June Reads...

June is gone but where the heck did it go? Last month's reading got off to a slow start for me. The family vacation to Disneyland and California Adventure cut into my reading time. I did some reading on the drive there and back but while we were there most of my down time was spent sleeping on the non-sleep number bed or complaining about my aching feet. :) (Yes, I missed my sleep number bed. *sob* Loves that bed!)

No DNFs this month that I remember. I did have one in May. (missed posting the May reads) It was an erotic romance. The heroes were aliens and their hair came alive, among other things. And since it's erotic, the hair got really friendly with the heroine. ICK! I had other problems with the book like the old alien forced seduction. Luckily, I don't have too many DNFs and I think it's due to the fact that the majority of books I read are either from favorite authors or because of good reviews from you guys. :)

The final count is 11 books read. Not bad but I hope to read more of my personal and library TBR piles this month. Yep, I even have a library TBR pile. The city library allows 99 renewals so as long as no one requests the book, I keep renewing, having faith that I'll get to it. :)

I'll also get my challenges read for this month. *shakes fist in air* I totally flaked on every single one last month so I plan to start early, like this weekend. :D

Countdown/Michelle Maddox/Futuristic/B+
The Making of a Duchess/Shana Galen/Historical/B-
I'm Watching You/Karen Rose/Romantic Suspense/B+
Tied Up, Tied Down/Lorelei James/Erotic Romance/Review to follow
Kiss Me If You Can/Carly Phillips/Contemporary/B+
Beyond the Night/Joss Ware/PNR/B
The Iron Daughter/Julie Kagawa/YA/Review to follow
Beauty's Beasts/Teal Ceagh/Erotic Romance/B+
Embrace the Night Eternal/Joss Ware/PNR/B
Chimera/Rob Thurman/SCIFI/Review to follow
Criminal Instinct/Kelly Lynn Parra/Romantic Suspense/Review to follow

The breakdown ~

Contemporary ~ 1
Erotic ~ 2
Futuristic ~ 1
Historical ~ 1
PNR ~ 2
Romantic Suspense ~ 2
SCIFI ~ 1
YA ~ 1

The reading was definitely mixed - a little here, a little there. I suppose the Futuristic, PNR and SCIFI could all be lumped together but there's really no stand out genre. I think it all has to do with mood. I'm a very moody reader. ;)

Review: Countdown

Countdown
Michelle Maddox
Action Romance (on the spine)
Dorchester/August 2008
Purchased

From the back cover ~

THREE
Kira Jordan wakes up in a pitch-black room handcuffed to a metal wall. She has 60 seconds to escape. Thus begins a vicious game where to lose is to die.

TWO
The man she's been partnered with--her only ally in this nightmare--is a convicted mass murderer. But if he's so violent, why does he protect her? And stranger still, what is it behind those haunted sea-green eyes that makes her want to protect him?

ONE
No one to trust. Nowhere to run. And the only hope of survival is working together to beat the

COUNTDOWN

Jill at Romance Rookie reviewed this not too long ago and really enjoyed it. It just so happened that on my next trip to the UBS they had it so I picked it up and took it with to Disneyland. I started reading it in the car and didn't want to stop. It's a very quick read with lots of action and suspense. Even during the slow parts there is that element of the unknown.

The story starts out with Kira literally in the dark, a place she really hates being. She's had some tough times in her 22 years. Her parents and sister were killed when she was a teen and she's been living on her own ever since. Her world shares a few similarities to ours but is far more bleak and unfriendly than the Earth we're familiar with. It's a good thing Kira is a survivor because she find herself in a game that losing equals death. Kira's self-preservation is in high gear and her past experiences help her but she does make a few stupid mistakes that had me shaking my head.

Rogan is the hero but he's also a convicted mass murderer. Wow. How to get past that? Not easy and he isn't exactly forthcoming about his past. He says he didn't commit the crimes he's been convicted of but isn't that what all criminals say? He wasn't easy to get to know for Kira or the reader. You know he's hiding a whole bunch of stuff and it does slowly come to light but there is that element of uncertainty when it comes to his motives. I never thought he would kill Kira to win but I didn't think he would play fair either. I wouldn't say I liked him since I didn't find his past very appealing but he did keep things interesting.

Countdown is a game consisting of six progressively difficult levels. At each level there is the potential for death. We get to experience the game from Kira's POV, which worked most of the time. There were times when I would have liked to explore Rogan's POV but that would have changed the tone of the story so I do understand why Maddox chose to keep it to just Kira's POV. While I found Kira and Rogan interesting, in the end, it was the game itself that I enjoyed the most. I kept wondering what would happen next and what new secret would be revealed. I liked the twists that the plot and characters take to get to the end of the game.

If you're looking for something a bit different with a ton of action and romance on the run, then I would give Countdown a try.

Rating: B+