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review 2019-01-23 03:25
It's Mary Calmes's Vampyres on audio...of course I had to hear this...
His Consort - Mary Calmes,Scott Smith

If you follow my reviews and thank you for doing that by the way, than you also know I've read this book. I'm kind of getting addicted to doing that...reading a story and then listening to the audio...I've discovered it's something that I really enjoy doing.  Although it's not often that I want to re-read a book I love listening to audio books...some of them over and over and over again. It's just a thing that I enjoy doing. So since I've already read and reviewed this story as an e-book I'm going to steal from it for some of this review, so if something seems repetitious it's probably because it is...

 

I have a small group of authors that I'll just read whatever they write and the reasons may vary but mostly it's the entertainment factor and just the fact that for whatever reason I can easily escape into the story and enjoy it without a lot of deep thoughts or intellectual rhetoric involved...what can I say, sometimes a girl just wants to read a story that's entertaining. 

 

So just to summarize there are a number of reasons that I had so much fun reading this story and they've all held true in listening to the audio book and they were...

 

I really liked both of the MCs.  Jason Thorpe was the expected 'everyone loves him' MC and I liked wandering through the first part of the book as his history and character were layered onto him and we got to see how he came to be in New Orleans and the events that slowly converged to bring him together with Varic Maedoc, Prince of the Vampires.

 

I liked the slightly different twist that the author brought to the origins of these Vampyres and the interesting collection of secondary characters that helped to flesh out this story characters such as Cooke, Leni and Ode but most of all I loved Tiago and Hadrian... whom, I probably liked even a tiny bit more than Jason and Varic...I think, I'd need to read their story to be sure (this is what we call a subtle hint at my house). 

 

Last but not least I really like how this was all laid out with an underlying theme of  Vampyr politics running throughout the story driving both the romance and the mystery/action part of the story. All of this along with the Vampyr social structure, their language combined to create a daunting task of how to share the information with the reader and keep it from being simply a large and ultimately tedious info dump. I loved that these Vampyres weren't portrayed as a hidden culture existing in modern times with ancient ways...nope, these guy knew about cell phones, computers internet websites but there were still a select few Vampyr stereotypes that popped up in this story as well and that's cool it was a good mix of the new and the familiar.

 

So all in all for me the audio book was every bit as delightful as the e-book with the addition of new to me narrator Scott Smith and let me say this poor man had some big vocal cords to follow in since out of the 54 English language audio books by this author 30+ of them have been narrated by 3 of my absolute favorite narrators so I admit I was a little nervous about this...what I wasn't was disappointed. Scott Smith's narration definitely ticked off my list of 'things I want in an audio book' and I was left having enjoyed the story and feeling comfortable that should Scott Smith's name show up on future audio books that I'm interested in...everything will sound just fine.

 

*************************

An audio book of 'His Consort' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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review 2018-11-08 06:14
Hotter
Hockey Holidays - Shannon Stacey,Stephanie Julian,Jami Davenport,Lisa B. Kamps,Kate Willoughby,Lily Harlem,Stephanie Kay,Toni Aleo,Melanie Ting,Jean Joachim,Jaymee Jacobs,Jennifer Lazaris,RJ Scott,Melody Heck Gatto,Susan Scott Shelley,Kat Mizera

This 18 book collection by some of the most amazing authors was such a treat to read!  I loved the humor, heat, and you betcha - even the hockey that was represented in each story.  I have 2 book reviews that I am sharing from this collection for you below.

 

A Second Shot by Shannon Stacey:

 

Heartwarming and truly charming, this short and sweet story has us on our toes as we read about a couple who should be together, but have been apart.  Great read of sexy and fun. 

 

A Wolfe Brothers Christmas by Jami Davenport:

 

 

Little bit of suspense mixed in with a sweet holiday story that brings a lot of sexy charm to the table.  If you loved her men in their previous stories - you are going to be glad you grabbed this little bit of heaven.  I do recommend that you read the Game On In Seattle series first, however, to avoid spoilers.  Believe me this is worth it!  

 

Each short story included gives a unique and truly hockey flavored look at romance.  What I enjoyed most was that it gave me a chance to relax and enjoy love in my favorite sport.  I give this book a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

 

 

***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.

 

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review 2018-07-17 02:35
An American Killing ★☆☆☆☆
An American Killing - Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

Ugh. It started off so well. The characters seemed interesting and the writing was okay and I was curious to know more about the powerful politician found dead in an apparently accidental case of autoerotic asphyxiation, but maybe was murdered instead. Then it all went to heck on page 18, when the first person narrator suddenly began swinging between present tense and past tense, the story became clogged with celebrity name-dropping, and it became painfully obvious that the author was drawing so heavily on the Ann Rule/Ted Bundy story that it completely kicked me out of the story. I did power through to page 50, but there’s no way I could bring myself to finish the book.

 

DNF on page 50. Hardcover, purchased years ago on a whim from a clearance table at a big box bookstore that has long since gone out of business.

 

Previous Updates:

7/15/18 – 15/368 pg

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text 2018-07-15 15:09
An American Killing - 15/368 pg
An American Killing - Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

A serious writer like me gains notoriety when her books are made into successful movies with A-list stars, the same way nonserious writers gain notoriety. 

 

This book is off to a good start, in spite of the setting. I don't usually care for national politics/intrigue kinds of stories, but I think that's just going to be the stage for a murder mystery thriller. The main character is sort of fun, an unlikeable cynic for whom every human interaction is a self-centered negotiation. 

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review 2017-03-09 20:01
The Coach and the Secret (New Hampshire Bears #5) by Mary Smith
The Coach and the Secret (New Hampshire Bears Book 5) - Mary Smith,Kathy Krick

Mary Smith’s THE COACH AND THE SECRET was a heartbreaking and touching story.  The fact that it is based off a true story about a man whom Mary Smith met while working at a domestic violence shelter is even more compelling.  I love that the proceeds from this book are going into a trust fund for his daughter.  THE COACH AND THE SECRET had me crying and emotionally spent.  My heart completely went out to the characters.  This was an amazing book that is well worth the read.

 

Mary Smith did an incredible job with this story.  It was believable and well executed.  I fell in love with Coach Taden Long.  My heart went out to him and what he experienced.  He was a good man, with a big heart.  He was hard on himself. He was messed with both physically and emotionally. I appreciate that he gets a second chance with Macy. I love Coach’s daughter Janan and his niece Nova.  They are incredible girls who went through a lot.

 

THE COACH AND THE SECRET is the perfect example of how anyone could be subjected to abuse.  It shows that people can change for better or worse.  It also demonstrates how people have different coping-methods. This by far is my favorite story written by Mary Smith.  It is a story that was meant to be told, and she did the story justice.  I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

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