Bogormen

Title: Love for the Cold-Blooded, or The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero
Author: Alex Gabriel
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 300
Date read: February 2017

Superheroes. Evil minions. And one hell of a conflict of interest.

Being related to a supervillain isn't a big deal to Pat West. So what if his mom occasionally tries to take over the world? All Pat wants is to finish university and become an urban designer. That he moonlights as an evil minion sometimes - that's just family tradition.

Then Pat accidentally sleeps with superhero Silver Paladin, otherwise known as reclusive billionaire Nick Andersen. It's a simple misunderstanding. Pat never means to impersonate a prostitute, honest. But soon Pat is in way over his head, and threatening to fall for the worst possible guy.

When Pat's mother returns to bring the world to its knees, Silver Paladin races to stop her... and all of Pat's secrets threaten to blow up in his face. How can Pat reconcile being a minion with wanting a hero? Will Nick's feelings for Pat overcome what keeps them apart? Or will they both lose everything?


I'll be honest - I almost entirely picked up this book based on the delightfully absurdity of the sub-title. "The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero"? What's not to like?! (as an aside - my DH asked me what I was reading, and I gave him the full title. He blinked a couple of times... "I'm not sure how to process that" ;-D )

Fortunately the story itself mostly lived up to my expectations. It toed the line a couple of times in becoming too much of a stereotypical "romance novel" for my taste, but thankfully never crossed the line completely... which meant that I'd occasionally put down the book for a bit in order to brace myself for the next part... and then pick it up again, only to discover the "next part" turned out to be much better handled than I'd feared and there was no cause for preemptive wincing ;)

And there was so much to like with this novel! I liked reading about Pat and Nick's growing relationship (and Pat's realization of why Nick called for him in the first place!), I liked Pat's family, and I loved the idea of super-villains (excuse me - Challengers!) having families and that any children would be required to do minion duty :-D

So all in all, a very enjoyable read with a plot suitably absurd to fit the title :-)

Besides, the ending was just CUTE! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall at the next West family dinner though!

Title: We Are Okay
Author: Nina LaCour
Genre: YA
Rating: 2.5/5
# pages: 240
Date read: February, 2017

"You go through life thinking there's so much you need. . . . Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother."

Marin hasn't spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she's tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that's been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.


I can't quite figure out what I thought of this book. I read it in one sitting, so it certainly had that going for it (even if it is short), but it was awfully depressing at times. I kept reading, because I wanted to know what the trigger was, but when it was finally revealed, I felt that it was far too 'little' to warrant such a major (over-)reaction, which detracted somewhat from my enjoyment of the book, and meant it packed less of a punch than it could have.

There were definitely aspects of it that I enjoyed, and I loved Mabel's parents, but as a whole, I was fairly underwhelmed.

Title: The Obsession
Author: Nora Roberts
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 464
Date read: February 2017

Naomi Carson is a survivor. As a child, her family was torn apart by a shocking crime. It could have destroyed her, but Naomi has grown up strong, with a passion for photography that has taken her all around the world.

Now, at last, she has decided to put down roots. The beautiful old house on Point Bluff needs work, but Naomi has new friends in town who are willing to help, including Xander Keaton - gorgeous, infuriating and determined to win her heart.

But as Naomi plans for the future, her past is catching up with her. Someone in town knows her terrifying secret - and won't let her forget it. As her new home is rocked by violence, Naomi must discover her persecutor's identity, before it's too late.


Nora Roberts writes ridiculously readable books, and this one was no exception. In fact, I think it may be the best book I've read by her so far. I was immediately drawn into the story, and enjoyed following Naomi through childhood, teenagedom to early adulthood. Quite often in books I'll find that one of those is decidedly more interesting than the others, but not so here.

I liked that though Naomi went through some utterly horrible things, this wasn't the kind of book where everybody was an asshole and she had to learn to manage by herself. While they can still be good, such books tend to drain me, because it gets exhausting reading about how one person goes through one horrible thing after another. In this one, Naomi went through some horrible things, to be sure, but she also had people who loved her and looked out for her. That, combined with all the awesome descriptions of the house she bought and restored almost made "The Obsession" feel like a comfort book in parts - despite the awful subject matter.

I'd guessed the twist ahead of time, but that didn't matter as it was still well executed. I loved the uncles, Mason, Xander, Kevin, Jenny, Tag, and pretty much everybody else at Point Bluff. I love reading about communities where people are actually nice to each other. Not angels, but just generally kind human beings.

Title: The Face of Death (Smoky Barrett #2)
Author: Cody McFadyen
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 475 pages
Date read: February 2017

A sixteen-year old girl holds a gun to her head at the scene of a grisly triple homicide. She claims "The Stranger" killed her adoptive family, that he's been following her all her life, killing everyone she ever loved, and that no one believes her. But Special Agent Smoky Barrett does. Her team has been hand-picked from amont the nation's elite law enforcement specialists and they are as obsessed and relentless as the psychos they hunt; they'll have to be to deal with this case.

For another vicious double homicide reveals a killer embarked on a dark crusade of trauma and death: an "artist" who's molding Sarah into the perfect victim - and the ultimate weapon. To catch him, Smoky is going to have to put her own fragile, once-shattered life on the line. For The Stranger is all too real, all too close, and all too determined. And when he finally shows his face, Smoky had better be ready to face her worst fear.


Almost as good as the first book in the series! I had a few more problems with the ending than I did with the first book, but thought the plot as a whole every bit as tightly written and executed. No odd translation errors in this one either! ;)

What happened to Sarah broke my heart, which is probably why I didn't find the ending satisfying enough, but I hope to hear more about her in the next book - much like we did with Bonnie in this one.

It's a fast ride, and hard to put down. I've already gotten my hands on the next book in the series.