It's time for a nap!

I don't like Mondays, especially after a long weekend. I usually feel tired - I don't know why, considering all the rest I have, or should have had, during the weekend - and wish I could take a nap after lunch. If only I had someone like David lying on my couch like this...

Oh boy, I think I'm about to have a heart attack!!! *fans herself*

David Gandy - Swide.com Interview

An interview with David Gandy - one of the world's leading male models and face of Dolce & Gabanna - on the backstage at the FW10 Dolce & Gabbana catwalk show.

David Gandy: becoming a Gentleman

February 13, 2012 - In an interview with Swide, David Gandy talks about his life and reveals to his fans that he is not only the best on the runway, but he is a real gentleman with a big heart off it, too.

David Gandy - Vogue.com Interview

December 5, 2011 - David Gandy speaks to Vogue.com UK during the 'Online Fashion Week' about his life, career and future ambitions from the London Eye.

David Gandy's Spicy Interview

September 7, 2011 - Dolce & Gabbana's columnist Mondo Trasho has asked the questions that we have always wanted to ask David Gandy. She doesn't want to know about his favorite color, where he grew up or what he likes to eat when he is relaxing, no no. She is far more interested in what goes on between the sheets... and aren't we all?
THANK YOU, Mondo Trasho!

David Gandy on Jonathan Ross - April 30, 2010

He's drop dead gorgeous, funny and seems to be an overall nice guy. Purrrrfection in human form! Need I say more? ;-)

Review: "Miss January" by Madison Hayes

Miss January by Madison Hayes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Nice H/h, even though they were sometimes too quick to jump to conclusions, interesting setup - I really liked the way they "met" and I know what I'll be doing the next time a sexy stranger with a velvet voice dials the wrong number and reaches me - and smoking hawt love scenes. That's what I call good smut! ;)

If you're wondering what Cash looks like, here's a pic that fits him - and the story - perfectly:



Seriously, there's a scene in the book that's exactly like that pic!

Note: After I read this book, I found out that it isn't the first in the series. How come? Isn't January the first month of the year? Darn, my OCD can't process that, LOL!



View all my reviews

Review: "Christmas Hookup" by Lex Valentine

Christmas Hookup by Lex Valentine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4 1/2 stars

Awww, this was such a cute story! I loved it - and that's all I can say because it's a quickie and I don't want to give away any spoilers. (Yes, Ms. Valentine has managed to include a nice plot twist in this very short story. I must have a look at her backlist. If she's good enough to pull something this good within the word limit of a quickie, imagine what she can do without that constraint.)

Here's Riley (he's a model and this pic has everything to do with the story):





View all my reviews

Review: "Lover Unbound" by J.R. Ward

Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This isn't a review, it's a rant and it's full of spoilers. There are plenty of reviews of this book all around and I don't feel like writing another one. BUT I do need to get this anger off my chest, so here I go...

First off, let me say that I was warned about the crappy ending of this book beforehand. I wasn't thrilled about it, but I was willing to give Ms. Ward the chance to prove me that she had pulled it off in a satisfying way when all was said and done. Well, she didn't... at least, not where I'm concerned. Yeah, I know this is PNR and a ghost shouldn't be that strange in this scenario, but the oops-I-didn't-see-you-and-I-stepped-through-you freaked me out. Maybe I could have gone along with that if I didn't care much for Jane, but I liked her and felt that she got the shaft. What was wrong with Ms. Ward? The 1st time she gave us a BDB heroine with a spine, she kills her in the end! Not only that, she takes her spine off first, turns her into a clingy mess, then kills her. :( Is Ms. Ward so jealous of her Brothers that she had to smash the competition? I don't care that Jane and V were more than happy with her "fate" as it was, because I didn't buy it. The whole thing felt more like settling than a true HEA.

In my mind, V and Jane's romance was doomed from the start. As the story opened, he was still pretty much in love with Butch and jealous of the other man's shellan Marissa, so it was a shock to see how fast he fell for Jane. In fact, "fast" doesn't begin to describe it. I was glad to see him getting over Butch, because the last thing I wanted was to watch V pining over Butch over and over again like he did in Lover Revealed, but I didn't like the way Ward handled that. As for V's sexual kinkiness, I admit I was leery of it after reading the previous book because I'm not into BDSM. Once again, Ward gave V an instant character change and V's alleged Dom nature fell apart in Jane's hands. I admit I didn't miss seeing V in full Dom behavior since that isn't my cuppa, but I have to say that Ward failed to deliver what she'd hinted in the previous books.

May I rant about the other characters too? Oh boy, where to start?...

The Scribe Virgin - I loathe the ground air she floats in. I'd better stop here.

Phury - I still don't like him very much - his depression is, well, depressing - but I'm starting to feel sorry for him. Sorry, not pity. He's constantly "abused" by his Brothers, IMHO. He gives and gives and gives, then gives some more - and no one reaches a hand to help him. They know he loves Z's shellan Bella, but do they care? No. Z and Bella keep haunting him, asking him to help them go through some bumps in their "marriage" (I forgot what Ward calls it) without thinking how hurtful that must be to poor Phury. No wonder he turns into drugs for relief, which is another example of how little his Brothers care about him. They just sit back and let him sink deeper and deeper. There's no intervention, no tough love, nada.

Cormia - I'm on the fence about her. She's too innocent, frail and submissive, which can be explained by her being a Chosen but is still annoying. She reminds me of Marissa in her spineless days before she mated with Butch and that isn't a good thing, but who knows, Ward can give her a character change in the next book.

JM - What's happening to him? I'm not sure I like him posttrans and I definitely don't like him with Xhex because they don't fit, IMHO. I do like the Darius' connection, though. Will we ever find out what ties them together?

Qhuinn & Blaylock - JM's buddies' sole purpose in the story is to protect JM - at least, so far. Qhuinn's a manwhore and I'm sorry he can't catch any STD. Blaylock is sweet and I really hope he can find someone else to love. A gay man, if you please. Do you hear me, Ward?

Tohr - Where is he??? Isn't it time he came back yet?

As for the overal story, this book had good and bad parts. What I liked the most was the total absence of the Omega, whatever recruiter he had in charge at the moment and the mandatory new lesser-in-training. Sure, there were lessers around doing their nasty thing just to keep the Brothers busy and set the stage for the unfortunate HEA, but their scenes were more "connected" to the story this time. They had a purpose. In the previous books, every fight scene seemed the same and it only served to show how invincible the Brothers were. That isn't so true anymore, and that was good.

I also liked the development of the overall story arc - some surprises there! - even though Ward could have given V a better mother. I felt sorry for V, but that was an interesting twist in the story. And to think that his mother didn't content herself with playing havoc with his life... *shudders*

So, am I going to keep reading this series? As of now, no, but I might change my mind in the future. I do want to read Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella's Story, though.





View all my reviews

Review: "Lover Revealed" by J.R. Ward

Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Considering how late to the BDB party I am, I'm not going to write a review on this book. This is just a "collection of my random thoughts" so I can keep the story straight in my mind, and therefore it's bound to be full of spoilers. If you haven't read this book yet and don't like being spoiled, stop reading this "review" now. I'm not kidding!

Okay, here I go...

When I finished Lover Awakened, the previous book in the series, I didn't feel much compelled to keep going with the BDB books. I mean, I really liked the 1st 3 books, but I didn't think that Butch and Marissa belonged together and wasn't that interested in reading about them. Eventually, my curiosity couldn't stand it any longer and I had to find out how Butch, Marissa and, well, Vishous would "untangle the web" of their messed up lives.

Now that I read Lover Revealed, am I happy with Butch and Marissa's bonding? Yes, absolutely! Ms. Ward changed my mind about them and I ended up being very glad to see them together. I so wanted them together that I started disliking V for his "crush" on Butch. I already had to suffer Phury pining for Bella in Lover Awakened, and I wasn't in the mood for a repeat performance featuring V and Butch. At one point, I started to think that V was just pathetic, and that isn't a good thing considering his book is the next one in the series.

Anyway, back to Butch and Marissa... I loved Butch and the way he was completely devoted to Marissa. I never doubted his love for her. When I thought they didn't belong together, it was only because I didn't think she was worthy of him. In this book, Ms. Ward did a good job redeeming Marissa. Even though Marissa grated on my nerves a couple of times, especially when she resorted to her cowardice due to her inability to deal with Butch's joining the Brotherhood's fight against the lessers, she came a long way from the wimpy spineless doormat she'd been in the 1st books. So I ended up liking her, but she was far from becoming a favorite heroine of mine.

As for having Butch turned into a vampire and being inducted into the Brotherhood, I loved it! Halfway through the story, I began to worry about his future as I thought Ms. Ward was going to turn him into a "good" lesser but, thankfully, that didn't happen. It was nice to see Butch with a new purpose in life because, frankly, he deserved being more than a BDB pet whose sole job was to drive the Brothers around. I have to say that I'm a bit wary of Butch's future, though. All that "inhaling business" left the door opened for bad things to happen, and I don't trust Ms. Ward not to pull something "nasty" unexpectedly. After all, this is the same author who didn't hesitate to kill Wellsie in Lover Awakened...

A BDB book isn't only about the main H/h, so Lover Revealed wasn't only about Butch and Marissa. As usual, there were other storylines running along the main love story and, even though I don't particularly like it, I'm getting used to it. I still can't stand the scenes with the lessers, mainly because they all seem pretty much the same: the lesser du jour (pick any letter from the alphabet) hatches an evil plan to kill the Brothers, recruits a new "apprentice", the evil plan fails, the Omega gets p!ssed, and the lesser du jour is killed. Lather, rinse, repeat, and you're ready for the next book.

As for the other storylines, V had some major scenes in this book - as expected - and I can't say I was happy with them. Besides his pining for Butch, which I already said it was annoying, his kinky side was a bit disturbing because I'm not into BDSM. I'd better brace myself for a bumpy ride next... *drags her feet to get Lover Unbound*

On the bright side, I enjoyed getting updates on John and I'm looking forward to his transition, even though I feel it isn't going to be an easy one. If only Tohr was around to help the boy get his act together... Thankfully, Wrath and Z stepped up to the plate and knocked some sense into him.

All things considered, I enjoyed this read better than I had expected. I haven't become a die-hard fan of this series yet, but I'll keep reading it... Well, I'm going to read Lover Unbound and see how it goes.





View all my reviews

Review: "Lover Awakened" by J.R. Ward

Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4 1/2 stars



"Everyone" has already read this book, so I'm just going to rant a bit...

Zsadist had me intrigued since I read Dark Lover, because he was pretty much an outcast within the Brotherhood and I knew there had to be something "good" inside him. I also knew that his story would be "scary" (for lack of a better word) and, boy, I was not mistaken! I thought Sin MacAllister from Kinley MacGregor's Born in Sin was the most tortured hero in Romancelandia but, compared to Z's, Sin's life was a merry walk in the park. Z's mind was so twisted that, for a moment, I doubted the possibility of a believable HEA for him. I shouldn't have, though. Can I just say I loved the epilogue? :)

Bella was everything Z needed. She had been attracted to him since they first met in Lover Eternal and, for reasons he couldn't understand, he also felt a strong connection to her. When presented with the chance to be with Z, Bella was honest and direct about it - and I congratulated her for it. But then, Z told her to go away in the end and, instead of fighting for them, she just complied!?! Not what I expected from a woman/vampire who had just killed her kidnapper, but that gave room for the wonderful scene with Z writing her that sigh-worthy note, so I guess I can excuse that.

Now, Phury... Call me insensitive but, at this point, I almost despise him. I was probably supposed to embrace him as a larger-than-life, altruistic man/vampire, but he just came across as a pathetic loser - not to mention, drug addict - to me. Get a life, my brother!

And Tohr... Why, oh why did Ms. Ward feel the need to do that to him? Didn't we have enough wild and wrecked Brothers? Couldn't we have at least one "normal" guy among them? Based on some comments I'd heard before reading this book, I knew Wellsie was going to die, but that didn't make me less unhappy when the time came.

As it happened in the previous book, Lover Eternal, I didn't care for the scenes with the lessers in this book either and I wish Ms. Ward stopped giving them so much "screen time". I know I don't stand a chance of seeing this happening, so I guess this series will never get a 5-star rating for me. Oh well, it isn't like that would make any difference, because these books have already a gazillion rabid fans and I won't be missed, LOL.





View all my reviews

Review: "Lover Eternal" by J.R. Ward

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm so late to the BDB series, that there's really nothing left for me to say about this book, LOL.

Anyway, here's my two cents...

I loved Rhage, and that's saying a lot considering that he had sex with another woman even though he was already in love with Mary. That should have made me yell "cheater" at the top of my lungs but, due to some miraculous writing by Ms. Ward, it only made me feel sorry for him. I think I even forgave him before Mary did. What was "wrong" with me??? And he actually made me cry - twice! He was just wonderful! *sighs*

On the other hand, Mary didn't wowed me that much. She was nice - even too nice sometimes - but I didn't connect with her. Maybe that was intentional on my part, because I had a hard time reading about her dealing with her leukemia and I ended up skimming through most the scenes where that subject came up. As for her easy acceptance of Rhage's beast, it was unbelievable. Okay, she went through a lot since she'd met Rhage and the Brotherhood, but only a lunatic would pet a spitting-mad dragon. But she truly loved Rhage, so I guess that was okay.

Regarding the overall story, the UF vibe that I first felt in Dark Lover was present in this book too, and it's starting to bother me. I just don't care about following too many storylines at the same time. I know all that stuff will lead to something important in future books but, by the time I read the next books in the series, I won't remember most of it. Rhage and Mary's love story was beautiful though, and that's what really matters to me. :)





View all my reviews

Review: "Dark Lover" by J.R. Ward

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had this book sitting on my TBR for a while, but I wasn´t too compelled to read it because, quite frankly, vampires were always a bit too creepy for me. Anyway, I was finally convinced to give it a try and, thankfully, I was not disappointed. :)

I confess that the whole bloodsucking stuff is still kinda creepy to me - I know some people find it sexy, but I just don´t get it -, so I thank J.R. Ward for toning it down and not making such a big deal out of it. These BDB vampires are completely different from what I was used to see and read "everywhere" else, and I feel like those humans Wrath mocked when he explained to Beth how wrong our beliefs were, LOL.

I really liked the world and the story arc created by J.R. Ward, but some things were a bit over the top. Since it´s PNR, I could let it go more easily, but there were one or two moments where I found myself sighing - and not in a good way.

I also thought that there were some moments that would have been best served by showing instead of telling. Some scenes were "interrupted" in the middle, never to be picked up again. Instead, I was told what happened by one of the characters musings or, worse, by the "narrator". I don´t know if this was the author´s choice or if she was "forced" to do it in order to reduce the lenght of the book, but the end result is, this writing style didn´t work too well for me.

As for the characters, I really liked Wrath and Beth, both strong and deeply in love with each other - I LOVED their mating ceremony! -, but it was the whole ensemble that attracted me: the Brotherhood (Tohrment, Rhage, Vishous, Phury and Zsadist), Butch and Marissa - I got the feeling that they had almost as much "screen time" as Wrath and Beth -, Havers, and even Mr. X. I know Dark Lover is labeled as a romance novel - and there is a good romance story in it - but it´s more than "just" that, IMHO. And that´s not a bad thing... :)





View all my reviews

Eye Candy: Ben Lewis - "Heart of Fire" by Linda Howard

Heart of Fire by Linda Howard

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I've yet to write a review, but I found this pic today and couldn't help thinking of this book yummy Ben...



... and this particular scene:

He had stripped down to the skin with an utter lack of modesty that told her he was accustomed to being naked with a woman. Why would any woman in her right mind want him to wear clothes anyway? He was tall and lean and superbly muscled, and his buttocks were so round and taut that her hands instinctively curled into fists in an effort to resist patting them. He had the shoulders of a stevedore and the legs of an athlete, long and powerful. She had never enjoyed looking at a man more.

He stepped under the waterfall and let the water splash over him while he tilted his head back and shook his hair. Sunlight dappled on the flexing muscles of that marvelously strong body, and the water droplets spraying through the air glittered like diamonds. His genitals hung heavily between his thighs, and he was so perfectly, utterly male that her chest constricted, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Then he looked straight at her, the blue of his eyes so intense that she could see it even across the forty feet that separated them. He stepped forward a little, so that the main force of the water was hitting his back; he was right on the edge of the rock shelf above the pool of water. He was totally exposed to her, without the stream of water to blur the powerful lines of his body. As he stared at her, his shaft began to stir, to grow thick and long, to rise fiercely toward his belly.

Damn him, she thought feverishly.

Damn him, indeed! ;)

(To be true to the story, the guy on the pic would have to naked, but I'm too shy to post something that wicked... Yeah, right! *grins*)




View all my reviews

A shot in the making: Dolce&Gabbana's men's SS10 campaign - Part 3

The final installment in the video series that show you how a campaign shot comes into life. In sharp Dolce&Gabbana suits with just the right amount of sparkle, models Adam Senn, David Gandy, Noah Mills and Sam Webb act out the most dramatic scene of the shoot. As a sign of respect, Sam Webb repeatedly kisses Adam Senn's hand in hopes the gesture comes to be accepted.

A shot in the making: Dolce&Gabbana's men's SS10 campaign - Part 2

Back with the second episode of the insightful video series that show how campaigns are born. Set outside the fictional Sicilian home. The boys, David Gandy, Noah Mills, Adam Senn and Sam Webb have some interesting encounters with water and grapes. The grape starts from being a delicacy to a weapon. In between takes, water is being poured, muscles are being flexed, and laughters are being contained.

A shot in the making: Dolce&Gabbana's men's SS10 campaign - Part 1

The first in an insightful video series that show how campaigns are born. Watch Domenico Dolce give last minute creative direction to model, Adam Senn. While Adam's trying not be defeated, fellow model counterparts Sam Webb, Noah Mills, and David Gandy encourage him not to give up. Adam Senn proves he can most definitely nail method acting with thanks to super-coach Susan Batson.

David Gandy - Dolce&Gabbana's 2008 Underwear

I thought it would be fun to have a quick break from book reviews and enjoy some eye candy, so how about watching yummilicious David Gandy modeling D&G's 2008 underwear range?

The film, by Mariano Vivanco, was filmed on location in Milan and London. Absolutely purrfect, don't you agree? *sighs*