Hello Book Blogger Appreciation Week! In addition to sharing my recent reads below, there's also list of 5 blogs that I visit regularly.

Weekly Reading With A Rogue By Any Other Name And The Darkest Night

A Rogue By Any Other Name, Sarah MacLean. A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance - including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.

It's the characters that made me love this book so much. Bourne is despicable, but so tortured & honorable; and Penelope is strong willed, feisty but adorable. Of course this story is a predictable romance and a bit trite in places, but it's still a delightfully fun journey to read ... one of those books where you connect with the characters and want them to be together in the end. This is only the 2nd book I've read by Sarh MacLean, the 1st being Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart (a favorite from Summer 2011 reads), but she's rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. (Amazon| Goodreads)

The Darkest Night, Gena Showalter. All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member -- a man trapped in a hell of his own.

I really liked the premise of this novel about (almost) immortal warriors, each saddled with a demon they released from Pandora's Box. The plot & pacing were wins for me, as were the characters - I loved seeing the development of Maddox, which the book focused on, and although the suddenness of his romantic affections for Ashlyn was way too fast to be in any way believable, I still liked them as a couple. I would have liked to see more depth & detail throughout the book though - perhaps the pace was a bit too frenetic so there were many things mentioned with little or no explanation eg. not much is said about the Greek gods who were the ones to punish the warriors, nor the Titans who somehow took over power from the Greeks - but perhaps more will all be revealed in a later book in the series.

So although The Darkest Night was an enjoyable read, I'm not in a rush to go out and read the rest of the series. (Amazon| Goodreads)

In no order, and randomly chosen from the MANY bookish blogs I check out daily:
• Giraffe Days - such an eclectic reader, I love seeing her book choices (especially the ones with international settings)
• Leonicka Valcius - always says something insightful ... check out her ARC's are no fun post.
• The Readventurer - I especially enjoy her "Odds and Ends On the Web" feature.
• Stainless Steel Droppings - Gorgeous blog & well written too.
• Genevieve Valentine and NK Jemisin - 2 of my favorite author blogs.