REVIEW: Baddest Bad Boys by McKenna, Sheedy, and Noble

Gwen's review of Baddest Bad Boys by Shannon McKenna, E.C. Sheedy, and Cate Noble
Contemporary erotic romance anthology released by Kensington Brava 1 May 08

All three stories in this anthology has alpha males, damsels in distress, emotional tension, some drama. Oh, and hot hot sex. What more could you want from a summer read? And, bonus! They also happen to be written by some of our favorite people! Read more

Tags: 2008, Baddest Bad Boys, Brava, Cate Noble, Contemporary Romance, E.C. Sheedy, Erotic, Grade B, Gwen, Kensington, May 2008, Review, Shannon McKenna

REVIEW: Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Gwen's review of Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
Contemporary fantasy romance released hardcover by Little, Brown 28 Apr 08

This little book was hanging around in a pile that I got from Sybil a while back. I wasn't all that interested in it, if only because I've never had luck when a favorite author ventures away from what I like about them. Patterson is one of my favorite non-romance authors (LOVE the Alex Cross novels, LOVE the Women's Murder Club books, and I even love his YA book, Maximum Ride) and here's he's tried a romance? Oh no, I thought, he's going to ruin it for me. Now I'll never be able to read him again. Well... Read more

Tags: 2008, April 2008, Contemporary Romance, Fantasy, Gabrielle Charbonnet, Grade A, Gwen, James Patterson, Little Brown, Review, Sundays at Tiffany's

REVIEW: Nightkeepers by Jessica Andersen

Gwen's review of Nightkeepers (The Final Prophecy, Book 1) by Jessica Andersen
Paranormal romance released by Signet 3 Jun 08

This is the start of what promises to be a very fun paranormal romantic suspense series. You can't get a lot more ambitious than calling a series "Final Prophecy" and talking about how the world will end in our lifetimes. Luckily, Andersen delivers a fun story and engrossing romance to go along with the dire predictions. Read more

Tags: Final Prophecy series, Grade B, Gwen, Jessica Andersen, June 2008, Nightkeepers, Paranormal suspense, Review, romance, Signet

REVIEWS: Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton and Strange Candy by Laurell K. Hamilton

Gwen's review of Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Urban fantasy hardcover released by Berkley 27 May 08

I've heard people describe this book as "florid" and reviews using phrases like "growing sense of ennui". I agree and I disagree. Read on to find out where I depart ways with other reviewers and where I think they may have a point... At the end of this post, there's also a little bonus review of Hamilton's 5 June 2007 release, Strange Candy - a single author anthology. Read more

Tags: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, anthology, Blood Noir, Grade B, Grade C, Gwen, June 2007, Laurell K. Hamilton, May 2008, Review, Strange Candy, Urban Fantasy

REVIEW: Eternal Lover by Howell, Sands, Kessler, and Mead

Gwen's review of Eternal Lover by Hannah Howell, Lynsay Sands, Jackie Kessler, and Richelle Mead
Historical and contemporary paranormal romance anthology released by Kensington 1 Apr 08

This antho landed in my hands and I went, "Oooooo! Looks positively yummy!" I love a good paranormal antho - the plot moves along so quickly in those stories. This one was no disappointment, even if I wasn't a huge fan of all the stories. Read on to find out the whole skinny... Read more

Tags: anthology, April 2008, Eternal Lover, Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, Gwen, Hannah Howell, Historical, Jackie Kessler, Kensington, Lynsay Sands, Paranormal, Review, Richelle Mead, romance, Urban Fantasy

REVIEW: The Runaway Duke by Julie Anne Long

Gwen's review of The Runaway Duke by Julie Anne Long
Historical romance released by Warner Forever 1 Aug 04

This book was in a large, unsorted pile that Sybil gave me. It's signed by the author and I think it's actually a prize for an old contest (ahem - Zara). Honestly, we're not usually this disorganized around here - but in this one instance, I'm awfully glad we were. I would have totally missed this book if Sybil hadn't had a blond moment and put it in my box! So, Zara, you'll get the book shortly (gently read only once). Meanwhile, on to my quick review...

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Tags: 2008, August 2004, Forever, Grade A, Gwen, Historical, Julie Anne Long, Review, romance, The Runaway Duke, Warner

REVIEW: Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward

Gwen's review of Lover Enshrined (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 6) by J.R. Ward
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Signet 3 Jun 08

I caught up to Ward's Brotherhood when I read Lover Eternal. Loved it - it wasn't perfect, but damn it was a good story with a very hot hero. I quickly bought and read Dark Lover - I admit I didn't like it as well as LE, but still loved the shit out of it. I was disappointed by Lover Awakened - not sure why. Loved Lover Revealed - Butch was one hot hero. Didn't really love Lover Unbound. Now that I've read Lover Enshrined and all I can say is "DAMN!" Read on to find out if that's a good thing... Read more

Tags: 2008, Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Contemporary, Grade A, Gwen, J.R. Ward, June 2008, Lover Enshrined, Paranormal, Review, romance, Signet

Pile O’ Books - REVIEWS: Six degrees of romance

I figured that if I wait until I have time to do full reviews of these six books, airborne porcine would be commonplace. So I decided to just do it - write a bunch of quick hits. These are all over the place as far as genre and release dates, so bear with me. Below are short reviews for:

~ A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry, Book 6) by Laurell K. Hamilton - fantasy fiction

~ The Kiss by Sophia Nash - regency historical romance

~ The Last Warrior by Karen Kay - American west historical romance

~ Creation in Death by J.D. Robb - Furturistic thriller

~ How to Propose to a Prince (The Royle Sisters, Book 3) by Kathryn Caskie - regency historical romance

~ Midnight Rising (The Midnight Breed, Book 4) by Lara Adrian - contemporary paranormal romance

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Tags: 2008, A Lick of Frost, Avon, Contemporary, Creation in Death, Fantasy, February 2008, Futuristic, Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, Gwen, Historical, How to Propose to a Prince, In Death series, J.D. Robb, Karen Kay, Kathryn Caskie, Lara Adrian, Laurell K. Hamilton, March 2008, Meredith Gentry series, Midnight Breed series, Midnight Rising, November 2007, October 2007, Paranormal, Putnam, Review, romance, Sophia Nash, The Kiss, The Last Warrior, The Royle Sisters series, Thriller

REVIEW: Under Your Spell by Lois Greiman

Gwen's review of Under Your Spell (Witches of Mayfair, Book 1) by Lois Greiman
Paranormal historical romance released by Avon 27 May 08

I've decided that I like either historical romances or I like paranormal romances. I'm not sure that a historical paranormal romance is for me. The last few I've read just feel like there's too much going on for them to read smoothly. The case supporting my argument is this book. It's a regency, paranormal (witches), and a romance all wrapped between two covers.

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Tags: 2008, Avon, Grade C, Gwen, Historical, Lois Greiman, May 2008, Paranormal, Review, romance, Under Your Spell, Witches of Mayfair series

REVIEW: His Dark and Dangerous Ways by Edith Layton

Gwen's review of His Dark and Dangerous Ways by Edith Layton
Historical romance released by Avon 27 May 08

This is one of the more "mainstream" historicals I've ever read. I read historicals, but they frequently have some paranormal thing, or a twist of some sort to them. This was a "Lawson-esque" historical (::bowing to our very own reviewer::). I liked it, but I still had some troubles with it.

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Tags: 2008, Avon, Edith Layton, Grade C, Gwen, His Dark and Dangerous Ways, Historical, May 2008, Review, romance

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