Love To Read For Fun

February sucked. The weather was horrid. My new trainer quit. Lay-offs may be coming at my job. BUT I had a great birthday. That was probably the bright spot of an otherwise super meh month.

March is the month for me to get back on track. I signed up for a running program through my local running store. The program starts March 8th. They'll work on form, pace, stretching etch. It'll be nice to get some professional help. Wait. That didn't sound right. LOL! I'm hoping my foot will hold up. It's been getting better but I still have days where I'm hobbling around. I haven't been able to jog on it yet. The one time I tried, my foot was like "Bitch please!". So I have to listen to it and not push too hard. I'm so ready to get back to jogging again. I have a 5k at the end of April that I want to run. Not walk/run but RUN! We'll see how it goes.

Of course to start off March, we got snow, ice and freezing rain. *sigh* Can winter be over already?!?!?!?!

Cormac has been moving from one Shiftertown to the next in search of a mate. Now he's in southern Nevada, where a beautiful, unmated bear Shifter greets him...with a shotgun in her hands.

Nell is a hot-tempered mother of two cubs, and she doesn't take kindly to new Shifters showing up in town without her consent - even one with a sexy smile and brilliant blue eyes. But when her sons are endangered and she desperately needs help protecting them, Cormac proves he's worthy of her trust as well as her desire.

I can't believe it took me this long to read this novella. I love the Pride Mate series so much. I'm happy that Nell finally has her HEA. I think Cormac is a great match for her. I just wish this was a full-length novel because I feel like we missed out on so much story. There's more to  Cormac than what was given to us in 100 pages. Oh well. Hope to see more of them in future novels.

She’s nothing but trouble…and he can’t resist.

Raised by a pro football legend, Miami Thunder wide receiver Rep Grissom has a career most would envy. A toxic marriage with a party girl almost put him on the sidelines, but now he keeps his head down and makes the moves on the field that leave younger players in his dust. Now all he has to do is maintain the status quo and he’s guaranteed a lucrative new contract at an age when most guys are retiring.

Lola Corbin is used to leaving all the big boys in her rearview mirror. The lead singer in the worlds biggest rock band she fills up arenas and closes down the clubs but with the group on the brink of breaking apart her future is uncertain. Years spent on the road has left her with nothing at home except platinum records on the walls, an empty fridge and a cold bed. For the first time, she’s looking for something and someone beyond the spotlight.

When Lola’s first night in her condo ends with Rep breaking up a fight he realizes that temptation has moved in next door. Lola doesn’t usually go for the strong and serious types, but the more she sees of her neighbor, the more she wants. When a thank you dinner turns into dancing and a hot tryst in the back of the club their attraction cannot be denied. But when Lola-induced trouble results in a front-page-career-ending spectacle the player must decide if he’s going to be as daring with his heart as he is on the field.

I really enjoy this author's books and writing style. I guess I've been out of the romance loop because I had no idea she had a new release or what Kindle Worlds was. Daring the Player is a fun and sexy read. I usually don't like heroines who are under the age of 28 but I made an exception for Lola. But I still hate that it's now the standard that the heroine has to be so young while the hero is at least a decade older. Why can't a woman be in her 30s and why can't a hero date a woman his own age? Sheesh!

I liked how confidant Lola was. She knew what she wanted - Rep - and she wasn't afraid to admit it. She's loyal and dedicated to her friends. I guess there always have to be the inevitable incident that causes the H/H to have a falling out. For me Rep's reaction was SO over-the-top. Yes he's concerned about his reputation and new contract, but he acted like Lola purposely dragged him into her drama.

I really enjoyed Daring the Player and will definitely check out the other books in this Kindle World.

There's no hiding from sizzling chemistry…

Artist Isabelle West has good reasons for preferring a solitary life. Tucked away in a cabin in the woods, she has everything she needs . . . except a red-hot love life. That is, until a hard-bodied U.S. marshal threatens to unearth secrets she's spent years protecting. But giving in to the sparks flying between them can only lead to one thing…disaster.

Tom Duncan lives by the letter of the law. But no one has tempted him—or confused him—more than free-spirited Isabelle, who arouses his suspicion and his desire. As their connection grows, and their nights get hotter, they find their wild attraction might shake everything he stands for—and expose everything she has to hide.

I'm really enjoying this series. For once, the heroine is over the age of 25. Woo hoo! The hero is an over-worked US Marshall. Isabelle and Tom have great chemistry. Isabelle is prickly in the beginning due to her past. When she finally lets her guard down, I love how she pushes his buttons. Isabelle may be guarded but she has a great friendship with her gal pals. Flirting with Disaster is a fun, quick read. It's not as sexy and hot as the previous book but that's okay. Not everyone can have sex on a Harley. ;-) I really enjoy this series and I'm looking forward to next installment. 

Hello FitReaders! I totally forgot to post an update last week. But honestly, there wasn't much to post. My foot is still on the mend. Plantar Fascitis is no joke. I've been wearing a compression sleeve, icing my foot and rolling it on a tennis ball. So far the combination of the 3 has helped a lot.

My goal for February is to get my foot back to 100% and get back on the half-marathon training. I won't be running the 13.1 in the Rock-n-Roll DC next month. I'm sad. But I'm going to change my distance to 5k and will still participate but a shorter distance.

Because I haven't been as active due to my foot issues, I have put on a couple of pounds. It is so hard to diet without exercise. I don't see how some people do it. I need those exercise calories so that I don't feel like I'm starving myself. It's nice having that safety net.

Here's to a healthy and less painful February.

This week sucked. Plain and simple. Wednesday evening, I was at the gym, getting ready to do my cardio assignment. My trainer designed a program to help increase my endurance. I'm walking at 3.0 mph - warming up - when a I feel a sharp pain in the arch of my left foot. The pain went away and I kept walking. When I increased the speed the pain was off and on for about 5 minutes and then it was constant. It would not be ignored. I ended up hobbling off the treadmill (I completed my 20 minutes first. Probably not a good idea). By the time I got home, I was dragging my left foot because I could not put any pressure on it.

I texted my trainer Thursday morning. She told me to freeze a water bottle and roll my arch over it for 30 seconds. Then she wanted me to walk on my heels for 12 steps and then walk on my toes for 12 steps. When I walked on my toes I literally screamed. So. Much. Pain.

Anyway the pain finally eased up on Friday. I was able to attend my Saturday training session. My cardio consisted of the recumbent bike (boring!) 

I now have to ease back into things which totally sucks. I hate setbacks but I know that returning to my normal routine too fast will cause more problems.

No C25k training. No running group. No 10 miles in a week. Not even getting close to 10k steps. Nada.

So yeah....this week sucked.

ICED was released on October 20, 2012. We've waited 2 1/2 years for the release of Burned. The release date kept getting pushed back and then KMM told us that the direction of the series is changing. No longer were we getting a trilogy featuring Dani as the main protagonist and then 2 Mac and Barrons books after. Mac and Barrons are now front and center again starting with Burned. At first I was happy. I love Mac and Barrons...mainly Barrons. I will admit I haven't liked Dani when she first appeared on the scene. But I was willing to deal with her trilogy if it meant moving the Fever World forward. I was okay with Dani being 14. I wasn't in a hurry for her to become an adult just so that she could have all the sex with Ryodan. I did think it would be tough to have a 14 year old as the heroine in such a dark and sexy urban fantasy. She has grown ass men lusting after her. It's gross and it's illegal. But I was gonna roll with it.

To say I was worried about how Burned was going to turn out is an understatement. But I love KMM. I love the Fever series. This is the only series that I reread before every new release. It's my crack. I love taking the journey every single time as if it's my first.

Burned started off awesome with a flashback to one of Mac and Barrons' first encounters. It's hot. It's sexy. It's what Mac and Barrons is all about. He does whatever he wants and she gets pissed because she feels she should have a say. 

The first 20-25% was good. I was engaged waiting for the first big thing to happen. And it did. And then after that, it kind of faltered. Then it fizzled. Then it was just....flat.

The main issue I had with Burned was having Mac as the main POV. I love Mac but in Burned, it was like she had regressed. She was Mac 1.0 again. She was sooooo emo. And whiny and wimpy and just an all around wuss! What the hell? I didn't go on this journey of 5 books for Mac to regress into the pink princess she was before.

The manufactured between Mac and Barrons....ugh! And why? Just let them be! Haven't they been through enough??

The highlight of Burned was Ryodan, Lor and the Nine. Can they have a spin-off series please?

I was so underwhelmed and disappointed by Burned. Maybe this series should have ended with Shadowfever. I don't want to see one of my favorite series lose it's luster. Supposedly the next book in the series, Feverborn, this year. I will be reading it because I love this series and hopefully Burned was a fluke. I hope the series get back to what made me love it so much.

Better late than never!

This week was SO much better. I trained with a new trainer, Shea. Shea kicks my ass. She specializes in TRX which is using your body weight and straps (suspension) to strength train. It's tough and yet it's easy to cheat but just maneuvering your body a certain way. But with a trainer standing right there, she won't let me. 

I logged in a little over 5 miles. My goal is to double it. We'll see how that goes.

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

That's the sound of my frustration. So it was super, duper cold this week. It was awful, terrible, and I hate winter. Along with the frigid weather, work had me cancelling one of my training appointments. A scheduling conflict canceled my Saturday training appointment and it's still pretty cold so I'm not meeting with my running group Saturday morning.

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate the world. Not really. But I'm so freaking frustrated!!!!!

Since my Saturday plans are in the toilet, I still plan on hitting the gym after I run my errands. My FitBit Charge arrived today and I'm ready to give it a whirl. My Fitbit Flex was on it's way out. The Charge arrived just in time. The main thing I like about it....the screen. I can see how many steps/floors I've walked. With the Flex, you had to do math and count the dots or if your phone is nearby, sync your Flex with your phone and get your data that way via the app. That gets kinda frustrating after awhile. Even when I'm on the treadmill, I have my phone in an armband, strapped on my arm. I don't have time to take it off my arm so that I can sync while I'm getting my walk/jog on.

Anyway...I need to get back on track. Neither work nor weather will get in my way. 

Here's hoping for a better week.

I went to the gym on New Year's day. It was a struggle which is why I didn't make it to the gym until 7pm. LOL! But I did it. 2 miles on the treadmill. Friday was a bust thanks to my job. I need to not let work get in the way of my fitness goals. Saturday I walked 2.5 miles on the treadmill. Woo hoo!!! 

My 2015 Goals:

1. I signed up to run a half-marathon on March 15th. I haven't been consistently training so I'm thinking I may end up changing my distance from 13.1 to 5k. And push back my goal of running a half marathon to the Fall of 2015.

2. I want to run a 5k every month. Even in the brittle cold weather. Brrrrr!!! 

3. By summer, I want to run my first 10k.

4. Run a half-marathon by Fall 2015 (around September/October)

5. I want to be able to crow. It's a yoga position. Requires balance and strength. I'm halfway there. I can lift my big toe, one at a time.

6. Keep working out with my trainer. Maggie is awesome and working with her gets me in the gym 3 times a week with no excuses.

7. Increase my cardio. I need to shock my body into weight loss. It's gotten too complacent. 

8. My first weight loss goal is to get out of the 200s. If I can get to 199 by the time we go to Vegas at the end of March, I will be one happy person. 28lbs and counting!

9. Meal prep. Meal prep. Meal prep. This will help me make better food choices.

10. Make better food choices! I stray so easily from my healthy eating plan. I have to eat healthy cause my metabolism is on a permanent vacation. Maybe once I get this weight loss going, I can go back to having cheat meals and then cheat days.

So those are my goals for 2015. I have a bunch more but these are the major ones.

Oops. 1 more goal: to actually get in 10k steps a day. I average between 6k-8k. I don't walk much when I'm at work so I either need to walk more at work, take breaks and get away from my desk and walk longer distances when I'm on the treadmill. 2 miles is too easy anyway.

This is my first time reading anything by Kelly Meade. I've been reading a lot of PNR lately and was excited to start this new series, Cornerstone Trilogy. The series is about the McQueen brothers; Rook, Bishop and Knight. I like the chess reference there. Black Rook is about, well, Rook, the youngest brother. Rook is a black wolf. A black wolf born is automatically the next Alpha. The only thing is, Rook is the youngest of the three. Bishop is the oldest but is a Gray wolf and won't automatically be Alpha even though he possesses the traits of one.

Brynn is a Magus who's powers are low level. She is spurned by her father because she's not as powerful as he is. Brynn has a vision of her father's murder and decides to find the killer before it happens. Brynn decides to go undercover to stop her father's murderer. Brynn finds herself in the middle of war between the wolves, magus and vampires.

Black Rook started off strong but for me, it fizzled from the middle all the way to the end. I normally don't have issues with characters being in their 20s in PNR/UF but I did in this one. Brynn and Rook are so young! I felt like I was reading a YA PNR. There was one sex scene and that was it. Barely any harsh language. This book was PG-13. I expect more from my PNR especially my wolves.

I was bored during most of it and skimmed a lot. It took a long time for things to come together. Black Rook could have been 100 pages left and I would have been happy.

Brynn and Rook were okay characters but nothing about them stood out and made me take notice. I was more interested in the secondary characters.

Since this is a trilogy, I will be reading the next book. Plus the brothers are older and more mature so I'm hoping there will be less steam and more fire!

I love novellas that follow up with my favorite characters. I feel like it’s a Where Are They Now? for romance novels. I loved Evan, Jace and Andre in Melt Into You and if any couple deserved a follow up, it was them.

Like many relationships, after awhile, mundane everyday life gets in the way and that’s what has happened to this triad. Add in the fact that Evan is working way too much and running herself ragged, Jace decides that the trio needs a romantic getaway for rest, relaxation and sex.

Each character is dealing with their own issues regarding their atypical relationship. While working as Evan’s fill-in assistant at a wedding, Andre runs into his ex-fiancee, Martine. Seeing Martine reminds Andre that he had dreams of marriage, a house and kids. Can he have that with Jace and Evan? Evan is dealing with a pregnancy scare and her own past as a pregnant teen. Jace wants his two lovers to feel safe and secure in their relationship so he comes up with the idea of the romantic getaway.

As much as I loved revisiting this trio, there was something missing. I felt like Forever Starts Tonight was heavy on the sex scenes but light on the plot. The introduction of Martine could have really been a great plot device to force Ev, Jace and Andre to fortify their relationship, for them to show a united front against the world. I wanted Dre to confront Martine with Ev and Jace and show her that he’s happy. None of that happened. It was kind of a let down.

Forever Starts Tonight was a quick read. I like the characters. I just wanted something…more. Loved the sex scenes between Jace and Andre. Evan could have stayed in the bed. LOL!

I hate to DNF a book. I try to stick with a book, hoping it gets better, I read 15% of The Wager and had to tap out. I had no idea what was going on, who these characters were, why were they so crazy and over-the-top. The Wager is book 2 in The Bet series. Apparently, you need to read The Bet to understand everyone's motives in The Wager. I figured since The Wager featured a separate hero and heroine from The Bet, that getting into the story would be pretty simple.

Char and Jake had a one-night stand. Char is pissed that Jake rolled out without so much as serving her breakfast in bed. Char and Jake are on the same flight, headed to Seattle (I think) when Char decides to air her personal dirty laundry and embarrass Jake. I know a woman scorned doesn't think properly but Char is a TV personality. She has a career to think about but I guess hurt feelings are more important. So Char throws water on Jake, says the word "bomb" 10+ times...on a plane! And is then arrested by an Air Marshall. This is where the ridiculousness commence. The entire scene with the peanuts, epi-pen, the Air Marshall calling Char a "hero" had me rolling my eyes. And at the end of all this madness, no one was arrested? Really?!!?

I like over-the-top characters but there was just TOO MUCH in The Wager. Let's start with Grandma. I'm kinda tired of old people being used as a way to add humor. I couldn't figure out if Grandma was crazy like a fox, senile or the smartest person in the book. LOL! I couldn't take much of her even though her goal is to play matchmaker and get Jake and Char together.

Sad to say that this book didn't work for me. Maybe if I'd read The Bet, I would have been able to finish The Wager. With that being said, I don't think I will be reading The Bet. The little I saw of these characters did not endear them to me. They're all a little too self-involved for my tastes.

Oh those poor Mackenzie men. So tortured and yet so sexy. Ian is still my favorite MacKenzie brother but Cameron is a close second. I loved Cameron's and Ainsley's story. Ainsley is such a likable heroine. There's no coyness about her. There's no way could resist falling under her spell. Loved revisiting the other MacKenzie brothers. 

I really like this series and can't wait to read Hart's book.

This story didn't pull me in like Ian's. I liked Mac and Isabella but their push and pull in regards to their marriage started getting old. Isabella got on my nerves a lot. I felt like she was leading Mac on. Maybe not intentionally, but she was giving him false hope for awhile. I didn't like the addition of Mac's crazy doppelganger either. It was used as a way to make Mac realize his feelings for Isabella. Wish that plot point wasn't used. It kind of took me out of the story. I don't need mystery added to my historical romance.

I still enjoy this series and I'm looking forward to reading Cameron's book.