on, I was pissed off, I ached, I hurt. above all else, it is different. I sometimes read a lot of books that are similar, not in a bad way, just in the way that they have similar themes, situations, etc. this book was unlike anything I've ever read before. the emotional turmoil was incredible. I salute Megan Hart for the brilliant job she did of getting inside Adam, Sadie & Joe's minds & letting the reader know their feelings & thought processes. I liked them, I hated them, I cheered & hurt for them. I love that nothing was black & white, just a myriad of shades of gray. what motivates people to do what they do has always fascinated me & this story completely fulfilled that for me. Kudos, Ms. Hart!



a word of warning: if you are looking for a happy, light-hearted read, look elsewhere. however, if you are looking for a journey, a trial of sorts, seriously consider reading this book.



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and the winner is....

The winner of my 8 book giveaway is....

Jasmine1485!!

Thanks to all who entered!

"Yes, it's me! No, I'm not dead!" + a Giveaway contest!

She lives! Yes, yes indeed, I am alive. My poor neglected blog has missed me terribly, I'm sure. I'm just waiting for Blogger to error out or reject this post when I try to publish it, that'll be my punishment for being MIA for so long.

I started school in August so I've been super busy (which is no excuse, of course.) I am really enjoying my first semester in college even though I feel like an old bag in some of my classes as I am surrounded by a bunch of dual enrollment kids (still in high school) and I have my 30th birthday screaming on my doorstep. Baby classmates notwithstanding, I love school. Yes, I am a gigantic nerd.

Moving on, I decided that in honor of my ignominious return, I would do a giveaway! My first giveaway ever on a Bitch, a Blog & a Bookshelf, très exciting!

The main book in the giveway is (drumroll, please):

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt! Book #3 in the brilliant Maiden Lane series is the best one yet. See my Goodreads "review" aka gushing. I'm also throwing in a few other books that I will list as soon as I figure out what they are, hehe. This giveaway is open internationally. To enter, just leave me a comment below and tell me what you're currently reading or a November release you're looking forward to.

P.S. I'll throw your name in an extra time if you can tell me the title of the movie the quote in this post comes from *grins*


More books for the giveaway! Only two commenters?? C'mon people!