Spherical Harmonic by Catherine Asaro

Spherical Harmonic by Catherine Asaro is another great book in the Saga of the Skolian Empire. It is the story of Dyhianna Selei and what happened to her after the events of the Radiance War. I loved it, gave it 5/5 stars. What a great book. It runs concurrently with several other of the books. I skipped over Quantum Rose because it appears to be a stand alone, however some of the events that happened in it are referenced in Spherical Harmonic. I will read Quantum Rose soon, but Moon's Shadow is next, another of the concurrent stories.

This morning I read a stand alone in the series, a short story called The Shadowed Heart. It takes place at about the same time. Very nice story. It is printed in an anthology called Best New Paranormal Romance. The other stories didn't interest me.

I recently read Nature of the Beast by Rebecca Goings. 3.5/5 stars. It was good. Not my favorite of the series.

I also read the two stories in On the Prowl by Taryn Blackthorne and Kaye Chambers. I liked them both, would love to see sequels from both these authors. 4/5 stars.

I read Nowhere Diner: Finding Love by TA Chase, a wonderful story of two men finding love with each other. I loved it, but only gave it 4/5 stars, because it was SO short, and unfinished. I hope a sequel will be published soon.

Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann

Ninth book in the Troubleshooters series. Ms Brockmann is an extremely good writer of military romantic suspense. Her books suck me in like a whirl pool and I can't get out til the end! This book was no exception. It is the story of two characters, Max and Gina, that featured prominently in several previous books. I was really looking forward to their story.

Several things I did not like, despite being unable to put it down. The first 60% of the book featured jumping back and forth and all over the place in the time line. I personally cannot stand reading books like that. I like a linear flow.

I did not like how Max and Gina were portrayed. Gina, chasing after Max, never taking no for an answer, using sex as a way to keep herself around him. Max, acting like a complete asshole, but letting her screw him all the time. Caring so much about her going to Africa, but not doing a thing while she was there for a year and a half. Ugh. I really never pictured them acting like this in the previous books.

The ending seemed a little anti-climactic to me.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The action was pretty much non-stop. Jules was the best part of this story. Because of him this story got 4 stars. I look forward to the next book, hopefully the Troubleshooters will be back in action, since they were not in this one at all.

B*E*A*S*T* of Burden by Rebecca Goings

Beast of Burden, book two in the B*E*A*S*T* series by Rebecca Goings was just as good as book 1. I enjoyed the conflict between the characters as well as the overall conflict they were all involved in. Good writing, good action, hot sex, I gave this book 4 stars and immediately began book 3. Definitely an author I would recommend!

Also finished Succubus On Top by Richelle Mead, book 2 in the Georgia Kincaid series. Loved it! I adore Georgia and her friends and associates, and of course her job in the book store! I have the next 3 in the series here, so I should start #3 soon, shouldn't I. I really look forward to more of her adventures.

Breaking Chance by Kim Knox

I read this short ebook for the January book of the month at Sci Fi Romance. My first by this author, I found it entertaining, with plenty of action, good sex, character insight and depth. My only real complaint is the ending. I'd have liked, at the least, another scene with the sentient ship. I would definitely read a sequel to this, if one is written.

The Empress' New Clothes by Jaid Black

I finished this today. It sat in my TBR for a long time, as my anticipation built. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. It just seemed so average. I love Jaid Black and own the rest of the series so I will read it, but if the rest are like this one, they won't make it to my keeper shelf. Some of the other books written by Ms. Black can really push my buttons in all the right ways! This story had some humor and lots of sex (m/f, f/f) but the conflict between the characters wasn't too convincing, and the conflict from outside sources came very late in the story, and there was a lot of "telling" vs "showing" throughout. Too bad. Hopefully the rest of the series is better!

Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart

Finished this late last night. It was a fast paced, well written romantic suspense. Lots of people really love this series, of which this book is the 2nd. I had a hard time believing they could love each other, beyond sexual attraction there wasn't a great deal of connection. I had the same issue with the first book in this series. Which means the next book will be put off for quite some time. I also didn't care for the ending. I liked that they were together, of course, and where they were, but how they got to that point was so abbreviated that it felt like a lot was missing, which I would have liked to see included. For people that like suspense with not a lot of romance, I suppose this will be a good read. I prefer a bit more emotion and romance in my books.

My 2010 Statistics

For 2010 I kept a number of lists. The totals are not completely accurate, as I tried not to include short stories in them, but I did read quite a few of them.

Total books read: 324 (Improvement from 2009!) An average of 27 books per month.

Books from booksfree: 80 (Cost per book averaged $2.80)

I kept a list by category also. Not a strict list. This year I have a separate category for M/M but in 2010 they were not separated:

Erotica: 133

Paranormal: 88

Historical: 27

Contemporary: 53

SciFi Romance: 21

In 2009 I also read more erotica than anything else. I was trying not to read as much in 2010. Failed miserably! I have plans to change that for 2011. I want to read a lot more SFR and PNR.

I also have added a category for ebook short stories, which will include anything that is not in print and not a full length novel.

For 2011, goals include starting a number of new series that I have collected, continuing or finishing series that I already have on hand, and trying not to collect any series that I don't already have. Gotta make a dent in my TBR! I will play in fewer PBS games, and in general, try hard to acquire far fewer books per month. Yes, I did keep track of print books acquired per month, no I am not going to reveal my shame. December was my lowest of the year and it was 30 books.

I haven't decided what book I will start for my first book of the year, yet. I'll have to check my list. That's another thing, ok make it a resolution: shelving the "save the best for last" attitude and reading what I want to read most!