FBI/US Attorney Series: A Lot Like Love

 As I was starting this book, I realised that I don't normally do contemporary romance. Not for any particular reason other than the fact that I'm usually drawn to the whole paranormal/urban fantasy scene. And I think I may have been missing out.

A Lot Like Love was an absolute gem. I didn't realise at the time that it's actually the second book in the FBI/US Attorney series, but it can be read as a stand alone. I'm normally a bit of a stickler (okay, I'm lying; I'm a gigantic pain in the ass about it) about reading books in order, but there was zero confusion in this book.

The story is set in Chicago and our two leads pretty much embody the whole "two completely different worlds" idea. Nick McCall works for the FBI and hails from Brooklyn. Jordan Rhodes is a billionaire heiress who owns a wine shop. Going by outward appearances, these two should have nothing in common. But their worlds collide when the FBI asks Jordan to help out with an undercover operation. All the FBI needs is for Jordan to get one of its agents into an ultra exclusive party hosted by restaurant owner, Xander Eckhart. Jordan is initially less than enthusiastic about this proposal, but the feds have made her an offer she can't refuse (I can't believe that I just used that cliche, but it's true). In exchange for her cooperation, the FBI will arrange to have Jordan's twin brother, Kyle, released from prison. Kyle has already served four months of an eighteen month sentence for hacking into, and shutting down, Twitter. 

Nick and Jordan were such a cute couple. I loved how they went from getting on each other's nerves, to sort of liking each other, to being totally into each other. The progression was pretty funny. Jordan is really super sarcastic, which had me snickering quite a bit. Here's one of my favourite quotes from when Nick lets his inner caveman out:

That was his fake girlfriend sitting there. Sitting at the table where they had just shared cheese fries the night before. And if she thought she could throw scorching hot sex-looks to any pansy-ass scarf-boy who wondered into her shop, she had another think coming. 

He had a look of his own to show the douchebag.

It was time to break out the don't-fuck-with-me face.  

I'd like to get to my favourite character, whose book is next in the series: Kyle. I really adored him. His reason for being put in jail was actually quite ridiculous. Kyle's girlfriend broke up with him via Twitter (and not a private message, but a tweet that the whole Twitterverse could see) and then posted a link showing her making out with another guy. I love this description of Kyle's reaction:

Kyle worked in technology; he knew it would only be a matter of time before the video of Daniela and the A-list actor went viral and spread everywhere. So he did what any pissed-off, red-blooded computer geek would do after catching his girlfriend giving an underwater blowjob to another man: he hacked into Twitter and deleted both the video and her earlier tweet from the site. Then, raging at the world that had devolved so much in civility that 140-character breakups had become acceptable, he shut down the entire network in a denial of service attack that lasted two days.

And so the infamous "Twitter Terrorist" was born...

I've just started with Kyle's book and, man, I can tell that I'm not going to be disappointed!

McCabe Series: In Bed with a Highlander

In Bed with a Highlander is the first book in the McCabe series. Now, I just want to discuss the title real quick. I'd read the reviews for this book and they were pretty good. But I'd bought this book awhile ago and  I'd sort of forgotten. When I saw the title and the cover, I thought that it was going to be one of those books with a flimsy story line to disguise the fact that all the main characters do is roll around in bed together. I was so glad that this wasn't the case with this story.

The story is set in the highlands of Scotland. Our leading lady is Mairin Stuart. She is the king of Scotland's bastard daughter. Despite the fact that bastard children normally get diddly squat from their fathers, Mairin has one huge ass dowry. This makes her a much sought after commodity, which is why we find her hiding out in an abbey until she can choose a suitable husband.

Unfortunately for Mairin, before she can actually get around to choosing a husband she gets kidnapped by the horrible Duncan Cameron's men. You know how sometimes historical romances have a villain who is so cliche-ridden you just have to roll your eyes? So not the case with this guy. He was a proper bad guy who you just wish somebody would stab with a sword. 

Luckily, we have a hero who is more than willing to make Cameron a bad memory. Ewan McCabe is the laird of his keep, and has an ax to grind with Cameron. So when Mairin arrives on Ewan's land after escaping Cameron's attempt to force her into marriage, Ewan decides to marry her instead. Lesser of two evils and all that. 

I know it sounds like Mairin is one of those weakling heroines whose job it is to be all beautiful and helpless. Nope. Despite having little in the way of control over her circumstances, Mairin doesn't take what's happening to her quietly. She refuses to give in to Cameron's bullying tactics and lets Ewan have it when she thinks he's being a jerk. 

I loved the characters in this story. I often find that in historical romances, it's hard to find a heroine who's got a backbone and isn't afraid to speak her mind. But with In Bed with a Highlander, that's exactly what we got. For me Mairin outshone Ewan, which doesn't normally happen. I also really liked Ewan's brothers, Alaric and Caelen, who were pretty funny. And Mairin's poor bodyguards. Man, she gave those poor guys a hard time.

Just an example of Mairin's tendency not to mince her words:

Right after Ewan and Mairin's wedding, the keep was attacked by Cameron's army and so the consummation of their wedding was more of a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kinda deal. Naturally, Mairin isn't thrilled at the idea of doing it again. Here she decimates Ewan's ego.

" 'Tis a well-known fact that a man is either skilled in matters of loving or matters of war. 'Tis obvious that fighting is your skill."

Ouch!

Demonica Series: Ecstasy Unveiled

I would just like to warn you before you read any further: there will be fangirling. Lots of it. There will be exclamation marks, italics and, occasionally, bold font. I don't normally like to engage in such behaviour but, with this book, it couldn't be helped. 

I loved everything about this book. It was just so flippin' awesome! The characters are epic, the story is fast-paced and action-packed, and Larissa Ione is funny! I had already started giggling by the opening paragraph. I knew when Ione opened with this that I was going to adore this story.

Lore had always believed that when it came to sex, the more the merrier. Too bad for him that when "more" meant more than just himself, people tended to die.

Lore is our hero. Cue much girly sighing right here. Remember how I said that Wraith was my favourite Sem brother? Well, he's been overtaken by quite a bit. Lore is an assassin, he can kill through just one touch of his right hand, and he is such a marshmallow! He's also got a twin sister, Sin, who I've got a little bit of a girl-crush on. But I'll get to that later. 

Our story starts with Lore being instructed to kill his newly discovered brothers' buddy Kynan. Lore knows that this will completely decimate any chance he has of getting to know his brothers. But if he refuses, his master has threatened to kill Sin. No brainer for Lore, so off he goes to kill Kynan.

Or so he thinks. Before he gets the opportunity to do any damage, he's assaulted by Idess, an angel-in-training, whose job it is to protect Kynan. 

I really liked Idess. She never did that whole wilting flower thing, and she managed to tie Lore to her bed. Impossible for me not to like a heroine like that. 

Now on to my girl-crush. Sin is freaking awesome! Sin is an assassin like her brother, and she doesn't take shit from anyone. She's also got some trust issues. She's not overly keen on anyone getting too close, and this has left her being more than a little hostile towards her brothers. I just want to share my favourite Sin moments in this book. They're a little long, but they just serve to illustrate how awesome this chick is.

Super hot vampire/werewolf paramedic Conall is looking for Sin. She's not impressed with this and assumes that Eidolon sent him to get to know her (oh, the horror!). Conall assures her that this is not the case.

"I don't want to get to know you. I want to fuck you."

"Oh." Oh. Well, that was more like it...[some internal monologue here] "You promise that's all you want?"

His gaze seared her as he boldly dragged it up and down her body. "I swear I only want to get into your pants."

What a relief.

Just after Conall and Sin's little interlude, we see Conall collecting on his bet with the other paramedic, Luc. Basically, the bet was $500 on whether or not Conall would be able to go there with Sin. Needless to say, he went there. Conall and Luc are being pigs and discussing his victory and his possible disembowelment by the Sem brothers. 

"So," Luc said, "will it at least have been worth it? Being gutted by Shade, I mean. Was she good?"

His body heated at though remembering. And wanting again.

"Of course I was."

Fuck. Con spun around to find Sin standing there, hands on hips and fury in her expression. Like a kid caught stealing candy, he whipped the money behind his back. 

She looked at him as if he was an idiot, and grabbed his arm, bringing it around. 

"It's not what you think," he said lamely, because it was exactly what she thought. 

"Really? So that big asshole behind you didn't bet you five hundred bucks that you couldn't fuck me?"

"Ah..."

"That's what I thought. You dick. How stupid do you think I am? Your name really fits you, Con." She snatched the money from him, took two hundreds and three twenties, and thrust the remaining two hundred and forty dollars back into his hand. Then, smiling broadly, she punched him in the shoulder. "Next time you make a bet like that, don't cheat me out of my half. I owe you a ten." 

She winked and left him, jaw-dropped and gaping, as she sauntered away.

Epic, right? I cannot wait for to get my hands on Sin's book! 

With Ecstasy Unveiled, Larissa Ione has become one of my favourite authors. Honestly, this lady can do no wrong in my eyes.

Mark of the Vampire Series: Eternal Kiss

I was a little wary when I started this book. I was hugely disappointed by Eternal Hunger so I was on guard with Eternal Kiss. But I needn't have worried. The second installment of the Mark of the Vampire series totally made up for the first one. 

This is Nicholas' book and I actually liked him. He was working the whole "tortured hero" thing and, unlike with Alexander, we actually got a glimpse into his past. This poor guy had a really rough childhood and it still has a ginormous impact on his adult life. You just want to give the dude a hug.

I also liked our heroine a whole lot more in this book. Kate is a survivor. She's managed to live through a ten year stint in a vampire prison and she is determined to stay free no matter what. Her plans are shot to shit when she's witness to the murder of a female vampire and the attempted kidnapping of a vampire child. Before the vampire dies, she begs Kate to take the child to his father. No prizes for guessing who the baby daddy is. 

Kate and Nicholas have some serious trust issues in the beginning. Nicholas is convinced that Kate is in league with the dastardly Ethan Dare, and Kate just wants to get the hell away from Nicholas. 

I liked the fact that these two weren't immediately goo-goo eyes over each other. Yes, there was attraction but they weren't declaring their undying love for each other from the get go. 

We also see more of Dillon, Lucian, Bronwyn, Gray, and the evil "Supreme One". First, let me say that I totally saw the identity of the bad guy coming. Seriously, Wright wasn't even subtle about it.

Gray was an interesting character. He was just about catatonic in Eternal Hunger, but he's snapped out of it now. I have to be honest, I don't think his being up and about is an improvement. This boy has one hell of a bad attitude. Lucian is particularly keen on beating some manners into him. I have a sneaking suspicion that something's going to happen between Gray and Dillon, which is weird because I thought Dillon was gay. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens there. 

We also saw the story for next book being set up. Eternal Captive will be Lucian and Bronwyn's book. It's already looking to be one of those "forbidden love" things. 

I don't think this series is ever going to be one my favourites, but I do think I might carry on with it.

Methinks the ANC Doth Protest Too Much...

Most of you will have heard about the spat between the African National Congress and First National Bank. For those of you who haven't heard about it, here's the gist of what happened: 

FNB launched the "You Can Help" initiative, an ad campaign that features a number of young people who express their hopes for the future of our country. A number of these brave young souls refused to ignore the R250 million elephant in the room. They pointed out that while some (note: I said some) people within our national government robbed us blind, millions of South Africans are living in abject poverty. 

I doubt that these kids were saying anything that we weren't all already thinking. But the ANC has had its feathers ruffled, describing the ad campaign as "appalling". Our beloved Youth League, who have been very quiet lately, have been throwing the word "treason" around. FNB's response to the criticism was quite disappointing. They pulled the ads from their website to "protect" the children involved in the campaign. I have to be honest, I don't think that was there main motivation. I think they wimped out. 

I believe that many within our government genuinely want to make our country a better place and provide "a better life for all". But the ANC cannot deny that the amount of corruption taking place is unacceptable, and that Nkandla-gate is a slap in the face of every impoverished person in this country.

I've only seen this one clip and I think that it's quite inspirational. This young lady is an exceptional public speaker.

Of course, what would a blowout like this be without our resident funny people getting in on the action?

Trevor Noah posted the following on his Facebook page:

"So I guess Zuma is moving his Nkandla home loan to another bank?"

Being the masters of pointed comments, Nando's just couldn't resist this opportunity to... well, chirp:

Funny guys, aren't they?

Mark of the Vampire Series: Eternal Hunger

I saw that this book had received rave reviews so I was really excited to read it. I mean, if the likes of Larissa Ione and Nalini Singh love your book then you have to be pretty awesome, right?

But I just was feeling it. The world that the story was set in was pretty cool, but I found the main characters frustrating. I initially thought that I was going to love Sara Donahue, our leading lady. She's a psychiatrist and seemed to be the sensible sort. Granted, she let this huge scary stranger into her house, but he seemed to be in need of medical attention and she's a doctor. So I could deal with this. I also liked that when Sara was attacked by a loony ex-patient, she wanted to call the police. Very good. The police are seriously undervalued in the paranormal romance universe. 

Then it starts going downhill fast. Sara has the appropriate "eeeek!" moment when Alexander, our hero, shows her his fangs. But then she goes wondering around with him like she's known him forever, without having that very important do-you-promise-not-to-eat-me conversation. 

In addition to dealing with a serious lack of self-preservation, we read about how these two are feeling intensely possessive of one another. Now, I know that things happen fast in the land of romance. I have read tons of books where, after a week, the lead characters decide that they can't live without one another. I usually suspend my disbelief. But in Eternal Hunger this was happening after one day.

One Day!

Sara wasn't the only character I was rolling my eyes at. Alexander is all "oooh, I just want to protect you", but then he takes her into a credenti (a vampire community) where humans are considered the lowest form of life. Hmmm... I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound terribly safe to me. He tells Bronwyn, a vampire who is under the impression that they're true mates, that he doesn't believe in love. But then he starts mooning over Sara like a starstruck Justin Bieber fan.

Let me throw out a few of my, ahem, favourite unlikely quotes from these two pea brains.

"This woman ruled his heart while the Order ruled his mind."

Excuse me? According to my mental calculations, you have known this chick for a day!

"It was utterly impossible for her to deny her attraction to him, her desire for him now, and she wasn't even going to try."

So far as I've been able to tell, you have made very little effort so far. Why start now?

It wasn't all horrendously bad though. There were some characters I kinda liked. There's Dillon, the fierce body guard, who had an inexplicable crush on Sara. We see quite a bit of Alexander's brothers, Nicholas and Lucian. Nicholas is the serious sort, whereas Lucian seems to be a bit of a loose cannon. Bronwyn is a vampire genealogist, and she doesn't take Lucian's crap. Looks like something is going to happen over there. 

There is some good news: I read the next book in the series (I'd already bought the damn thing) and it was much  better. 

Guild Hunters Series: Archangel's Kiss

Archangel's Kiss is the second book in the Guild Hunter series, and it sees Elena dealing with her transition from human to angel. This installment of the Guild Hunter series is also a lot less action packed, focusing more on Elena's relationship with Raphael.

I did sort of miss the action from Angel's Blood. There's the threat of Lijuan, the oldest archangel in the Cadre of Ten. She's a little bit nutty and has the unfortunate tendency to raise the dead. She's also taken an unhealthy interest in Elena. I actually wish that we'd seen more of Lijuan and what she was capable of. It was a little hard to be scared of her like we were of Uram, the baddie from the last book. Elena has been invited to a ball that Lijuan is hosting, so she needs to get her strength back ASAP. Unfortunately, the ball takes place right at the end of the book meaning that there isn't a whole lot of time for Elena to be as fierce and kickass as we know she can be. 

While Lijuan is a peripheral threat, we have another angel committing horrific acts of violence in the Haven (basically the place where angels go to chill out). And it looks like a lot of this violence is being committed with Elena in mind.
Since Elena isn't as strong as she should be, she needs to be protected by Raphael's Seven. They are Dmitri, Illium, Jason, Venom, Galen, Naasir and Aodhan, and these boys are fine! I have a confession to make here: I find these guys more interesting than Raphael himself. I know, I know! You're thinking, how is this possible? Raphael is the king of uber-sexy! 

I just think that Raphael is the kind of sexy that you admire from a healthy distance. Another thing I was a little disappointed with was how little Dmitri featured in this book. He was there for about five minutes and then he was gone. But we got lots of Illium, which I really enjoyed.

Overall, Archangel's Kiss was really good. It was just missing a little bit of that something that took Angel's Blood from really good to friggin' awesome. This series is still totally worth following though. I can't wait to see what Ms Singh has in store for Elena next!

The Smythe-Smith Quartet: Just Like Heaven

Just Like Heaven was my first book by Julia Quinn. The first thing I did when I was finished with this book was ask myself why the hell I waited so long to try this author. This lady is funny! Three chapters into the book and I was giggling like a jackass.

Just Like Heaven is the first book in the Smythe-Smith series. The Smythe-Smith Quartet is made up of unmarried girls from the ginormous Smythe-Smith family, and they should not be allowed to do what they do. They are that bad. In this series we will be following the trials and tribulations of the "world's worst amateur musicians", and we started off with Honoria. 

Honoria plays the violin although, from the way it's described, "play" might be too strong a word for it. I loved Honoria. She was epic. She doesn't delude herself (like some members of her family) that she's any good at the violin. She knows that the Smythe-Smith Quartet are responsible for committing crimes against music, but it doesn't matter. She does it for her family. 

Our hero is only child Marcus. He is best friends with Honoria's brother, Daniel, and has been considered part of the Smythe-Smith family for years. So, when Daniel is exiled from London, Marcus promises the worried big brother that he'll keep an eye on Honoria. 

The consequences are a little on the ridiculous side. Honoria and her friends/cousins are on the hunt for a husband. Some, like Honoria's cousin Sarah, are only after a husband so that they can avoid playing in the Quartet. But Honoria's motives are far more noble. She just wants a family of her own. Things at home haven't been quite the same after Daniel left. At this point, I'd just like to say that I'm glad that I'm not living back in the day. The planning and creativity it takes to snag a husband seems to require more than I've got. Plus, there's also a whole lot of things that can go wrong. Just ask Honoria.

Marcus was such a gem. He's so totally into Honoria, although I'm not 100% sure why. The chick is a menace! Through some mad scheme to snag some cute bachelor, she inadvertently puts Marcus in bed for a week! 

I loved all the characters in this book, especially Honoria's cousins. These ladies are awesome! From the deluded Daisy, to the huffy Sarah, to the acerbic Iris (my favourite), these ladies made some terrible music together. 

Quick quote from Marcus about what the Smythe-Smith Quartet sounds like: 

Marcus could not possibly have described the sound that came forth from the four instruments in the Smythe-Smith rehearsal room. He was not sure there were words that would be accurate, at least not in polite company. He was loath to call it music; in all honesty, it was more of a weapon than anything else.

I loved this story so much. It was light and fluffy and sweet. Like candy floss. Only, unlike candy floss, it won't make you want to hurl.

House of Comarre Series: Blood Rights

Blood Rights is the first book in the House of Comarre series by Kristen Painter and I have to tell you, this book was flat out awesome! I loved it!

The book is set in 2067 in Paradise City, New Florida. In this alternate reality we have a couple of species living among us. There are shifters, vampires, fairies, demons and ghosts running amok. And who can forget the clueless humans stuck in the middle? But there is one branch of humanity who aren't what you would call clueless. They are the Comarre.

The Comarre are described as being the vampire's version of a geisha. They are the creme de la creme of humanity as far as vampires are concerned. What makes the Comarre so very special is the quality of their blood. They're sort of like Lindt chocolate for vampires. The Comarre are bred for the specific purpose of feeding the filthy rich of vampire society.

Chrysabelle is a member of the Comarre and she is in big trouble. She's being accused of killing her owner and is being pursued by both the vampire high council and certified crazy bitch, Tatiana. While on the run, Chrysabelle comes across the vampire Malkolm (who I think I love). Malkolm is an outcast in vampire society and he has the itty-bitty problem of hearing the voices of all the people he has killed in his head. There's not a whole lot of trust going on between these two, but Chrysabelle is forced to work with Malkolm after an unfortunate... incident. 

We get introduced to a few other characters, including Chrysabelle's aunt, Maris, and the mistress of the house of Comarre, Rennata. But my favourite secondary characters were Doc and Fi. Doc is a 6ft5 were-leopard who, thanks to a curse, can only shift into a house cat. I kid you not. Fi is one of the ghosts who haunts Malkolm and who has somehow managed to assume a sort of corporal form. She and Doc are seeing each other and are the cutest couple ever. 

Now let me talk about the main characters.

I'll start with Tatiana because, seriously, who doesn't love a scary ass villain? She sort of reminds me of Devina from J.R Ward's Fallen Angels series. She is ambitious, determined and absolutely ruthless. And, as I mentioned before, she's batshit crazy.

Then we have Chrysabelle. Since she's Comarre, most assume that she's nothing more that this weak, helpless, walking blood bag. We get the first inkling that this isn't actually the case after she stabs Malkolm, thinking that he was sent by the vampire council to bring her in. I really like Chrysabelle. Despite being relatively sheltered, she's also a woman who can handle herself and isn't about to let cranky pants Malkolm boss her around.

Ah, Malkolm. I really liked him. He has that whole "tortured hero" thing down pat. From what we get from Malkolm's past, he was not a very nice man. In fact, during his early years as a vampire, he was a butcher. So he's been living on his own, wrestling with the many voices in his head, until he meets Chrysabelle, who turns his dark broody world upside down.

I totally loved this book, and I highly recommend that you give it a try. It was nice to have a new take on the  whole vampire genre. Although the whole "irresistible blood" thing has been done to death, the story was so good that I stopped rolling my eyes after the first few chapters.

Pretty cover, right?

The Highlander Series: Beyond the Highland Mist

I was pretty psyched to start reading this book by Ms Moning. As you know I absolutely adored her Fever series, so I had pretty high expectations for this book. But, sadly, I found myself kinda let down.

I liked the idea behind the story and I initially liked both the hero and heroine. However, the further I got into the book, the more annoyed I got. 

We start off meeting the Hawk. He is a Scottish laird living in the 1500s, and he is a complete and utter manwhore. He loves the ladies and they love him. His conquests aren't limited to the human realm either. He's also gone there with the Seelie queen (I don't think he knew who she was, to be fair). His best friend, Grimm, finds this both really funny and totally unfair. He wishes on a falling star for the Hawk to meet a woman who is the embodiment of perfection, but who has absolutely no interest in him. The guys laugh it off as a big joke, but little do they know that a jealous fae has been listening in and decides that that isn't a bad idea.

Enter Adrienne. 

Adrienne has sworn off beautiful men. She's been burned badly and she has no desire to repeat the experience. She's also living in the year 1997 so she's pretty independent and isn't prone to panic attacks. Which actually comes in handy when she's transported from her life in modern Seattle to ancient Scotland where men rock kilts and live in castles. 

Circumstances throw Adrienne and the Hawk together, and the pair find themselves married. Neither party is what you'd call "thrilled" about this marriage. That is, until they get proper look at one another. The Hawk decides that maybe being married won't be so bad after all; Adrienne is all about the "hell, no!" The Hawk makes the guy who broke her heart in the past look like a troll. 

Lots of potential, right? Except I didn't feel it. As the book progressed, I found myself disliking Adrienne to the point where I wished the fae would just dump her back in Seattle, in the middle of a busy road, so she could be hit by a bus. She was so mean to the Hawk. I get self-preservation, and I know that the Hawk wasn't exactly a saint either, but Adrienne was just being a bitch. She keeps flaunting the blacksmith, Adam Black (who I'll get to in a minute), in the Hawk's face. And Hawk just takes it. He just wants to win his wife over and he steadily falls for her. This also annoyed me to no end. I liked Hawk while he was this devil-may-care playboy, not this whipped puppy who just took Adrienne's abuse. 

All round, I was annoyed with the two leads. But not all was lost. We had Adam Black, who made a pretty good villain. Adam isn't actually human. He's a member of the Seelie Court and he was all kinds of jealous about the fact that a mere human made such a big impression on his queen. Then we have Grimm, my favourite character of the lot. He sees how miserable Adrienne has made the Hawk and he does what he can to keep them apart. He feels supremely guilty for making that stupid wish and tells Adrienne to her face that she's a frigid bitch. While things did work out eventually, I'm glad that someone had the nerve to tell Adrienne that. 

Happily, Grimm's book is next in the series. Hopefully we'll get a heroine that I won't want to maim.

Did You Miss Me?

Because I really, seriously missed you. I just got back from my three week stay in Madeira to visit my gran. She's been living on the island for the last twenty odd years, and for the past three we've been trying to visit her over the Christmas and New Year period. We don't want her there alone during a time that's generally meant for family. The downside to the happy-family side of things is that my gran lives on what amounts to a farm, and the internet connection there is shocking. So rather than frustrate myself, I decided to go on a brief hiatus.

I wanted to let you know that I haven't abandoned my blog. I will be back in a day or two, but I need a little bit to recover. But, since I'm here, I'll show you some pictures of the places I visited. None of these are mine. I am too tired to try to post any of the pictures I took.

Machico

Santana

Porto Moniz

Porto Moniz

The capital of Madeira, Funchal

We went to more places but I'm honestly too pooped to throw them all out there. But I seriously recommend you consider going to Madeira if you feel like going on holiday. The people who live in the towns are ridiculously friendly, the island is stunningly pretty and the food is to die for. I practically lived on bolo de caco, garlic bread, the entire time I was there. It was divine!

Although, I'm pretty sure I'd reached a point where you could smell me before you saw me.