As happens when I try to add a book by a debut author, the stupid database picks another author name that's, like, kinda similar. Can someone fix this so the author's name is Temi Oh? Not Temi Matterhorn or whatever? 

Thanks

 Booklikes-opoly 2019 Edition

hosted by Moonlight Reader & Obsidian Blue

Roll #3 landed me on the Free Parking square, which meant I had to roll again; this subsequent roll gave me:

From the rules, "A 2 or a 3, sends you to the robot":

From my 10 options (above), the randomly generated number is:

which corresponds to:

Title: The Orkney Scroll

Author: Lyn Hamilton

# of Pages: 284

Value: $3.00 upon completion

Current Bank Balance: $31.00

Source/Cost: Personal Library/$0.00 (Smashwords freebie)

Date Acquired: Jul 2016

Book Description: Lara McClintoch’s professional pride is hurt when an antique cabinet she thought was genuine is deemed a fake. When the antique dealer who sold it for a million dollars is murdered and the money goes missing, Lara follows the forgery trail to Scotland’s Orkney Islands, once ruled by the Vikings. The place is pretty and the people kind, but Lara feels danger closing in on her.

Title: Breaking His Rules

Author: Aliza Mann

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewed by: Shakera

Genre: Romance

Publisher: LoveSwept

Date of Release: April 2, 2019

Pages: 241

Format: Kindle (NetGalley)

Ashton lived his dating life by a set of rules: 1.) Never date the prettiest girl in the room. 2.) No dates on Friday or Saturday night. 3.) No discussing family history… you get the gist. His mind is completely blown when he meets Terra, who makes him challenge every one of those rules. Terra has her own set of drama, in the name of an ex-husband. As they get to know each other a little better, the drama unfolds. Can Ashton get past her walls? Can Terra make him forget all of his rules?

I initially wanted to read this because I love interracial romance, and it had a great synopsis. LoveSwept hasn’t produced a book I didn’t like. Upon reading it I will say I was a bit nervous. Could this be the first book that doesn’t live up to my expectation? I have to say, it did live up to my expectations. I did have to get past a chapter or two, but it was totally worth it. While it does start off a bit slow, getting to know the characters, watching them interact with each other, watching the development… it gave the story so much depth and kept me enthralled. I am new to Aliza Mann’s work, but I would enjoy reading more of her work.

The main character in this story is Vicki, a human woman who got a rustic resort near Lake Silence as part of her divorce settlement and used all her money to improve and maintain it.

This paragraph introduces Vicki perfectly:

“A bit of useful information. My name is Victoria “call me Vicki” DeVine. I used to be Mrs. Yorick Dane, but giving up my married name was one of the conditions of my receiving valuable property—aka The Jumble—as part of the divorce settlement. Apparently, the second official Mrs. Dane didn’t like the idea that someone else had had the name first. Fortunately, she didn’t seem as possessive about Yorick’s Vigorous Appendage. I could have told her that a couple dozen other women had had it before she took possession. But it wasn’t likely that she would keep solo possession of the appendage for long, so let her figure things out the hard way like I did. Of course, if she had been one of those indulgences, then she already knew the signs and might be able to nip them in the bud.”

Vicki finds out there’s a dead body on her property when walks in on one of her tenants, Aggie Crowe (a teenage crow shifter) as she was about to warm up an eyeball in the microwave.

“Why can’t I eat it?” She looked at the eyeball rolling around in the small bowl that was now sitting on the counter.

“Nobody else wants it. It’s starting to get squooshy. And the dead man doesn’t need it.”

“The words got me past the physical evidence. “What dead man?”

“The one who doesn’t need the eyeball.” Little black feathers suddenly sprouted at her hairline, confirming the nature of my lodger.

Trouble starts soon after when cops with no jurisdiction there try to pin the murder on Vicki. Fortunately for her, due to her kindness towards Aggie members of the Other community step up and protect Vicki. The terra indigene are not the only ones who stand by her. Officer Grimshaw (human, good cop) and Julian Farrow (Intuit, ex-cop) are also determined to keep her safe.

The one who dazzles her from the first moment is Ilya Sanguinati, the lawyer and the local vampire, who in Vicki’s words is Yummy.

“I mean, he was a double-scoop sundae with hot fudge and caramel sauce and a mountain of real whipped cream yummy. His hair was darker than Ineke’s double-fudge brownies, and he had the most luscious melted chocolate eyes.”

But we get to meet other impressive characters, such as the Lady of the Lake, the water Elemental who lives in Lake Silence, her water pony Whirlpool and Aiden, the fire Elemental. It’s endearing how they all work together to protect the frail human who can’t stand up for herself. Ever one of the Elders sticks around to help, and when the bad guys try to break in, the Elder wrecks the car.

“How many Elders does it take to flip a car?” I asked.

She gave me a puzzled smile. “Is that a human joke?”

Not likely. “Maybe.”

Vicki is a flawed character after divorcing her abusive husband, and I think that makes her likable, hence triggering everyone’s protective mode. She is always intimidated by men, except for Ilya who fascinates her.

“I’m grateful for Aiden’s help in getting a fire started in the stove last night. But this morning, when I realized who he was . . . I felt intimidated.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s Fire. An Elemental.”

“The Lady of the Lake is also an Elemental. Does she intimidate you?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Huh. Good question.

“Is it because Aiden is male?” Ilya asked

[…]

When he asked me if I was all right this morning, I was afraid of what he might do to Julian, who was with me. I was afraid of saying the wrong thing.”

“You’re often afraid of saying the wrong thing to men.”

It wasn’t quite a question, so I didn’t feel obliged to answer.

Anne Bishop’s sense of humor comes through just like it did in the Others novels. Vicki often jokes to make light of a situation. Sometimes her timing is not the best, but she manages to amuse the vampire.

“Do the Sanguinati have trouble with mosquitoes?”

“You mean, do the big bloodsuckers get pestered by the little bloodsuckers?”

Judging by my attorney’s laughter, if I failed to turn The Jumble into a viable business, I could always get a job as a stand-up comedian in a vampire bar.”

All in all, I loved Lake Silence, the convoluted plot (albeit a little far fetched) and the fascinating characters. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Wild Country.

The story continues where we left off in Marked in Flesh with the humans trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces of whatever is left in the wake of Namid’s claws and teeth and rebuild their lives.

In Etched in Bone, the Elders (Namid’s claws and teeth) want to observe the humans interact with the Others and learn what these small predators can do to each other. So when Monty’s brother comes to Lakeside, despite his own family’s warning that he’s bad news, Simon agrees to let him stay. Simon is reluctant to have him so close to Meg but concedes to the Elders’ request.

The Elders keep an eye on Meg, the howling not-wolf and develop a taste for the wolf cookies. They leave a note asking Meg for cookies. Meg thinks the note was left by pups and yells (hoping they hear her) that good pups say ‘please’ when asking for things. Everyone is shocked!

“Vlad stared at Simon. “Meg told the Elders they were…”

“Bad puppies,” Simon finished. “Yeah.”

A minute passed before Vlad said, “Why?”

“They didn’t say ‘please’ when they asked for cookies.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

Simon scratched behind an ear that was now Wolf-shaped and furry. “That’s okay. Meg said plenty for all of us.”

Meg gets better at using the prophecy cards, and there’s one pesky little card that keeps showing up. It’s the romance card, and that intrigues her because romance is something she hadn’t experienced and the mere thought scares her. She also predicts that she’ll come close to dying and make a major faux pas – keeps it to herself until the last moment so as not to worry others. Expect a lot of frustration while reading Etched in Bone.

The villain of this novel was Cyrus James Montgomery, Monty’s brother. He’s a con-artist and considers Lakeside as easy pickings. Cyrus is presumptuous, arrogant, and not very smart if he believes that human law can keep his safe from the terra indigene in the Courtyard.

As soon as he discovers what Meg Corbyn is he plans to cash in on her. Needless to say, things don’t go his way, and the punishment fits the crime. Warning! It will be gruesome! But you’ll have to read the book to see what happens.

Something unexpected happens, and it will surprise in a good way – it concerns Skippy. Who doesn’t love Skippy?! I hope this character gets more page time in the next book!

It’s no secret that the Others eat the humans who wrong them. They even have a sign that says ‘the trespassers will be eaten.’ They deliver their own kind of justice and sometimes the Courtyard butcher, Boon hangs the ‘special meat’ sign in the window. But they are considerate to Meg and try to hide that from her.

“Don’t ask, Meg. I won’t lie to you, so don’t ask.

“Tess told us a while ago that there is some mint growing in the Courtyard, so I wondered . . . Do Wolves usually chew on mint?”

“No. Why?” Before coming to see Meg, he’d gone into the bathroom at HGR to use some mouthwash. He’d also examined both sets of teeth to make sure there weren’t any bits of human flesh stuck between them from carrying the backbone.

Did he smell minty from the mouthwash–or was the scent wafting in from the front room?

Meg confirmed that suspicion when she glanced at the Private doorway before leaning toward him and whispering, “When Nathan came back to the office, he smelled like he’d rolled in mint.”

All in all, this was a good book, and I enjoyed reading it. The slow-burning romance is still …slow burning. Things do evolve on the romantic front but very slow. If you blink, you miss it kind of slow. So don’t get your hopes too high, a lingering kiss will have to suffice. Ms. Bishop knows how to keep her audience frustrated!