2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge - Finished

2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen.

My goal for this challenge was to read 36 free books and I have now completed this. I am sure I will read more Freebies this year but I am not sure I will be able to reach 50 which is the next level.
I am very please The Book Vixen decided to continue this challenge and I will definitely take part again in 2015 if she decides to host it again.

List of books at the bottom of this post.

In 2011, Missie @ The Unread Reader started the Show Me the Free reading challenge as a way to get some of those freebie ebooks read. It was a hit and in 2012 it morphed into the Why Buy the Cow? challenge and she invited Kelly at Reading the Paranormal to join her as a co-host. Missie was unable to continue hosting and handed the challenge off to Kelly and Amanda @ On a Book Bender. Unfortunately, Kelly and Amanda are unable to continue hosting and graciously handed the challenge off to me. While the hosts have changed, the goal remains the same: read those freebies!
I bought my first Kindle back in 2010 and I’ve been hoarding collecting free ebooks ever since. I currently have 300+ free ebooks on my Kindle, so you can see how badly I need to participate in this reading challenge. If you’re like me and have lots of free ebooks sitting on your reader waiting for you to read, then this is the reading challenge for you!

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014 (books read prior to 1/1/2014 do not count towards the challenge). You can join anytime before 9/30/2014. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to read at least twelve (12) free ebooks. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. You can move up a level as often as you’d like but no moving down.
• This reading challenge is for LEGALLY obtained FREE ebooks. We do not condone ebook piracy. These can be books offered through bigger sites, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or smaller sites, such as Smashwords and All Romance Ebooks. Ebooks offered through author or publisher websites are acceptable as well, provided they are available free to everyone at the time of download.
• Any ebook format will work for this challenge (azw, EPUB, iBooks, mobi, PDF, etc.). You DO NOT need to have an ereader to participate in this challenge. You can read ebooks using Amazon’s Free Kindle Reading Apps, which you can download for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, Blackberry and more. Free audiobooks also count towards this challenge provided they are free to the public. They can't be free as a condition of signing up for a service and they can't be provided by the publisher for review.
• Only ebooks and audiobooks that were available free, in a legal manner, to the public will count towards this challenge. eARCs, library books, ebooks free through Amazon Prime, and/or books won or gifted are not eligible for this challenge.
• Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).
• Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, however, re-reads are not eligible for this challenge. The goal is to read the freebies you’ve legally acquired so that they are off your TBR pile.
• To join this challenge, grab the 2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, LibraryThing, BookLikes, Libib, etc., so as long as you have a dedicated shelf for the 2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge and your profile is not private. The point of linking up is to have a place where people can see what you’re reading.

Levels:
     Coupon Clipper: read 12 books
     Penny Pincher: read 24 books
     Buying in Bulk: read 36 books
     Super Saver: read 50 books
     Extreme Couponer: read 100+ books

List of Books:

1. A little Christmas Magic by Sylvie Kurtz (free on Amazon.co.uk 9th of January 2013)
2. Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson (free on Amazon.co.uk 28th of August 2013) 
3. Aurora Sky by Nikki Jefford (free on Amazon.co.uk 18th of November 2013)
4. Unexpected Gifts by Elena Aitken (free on Amazon.co.uk 13th of November 2013)
5. The Highlander's Hope by Cali MacKay (free on Amazon.com 30th of August 2013)
6. Honeymoon For One by Chris Keniston  (free on Amazon.com 21th of January 2014)
7. What Stays in Vegas by Beth Labonte  (free on Amazon.co.uk 15th of July 2013)
8. Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer (free on Amazon.com 10th of September 2013)
9. Forever Fae by L.P. Dover (free on Amazon.co.uk 4th of June 2013)
10. An Unlikely Match by Barbara Dunlop (free on Amazon.co.uk 15th of March 2014)
11. The Inconvenient Duchess by Christine Merrill (free on Amazon.com 21th of January 2014) 
12. The Bride wore Chocolate by Shirley Jump (free on Amazon.co.uk 24th of February 2014)
13. A Charming Crime by Tonya Kappes (free on Amazon.co.uk 11th of April 2014)
14. Death on the Aegean Queen By Maria Hudgins (free on Amazon.co.uk 6th of October 2012)
15. The Breeders by Katie French (free on Amazon.co.uk 31st of May 2013)
16. Along Came A Demon by Linda Welch (free on Amazon.co.uk 21st of August 2013)
17. The Way They Were by Mary Campisi (free on Amazon.com 27th of July 2013)
18. The Keepers by Donna Augustine  (free on Amazon.co.uk 18th of May 2014)
19. The Cold Moon Run by L. Filion  (free on Amazon.com 27th of June 2014)
20. Drip Drop Teardrop by Samantha Young (free on Amazon.co.uk 18th of May 2014)
21. After the Storm by M. Stratton (free on Amazon.co.uk 28th of June 2014)
22. Cart Before the Horse by Bernadette Marie (free on Amazon.co.uk 16th of May 2014)
23. The Tiger Princess by Sarah Renee (free on Amazon.co.uk 25th of April 2014)
24. If the Shoe Fits by Laurie LeClair (free on Amazon.co.uk 13th of November 2013)
25. Untouched by Robert J. Crane (free on Amazon.co.uk 11th of April 2014)
26. Champagne and Lemon Drops by Jean Oram (free on Amazon.co.uk 11th of April 2014)
27. Reckless Nights in Rome by C.C. MacKenzie (free on Amazon.com 12th of November 2013)
28. One Sweet Summer by Cali MacKay (free on Amazon.co.uk 26th of July 2014)
29. Texas Secrets: The Gallaghers of Morning Star by Jean Brashear (free on Amazon.com 7th of October 2013)
30. Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer (free on Amazon.co.uk 21st of August 2013)
31. Macaron Murder by Harper Lin (free on Amazon.com 29th of July 2014)
32. Winter's End by Clarissa Cartharn (free on Amazon.com 3rd of August 2014)
33. Hot Summer by Judy Powell (free on Amazon.com 6th of August 2014)
34. Gnome on the Range by Jennifer Zane (free on Amazon.com 21st of November 2013) 
35. Kept by Elle Field (free on Amazon.com 19th of March 2014)
36. The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (free on Amazon.co.uk 27th of December 2011)
37. Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf  (free on Amazon.co.uk 16th of January 2014)

Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf

“Who’d want to kill a dumb cartoon bunny?”
That’s what Eddie Valiant wants to know. He’s the toughest private eye in Los Angeles, and he’ll handle anything – if you’re human. If you’re a Toon, that’s another story.
Eddie doesn’t like Toons – those cartoon characters who live side-by-side with humans. Not the way they look, and especially not the way they talk: word-filled balloons come out of their mouths and then disintegrate, leaving dust all over his rug.
Eddie will work for a Toon if his cash supply is low enough. So he reluctantly agrees when Roger Rabbit, a Toon who plays straight man (or should that be straight rabbit) in the Baby Herman cartoon series, asks him to find out who’s been trying – unsuccessfully – to buy his contract from the DeGreasy Brothers syndicate.
Then Rocco DeGreasy is murdered – and Roger is the prime suspect! The rabbit is also, as Eddie soon discovers, very, very dead.
Who censored Roger Rabbit? And who shot Rocco DeGreasy? Was it Roger, or was it Rocco’s hot-cha-cha girlfriend, Jessica Rabbit? Why had Jessica – a pretty steamy number for a Toon – ever married a dopey bunny in the first place? And why does everybody want Roger’s battered old teakettle?
As Eddie combs L.A. from the executive suites of the DeGreasy Brothers to Sid Sleaze’s porno comic studio, he uncovers art thefts, blackmail plots….and the cagiest killer he’s ever faced.  From Goodreads.

This was okay, a bit silly but fun. I know I saw the film advertised when it came out but I don't think I ever saw it, I have now ordered the DVD from the library. 

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
2014 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (V-vulture)
CCC-Read your age
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Ships fly, cabbages turn men into donkeys, a childless couple is sent a baby boy the size of a hazelnut, and a dog, a cat and a mouse join forces to retrieve a magic ring. Amongst the 48 stories in The Yellow Fairy Book are much loved classics such as 'Thumbelina' and 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier', but in this volume Lang also included wonderfully exotic tales from Russia, Hungary, Iceland and America. From Goodreads.

I love fairy tales. I remember being on holiday at my grandparents, probably soon after I had learned to read. They had 3 books with collected fairy tales and I think I have read the 3 books at least a hundred times.
This book has both tales that are well known to me and also a few I had not read before. Also it had several versions of the same tales which was quite interesting, especially the ones I thought I knew and then they suddenly had a very different ending to the one I expected.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Read Scotland 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Y-jellyfish)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Kept by Elle Field

Life hasn't quite worked out how Arielle Lockley planned. Becoming the next Coco Chanel, not shopping at Chanel, was always her childhood dream but somehow she's ended up as a kept woman, living the jet set lifestyle with boyfriend Piers.
When the recession hits, it's not just the economy that takes a tumble. Broke and homeless with zero job prospects, can Arielle find her way again in time or will she always have to be a kept woman? From Goodreads.

This was only just okay. I am not sure there is a single character in this book I actually like. Arielle is a shopoholic selfish woman, she does redeem herself in the end of the book but it still didn't make me like her. I am extremely glad this book was free.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (E-raven)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Gnome on the Range by Jennifer Zane

Once you get the zing you can't go back.
Jane West has everything a woman could want. A job in a small Montana town's only adult store, two busy young boys and one dead husband. Everything except a little excitement--a little zing. But that changes one summer morning at a garage sale when her kids buy some garden gnomes.
Now someone wants those gnomes and will let nothing get in their way. Including Jane. This new excitement for Jane spells trouble for a relationship with new neighbor--and hot fireman--Ty Strickland. Can Jane and Ty handle a relationship meddling mother-in-law, crazy kids, and stay alive while trying to solve the mystery of the garden gnomes? From Goodreads.

This wasn't great but it was funny in parts and that pulled it up to three Polar bears. Jane is okay but it is the mother-in-law that is funny. No, I don't think I will read more by this author.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Author Alphabet Reading Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Z-zorrilla)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Hot Summer by Judy Powell

A hot-tempered spitfire and a sexy, arrogant man - put them together and sparks fly!
After her first embarrassing encounter Summer Jones vows to stay away from suave record producer, Lance Munroe. But then she ends up working for the man. Her quick temper and sharp tongue keep landing her in hot water with him but no matter how hard she tries she can't deny her growing attraction for him. Then they go on a business trip to Jamaica - and her world is turned upside down.
Lance is intrigued by the feisty woman who practically tells him off the first time they meet. When they begin working together he realizes how much he enjoys the challenge of taming the little tigress. But, before he knows it, he's the one caught in the snare of passion. The tables are turned - the tigress has tamed the lion.
If you love the sizzle of a romance between two strong-willed individuals, follow Summer and Lance from Chicago to Jamaica and be swept away in the thrill of their hot summer. From Goodreads.

This was an okay romance. Nothing special, predictable but okay. There is a very strong loyalty to family in both main characters.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Winter's End by Clarissa Cartharn

When young widow, Emma Winston leaves her life in London with her two children for the quieter Breakish in the Isle of Skye, all she wants is a simple life. And for a while, she thinks she has it.
That is until she meets the mysterious Mrs Kinnaird who suddenly feels that Emma might make the ideal bride for her wealthy playboy grandson, Chris Cameron- a man who holds his own dark secrets.
Further still, when Emma's brother-in-law, Richard Winston follows her to Skye to tell her he loves her, Mrs Kinnaird manipulates all her power to keep Richard away from Emma.
Will Emma finally let go of her past and learn to follow her heart? From Goodreads.

I liked this, it was a quick cosy read. Emma seems to be a bit of a pushover but that could be because of her previous marriage that wasn't that happy. I liked the manipulative Mrs. Kinnaird and her two servants. Neither the brother-in-law Richard or Mrs. Kinnaird's grandson Chris were very nice. Of course it all ends happily. It got the fourth Polar bear because the setting was the Isle of Skye.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Read Scotland 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Macaron Murder by Harper Lin

French native Clémence Damour returns to Paris after traveling around the world for two years. She’s dog-sitting for her parents in the posh 16th arrondissement and overseeing the family patisserie, a famous franchise known for their delectable gourmet pastries and sweets in Paris and around the world.
To get off on the right foot with la gardienne, the caretaker of the apartment building, Clémence gives her a box of their luxury macarons. The next morning however, the half-eaten box of macarons is found near la gardienne's dead body. An incompetent inspector accuses Clémence of being the killer, which prompts her to clear her name and solve the case herself.
Join Clémence and her friends as they solve murder cases, bake macarons and other treats, and fall in love in The City of Lights. From Goodreads.




This was okay, a light cosy mystery. It was a very short book and only took a few hours to read. If I found more of this series for free I would read them.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-seal)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer

More than three hundred years after the most terrifying witch hunts the world has ever known, it's happening again.
When an attack by ruthless witch hunters forces twenty-four-year-old Stella from her home in London into the protection of the powerful Witch Council in New York, she has to put her faith in strangers just to stay alive, yet she might not be any safer in their midst than the danger she escaped.
Hidden from the Brotherhood in an extraordinary safe house by the sea where she is sent to learn her craft, Stella finds there is more than one dark secret in her new family: Étoile’s sister is spoken of in fear and sadness; Marc is supposed to be a powerful warlock but is missing his magic; where does the owner of their safe house vanish to every day and why does Evan have the eyes of someone not quite human?
One secret is important enough to kill for and it's a secret so powerful it could destroy the fragile threads of Stella's new world. From Goodreads.


I really liked this. I always like when things are not what they seem and most of what happens in this book is like that. And then I of course nearly always enjoy books about witches. I will definitely continue this series and as my sister likes it too I already have all 5 books.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (I-xoni)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Texas Secrets: The Gallaghers of Morning Star by Jean Brashear

Up-and-coming chef Maddie Collins finds out that her father’s life was a lie when she is bequeathed a family homeplace she never knew existed–by the husband of the only woman her father ever loved.
Rugged horseman Boone Gallagher arrives back in Texas to discover that the father who drove him away has struck one last blow. The only place he’s ever thought of as home now belongs to a woman who doesn’t want it, and he must keep her there for thirty days–or it will be lost to them both. From Goodreads.

I enjoyed this more than I expected. I really liked Maddie. It was a quick, easy, predictable read.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (M-umbrellabird)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon

One Sweet Summer by Cali MacKay

Riley Carter’s never found anyone who could live up to her first love, Thorsen Black. So imagine her surprise when, twelve years later, he shows up at the unique and quirky inn she manages on Mermaid Isle, off the coast of Maine. The sweet, gangly teen has matured into a sexy and handsome man, leaving her heart desperate to pick up where they left off.
It’s impossible for her to ignore the way her body instantly reacts to his touch and he's just the distraction she needs when she finds out the owners of the Siren Song Inn are selling it to Holt Enterprises. Holt only has eyes on the bottom line and Riley knows they’ll strip the inn of everything that makes it special, ruining not only the Siren, but devastating the island economy.
While fighting to save her beloved inn, Riley falls in love with Thorsen all over again. But when she’s faced with the real reason Thorsen’s on the island and his unbearable betrayal, will she be able to save the inn and her chance at true happiness? From Goodreads.

I have read Cali MacKay's Highland Heart series and this new series is kind of a continuation of that as Thorsen was part of that last book.
This was okay, still predictable but with a bit of suspense.
I liked her Highland Heart series slightly more than this first book in the Mermaid Isle Romance series.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-leopard)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
High Summer Read-a-Thon 2014

Reckless Nights in Rome by C.C. MacKenzie

Though the name of her celebration and wedding cake business is up in lights, Bronte Ludlow doesn't care for the trappings of success. All that matters to her is her company, her independence and her heritage,The Dower House. Home to her ancestors since the seventeenth century, no way will she part with it to ‘a man with too much money and no soul’.
Nico Ferranti’s only passions are money and power... He's a man who stopped believing in romance long ago and Bronte's a romantic, yet the attraction sparking between them like fireworks over the Piazza del Popolo stuns Nico.
When Bronte's brother is badly hurt in a car accident in Rome, Nico whisks Bronte to the Eternal City. He wants her and he wants The Dower House and Nico Ferranti always gets what he wants.
But Bronte’s heart has already been broken by one ruthless charmer and although tempted she isn’t about to give up either her heart or her home to the charismatic Italian without a fight! From Goodreads.

This was an okay romance. Nico has been trying to buy Bronte's home and now they finally meet. They both have secrets and she also have an awful ex-fiancée wanting revenge. It of course all ends happily and I might read more books from C.C. MacKenzie.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-polarbear)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
High Summer Read-a-Thon 2014

Champagne and Lemon Drops by Jean Oram

One woman. Two men. One meddling small town.
Raised by her older sister in the small town of Blueberry Springs, all Beth Wilkinson wants is to create a family so big she’ll never be alone. Things are going great until her accountant fiancé, Oz, experiences a family trauma, forcing him to rethink everything from his own career to their nuptial plans—leaving Beth alone.
As Beth works to rediscover her former bold and independent self in hopes of reattracting Oz, she catches the eye of the charming new city doctor, Nash. Not only does he see her as she’d like to be seen, but he knows exactly what he wants from life—and that includes Beth.
Torn between the two men, as well as two versions of herself, Beth discovers that love and dreams are much more complicated than they seem. From Goodreads.





Pretty bad. I didn't like any of the main characters. Beth and Oz are engaged and Oz decides he needs them to have a break so he can find out who he is. Enter Dr. Nash who knows she is on the rebound but still ends up asking her to marry him. I will probably not read any more books by this author.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Color Coded Reading Challenge 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Build a House
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-gecko)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Untouched by Robert J. Crane

Still haunted by her last encounter with Wolfe and searching for her mother, Sienna Nealon must put aside her personal struggles when a new threat emerges – Aleksandr Gavrikov, a metahuman so powerful, he could destroy entire cities – and he's focused on bringing the Directorate to its knees. From Goodreads.

Another book that has been on my TBR list ever since I read the first book in this series.
Sienna Nealon, a metahuman and succubus is at the end of this book finally growing up and coming to terms with who she is and what she can do. There is a twist at the end of the book and I am looking forward to see how that continues in the next book that I already have.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Build a House
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (U-toucan)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

If the Shoe Fits by Laurie LeClair

What happens when a modern day Cinderella's dreams don't involve getting married?
Romance? Love? In this Once Upon A Romance Series Book 1 romantic comedy, Charlotte (Charlie) King doesn't have time for either one. All she wants is her late father's dream to come true by making his beloved King's Department Store thrive again. However, her stepmother has other ideas. Charlie agrees to help her stepmother find grooms for her sheltered stepsisters. In exchange, the stepmother will release her stronghold on the store's budget. After all, one good deed deserves another, right? But, Charlie has no idea what her heart's in for when...
Alexander (Alex) Royale, dubbed by society newspapers as Prince Charming, arrives for dinner to meet the all-female King family. His ailing grandparents yearn for his marriage and then the baby carriage. Well, that and running the family company. Having unsuccessfully searched for months, Alex doesn't hold out any hope in finding his future bride among the King sisters. However, all his expectations, including his idea of a business-like marriage of convenience, vanish the moment Charlie crashes into him.
When Alex sets out out to win over Charlotte, he has no idea he has to bargain with the stepmother, secretly buy the store, court Charlotte after the wedding, and, oh yeah, be featured in Charlie's new fairy tale ad campaign, The Charmings, based on them. Can a guy ever get a break?
The couple never factored in falling in love with each other. Now, faced with losing all their families ever wanted, Charlie and Alex must choose: Do they live their families' dreams or do they finally live their own? From Goodreads.

Okay story, modern retelling of Cinderella. Charlie who is under the thumb of her evil stepmother gets married of to Alex who has to marry because of his grandparents. I might read more of Laurie LeClair's books but only if they are free or very cheap.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-narwhal)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

The Tiger Princess by Sarah Renee

Ten years ago, a devastating fire took the lives of Queen Karenisha and King Makero, leaving a young Saderia orphaned. Nobody knows how the fire was started but it ignited quickly. Too quickly. In ten years the truth has never been discovered...
Saderia is a curious 10 year old tiger Princess who feels things deeply. Her Aunt Cia and Uncle Jash have taken over the duties of Queen and King and raising Saderia since her parents died in the fire. Her aunt and uncle don't understand Saderia, which she resents.
But Saderia starts having dreams about the past; dark, disturbing dreams. She has to know the truth. Could her parents have been murdered? Then she finds herself surrounded by more secrets when she discovers a dangerous, ancient royal secret relating to her ancestors.
At the same time, strange things start happening in the usually peaceful forest. Hard times and disappearances create fear and desperation. Out of the shadows comes a dark, mysterious lion named Dastarius to offer his services and play the hero. But his past is just as shadowed and uncertain as the King and Queen's sudden fiery death.
Saderia doesn't know who or what to trust but she is desperate to find the truth about the past. She's willing to do anything to get it. From Goodreads.

This was a cute read, very much good versus evil. The tiger princess has to show both courage and bravery and all ends well. Read this as the middle grade book it is and it is very good.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (R-raven)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Cart Before the Horse by Bernadette Marie

Gabriel Maguire thought he'd buried his past until the night he met Holly, only to lose the woman he cared about, again.
Holly Jacobs has always put the cart before the horse. A prodigy who shot to stardom in textile design, she never knew a normal life—and there's nothing she longs for more than to be normal.
Pregnant before she even knows the name of her baby's father, Holly has put the cart miles ahead of the horse this time. But when she and Gabe meet for the second time, they decide to have their baby together. Holly finally begins to accept her unique way of doing everything backward, but Gabe's very normality drives her up the walls. Then his tragic past rears up; pain and loss threaten to destroy forever the fragile bond that has blossomed between him and Holly.
Sometimes the only way to get where you need to be is to put the cart before the horse. From Goodreads.




Cute romance, of course very predictable but also emotional with loss of loved ones.
I might read more of Bernadette Marie's books.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Build a House
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (C-toucan)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

After the Storm by M. Stratton

Alexia "Lexi" Hanson moved across the country to rebuild her life after the attack that almost destroyed her. She enjoys the simple things in her beach cottage. Life is finally complete.
Noah Matthews is Rock & Roll's hottest star and on top of the world. After years without a break he finds the solitude he craves at his beach house. Enjoying his early morning coffee, Noah is surprised to see his neighbor sneak into his garden and crawl around.
They never saw that fateful morning coming. Someone was watching them. Someone who thought Lexi belonged to him and would stop at nothing to have her.
Lives are changed forever when they meet amongst the blooms in his garden. Even when things seem darkest, there is always light After the Storm. From Goodreads.





I liked the slow (compared to some others) romance between Lexi and Noah. What I didn't like was the detailed description of what the rapist wanted to do with his victims.
I will not continue this series.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
What’s In A Name 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (A-raven)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Drip Drop Teardrop by Samantha Young

Avery hasn’t had it easy. 
When she was ten years old her parents died in a car crash. Now nine years later her Aunt Caroline is the only family she has left. And Caroline is dying.
So when Death comes knocking (quite literally) in the form of the damaged and dangerous, Brennus, Avery makes a deal with the reaper in order to save Caroline.
Brennus is an Ankou.
One of the many, once mortal men and women, who were given the choice to become an immortal in exchange for ferrying the dead over into their afterlife.
Nine years ago Brennus took Avery’s parents and tried to take Avery, but she fought him and won. Amazed by her strength Brennus followed Avery and has watched over her.
Now he knows Avery is the one to offer him freedom from his obligation to the dead.
And he’ll stop at nothing to have her. From Goodreads.

An okay book, but not great. Avery is dealing with Death, who is a person. This is a romance as he has loved her for years.
I have more of Samantha Young's books and I might read them.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Read Scotland 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Y-coyote)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

The Cold Moon Run by L. Filion

Olivia Preston is a smart, beautiful woman on the verge of living the life she had meticulously planned out; college, law school, working in her parents’ law firm and marrying her high school sweetheart. Shane Jaxon is her sexy, mysterious neighbor who isn't concerned with anything other than bedding women. However, once he meets Olivia, a fire is ignited within Shane and he sets out to win her heart and fulfill his destiny. But a new rivalry threatens his plans. Will Shane win her over enough to reveal his true self to her? And what will happen to her perfectly planned life if she lets him in? From Goodreads.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't very good. According to genre this was about werewolves and yes it was. They lived in tribes on reservations. Basically an adaptation of the native Americans.
I don't usually notice editing mistakes but I did in this which means there were quite a few. I am glad this was a free book.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-fox)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon