Siren's Treasure

Review:

This is the second book in series and is Jet's story. Jet, feels like an outcast. Different from her sister Lily and her cousin Shelly, she is dark to their light. Jet was betrayed by her ex-boyfriend Perry. Perry is now out of prison and up to something. Landry is FBI and is investigating Perry. Jet is part of the investigation. The big question being, is Jet involved?
Somethings worked for me. Others didn't. In some ways, I liked this better then book 1 (Siren's Secret). In others, not.
The Awesome:
Jet is a fucking awesome! I liked her drive, compassion, athleticism, and even her insecurity. She uses her wish to find out her parentage (and it's not surprising). Landry was a decent character too. Lily and Shelly make appearances. 
The Not:
While I liked the paranormal in Landry's life, it was too much for the length of the story, IMO. Instead of April and the mermaid who saved him when he was a kid; pick one and focus on that one. Both were glossed over I thought. I thought the build-up to the end and the end just fizzled. Perry and Vargas could have been really good villains. 
I am known to overlook the lack of protection in a paranormal. (Contemporaries, in the other hand should have some type of discussion/mention). This one stuck out to me, because when they first got together, no mention was made. None. Then, at the end, it mentioned condom use and the fact that they hadn't used protection earlier. Oopsie! (And yes, you can assume something and you would be correct!). 
This also stuck out to me, and not in a good way. Lily, Shelly, and Adriana are all beautiful, blonde, light skinned, kind. The rest of the mermaids are described in similar ways. Except the Blue Clan. The Blues are described as dark and barbaric. Their skin is dark too (shades of blue). They are also the outcasts of the mer-world. Again, this is primarily from the beginning of the book when Jet is participating in the Mer world games (or something like it). No other page time was spent on it other then later on in the book in regards to Jet's parentage. 
I am still looking forward to Lily's story (even though I think she is my least favorite).
Also- the ISBN (9780373009336) from my book (that I'm holding in my hands) comes up for a COMPLETELY different book! Bride in Flight by Essie Summers published in 1965!

So, I used the Kindle edition.  That number is correct.  

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1601315/siren-s-treasure

(eARC) Misadventures of a City Girl

Review:

Madison, recently divorced from an upcoming Hollywood hotshot actor, decides to get away. She chooses a remote mountain retreat to lick her wounds. Luke, ex-SEAL, lives in a one bedroom cabin in the mountains by choice. She meets Luke while soaking in a hot spring by his cabin. Insta-lust happens. Later, they end up together in his cabin, stuck due to a snow storm. Even more insta-lust (I mean love!!) happens. I do like the trope of being trapped/forced proximity with someone (through weather, missed flight, whatever). They can know each other or be strangers, I've been able to get on board with either. 
I like sex in my books. That's no secret. But, I like sex with a plot. This was little plot and a whole lot of sex. For the most part, I didn't really like Luke or Madison. I thought the way Luke watched Madison was creepy. They do talk, a little, as the book progresses, so they were a little more believable as a couple by the end. I did think the way they comprised at the end was nice. More plot would have made this a better book. 
I did take quite a bit of the book to figure out what Madison did for a living (for the record, a make-up artist). Luke, conveniently, invested his money while in the military and inherited land. Afterwards, he lived simply (and no job). 

eARC courtesy of Waterhouse Press and NetGalley
Release date: Sept 12th

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1596290/earc-misadventures-of-a-city-girl

eARC: Defending Hearts

Review:

Oz is a Swedish, of Turkish ancestry, soccer star playing for a US professional team. He was able to both play and attend college at Harvard. He also happens to be Muslim and because of that was harassed and got threats. Which lead to his introduction to Kate. Kate was in the Army for 8 years and then spent time in Saudi Arabia is a security contractor. Now she is back home in Atlanta working for a private security company.
I really liked this one. Enough so, that I went and bought the first book in this series. Both Oz and Kate are likable, vulnerable, and each had their insecurities. I liked the start, both were indifferent to each other before it, slowly, developed into more. They had their share of differences to work through and compromise on. I also really loved Oz and his decision to wait on sex. The role reversal was a pleasant surprise and one that I enjoyed. Kate is more of an Alpha to Oz's Beta and that worked. 
I liked the addition of religion and hate crimes in this book too. Considering who is sitting in the Oval Office, this was relevant to our current environment.

eARC courtesy of Kensington Lyrical Shine and NetGalley
Release Date: Sept 5th

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1595742/earc-defending-hearts

Dark Currents

Review:

Mutilated bodies appeared in the city aqueducts, luckily found by Books and Maldynado. A little later, people in the city are getting sick. Wondering if the 2 things are related, Amaranthe and her gang investigate.
One thing I liked about this was the interplay between the characters. They are a chosen family. Amaranthe (a former enforcer and one the first women), Books (a former university professor), Sicarius (assassin- for the Emperor), Maldynado (disowned by his family), Basilard (former slave), and Akstyr (former gang member currently learning about magic). Amaranthe is a bit idealistic and naive. The strength of their shared relationship is what made this book work for me.
I thought there were moments that should have been explored more (for lack of a better word). Like when Maldynado hit Akstyr and bloodied his nose. It was to see and prove if he could heal himself. There was a brief mention of his face later and then nothing until he needed to heal someone else. There was also the issue of foreign-run businesses in the city being framed; mentioned, but nothing came from it. Unless book 3 tackles that?
A map and list of countries/nationalities would also be helpful. There are the Turgonians, Kendorians, Mangdorians, Nurians, and Kyattese. It was impossible to keep anything straight. (At least for me). The Turgonians are the main inhabitants of the city/empire/the conquerors (I think). 
At least I know I'm right when I write that Basilard is Mangdorian!!!
I do wonder if there will be any romance between Sicarius and Amaranthe later in the series. 

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1595356/dark-currents

Down for the Count

Review:

Lacey walks in on her husband, on their wedding day, just after exchanging vows. With one of her best friends. Her other best friend, Cat, has an older brother, Galen, whom Lacey secretly had a crush since she was a little girl. Both are present and step in to help her out. Lacey ends up going on her honeymoon with Galen. 
I can be forgiving, but there were a few things that took me out of the story. There was Lacey's low self-esteem. Her lack of ability to stand up for what she wanted. Of course, she's lovely and has no idea, blah, blah. Galen consistently would call Lacey "squirt." Yeah, really. Not for fun once or twice, or as a joke, but as an endearment. Oh hell no.

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1593119/down-for-the-count

The Duke of Snow and Apples

Review:

Frederick is a duke in hiding. As a servant. Charlotte wants to land a husband. I picked this up because it sounded interesting, a gender-swapped Cinderella/Snow White, and I happen to really like fairy tale retellings. Plus, I bought this when it came out a few years ago.....and forgot all about it. Then I needed a book for one of the Bingo games/challenges I'm in (debut author shelf).
This really didn't work for me. There wasn't anything that I really liked. The characters, mainly Charlotte got better as the book progressed. (Okay, that's *1* thing). This read more like a historical romance with fantasy (magic/fey) elements thrown in. I couldn't decide what it wanted to be: a historical romance or a romantic fantasy. While there are overly descriptive moments (oh very many, my eyes crossed), I thought the world building could have been more. It was slowly paced. 
Frederick was okay. He finely got some assertiveness towards the end. Charlotte, my first thought was: Spoiled brat. I. Did. Not. Like. Her. It took all of the book to somewhat like her. Or I should say, dislike her a little less. I can be quite forgiving when I adore the main characters. 
When I'm on the fence about a rating, I really should write out what I want to say first and then star rate. A 2 is too high. Changing this to a 1. This would have been DNF'd but for the Bingo challenge.

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1592362/the-duke-of-snow-and-apples

Off topic- 2017 Solar Eclipse

This post is a little long!

The Hubs and I were able to drive to Ola, Idaho (north and a little west of Boise) and see it in its totality!  Boise was 99.5% of totality.

We have two telescopes.  The top picture was taken from the smaller one.

This one was from larger telescope.  The color is a little different d/t the filter.  At least that's my guess.  The sun spots show up better on this one.

The top was taken from smaller telescope.  All the totality pictures were also taken from the smaller telescope.

Top picture was taken without telescope; camera on full zoom.

Back to larger telescope.

Selfie time!  Making use of the timer!

The Hubs with his precious....

That's all!

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1590777/off-topic-2017-solar-eclipse