Recommendations from Karin for January 2016.

In order to bring some more variety to my blog, I have asked some of my bookish friends to tell about the books they have in the past month, and to give us a recommendation. Today’s post is made by Karin from Austria.

Karin:

I have read quite a few books this month because I keep buying bundles of 10 to 12 books for a dead cheap price.
One of them was Alphas Unwrapped



One of the quite short books in there was Raging Winter: Max Denton Book 2 by Colleen Gleason



A stand-alone, short novel in the international best-selling Gardella Vampire Hunter series.
When vampire hunter Max Denton goes undercover at an English estate over the Christmas holidays, the last person he wants to find there is the lovely Savina Eleiasa. But present she is--and on the arm of her new fiancé.


I have never read the Gardella Vampire Series (I know that you enjoy it, Aurian!) but this is the second book about Max Denton that I really enjoyed. I found it easy to dive into this world although I have no previous knowledge and I like the tortured hero (well, truth be told, I could sometimes smack him – but still). The heroine is self-confident, she is resourceful and by no means a wilting flower. What else do I need from a good, albeit short book?

Another one I enjoyed a lot was Christmas Flame (A Flame Series Book) by Caris Roane



On Christmas Eve, vampire Officer Kyle Drake has finally persuaded the shy wolf shifter, Verena, to go on a first date. His plans include a little mistletoe and a lot of seduction. But when a call comes in that a teenage girl has been abducted and Kyle and Verena go in pursuit, he fears the dangers of their world will once again force Verena back into her no-dating-ever mode...

This is a series I have already started and I am tempted to continue reading it. The world building is interesting and very well done, there are conflicts abound and the solutions that are presented are believable. The love stories are HOT (actually I could do without too many sex scenes) and of course there’s a HEA.

I could continue with recommending this or that book from that bundle but I actually want to bring another book to your attention.

Peggy recommended Kat Latham as an excellent writer and consequently I tried her books about the London Legends rugby team. Now I don’t really know anything about rugby except that it’s a violent sport for men with incredible bodies. Never fear – the sports aspects are not too prominent and well explained.
A shining example for a really lovely book by Kat Latham is:

Unwrapping Her perfect Match



'Twas a week before Christmas, and at the auction house...
At six foot one, Gwen Chambers has felt like a giant her whole life. She's a calm, capable nurse saving lives in a busy London hospital, but healthy men give her heart palpitations. When larger-than-life rugby player "Little" John Sheldon convinces her to bid on him in his team's fundraising auction, she discovers how pleasurable heart palpitations can be.
A rugby player was stirring, with desire no one could douse....
John has wanted Gwen since he first saw her, but when he's injured in a match just before Christmas he suddenly needs her, too. Not only can the sexy nurse help him recover, but she might be able to help him look after his daughter - a shy 10-year-old who speaks only French.
But will it be a happy Christmas for all, and for all a good night?
From decorating the Christmas tree to ice skating at the Tower of London, Gwen helps father and daughter open up and bond with each other - and she bonds right along with them. But when John's agent calls with a life-changing offer, Gwen has to decide how far she's willing to go for her perfect match. Will their first Noel also be their last?


It’s not a long book but it’s really a lovely story about one giant of a rugby player with a heart of gold and a nurse, who is very tall for a woman and has issues because of that. Then there is John’s French daughter who is at John’s place for the Christmas days. Unfortunately neither speaks the language of the other one and John has suffered a concussion during a game.
Gwen, who bought John at a charity auction (and left after a lovely date that went completely wrong in the end), does speak French, she is the nurse who will take care of John and his daughter and … well, the story unfolds and is very entertaining.

I have already read other books in this series (out of order, as usual for me) and I must say I enjoy them a lot. These rugby players are stars (mostly) in their sports world but they are not the national heroes like American Football players for example. They have these everyday problems like the rest of us, not all of them are swimming in money, none of them is arrogant or loathsome to the women in their lives – as I said: I like this series and I’m looking forward to meeting Kat Latham in person at the LLC in Berlin.

This is quite a long post again. Hopefully you trudged through to the end. I also hope you had a good beginning of the year 2016. Until next time: happy reading!



Aurian: Thanks for the recommendation Karin! I do want to read more by Colleen Gleason, and will certainly add this one to my wishlist. I think I have read a novella by Caris Roane as well, but will to check that series out too.

How about you, reader? Have you read any of these authors? What are your thoughts?

© 2016 Reviews by Aurian