I'm worth my weight in a Gator Battle- Are you?

So I just got notified today that I'm actually worth my weight in Gator Battle.  Yes, yes I know you aren't surprised. LOL But I'm so proud that Stella @ Ex Libris thought of me. She definitely is too.

But now that I faced this unbelievable honor I realized something: does this mean I would actually have to kill a Gator? Because I could never actually hurt some nice creature like Gigantagator or Alliflash? Seriously what kind of person could. So I thought I would give you some of my ideas about how I would fight them.

1. Put on some Barry White and get a nice Ally McBeal bathroom dance started. No one can be angry while listening to Barry.

2. I could start a narration of Moby Dick, surely every living being would surrender after 2 pages. This is an undeniable truth!

3. Chocolate! I could bribe them with Lindt Lindor- the small choclate balls of evil created to lure every living being into the total delirium of endorphine-overload!

4. I would put on my Tick Tock suit and give my best show of crazy. I know I don't really have to change my habbits for that but let's pretend I would. They would see I'm one of them and then we could grab some chips and start a movie night....I would vote for Peter Pan!

5.And if all of those won't work I actually have to resort to the heavy measures. It really breaks my heart but I would get out my bottle of hairspary extra shine. I know that Kitty swears on extra strong but I'm all for the shine and glamour. It's just my last resort but I actually don't expect them to resist Barry & Co.

Now it's time to actually spread the love and here are the 5 girls I think are worth their weight in a Gator Battle:

Caroline the Almighty @One Book Away From Heaven - cuz she is bad ass and if nothing else she will make the gators laugh themselves to death

Blodeuedd the Eloquent @Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell - she knows so many languages she will probably also speak Gatorish and solve all the missunderstandings that way

Sullivan McPig the Questioner @Pearls Cast Before a McPig - Sulli has Gator friends! 'nuff said!

Queen B the Fierce @That's QUEEN Bitch To You - she is one of the most heartfelt persons I know but believe me you don't want to be on her shitlist!

Bea the Little-Monster-tamer @Bea's Book Nook - anyone who surives a bunch of kiddies every day can battle anything

So that's my take! How would you battle the gators?

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Review: Pushing Her Boundaries by Julia Rachel Barrett

Description:
Maggie is done with men. Flying to Minneapolis, she’s seated beside the type of man she always falls for. A sexy, arrogant alpha jerk.

Mace Williams irritates the woman next to him. She's so damn sexy, he doesn't care. When their seatmate suffers a cardiac arrest, Maggie and Mace team up to save his life, but it's too late.

In Minneapolis, Maggie heads to a restaurant with her sister, only to find Mace waiting. Worse, she learns he'll soon be her brother-in-law.

Stuck in her sister’s apartment with Mace, Maggie offers him one night of sex, anything goes. No obligations, no recriminations. Mace agrees...he wants more than Maggie's body, he wants her heart.

Thrown into a disastrous canoe trip, they must work together to survive. Maggie must face her demons and trust Mace with her life. Mace is determined to save her, regardless of what the future brings.

Review:
When Julia told me she wrote a book inspired by her canoe trip from hell I said hell yes I want to read that one. I always admire how much real life Julia can convey through her writing and a real life story with a romantic story build around it? What's not to like about that.

Maggie is a strong woman. She's not easily scared and has a specific inner calmness I admire. She was burned in the past and to say it with her own words: It's more like who didn't burn her. Her life wasn't easy but she made the best out of it and tries not to wallow in self-pity. She knows what she wants and mostly she got it right. She has a temper and a bit of a potty mouth but I always love this in a character. I admired her openess (even though she isn't as open as she thinks, at least emotionally) and way of thinking everything through.

Mace seems to be an asshole at first- though I liked him from the start. I knew that one was made for Maggie. I loved his directness and his dirty talking made him seem like on of those good bad guys. *winks* He's intelligent, smart, protective but not overbearing and not some hot shot über-macho who wouldn't survive the wraith of the female population in real life. I loved that he can admit that Maggie knows something better. It really shows his strength that he can see when someone else is right and has no problem in admitting that out loud.

These two really set the pages on fire- their chemistry is scorching and the way the normally so strong Maggie was able to "submit" to Mace was wonderfully pictured.The story itself was as awesome as I thought it would be- funny, witty and with a good touch of freakish craziness like you see so often in real life *wink* I love how touching and down to earth Julia writes- you can actually see yourself talking to her characters, the only thing I missed was a proper ending- I felt a bit cheated on the HEA.

Pushing Her Boundaries was an entertaining and fun read with a real touch to it. I loved the characters enjoyed the setting and I will always be grateful that I won't ever go canoeing again (different story but same conclusion). A great read you don't want to miss.

To learn more about Julia and her books please visit her website here. She has a great blog there too. You don't want to miss that (e.g. crazy canoe trip reports).

Other reviews @goodreads, but the book @BookStrand

Attention: I got this book for free from the author and I like to call Julia my friend so make out of that what you want! 

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Review: Moonlight Temptation by Stephanie Julian

Description:
Evie Simmons has magical powers she can’t control, she’s living in a house that isn’t hers, and her best friend is a seventeen-year-old werewolf. It’d be hilarious if it weren’t just so damn depressing. Add in the sexy shifter she can’t keep out of her mind and his hot-as-hell friend and it’s a recipe for disaster.

Dr. Dane Dimitriou knows Evie has had a hard time adjusting to her new life as part of the Etruscan magical community—almost as difficult as his denial of his feelings for her have been. And he’s got the perfect cure—his best friend, Ryan Maguire. Easygoing Ryan is the complete opposite of stick-up-his-ass Dane. He can act as a buffer. Dane can get close, but not too close. Yeah, good luck with that.

Together, these sexy men may be just what the doctor ordered for Evie. And the doctor himself may discover the cure for what ails him has been waiting all along.

Review:
I'm totally hooked on the Lucani Lovers series and I was very intrigued how Evie's book would be like. When we met her in the previous books she was always the vulnerable girl- the one with the bad past that everyone tried to handle with care- it was interesting to see how she experienced all this.

Evie is stronger than everyone believes and she hates that they all underestimate her. She wants to get the acceptance she deserves and she works hard to earn it even though sometimes it seems to be impossible. In the previous books I imagined Evie younger than she felt in Moonlight Temptation. She grew up and I really liked how she matured and started to take responsibility for her actions.

Ryan is a new character and oh my goodness is he hawt. I loved how easy going he is- he's one of those positive thinkers. He's not reckless but he tries to enjoy life at its fullest. At some points his "shrink" skills amazed me- he sees bullshits and calls you out on it. I love this kind of honesty. He was a great contrast to Dane who always seems to worry about what the world or better said his family thinks about him. He's so scared to disappoint them that he keeps himself from what he really wants. I loved the duality we got from those two men.

These three together put the pages on fire- their mutual attraction is breathtaking and as always I'm surprised how some authors can make me believe in this whole threesome thing- even when it's only for the duration of a book. *wink*

I enjoyed how much Julian includes her sidecast. All her characters are shown in such great detail that you just can't ignore them. Cat really intrigued me and I can't wait to see how her HEA will work out. The story itself was captivating and I couldn't put this one down. The plot itself takes a new turn in this book and I'm already breathlessly awaiting the next book.

Moonlight Temptation is a wonderful extra hot addition to the Lucani Lovers Series. It seems I love everything  Julian keeps dashing at us. I'm sure I won't miss the next one.

To learn more about Stephanie and her books please visit her website here. 

The Lucani Lovers Series: 
1. Kiss of Moonlight: reviews @goodreads, buy @Ellora's Cave
2. Moonlight Ménage: reviews @goodreads, buy @Ellora's Cave
3. Edge of Moonlight: reviews @goodreads, buy @Ellora's Cave
4. Moonlight Temptation: reviews @goodreads, buy @Ellora's Cave

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My January Reads

January was my pleasure reads month. I made myself free from nearly all review obligations and did that what I like the most- just read. I really needed this to just do the reading for myself. No pressure to come up with a review about how I felt while doing this. It was nice but now I'm back and will pester you with my thoughts on the books I read again. =P Here's what I read in January:

1. Bayou Moon (The Edge, #2) by Ilona Andrews
No idea why I waited so long to start this one. I loved it too pieces. William is made of awesome and conquered my heart right at the start. He felt a bit different from book 1 but that's what you have to expect when you change POV. Great writing, couldn't put it down!

2 Alien Tango (Katherine "Kitty" Katt, #2) by Gini Koch
Wow, wow, wow. I think this series is getting better and better. I loved this story so much! Martini made my heart melt. The pace is awesoem and you won't have time to relax for a sec. It's an exiting, witty and funny rollercoaster ride. Gini Koch is now one of my must read authors. Highly recommended!

3. Magic at the Gate (Allie Beckstrom, #5) by Devon Monk
I was a bit scared to start this book because of the ending of book 4. I was afraid we wouldn't get as much Zay as in the previous books and sadly I was right but still I liked it. It's probably not my favorite cuz the over all mood was rather dark and I missed a bit of the fun and wit of the earlier novels but we needed this book to happen. Can't wait to see how it goes on.

4. Alpha (Shifters, #6) by Rachel Vincent
I knew before I started this book that I wouldn't like the end. Not because I thought that she would choose wrong, more cuz of I thought I would like neither of the 2 possibilities. I'm too compassionate for this. Still the book was good but I think the resolution at the end was too easy. You know 6 books of struggle and then it goes down that smoothly. But well still a good series.
 

5. Ecstasy in Darkness (Alien Huntress, #5) by Gena Showalter
It seems I forgot how much I love this series. Gena's humor is made of awesomesauce and this book is no expception. Her characters jump of the pages and the banter between Ava and McKell was priceless. Made me snort out loud more than once. This is absolute my favorite of her series. Can't wait for the next one.

6. The Challenge by Megan Hart
*big smile* You all know how much I love Megan's books and yes I loved this one too. It's short and still brings us a complex story that makes you think. And yes it's hot too though. I always love when she goes the unusual route with a lovestory. I can actually hear Caroline groaning when she reads this but I don't care- I still love it.

7. Layover by Megan Hart
This one was hot and even though it has one aspect I usually don't enjoy that much in erotica it worked for me. Ms Hart has the ability to drag me out of my comfort zone without me caring that she did. A nice story about being who you are and finally stop worrying about what the rest of the world thinks about you and what you like.

8. Happy Ever After (Bride Quartet #4) by Nora Roberts
One thing I noticed while reading this series is that my expectations seemed to rise with every book and unfortunately the books didn't catch up. I really like Parker, she's probably more like me than I want to admit and I liked how she finally let go a bit. But I thought that Mal had it kind of too easy. Not only with Parker but also with the rest of the group and yes when you ask me it's weird that all 4 find their big love in a year and want to get married. Puuuhleaaaase! Yes I know it's a NR but still.
 

9. SEALed and Delivered (Harlequin Blaze, #505) by Jill Monroe
I haven't read one of Jill's books in ages and when I found this one on bargain at amazon.de I just couldn't resist. Her humor is great (and yes I see the pattern in this post too- anyone guessed I like funny book?). She always made me laugh and she knows how to write sexy. This is a nice contemporary story and  I enjoyed every minute of reading it. Even though the heroine was a bit agitating at times.

10. Death's Sweet Embrace (A Dark Brethren Novel, #2) by Tracey O'Hara
This book was not what I expected but that doesn't have to be bad. I thought this book would be about Christian and Antoinette again but it wasn't. We meet some new characters and follow them on their journey. I really loved the hero Raven but the heroine Kitt wasn't for me. Still a wonderful worldbuilding and I'm so curious what will come next.

11. Archangel's Consort (Guild Hunter, #3) by Nalini Singh
When I think of Archangel's Consort I'm immediately happy. This is one of those books that makes you swim in HEA and love. I adore Raphael with all my heart and I could start swooning just thinking about him. It's hard to explain why these books are that good. They are full of emotion- really centered around them and you just can't close yourself down from that. They make you feel so much and still have so much happening in them- intriguing plot, awesome characters and a lovestory to die for. I can't recommend these books enough. There's a reason I let everything else fall down as soon as I get one of these books. But yes I admit I'm sad that the next book won't be about Raphael and Elena again. But Dmitri promisses  to be interesting too. *g*

So yes it was a great month! Awesome books!

How was your reading January?

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