The romantic part of the story sucks. The kid is still a brat. The heroine went from nice to pushy American whose life is in shambles, even without being the guardian to the kid. The hero is emo due to the OTT back story. The sheer amount of death this family goes through is ridiculous. And then they are giving dog obedience/specialized dog training classes and farm-to-table suppers? Overly pretentious rural living - no thanks. My luck with contemporary romance continues to sour.

Awkward dialogue. Friends of the main couple already pushing them together in a relationship and they just met. Not feeling any spark between angsty former military hero and heroine, who seems nice (bland, but nice). The dumbest, brattiest plot moppet EVER.

I am giving this book until page 254 (1/3 of the book according my NOOK copy) to freaking get better or I'm out. And if I do DNF, I will delete the follow up book I have sitting on my NOOK TBR shelf as well.  I really need to learn to buy one book in a series at a time.

DoD-MWR Libraries Summer Reading Program starts sometime this month.

COYER Summer Vacation Challenge starts June 18th. I don't know how much I can put off reading from my NOOK until then, but for right now I have 9 possible titles for this challenge.

Partial reads will be completed by the end of Labor Day weekend.

Right now, the weather is decidedly not summer like. My husband is playing Fallout 4 while under 2 blankets and the kids are hanging out in their fleece pjs. This is how California natives do summer time in England, lol.

Courtney Milan Challenge/COYER

1. The Heiress Effect (Brothers Sinister #2)

Regency Box Set/COYER

2. His Jilted Bride (Banks Brothers Brides #3)  by Rose Gordon

Non-Fiction Challenge

3. Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

4. Missoula by Jon Krakaur

5. High Tech Trash by Elizabeth Grossman

6. Bad Money by Kevin Phillips - DNF

Partial Reads

7. Easter 1916 - I want to read 2 chapters

8. At the Duke's Wedding (Anthology) by Various Authors - First story (COYER)

9. Summer Rain (Anthology) by Various Authors - First 3 stories (COYER)

LGBTQ+ Cultural and Heritage Month (US observation)

10. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (COYER)

11. Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel (COYER)

*Loving Day - June 12th

12. Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole

TBR Pile Read Down

13. The Bride Wore Blue (Brides of Bath #1) by Cheryl Bolen (COYER)

14. If the Shoe Kills (Tourist Trap Mystery #3) by Lynn Cahoon (COYER)

15. That Scandalous Summer (Rules of the Reckless #1) by Meredith Duran (COYER)

16. That Summer in Cornwall (Four Seasons Quartet #1) by Ciji Ware (COYER)

17. Summer of Dreams (From this Moment On novella) by Elizabeth Camden (COYER)

*Loving Day is a cultural celebration of the US Supreme Court decision in the case of Loving vs. Virginia that struck down bans on interracial marriages, most notably between whites and blacks. This novella takes place during the Civil Rights Movement (same era as Loving decision) between a white hero and black heroine. Currently it is not an official holiday, but there are grass roots movements all over the country to get state, and eventually federal, recognition.

Happy Reading!

My reading lists are just too ambitious, and with my reading slump slowly ebbing, I don't want to get behind on my reading and feeling pressure. The TBR is what it is - never ending and I have just come to accept that.

I am also feeling pressured to read books I not really interested in reading right now because we are going into the last innings of the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge and I feel I have a lot of categories still blank. The challenge helped me in the beginning to read down the TBR pile, but now I feel I am reading books from the library to fill in those remaining categories and pushing off my TBR. Probably won't do a challenge next year.

And I need to take a break from borrowing library books until I am done with the monthly reading list and I still have time in that month.

September 2015 Reading List

1. The Ride of Her Life (Lake Manawa Summers #3) by Lorna Seilstad

*2. Silver Storm (The Raveneau Novels #1) by Cynthia Wright

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4. Low Country Boneyard (Liz Talbot #3) by Susan M. Boyer

5. That Summer in Cornwall by Ciji Ware

6. That Autumn in Edinburgh by Ciji Ware

7.  The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

*8. The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer

*Pop Sugar Reading Challenge fillers

Living in California and through many minor and major earthquake, I don't tend to think of these shakers as very romantic. I am, however, often naked when they happen. Go figure.

Here are some excellent romances that contain earthquakes!  My lists are never in any particular order.

1.  Thunderbird Falls by C.E. Murphy

It's the end of the world…

Again.

For all the bodies she's encountering, you'd think beat cop Joanne Walker works in Homicide. But no, Joanne's a reluctant shaman who last saved mankind three months ago—surely she deserves more of a break! Yet, incredibly, "Armageddon, Take Two" is mere days away.

There's not a minute to waste.

Yet when her spirit guide inexplicably disappears, Joanne needs help from other sources. Especially after she accidentally unleashes Lower World demons on Seattle. Damn. With the mother of all showdowns gathering force, it's the worst possible moment for Joanne to realize she should have learned more about controlling her powers. Or to discover she's being lied to…

2. Aftershock by Jill Shalvis

THE EARTH MOVED...LITERALLY!

If it hadn't been for the earthquake, Amber Riggs would never have made love to a perfect stranger. And no doubt about it, fire inspector Dax McCall was perfect! Who else could have taught her the meaning of passion at a time like that?

AND NOW THE AFTERSHOCK...

Still, when Amber ran into him a year later she wasn't sure how he'd react. She hadn't meant to keep the news from Dax.... But he'd been out of town, and she'd been sort of relieved. After all, how do you tell the perfect man he has a perfect baby girl with a woman he doesn't know from Eve?

3. Mission of Hope by Allie Pleiter

No one knows who he is or where he's from. But witnesses throughout San Francisco report a masked man in black is bringing supplies—and badly needed hope—to homeless earthquake survivors. Some believe that the city's gallant rescuer is a gentleman of wealth. But others whisper that he is a working-class man with courage as great as his faith. And rumor has it that one of the city's most spirited society belles is helping him against her family's wishes. What can be confirmed is that the masked messenger will need more than a miracle to escape those on his trail—and win the woman risking everything to save him….

4. Earthquake Baby by Amy Andrews

Trapped under a collapsed building, Laura Scott thought she would never survive. As the choking dust enveloped her one man kept her alive and lifted her to safety – Dr Jack Riley. That life-saving moment led to a night of unforgettable intimacy. It was as if they’d been together for ever.

Yet in the morning Laura left without a trace. It’s ten years before they meet again, but when they do Jack discovers not only how real their connection was, but also that Laura is the mother of a ten-year-old child…

5. The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin

It is a time of celebration in the Pingkang Li, where imperial scholars and
bureaucrats mingle with beautiful courtesans. At the center is the Lotus
Palace, home of the most exquisite courtesans in China... 

Maidservant Yue-ying is not one of those beauties. Street-smart and practical,
she's content to live in the shadow of her infamous mistress-until she
meets the aristocratic playboy Bai Huang. 

Bai Huang lives in a privileged world Yue-ying can barely imagine, yet alone share, but as
they are thrown together in an attempt to solve a deadly mystery, they
both start to dream of a different life. Yet Bai Huang's position means
that all she could ever be to him is his concubine-will she sacrifice
her pride to follow her heart?

6. Aftershock (Aftershock by Jill Sorenson

As an emergency paramedic, Lauren Boyer is dedicated and highly capable. Until an earthquake strikes, trapping her beneath the freeway with a group of strangers—including Iraq war veteran Garrett Wright…

Handsome and take-charge Garrett aids Lauren in her rescue efforts, even as the steely look in his eyes seems to hide dark secrets. When a gang of escaped convicts goes on the attack, Garrett's bravery makes him more than a courageous bystander to Lauren. If they can save the others before time runs out, maybe, just maybe, they can explore the fire igniting between them—if the truth about who he really is doesn't pull them apart forever….

7. A Race to Splendor by Ciji Ware

Early in 1906, the ground in San Francisco shook buildings and lives from their comfortable foundations.

Amidst rubble, corruption, and deceit, two women-young architects in a city and field ruled by men-find themselves racing the clock and each other during the rebuilding of competing hotels in the City by the Bay.

Based on meticulous research, A Race to Splendor tells the story of the audacious people of one of the world's great cities rebuilding and reinventing themselves after immense human tragedy. Filled with courage, passion, and conflict, Amelia Bradshaw's spirit will capture your imagination as she strives to redraft her life amidst the ruins with both help and hindrance from a wayward son of privilege who pulls her into worlds she'd never have known.

8. Romance: Earthquake: Love by Riley J. Ford

California girl Selma Morgan is looking for Mr. Right...or Mr. Right Now, depending on the guy. When she finds herself in a nightclub locking lips with a handsome stranger, it feels as though she may have met her future soulmate...especially when the earth moves. Or, it might be the massive earthquake that just happened! Either way, Selma finds herself on a wild dating adventure through foreshocks, aftershocks, and a whole lot of rockin' and rollin'. To complicate matters, a sexy firefighter comes to her rescue after a particularly bad aftershock, and Selma finds herself with a choice to make. Is she about to experience the "big one," and if so, is she ready for that kind of tectonic shift? Follow Selma on her hilarious yet moving adventure as she survives a series of California earthquakes...and finds a seismic love along the way.

9. Betting it All by Cate Masters

Norah Hawkins wants a new life as far from her old one as possible, but where can she ever find that chance? When a letter arrives promising her the deed to property in San Francisco, Norah packs her bags and flees the broken shards of her troubled past.

With its anything-goes atmosphere, 1906 San Francisco suits Irishman Gerard MacKenzie just fine. He loves tending bar in Norah’s saloon, and verbally sparring with the shrewd businesswoman for more privileges and work. Her beauty, wit and sass make his blood boil with need.

But disaster looms over their promising new lives when a terrible earthquake buries their dreams and threatens to shatter their future. Norah and Mac must rebuild their lives from the ruins and they’ll need each other more than ever, but can their ties to each other save them or tear them apart?

10. Hot Zone by Catherine Mann

HE'LL TAKE ANY MISSION, THE RISKIER THE BETTER...

The haunted eyes of pararescueman Hugh Franco should have been her first clue that deep pain roiled beneath the surface. But if Amelia couldn't see the damage, how could she be expected to know he'd break her heart?

SHE'LL PROVE TO BE HIS BIGGEST RISK YET...

Amelia Bailey's not the kind of girl who usually needs rescuing...but there are anything but usual circumstances.

Did I miss your favorite? Let me know!

Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads: Shaken Up: Earthquakes in Romance Novels.