Terescia's thoughts and such.

I’ve read a few good books lately, though I’m still not reading the volume of books I used to read. I went from a book a day to about 2 books a month. That’s a significant difference and I still haven’t really decided why that is. I just found that most books stopped appealing to me.

However, I’ve recently found a series I like and am interested in following. I read [listened to] Storm Front about two and a half weeks ago and really liked it. It’s the first book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series.

I’ve been working my way through the Stargate Atlantis novels, the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, and the Psych books too. I’m starting to realize that I like TV as much as I like books these days, but I enjoy the extra enjoyment I get from reading books from those TV worlds.

I’m sure the authors have a much harder time of it too because they have to stay within the confines set by the series in most cases.

I picked up a copy of Naked Heat recently too that I want to read, set in the fictional fictional series written by Richard Castle of the TV series Castle. One of my current absolute favorites on television. :)

Have a comment about things you love or hate about reading, or writing, tie-in novels? Feel free to comment.

I have a soft spot for romance anthologies. It’s not often though that I recommend a book containing several stories based on the strength of just one story, but I’m doing it now.

Click for ON THE HUNT prices, formats, or to read reviews

ON THE HUNT

by Gena Showalter, Shannon K. Butcher, Jessica Andersen, Deidre Knight

Signet – February 2011 – Anthology

Over the The Erotic Reader blog, I discuss a bit about the book, why I like it, and why I’m going to end up recommending fans buy On the Hunt even if the rest of the stories don’t turn out to be as good. Because I will. I LOVED Ever Night (Gena Showalter’s story) and think the book is worth the price for that story alone. (And I’m not a Showalter fan, or I wasn’t until now.)

In Ever Night, Rose meets Vasili on the night of her eighteenth birthday when she discovers she’s a Dimension Walker, someone who travels between our dimension and another involuntarily once a year, every year. The other dimension is a nightmarish place.

The story is short, and because of that, I’m not going to give away anything else about the story, except to say that Vasili was spectacular and Rose was a heroine I could care about, strong, but not overdone, and interesting. I enjoyed all the characters in Ever Night and I hope to see them again in a full-length novel sometime…

The book really is off to a great start. I’ll update this post when I finish the book.

Click for ON THE HUNT prices, formats, or to read reviews.

I received a copy of Into the Crossfire last week from Avon Red. This one appears to be an action-packed, sexy romance that starts a new series for Lisa Marie Rice and Avon Red called Protectors.

Into the Crossfire will be released on July 27, 2010 but it’s available for pre-order right now.

About the book

Former Navy SEAL Sam Reston keeps to himself. His world is dangerous, uncertain, violent…and there is no room in it for the helpless and weak. Then the most beautiful woman in the world moves in next door to him….

Nicole Pearce’s life is complicated enough–with an ailing father and a new business to worry about–and the last thing she needs is to get involved with a secretive, hard-bodied, hardheaded neighbor. Yet Sam leaves her breathless–her body tingling with erotic desire–and it takes every ounce of her fabled control to resist offering herself to him, no strings attached. What she doesn’t know is that Sam Reston is on an undercover assignment…and she’s about to step into the crossfire.

Never has Sam ached for a woman so badly, and he’s never fallen in love before. Now that Nicole is in grave danger, he will become her shield, and guard the tempting body he longs to touch and taste. Because a terrorist plot hatched half a world away is heading to their doorstep–and it can only be derailed by one man and one woman.

Preorder Into the Crossfire by Lisa Marie Rice

You can see more Lisa Marie Rice books on the Lisa Marie Rice booklist at The Erotic Reader and more Avon Red books on the Avon Red page at The Erotic Reader.

Tessa Adams is a pseudonym for Tracy Wolff, a popular Harlequin Superromance and NAL Heat author. Although I have never read a Tracy Wolff book, I decided to give Tessa Adams’ new book a try because it was a paranormal romance about dragons and I’ve developed a soft spot for dragon romance after reading a few. I posted my review of Dark Embers on The Erotic Reader, my site about sexy romance books and erotic romance.

This was one of those books that I can’t quite make up my mind about. I liked it, but then again, I didn’t like all of it.

Dark Embers by Tessa Adams is a book about dragons, romance, magic, and a deadly disease that’s killing the people of the Dragonstar clan. Dylan and Phoebe come together when Dylan seeks out a scientist specializing in autoimmune and nervous system disorders. He wants her to work with his clan’s doctors to discover the cause of and a cure for the disease that’s killing the members of his clan.

Dark Embers has a strong story propelling it forward, with writing strong enough to overcome a few big issues I had with the book. Read the review for Dark Embers on The Erotic Reader website…

The thing is, this was a good book, but it just wasn’t my kind of story. Although I enjoyed the hero, I didn’t enjoy the heroine’s character as much. She seemed…inconsistent…in her actions. I would still recommend the book specifically to readers who enjoy dragon tales, but watch out, because there’s one big "it just so happens…" plot issue that kept me from adding this book to my recommended reading list on The Erotic Reader.

I wrote a review of a really good book I just read. Emma Wildes has just become an author I’m going to have to read more of in the future. Her book, Seducing the Highlander, was very appealing and I truly enjoyed the three stories in it.

In Seducing the Highlander, Emma Wildes introduces three Scottish heroes who can’t help but come to the rescue of three damsels in distress. The included stories are Seducing Ian, Seducing Robbie, and Seducing Adain, and although each story is a stand-alone novella, this anthology is actually made up of three connected stories that make this book hard to put down. Read the review for Seducing the Highlander on The Erotic Reader website…

She has a few other books that are currently on my bookshelf, including Lessons from a Scarlet Lady and An Indecent Proposition. I’m thinking Lessons might be the next one I pick up. :)

I must say, reading makes me want to write so bad I can taste the words in my mouth. I get this sensation in my stomach that feels like nerves but has more in common with a heart attack than an upset stomach. My chest feels tight and my breathing turns shallow. It’s a very physical sensation and I love it and I hate it. The spring winds up and I’m torn between the desire to keep reading or to just set my book aside and go at it on my own computer with my own work. I know some authors say that they avoid reading other people’s work when they’re writing but if I did that, I might lose some of my best motivation for creating my own worlds. Read the rest of this entry »

To keep from littering the blog with reviews while I’m in a heavy reading phase, I’m just going to offer a link to the review I wrote this morning for The Prince’s Virgin Bride. Now that ebooks are around, it’s amazing how easy it is to get hold of out-of-print series books, like this Harlequin Presents. It turned out to be a great read. If you enjoy series romance, I suggest you read it and see what you think about it. My review is here.

Review of My Favorite Marquess, reviewed by Terescia Harvey, also posted at WeWriteRomance.com (because I share the love!) Read the rest of this entry »

I just finished reading The Footprints of God by Greg Iles. Although not a romance by category, the book contained romantic elements so I’m going to talk about it here.

Dr. David Tennant is a member of the secret government agency working on Project Trinity. He doesn’t exactly believe in God, but after a Super MRI he’s developed narcolepsy and he has vivid dreams that he’s begun to believe are rememberances–of Jesus. A tragic event in his past connected him with psychiatrist Rachel Weiss. Now they’re on the run together as they try to figure out the connection between David’s dreams and the future of mankind.

Writers –> If you’re looking for advice on how to create opening hooks, read the opening of this book. It was strong enough to push me into an impulse buy in my local Walmart. Read the rest of this entry »

It just came to my attention earlier today that Madeleine L’Engle passed away late last week. Maybe this is old news to some, but I couldn’t help myself in writing this.

Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time is one of the books that started my interest in reading and writing. I remember sitting in the floor at my grandmother’s house, listening to a cassette tape of The Police while I read A Wrinkle in Time. I don’t know why but the music seemed to suit the mood of the story for me. It seems like a crazy combination, but I was a kid.

Reading of Ms. L’Engle’s passing has left me feeling strangely reflective.

Links of interest:

Madeleine L’Engle’s website – http://www.madeleinelengle.com

A Wrinkle in Time website – http://www.awrinkleintime.net

Madeleine L’Engle at Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_L’Engle