Dauntless (Luckless, #2) by Cari Z.

I've got say this wasn't my favorite.  In general it felt like an interlude and not a whole story even if in a way we got what I was missing in the previous one "Luckless" (also novella length) - seeing Evan and Lee / Ladon as a formed couple and how they manage life in Forge together with Lee's son Jason. 

In the previous installment we've met Evan Luck, or as he was referred to - Luckless - for losing his dragon. The same dragon his father and grandfather rode. When he came to Forge it was expected he would find a dragon to bond with, but until that happened, he was basically shunned. When he met Lee Caldwell he didn't know half of it.. 

Elliot, Song of the Soulmate (Love, Austen #5) [Elliot & Wentworth] by Anyta Sunday

Honestly I don't have anything to say except for READ IT! If I can add another line it would be - but don't you DARE neglect the other ones in the series. 

I waited WAY to long before starting this one and that is only because for the past two weeks I don't have an e-reader and for me, reading on the phone, feels like punishment. But I missed reading and this one was calling my name so I opened the Kindle app last night and..... Read until it was WAY too late only to finish it in the morning. I was SO disappointed it simply ENDED. Which is by the way, my only "complaint". I'm happy these two found their way back to each other, seeing them apart, longing for what they had broke my heart to too many pieces. 

This book was simply everything. Everything I could have wished for or wanted, everything to find in your HEA. It had the right amount of aching and longing coupled with heartfelt romance between two teenagers with a lot of hopes and dreams for a better future as well as down to earth grown ups who lost hope on that bright future. I also really appreciated the way Elliot and Wentworth changed throughout the years yet stayed the same where it mattered which is why with all the hurt they couldn't be mean to one another. They were just as heartbroken meeting 15 years later realizing (again) what they had lost. 

Boyfriend (Moo U #0) [Weston & Abbi] by Sarina Bowen

This book was the exact comfort read I needed. Had a few difficult days, with NO kindle (!)  but I knew there are no excuses when it comes to Sarina. Reading on my phone has been a struggle but I made it work as every page turned I fell for both our MCs. They were beautiful on their own, but together ~sigh~ I couldn't have asked for more. 

Both Abbi and Weston has their own personal issues the people around them know nothing about. It's easier for both of them this way as they need to focus on other things. For Abbi, it's finishing college early, finding a well paying job, enough to leave and be able to take care of herself without her step-father's help. She works 2 jobs, study hard, and somehow manages to keep her grades. It's only a few more months. She can feel it. She doesn't need distractions, especially not in a 'player' like Weston, but his offer is more than intriguing. 

Weston's life used to be quite ideal. Two loving parents, two siblings, playing the sports he loves. Things changed when his parents got divorced. Suddenly it's not such a bad thing being away from home studying at Moo U. It's trickier on the holidays which is why he posts an ad offering to be the perfect (fake) boyfriend (just) for Thanksgiving (if good food in on the menu). 

Moon Spell (Fated, #2) [Bellamy & Ashwood] by Christina Lee

This one was different then what I expected. Maybe my feelings towards it has something to do with just how SAD the whole story was. Both guys' life were pretty miserable. Well, Bellamy's life SEEMS happy at "Moon Flower", and yet he still kept a HUGE part of himself wraped in as many layers as he could but he couldn't really hide his true feelings, they were still there, always. While his pain was obvious as our sole POV, Ashwood's feelings were in a way even more evident. Every gesture, every word spoken - his love for Bellamy has no end. 

We've met Bellamy in the previous installment, it was more than hinted he might be a werewolf with a lover someone out there. It's all true but it's far more complicated than either guy at the establishment could have guessed. I'm not going to go into a lot of details about Bellamy's past decisions or what exactly happened between him and Ashwood. I'll just say they were everything to one another when Ashwood betrayed his trust. With everything they shared it broke his heart and ability to fully trust (himself and what he was becoming). Now, 2 years later, they have an oportunity to speak again and put everything that happened on the table. It might not be the best time as Bellamy is dying of the the Violet Fever. The cure Madam Langley found doesn't work for him, it might even make him worse and so Ashwood takes it upon himself to try and heal him. 

A Rush of White Wings (Out of Ireland #2) [Sean & Ailish] by Pamela Ford

This book wasn't what I was expecting it to be. For better or for worse. I was disappointed Kathleen and Jack's story in "To Ride a White Horse" ended so abruptly, I wanted to get something clearer about them, more than just a declaration, so this book gave me the closure I needed as it doesn't only circle around Sean and Ailish - it has the POV of both couples - the first one being together for 4 years and the second trying to form a connection against all odds. In a way it was also the story of the two families - Montgomery-Deacy - mashed together. 

The story begins with the heart breaking scene of Sean Deacy pulling a dead man off the sea after a ship carrying immigrants from Ireland crashes almost at the shores of America. The satchel the man was holding so tightly didn't contain his possession but a little baby. When a home isn't found for little Liam Clark, Sean comes up with a brilliant idea - give him to his sister. Kathleen and Jack Montgomery have been married for two years but sadly she hasn't been able to keep a pregnancy, being gifted this beautiful boy is everything for both her and her husband. Wanting to give him a better future / possibilities they change his name to an English one - William Montgomery. Life has been ideal for two years especially with Kathleen's parents and siblings near by, and a good relationship with Jack's grandfather who also took to baby Will. Everything shattered once Ailish Sullivan comes into their lives claiming to be Liam/Will's aunt and wanting full custody of the almost 3 years old boy. 

To Ride a White Horse (Out of Ireland #1) [Kathleen & Jack] by Pamela Ford

 ~sigh~ It's one of "those" books. I added this one 6 (!) years ago. I'm not even sure I read HR back then, probably fell in love with the cover then forgot all about it with my unending list of books (focused on familiar authors). I didn't know what to expect from this one, but with it's high review rating (and the enchanting cover) I wasn't going to let it go until I found the right time. That day has come and I can tell you now, I'm going to visit more of Panela's books as this one was IMPOSSIBLE to put down. It was beautiful and heartfelt, as well as sad and crashing especially knowing that even if Kathleen (and Jack) aren't real what the Irish went through is. 

It's 1846 and the Irish are literally starving to death. The English own their lands and expect them to grow everything for their own needs except for tiny plots of land the Irish grow potatoes on (as it's the most efficient plant for sustenance). When the potatoes rot in the ground and the English aren't even considering to help (while still demanding their crops and payment) there is little the Irish can do but stubbornly try to survive. When the second year of rotting potatoes comes it feels as if even the little hope they had is now gone. The Irish are dying of hunger and no one cares. 

Kathleen Deacy is a proud Irishwoman, she never considered leaving Ireland behind but with her brother Sean coming home with a bit (but not enough) money - and without her sweetheart Danny O'Sheehan - she can't expect him to return to Canada when his wife Moira is so close to delivering their first born and she also wants a chance of reuniting with Danny.  Taking a few belonging she sets for Newfoundland. Her journey start bad and turned to the worse when she is thrown out to sea in the middle of a storm. Lucky for her a passing whaling ship passes by and finds her. But upon waking up, nothing is as she expected it to be and while she is treated well she is still crushed with the meaning of this delay. 

Gone But Not Forgotten (TIN, #1) [Dex & Sloane] by Charlie Cochet

This has been GREAT! I missed this series so much! I can't believe it's been TWO YEARS since I last read the last one. Funny thing is, I stared reading in the morning and as soon as Austen Payne - now the guys' handler (!) - explains their mission I stopped reading. I just couldn't. It was too much. I wasn't prepared. After launch I had a talk with myself about how ridiculous I am - went back in and finished it in one sitting. 

We are four years after the last installments. The guys have been training for a year and working the field for another three. In a way nothing changed - them working together, being the beautiful couple that they are, and yet it IS different. Firstly them not being a real part of the Destructive Delta Team (with Ash Keeler being their new leader) and having two new team members - Keane and Rowan (both Therian, like all* TIN operatives) as well as some help from Sebastian "Seb" Hobbs (who was already mixed up with TIN business before) and a little from Ash (as Sloane's best friend and someone who worked with him for years and knowns him like only Dex does).

The job Austen and Sonya Sparks (who stayed their boss with a "slight" change in title) have in mind for Dex and Sloane is not just 'dangerous', with that they can handle, it's also quite personal. There's a new villain in town - Howard Vaughan - attempting to manipulate the (new found) Melanoe virus together with the Eppione.8 vaccine in order to make "improved" humans (without them shifting into a Therian). 

Finley Embraces Heart & Home (Love, Austen #4) [Finley & Ethan] by Anyta Sunday

This book was EVERYTHING. It was also quite frankly TORTURE. If you put social norms a side for a second (or a few hours at least ;)) it's one of the purest romances I've ever read. Fin and Ethan's love story was tender and heartfelt. It started when they were young, so very young, and though they tried their best to simply be what society - and mostly their parents - wanted them to be, at a certain point it hurt too much. Like with the previous ones this is another re-telling of Jane's Austen novels, this one being "Mansfield Park" (which I haven't read or seen before). Also, we only get one POV - Finely - and while Ethan's emotions were so very obvious I have a feeling being in HIS head would have been an even greater torture. Fin was always more true to who he is and what he wants, for Ethan it was different with what his father tried tough-loving him to be. 

Finely Price's life crashed down (the second time) when at 15 his mother announces she is going to marry Tom Bertram. As he is still struggling with losing his father, moving into Tom's mansion - Mansfield - is too much too soon. Tom tries to include Finley, be friendly and accommodating but he won't have it. He wanted to hate Tom's son - Ethan - as well, but it simply wasn't possible. As Ethan puts it "You can always try to". They become fast friends. There is something so easy in communicating with each other. Ethan struggles a lot with his emotions, with what he wants or being expected to be (which isn't what his father has in mind) so simply BEING with Fin who says and expresses his feelings openly was liberating . 

There IS something else under the surface, surely from Fin's side, and yet their connection and friendship has always stayed platonic. Loving, caring, yet still keeping a certain distance. Their first kiss is shared 2 years later, on Ethan's graduation party, right before he leaves for a year of traveling in Europe. This sweet and tender kiss should have lasted them the two years apart with a hope (not even a promise) things could be different later on.