Well, well, well...

New Adult is a tricky genre, to be sure. When it's done right though, there's nothing that can make me as teary-eyed. I know, I don't get it either. I think it's just the intensity of that time.

This was New Adult done right, yet again. I love assholes. And I don't just mean the jerks that say the wrong thing now and again or are insensitive. I mean the real jerks. The sharp, insecure ones that don't let anyone close. Zeke was one of these, without a doubt. And though his backstory was one I don't particularly connect to-poor little rich boy-it was actually more compelling than others I've seen using this defense mechanism. Now, I fully realize I'm in a category of weirdos when it comes to these heroes. Ben from Truly by Ruthie Knox. Love him. Jimmy from Lead by Kylie Scott. He's my favorite hero of hers. These don't seem to be wildly popular opinions. The problem is that it is so easy to go wrong here. An asshole can quickly turn into a dark, terrible, controlling, alpha-hole. I was breathing sighs of relief at the fantastic way Sara Ney avoided this trap. 

Anyway, they were lovely complements to one another, with Violet's quiet and accepting strength and love pitted against Zeke's fear and armor. 

As I stated in an update, intense broken heroes are my jam, and this is no different. I was really pleased to see Violet bring what she did to the to the table as well.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this. I wasn't sure I'd get into the story, with both of the characters dealing with angst at their past failed matings. It was such a great book. I don't know why I was surprised because Nalini Singh is a fantastic writer. I've tended to be more of a Psy fan for a while, and the latest books in the series that were Changeling/Changeling mating weren't my favorites. However, this book broke that negative streak for me. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Psy storyline is so prominent!

Riaz is a cool guy. He's a strong dominant, but he's also a very caring man. He comes off as being a jerk at first, but it's just him trying to deal with his soul-deep hurt. He's attracted to Adria, another dominant soldier in the SnowDancer pack. It's inconvenient and powerful. When she suggests they become lovers to deal with their need for skin to skin contact as changelings, he rebuffs her in a hurtful way. But he isn't able to stop his feelings for her.

I liked how Nalini Singh dealt with the idea of fated mates not working out like one would expect. In this case, Riaz fated mate is someone else and he can't have her. Adria chose a partner who wasn't strong enough to handle her as a dominant female. It broke her heart. She's not in a position to fall in love again. I like that she isn't going to let Riaz walk all over her. He has to earn her trust and she does continue to guard her heart because of the fact that she's not Riaz's true mate. However, their love grows naturally and deeply. It's almost as though the whole concept of fated mates is turned on its ears in this book. But it's done so well, I was happy with the result. I loved how Riaz continues to woo Adria and show his love for her.

The ongoing suspense story about the PsyNet breaking down--and Pure Psy's attempts to destroy it so that people can go back to their rigid and pure form of Silence--continues. This book follows up after Kiss of Snow and Sienna's manifestation as a powerful X-Psy, and what that means. Sienna and Hawke's relationship is still prominent in this book, but that's fine with me. I love them as a couple, and it's great to see how well things are going for them. The Arrows have their own plans in helping their people, and they form an alliance with Kaleb Krychek, a powerful Psy who has some motivations that aren't 100% clear. And there's some very good news for a past mated pair.

This storyline just continues to grow and the connection between the Psy, Changelings, and Humans becomes more rich and complicated with each book. The Humans aren't the frail, ineffectual agents in this world that one might believe. Far from it.

I'm so excited to read Kaleb, Vasic and Aden's book. When I started this book, I was mainly just reading it so I could make it to the next books, which are Psy-oriented. But I ended up enjoying this enormously.

Series: Briggs Idaho (Book 4)

BACK IN THE SADDLE

Gage Remington needs a place to start over, and Durango, Colorado, is it. By reconciling with his rancher grandfather, Gage hopes he can begin repairing past damage. It doesn't occur to Gage that his heart needs fixing, too, until he meets gorgeous doctor Cori Parker. And he's sure his troubled past will send the single mom running.

Since her husband's tragic accident, Cori's been focusing on her family. Though she's deeply attracted to the banker-turned-buckaroo, Gage is a wild card, and Cori can't let anyone bring her life crashing down again. Still, she realizes Gage's finally ready to be the man -- and the cowboy -- he always wanted to be. But will Cori be part of his future, or one more regret from his past?

Good book about two people with some serious issues who find out that troubles are easier to deal with when they are shared. Cori left her high stress, busy job in a Manhattan ER, when she realized that she wasn't spending enough time with her daughter. She had also started questioning her abilities when she nearly missed a diagnosis because of her extreme fatigue. She has moved herself and her daughter out West, to be with her grandmother and make some decisions about her future.

Gage has taken a leave of absence from his high-powered Wall Street job. He realized that his drinking and workaholic ways destroyed his marriage and his relationships with his family, including his grandfather. He's decided to start his fence mending with his grandfather, where he has some great memories but who he has treated badly in the last ten years. But his grandfather is a far cry from the loving man he remembers, and has turned into a grumpy old man. It seems that Gage can't do anything right where the old man is concerned.

Both Gage and Cori end up accompanying their grandparent to a Zane Grey convention in Durango. They encounter each other when they are trying to get some space, and sparks fly immediately. There's a desire to get to know each other a little better, until they discover that their grandparents can't stand each other, This makes spending time together difficult. Then some other issues crop up that have them reconsidering.

I liked Gage, but there were times that he didn't make it easy. I liked the way he was determined to make up for his past neglect, but at least at the beginning he was going about it all wrong. He had spent so long at the top of the corporate world that he was trying to use those methods on his grandfather. Gage had never met a problem that couldn't be solved by throwing money at it, but his grandfather didn't want that. Buck wanted Gage to remember the cowboy values that he had been taught. Every time Gage thought he was making some progress he'd do something to screw it up. Gage was also dealing with the knowledge that he was an alcoholic, and trying to get used to life without drinking. I had a lot of respect for his determination to succeed. Being around Cori and her daughter made him experience feelings that had been numb for many years and he's not sure he likes it.

I got a bit frustrated with Cori also. She had lost confidence in herself and was looking for a new life with her grandmother. She had burned out on her job, thanks to the long hours and stress. She had also lost her husband to a drunk driver and is trying to raise her daughter on her own. She was attracted to Gage as soon as she met him, but when she discovered he was a recovering alcoholic she tried to step back from him. She didn't want to risk her heart on someone who could easily slip back into his old ways. So she would push him away, but then she would be drawn back to him by his charm and wit and the way he was so good with her daughter.

I liked seeing the way that Cori and Gage brought out the best in each other. Cori was very good at seeing past Gage's surface and showing him that he was still capable of being the kind of man that his grandfather needed him to be. Gage made a point of showing Cori that it was possible for her to relax and have a good time. Both of them had to learn to trust, not just each other, but also themselves. It was fun to see them try to find ways to be together once they had made the decision to see where their attraction might take them. The ending was funny and sweet, and the epilogue was an excellent peek at their future.

The secondary characters were great. I really liked Cori's daughter Hailey. She was a sweetheart and had a great way of cutting through the complications her mom would come up with to get to the heart of the matter. I liked the way she took to Gage and showed him a different side of himself. But it was the two grandparents who nearly stole the show. Both are pretty blunt in their sunset years and have no trouble telling their grandkids when they don't like something that's being done. They were creating some pretty significant sparks of their own and I was wondering when something was going to go up in smoke. There was a really interesting little twist when Gage's grandfather fell and broke his hip. I loved the scene in his hospital room. 

Day 20: Favorite romance book 

Romance as a whole doesn't interest me, therefore I haven't read a whole lot of it. I guess this book will have to do. 

I could not possibly choose one.  These are some of my favorites and firsts from a variety of subgenres.

I'm not going to write about each of them.  I will just point out that Baby of Shame was my first HP and I read it because the title is flat out awesome in its awfulness and because all the reviews sais, "wow, these people really hate each other."  Being somewhat new to the romance genre, I was wild with curiosity to discover how that made for romance. Heh. I was a clueless newb.

A Table for Three was my first menage romance. I knew that it was menage when I bought it and was unsure about it. It sat in my tbr for months. When I finally decided to read it, I had forgotten what it was and thought it was a book about food. It was quite tasty!

Game for Love was my first sports romance and got me hooked on that subgenre. I am now an unrepentant addict though Kate Angell' s are my favorites.

Her Wildest Dreams is a good button pusher for me. It's a big-brother's-best-friend book and I am such a sucker for those and it's just crazy hot.

I am perilously close to writing about all of them, so I will stop there.  I am leaving out many romances I have enjoyed very much.  I'm also leaving out all of the few historicals I've read even though I enjoyed them, and of course all of Jane Austen due to my own restrictions.