Aussie Readers discussion

I am going to attempt to read 100 books in 2016.

3 days into the new year and I have finished my first book.
Shiloh . I gave it 4 stars. Here is my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

2. So Far Into You . I gave this book 4 stars. It was a really sweet story. Gee, Seth's a bit nice, isn't he? Gimme a fella like that, please!

Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

3. Thrill . Bloody awful tripe!! 2 stars.

4. Pleasure marginally better than Thrill, but not enough to make me want to buy the rest of the serial. 2 stars again.

5. Reclaim My Love I have this two stars as well. It was a little bit boring, but the characters were better written than Lucia Jordan's characters.

6. Party of Three I gave this one three stars. It was naughty, but lighthearted and fun, too. I love the banter between Levi and Spencer, who have been best mates since boyhood. I was laughing so damn hard.

7. The Alpha's Mark .

My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

8. Unexpected Gifts . 4 stars. A cute little short story about a woman who has come out of a broken marriage and realises that she loves a guy she has known since childhood. This is really adorable!

9. Double Her Fantasy . 3 stars. The characters in this were well written and very likeable.

10. House for all Seasons . 4 Stars. I loved this. Each of the women are so distinct and different and the way the thread ties up at the end is really interesting. Sara and Caitlyn's stories were my favourites.

11. Beautiful Illusion Oh god, this book! It was so incredible and heartbreaking. It is one of the few books that has actually made me cry! The story of Leah and Brennan is an emotional rollercoaster ride and it is my first 5 star rating of the year. I also love that it is set in Brisbane! 5 STARS!!

12. That Thing You Do I found it fun and lighthearted and full of endearing characters. 4 stars.

13. Double Her Pleasure Megan's men take her home to Texas. I love these three. They're great characters. I gave this 4 stars.

14. Double Her Temptation Megan's stalker finds her, but Trey and Garrett are both determined to protect her and work to convince her to stay with them. This is one bloody lucky woman, I tell ya! 4 stars again.

15. Seashore a very informative little book in easy to understand language. I don't care if they're meant to be for kids: I love these books. 3 stars.

16. Xena Warrior Princess: The Empty Throne this was really cool. It's like two adventures in one, but one situation leads flawlessly into the next. I recommend this to any Xena fan. I gave this three stars.

17. Double Her Destiny . This was a great conclusion. I really love this trio, they are so great together. It's such a shame that it is the conclusion. I don't want it to be! Lol. 4 stars.

18. Pride and Prejudice . This didn't grab me as Mansfield Park did. Took me a while to read. 3 stars.

19. Prince of Wolves . I didn't ACTUALLY finish this. I only got past the first chapter. The constant and erratic changing of past and present tense even within the same sentance is incredibly annoying. I couldn't even get into the story because of this. Please, PLEASE get this edited by a PROFESSIONAL and try again. As it is, it is awful. 1 star. I wish I could give it half.

20. Sweet submission A fun, quick read in which Neve meets the rest of the pack. I think sweet Jake is my favourite. Three stars because there are a few eye roll moments for me.

21. Rising Heat Wow, this one was really good! The author is finally hitting her stride in this one. It's really good. The pack have taken Neve back to their home territory for protection, but the real danger comes from within the pack this time. This installment is really suspenseful and the characters are starting to become well rounded. 4 stars this time.

22. Pack Wars: Claimed by the Pack - Part Four
Gosh, this is really good! Neve is being held hostage by Asher and his pack down in Kentucky and she must make a tough decision if she is to stay alive. Oh and did I mention that I LOVE a good cliffhanger? Well, DAMN. GOOD. CLIFFHANGER! Can't wait to read the next one! 4 stars.

23. Choosing an Alpha Excellent conclusion to a series that I couldn't put down. 4 stars.

24. Table for Two . I gave this four stars. It was a good story about Liv and James, who have been friends for eight years, discovering their feelings for each other.

25. DK Eyewitness Books: Shakespeare. 4 stars. An easy to follow and interesting introduction to the life of the world's best playwright.

Kiera wrote: "3. Thrill. Bloody awful tripe!! 2 stars."
Your comment made me chuckle. Should it be called Tripe, not Thrill? :0)

Catsalive wrote: "Kiera wrote: "3. Thrill. Bloody awful tripe!! 2 stars."
Your comment made me chuckle. Should it be called Tripe, not Thrill? :0)"
Absolutely, Catsalive! It brings shame upon the art of writing. We should shun it!

I have pulled my challenge back to 50 books, as I am doing nothing but writing lately.

26. The Wedding Gift A fun, short little romance story. Not much depth or character development. The characters are actually a bit two dimensional, but still fairly likeable. I gave this 3 stars.

27. Rock Hard . This is the second book in the Sinners On Tour series. What an excellent installment. Sed is damn gorgeous. Jessica is not perfect- she has many flaws, which makes her likeable to me. I hate perfect heroines. All the guys in the band are hilarious. 4 stars.

28. Mind Dimensions . 5 stars for this one. Absolutely brilliant, edge of your seat sci-fi action series about a young guy who can stop time and enter a person's mind. He thinks he's the only one until he meets a girl at a poker game who he sees in the "Quiet" too. He tracks her down and finds out that there is a whole underground community of people just like him. He learns of the two factions, but who can he really trust? I gave this boxed set 5 stars. It's amazing!

29. Introductions . I gave this one 4 stars. This book is hard to describe. Nothing much happens in it, but it somehow keeps you hooked. The writing is excellent, the characters are amazing... and that's pretty much it. I know it's just setting up the series, but even though here's not much to it, it does it in such a way that really makes you want to keep reading. The characterisations are really what make this story worthwhile.

30. Rewind: A Time Line Novella .
This would be a much better story if there was more effort put into the editing. I really enjoy this series, but I noticed this problem a lot more in this novella than in the others. 3 stars.

31. The Book Thief . I really just couldn't get into this. I didn't enjoy it at all. 1 star.

32. The Legend of the Firewalker . I really couldn't get into this. There was something about the writing style that just didn't sit well with me. I couldn't get into it easily. 2 stars.

33. Father Found . This is a lovely little story about a young bachelor named Jamie who ends up becoming an instant dad. Jamie was a sweetie. Allison annoyed the crap out of me- she was way too judgemental. And the ending was SUPER rushed, which was annoying. I feel a bit cheated. There was all of this build up and then a few quick, throwaway paragraphs about this happy ever after which we did not at all get to experience with the characters. This, I'm afraid, is what earned it the three star rating.

34. Rogue Alpha . This is the first book in Kimber White's new werewolf romance series. We saw Mal in the previous series and now here he is in his own sexy story, which he grately deserves. I love that Laura is an intelligent woman who is not always submissive. I really appreciate romance authors who write strong female protagonists. I give this four stars. What a good read!

35. A Writer's Guide Story Structure and Beyond: The Humorous Edition . Very helpful for a budding author like myself. I will be reading this over and over, I think! 5 stars.

36. The Boys of Summer . This book was beautiful. A Beautiful story full of beautiful characters and beautiful moments. It was set in a country town in the 1990s- a setting I can completely relate to: joyriding around town with boys, using ninemsn and having to wait for the dial-up Internet to kick in, the music, the 24 hour Caltex. All of it was a wonderful walk down memory lane, and the love story on top of that made for an excellent read. C.J. Duggan is an excellent author who has easily captured my heart. I can wait to read the rest of the series. 5 stars!

37. I Married a Billionaire: Lost & Found
I really enjoyed the second installment of this series. Daniel and Maddy's relationship becomes strained when Daniel has to deal with a lawsuit and effectively shuts Maddy out of his business. Go Maddy for being such an intelligent and resourceful woman. I really like her! Lots of other reviewers disliked Daniel in this, but I can understand the stress he was under. Not everyone deals with stress well (especially a lawsuit!) and it would most definitely be hard to trust people when you are in such a powerful position. The emotions in this book and reasoning behind them a very realistic. 4 stars!

38. At Any Price This book- wow! It was supposed to be a side read while I ate breakfast one morning and instead, it grabbed me fast and dragged me into the wonderful, messed up world of Mia and Adam. Neither at all perfect but perfect for each other. A gamer girl and a billionaire game designer CEO. Could they be more right for each other? What a damn good story. This author knows just how to build up sexual tension. My god! I can't wait to read the next one! NB: I can also totally relate to being a geek. I'm not a gamer geek, but I love cult sci-fi/ fantasy shows. 5 stars.

39. Stan fun story about Onslow Boy, Stan and his budding will-they-won't-they romance with Bel, who's holidaying in Onslow with her family for the summer. I enjoyed the camaraderie these two share on top of the attraction they have for each other. I can't wait to read the next installment in the Summer series. 5 stars.

40. Lost to You Oh, wow! This novella was fantastic!
Christian and Elizabeth are law students and study partners who are extremely attracted to each other, but try hard to fight their desire for one another. After all, what do they have to offer each other? He's a rich playboy from a snooty family and she is a down-to-earth, San Diego born girl from a working class, single parent family.
It is so well written and I devoured this book in less than 24 hours! 5 resounding stars.

41. Promise of the Wolves
This was an interesting read and was really cool to see what life may have been like for wolves and humans 14000 years ago. Kaala was an interesting character and the subject was well researched. Will I continue with the series? I'm not really sure at this stage. 3 stars.

42. Take This Regret Christian and Elizabeth. Wow! INTENSE! Sometimes you want to scream at Elizabeth to soften up, but at the same time I can understand why she is how she is. Their relationship is beautiful and Christian'slove of his child is beautiful. It's a lovely read that was hard to put down. 4 stars.

43. If Forever Comes
** spoiler alert ** If Forever Comes is the final book in the Take This Regret series and it is an angst-filled, emotional rollercoaster of a book. The reason I gave it four stars and not five is because, yes, we saw how this tragedy affected Elizabeth and Christian, which is important. But what about little Lizzie? She made the occasional appearance, but more often than not was pretty much swept under the rug. Children are extremely perceptive and to not get the full picture on how this was affecting her as a member of this family, I think was something the author lost a great storytelling opportunity on.

As for Elizabeth and Christian themselves- gosh, they have to be the strongest couple ever. Yes, they lost each other for a while, but they managed to find their way back and become even happier. What an amazing bond they share.

Overall, an excellent story. 4 stars.

44. Breaking Walls
Teenage angst... check! Yep. Lots of angst in this one. Mandy is dealing with the aftermath of book #1 and she is barely coping. Everyone seems to have it in for her... or is she just imagining things? Is it their fault or hers? It was a good ending. I can't wait to read the next book. 4 stars.

45. Shadow Lily

It never fails. NEVER fails! This series is just the most beautiful thing out there. Shadow Lily is a wonderful addition to the Wishes series.
Lily Tate is trying to break away from the shadows of her bitchy sister and mother, but it's not as easy as she would like it to be. But how can she go wrong when she has help from some old favourites and a kind, handsome young vet?
5 stars of course!

I've been behind on posting to this thread. So, I'm going to catch up now.

46. Cross Stitch

It is hard to explain what a journey this novel takes you on. It is an epic story that is filled with everything wonderful and terrible. It takes you on a rollercoaster ride through all of the emotions you could possibly feel: happiness, joy, terror, great sadness and pain.

Claire is a brave woman who endures hardship none of us could ever imagine and she does so with a graceful strength. Her resilience is incredible and I admire this woman wholeheartedly.

Jamie is an amazing male lead and I like that his and Claire's relationship takes a long time to to come to fruition. Like Claire, Jamie isn't perfect- and he is certainly a man of his time. He also bares an inner strength that is unrivalled. The horrors he has to go through both in the present tense of the book and his backstory, make this man one of the richest characters I have ever read.

All of the characters secondary characters are just as deeply fleshed out as is Scotland, which becomes its own character thanks to the lovely attention Ms. Gabaldon had given to it.

I came to learn about this series through being a huge fan of the show and of course, the novel is so much more incredible. I especially enjoy the end chapters when they are at the Abbey in France- something that was entirely left out of the series.

I wish I could give this more than five stars. It is THAT good!