Gwen’s review of Faeries Gone Wild by MaryJanice Davidson, Lois Greiman, Michele Hauf, and Leandra Logan (no author site)
Contemporary paranormal romance anthology released by St. Martin’s 2 Jun 09

This was a cute anthology and you’ll see me use the word “cute” a lot in this review.  All stories are placed in the modern world, have romances, and faeries are the protagonists.  A couple of them have some suspense elements, but the stories are really quite lighthearted in nature.  Read on to see which of these romps was rompier than the others…

“Tall, Dark and Not So Faery” by MaryJanice Davidson (70-pgs)

This story was a complete tongue in cheek, goofy frolic of a story.  I don’t think a single paranormal being was left out – vampire, werewolf, giant, faeries, dryad, and… wait for it… a possessed SUV named Judith.  The Violent Fairy’s sister has come to town to count everyone on the farm.  In the process,  the SUV hooks her up with the local mechanic.  The story is a little schizophrenic and light with some interesting interactions between all of the characters. Not sure I care for the writing style where grammar and line returns are used to impose mental interruptions in the characters’ thought processes.  But it was fun and made me chuckle a couple of times.

Grade: B-

Summary:
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Scarlett is not your typical pint-sized faery. At six feet, four inches tall, she’s an unlikely candidate for a match made in heaven. But when she ventures to Cannon Falls, Minnesota, on royal orders to survey its extraordinary residents, she stumbles upon the one man who just may measure up to size…
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Read an excerpt here.

“Pixie Lust” by Lois Greiman (102-pgs)

This was another cute story.  A mortal man falls head over heels for a fern faery and in the process trashes his life – a multimillion dollar career, an important development deal, and his engagement to an uptight bitch of a fiancee.  But he saves a meadow and glade of trees.

Yeah.  I had the same reaction.

The story starts very slowly and the ending was rushed.  I would have preferred the opposite. There are some rather extreme suspense elements at the end of the story that seemed oddly out of place.  Good, but not great story.

Grade: C+ 

Summary:
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William Timber is a cutthroat developer who refuses to let a few trees come between him and his next million. But when Avalina-a sparkling faery charged to protect all things green-comes to town, William is forced to choose between life as he knows it and the unknown reaches of his heart.
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Read an excerpt here.

“Dust Me, Baby, One More Time” by Michele Hauf (101-pgs)

This was a better story than the last, primarily because the heroine is so appealing.  The Tooth Fairy falls for the Sandman.  There are some really very funny elements in this story – Dart Sand “prematurely dusts” his dates, knocking them out before he can “finish the deal” if you know what I mean; and Sidney Tooth falls for the guy because he brings her cinnamon-flavored floss, mouthwash, and the Cadillac of toothbrushes/tongue cleaners (screw the flowers).

I had the most fun reading this story.  The romance is nice, the characters are fun, and the story is appealing.

Grade: B+

Summary:
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A librarian by day and a tooth faery by night, Sidney has absolutely no time to find Mr. Right. Until she flies smack dab into sexy, sun-bronzed Dart Sand, a man who makes her wings a-flutter…and whose allure could get her banished from the Mortal Realm.
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No excerpt available.

“A Little Bit Faery” by Leandra Logan (115-pgs)

I enjoyed the fun of the previous story, but I liked this last story more because it’s more well-rounded.  It has the fun and the suspense nicely balanced with a cute romance.  It’s a very engaging “Ugly Duckling” story about a 1/2 faery-1/2 human girl who does nothing but gross-out faery men manages to find her niche with humans, who find her beautiful and sweet smelling.

Again, the suspense elements seemed a bit overly dramatic given the tenor of the story. But if you roll with it, you’ll still enjoy it.  I wanted to eat the hero with a spoon, though.  Yum.

Grade: A-

Summary:
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Tia is mystified when she strikes out on the Luna faery singles scene, in spite of her hourglass curves and vivacious charm. Then she takes off for Manhattan and lands on the doorstep of a steamy firefighter who sets her soul on fire-and shares a strong connection to her secret past.
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No excerpt available.

This was a very cute anthology (told you I’d use the word a lot).  If you’re a fan of lighthearted faery stories, you’ll like this book.  I can recommend it to anyone who is a fan of these authors or who is looking for a quick poolside read that is just made for a fruity umbrella drink.

Overall grade: B

Reader Blogger Marg, you can find her at Reading Adventures and Historical Tapestry, was nice enough to agree to share with us her adventure at the Australian Romance Readers Convention this past weekend.

If we get lucky we can talk her into sharing some more photos and stories.

Ever since I have been blogging, each year when everyone started talking about going to either RWA or other major romance conferences, I have sat here in my chair in suburban Melbourne, Australia turning various shades of green. Whether people were posting about meeting their favourite authors, or the goodies rooms, or the signings, I read all the posts thinking about how it was all kinds of awesome that they were getting to do such fun things. The thing was, no matter how envious I became, the simple fact was that at this point in my life there is no way that I would be able to go to the US to attend such an event.

So when I just happened to read something about an Australian Romance Readers Convention back in December 2007, I was over the moon! And then when it was announced that it was in Melbourne, I was again really excited. And then, in what seems like no time at all, the inaugural ARRC is over, all the delegates have gone home and I am sure that the organising committee members are all collapsed in a heap in exhaustion.

It is difficult to give just the highlights so that this guest post isn’t as long as the weekend itself, so instead I will try to just give a taste of the flavour of the weekend. The most obvious place to start is with the keynote speakers – those who were invited to travel half way around the world to come to visit their Aussie fans, and I can tell you those fans were very appreciative! Mary Janice Davidson, Susan Grant, Liz Maverick, Sherrilyn Kenyon (with special guest Dianna Love), and not forgetting Stephanie Laurens (who didn’t come half way around the world, but we still appreciate her nonetheless). We laughed until we cried, we were inspired, we were challenged and above all we were entertained!

One of the things that I often say on my own blog is that I don’t read enough Aussie authors, and I have to say that I learnt something that kind of surprised me this weekend! There are a LOT of Aussie authors out there. They write in various different subgenres, from Mills and Boon (Harlequin), to the big NY publishing houses, to e-books and other publishers like Samhain. I have come home determined that I am definitely going to read more Aussies – Keri Arthur, Denise Rossetti and others, I am talking about your books! An Aussie author that I already read is Anna Campbell and it was great to see her latest book, Tempt the Devil, officially launched in Australia by Stephanie Laurens on Saturday afternoon.

At Saturday night’s dinner, I was lucky enough to be sitting with the gorgeous Kat O from Book Thingo, plus her librarian (yes, librarian and borrower attended together – how great is that!) with some other girls, including two Samhain authors and we had an absolutely fantastic time, so much so that I forgot to take pictures of some of the award winners and of the people sitting at the table. Kat, Vassiliki, Jess Dee and Lexxie Couper, thanks ladies. And don’t worry, what happened at dinner and what we talked about at dinner, stays at dinner. Have to say though – those mini cakes were to die for!

One of the things that the conference coincided with was the National Day of Mourning on Sunday for the bushfire victims from the terrible fires that started in early February with such devastating loss of life and property. As I write this on Monday night, we have been reminded that the fire crisis is not over with existing firest still burning and new fires starting on the outskirt of Melbourne this afternoon with more loss of homes. My point in mentioning this is that one of the initiatives of the organisers was a silent auction with the proceeds being donated to the Red Cross Australian Bushfires Appeal. There were many, many generous authors and organisations that donated great items, and there was over $7000 raised through the auction, plus an impeccably observed minute of silence on Sunday morning at 11am.

There’s so much more that I could mention, but I have to save something for my own blog (*grin*), but I haven’t mentioned the panelists, the books, the signings. So much to talk about!

In closing I want to say to the organizers of ARRC – thank you, thank you, thank you.

You did an amazing job. I don’t think that I can pay any higher compliment to you than to say my friends and I started to make plans on Saturday night to attend the next ARRC – whenever it is and wherever it is held – with at least two more of our friends. I know that I overheard other delegates making their own plans too!

Marg

Devon’s review of Mysteria Lane by MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, Gena Showalter and P.C. Cast
Contemporary Paranormal Romance Anthology released by Berkley Sensation 7 Oct 08

This is the sequel to the August 2006 release Mysteria.  Mysteria Lane returns to the small Colorado town of Mysteria, a haven for supernatural creatures of all kinds, where all the different types of magic can cause strange things indeed. The same four authors return with new sexy, and lighthearted tales. There is some connection with characters from the previous volume, but you won’t feel lost if you haven’t read it (I hadn’t). But I’m going to go back and read Mysteria, because this was an enjoyable read. None of the stories blew me away, but it was just the thing for a quick read on a chilly October evening.

Disdaining Trouble by MaryJanice Davidson

The weakest story of the bunch. I absolutely loved MJD’s narrative style in the opening scenes, but there was just no meat to it. The Desdaine triplets—Withering, Derisive, and Scornful—have been trouble since the day they were born. They delight in causing trouble for others, until their naughty triumvirate is broken by Withering’s untimely fall into a wishing well. She returns minutes later, having spent twelve years in a demon dimension (and reminding me of Connor from Angel). Half human pizzeria owner Thad is fascinated by the strange and beautiful blonde. But will Withering stay, or return to the demon dimension?

As I said, the setting/atmosphere was great, but the characters were kind of bland and the storyline rushed. It felt like the beginning to a longer story. In fact, since I was unfamiliar with the anthology, I thought one of the other authors might return to these characters. Rather than an HEA, it was more like a “Hey, I kinda like you!”

Grade: C
No excerpt found.

The Nanny from Hell by Susan Grant

In this story, a sexy demon is dispatched by Lucifer to kill the young son of the town Minister and her ex-demon husband. However, sexy rogue demon hunter Quel Laredo senses something wrong the minute Shay D’Mon (no one noticed the name?) roars into town. Shay’s poor driving skills land her in that darn wishing well, with unexpected and unwelcome results.

This one kept my interest, but it felt rather familiar. So many of the elements seemed like I’d seen them over and over before. The demon who secretly wishes to be human, the rough and tough Latino demon hunter, the lovers in a past life thing…not bad, just not memorable.

Grade: C+

Read an excerpt.

A Tawdry Affair by Gena Showalter

Showalter is the only author I have never read before, although I have several of her books on the TBR pile. I’ll have to pull them out, because I enjoyed this one a lot. It was amusing without being over the top, the hero and heroine were likeable and had chemistry, and I was rooting for their HEA. I have a thing for stories where one party has feelings for the other, but is sure those feeling are unrequited, when in fact they secretly are.

Glory Tawdry, a love witch, hates bartender Falon. Hates him because she lurves him, that is. Falon is attracted to Glory, but has a bad history with witches. When Glory tries to get revenge on Falon, wacky and sexy hijinks ensue. A fun and satisfying story.

Grade: B
No excerpt found.

It’s in His Kiss by P.C. Cast

I really enjoy P.C. Cast’s work, so I was fully expecting to enjoy this story, and I did. She has a nice style, and can be depended upon for unusual and well drawn characters. Cast’s stuff is usually a bit different, so I was surprised by how formulaic some of the stuff felt, but it was a fun little romance. Summer Smith is a new high school English teacher. She has returned to her hometown to live out her life according to her rigidly controlled plans. Until a chance meeting with a vampire makes her rethink some of her ideas.

The bit about Summer’s need for control was so heavy handed and repetitive, I came to dislike her. She seemed like a knucklehead. But by the end, it made more sense. She had great chemistry with Colin. I have no idea why Colin was a cowboy. It added nothing to the story. Chicks dig cowboys, I guess. And I didn’t love the ending. But it was an entertaining little story about learning to trust yourself enough to take a chance.

Grade: B
No excerpt found.

Overall Grade: B-

The Summary:

Return to a town of bewitching seduction and sensual demons. There’s a spellbinding witch of love who wants to make one man hers; a vegan having trouble adapting to vampirism; Satan’s emissary, who is looking for steady work in Colorado; and angelic triplets feeling a wee touch of the devil.

This just in…

Are you Unworthy enough?

~ MaryJanice Davidson will be visiting several cities during her Undead and Unworthy Mini Book Tour beginning later this month.

~ Eight cities in eight states in eight days, so get to your local bookstore early to meet MaryJanice.

~ Current Schedule:

Chicago, IL Borders (LaGrange) – June 24 – 7:30
Dayton, OH Books & Co – June 25 – 7:00
Louisville, KY Borders – June 26 – 7:00
Atlanta, GA Barnes & Noble – June 27 – 7:30
Dallas, TX Borders – June 28 – 2:00
Kansas City, KS Barnes & Noble – June 29 – 3:00
Omaha, NE Barnes & Noble – June 30 – 7:00
Minneapolis, MN Uncle Hugo’s – July 1 – 6:00

Consider yourself flashed.

Laura J’s review of Dead Over Heels (Anthology) by MaryJanice Davidson
Contemporary Paranormal Romance anthology released by Berkley 4 Mar 08

While many romance readers will trace their love for romance books back to sneaking their grandmother’s old Harlequin books or the late Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, but for me my first romance book that I read was MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead and Unwed and from there I was hooked.

I spent the next two weeks catching up with all the Undead books that were out to that point and then anxiously waiting for her to write more. It is really hard to wait for the next book in a series from you favorite author, but fortunately Ms. Davidson gave us a little something to help us get through those long months of waiting – a single author anthology featuring three stories from three of her most popular series.

(**Spoiler Alert if you have yet to read Undead and Uneasy**)

Undead and Wed: A Honeymoon Story

After surviving an attempted dethronement by Margery the Librarian, Queen Betsy and King Eric are honeymooning and shoe shopping in New York City. Hoping that they will finally get some time alone from their well meaning friends and roommates Betsy and Eric arrive in New York City by private plane thanks to the generosity of her best friend Jessica. Once they get to their hotel, Betsy and Eric are shocked and just a little peeved to see Jessica and her boyfriend Nick waiting for them in the lobby. Nick still hasn’t forgiven Betsy and Eric for trying to make him “forget”, but Jessica really wants her best friends and her boyfriend to get along. So not only are the newlyweds dealing with unwelcome guests for their honeymoon but someone is killing children and it looks like it is another vampire.

My favorite of the three stories, of course, was Queen Betsy’s honeymoon. Let’s just say, Betsy has an interesting way to decorate with shoes, even when it’s an accident. That scene was one of the best I have ever read. Even with the “darker” subject matter facing Betsy and her friends, I never felt put off by it and I’m curious about how this will effect Betsy in future books.

Grade: A+

Survivors

The second story takes us to Ms. Davidson’s world of mermaids. Con Conlinson is the host of a tv survivalist show. During the shooting of an episode in the ocean, Con is left stranded in a row boat after a sudden storm separates him and his film crew. While floating along and wondering how he got himself in this mess, he sees what appears to be a severed head. That turns out to be a mermaid who has been watching him and has come to his rescue.

Of the three stories the mermaid story was my least favorite, but probably only because I was hoping to have a few more of the regular characters from the book in this one as well. Con is an over the top kind of guy, much of what you would expect for a tv personality that has a show on survival show. One who is willing to do anything for entertainment. Reanesta is a caring, but stubborn mermaid, who has self esteem issues where she feels unbeautiful like her counterparts. Con and Ree (as he calls her) butt heads often, most often over how Con should take care of himself while he is stranded and this leads to some very comical scenes.

Grade: B+

Speed Dating, Werewolf Style

The third and final story in this novella catches us up the on the Wyndham Werewolf pack. It introduces us to Cain a young female werewolf who is feeling her clock ticking after seeing some of her old friends from the pack settled down and raising families of their own. Her 30th birthday is 22 days away so seeks the help of best bud Saul to help her find her mate.

I’ve not been a big fan of the Wyndham Werewolf stories, but this one was good. Maybe because I get tired of romance novel heroines always being tall, with long legs and perfect breasts. Cain is a small, competitive, kick ass then ask questions kind of girl. I really like her. Her speed dating dates and blind date set up by Saul, her best buddy since they were kids, reminded me of some my old dates. I really hope we see more of Cain and Saul in future books. I would love to see what happens when Cain actually says “Stupid Vampire Queen” to Betsy instead of thinking it. Could be interesting.

Grade: A

Ms. Davidson’s books never fail to make me laugh and this one had me laughing out loud many times. I really had to be careful reading this book in public as I found a couple of times people were staring at me and wondering what I was laughing about.

If you are looking for a quick, funny read then I highly recommend this book. And if you are lucky enough to meet Mary Janice Davidson as I was last summer when she came to a book signing, GO! It was one of the most entertaining evenings I’ve ever had.

Overall Grade: A

     Summary:

     Three all-new paranormal stories of lust, laughter, and love from the New York Times bestselling author, including an original novella featuring Undead queen Betsy Taylor.

     With her trademark “sassy dialogue, lusty lovemaking [and] irreverent humor”* New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson delighted fans with her wickedly sexy and wildly funny anthology, Dead and Loving It-stories in which the worlds of the Wyndham Werewolves and Undead Queens collided. Now she returns to that sensual and irresistible after-dark realm of werewolves, vampires, and mermaids in three more original novellas–including an all-new Betsy Taylor novella.

     No excerpt available at the time this review was published.

Aural Pleasures 103 – “What” Audio Books are Recommended

In Aural Pleasures 101, we looked at the “Why” and “Where” to buy audio books. In Aural Pleasures 102, we shared advice on “How” to select audio books. So now, for the “What” to buy. Here are a few of my recommendations (audio sample links provided when available, click the cover pics to go to each book’s Amazon page):

Within the Romance genre, most narrators will be female, so I highly recommend that Aural Pleasure novices who are also historical romance fans start with The Indiscretion by Judith Ivory (click to sample Audible.com audio), narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (pictured at right). This Victorian era “lady and the cowboy” story would be a light, enjoyable read on its own, but Rosenblat elevates it by breathing life into Liddy and Sam. She narrates the book in a nondescript American accent, then gives Liddy an upper class British accent that is somehow filled with humor, vulnerability, and playfulness. And the fact that a woman is doing Sam’s voice was lost to me in seconds because his mumbly Texas drawl IS Sam. I think I smiled through most of this audio book. What a JOY this was to listen to! But to illustrate the points I made in Aural Pleasures 102, Rosenblat is also the narrator for Katie MacAlister’s Light My Fire (Aisling Grey series). Even though I ADORED her in The Indiscretion, I listened to the sample and I just don’t think her voice “fits” the MacAlister series as well (could I request that all you rabid Rosenblat fans PLEASE throw only soft objects at me?)

For multiple eargasms, pick up The Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning, narrated by Phil Gigante. So far, the first three have been released – Beyond the Highland Mist (click for sample), To Tame a Highland Warrior (click for sample), and The Highlander’s Touch (Nov 20, 2007)- with the rest apparently to be released in sequence at two month intervals. Phil Gigante does such a good job with the female voices that I was quickly no longer aware that the narrator was a man. And what he does for the male voices… *shiver*… his different Scottish brogues gave me aural eargasm after eargasm! What an amazing talent Gigante is! My only caveat is that I seem to hit the back track button A LOT when listening to Gigante’s narration. Oh, it’s not HIS fault. Well, not really. It’s just that sometimes I get so swept away by HOW his swoonworthy character voices sound, that I forget to pay attention to WHAT they’re saying! (FYI: Phil Gigante is also the narrator for the first book in Nora Roberts’ new Sign of Seven Trilogy, Blood Brothers)

The last three books in Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire series (Sookie Stackhouse) are narrated by Johanna Parker: Book 5, Dead as a Doornail (click for sample), Book 6, Definitely Dead (click for sample), and Book 7, All Together Dead (click for sample). This is a series that I initially didn’t care for because it moved too slow for me in print form. But now I can’t wait for each new release because Johanna Parker brings Sookie Stackhouse to Southern Fried life! I find myself stopping and just floating along with her smooth, small town Louisiana drawl filled with Sookie’s vulnerability and strength. Then she changes not only the pitch and tone, but also the cadence of her narration to bring all the characters in Sookie’s world to life. I notice that Book 1, Dead Until Dark (click for sample), has recently been released in audio, so I hope that bodes well for the release of all the earlier books in audio format, too.

As with the Harris’ series, I never quite heard the voice of Queen Betsy right in my head. The heroine of MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead series came across as a shallow bit of fluff to me. But thanks to narrator Nancy Wu I realized that Betsy’s irreverent snark is not to be missed (and wait till you hear Tina). All six books are available through Audible.com (click to sample).

I mentioned in Aural Pleasures 102 that “since an audio book forces the listener to slow down and read at the narrator’s pace, you will almost always discover things you never noticed before or see scenes in a different light when listening to a favorite book in audio format.” I have found that, even after multiple readings of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series and Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series, I ALWAYS have new insights after listening to the audio books.

    Brilliance Audio produces Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series, and the narrator, Laural Merlington, does a heroic job of creating distinctive voices for all the characters. I particularly love the hint of Irish brogue she injects into Doyle’s voice. I’ve read the books multiple times, but I NEVER fail to catch something new every time I listen to the audio books. (click to sample Brilliance Audio)

Brilliance also produces Moning’s Fever series audio, narrated by Joyce Bean who, to my ears, has a voice a bit too mature for our heroine. And DOH! Why was I so discombobulated with her Southern accent? Mac IS Southern, yet I never heard it in my head when I read the book. When Darkfever was first released in print, I read it, turned it over, and immediately read it a second time. Then I splurged and downloaded this one from AudioBookStandDL (see Aural Pleasures 101). In this case, the story was so engrossing that it overcame my initial awkward reactions to the narrator. And it is amazing how much more I STILL got out of the audio even though I had just read the print book twice! (click to sample Brilliance Audio)

Virgin Books Limited produces the Black Lace (yes THAT Black Lace– erotica for women) audio books (click to sample Audible.com audio). One of my all-time favorite books is A Gentlemen’s Wager by Madelynne Ellis (to be re-released in print with this luscious new cover early next year followed by the long awaited sequel, Phantasmagoria), but the audio book didn’t quite live up to my expectations. To my Midwest American ear, the narrator, Betsy Garden, sounded too contemporary (the book is set in Georgian England) and did not create the distinctive character voices I’ve come to expect. So I couldn’t settle into the audio until I just accepted her narration as a Joan Collins or a Victoria Beckham reading the book out loud. [hee] Nevertheless, I STILL managed to view a couple of scenes in a new light. It wasn’t truly disappointing, I just think it was a missed opportunity to bring even more dimension to a story that contains one of the most deliciously complex characters (Vaughan) I’ve ever read (click to sample AGW).

And the Dud Duck Award goes to…

The Raintree Trilogy (Inferno, Haunted, Sanctuary), Silhouette Nocturnes published by Harlequin Enterprises LTD. The trilogy is an enjoyable, multi-author (Linda Howard, Linda Winstead Jones, Beverly Barton), three-book story that was ruined by a bad narrator/story “fit.” Narrator Stefan Rudnicki pairs up with a different female co-narrator in each book (Hillary Huber, Theo McKell, Gabrielle de Cuir). I thought it was just a matter of acclimating myself to his style and, when Audible.com had a sale, I bought the last two books before I was finished with the first one. BIG mistake. First of all, Stefan Rudnicki should never, EVER, attempt a female voice again– he just sounds like he’s mocking women. And second, by the time I hit book three, I was gnashing my teeth and tempted to just go buy the print books so I would never have to listen to his.slow.style.of.speaking.ever.again. GAK! Buy these books in print or ebook only! (click to sample Audible.com audio… if you dare)

I’ve also downloaded some non-romance audio from Audible, too– including several episodes of Evening at the Improv and several episodes of Biography on A&E. These hold-up surprisingly well in audio format!

So help the current and future audio addicts out– have you listened to any audio books that elevated the original print story (they don’t necessarily have to be Romance)? Listened to any duds we should stay away from? If there’s enough interest maybe Syb will take pity on us poor desperate addicts and let us periodically have audio book rec sessions, which should make the selection process easier for all of us. C’mon and share– you KNOW you want to!

Don’t Miss:
Aural Pleasures 101 – “Why” and “Where” to buy Audio Books – Tell us why you listen to audio books.
Aural Pleasures 102 – “How” to Select an Audio Book – Come share your tips for selection.

Read more from Bev at Cubie’s Confections.

Sybil Review: Love Lies by MaryJanice Davidson

It should be noted I am something of a maryjanice davidson fangirl. I am not sure if she could write something I hate.

Another note I come from a long background of reading xfiles fanfic.

When I first started to read Love Lies, I so thought I had read it before. There are quite a few mulder drugged/mindcontroled/drunk/chip implant made him rape scully but omg her loves her stories out there.

Of course, don’t they say there are really only x amount of plots in fiction?

All that aside I liked the story. Parts of it made me go ‘eh’, like the sleeping in the same bed right after I forced you to marry me so I don’t take the child we made while I raped you away. (Hmmm that sounds like shit when said that way).

It isn’t the best thing she has written but her ‘voice’ is present. Her humor shows through in these characters even at the worst of times. And it really is a character driven story. At the most I would rate it an R, so if you are looking of a hot, smutty elloras cave story this isn’t it. Thief of Hearts is going to be my next MJD read.

Grade: C

Victor Lawrence has everything a man could want…until he runs into Ashley Lorentz and finds out what he REALLY wants. Ashley, for her part, can’t believe the wealthy, dashing Victor could possibly be interested in a mutt like her. Their fragile trust is shattered one night when Victor, out of his head, takes Ashley by force. A child is conceived as a result of Victor’s actions, leaving Ashley with some decisions to make…

Rated by Ellora’s Cave: Hard R