Heart of Gold by Jessica Bird, J.R. Ward, Emily Beresford (Reading)

She has a passion for unlocking the secrets of the past... Archaeologist Carter Wessex is drawn to Farrell Mountain to solve a centuries-old mystery  and to find a fortune in hidden gold. One thing stands in her way: Nick Farrell, a notorious corporate raider with way too much sex appeal and no patience for trespassers on his land. After an explosive introduction, Carter abandons the project...but with Nick in hot pursuit. What she finds is something more valuable than gold.... Though wary of Nick's change of heart, Carter is soon swept up into the mystery  and the arms of a man she swore she'd never fall for. As buried secrets surface and passion grows, the shocking details of the missing gold are revealed. So are Nick's true motives, leaving Carter to wonder if everything between them has been just another cunning ruse...and if Nick has more secrets yet to share. It will take a heart of gold to find the truth and have faith in a timeless love...

This book has a character from Jessica Birds Leaping Hearts. She is only mentioned in that book you don't meet her. Her being Carter Wessex or CC and she is referred to in Leaping Hearts.  Carter is gorgeous and smart and witty and when she meets cynic Nick Ferrell to ask about doing a archeological dig on his land she's got her work cut our for her. Nick doesn't believe in love but he did love his sister who died tragically and left behind her teenage son whom Nick is trying with a lot of difficulty to raise. He loves the boy but can't seem to find the right path to them getting a long. The voice work on this audiobook is really good as it was in Leaping Hearts. If you enjoyed that you'll like this one as well. There is romance and intrigue and danger throughout the book. Nick and Carter butt heads on the way to finding out secrets about lost gold and a mystery on Ferrell mountain and falling in love.  A really exciting and hot thrill ride throughout! 4 out of 5 stars for Heart of Gold by Jessica Bird.

Find out more here www.jrward.com

FYI JR Ward writing as Jessica Bird.

Audiobook review: Leaping Hearts by Jessica Bird, Kate Rudd (Narrator), J.R. Ward

Everyone thinks A. J. Sutherland is crazy to buy a rogue stallion that no rider or trainer has been able to tame. But if anybody has the hustle to make something out of that hell-raiser, it's A. J. She can't do it alone, however, so she goes after the great Devlin McCloud, an equestrian legend with a bad leg ? and a worse attitude. Devlin recognizes a fighter when he sees one ? and that horse isn't a wallflower, either. Before he knows it, he's got a wild stallion in his empty stable and a hotheaded, heavenly-bodied rider sleeping on his couch. But can he get all three of them through the championship in one piece? This passion he's found with his rider is compromising training ? and at this level of competition, any distraction is not just unprofessional but downright deadly.

This my first book as JR ward writing as Jessica Bird. AJ Sutherland buys a very expensive and wild and untamed stallion to train. He's got a bad reputation and is extremely hard to handle and possibly dangerous. Her father owns Sutherland stables and until she buys the stallion it was run by her and her step brother. Her step brother is not a horseman doesn't enjoy the job but does well with the financial side. Problem is he's bossy and hateful to A.J. He tries to block her from buying the stallion but it doesn't work  so then he forbids her to bring it to their stables and her father backs him up and makes him the controlling person running the stables. So there she is with her heart broken by her family with no place to take her expensive stallion and no place to live. In comes Devlin MCloud. He's a champion rider who was injured around a year before when his beloved stallion took a fall seriously injuring him and ending his career. Breaking his spirit when he can't ride anymore he  is also forced to put the stallion down. Both he and A.J. have battered hearts and spirits just like the new stallion. She gets him to take her on and train her and the horse but when things heat up between the two of them things get complicated. Secrets are kept and feelings get twisted. This was an enjoyable audiobook. The voice work was good and believable. Which is you listen to audiobooks makes a world of difference in how you much you like the story.  I enjoyed the relationship between the main two characters and some of the secondary characters drove me a little nuts but were enjoyable as well.  4 out of 5 stars for Leaping Hearts by Jessica Bird.

Find out more about this book here www.jrward.com

Do you save your favorite books? The Bride by Julie Garwood

This is the original cover in 1989


A later cover which most of you might recognize.


By edict of the king, the mighty Scottish laird Alec Kincaid must take an English bride. His choice was Jamie, youngest daughter of Baron Jamison...a feisty, violet-eyed beauty. Alec ached to touch her, to tame her, to possess her...forever. But Jamie vowed never to surrender to this highland barbarian.



He was everything her heart warned against-an arrogant scoundrel whose rough good looks spoke of savage pleasures. And thought Kincaid's scorching kisses fired her blood, she brazenly resisted him...until one rapturous moment quelled their clash of wills, and something far more dangerous than desire threatened to conquer her senses...

Sigh I love this book. Just finished re-reading it for the probably 50th time??? yeah....

How many of you re-read your favorite books? Do you have keepers that you love so much you can't bear to let them go? I do. To be honest i have at least 7 boxes of various sizes filled with books by authors i can't bear to let go. I'll borrow them to friends to spread my love for these books and authors but I make sure they come back. In between new releases i re-read these. If i need a comfort read i go to one of these boxes and pick whatever strikes my fancy. I keep a handful of these by my night stand for when i can't sleep. Julie Garwood and Nora Roberts were the first two authors that made my keepers list. I bought a few Nora Roberts books at my local libraries used book sale several years ago. I had not read since high school due to work, stint in the Army and having small children. It was actually the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers and all the talk about it that got me to try reading again. After reading that series i was kind of stuck not knowing what to read because i didn't know any authors. Luckily a friend dragged me to the used book sale where i picked up Miss Nora. I had Nora Roberts then so i read and read and read and finally decided a couple months later i should try someone else too. Who though? My friend was reading a Julie Garwood book and I looked it over ( she was reading it and wouldn't let me have it right then lol). I went to the library to see what else they had by her. I checked out Murder List and was very hooked on Julie in no time. This is where my love for the Scottish highlanders came from. I had a copy of Shadow Music from somewhere and i kept thinking I don't want to read some old historical. It's probably really stuff and boring. One day I decided to at least read the first chapter. If i didn't like it i would give it away or donate it. HA!! I think i read that book in one sitting and stayed up half the night. I think most if not all Julie Garwood's back-list is now in ebook form for those of you with ereaders who love Julie Garwood like i do or who would like to give her a go. She only writes one book a year and i wait patiently although sometimes not so patiently for it to come out. This year we're waiting for August to come around.

I would love to hear about your list of keepers if you would like to share. Do you keep books or at least re-read books if you have a ereader only? Do you have a list of authors that you always buy and always keep? Who are they and why do you love them? Here's a short list of mine.


Julie Garwood
Nora Roberts
Jill Shalvis
Susan Mallery
Linda Lael Miller
Christine Feehan
JR Ward
Lori Foster
Debra Kayn
Dana Marton

This is my long standing list. Authors I've been collecting so to speak since i started reading again several years ago. I have discovered many more since then.  I confess i can add to it right now but it would get really long. Many have been around for a while that i just didn't have the opportunity to read ( to many authors not enough time in the day). In the past year though I have discovered more and more debut authors. Brand spanking newly published authors. Please be sure to give these authors a try as well as the more established authors. There are really good books by some really great authors everywhere. Best place to start finding these fine people is on Facebook and twitter but i think a even better place in through reading blogs. All kinds of blogs. Even authors have blogs where they talk about not only their own work but work of fellow authors. The romance community is kind of a family and most everyone is really nice and helpful. Most authors are down to earth real people just like everyone else out there. My blog has links to several blogs to the left side of this post. I encourage you to start there and see where it leads you. Almost every blog has a blog list like mine so you can keep finding new authors and books and reviews that way.

PS Some new debut authors I've read and enjoyed in the past year are:
Sierra Dean
JB Lynn
Besty Horvath
Heather Snow
Jenn LeBlanc
Jodie Griffin
Lexi George

JennLeBlanc Blog Tour Winner and My Birthday post Winner!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Winner of Jenn LeBlance giveaway from Wednesday is....

Shelly B!! Congrats.  You win all 6 parts of The Rake and Recluse! Your info is forwarded to Jenn and she will contact you soon.


My Birthday giveaway winner from Tuesdays post is....

Sarah!! You win a JR Ward Lover Unleashed in mass market paperback.

Book review Lover Eternal by author JR Ward

OK i'm going to flat out tell you this one is a 5 out of 5 Modokker Book picks book. It really is. I decided i needed to reread this book the other day and i did because Rhage and Mary's story is my favorite of all the Black Dagger Brother series of books. Rhage is my fav brother as well. You probably guessed that by now though. OK if your a fan of Paranormal romance you should read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by author JR Ward. There are now 8 books in the series with the latest Lover Mine that came out this past April. I'm still working on reading that one.  Here is a little blurb on Lover Eternal Rhage's book.
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…

I don't really want to say what happens cause i don't want to give anything away but if your interested in this series you best to start with Dark Lover the first in the series and work your way threw them all. You won't be disappointed. I will tell you this the players in this book are humans, vampires and those of the lessening society. The Black dagger Brotherhood are the vampires that defend their race from the Lessening society which are the dead still living ( kind of) and the humans mostly are unaware and in the way.

To find out more about the series and books go to JR Ward's website by clicking here. and to read a excerpt of Lover Eternal click here. Honestly i think you'll just love Rhage and Mary! Give the Black Dagger Brotherhood a try.

TBR or in other words the To be read pile

TBR, do you have one? Most people who read do. I had a decent size one about 100 books but in the last few months it's taken on a bigger size of about 200 to 250. I haven't counted. Not sure if I'll read all of them or trade some. Most were free or almost free. I have a great library i use that sells their used largely donated books very cheap. About twice a year they have a book sale and then they are even cheaper and what's left is free. Can't beat free. I always pick up a bag full of smaller Harlequin books for my mother in law although i enjoy them myself too. Lately I've been working on my TBR pile and well also trying to finish up finding and reading one of my favorite authors.  If you know me i have a list of authors that i adore. That list occasionally grows when i find someone else i can't get enough of. Once they're on my list i try to read everything they've written. Not so easy with some authors like Nora Roberts who have written so many books. Let's see if i were to make a written list of favorites they'd have to include:
Nora Roberts
Julie Garwood
Christine Feehan
JR Ward
Susan Mallery
Linda Lael Miller
If they write a book i'm going to read it. I finally read every book that Christine Feehan has written and i am working on Julie Garwood not counting books she's written as Emily Chase. Getting all Nora Roberts books written might very well take me years there are so many. I've been working my way thru Susan Mallery and Linda Lael Miller.  If you have noticed some of these authors write quite different genre's but i like that because i like to mix it up some. You can only read so much paranormal no matter how good it is until you need a little basic romance.

My TBR (to be read) pile contains quite a few Nora Roberts books. Like i said I'll be reading her forever trying to catch up. I read her new ones when they come out though. I really like the Bride Quartet series she is working on now. Besides Nora though I have a pile of Susan Wiggs, Linda Howard who is working her way on to my favorite list. LOVED Mr Perfect! Let's see we also have Christy Reece who is a newer authors with some awesome series out there and Victoria Dahl who is almost on my fav list. Her new release Lead me on should be awesome if i can every find it in the store to buy it. How about Jane Porter. wonderful writer and person.  I have tons more authors and books that's just who comes to mind. Who is on your TBR pile. How about a wish list? Have one of those? Tell me about your TBR pile/Wish list in the comments section. Who is on your list and how many books are on it. Perhaps i can find some more books to add to my list then!