***ARC provided by publisher through NetGalley***

Love at First Date was so sweet I couldn't stop grinning afterward. Yes, I felt like an idiot, but I couldn't help it. I just loved it to bits. I loved Ellen with her anal-ness and rational thinking about relationships—you just knew her approach to finding Mr. Right was doomed to fail from the start. I liked her friend Rachel and their relationship was very well-portrayed and realistic, I loved the little cutie Chester, and, of course, I adored Henry, the green-eyed "warlock" that enchanted Ellen from their "first glance". I admit I thought he was an undercover cop or something (I'm a sucker for men in uniform), so his true profession came as a surprise, but a gorgeous one with that picture-perfect ending.

A cute, sweet, lovable story. I didn't even mind the length (short story/novella). It was just perfect.


From Fame to Shame, although I don't get the connection between the title and the story, was also a cutie patootie of a short story. Yes, I hated being reminded how young the characters really were, but otherwise you won't hear me complaining (despite the first person POV, which isn't exactly my favorite). The difference between the two sisters was nicely fleshed out, I also preferred the down-to-Earth Maddie to her twin, and Dallas Bines, the hot, hunky hero was absolutely dreamy. Where can I get one of those, but older?
The ending reminded me a little of a Barbara Cartland's Beauty or Brains, but it worked in the context of the story.

Again, just the perfect length so the characters are fleshed-out just right and the pacing doesn't slow turning the story boring. Loved it.


And Wild For Mr. Wrong completes this amazing anthology. Though not as sweet and cute as the first two stories, the heroine's issues prevented too much of that, and the final "twist" that ended the conflict between the two leads, gave the story a slightly darker tone, it was still a great story. The characters were well-rounded, the "issues" realistic, and the heat off the charts. While we barely got a kiss in the first story, and a couple of them in the second, Daniel and Bryn didn't stop at kissing, and while the tameness of the first two stories worked, so did the heat in this one.
It was "short notice" yes, but believable and worked in the context of the story (the resolution of the main conflict) and the characters and their portrayal as well. And also offered a "cherry on the cake" of the whole collection.

Short and sexy. Loved it.

Edit 31/10/2014 - Why do I even read certain books?!!? Really, thats a good question Teresa!!!

This book wasn't simply bad it was horrifyng. I disliked every single page and the weird thing is that I was liking the first ones. I liked the whole analogy with the X-men, my favorite marvel comics of all times, but then even that got really annoying. I disliked the plot - lame, the style and the two main characters.

The love part just made me want to vomit the whole time. "I want you" "I want you too" "you don't like me, I'm no good." "no, I do. I like you" "I like you too" "Since the first time I saw you I've only had eyes for you" "I'm just a simple girl I can't be special" ... and that's just soooo lame and girlish.

Prob. it's just me, don't know, but this is one of the worst books I have ever read.
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Ho trovato questo libro navigando via internet e dopo aver visto le miriadi di cinque stelle ed i numerosi commenti positivi mi sono decisa a leggerlo. Se questo testo fosse stato inserito nella sezione baby young adult magari non l'avrei mai iniziato o l'avrei iniziato con aspettative diverse. E' stato una delusione gigantesca. Nelle prime pagine già mi stavo innervosendo per i vari riferimenti agli Xmen, dai un preside che scova ragazzi talentuosi e che ha il "dono" di vederli. Seen it, been there. Vabbe sorvolando i vari riferimenti con gli Xmen, Bella Swan, e tutte le altre protagoniste stupide dei libri per teenagers, ci resta... niente, che cavolo resta? Una trama bruttissima, con sviluppi rari, incentrata sulla "love" story tra i due protagonisti, Tessa e Hayden. Love story??????? Per tutto il libro è: Ti voglio... Anche io ti voglio. Bacio. Tu non mi vuoi. Tu non vuoi una storia seria. Tu cambi ragazze ogni cinque minuti. Io voglio te, Tessa. Non riesco a fare nient altro con le altre perché penso a te. CHE PALLE!!! Ma sul serio, neppure Twilight era così disgustoso, eppure Bella trascorre gran parte del tempo ad osservare la bellezza del suo svampirato ed ad enumerare i numerosi difetti che la caratterizzano! Ma Tessa la batte di gran lunga! Io non posso avere poteri. Sono una ragazza normale. Lui non può amare me. ME??? Oh diooooo basta ma che ti sei fumata il cervello e poi l'hai gettato nella lavatrice durante una bella centrifuga?
Bleah.


Ho dovuto saltare un bel po' di pagine e non me ne pento affatto! Non vi era nulla di interessante. Solo una piccola scoperta su un altro membro della famiglia, andato perso in passato e poi riportato indietro, la scoperta dei bravi maghetti e quelli cattivi, che il suo adorato bellissimo stronzissimo Hayden anch'egli è dotato... Sul serio di una noia mortale.

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

 

17-year-old Hannah has been sold to the Werewolf King as his bride and her parents are reaping the bennies with no thought for their daughter. But she does not want to marry the ruthless, evil and stinky bastard, so she plans to run away before the month is up and she must marry him. Running away brings a sentence of death though. With some inside help she makes plans, but will she be able to get away from the closely guarded castle and stay alive?

 

This is an interesting paranormal historical romance. Hannah is a werewolf. She meets a slave, Eli, at the castle and he is a shapeshifter. In this story there appears to be humans, werewolves and shapeshifters who can shift into any animal, but are weaker physically and they smell different. Eli is stuck at the castle because the King is holding his sister as a hostage. She’s been trapped in a cage and Eli won’t take off without her. The King prizes Eli’s blacksmithing abilities and knows he has Eli right where he wants him as long as Isabella is alive.

 

Hannah wants to get the heck outta Dodge, but she needs a plan, food, weapons and a way out. Luckily, she gets a little help, but in the meantime she falls in love with Eli. Uh, oh. Can she just take off and leave him and his sister behind? What? I’m not telling what happens. It’s exciting though. :D

 

I must mention the formatting for my copy was a little eccentric. There was a tendency to leave out the letter ‘L’ in many words. Why pick on the poor ‘L’, I have no idea, but once I got used to it I didn’t have a problem letting my mind fill it in where it was missing. I’m unsure if this issue is in other copies, but I thought it was worth a mention. I actually didn’t take off any ‘points’ for it.

A short fun read. Corny to a fault. And the characters were idiots. But adorkable idiots so I could live with that. I mean really what else could a love story between werewolf Cinderella and Vampire Prince Charming be? But the best part?Fairy godmother was a vampire. A male vampire at that. And British to boot. Oh, how I loved it. Not amazing but not brain-crippling either and complete fun. 3 Stars.