Reading Challenge Link Ups--New To You, Historical Romance, Erotic Romance

Herding Cats is hosting 3 reading Challenges this year!

For those participating you'll find the link ups for your reviews below.

Just click the link for whichever challenge you're participating in and add your reviews to the linky in that post. Those wanting to join in? You're welcome any time!

So! Who is doing what?! Any books you plan on trying out?
Have you done a reading challenge before?

Quote-tastic/Review--Last Warning!-- The Drifter by Anna Schmidt

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) You can share via FB as well! Just make sure the post is set to Public.

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section. 

So. This week a new to me author and a sweet one too. The Drifter was one of my favorite reads this year--the characters were just amazing--and this little moment between the hero and heroine just had me smiling...

The Monthly Herd--August 2015--"Saturday", Graphics & pretteh books

August is almost over!!! Thank goodness! August was a bitch on the personal front. It was a rough month but we made it though and I'm more than ready to say goodbye to the summer. Goodness. Then I had my "Saturday" yesterday and prezzies and cake were had by all. I may have over cake-d myself. Holy cow. But yum!

Things on the blog went well. Just kept blogging along :) I did update some graphics. What do yall think?? The banner got an redo and my reviews have a new graphic too with 3d book covers on em. Woohoo for learning a new technique! I need to come up with a catchy slogan for the blog but so far haven't landed on the right one yet. It's driving me crazy! Other than that not too much. I have a new tour open for September and will link that below :) if there are any bloggers who would like to join in :)

Today we're totally gonna celebrate...ME!!!!! Yes! I said it. You are! lol

That's right. We're gonna celebrate me for 24 man candy infused hours. Because I'm fucking awesome. *nods*

And today...is my day.

There will be no mention of the b-word. Dooooon't do it!

However 'Happy Saturday's are more than welcome.

How are we gonna celebrate the gloriousness that is mwah?
With the most perfect day...ever. Of course. <grins>

3.5 stars-- Tracker's End (Wind Dragons MC #3) by Chantal Fernando

Tracker's End was...one helluva lot of fun and pulled me in completely with it's fan yourself sexy, laugh out loud humor and a fabulous crew of characters. I had a great time as Tracker and Lana finally did something about their year long attraction and the 'good girl' finally snagged herself a bad boy biker. Add in a pierced cock and some Ed Sheeran fandom and, hell yeah, I had a good time and maybe just a couple squees along the way too.

Frisk Me (New York's Finest #1) by Lauren Layne

So. This is going to be a weird review because Frisk Me left me feeling very conflicted and split pretty much down the middle on what I thought about it. So in a way I'm going to do two reviews.

But first the quick of it. Luc is a cop in NYC and he's in the spotlight because he's...a hero. He rescued a little girl who fell into the river and saved her life and just happened to get caught on camera doing so and now he's a wee bit famous and being targeted by a national news station and their reporter, Ava, who want to do a 3 hour special on him. And his bosses at the precinct aren't giving him much of a choice. He's gonna chat it up with this reporter and she's gonna follow him around near constantly for a few weeks to get an in depth look at the man behind the badge.

3 stars--Chase the Darkness (Alpha Pack, #7) JD Tyler

I have been loving on the Alpha Pack series the last couple books--yes, yes, I came late to the game lol--and I enjoyed Chase the Darkness to a point. Full of sexy shifters and a strong heroine, a little suspense and hot lovin' and a touching romance that saved two lost souls. There was a lot of good happening here. But I had a decent number of issues too.

The quick of it is that after being captured by the enemy and tortured Micah suffers from PTSD and addiction has gripped his life. He's at an all time low, barely holding it together and becoming more and more of a risk to his team and the dangerous missions they're sent on. Until one night he notices Jacee. A lonely bartender with a big secret and may be the only one who can save his life.

Book Deals--New Releases (8/25) & Sales & Freebies!

LOTS of amazing books out this week! Get your pre-orders in now!
Just FYI Book Deals will be linked into the blog banner if you want to check them out at any point during the month :)
Yall read any of these authors? Have a favorite?

Quote-tastic/Review--I hate myself *hangs head*-- Sustained by Emma Chase

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) You can share via FB as well! Just make sure the post is set to Public.

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section. 

---

My first Emma Chase! And I loved it! So first off Sustained is told from the hero's POV and he is a doozie of a man which made for quite the ride. Alright. So the hero in this one is a lawyer who is all about the casual screw, doing what feels good and moving on. No commitments. No mess. Ever. But he's managed to get himself landed smack in the middle of a family--the heroine and her 6 nieces and nephews who all happen to be down with a stomach bug. And he just can't seem to say no to any of them...

In My Cart-- Bon Appétit Pizza

Every now and again I like to do a different type of review. This time...Bon Appétit pizza.

I received a free coupon via BzzAgent to check this out.

Randomly Random: Ten Things Romance Books Need to Rock More Often..

Ten Things Romance Books Need To Rock More Often...

10.  Heroes with cats. 

Yes. Cat Men. Bring on the fucking Cat Men. lol LOVE when the hero has a kitty or two or three.

9. Condoms. And fun, sexy ones. 

Unless other precautions are happening bring on those damn rubbers. But have fun with it. I talked about this before. I know. I can't help it. I want fun and sexy condom scenes not ones that are just a token nod to safety. Glow in the dark, flavored, a rainbow of colors, ones with funny sayings. Or just hot and filthy scenes where plain old regular ones are used.

4 stars--Riding Dirty (Dirty Eleven #1) by Jill Sorenson

I was way late to the Dirty Eleven game but hot damn I got there and oh I loved it! Great characters, hot sex, a slightly taboo relationship. Manipulations, danger, dirty deals, revenge. Gah. So good! Sorenson had me panting for more the second I closed that last page.

The quick of it is that Mia's husband was killed years earlier by MC members and she wants her revenge. Which has come in the form of one dangerous and sexy biker who's made a deal with authorities. They'll spring him from prison early in exchange for turning informant on his club and the deal includes weekly visits with a psychologist...Mia. He knows the life and the two share a common enemy in the rival MC club and she fully intends on using that to her advantage. Messy. So messy. *rubs hands together*

Cat Thursday-- Saying Good-bye

Welcome to the weekly meme hosted by The True Book Addict that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats!

Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of kitteh!

More Cat Thursday Posts

August has been a hard month with the herd. My mom lost one of her boys suddenly and this week I lost the herd eldest, Piedmont. He was one of my semi-ferals and we're guessing around 15 years old. He was a rather...difficult boy most of his life. Very strong, very anti doing whatever any human said and would run and fight until you left him be. But man we loved him. This week he started crashing and it turned out he had kidney disease. He spent a few days at the vet on meds and letting us love on him (a rarity) and finally decided he was ready to go so we had to say good-bye.

I really don't want this to be a sad post though.

I wanted to share a bit about my boy and ask that yall share happy memories from your herd angels too. 

Interview w/ Cecilia London--food poisoning for the #win?

Hey guys! Today we've got Cecilia London joining us to talk about her Bellator Saga. It sounds crazy interesting. Book two (Conscience) has just come out and book one (Dissident) is free right now so be sure to go grab a copy of that! Alright, check out our chat then hit the comments and leave Miss Cecilia some comment love! ~anna

Bloggers Wanted: Monica Beggs Tour Sign Up!

Hey guys! I'm organizing a tour for Sheri Fredricks for September. If you have space we'd love to have you join us! There's a variety of post options and it doesn't have to be top post. More info and sign up is below. Thanks yall!

Book Deals--New Releases (8/18) & Sales & Freebies!

LOTS of amazing books out this week! Get your pre-orders in now!
Just FYI Book Deals will be linked into the blog banner if you want to check them out at any point during the month :)
Yall read any of these authors? Have a favorite?

3.5 stars--Just a Summer Fling (Sullivan Lake #1) by Cate Cameron

I saw this cover and immediately thought oOooo cute! and had to get my hands on a copy. And...it was cute but a lot more too.  Just a Summer Fling was perfect for a summer afternoon. Fun, a little sexy and sweet and with a nice extra layer of depth that keep things interesting as Josh and Ashley battle an undeniable attraction, vastly different lifestyles and pasts that are catching up with them.

The quick of it is that Josh is a handyman in a vacation town. He used to both work and play with the "summer people" who descend on their idyllic lake town each year but things got messy and now he's trying to avoid entangles with them and the way the play with the lives of the locals while they're on vacation. Hell of a thing when a young actress--who is connected to one of the summer women Josh previously had an affair with--comes into town and the sparks fly between them. Dragging him intimately into the world of the rich vacationers he tries to avoid, once again.

Quote-tastic/Review-- Smug thing...-- Scandal Never Sleeps by Shayla Black & Lexi Blake

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another.

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) You can share via FB as well! Just make sure the post is set to Public.

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section. 

Aaaaaand this book was make-a-girl-shiver good. Mystery and scandal and a fabulous cast and sexy hero. Was a lot of fun. Review is down below. But first...the quote.

So this quote. I had to pick it. I can just see that cocky ass grin and damn if I can help returning it. lol

Tag: The Cat Herder [Edition 10--cats, naps & penis escorts]

I get tagged, tweeted, private messaged all the time with variations of... "omg this so reminded me of you! (or) that book you're reading!" which...okay...at this point...kinda makes me nervous. I just never know WHAT it's going to be. lol

And I thought it might be fun to start putting those random and wonderfully weird things people think just scream...me. This feature won't always be, erm, family friendly. Heh. Big <tackle hugs> to everyone who tags me. Yall really make my days so fun :)

  

Word from the Herd: Do Reviews Really Matter?

I saw a couple posts on FB recently and they made me a spot sad and, well, curious too.

One post was geared towards authors, one at readers.

And the question posed was...do you read reviews? Why or why not?

Interview w/ Lauren Layne--sweet tea, cops & boring socks?! *raises eyebrow*

Hey guys! Lauren Layne is dropping in for a chat today. I love her books. The Best Mistake series is to die for. Anywho. She's here today to talk about her newest series :) Yall check it out and leave her some comment love :) ~anna

4 stars--Rough Edges (Edge #5) by Shannon K. Butcher

Non stop romantic-suspense goodness in one pretty little package. Oh yes. Rough Edges delivered all the goods!

The quick of it is that there's a bad guy in need of being taken down--same bad guy from previous books in the series--and it's come down to Bella and Victor who are going to do whatever it takes--including getting up close and personal with each other--to make sure it happens.

4 Stars--Wolf Trouble (SWAT #2) by Paige Tyler

Aw, yay! Do you see the happy smile? Because there's totally a happy smile happening here, people! Wolf Trouble was just one of those easy reads. You know, the ones where you're reading along and look up and realize holy cow I'm already 50% through! and it just feels like no time at all has passed because you're totally into it and the characters and cruising along having a great time with them. I love that feeling!

The quick of it is that the SWAT team is being forced to add to it's ranks to keep the city's higher ups happy. They want a woman added to the all male team to head off any potential discrimination lawsuits. And the guys...aren't so happy. It's a bit of an issue since this team? Is made up of werewolves and what the devil are they going to do with having a female human on the team who could out their unique situation, ya know? Anywho. A woman they need...and a woman they're gonna get in the form of a female cop desperate to start over in a new city after her unit turned their backs on her.

Book Deals--New Releases (8/11) & Sales & Freebies!

LOTS of amazing books out this week! Get your pre-orders in now!
Just FYI Book Deals will be linked into the blog banner if you want to check them out at any point during the month :)
Yall read any of these authors? Have a favorite?

Quote-tastic/Review--Wait, you read what??--Make Me by Tessa Bailey

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) You can share via FB as well! Just make sure the post is set to Public.

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section. 

Tessa Bailey...is my crack. I freaking love this woman's books and Make Me was even more goodness heaped on all the fabulous she writes. lol I had to pick 3 quotes. *hangs head* This first one. The hero has it bad for the heroine but it's a no-go. She's friend zoned him without realizing he wanted something more. His, erm, manly bits are having a hard time remembering they aren't gonna get any...

Tasty Delights--Cauliflower "Mac" & Cheese (you know, like mac & cheese)

Heh. So, I'm trying to be healthier. That...doesn't always go well since I lurve my food and playing in the kitchen. But I'm trying and one of the things I love is Mac & Cheese. But omg the calories! Then I saw a post about a veggie "Mac"&Cheese using Cauliflower that was 'just as good!'. I love cauliflower too so figured...sure. 

Well. This is NOT a substitute for Mac&Cheese. It's yummy. But, yeah, it totally does NOT quench that Mac&Cheese craving. *flails so hard*

Word from the Herd: Authors! Come give Bloggers YOUR advice!

Soooo today we're having a DOUBLE feature!

In our community bloggers and authors are so connected. It can be an amazing thing but it can also lead to some frustrations since we all work hard but have such different jobs and talents. 

I thought it would be interesting to see what advice Bloggers and Authors would give each other.

Things they wish the other knew or would do, etc.

Either things they love when the other does or things that frustrate them.

Please mention two things only. And please keep things civil :)

For THIS page: Authors what would YOU like to say to Bloggers?

Word from the Herd: Bloggers! Come give Authors YOUR advice!

Soooo today we're having a DOUBLE feature!

In our community bloggers and authors are so connected. It can be an amazing thing but it can also lead to some frustrations since we all work hard but have such different jobs and talents. 

I thought it would be interesting to see what advice Bloggers and Authors would give each other.

Things they wish the other knew or would do, etc.

Either things they love when the other does or things that frustrate them.

Please mention two things only. And please keep things civil :)

For THIS page: Bloggers what would YOU like to say to Authors?

3 stars--Without Restraint (Southern Shield #1) by Angela Knight

So, Without Restraint caught me by surprise pretty much from page one since I don't read blurbs and was expecting scifi-ish something and walked right into an erotic BDSM romantic suspense! Um. Hello, flogger! lol I'm good with that though. I do love a bit of spice. And spice it had! A lot of sensitive issues brandied about as well.

The quick of it is that Frank and Alexis have kind of been hooked up by friends and decided to pursue their mutual kinky interests in BDSM together. Yay kink! There's an undeniable connection between them and one that's thrown into overdrive when tragedy strikes the local police department and they find their lives turned upside down not only with their new relationship but with being faced with a cop killer in their town as well.

Interview w/ Kelly Bowen--Francis Drake, The Banana Bread gods & time travel!

Hey guys! Kelly Bowen is joining us today! I read her for the first time back in July when book one of her series...I've Got My Duke to Keep Me Warm was my in real life book club pick. It was so much fun so had to get her on here to visit with yall :) Check out our chat and be sure to leave her some pretteh comment love :) ~anna

Tasty Delights w/ Mary Behre-- Mandelbrot!

Hey guys! One of my favorite ladies-- Mary Behre--is joining us today with a Tasty Delight. Her series is romantic suspense with a bit of woo-woo added in. It's so fun! The heroines have 'crifts' aka cursed gifts where they can see ghosts or talk with animals or get visions from objects--that's her current heroine from Energized. It's verra verra good. Anywho. Check out her Tasty Delight and be sure to check out my review for Energized that went up this morning too! ~anna

4 stars--Energized (Tidewater #3) by Mary Behre

Woohoo! Now this is what you call stellar romantic suspense. Energized gave me all the tingles I was looking for starting with one hella sexy (and sometimes grumbly) Marine. *swoons* Romance, awesome characters, fan yourself sexy times and one heck of a surprise twist. Add in a dash of woo-woo (the heroine gets visions from touching objects) and some crazy creepy visions and, oh yea...awesome time. Loved it to bits.

Alright, so the quick of it is that Hannah has gone searching for her long lost sisters and the stars just happen to align exactly right bringing her back into the life of one sexy Marine she shared a scorchingly hot night with months earlier. Pretty much her life has just turned all topsy turvy and a little bit crazy too.

Quote-tastic/Review-- Dammit, Tucker! --All Wound Up by Jaci Burton

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another.

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) You can share via FB as well! Just make sure the post is set to Public.

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section!

I love me some Jaci Burton and can't resist her Play-by-Play series and all it's sexy athletes. And I was seriously loving this one and it's oh so lickable baseball player.

Book Deals--New Releases (8/4) & Sales & Freebies!

LOTS of amazing books out this week! Get your pre-orders in now!
Just FYI Book Deals will be linked into the blog banner if you want to check them out at any point during the month :)
Yall read any of these authors? Have a favorite?

Reading Challenge Link Ups--New to You, Erotic Romance, Historical Romance

Herding Cats is hosting 3 reading Challenges this year!

For those participating you'll find the link ups for your reviews below.

Just click the link for whichever challenge you're participating in and add your reviews to the linky in that post. Those wanting to join in? You're welcome any time! All link ups are retroactive to Jan 1st so any books this year count no matter when you join :)

So! Who is doing what?! Any books you plan on trying out this month?

August Giveaway Link Up!

Thought it would be fun to get a bunch of giveaways all together :)

If you have or see one about that needs a little love feel free to link it in and share the post!

It'll be open the entire month.