This is the last in the Real series, but can be read as a stand-alone. It's a sweet, a bit too sweet, coming-of age romance, basically. But it's really well written. There are a lot of bonking scenes, but they fit and I actually skimmed them instead of just skipping them. Almost everyone in the book has some sort of weakness or something in their past that needs fixing. Here's the blurb:

Maverick “the Avenger” Cage wants to rise to the top and become a legend in the ring. Though he keeps his identity well guarded, he’s known on the fighting circuit as the new kid with a chip on his shoulder and a tattoo on his back that marks him as trouble. He’s got a personal score to settle with the Underground’s one and only Remington “Riptide” Tate.

As Mav trains, he meets a young girl—the only other new person in the town—and sparks fly. When things get heated between them, he finds out she’s none other than Reese Dumas, the cousin of Remington Tate’s wife. A girl who’s supposed to root against him and a girl he’s supposed to stay away from.

But Maverick fights for the woman in his heart, and the monsters in his blood. The world’s eyes are on them and the victor will go down in history as the ultimate fighting champion; the ultimate LEGEND.

It's not my usual fare,but I did enjoy it.

"Whiskey in the Jar Likes to Read" wrote a great review of this book on Booklikes.  Nothing to add or take away from it! 

I wasn't able to do much reading in the past month, mainly because of work that sucks the life out of me. When I get home, the only thing I feel like doing is to go to sleep.

*I would just love to hibernate until Spring*

Also I need to get my anti-depressives prescription changed, because not only aren't they doing anything about the depression per se, but the warm and "insistent" feeling of having OCD has come back full force. That means, that my concentration has fled the building.

The only way for me to sit quietly while trying to read a book is if I have a cat napping on my lap: namely my little Sebastião.

For the first time in a long time, I no longer have the patience to write reviews.

Also it doesn't help the fact I seem to be picking a lot of mediocre books... or maybe that's just a side effect of the way I am feeling at the moment. I no longer know.

Well, all I know is that I read an embarassing small number of books this last month.

Books Read kind of : Seven Books.

1 DNF: Castle Hangnail- Middle Grade ( not even a bad book, I just lost the patience for it)

3 Historical Romances :

_Lisa Kleypas, Cold Hearted Rake _ 2.5 Stars

_Julie Anne Long, The Legend of Lyon Redmond- 2 Stars

_Caroline Linden, Written in My Heart, a Short Story ( or novella, but it was so badly developed, that I am just going to stick with the short-story definition)- 1.5 Stars

Dystopia / Post Apocalyptic/ Science Fiction:

1 Re-read ( I actually ended up liking it more this time around)- Defiant (Towers Trilogy #2 by Karina Sumner-Smith) - 4 Stars

2 Middle Grade/ Retelling:

_ T. Kingfisher, Bryony and The Roses- 4 Stars

_T. Kinfisher, Seventh Bride - 3 Stars

Currently Reading:

Mercedes Lackey, Beauty and the Werewolf ( Five Hundred Kingdoms #6)

I've just read about fifty pages of it, and I am already sick and tired of the main character.

Obnoxious, manipulative brat.

As a side note, this was one of the books I offered myself last Christmas. o_O

Karina Sumner-Smith, Towers Fall (#3)

Along with Susan Ee's Penryn series, this was the other series for which I had so many expectations. Thing is, with forty percent read a long couple of days ago, I just lost the patience for it. I was expecting it to explode with action, after the amazing first book, and instead it just keeps walking the more introspective road. I am tired of the character's monologues, and I just don't feel like picking it up any more.

Kelley Armstrong, Omens (Cainsville #1)

Because I needed a story I would be able to finish!

This was such an amazing Christmas-time romance. Thea is a great heroine, a spinster and bit of a book nerd - she was just up my alley. When she finds a baby - a real one - in the church's manger scene she has no idea the mystery she's about to be caught up in. When she confronts who she thinks the father is - she really isn't expecting the sparks to fly like they do.

Gabriel is intrigued by the vicar's sister and her fiery personality. They seem to be so opposite, but when it really comes down to it, they both want the same thing. They want to find who left the child and make sure the child is taken care of. This search takes them to some pretty interesting places - and underneath a lot of mistletoe!!

Mistletoe can be a dangerous thing. Feelings start to happen and then suddenly you find out you might be falling in love. Thea's physical response to Gabriel is perfect. It's just what I needed from an older regency woman who has been "put on the shelf." Their romance was a great one - built on shared interests and experiences, and it grew over time into something wonderful.

The mystery of the baby will be solved, but it is a little bittersweet in the outcome. Be prepared for some surprises, because not much is as it seems when it comes to the search. There's a bit of excitement and danger as well that added a very nice touch.