Recently Read - Vol. 14 (Nov. '16)

It's the second Tuesday of the month!  Time to link up with Steph and Jana for their monthly book review roundup, Show Us Your Books.

November was an okay month for me in terms of reading.  I'm still in a slump, but at least I'm reading.  I haven't quit, damnit, and that's what counts!  Right? 

Without further ado, here are the books I read last month:

Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks

Read: November 1-10 | Format: Audiobook | My Rating: 3/5

I get a hankering for a romance novel involving men in kilts several times a year.  Although, to the best of my recollection, I don't recall the mention of a kilt anywhere in this book, I envisioned the men wearing them, none-the-less.

As far as romance novels go, this one struck a good balance between intriguing plot and hot, romantic scenes, if you catch my drift.

*If you like romances of this nature, I would recommend it.

Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
Read: November 11-22 | Format: Audiobook | My Rating: 3/5

Description from Goodreads:  The only trace of the first victim was his Shriner's fez washed up on the Miami beach. The second victim, the head of the city's chamber of commerce, was found dead with a toy rubber alligator lodged in his throat. And that was just the beginning... Now Brian Keyes, reporter turned private eye, must move from muckraking to rooting out murder, in a caper that will mix football players, politicians, and police with a group of fanatics and a very hungry crocodile.

I'm a fan of Hiaasen's noir humor and there were definitely a few moments during Tourist Season in which I honestly laughed out loud.  Given that Tourist Season was first published in 1986, it was also very much like an 80s time capsule (phone booths, Jane Fonda's workout on VHS).  I found this to be quite entertaining as well.  But, overall, Tourist Season lacked something and I'm not sure what.  It didn't pack the punch that I'm accustomed to (based on the other Hiaasen books I've read).

*If you are a Hiaasen fan, then you may want to check this out.  If you are new to Hiaasen's work, pass on this book and check out some of his other books instead.

Under Locke by Mariana Zapata
Read: November 27-December 10 | Format: Audiobook | My Rating: 2.5/5

Just as I get a hankering every once in while for a romance novel involving a man wearing kilt (see above), I also get a similar hankering periodically for a romance novel that features an alpha male riding a Harley.  

I had very high hopes for this book, very high.  With a 4.11 average rating on Goodreads and an average rating of 4.3 on Audible, I truly anticipated that Under Locke would...  rock my world.  

It didn't.

Why didn't it rock my world?  Well, let me count the reasons.  One, this book comes in at whopping 16 hours (audiobook format).  In my experience, this is just too long for an MC romance novel.  Two, although I initially appreciated the slow, gradual buildup of sexual tension between the two main characters, Iris and Dex, when I reached the halfway point and NOTHING had happened between them, I started to lose interest.  Three, this book was too wordy.  Four, the story is told from the female character's point of view.  Iris' overuse of rhetorical questions worked my nerves as did her use of stupid phrases such as "son of a biscuit eater."  Yes, she actually said in the book.  Do I really need to continue?

*I can't in good conscience recommend this book because it annoyed me that bad.  I'm actually surprised that I stuck with it until the very end.

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What have you read lately?  Anything that you would highly recommend?

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Linking up with Steph and Jana