Monday 29 April 2013

2013 Men In Uniform Reading Challenge

2013 Men in Uniform Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen
Who doesn’t love a man in uniform? I sure do! And I love reading about them too. They’re hot, resourceful and they’re always well equipped. Do you like reading books featuring men in uniform too? If so, then this is the reading challenge for you!


Reading Challenge Details:
  • Runs January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013 (books read prior to 1/1/2013 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime.Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
  • The goal is to read as many novels that feature men in uniform as you’d like. It can be a policeman, firefighter, paramedic, doctor, veterinarian,  Army, Navy, Marine Corp., etc. – As long as the leading man wears some sort of uniform, it counts. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. You can move up a level as often as you’d like but no moving down.
  • Books can be any format (bound, ebook, audio).
  • Books can be any genre (contemporary romance, m/m romance, fiction, non-fiction, etc.).
  • Novellas that are at least 100 pages in length, as well as full-length novels, will count for this reading challenge.
  • Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
  • Grab the reading challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads or LibraryThing.
Levels:
     Sergeant – Read 1–5 men in uniform novels
     Lieutenant – Read 6–10 men in uniform novels
     Captain – Read 11–15 men in uniform novels  
     Chief – Read 16+ men in uniform novels
 
I’m signing up for Chief
Books read:
  1. Extreme Exposure by Pamela Clare
  2. Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare
  3. Unlawful Contact by Pamela Clare
  4. Naked Edge by Pamela Clare
  5. Breaking Point by Pamela Clare
  6. Skin Deep by Pamela Clare
  7. Something About You by Julie James
  8. A Lot Like Love by Julie James
  9. About that Night by Julie James
  10. Love Irresistibly by Julie James
  11. The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks
  12. Echoes at Dawn by Maya Banks
  13. No Place to Run by Maya Banks
  14. Whispers in the Dark by Maya Banks
  15. Softly at Sunrise by Maya Banks
  16. Hidden Away by Maya Banks
  17. Shades of Gray by Maya Banks
  18. Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James
  19. Take No Prisoners by Cindy Gerard
  20. Show No Mercy by Cindy Gerard
  21. Whisper No Lies by Cindy Gerard
  22. Feel the Heat by Cindy Gerard
  23. Risk No Secrets by Cindy Gerard
  24. With No Remorse by Cindy Gerard
  25. Leave No Trace by Cindy Gerard
  26. Last Man Standing by Cindy Gerard








Sunday 14 April 2013

Review: Breaking Point


Breaking Point
Breaking Point by Pamela Clare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Fifth installment of the I-Team series. It made me want to find a guy, maybe guys, as handsome, athletic and brave as the guys in this series are.

Zach McBride, Chief deputy US Marshal, was taken by the cartel group he was trying to bust in false accusation that he was the one who stole the cocaine when it was Interpol agent Gisella who did.
Natalie Benoit, cop beat reporter of the elite I-Team of Denver Independent, was sent to Mexico with Joaquin Marquez, photojournalist, for a seminar but instead kidnapped by the same cartel group. Together, they escaped and back in Denver, they weaved the missing link between the cartel group and Benoit's investigative report while stuck in a high-end security penthouse.

It was a story of loss and struggle by two people who were so unlike yet so similar in their own ways. They tried to fight the happiness and love they thought they didn't deserve through their survivor's guilt, but it the end, they realized they had fallen already into deep.

It was heartbreaking, but it was thrilling and sexy at the same time. Clare had once more awed me with her writing skills.



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Review: Naked Edge


Naked Edge
Naked Edge by Pamela Clare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I didn't expect something very culturally sensitive from the I-team series but I guess I should have expected it.

Kat James, a Navajo woman, was the new environmental reporter, taking over Kara McMillan's position in the elite I-Team. Despite being in Denver, she was still very much in-touch with her homeland's culture. Along the way, she discovered the malicious abuse done to the land of her ancestors, of the old Native Americans in Mesa Butte. With the help of Gabe Rossiter, park ranger whose skill was way beyond Spider-Man himself, they discovered the tangled web of lies, betrayal and culture-abuse, all the way finding love with each other's arm.

I love it very much, thus the 5 stars. It was, like I said, very culture sensitive. Clare had given justice on the laws and abuse that happened protecting the natives and their land in what the so-called superior race tried to own. In a world where globalization and modernization happens faster than a blink of an eye, this piece showed what most of us have forgotten, the role of culture in society and the over-all balance of the world. Plus add, the innocent yet steaming and wild romance between James and Rossiter.



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Friday 12 April 2013

Review: Hard Evidence


Hard Evidence
Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Pamela Clare did it again.

The second installment of the I-team series tells the story of Tessa Novak, cop specialist in the I-team of Denver Independent , who eye-witnessed a murder by drive-by only to discover later on a that is wasn't just murder at all but a serious case of human trafficking. Along the way, she discovered a complicated love with the undercover special agent, Julian Darcangelo, who tried his very best to protect her, and keep her at a distance but failed to do so.

It was hot and smoldering, their secrets added to the mystery and complications of their relationship, but in the end, it was a happily ever after.

I gave it 5 stars because Clare hadn't disappointed me at all. The case of human trafficking is practically what I imagined, the movement of the cops, the man behind the huge power of sexual abuse of underage women. This is what I always imagined and my motivations in studying and getting my degree. She gave a concrete evidence of reality while maintaining the romance plot. She gave us, non-investigative writers, the feel of journalism in a real sense of the word.



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Review: Unlawful Contact


Unlawful Contact
Unlawful Contact by Pamela Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The third installment of the I-Team series gave us a feel of what it was like to be a fugitive. A story of a man who spent years in jail on a life imprisonment to cover-up the murder that wasn't his fault but his sister who was separated from him at an early age, abused and raped and rehabilitated by the cops in the juvenile county jail.

Its a story of a man who only wanted to save his sister from the hell that he knew he was headed for, trying to shove the love that he believed he didn't deserve from the reporter Sophie Alton, his high school love. It was heartbreaking, and at the same time it was thrilling. I didn't expect the hardcore action from the second installment but I didn't expect to see such heartbreak without being too sappy in this book.

Clare never fails to amaze me. She is a goddess. She gave a new angle in investigative story and I can't wait to finish the next books.



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Wednesday 10 April 2013

Review: Extreme Exposure


Extreme Exposure
Extreme Exposure by Pamela Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I found myself reading contemporary romance and adult fiction lately and my innate tendency to be partial to series had been the reason why I found this story.

Kara McMillan, an investigative reporter of environmental problems and a single mother, had come across a messy transaction between pollution brought by a company working behind corrupt politicians and greedy businessmen that led to health problems, attempted and successful murder, betrayal, and even love. Yes, love. Kara not only met the news that would take her career a level higher and would save lives, but Miss McMillan also met the handsome as hell Senator Reece Sheridan who keeps her bed warm and gives the emotional support of a father to her son better than the biological father did.

It was a smoldering connection between them and a thrilling chase between the facts. I actually worry about reading investigative stories because it made my mind ache with piercing the puzzle together, oh and the addiction that it brought to my senses once I started reading, but this one called to me. It made my head hurt and I couldn't stop reading it, but it was so worth it.

Clare's writing made me imagine not a sappy love story, though some parts did, but it was more of a detective show, like Criminal Minds without the gory details. She was descriptive enough but you never leave the feeling that what you're reading is part-journalistic. It was a fiction and news-writing in one. It was a good combination. There was the emotion and detachment but there's the struggle between two. It never hurts anyone, well but Kara and Reece at one point.

This story is addicting, exciting and touches the heart of tree-huggers. ;)



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