Candice

3.75

This is my first read in the 2013 Dreamspinner Press Heartwarming holiday books and what a great start. The whole story was just wonderful from start to finish. Joshua just grabbed my heart, a man of few words, but with such a determination to return Ben to where he belonged, by his side. My only complaint was this was too short, I wanted to see so much more of Joshua and Ben.

3.25 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book.  I love this author and pretty much have read most of her stories, so when a new series came out, especially with my favorite, cowboys, it was an auto buy for me.

I enjoyed the book, however unlike others by this author, this one was very slow going for me.  I kept wanting it to move along.  I realize that this is the first in a new series and the characters need to be set up and the background given, I understand and appreciate that but it just seemed to take a little too long and I was getting frustrated.  

I liked the sense of family with this series and really liked the Todd brothers, more so Gabe and Luke.  Nate grew on me a little, but I really didn't like him in the beginning, I felt he was just a jerk for the sake of it, not just to Jay, but to the other people around.  He did reedem himself somewhat, but he was not my favorite and I hope that he will grow on me more as the series continues.

I felt this book was definitely more of a set up book for the rest of series, too many unanswered questions about Marcus, his son, the other missing son, etc.  I am interested enough to continue with series and see where the author takes it.

All I can say is that this story and these guys were just adorable.

There is a lot going on in this short read, but it was a funny and entertaining light read. Some of the banter between these guys was great.

3.75 stars

This was a pretty straight forward, easy read without too much over the top drama.  Two guys who both have had their share each of past trauma, Mason from his homophobic father and Tanner from his past boyfriend who caused him to be hurt.  They both fight the attraction they feel, partly because of their age difference, but they learned that they needed each other to heal and to be happy.  There was plenty of opportunity for a bunch of angst and I kept waiting for it, but never occurred.  I absolutely didn't like the sister, I don't care her reasons, but I felt she was no better than the father.  This turned out to be a really good story with a happy ending.

This was a very hot, short read.  I realize that this is spin off series and I should have probably read the other series to know the characters, but I enjoyed these two and they definitely had sparks.

Not a bad new series, pretty typical mate themed shifter book. This one had a slightly different twist, predictable, but still a twist. My main complaint is that it was too short. It seemed liked everything happened at breakneck speed and too many opportunities were being missed that could have made this a really, really good book. I really hope that the next in this series have Vaughn and Ashley in it because just when their story seemed to get started the book ended.

3.5 stars

This was an nice read and had likeable characters. I was a little concerned that this story would be kind of heavy and sad with dealing with the death of Ian's brother, but it really wasn't that way. This could actually be considered a nice and light love story, other than Ian's issues with his brother there is no angst or over the top drama. There is an instant attraction and lust with these two and of course they are both gorgegous and are in a wonderful tropical place. That pretty much sets the tone of the story, however there is a lot of healing that Ian needed to do and Temaru and the island was the perfect place for him to do it. This was a fast reading book which ended up enjoyable for me.

3.75 stars

I'm such a sucker for cowboy stories and this one did not disappoint for me. This story is pretty predictible from the beginning of how it is going to play out, but that was okay for me. I liked both Vance and Adam. I think that for some people it may not work if they are expecting a lot of tension and angst because the story really didn't have that. I kind of wished that it would have been longer, even though I don't like drawn out stories, but it would have been nice to have more tension. This is the prequel to Too Much Christmas Spirit, which takes place 9 years later, so there would still be an opportunity for the author to give us more about these two and the ranch.

I am going to start with that this book did not work for me. I had a little hope when I started reading this one because it started off not as I was expecting considering how the first book started, which was a good thing. We are first introduced to Tomi and some of the things he was saying/thinking were amusing. Unfortunately for me the book didn't really get much better for me after that. There was too many things that were brought up and then just dropped, I ended up with so many questions and there was no answers. 

 Unfortunately, this story just misses on too many levels for me.

3.5 stars

This was not a typical sweet and loving I'm your my mate so we will be perfect together story. Is there an instant lust/mate bond, yes, but sweet and loving - not so much (at least I didn't feel that way). The way this story started was not what I expected and I guess, to me, seem a little brutal, but they are shifters so I continued. After Sebastian took off and stayed a wolf for so long I became intrigued with the story and this world and held on for the ride and I was not disappointed. There were what you could consider "sweet" moments, but they were more with how the pack interacted than between Eshan and Sebastian. But I really loved these two and for actually most of the other members of the pack. I thought the ending with Konner was fitting and funny consider he was the most against it. I hope that we get to see more of all of them in the next book.

If you are looking for a new and fresh story about a closeted cop and his trainee/partner, then this story is not for you.  However, this is not a bad read and the writing was good.  Not alot happens except the relationship with these two and is a typical GFY type storyline with a "push you away for your own good" type storyline.  I was not looking for anything special or earth shattering when I picked this one up and it was an enjoyable read.  I will look for more books by this author in the future.