Can't Buy Me Love by Molly O'Keefe

Description from Goodreads:

A girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Tara Jean Sweet knows that opportunity will never knock; she’ll have to seize it. Elderly Texas rancher Lyle Baker has a dying request: He will give Tara Jean a stake in his leather business in exchange for a little family subterfuge. All Tara Jean has to do is play the part of a gold-digging fiancée to lure Lyle’s estranged children home. The mission is soon accomplished. 
 
Now Lyle’s gone—and his ridiculously handsome son, Luc, an ice hockey superstar sidelined by injuries, is the new owner of Crooked Creek ranch. He’s also Tara Jean’s boss. But being so close to sinfully sweet Tara Jean does crazy things to Luc’s priorities, like make him want to pry her deepest secrets from those irresistible lips. But when Tara Jean’s past demands a dirty showdown, will Luc stay and fight?

I can't say this was my favorite contemporary romance but it was something to read. The story was kind of interesting, but it didn't suck me in the way Beth Ciotta, Susan Mallery, or Robyn Carr do. There are two more books and I actually didn't feel the absolute need to pick them up and read them. I actually just took them back to the library. The most I can say is it was something to read when I was home sick, a new author to try. 

Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Description from authors website:

“Who are you trying to fool? People are food. ... You're not any less of a monster than I am." -Jackal

Newly-turned vampire Allison Sekemoto must follow the call of blood, like breadcrumbs, to save her sire and mentor Kanin from Sarren, the psychotic vampire holding him captive. The trail leads Allie to her old home in New Covington and the Fringe, but there’s no time for nostalgia.

A new strain of Red Lung—the insidious virus that decimated the human population decades ago—has emerged. This time, it’s fatal to vampires, too. A cure might be among Kanin’s many secrets—if Allie reach him in time.

But when the brave, fearless human boy she left safely behind re-enters her life, Allie is torn between the remnants of her humanity and the bloodthirst that consumes her. How can two people so different feel so much for each other? One was born good. The other was reborn a monster. It’s a love as undeniable as it is impossible.

So over the weekend I finished the Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa . It is the second book in the Blood of Eden series. The first book, Immortal Rules, was difficult to get through. Its a dystopian vampire series. Vampires and scientists accidently created a plague thats wiped out most of the population. Most vampires turned become Rabids, as well as humans that are bitten (if they survive at all) become Rabids as well. Its a very dark book. Book 2, though, I liked better. Allie and Zeke and that jerk Jackal are searching for Allie and Jackal's sire Kanin, who they think can figure out a cure, but he was kidnapped by Sarrin, this major psycho vampire. I really enjoyed the book, but watch out for the MAJOR cliffhanger at the end! OMG

P.S. The cover really doesnt fit the book At ALL. 

Fever by Maya Banks

This

 is the second book in her Breathless trilogy, book one was Rush. This book is about Jace, Mia's brother, and Bethany, a young woman who has been taking care of herself and her foster brother for a long time on the streets. 

This book, I think, was much more "50 Shades of Grey" than the first one. There was some BDSM, which I think was a bit darker than FSG. Jace is extremely possessive and dominating, which makes me as a very independent female want to smack him around a bit because to me its more like he is disrespecting her, but to each their own. 

It will be interesting to see what happens in the last book with Ash, Burn comes out in May .

Beth Ciotta.. the Next Robyn Carr

I'm sorry, Ms Carr, you know I love and adore you. But I think Beth Ciotta is an awesome new voice in the contemporary series romance. Her Sugar Creek series. I prefer to call the the Cupcake ladies, are soooo coool!

A Fool for Love by Beth Ciotta
Description from Amazon.com:

SHE’S CRAVING A SWEET NEW LIFE…

Call her a fool, but chef-in-training Chloe Madison wants to have her cake and eat it too. So when her boyfriend dumps her for some French tart, she decides to start over from scratch—with a new life and job in Sugar Creek, Vermont. What could be sweeter than cooking for an eccentric lady who’s crazy for desserts? What could be more tempting than joining a club called the Cupcake Lovers? Just one thing: local business-hunk Devlin Monroe…

AND HE’S THE ICING ON THE CUPCAKE

Although he’s  the grandson of Chloe’s fun-loving boss, Devlin Monroe is all work and no play. Micro-managing the family business, he doesn’t have time to indulge in life’s  sweetest pleasures—until he meets Chloe. How can he resist such a vibrant, beautiful woman who brings so much passion to the table? But when old grudges and secrets threaten to destroy the Cupcake Lovers, Devlin must decide if his feelings for Chloe are a recipe for disaster—or a sinfully delicious ever-after…

So, after a horrendous breakup with her live in boyfriend, Chloe's friend Monica talks her into coming to Sugar Creek to interview to be a live in companion of sorts for Daisy Monroe.. old, crotchety, hilarious.. she reminded me of Grandma Mazur from Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series!  Dev, the handsome rich grandson is opposed to the idea, but Chloe and Daisy hit it off very quickly.

Chloe is supposed to keep an eye on Daisy, who seems to be very forgetful lately, and also is becoming extremely adventurous. Chloe is supposed to talk Daisy out of seeking out her thrills, but instead ends up getting talked into doing them (tubing down the river in their underwear... there's also an arrest involved in another thrill seeking adventure!)

The cupcake ladies are awesome. The women of Sugar Creek have a club that bakes cupcakes, which they send overseas to soldiers and also sell to donate to charities.  The club started in the 1940's when the original founders were all women with brothers, husbands, etc in World War II.  The town continued the tradition. It's so cool! And you are going to want to strangle the club president, Tasha Burke. She makes a good villian. 

My only issue is it seems Chloe and Dev fall in love in about 2 days, which isn't very realistic.. Contemporary romance to me is supposed to be somewhat realistic. But, oh well, this book was amazing!! I loved and am currently halfway through book two, "The Trouble With Love" and I am anxiously awaiting book 3 out this fall!

Chronicles of Nick: Inferno by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Description from Amazon.com :

The heat is on, and a new threat to humanity has risen . . .

Nick has his driver's license and he's not afraid to use it. But turning sixteen isn't what he thought it would be. While other boys his age are worried about prom dates and applying for college, Nick is neck deep in enemies out to stop him from living another day. No longer sure if he can trust anyone, his only ally seems to be the one person he's been told will ultimately kill him. 

But life spent serving the undead is anything except ordinary. And those out to get him have summoned an ancient force so powerful even the gods fear it. As Nick learns to command and control the elements, the one he must master in order to combat his latest foe is the one most likely to destroy him. As the old proverb goes, fire knows nothing of mercy, and if Nick is to survive this latest round, he will have to sacrifice a part of himself. However, the best sacrifice is seldom the sanest move. Sometimes it's the one that leaves your enemies confused.

And sometimes, you have to trust your enemy to save your friends. But what do you do when that enemy is you?

I know that this is a series and usually there is this huge plot going on, but normally each book has some sort of subplot that is resolved at the end. Not in this book.  The story was fine, it kept me going and I didn't want to put the book down. I don't feel like we learned anything new that keeps the series going.

However, the end.. What the heck?!

That's all I will say because I don't like spoilers.

Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

Description from Amazon.com:

For more than three hundred years, Bluff House has sat above Whiskey Beach, guarding its shore—and its secrets. But to Eli Landon, it’s home…

A Boston lawyer, Eli has weathered an intense year of public scrutiny and police investigations after being accused of—but never arrested for—the murder of his soon-to-be-ex wife.

He finds sanctuary at Bluff House, even though his beloved grandmother is in Boston recuperating from a nasty fall. Abra Walsh is always there, though. Whiskey Beach’s resident housekeeper, yoga instructor, jewelry maker, and massage therapist, Abra is a woman of many talents—including helping Eli take control of his life and clear his name. But as they become entangled in each other, they find themselves caught in a net that stretches back for centuries—one that has ensnared a man intent on reaping the rewards of destroying Eli Landon once and for all…

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have been a little disappointed lately in Roberts' romantic suspense novels. The Search was awesome, Chasing Fire was not. I figured out who the bad guy was halfway through and skipped to the end.   Whiskey Beach, however, I really did like! Looking forward to the new series she is starting later this year (I adore her series!)

Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Book one in the new Blood of Eden series by Julie Kagawa .. from Amazon.com:
To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what–andwho–is worth dying for…again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins.

Vampires have taken over and the plague has turned people killed by vampires into Rabids.  People are chattel, forced to donate blood or live as scavangers, hanged for something as simple as digging through the trash for food.

Allie wants more, of course. After her friends are murdered by Rabids and she is nearly killed, Kanin turns her into a vampire, the thing she hates most, but she wants to live.  She ends up on the road, running for her life and runs into this group of people, led by a preacher, who are looking for Eden. Eden is a place where there are no vampires and people can actually live.

So... I love The Iron Fey series. I adore it. I wish I owned them all, I would make a shrine to them in my home. I cannot say the same for Blood of Eden. I mean, it got better towards the end, but sheesh halfway through the book I was still forcing my way through it. This book was released a year ago and I just finished it after trying to read it like four times.  Everyone knows I suck down new books by my favorite authors in a few hours. This is another big I'm Sorry! for not writing gushing things about one of my favorite authors.

I think that book two has a good storyline, just what I could tell from the end of the first book, so I am anxious to read it. I've got my fingers crossed that it flows a little better.

And I hear there is another Iron Fey book coming so WOOOHHOOOO!!! :) I do have a smile on my face!