My Favorite Mistake

My Favorite Mistake
Karen Erickson
A Tahoe Nights Story
ebook
Published October 12th 2010 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
first published October 9th 2010
ISBN 1609282248 (ISBN13: 9781609282240)

There’s only one way for busy PR executive Julie Lancaster to get her mother off her back—cave in and take a weekend break at the family cabin in Tahoe. After all, Mom won’t know she’s sneaking her laptop along to get a little work done.

Not only the cabin is a blast from the past, so is the occupant of her bedroom. Tyler Nichols, a guy she remembers as quiet and nerdy… nothing like the drop-dead-gorgeous hunk who knows how to fill out his underwear.

One look at all-grown-up Julie refuels Tyler’s memories of long, lazy summer vacations, and the crush he was too shy to admit. It would be gentlemanly of him to leave, but the amazing woman in front of him elicits visions of the wickedly lusty things he’d like to do with her.

With work pushed to the back burner and a weekend indulging with Tyler on high simmer, Julie makes a startling discovery. Tyler is the real deal. And maybe, if he agrees, she might have time for a life after all…

Warning: Fresh mountain air and sultry Tahoe nights equals steamy hot sex with old friends turned lovers. Who knew the smell of pine could make you feel so lusty?

Julie plans a weekend away at her parent's vacation cabin, desperate to get away from her mother's nagging about getting a boyfriend, turning him into a husband and producing a baby. All Julie wants is to further her business and she's on the verge of finally making it happen.

She's suddenly beside herself when she finds Tyler, a boy she knew from her youth, asleep in the master bedroom. All grown up with an ass nice enough to contemplate touching, slapping, and cupping, he's just what she needs for a weekend of fantasies.

Tyler's been fantasizing about Julie long enough and now he's ready for something real. They're both very successful workaholics, but only Tyler is prepared to let go a bit for a meaningful relationship. After falling into the sheets fairly early, Tyler sets out to win Julie for good. And when her folks show up, things definitely turn serious. The story itself is a quick one and a bit back and forth as both characters develop the same feelings and fears. The romance is sweet, the sex is warm and spicy and the ending is... happy. 3 out of 5 stars.

It's my BIRTHDAY!

At 7:33 tonight, I will have lived in this world for a quarter of a century. Woot!

You know you're an 80's child when...

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE".
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Belair"
4. You owned those lil Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
5. Two words: M.C. Hammer
6. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock".
7. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars.
8. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales".
9. When it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
10. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
11. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
12. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
13. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
14. "Dont worry, be happy"
15. "Miss MARY MARY MACK, all dressed in BLACK BLACK BLACK"
16. You remember boom boxes vs cd players.
17. You remember watching both "Gremlins" movies.
18. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
19. You remember watching Rainbow Bright and My Little Pony Tales" 
20. You know who He-Man and She-Ra are.
21. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on Saved By the Bell", the ORIGINAL class. 
22.  You thought "Ghostbusters" was by far the coolest movie 
23. You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off." 
24. You yearned to be a member of The Babysitters Club, and tried to start a club of your own. 
25. You owned an extensive collection of Cabbage Patch Kids and trolls 

Apparently you were an 80's child if you watched a LOT of television.




Thanks, Redd! *smoosh hugs*

**UPDATE** November 29, 2010

My birthday rocked the house! Not only did I get to spend some amazing quality time with family and especially my husband, but I received some pretty damn great gifts. I'm a gift card whore. I just love them! And I got hooked up with a ton from Amazon and a couple from Old Navy, Borders, and Victoria's Secret. I also got a couple books, candles, some jewelry... and some other unmentionables from Matt. =) Sunday, I got breakfast in bed, dinner out, and in between I got stuck in front of the television watching a Star Wars marathon. Probably could have done without that little tidbit but I did get some snuggles. XD

THANK YOU to everyone who gave me great birthday wishes and love and presents!!

One of the Guys

One of the Guys
Shiloh Walker
ebook, 111 pages
Published December 2007 by Ellora's Cave
ISBN 1419913611 (ISBN13: 9781419913617)

Jaynie knew that her fiancé had some serious ménage fantasies going on, but she never expected to catch him acting them out. As if that pain isn't enough, he tells her she couldn't be a real woman if she tried. Reeling from the double blow, confidence shattered, Jaynie turns to Brian, her sexy partner at work. One night, she tells him. She wants one night with him, no strings attached.

Brian feels plenty of strings and it's as if all of them are pulling him toward Jaynie. She's sexy, she's funny and she haunts his dreams. Memories of that one night keep him awake and he's dying for another taste of her.

But Jaynie doesn't seem at all interested. What's a man to do?

After Jaynie's fiance completely destroys her self confidence as a woman, she turns to Brian, her best friend's older brother, in the heat of the moment in order to prove to herself that she's both feminine and sexy. Mission accomplished, she moves on with her life without her cheating bastard of an ex and starts over.

Four months later, Brian is still going through the motions of that night. His sister's friend, whom he's known all of her life, has taken up space in the forefront of his mind. Now he can't look back on the past without remembering her in vivid detail, or wanting her in his bed again.

Brian is so smexy. I love the torture he puts himself through, first thinking he can't have Jaynie and then, lastly, when he thinks he's lost her. The ending was the highlight of the story for me. Rampant tempers and emotions colliding this way and that. It's another pretty damn good read from Shiloh Walker. 5 out of 5 stars.

Alaskan Wolf

Alaskan Wolf
Linda O Johnston
Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages
Published December 1st 2010 by Harlequin
ISBN 0373618492 (ISBN13: 9780373618491)

When naturalist Mariah Garvey travels to the remote Alaska glacier region, she finds an abundance of beauty unparalleled in the Lower 48. The stark landscape, the vivid life force—and the powerful appeal of her rugged new guide, Patrick Worley.

For Patrick, the beautiful nature writer is an unwelcome distraction. His job at the Great Glacier Dog Ranch is only a cover for his classified work with Alpha Force. He is on a mission to uncover the truth behind a series of deadly explosions, and her presence hinders his ability to shape-shift and to hunt—as only a werewolf can. Even if he, too, feels an animal lust hot enough to melt the Alaskan ice, he knows their desire cannot be satisfied. Nor can it be denied.

Patrick Worley is a wolf shapeshifter and a member of Alpha Force, a military squad made up of other shapeshifters. All require a certain elixir that will help them have control over their shifts and maintain human reasoning while in their second form.

Mariah, a writer for a nature magazine, shows up on location of his current task. He, then, is assigned as her sled musher and guide.

The very first night, Patrick kisses Mariah to avoid her probing personal questions. The next night, she kisses him to keep up the habit. It goes back and forth like that for a while. There's not much of an action factor but the story does have a way of keeping the reader's interest. I didn't personally understand Mariah's attraction to Patrick though. Aside from his kisses, he never really expressed any interest in her. Quite the opposite actually. Every time she showed up he told her to leave. Or he simply just walks away.

When Mariah comes to learn what Patrick is, she's relatively calm about it. No big deal. And with nothing more than her lame promise not to write about it, Patrick has no qualms whatsoever about going into all the details of what he is.

Things were all good, or at least tolerable, until Patrick had Mariah fill out a form to get clearance from the military. Only then would he go into the particulars about his mission. I seriously wanted to drop the book then and there as he informed Wes and Mariah that they were both acting as his back up but were not to discuss anything they see, think, or suspect with one another. He would keep them informed separately and strictly on a need to know basis.

And they went along with it. I call bullshit! 3 out of 5 stars.