Cali Girl Book Blog

After having her heart broken, Lily Carver ran north to manage an upscale resort-and back to her longtime friend Sam Denning. Though she's well aware of how hot Sam's become, she refuses to risk her heart again. No matter how incredible his kisses make her feel...
Sam's been in love-and lust-with Lily since the summer they met. When he finally shows her how much he wants her, Lily can't resist his seduction. But Sam's a forever kind of guy and she's only interested in short, painless relationships.
Lily thinks she can protect both their hearts with a short affair to let their passion run its course, something where they both know the rules and can explore the sparks between them without getting burned. But their best-laid plans are put to the test by their undeniable attraction-and by a secret Sam's been keeping from Lily that could ruin everything.


Something So Right is the familiar story of a heart so broken and bruised that it's owner will not take another chance on love. In this case Lily is so determined to set boundries that she has become quite mercenary about them. Sam is deeply in love with her and has finally given up fighting the attraction for the sake of saving their friendship.
We see these themes quite often in the romance world but Elyse Mady has managed to give the story it's own charisma. This is helped along by the imagery of the beautiful and remote setting which lends to the touching and sweet story.
All in all a pleasant read.

Sting is without contest my favourite poet of our time! Yes his poetry is set to music and he is considered a musician by most. His lyrics however speak for themselves, and there is no doubt that above all else Gordon Sumner is a poet. His poetry is deep and soulful, the beauty of which is matched by no other. Those that have not had the priviledge of discovering his poetry can find all his lyrics on http://www.sting.com/

Lucinda Darling thinks she's ready to get married.
Even though Donald doesn't give her butterflies, the heiress is ready to make her marriage work. She's got the dress, she's at the church and her fiancé...is making out with his ex. So Lucinda stuffs her tulle skirts into her tiny sports car and hits the road...only to have her car break down.
Jake Parker knows he's not ready to settle down.
But Grandma Hattie is sick, so, to make her happy, he's returning home to find himself a fake fiancée. When Jake rescues Lucy from the side of the highway, she goes from runaway bride to temporary fiancée.
Lucy hopes to escape the public eye in small-town Georgia, but she doesn't expect to fall for Jake's charming hometown, let alone Jake himself. Soon Jake and Lucy both start to wish their lie were true. But Lucy knows she must stop their pretense before Jake's family-and her heart-are hurt so badly they'll never recover.

Just A Little White Lie was everything I wanted it to be! Lynnette Halberg fulfilled all my most romantic wishes all the way to the happily ever after. For some reason every time I try to find the words to describe my experience in reading this book I get the image of warm apple pie with  a serving of fresh vanilla ice cream. This could be the reason I have been trying to write this for two days in an attempt to come up with any other description except for warm and sweet with wonderful spicy notes of intrigue served with a cool splash of fresh, creamy vanilla down home goodness.

Suffice to say I enjoyed this book, and I particularly enjoyed Lucinda's character. It was refreshing to read a character that is rich beyond believe with such a sweet and caring personality. One that has no care for social standing or putting on airs, but instead cares deeply about people.

This was the first Lynnette Halberg novel I have read and I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

He learned he was going to be a daddy the same day his parents’ murderer was set free. But Detective Ash Kendall was determined to keep it together. After all, one woman was at the center of everything, and Rachel Stevens had a lot of explaining to do.
The lovely DNA profi ler had no idea her evidence would reopen Ash’s old wounds. Despite all they’d been through, she hadn’t stopped loving the man who just found out he was going to be a daddy. And with someone desperate to keep the secrets of the Christmas Eve Murders hidden, Ash was the only man who could protect Rachel and her baby.

I have a not so secret confession to make! Harlequin books are my guilty pleasure. On the days where I just want a nice romantic interlude and a smile on my lips I usually turn to a Harlequin novel. The first thing I noticed about Harlequin novels when I first started reading them is that they get a bad rap. There is more to a Harlequin novel than meets the eye. The writing is usually of a high standard and the storyline is far deeper than one would suspect.
Detective Daddy is no different, the story was quite indepth and intriguing, I found myself zooming through every delicious tidbit to find out what happened and at the end of it I was left with my usual happy afterglow.
There was only one thing that irked me about the book besides the usual uninspired title and that was that there was an essential part of the storyline that was not resolved in the end. Now I do understand that not everything in life requires a perfectly happy ending but in this instance I felt the characters involved deserved a better resolution.

She pursed her lips to evidence her determination. But it was the color and shape of her eyes that speared through him. His breath caught and for just a fraction of a second, his heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were huge, big and round and colored a brown so dark they seemed black. Brent knew the excitement of the race had turned them dark and a certainty flashed through his mind that they would be this same color at the height of passion. Except, it wasn’t the size of her eyes or the rich color that caused him such hesitation, but the expression in them when she looked at him. She spoke to him with only a look. But she wasn’t sending him a message. Or a plea for help.
She was daring him to race her.
She issued her challenge with a gleam in her eyes. Her confident expression defied him to ignore her.
“Bloody hell,” he may or may not have said out loud. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that she seemed to know the instant he accepted her challenge because...
...she smiled.
Together they raced toward the hedge that blocked their path, the great and mighty Arabians enjoying the challenge of charging across the field together. Brent had never felt this great a sense of exhilaration in his entire life. He didn’t think his blood had ever rushed through his veins as fast or furiously as it was doing right now. Together, as one, the riders and their horses neared the hedge. Without hesitation, they took the initial leap that lifted their front legs from the ground. In the same breath their powerful rear legs gave a mighty push that propelled them through the air.
As one, they cleared the hedge.
Time stood still. It was as if he, the beautiful woman beside him, and the two magnificent horses beneath them were suspended in mid air. As if time halted and every exhilarating emotion he’d ever experienced came back to revisit, only a hundred times more intensely. And still he soared through the air, the height of excitement continuing to build within him.
Together their horses reached the apex of their jump, then held. For what seemed a thousand remarkable seconds they were frozen in time. Then, with a euphoric rush, they began their descent.
Their landing was smooth, almost as perfect a conclusion as the journey. Nothing could compare with what he’d just experienced.
The hedge was behind them now and ahead of them a thick grove of trees formed a barrier to the meadow clearing. He sensed the woman slow her horse and followed suit.
They both galloped a short distance farther, giving their horses a chance to recover their wind, then she stopped and he pulled alongside her.
She turned to him, her huge, dark eyes shining with excitement, her cheeks colored even deeper, her full lips open to give him the most exuberant smile he’d ever received. And she spoke, her voice so deep and rich he knew if he ever fell under her spell he’d be lost forever.
“That was marvelous!” she said with more unbridled enthusiasm than he’d heard from a woman in his whole life. “You were marvelous! Your horse was marvelous! Oh, I haven’t enjoyed anything so much in...forever!”
Brent stared at her in wide-eyed wonder and a rush of molten heat surged to every part of his body. He felt as if he’d been struck by something more powerful than lightning. She was without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Being near her, listening to her voice, seeing the excitement in her eyes, drowning in such a wide, inviting smile, affected him like he’d never been affected before.
“I was marvelous?” he asked, unable to believe she’d complimented him. “You matched me stride for stride. You took that hedge as if it were nothing more than a bump across the road.”
He leaned back in his saddle and looked into her face. Never before had he met anyone who possessed such grace, such beauty, such daring. It was as if she were an extension of the horse beneath her. “That was the most expert horsemanship I’ve ever witnessed. Where did you learn to ride like that?”
She blessed him with another open smile. The laugh that followed sent him soaring through the heavens.
 Brent thought of the one stipulation the Marquess of Fellingsworth had made – that Brent woo their recluse sister away from her knight in shining armor without breaking her heart.
He wanted to laugh. There wasn’t a chance in hell he could possibly be attracted to Fellingsworth’s sister. Or that he would allow her to become attracted to him.
Not when he’d just met the most perfect woman on earth.

Every one of my close friends knows that I have read an insane amount of books since February! I am talking well into triple digits here. I have read dozens of really out of this world books and some not so wonderful. Luckily I have read msny more wonderful than not so wonderful books. Of all these books though there are four that have stood out as the best of the best of my year so far and I would like to shout their praises from the rooftops in the hopes that more people will discover these AMAZING and captivating tales.

The one that started it all! I was not reading much before February when one day I was in the grocery store and saw The Iron King by Julie Kagawa and popped it into my basket. I promptly retuned to the store the very next morning and bought the sequels. Four days later I had finished The Iron Queen and realised I had just read one of the best books EVER! The entire Iron Fey series is great but The Iron Queen is the book that goes firmly into my top four list.

Acheron is part of the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon and absoluetly hands down the best and most important book of the series.  Acheron is by far my favourite literary hero of all time. His story is heart breaking and heart warming. I honestly do not have enough words to describe my love and passion for this book and the books series that goes with it and I doubt I ever will.

Hell Ben by Heather Killough-Walden is a book that I fall in love with over and over again! I have now reread it several times as I have done with all four of these books. The characters in Hell Bent are out of this world and I hold them dear to my heart. The story is everything I want from a good story and more.

Discovering the works of Poppet has been one of the best things I have done in a very long time. Her books are all out of this world and ensure a journey into a whole new world. I have read and loved every one of her books but her book Dusan is the book that I absolutely fell in love with, Never have I been taken on a journey quite like the one Dusan took me on. The storyline was so incredibly origional and alluring it sucked me in and I doubt I ever fully came out of that world.

The common elements in all these books is strong and kickass female leads and male leads that are just as strong and maybe even a bit more kickass. More importantly is the fact that even though these characters are strong and kickas they are just as flawed. The flaws they carry mould them into the wonderful characters that they are and they wouldnt be a shadow of themselves without their wonderful and delicious flaws.

I advise everyone reading this to beg, borrow or steal the time to read these books this year. I am very certain that you will not be disappointed.

The Hunt is the long anticipated fourth and final installment of Heather Killough-Walden's Big Bad Wolf series! These books have gained quite a serious following and for good reason.
As a fan of the Big Bad Wolf series myself I have found myself falling head over heels in love with all the characters from all four books. The female leads are all strong kickass characters that every girl loves to read about and the Alpha Males are strong, sexy and protective as hell of their mates.
The Hunt did not disappoint, I was given all the jam packed action and intensity that the other books gave me and more. I was most definitely on the edge of my seat the entire way through and I loved every minute of it. In fact I sit here typing this review at 5:15 am after pulling an all nighter reading because I honestly could not put it down.

I do have one major disappointment about this book and that is that it is the final. I am sad we do not get to hear more about these characters that I have come to love. There had better be some serious twitter account stealing going on! I want wedding announcements, Birth announcements and more we're pregnant news :)
Thank you Heather for being such a wonderfully interactive author that gives us fans all the voyeurism we crave.

It is fathers day today and as I do every year on this day I think about you. Well really I think about you far more often than that but this time of year especially. I think about you because yes it is fathers day after all and it is traditional to think of ones father on this day, but also because fathers day has always been my reminder that it is your birthday in a few days. Of course you had no way of really knowing that I was thinking of you this time every year. Our communication skills were never that great. This seems to be an inherited defect which I got a double dose of from both sides of the family tree. I should probably hang a sign saying correspondence not part of my genetic make up, if you would like to keep in touch with me you're going to have to initiate it. It has never been for lack of wanting to communicate. Communication is a little like a library book for me. I take one out and I am all excited about it. Filled with the resolution that this time I am really going to get that library book back as soon as I finish reading it which I do usually within a day or two of taking it out. Then life happens and I go shoot I should take that book back and of course I don't and it becomes a niggling little worry in the back of my mind until some strange compulsion comes over me that prevents me from even attempting to take the library book back because it would just be too much. The thought is actually overwhelming. Eventually a year or two later I say to myself well this is ridiculous it is just a library book, it is not that hard to do. So I don my dark classes and sheepish grin, take the damn library book back, pay my hundred dollar fine and skulk away into the darkness saying I will never use the library again...I will buy all my books from now on until next time. It was a while ago that I had one of those breakthrough moments where I realised that this is ridiculous, you are my father and we need to talk more. By this time I had lost a number somewhere along the line and I only had your work number for the hardware store which I called. When I asked for you the person on the line sounded uncomfortable and said you did not work there anymore. Months after that Lorraine found me on Facebook and told me the news that you were gone. I am not going to go into the emotions I went through when I found out but it was a pretty bad time for me and really I had nobody to talk to about this, no funeral to go to and no closure. Honestly I am still processing it all. I am not sure I will ever get over the processing phase. I know we loved each other madly but I do not know why we did what we did. What made us the way we are. Now I am left with the memories good and bad. The bad memories are mostly the times without you when I wondered what I had done wrong and why I was not good enough. There are many good memories though and things that you gave me that I will always have in my heart. They are the very special us memories that nothing can take away. Starting with the letters you sent me as a child. I wish I still had them, I loved the little pictures you used to draw for me, they were amazing and awesome and I carry them in my mind and heart, seeing them clearly as day even though Its been about 30 years since I saw them last. Sandton City will always be a place that reminds me of you and our special trips to Brittan's sweets to buy Halva. I will always think of you when I see a red grape Liquifruit, wooden bowls, avocado's, brocolli, Milo, Monis grape juice, Postum, Golfers, joggers, squashers, Staffies named Rufus, Rinkaals snakes,Yoga, Simon and Garfunkel, Margherita pizza and Spaghetti Napoli. It really isnt much when you compare it to a lifetime of knowing each other but it is what I have along with Braagies bregies, brixton bregies and Golliwog.
One day I hope that we will get out reunion in another world where the only thing that will mater will be the love we had for each other.
Until then Dad I love you, Happy Fathers Day and Happy Birthday.

Golliwog

It is Tagalong Friday! This is an 18 and older event.

What is everyone reading right now?
I am about to start Shinobi by Sessha Batto and I am pretty excited about it because I have heard some really good things.http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/64681

Death is sad, love is agony.

Max was her next job. She got his name just before he died and it was for her to lead his soul to heaven. She was a Bringer.

Then Max started pleading (as they often do), but not for himself, for his son, James.

Would she look after him, would she comfort him as he grieved for the loss of his father? James was a sensitive young man. He would take his father's death very hard.

Well, Bringers don't do that sort of thing; their exclusive role is to usher souls to heaven. They are not allowed to get involved in earthly affairs.

However, when she saw James, she felt something she had never felt before – an emotion, a shock.

She was a Bringer. Bringers do not have emotions.

Yet she couldn't help herself. She found herself being drawn inexorably towards James and his life, against every instinct she had ever had, against every law of the universe.

And she fell in love.

For a Bringer, that is a terrifying fall.



Lucyna is a Bringer! She lives an emotionless existance performing her duties of guiding the newly released souls to The Light. Then she meets Max who's tearful entreaty to watch over his son reaches a place in her heart that she never knew existed. Her journey of self discovery that follows leads her down paths that she never expected to a conclusion that she could never have predicted.

I truly loved this book and give it my highest recommendation. It is poignant, soulful and heart wrenching. There is nothing better than reading a debut novel and being completely blown away by how amazing it is.This story had a wonderfully unique concept that kept me enthralled the entire length of the novel. The characters were soulful and endearing. I hurt when they hurt and I laughed when they laughed. There was a nice twist that actually caught me by surprise which is not easy to do. This book actually kept me guessing much of the way through.

In a genre that is not known for it's realism there is a very realistic element to the story. Every day essentials were not taken for granted and while I do not usually care one way or the other I found this quite refreshing since it improved the story instead of making it clunky. Samantha Towle has a wonderfully easy style to her writing and I am truly looking forward to hearing more from her.

If there ever was a cautionary tale it would be this one! When I was growing up I reached an age right around 11 or so when my friends and I started taking interest in the darker things in life. Things to which we had previously been blinded. We talked in hushed whispers of playing glassy glassy, saying bloody mary 3 times in front of a mirror and experimenting with Tarot. We told ghost and occult stories, the more gruesome the better and we revelled in any subject remotely mysterious. One day having gotten wind of my sudden interests my mother sat me down for a talk. I have never forgotten her words that day and I have stuck by them my entire life. She told me that only people who open themselves to evil influences can be invaded by them and that playing with the occult is an invitation to any entity to take control of our lives.

Djinn is the story the quirky, endearing and vivacious Cindy who embarks on a horrifying and twisted journey the day Sasha her favourite book store owner hands her a book more mysterious than she has ever had the pleasure of laying her hands on before. Cindy who has a penchant for anything occult especially if it is in the form of an ancient tome instantly knows that this book is incredibly special. This book that seems to live up to the name Djinn right off the bat. At this point in the book I was honestly rooting her on, open the book, open the book. Who doesnt want their very own genie in a book that can make their every wish and dream come true? But it seems there are entities out there that do not want Cindy to succeed and will do anything in their power to prevent her from the magic of he Djinn and so starts a ride so dark and hard I was left breathless and shaking at every turn in the story. This was probably one of the most intense, scary and heart breaking books I have ever read and I honestly cannot wait to pick it up and read it all over again just to catch the lil bits I might have missed. If you are familiar with Poppet's unique and heart pounding style of writing then you will not be disappointed in any way shape or form. This is probably one of her best works yet. If you are unfamiliar with her work then Hold on enjoy the ride of a lifetime.

When I am in the mood for a quick and indulgent read I usually grab the closest romantic comedy I can find. (Brit-Chick-lit if at all possible) So that is all I was expecting from this novel. What I got was entirely different! First of all this is no quickie romance, at 496 pages it is definitely a full length novel. A novel that managed to play out the wonderful stories of the supporting characters beautifully without detracting in any way from Miranda's story. The story of the wonderfully kind hearted, quirky and over the top Miranda who shares her lunches with a homeless man and dotes on her elderly land lady. Her kind hearted nature triggers a sequence of events that lead us on a journey of comedy, romance, wicked revenge, heart break and love that I loved every rip roaring moment of.
Jill Mansell has an uncanny ability to make you care for every single character in her novel. There was a tragedy mid way through this book that affected me so deeply I almost feel as if it was a true story. Three days after finishing the book and my heart still twinges whenever I remember this scene and for that alone this book will go down as one of my favourites of all time. Even without that though this was still a wonderful book that I enjoyed every moment of.

TG

Would you care for a book with what is at first a strong heroine, turned lukewarmly submissive with a negligible rebellious streak? Hmm, I didn't see the change coming at first, and so I read through anyway.

The premise of Dawn's The Charmer was brilliant. A woman transported randomly into an alternate land where all the men cannot help but lust for her. Unfortunately, she has eyes for only one. Her original capturer, Keilor.

Through some meet and greets, she finds out her best friend, whose name turns out to be Rihlia, is really a princess or something who was lost to the human world. They just found her now, and she was arranged to be married to Jayems, which makes for a wonderfully unexplored secondary romance.

Why did they just find her now? Technical stuff, you wouldn't understand. Right, and why did you bring our wonderful main character Jasmine who is clearly human and not one of your kind there? Well, Rihlia wanted to say goodbye. If your eyebrows raised at that one, you're with me. Granted, the best part comes later.

Since Jasmine's nature as a human Charmer has been revealed, she is now forced to stay. And the only way to subdue her Charmer ways is to find her a mate who will have lots and lots of sex with her.

Ok, you had me at sex. And so the pages continued turning.

I ended up liking Dawn's story a lot more than I thought I would, but I wasn't impressed. I kept thinking the book would end, but then some new element would pop up and it would continue for fifty more pages. The plot was sporadic, the character's mostly disappointing and the more I reflect on it, the more I think she could have been a lot clearer with her storyline. It's a good diversion, but it's not an epic romance of any sort. The writing was good but not astounding.

Dawn's Charmer was a solid read that doesn't have me itching to go buy the other books in the series. It doesn't light a fire under my butt to keep going, keep reading until she's told me all the tale there is to spin. So, I'm going to call this book a diversion, but nothing more. You will spend time reading it, and if there's not anything else to watch on TV, you'll enjoy it.

Cheers,
Jay