Lady Luck by Kristen Ashley

Why I read it: It was the next one in the series. :)

What it's about: (from Goodreads)  Ty Walker was wrongly imprisoned and for the five years he was inside, he honed his plan so when he gets out, he has nothing but vengeance on his mind.

But then he walks straight to stylish, leggy, beautiful, goofy Lexie Berry and he suddenly has something else to think about. He knows within seconds he wants her and within days he can love her but with the filth that was flung at him clinging; he also knows he can’t have her.

Since birth, Lexie Berry has been Lady Luck’s favorite toy and because of that, Lexie is cautious. But within a day, she senses Ty is something special. With her luck, however, she can’t trust it. Then she finds out what was done to Ty and she’s willing to do anything to make it right.

Even what Ty will never forgive her for doing.

Ty clings to vengeance and Lexie goes all out to give him back the time he lost. But Ty is battling demons within and they’re up against dirty cops and criminals who will stop at nothing to sway Lady Luck against them. All Ty and Lexie have is hope Lady Luck will finally swing their way.

What worked for me (and what didn't): Of all the Kristen Ashley books I've read so far, this one is my least favourite.  It's not that I didn't like it; I did. But there were some things which bothered me and that detracted from my enjoyment of the story.

I did like the mixed race hero (he's half African American, half Caucasian) and race was an issue and theme throughout the story.  I did like that Lexie didn't blink an eye at being in a relationship with him.  She didn't see his colour as any kind of barrier.   I also liked that Ty's friends didn't either.  I liked that there was more racial diversity in this book.

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold, narrated by Grover Gardner

Why I listened to it: Having enjoyed Shards of Honor and Barrayar so much, I decided, whether or not any of the other books had a strong romantic thread (or any) I was going to listen to the rest of the series.  I decided to start at the beginning - Falling Free was written after Shards of Honor but is chronologically the first book in the series.  There are no Vorkosigans in the book, but apparently the author recommends starting here.

What it's about: (from Goodreads)  Leo Graf was an effective engineer...Safety Regs weren't just the rule book he swore by; he'd helped write them. All that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat. Leo was profoundly uneasy with the corporate exploitation of his bright new students—till that exploitation turned to something much worse. He hadn't anticipated a situation where the right thing to do was neither save, nor in the rules...

Leo Graf adopted 1000 quaddies— now all he had to do was teach them to be free.

What worked for me (and what didn't): I hadn't even read the blurb for this one. So, the "quaddies" and the whole set up was a bit of a shock.  Essentially, the quaddies are a genetically engineered human species, designed to be perfectly adapted to life in freefall (zero gravity).  They have no need of legs.  They have four arms instead.  They can cope with a lot more radiation than a "normal" human and for a variety of reasons, represent a huge potential saving to the company "Galactech" - they don't need to send the quaddies to 1G atmosphere for 1 month every 3 months - no transport costs, no wages, no employee benefits.  Because the quaddies aren't regarded as human.  

Leo, from whose (3rd person) POV most of the story is told doesn't think of them that way (thank God or I would have hated him).  But the story does raise interesting questions about what is humanity, about genocide, slavery and corporate disinterest and greed - both of which can only mean disaster for the quaddies.

The Gamble by Kristen Ashley

Why I read it:  I liked Sweet Dreams so much I bought the rest of the books in the series and started at book 1.

What it's about: (from Goodreads)  Nina Sheridan’s on a timeout adventure in the Colorado Mountains. She needs distance from her clueless fiancé, distance to decide whether she wants to spend the rest of her life with a man who doesn’t care enough to learn how she takes her coffee.

Arriving in a blinding snowstorm at the A-Frame she rented, she comes face to face with the most amazing man she’s ever seen. Minutes later, when he kicks her out of his house, she goes head to head with him.

Beyond angry because she’s flown half a world away to start her timeout adventure, not to mention her sinuses hurt, she heads back down the mountain and ends up in a ditch. Unable to extricate herself, she gives up, hopes for rescue and falls asleep in the backseat.

The next morning she wakes up in the amazing man’s bed and she’s sick as a dog.

Holden Maxwell spends days nursing her back to health and then he spends the next two weeks trying to convince her to take her Colorado adventure further, in other words, make it permanent and take a gamble on him.

Nina has a tough time fighting her attraction to Max, especially when it seems all Max’s friends, her mother and stepdad and the whole town want them together and both she and Max get embroiled in the murder of Max’s ex-friend and the town of Gnaw Bone’s most detested resident – a man everyone has motive to kill, especially Max.

What worked for me (and what didn't):  I'm a big fan of the main characters in a romance spending a lot of time together.  I like it when they meet very early in the book and I don't like long separations.  There are exceptions to every rule of course but I think one of the reasons that the Kristen Ashley books I've read so far have worked for me, is that her main characters get together on the page very quickly and if there are any separations, they are short.  Nina and Max, spend a lot of time together in this book.  It is a fairly long book and they get a lot of page time.  There is a lot of dialogue and I got a good handle on Max, notwithstanding the book is almost completely from Nina's 1st person POV.

I have another review up at AudioGals today...

I reviewed Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs in print here.  At AudioGals I review the audiobook version - Lorelei King brings it.

Thank You For Riding by Meg Maguire

Why I read it: I had this one pre-ordered from Books on Board too and downloaded it before the bad news hit. Cara McKenna (aka Meg Maguire) is pretty much an autobuy for me.

What it's about: (from Goodreads)  The last train of the night might just be the start of something good.

A Strangers on a Train Story

Stung ego or not, Caitlin’s relieved her fizzling relationship is over, even if she’s just been unceremoniously dumped between the copier and a dead ficus tree. At least she has an excuse to ditch the lousy office Christmas party in time to catch the last subway home…to her cat, and early-onset spinsterhood.

Instead of a lonely, chilly ride, she gets an unexpected holiday treat in the form of a nearly familiar face—a handsome stranger she encountered last week at the blood drive.

At the end of the line, neither can seem to let their chance meeting end—until their extended flirtation finds them facing the prospect of spending a frigid winter night locked in an unheated subway station. And they wonder if keeping each other warm is merely a delightful form of rebound therapy…or a memorable first of many more dates to come.

What worked for me (and what didn't): I liked this one very much.  It wasn't as hot as I had been expecting, even having seen interviews with the author where she said that the circumstances the pair find themselves in do limit their activities.  But, looking back, it was just right.  Caitlin first spies "Mr. Cute" (who later introduces himself as Mark) when they are both donating platelets at the local blood bank.   Some weeks later, after being dumped by her not-very-interesting boyfriend at the office holiday party, they meet on the train home.  When they get stuck in the subway station for a few hours, they share conversation, body heat and even some body fluids as their attraction keeps them warm.