Driving Home for Christmas: steamy billi...

Driving Home For Christmas is a fun holiday read by Lexy Timms.  Yes, I read Christmas books in June, don't judge.  Ms. Timms has delivered a wonderful story populated with a fantastic group of characters.  Colin is trying to get to a business meeting and charity event when his plane is forced to land because of snow.  On the same flight is Abby, she's had a rough couple of months, losing her boyfriend, best friend, savings, home and job.  Abby is forced to hitch a ride with Colin, the Grinch, when she can't rent a car of her own.  Abby and Colin's story is loaded with drama, laugh out loud humor and smokin' hot sex.  I enjoyed reading Driving Home For Christmas and look forward to reading more from Lexy Timms soon.  Driving Home For Christmas is book 1 of the Billionaire Holiday Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

The Protector: Paranormal Gothic Romance...

The Protector by Lexy Timms is a well-written paranormal book.  Ms Timms has created amazing characters for this story.  Constance and Jack's book is loaded with action, drama, suspense and lots of sexy bits.  The story does jump around to different times, and for me that was a bit annoying.  While this wasn't my favorite Lexy Timms book, it wasn't horrible, so I would be happy to read more from this author.  The Protector is book 1 of the Heart Of Stone Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Romance Bingo - Man in a Kilt square

Sweet humanity, this book sucks. Historical inaccuracies up the wazzoo, contemporary NA characterizations, and to top it off, this is only the first 12 chapters of a three-part serialized story.

The most glaring screw up has to deal with Erik (the hero) and his merry band and killing and pillaging Vikings...who are also Celts....from the kingdom/country of Denmark, making them Danes as well ?????????? For a group of commanders who don't want their enlisted men to rape the townswomen because it would taint their "pure" Saxon blood, it seems they couldn't decided on what group they belonged to, so they belong to every group (except of course the dirty English, yet they were fighting near the Scottish border). Look, I did not major in European history (modern American history was my concentration), but even I know that keeping the blood of rank-and-file fighting men "pure" was not much of a concern; in a very vile way, raping was seen as a right of the victor to the spoils of war.

Not for these confused commanders - they just want everyone dead, so that the people of northern England/southern Scotland will be terrorized and thus, kneel before them as their conquerors - except no one piped up and said "hey, if we kill everyone, there won't be any English people subjected to our rule."

Don't even get me started on how Erik was drinking coffee with his men on the mornings before battles....in England....in 876 AD.

Linzi (the Scottish heroine with a name spelled to damn cutesy to be taken seriously) is more concerned about boys and getting a free, huge rose tattoo from her BFF who has enough experience to do so because she gave herself one (in between her breasts yo). Linzi is seventeen and ready to mix it up with blonde English local boyLuke (older brother's friend) or Erik, who she meets at 68% into the story - where this part of the story ends. Pretty much any blonde will do.

Much spelling and grammar mistakes; formatting for the NOOK is off as well.

If you want to read this, I suggest you get all three parts at once because they are a quick read and ends with cliffhangers. I can't do anymore of this historical inaccuracy or the NA characters, so I won't be continuing with the other two volumes.

I got a full weekend ahead of me, so my short list of weekend reading is aspirational rather than a firm to-do. My base library is having a "Souper Bowl" dinner on Monday evening, so I am attempting to make homemade Italian Wedding soup as a donation. Monday is a down day for us, so kid is off from school and husband is home from work (shout out to the regional commanders in Germany who understand that late-night Super Bowl parties and early to rise military work don't mix well!).

What I am reading this weekend, amongst the social appointments I need to keep:

1. Key of Knowledge (Key Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts - my number one priority, as it is a library loan that is due back on Tuesday.

2. Celtic Viking by Lexie Timms - short book featuring (I am assuming...) a man in kilt. I have a sinking feeling this may be more of an installment of a serial read.

3. Dangerous Allies (WWII Book 1) by Renee Ryan - nothing says rogue like a sexy spy teaming up with another sexy spy to save the world from the Nazis. I need this right now. 

Halfway through Romance Bingo and I am behind in my goal to black out the card. Time to prioritize romance over any other challenge until the card is complete. Luckily, some romance will satisfy other challenges, so I can kill birds with not as many stones.

1. The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough (Diseases and Disasters challenge)

2. To Defy a Sheikh by Maisey Yates (Romance Bingo - Secret Billionaire)

3. Dangerous Allies by Renee Ryan (Romance Bingo - Rogue)

4. By Starlight by Dorothy Garlock (physical TBR)

5. His Ring is Not Enough by Maisey Yates (Romance Bingo - Virgin)

6. The Sweetest Thing (Just Desserts #1) by Deborah Fletcher Mello (Romance Bingo - Free Space; Pop Sugar Challenge - Author is POC)

7. Craving Temptation (Just Desserts #2) by Deborah Fletcher Mello (Romance Bingo - Eyeshadow and Bosom; Pop Sugar Challenge - MC is different ethnicity than reader)

8. Beauty and the Rake by Erica Monroe (Romance Bingo - Fairy Tale Re-telling)

9. Key of Knowledge (Key Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts (Romance Bingo - Key to the heart; Library Love)

10. Lighting the Flames by Sarah Wendell (Romance Bingo - Guy/Girl Next Door; Pop Sugar Challenge - holiday setting other than Christmas)

11. A Lady Dares by Bronwyn Scott (Romance Bingo - Pirates)

12. Celtic Viking by Lexie Timms (Romance Bingo - Man in Kilt)

13. Courting His Countess by CJ Archer (Romance Bingo - Gothic)