Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to In 2018

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where each week they post a new top ten list and ask fellow bookish folk to share their lists on that topic.

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to In 2018

(click on Cover for Goodreads link)

Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs and Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews are the two I'm MOST looking forward to, but I'm eagerly anticipating all from this list!

And there's no cover yet but: The Governess Game by Tessa Dare.

So, what book are you most looking forward to in 2018?

Review: Moonlight Over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

Moonlight Over Manhattan (From Manhattan With Love #6) by Sarah Morgan
Publication date: November 28th 2017
Publisher: HQN
My rating: 4 Stars
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD | Kobo

 

She'll risk everything for her own Christmas miracle...

Determined to conquer a lifetime of shyness, Harriet Knight challenges herself to do one thing a day in December that scares her, including celebrating Christmas without her family. But when dog walker Harriet meets her newest client, exuberant spaniel Madi, she adds an extra challenge to her list--dealing with Madi's temporary dog sitter, gruff doctor Ethan Black, and their very unexpected chemistry.

Ethan thought he was used to chaos, until he met Madi--how can one tiny dog cause such mayhem? To Ethan, the solution is simple--he will pay Harriet to share his New York apartment and provide twenty-four-hour care. But there's nothing simple about how Harriet makes him feel.

Ethan's kisses make Harriet shine brighter than the stars over moonlit Manhattan. But when his dog-sitting duties are over and Harriet returns to her own home, will she dare to take the biggest challenge of all--letting Ethan know he has her heart for life, not just for Christmas? 

My Thoughts:

Harriet is the shy one of the Knight siblings, having struggled with a stutter when she was young she was used to her brother and sister running interference in high-stress situations.   Now that Harriet’s brother and sister have found love, she’s sort of left alone.   Not that she begrudges that, Harriet’s thrilled they’ve found love and happiness, but it has made her step back and take stock of her own life, and finds she’s led a sheltered, closed-off existence.  With a determination to take life by the horns, she embarks on an experiment: Challenge Harriet:  Do the opposite of what the old Harriet would do, and come out of her shell. I admired Harriet’s courage; doing the last thing she’d want to ever do every day, trying to live life with gusto.

Dr. Ethan Black puts Harriet’s experiment to the test; bringing on high-tension situations for a variety of reasons, at first because he’s intimidating and quite a jerk, and then for other, more pleasant reasons.

I just loved this romance! The book description makes the story sound all light-hearted, and superficial fun, but Moonlight Over Manhattan was wonderfully full of emotions!  Harriet and Ethan were lovely, well-formed characters that I grew attached to.  I wanted nothing but happiness for them; together, of course! This was my first Sarah Morgan, but it won’t be my last!

Review: The Art of Running in Heels (Chinooks Hockey Team #7) by Rachel Gibson

The Art of Running in Heels (Chinooks Hockey Team #7) by Rachel Gibson
Publisher: Avon
Publication date: 26th December 2017
My rating: 4 stars  

Running in five-inch stilettos is an art form. Leaving your fiancé at the altar on live television is a disaster. Lexie Kowalsky thought she was ready to get married in front of millions of people, but at the last minute she fled the set of television’s hottest reality show, Gettin’ Hitched. Wearing a poofy white dress and a pair of five-inch sparkly shoes, Lexie hopped a float plane for Sandspit, Canada. She figured no one would find her there. But she was wrong. Sharing her flight was the Seattle Chinooks biggest star, Sean Knox. Lexie wasn’t just a reality-show runaway, she was his pain in the butt coach’s daughter. She was chaos and temptation and definitely off limits, but getting her luscious body out of that wedding gown, he couldn’t resist getting her in his bed for one amazing night Then a photo of Sean and Lexi breaks the internet—and suddenly they’re both swept up in a crazy plan to spin the whole story. But you can’t run from love.

Reading a book by Rachel Gibson has been a long time coming and now after finishing The Art of Running in Heels, I feel like kicking myself for not trying her books sooner, as this book was such a delight to read. I’ve always been a fan of sports romances in books, but lately with books featuring hockey I’ve been devouring and I’ve kind of become hooked to these big hockey stars prowling around everywhere. And with The Art of Running in Heels, Gibson gives us an excellent mix of sports romance and fake relationship trope. It really was done well, as aspects of Lexie and Sean’s scenes I wasn’t sure if it was all an act or actual genuine emotions that the characters felt for each other. Yes, Lexie’s original plan of getting together was so that it would improve her reputation, but I loved the way that things actually played out. I also kept forgetting at times that both Sean and Lexie only really knew each other for such a short period of time, but Gibson really made their relationship believable and their feelings really realistic. What I liked the most about Lexie’s character was that a lot of people assumed what she was like, and their judgement couldn’t have been more wrong, Lexie really had a lot to deal with especially with the spur of the moment decision she made to leave Pete from reality show Gettin’ Hitched on their wedding day, of course this would bring about a lot of backlash for Lexie, but I admired her strength, to try and bring her reputation back any means necessary. Also, she had a business which was on the brink of success, which she couldn’t let it go down the toilet, with all her hard work. Lexie really made this story for me, her extensive lists and escapades had me totally eager for more and wanting to know how things would go down. Also with a super hot hockey player roped in her plans, I knew Lexie’s adventure would be a lot of fun! Gibson was also able to give us wonderful secondary characters in Sean’s mom and Lexie’s father who honestly had me laughing so much. Like Lexie’s whole situation was serious enough, who knew what repercussions she would have to deal with, but I enjoyed the humour that Gibson bought along the way. There was one thing later on which I wished hadn’t gone down, but I think it was completely necessary for a certain someone to realise that they were making one of the biggest mistakes ever. This is my first book in the Chinooks Hockey Team series, but after reading The Art of Running in Heels, it certainly won’t be my last! I need more hot hockey players and swoony romances in my life!

Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway Hop

Hi there! I'm taking part in Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway Hop hosted by Valerie @ Stuck in Books, and I'm giving away a $10 Giftcard at either US Amazon or US Barnes & Noble or up to $10 at The Book Depository.  The giveaway is International as long as The Book Depository ships to your country. See below for participating blogs or click HERE.

For this hop I'm featuring a few of my favorite holiday/winter season reads:


The Rancher's Christmas Song was a super sweet holiday romance.  Mean Streak is one of my all-time favorite Sandra Brown! Christmastime Cowboy was an emotional second chance romance! Setting up a wine tasting room to open during the Christmas Season was beautifully described, and made the story all the more enjoyable. A true Winter Wonderland!

 $10 @ US Amazon or US Barnes & Noble or up to $10 @ The Book Depository.  This giveaway is International as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.  Click HERE for list of countries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2) by Rachel Caine
Publication date: December 12th 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
My rating: 2.5 Stars
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD

Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.

Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…

You’re not safe anywhere now.

Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive.

But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die. 

My Thoughts:

Melvin Royal is out and on the hunt for Gwen and the kids.  Keeping safe and hidden is almost impossible with Absalom assisting Melvin at every turn.  So, Gwen and Sam decide to go on the offensive, while leaving her kids, Lanny and Connor with Javier and Kenzia to keep safe.

There’s no doubt that Killman Creek was an exciting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of read, I read this in one day because I couldn’t put it down.  I can’t really say I enjoyed it, though, because it was gruesome in parts and pretty intense.  Also, I wasn’t happy with the characters.  Evidence conveniently surfaces that again casts doubt on Gwen, was she Melvin’s Little Helper after all? Instead of waiting to see if it was fabricated, there was an immediate rush to judgement.  After all they’d been through in the last book, their quick loss of faith in Gwen was super disappointing. 

I don’t know if I could’ve forgiven Sam for what he did in the end.  It was a complete betrayal that was just swept under the rug in the end.  To me, there should’ve been a lot more talk on the subject and a lot more groveling, maybe I could’ve come to terms with it then, but the way it was quickly shoved aside and forgotten didn’t sit well with me.  Gwen was amazing, but I thought she accepted that crappy treatment way too easily. I suppose it was from the lingering guilt of feeling like she should’ve known what her ex-husband was up to when he was killing all those women, but still.

There’s a third book coming in the series, not sure what it’ll be about since things are wrapped up here, but I would like to see Sam, Gwen and the kids in the future. Maybe some of my lingering disappointment with the characters actions and reactions will be put to rest then.  It’s hard to rate this since I had big time issues with the characters, but I can’t ignore that it was a compelling thriller, one I didn’t want to put down.  I think it’s somewhere between 2-3 stars for me.