Exceeding Boundaries

From Amazon: Lawyer Megan Connors wants a man, one that will wine her, dine her, and help her to forget the pain of a date rape she experienced as a teen. Her boss, Adam Wentworth, is just the man--tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed, and a confirmed player. He's perfect for a weekend of non-committal sex that will entice her inner woman out to play for good. So Megan devises a plan for seduction, one that will lure Adam into her arms.

Adam has been attracted to Megan since day one, but his preference for dominance and her fragile air kept him at bay. Megan's kiss under forgotten mistletoe is just the fuel his lust needs to exceed the boundaries she once put in place. He's game, but he wants more than a weekend with the vulnerable yet sexy Megan.

When the weekend is over, will Megan allow the past to keep her bound or can Adam convince her she's strong enough to submit?

This book is an erotic romance. It contains graphic language, lots of juicy, explicit sex, a rich, dominant boss and a feisty heroine with a dark, conflicted past. There's also a plot. Imagine that.

What I Thought: Ladies make sure you have someone to help you out with things if you pull this one out to read okay?

This is erotica with some BDSM thrown in for good measure and it is really hot! Yes, it's a familiar story like some reviewers said, but isn't all romance really? We read it for the escape not because we want to write a master's thesis.
Megan is a strong heroine- a lawyer who decides to take matters into her own hands to help her get over her trust issues with men due to an incident in her past. Adam is her target. Adam is also her boss and has been attracted to Megan from day one but hasn't acted on it because he's a Dom and can sense a vulnerability with her.
Megan comes up with a plan for seduction but thinks she's just getting a one night stand. Adam won't have it, he wants Megan for the long haul.
Yes, there's a lot of really hot sex-these scenes are spot on. BUT- there's also a great story here. I need both to keep me turning pages and Mia Downing doesn't disappoint.
A great read!!

My Rating: 

5 chicks

Operation Endurance

From Amazon: They had a single night of passion before he deployed on a risky mission.

18 hours on a mission gone very wrong was all it took to shatter all their hopes and dreams.

The hero: 
He survived 6 months of captivity and torture, kept alive by dreams of her.

The heroine: 
She thought he was dead and moved on only to have her world fall apart once again.

Two people who have been hurt more than any two people should ever have to suffer. Can they find redemption and healing with each other or will another threat shatter what’s left of them?

A tortured hero.
A grieving heroine.
A serial rapist who won’t give up.

What I Thought: It took me a little while to get myself to write this review, mostly because once I do that means it's over-and I'm just too attached to these characters to let them go.

Ever since I read the first book-Operation Endgame, I have been waiting for Chris and Julie's story. At times begging the author to hurry up, and getting particularly possessive when others swooned over the sneak peeks of who I think of as "My Chris".
That being said, Endurance is the perfect ending to this trilogy of very hot military alpha's who fall in love with 3 friends while battling terrorists, rapists, and serial killers- but not all at once. Romantic suspense is the best ;)!! The books stand alone on their own, but are best read in succession and they get better with each installment.
In this book, we get the back stories of our very damaged hero and heroine. Julie is not your typical heroine,she is flawed but so strong and keeps so much to herself. Chris is still healing both physically and mentally from being held prisoner. 
As a reader of the 2 books (and novella) before this, you wonder how these two are ever going to overcome their obstacles and get it together but they do- and it all unfolds perfectly.
Did I forget to mention the sex?? H.O.T.- read it for yourself. You DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS SERIES!!!

My Rating: 

5 Chicks!

Before the Mission Begins

From Amazon: A novella prequel to the When the Mission Ends trilogy.

Before his mission began, he went home. 24 hours to say goodbye to his twin sister. 
Instead he found her. A girl that was nothing like the one he thought he knew.
They have 24 hours. 24 hours before he deploys on an extremely dangerous mission. 24 hours together in a freak West Texas snowstorm. 24 hours that will have to get them both through the awful next year.
When the resident good-girl decides to take on the visiting bad-boy, 24 hours is all it takes to change their lives forever.
This is the story of the 24 hours that no one knew ever occurred…until now.

The timeline of this novella is set before the When the Mission Ends trilogy occurs, but this book is actually meant to be read between Book #2, Operation: Endeavor, and Book #3, Operation: Endurance.

What I Thought: Here's what you need to know- Ever since the begining of this series (Operation:Endgame) I have been in love with Chris. I'm a sucker for the tortured hero, I collect them, cry over them, and secretly wish to be their heroine.

Each book in the When the Mission Ends series can stand on it's own- but it's really meant to be read in order and I recommend you do so you get to know all the characters the way the author intends. BTMB is a Novella- that takes place before the whole story starts, but should be read between Operation: Endeavor and Opertion: Endurance.

I don't want to give away spoilers- This story introduces you to Chris and Julie's relationship- who we know from the first two books had something a little more than friendship but we don't know when or how.

Chris comes home to surpise his twin sister before a deployment (he has only 24 hours before he leaves country) but finds her out of town and her temporary displaced roommate (Julie) instead. He has known Julie for years and his sisters friend, but had never thought of her as anything more than that until they spend 24 hours together and sparks start to fly.

It's amazing how well these characters are developed for how short the story is(it's easily read in a couple hours) and it definitely does the job of bating the reader to want more. 

My Rating: 

Operation:Endeavor

From Amazon: Colton Robertson left his career in the Air Force…

… to come home and help his family heal. Unfortunately, his reception was not quite what he’d hoped for and he ended up as roommate to hippy dippy yoga instructor Penelope Pruitt.

Penelope has spent her life under the restrictive thumb of her parents and she doesn’t want to do the same with the straight-laced, serious Colton. But when it becomes apparent that Penelope’s life is in danger, Colton won’t settle for anyone else protecting Penelope besides him.

Opposites attract and that’s definitely the case with Colton and Penelope. On the surface, they don’t have anything in common, but as the sparks fly and the danger ramps up, their passion is inevitable.

What I Thought:  Colton has control issues- he has to- he's been taking care of his siblings since he was 10. Being a career military officer just reinforced them. But his world threatens to come crashing down around him when horrible events happen to both of his siblings within a year.

Enter Penelope- Colton has never really thought of her as more than his sister's flighty, slightly hippie friend. Which is why, when he decides to leave the Air Force and move back to be closer to his family he agrees to be her room mate. He doesn't ever consider attraction will be an issue between them.

But when Penelope begins to receive threats to her well being and those around her, Colton soon discovers there's much more to Penelope than meets the eye. He finds she awakens a protectiveness in him he didn't know he was capable of. 

There is so much going on in this book that you would think it would be impossible to keep up-but Christi does an amazing job of grabbing the reader from the beginning and she just doesn't let go. I never saw the ending coming. NEVER. SAW. IT. COMING. Prepare to laugh, be heated up, cry, and be on the edge of your seat before it's over.

This series gets better and better!!!

My Rating: 

 5 Chicks!!

Opertation Endgame

Hello out there! 

For anyone who actually ever still comes by this blog- 

I'm going to start my comeback with some books I've read over the last year 

that I'd like to draw particular attention to. 

I'll mix it up with recent releases as well.

 From Amazon:   It’s been six months. Six months since Jake Madsen let Chris Robertson die.

Six months since the passion between Jake and Cassie, Chris’ sister, stepped over the line.
But now Cassie’s being stalked and it’s time for Jake to swallow his guilt, grief, and lust so he can save her life, even if it’s a life without him. He owes it to his dead friend and he owes it to Cassie. He’s fallen in love with her, but she doesn’t have to know that for him to keep her safe.

What I thought: I love a good steamy romance with a Kick A$$ heroine and lots of suspense. Operation:Endgame has all of this in spades, plus more. It's a friends to lovers story that grabs you by the throat from the first page. It's so important to me when reading a romance that the heroine can hold her own and the author definitely does not disappoint on this score. Jake, our hero, is absolutely lickable and a strong Alpha who, of course, has a weakness named Cassie. The romance and heat between these too is the best kind, because it's been on simmer for years and when it hits boiling point, you're going to need to turn up the air conditioner, I'm just sayin'. The author does an excellent job of turning up the heat with both the suspense and the romance, which is perfect because so many times you have not enough of one or the other. This promises to be an excellent series..and if I can be honest I am crushing hard on Book 3's Hero (Operation:Endurance) Chris. Back off ladies, he's mine. Although I'm sure Book 2, Operation:Endeavor will be able to keep me warm until then!

My Rating: 

Five Chicks!!

It's been forever...

Somehow
Life got away from me and I stopped blogging-Just not enough time in the world for all of the stuff going on but I'm getting back to it starting today!

Make Ahead Meals for Busy MOMs

As you can probably tell from my lack of participation over here lately

I definitely needed the help...

Probably most of us do...

I tried several recipies in this book and I found them to meet all of my criteria

1. FAST

2. EASY

3. Pass my very picky eaters standards

The ingredients are all things you can find at your neighborhood grocery store. I love that because I hate recipies with ingredients I have to go to five different stores to find. Plus many of the recipies can be used to make more than one meal.

The Author Jane Doiron was nice enough to share a Guest Blog with us today.

A Delicious Make-Ahead Dessert

Let’s face it…what’s the holiday without dessert? Cut down on your holiday stress by making a few simple desserts in advance. My #1 make-ahead tip for dessert is to freeze your favorite cookie dough ahead of time. Prepare your cookie batter and place the dough on a cookie sheet using a handy scooper (so all the cookies are the same size).
Cover and freeze the dough for 2 - 3 hours until solid.
Place the frozen cookie dough in a labeled freezer bag (including the baking directions) and freeze up to 2 months.

When you need cookies for school, work, or for a holiday party, all you need to do is defrost the cookie dough on a cookie sheet for 30 – 45 minutes and bake as directed!

Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe

This delicious cookie creates a wonderful French toast aroma in your kitchen when they’re cooking!

2¾ cups flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
½ cup shortening
1½ cups cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a large sheet pan with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening, and 1½ cups sugar. Blend in the eggs on low speed. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. In a very small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Roll 1 tablespoon of cookie dough into a ball and roll in the cinnamon mixture. Place the cookie dough on the sheet pan 2 inches apart. Bake at 350°F for 8 - 9 minutes. Do not over bake. The centers will be soft but will set upon cooling. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 4½ dozen
cookies.

~Freezing Directions for Uncooked Dough~
Place the sugar coated cookie dough on a large sheet pan in a single layer. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 2 - 3 hours. Place the dough in a labeled freezer bag. Write the cooking directions on the bag. Freeze up to 2 months.

~Thawing Out the Dough on Baking Day~
Cover a large sheet pan with parchment paper and place the frozen dough 2 inches apart. Thaw the dough for 30 - 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake for 8 - 10 minutes.

Thanks Jane!!

and

READ ON CHICKS!!