Shannon C.’s review of Liquid Crystal (Department 57 Series) by Lynne Connolly
Paranormal erotic romance ebook released by Loose ID 1 Sep 08

Some reviewers — some even on this site — are capable of reading every book and loving all of them unreservedly. They are capable of looking past personal no-nos in order to judge the book on its own merit. Sadly, I am not one of those reviewers, and despite the fact that I adore Lynne Connolly’s writing, I can’t ignore the fact that the latest in her Department 57 series really didn’t work for me. To explain why will require spoilers, so don’t read beyond this point if you’re squeamish about such things. 

We learn right away that Crystal’s boyfriend Jeff has some interesting obsessions. He believes mermaids are real and he’s determined to see them for himself. He’s convinced that Crystal’s friends, the very hot Bryn and Kai, are mermen, and he uses Crystal as the bait to lure them to reveal themselves by dumping Crystal into the Thames. (Her boyfriend is, indeed, a charming bloke.)  Naturally, Bryn and Kai, who are in fact mermen and who also work for Department 57, an agency that protects paranormal creatures (called Talents) from bigoted humans who are out to expose the Talents, rescue her and bring Crystal into a life she never imagined, and show her a hot, wet, good time, in more ways than one.

I will say that as of this writing it’s been about three weeks since I finished this book, and the plot is fresh in my mind. I haven’t needed to consult the text or the author’s site to figure out what I’ve forgotten. And I did tear through this book in a couple of hours, which is something considering what a slow reader I am. I was engaged, too. Sometimes, when I read, I find my inner critic reading along offering up snide commentary. Not so with Ms. Connolly’s books. It was only once I realized the direction the story was going that I knew I was going to have problems.

First, I didn’t really get a sense of who Crystal was. I liked what I saw of her, but she was fairly bland. I felt that a lot of her characterization was told to us rather than shown, and in particular I never understood why it was that she was drawn to Bryn and Kai, except they’re both hot. I would have liked to have seen a few quiet scenes that would have actually established their friendship. I also felt that she ended up accepting everything much too easily and quickly, going from a skeptic to asking Bryn to turn her into a mermaid at the end. And, of course, she did the requisite TSTL thing that requires her men to rescue her.

The men are not much better. I’ve always liked Ms. Connolly’s men, as they are closer to my ideal than the uber-alpha types. But she’s written better characters than Bryn and Kai, who were unremarkable other than that I thought they were hot. And yet again, I just didn’t feel the chemistry between the two men. I wish Ms. Connolly would actually write a full-fledged M/M sex scene instead of teasing us with foreplay, because then, at least in this case, I would have accepted the chemistry of the two guys for each other.

But my real problem was the way the ménage was resolved. This is one of those stories where two of the three decide they want to be monogamous and the third steps away voluntarily. I didn’t like that at all. In fact, it’s the thing about ménage stories in general that’s the biggest turn-off for me. I can accept that two men want to share one woman, but as soon as it becomes clear the ménage isn’t going to last, I find myself wondering about the guy who’s left out. Ms. Connolly states that the guy in this case feels incapable of love and he wouldn’t want a long-lasting relationship with anybody, but, geez, this is a romance novel. Heroes *always* say that. My reader expectation is that the author isn’t going to let them get away with that crap. But Ms. Connolly did, and I ended the ebook with a sense of disappointment. I felt she’d let me down by not at least hinting that she was going to pair her spare.

Despite all the negatives I’ve just ranted about, I would like to point out one thing I really loved: I absolutely adored the setting. This story takes place in London, and it felt very British. (It probably helps that Ms. Connolly herself is British and thus can provide a sense of authenticity to her British characters.) But it was really nice to read a story with such a clear sense of setting, and to feel like I was actually reading about real Brits.

Will I keep reading Dept 57? Yes. This series is pure fun, and the fact that Ms. Connolly has inspired a rant from me is definitely an indication that something works in her writing. Not every author can have a winner every time, and I’m hoping that I’ll like the next installment of the series better.

Grade: C+

Read other reviews and information about this series by following the Department 57 series tag.

Summary:

When an unsuspected enemy rises up to threaten Crystal’s life, her old friends, Bryn and Kai, rescue her from a nearly fatal plunge into the Thames. Later, they share a bed, and their bodies. The passion they wake in each other is as incredible as it is inevitable.

But Bryn and Kai have a secret. They are mermen. Crys is intrigued, so they introduce her to the pleasures of underwater loving, and the passion they release steams up the water.

Yet their enemy still chases them, and they’ll have to defeat him before they can give in to love’s demand.

Publisher’s Note: This book is a re-edited revised version previously released by another publisher, and contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices, ménage (m/m/f), sex while in shifted form, violence.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Shannon C.’s review of Topaz Delirium by Lynne Connolly
Paranormal romance eBook released 29 Apr 08 by Loose-ID

There’s at least one thing that can be said for Lynne Connolly. She does really unique things with her characters, and her paranormal books are refreshingly not the norm.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to like having the hero of Topaz Delirium, her latest book set in the department 57 universe, be a top fashion designer, since my impression of fashion designers as a rule does not lean very heavily toward anything remotely masculine. But I should have remembered this is a Lynne Connolly book, and she does just fine at creating a sexy hero in the form of Jasper Lebec, one of Paris’s top fashion designers. Jasper is also one of the guardians, the people in charge of Department 57 offices, and he’s been in love with top fashion model Svetlana Yevchenco for years. He finds it necessary to fight his attraction to her, because loving her would lead to some pretty disastrous consequences.

Svetlana, for her part, has her own demons to worry about. Though it’s been decades, she’s never forgotten the torture that she suffered at one point in her life, and though she’s a good agent, she has never quite been able to hide her attraction to Jasper. When she is asked to try and seduce a man that Jasper and his colleagues suspect is trying to poison Talents–Talents, of course, being the paranormal creatures in this world–she agrees to do it even though it’s Jasper she wants, and one night of passion together won’t drive him out of her head.

My favorite part of this book was the romance. Jasper and Svetlana have chemistry in spades, and the revelation of their feelings for each other couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time for either of them. And once again, I have to mention that Lynne Connolly is one of the few authors who can sell me on the concept of mates bonding the way hers do without it totally coming off as squickily codependent.

The plot clips along rapidly once it gets moving. Secondary characters who also appear in Cat’s Eyes make appearances here, too, though Connolly succeeds in integrating them into the story in a way that doesn’t scream “OMG look at me! Sequel-bait over here!” The villains are pretty nasty, even if they are a bit on the flat side, and the ending resolves everything neatly.

Most of my issues with the book are pretty personal and will probably not deter most readers. I’m not particularly fond of stories about the rich and famous, and all the glitz and glamour got a tad annoying. I also thought that the book took just a bit too long to really hit its stride.

This book can very easily be read as a standalone, and knowledge of the rest of what happens in the Department 57 universe isn’t required. It’s definitely a fresh, fun paranormal with likeable characters and a hot love story.

Grade: B

     Top fashion model and Dept 57 agent, Svetlana Yevchenko, is in Paris for the couture Fashion Week. She is principal model at the House of Lebec, and his new perfume, Topaz Delirium is named for her (Topaz is her model name). She has been in love with Jasper for years, but he never has serious relationships with anyone.
     However, when one of the models, a Talent, is murdered, Svetlana and Jasper work together on the operation to close down the factory that is producing the poison that is killing Talents.
     Svetlana finds out far more than she ever suspected about Jasper. But with a curse attached to him, Jasper doesn’t feel he can take the chance of loving her.

     Read an excerpt here .

Shannon C.’s review of Cat’s Eyes by Lynne Connolly
Paranormal erotic romance eBook published by Loose-ID Oct 2007

One of the perks to being a reviewer on a site like this, as opposed to my own piddly little blog, is that I get exposed to new-to-me authors that I might not have tried before. Lynne Connolly was one of the discoveries I made when I signed on as a reviewer and Sybil sent me some of her upcoming releases. I am so glad I know who she is now, because I have become a squeeing, obsessive fangirl.

I read Cat’s Eyes in preparation for Topaz Delirium , which also features members of Department 57. Department 57 is that ubiquitous paranormal agency that protects people–in this case, other supernatural creatures from human terrorists who know who they are and want them stopped. Silje, our heroine and a cat shape-shifter, is literally starting a new life, leaving her native Norway and moving to New York where she takes a job working for the department. They’ve got a lead on the fact that there’s a really nasty addictive inhibitory drug being distributed out of a strip club. While she’s casing the joint, she meets Ari and Devante, two male strippers who seem to be very much into each other and who are also shape-shifters. Both men are drawn to Silje, and soon they find that they must all join forces against a common enemy.

I’ve said before, several times, that I usually prefer a meatier story, even in ebook, because that way I get invested in the characters and get to know them well. Most of the time either the world-building or the characterization gets seriously skimped in an ebook, but this time, that did not happen. Connolly handles everything with a deft touch, and even in the limited space she manages to flesh out all three of our protagonists into individual, distinct characters. I think she should be commended for that, because in my experience, very few authors can pull that off well.

And, oh, what characters they are. I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is about Lynne Connolly’s heroes that make them work for me, but they do. Devante and Ari were both smokin’ sexy, and the sexual tension between the two of them and Silje was intense. I also really liked Silje. I really liked that she was in charge of her unit of Department 57 workers, and I thought that she had the common sense to carry it off. Her past was intriguing, but refreshingly not full of angst, and I got the sense that she really did need Devante and Ari in her life.

The plot also moved along at a brisk pace, keeping me reading from beginning to end without pause. The villains were actually pretty smart, too, which added to the suspense, and I really liked the resolution of the three fated mates idea there at the end.

I’ve only got a minor quibble, which isn’t really major enough to bring down the grade too much. I would have liked a bit more M/M interaction between Devante and Ari. (This from a self-professed non-enjoyer of M/M romances… You can stop gasping in shock now!) I felt like the M/M stuff was mostly glossed over and not written with the same intensity as the rest of the sexual encounters, which made me a little sad because those boys really did have chemistry.

Other than that, solid world-building, likeable characters, and all within a short span of time makes this highly recommended.

Grade: A-

New city, new job, new life: Silje Nordstrom, a Norwegian cat shape-shifter, is starting over. Except that she’s still working for Department 57, the covert government agency for Talents — just in New York, with a new identity. And she’s still alone, still too sexually inhibited to find the mate she needs. That is, until she meets sexy Brazilian shape-shifters Devante and Aristides.

Sent to a male strip club on an operation to find the dealer for a dangerous new designer drug, Silje is transfixed by two Brazilian strippers. They’re so into each other there doesn’t seem to be room for anyone else. But things aren’t always as they seem.

When booked for a private dance, Devante shows Silje a hot Brazilian samba in the bedroom. And once he’s got her where he wants her, he brings in his lover Ari. Together, the men show Silje exactly what she’s been missing.

But they still have to find the source of the drugs, and the Talent’s enemy, the terrorist organization the PHR is involved. If they don’t close this outlet down, New York will be flooded with a dangerous, addictive drug, designed for Talents, but affecting everyone. If Silje’s not careful, her new beaus could end up on the body count.

Read an excerpt.

Topaz Delirium by Lynne Connolly
Contemporary Erotic Romance eBook coming soon from Loose ID (late April 2008)

Topaz Delirium is part of the Department 57 series. After you’ve read our exclusive excerpt, you can find out about the earlier (and currently unavailable) books here and meet the heroes of Dept 57 here.

Top fashion model and Dept 57 agent, Svetlana Yevchenko, is in Paris for the couture Fashion Week. She is principal model at the House of Lebec, and his new perfume, Topaz Delirium is named for her (Topaz is her model name). She has been in love with Jasper for years, but he never has serious relationships with anyone.
However, when one of the models, a Talent, is murdered, Svetlana and Jasper work together on the operation to close down the factory that is producing the poison that is killing Talents.
Svetlana finds out far more than she ever suspected about Jasper. But with a curse attached to him, Jasper doesn’t feel he can take the chance of loving her.

After a show, in which one of the models collapsed and died, Svetlana and Jasper have dinner together. They have discussed the coming Department 57 operation, and have carefully avoided their mutual attraction.

The Excerpt:

Jasper gazed down at his plate. “Is there something wrong with the food? It came from my usual service, which is generally reliable, but it seems to taste of very little tonight.”

Svetlana forced herself to lift a morsel to her mouth and concentrate on tasting. This was the first real meal she’d had all week, so she should really have more appetite. “It’s fine. Better than fine.”

He considered his plate, his head tilted to one side, his invariable habit when thinking about something. “Perhaps I’m not in the mood for it.” He shoved his plate aside and reached for his glass. “It gives me pleasure to see you eat, though. So many models never eat at all.” He toasted her, lifting his glass. His lips quirked in a smile though the look in his eyes remained distant. “I’ll design for real women. With curves.”

“Isn’t that more difficult?”

He shrugged and tilted his chin up in an arrogant gesture. “I am Jasper Lebec. I can do it. It’s true that breasts disturb a drape or break up a sweep of pattern, but I’ll make breasts fashionable if I can.”

She forced another mouthful down. “So why do you think many women have breast augmentations?”

“A different market. Less refined.” His gaze sharpened. “You haven’t had such an abomination, have you?”

She laughed. “No. You’d have noticed, in any case.”

He put his empty glass down on the fine linen tablecloth. “So I would. I see you naked several times every season. But it’s just business. In the atelier, you’re another shape to challenge me, that’s all.” He opened his mouth but closed it again without saying anything. Abruptly he got up from the table and tossed his crumpled napkin down by his plate. “Would you like some dessert? It’s something with raspberries, I believe.”

Svetlana recognized the gesture; Jasper was getting too close to revealing his true feelings, so he changed the subject and broke eye contact. Her naked body disturbed him, did it? Was it that, or the thought of her stripping for Hugo Berthier? Tough shit. He was sending here there, after all so he’d have to suck it up. “I don’t want any dessert. You’ll have to take my word for it, Jasper. I don’t starve myself; I’m just not hungry tonight.” She couldn’t take any more.

She had to leave. She wanted Jasper so much; her pussy was wet and ready for him already, dampening her panties under the severe blue skirt. Her thoughts were too disturbing, too close to the surface, and Jasper’s powerful Talent would discern them before too long if she didn’t leave now.

“Too late,” he murmured, so quietly she had to strain to hear him. He turned around to face her.

The expression in his silver eyes was nothing like she was used to. Hot, passionate, and desirous. Needy. He spoke to her, in words throbbing with sincerity. “I want you so much, it burns me every time I look at you.” He paused, and she stared back, stunned. “What, you can’t take the truth? Shall I send for your car?”

She shook her head. “Why, Jasper?”

“Why what? Why do I want you? God knows.”

“Jasper?” If they wanted each other, if he’d wanted her all this time she’d wanted him, why hadn’t he said anything? Was he afraid of commitment, perhaps? She had no idea. She couldn’t read him unless he let her in, and his face remained impassive apart from the fire in his eyes.

He lifted his hand, only to drop it again, the movement jerky, so unlike his usual elegant, considered gestures. “Every time I look at you, I want you with a despair that eats at my soul.”

“Why haven’t you come to me before?” She wasn’t hearing this; she couldn’t be.

He shook his head. “Too many reasons. But, Svetlana, we can have tonight.”