Double Standards

Double Standards by Judith McNaught
My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

Amazon Description:

“In the exclusive, glittering world of business superstars, Nick Sinclair was a legend... The ruggedly handsome president of Global Industries handled his business the way he handled his women -- with charm, daring and ruthless self-control. A man used to the very best, Nick hired Lauren Danner, and assumed the proud beauty would soon be another easy conquest. But Lauren's flashing wit and rare spirit dazzled him -- and slowly, against his will, he was intrigued, challenged -- and in love.
Yet Lauren was living a lie, a charade that became more dangerous with every passing moment. Trapped in a web of deceit, she fought her growing love for Nick. Her secret could destroy his fragile trust -- and the promise of life with the most compelling man she had ever met!”

My Thoughts:

While I liked this book, and always like McNaught’s work, this one was a bit of bore for me. McNaught usually pulls me in with strong emotion and characters, but this one was lacking. The characters were one-dimensional and the emotion felt forced. Way too much unnecessary drama added in!

Who Should Read?:

Romance friends…if you are a McNaught fan you should give it a try! If you haven’t read McNaught before, start with a different one…maybe try “A Kingdom of Dreams.”

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh
2. The Hathaway Series (starts with Mine ‘Til Midnight) by Lisa Kleypas
3. Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho
4. The Latehomecomer  by Kao Kalia Yang
5. Having It All  by John Assaraf
6. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
10. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Lead

Lead by Kylie Scott

My Rating (out of 5 stars):

5—I think it’s amazing!

Amazon Description:

“As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it—now he’s caught up in a life of hard partying and fast women. When a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant hired to keep him out of trouble.

Lena's not willing to take any crap from her sexy boss and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far, he just might lose the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Can he convince his stubborn assistant to risk it all and let her heart take the lead?”

My Thoughts:

This is the third book in the Stage Dive series and my personal favorite. I read this book in one evening! Then I reread it before the fourth book was released…and then I reread it again by the pool on my recent vacation!

Scott has a talent for creating realistic characters and genuine emotion. I loved Lena and Jimmy together. I loved the intensity, but also the witty humor.

Who Should Read?:

All my romance reader friends! First in this series is “Lick.”

Vacation!!

I'm going on VACATION!!!

I will be basking on the beach...reading of course.

Be back soon :)

Monday Recommendations!

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. The Green Mile by Stephen King
2. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
3. Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
4. In Death Series (first is Naked in Death) by J.D. Robb
5. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
6. The Complete Poems and Stories of Edgar Allan Poe
7. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
8. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
9. The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge by John Leonard
10. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Play

Play by Kylie Scott

My Rating (out of 5 stars):

4 stars—I really liked it!

Amazon Description:

“Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast-at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn't plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn't count on finding the one right girl.


Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls-especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?”

My Thoughts:

This is the second book in the Stage Dive series. I loved the first book--Lick--and I loved this one too! I think this one was even better with character development.

I really like Scott’s style. Each member of the band has their own distinct personality. Dave, from the first book, is the cool/sensitive guy. Mal is the funny guy and this book definitely made me laugh. I liked Anne a little better than Ev, too.

Next up is Jimmy...the bad boy. Swoon. The bad boy is always my favorite.

For my romance reader friends...give ALL the Stage Dive books a try! Lick, Play, Lead, Deep