2015 - Flops & Faves

Thanks to Goodreads, I discovered how many books I'd read in 2015. 
Guess how many...*drumroll*...
70. 
BOOM! 
If you want a full list of all the books I read, you can check this link out for the deets :)
 2015 | Books | Year In Review

I'd toyed with the idea of creating a book reviewing blog for...quite some time, but this Summer I finally made the decision to do it, and in the Fall- Books She Loves was born!

With reading 70 books, I've read nearly every fiction genre I can imagine (except horror or vampires- not my jam), a good dose of YA Fiction, some Dystopian, several Historical Fiction (my first- and forever love), Fantasy, Contemporary Thrillers, & Military Suspense.
I re-read some of my favourite authors, and also discovered some rad new ones. (Um...hello Ronie Kendig & Lisa T. Bergren) I read some gems, and some...not so fabulous ones. In honour of the closing of 2015, I'll share some of the highlights from each star category.

// 5 Stars \\                            // 4 Stars \\

Waterfall                                             Fatal Exchange

by Lisa T. Bergren                                                                  by Lisa Harris 

Torrent                                                Lethal Legacy 

by Lisa T. Bergren                                                                  by Irene Hannon

Talon                                                   The Messenger 

by Ronie Kendig                                                                     by Siri Mitchell 

Maire

by Linda Windsor

// 3 Stars \\                           // 2 Stars \\

Shattered                                               Dauntless 

by Dani Pettrey                                                                  by Dina L. Sleiman

Dangerous Passage                 The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest 

by Lisa Harris                                                            by Melanie Dickerson 

The Captain's Bride                              Taken

by Lisa T. Bergren                                                        by Dee Henderson

Beyond All Dreams                              Emissary 

by Elizabeth Camden                                                   by Thomas Locke

                                                     Along Came Jones 
                                                         by Linda Windsor 

// 1 Star \\

Esther: Royal Beauty

by Angela Hunt

Petticoat Detective 

by Margaret Brownley 

Pompeii: City On Fire

by T.L. Higley 

An Uncertain Choice 

by Jody Hedlund 

It was a good reading year- and I'm so glad I've finally started a blog, to chronicle all these books! Which ones have you read?
Any recommends for 2016?

Come say hello on Instagram- @bookssheloves for my reviewing account, and @ToAshleyNikole for my lifestyle one. Well, 2015, we bid you ado. Welcome 2016. 

Along Came Jones by Linda Windsor (Review by Ashley Nikole)

First time I read this book was during my mid-teen years, and I loved it. So, for the love of going back & reminiscing about a good book (which seems rare to find- I am decidedly a media snob and I'm not even sorry about it), several years later, I picked it up & started reading again. 

The first few chapters were great- I felt the plot & character's had a good deal of potential. There were some laughs along the way with a few moments of suspense that could have lead to something amazing, but...it didn't make the cut for me this time round. 

Why? 
I couldn't identify with the character's- maybe Shep (the dude) a small handful of times, but not often. I was not compelled by Diana, her situation, or virtually anything about her. 
The plot lagged & seemed to build up, go *poof* & then kinda smack you in the face when you weren't expecting it, but not in a good way. The plot didn't feel grounded. It just...floated. 

The romance was this awkward 'I don't know you but there's all this sizzling heat when I'm around you' type of thing, but there was no real friendship to back up their unexplained feelings for each other. 
If there is going to be a romantic, or even sexual pull for two character's, I need for there to be something more than the physical side of things backing it up. So, for the MC's (main character's) to have a pull between them, but they fight a bunch, don't trust each other & won't become friends, but they are falling in love...that seems like a recipe for disaster, and it just didn't make me want to root for their relationship. It was more annoying than anything else. 

I wanted to like this book, especially when the first time I read it, I was doing a happy dance cause I thought it was so adorable and sweet. Clearly my taste's in fiction have changed and the bar has been set higher. I'm okay with that. 
If this book floats your boat, great. For me, it didn't. This is not to say that I don't like Linda Windsor's writing. On the contrary, I've read several of her books and I love them- just not this one. 

The one thing I did enjoy about this book was Shep's old-fashioned gentlemanly cowboy behaviour. When the rest of the plot wasn't irking me, I must admit, it was sweet. Apart from that, this book was just a no-go all round. 

1.5 Stars. 

Have you read this book? What was your take on it?