Dinca’s Review of A Father’s Quest (Sentinal Pass, Book 9) by Debra Salonen
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin SuperRomance 3 May 11

This is a totally different story than any I have read. Debra Salonen does a fantastic job of keeping me guessing. It doesn’t end anywhere near the way I thought it would, and it’s a very interesting read.

Jonas Galloway is serving in Afghanistan when his ex-wife disappeared with his seven year old daughter. On returning home he uses his insurance investigator experience and resourses to locate them. Discovering they have joined a religious cult, Jonas realizes he needs some divine help or at least some psychic power. He heads to the only person he is sure can help him.

Remy Bouchard is desperately trying to live down the weirdo syndrome that has followed her from childhood when she psychic-ly located a boy in a well. She does not feel she has any psychic powers regardless of what her mother had said. When her forbidden high school sweetheart shows up on her door step needing her help, she is torn by her need to help him and to move on with her life. Just being with Jonas is more than enough to tear her apart.

Remy agrees to help Jonas only if they will go take a DNA test, because they were led to believe they’re half siblings in their senior year.  Their feelings for each other are still strong and they desperately fight them along the way while trying to retrieve Jonas’ daughter.

This is the latest saga in The Spotlight on Sentinel Pass. Although the setting is in Louisiana, they do wind up back there at the engagement party of Remy’s twin sister. If you have read any of the series you will know the characters attending the party. The story starts with Remy’s sister leaving with her fiancé’ for Sentinel Pass.

I have to give Debra Salonen an A+ for the guess factor. I have been waiting a long time for writers to get on board with the science of DNA. This is the first romance novel I have discovered with it being an integral part of the story line. I do wish there had been more to it, but it still gets an A for content.

I would reach for another Debra Salonen read anytime. Other books in this series are listed below. I did review two other very enjoyable books in the series,  Until He Met Rachel (see my review here) and A Good Provider (see my review here).

Grade:A+

Summary: Jonas Galloway wouldn’t show up on Remy Bouchard’s doorstep without an excellent reason. Not after a secret destroyed what was so good between them. In this case, though, locating his daughter trumps unfinished business. He hopes he can persuade Remy to see it the same way.

Working with his high school sweetheart makes Jonas want to pick up where they left off. Especially because Remy is more tempting than ever. But he is a father and his little girl has to be his priority. Then an exposed lie hands him and Remy a possible future. And he can’t leave Louisiana without finding out if second chances are all they’re cracked up to be….

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Gwen’s review of Kiss of Snow (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 10) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance hardcover published by Berkley 31 May 11

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Nalini Singh.  I love to read her books.  The complexity of the worlds Singh creates transports me there every time I read them. Sure, the romances are satisfying, the heroes and heroines complicated and compelling. But the world!  The world is why I read.  It’s immediate, believable, and populated with enough good and bad to be really interesting. So it’s with a heavy heart that I say that I didn’t really love Kiss of Snow.

This tenth book in the Psy-Changeling series is the long-awaited union of the SnowDancer alpha, Hawke, and the young psy, Sienna.  In several earlier novels, you could see this pairing a mile away, and see how much it tormented both characters, so it’s nice to finally see these two together.  I’m not going to recap the characters or the plot – if you’re not reading this series, you do NOT want to start with this novel; you’ll be so far at sea with all the interwoven stories and established details, you may never know what’s going on.  Instead, I’ll just tell you what worked for me and what was not quite what I would have liked.

One of the characteristics of Singh’s writing that usually makes it so evocative is how she weaves several storylines into an overall arc, making for a really rich story.  Peppered throughout the romance are story threads from the bad guys’ perspective, from other good guys’ perspective, from the narrator’s perspective.  All of these bits mesh and normally push the story arc forward.

However, in Kiss of Snow, the weaving is choppy and sometimes difficult to follow.  It seemed to lack the smooth storytelling of Singh’s earlier novels.  While reading, I felt like I was being pulled in too many directions.  There’s the primary romance, a secondary romance, and many of the earlier romances in this book.  There’s the uber bad guys, the other bad guys, another two or three factions of good guys. We have a birth, several severe wounds, and some deaths.   Battles, fights, and more battles. Plotting, scheming, spies, traitors – all in one book. Normally this makes for a rocking good time in a novel.  Unfortunately, in this novel, it made for a bit of a mess.  All these elements seem like they’re just tossed in and shaken.  We jerk from one thing to the next with little to no transition and sometimes very few details to help us understand what we’re reading.

I had the most difficulty with the primary romance between Hawke and Sienna.  Their personal scenes were the most confusing for me – just as it felt like they were starting to know each other, something would happen, or the author would cut to another thread.  As a result, I had a frustrating time getting into this couple’s romance.  For example, at the end of the book for several paragraphs Singh makes what feels like an unnecessary mystery about Hawke’s name.  And then she never really reveals it – we’re left guessing and it’s a little frustrating.

The upshot of my review is that I’m disappointed, but I still read it.  Kiss of Snow is still a “B” book for me, but I expect a lot from Singh – particularly with the Psy-Changeling series.  This book, while good, didn’t quite meet my expectations and former experience with this author.

Grade: B-

Read other reviews and information on this series here.

Summary:

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other’s secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight…

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna’s darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home…and the alpha who is its heartbeat…

Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

Other books in this series (in strict chronological order):

			“The Cannibal Princess” - free short story
	“A Gift for Kit” - free short story

C2’s review of Kiss of Snow (Psy/Changeling Series, Book 10) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 31 May 11

Faithful reader, you know how sometimes in long series there’s that one couple you want to get together – the one that so obviously must be together and you wait and wait…and then, when they finally do get their story, it’s a let-down?  That SO did not happen here!  Yay!!

Hawke is the alpha of the SnowDancer wolves.  He has been in charge since he was a teenager and the traumatic circumstances that put him there have shaped his personality.  He is intense and focused and his wolf is very near the surface at all times.  Hawke’s wolf recognized his mate when he was a child, however she died very young.  Since wolves only mate once, Hawke grew up with the knowledge that there would always be a piece of his heart missing.

From the moment they met, Sienna Lauren has disturbed Hawke on every level.  She is too young and not only isn’t she Pack, she is Psy.  The Psy were responsible for the death of Hawke’s father and the horrible events that led him to becoming alpha.  Still, there is something about her that draws him, even though he knows he will never share the mate-bond with anyone – and the connection isn’t one-sided.  Recently, Hawke’s wolf has decided that Sienna is an adult and fair prey.  And Hawke is having a hard time convincing his wolf and himself that isn’t a good idea.

Sienna and her family came to live with the SnowDancer wolves after they defected from the PsyNet.  As far as most Psy know, they are all dead. Sienna, especially, knows she must stay hidden.  She is an X Psy – a mysterious and deadly Psy designation.  She was taken from her family at a very young age and trained as an assassin/spy.

Ever since Sienna has been with SnowDancer, she has been drawn to Hawke but she senses the distance he tries to maintain between them.  Still, he has allowed her to train with the other novice soldiers – as long as she doesn’t use her Psy abilities against anyone in the Pack.  Since she isn’t a wolf, she is less aware of his Alpha-ness and is more defiant than the other young soldiers – and neither man nor wolf appreciate that.

Lately, Sienna Psy abilities have been less stable.  Theory says X Psy are less stable to start with – most die young.  Whether this is because of the dangerous nature of the X designation, the dangerous situations they often are placed in or just because that much power burns quick and fast is still part of the mystery surrounding the X.  Hawke and her uncle, Judd (have you read Judd’s book? because you should), are both concerned about whether Sienna will be able to maintain her control over her abilities or if those abilities will get away from her and cause untold damage.  But when a Psy plot is uncovered that endangers all of SnowDancer and DarkRiver, every soldier is needed and Sienna’s special abilities could prove invaluable in the fight.

Oh faithful reader, I don’t want to delve too much deeper into the plot. You just need to read the book and savor it.  With each new addition to the series, the Psy/Changling world gets richer and deeper and more complex.  We catch up with lots of old friends and get hints of new characters (I am very intrigued by the falcons) and also get glimpses of a time before the PsyNet became the vast, frightening entity it is. And watching Hawke and Sienna dance around each other – unable to stay away while knowing things will probably go horribly wrong – is delicious and sweet and smart and hot.

“She tried to prepare herself for the next kiss…but of course, there was no way to prepare for Hawke.”  Kiss of Snow, page 360

Does this book stand alone?  It probably could but, really, you should read the whole series – all the cool kids are doing it.  Don’t you want to be one of the cool kids?  Is it worth the hardcover price? I say yes! What are you waiting for?  Go read and enjoy!

Grade: A+

Summary:

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.
Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.
Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other’s secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight…
A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna’s darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home…and the alpha who is its heartbeat…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Dinca’s review of Indecent & Wicked by Tori Carrington
Contemporary romance reissued by Harlequin Showcase 1 Sep 2010

Tori Carrington has done it again. I always enjoy her (their) stories.  Of these two, I can’t even begin to tell you which one I liked best, Indecent or Wicked. They both had my full attention from page one. Although they were not my usual read.    

Indecent (story 1)

Lucky Clayborn knows how to run, emotionally anyway. She has run from everyone including herself. She has learned to run from herself even in her own apartment. Hence the bottles lining her windowsill. After her second DUI she is sentenced to group therapy with Dr Colin McKenna. One look at him and she knows what kind of therapy she wants from him.  After solving the doctor patient issue, she heads back to his office for a little one on one.

The best thing for Colin McKenna is to get the sexy Lucky Clayborn out of his office as soon as possible. His career may depend on it. He already has a false sexual law suit pending against him. Much more time with Lucky and he could not claim false at all. He had a feeling it would be a very real situation. Could she be a set up  from his accuser?

The traumatic recall of events in Lucky’s past was very well represented and the story did not dwell on the depressing events. It would have ruined the book if it had. The support system that fell into place really worked with all the love and compassion presented. Every one grew stronger and true love of course concurs all.

Grade: A

Wicked (Story 2)

Renae Truesdale lives in the Apartment building with the very hot and sexy Will Sexton. The only drawback is that he thinks she is a lesbian. If looks could rip clothes off, she would be walking around nude every time he looked at her.

On the spur of the moment she enters into a sex-only relationship with him trying to satisfy the craving she feels for him. To get him out of her system.  Renae tries to juggle her work, her suspicions of her roommate’s live-in lover messing with her stuff and trying to force her out of her apartment and the sexual tension that grips her just walking by Will’s door.

Will Sexton has a plan. Court the resident and then pop the question and it has to be soon since she has a ‘wait until married’ for sex policy. It has already been five months and he is starving. Living in the same condo building as the luscious belly dancer up stars who left for work all decked out in her skimpy outfit at the same time he came home from the hospital is a living hell. With the resident out of town maybe this is his chance for a real live fantasy come true.

There is a lot of twist and turns here and I enjoyed the story. The ending was great and I didn’t see it coming and I love it when that happens. Her friend and coworker Lucky from the Indecent story was also continued in this tale so it is a double-hitter.

I liked the concept of the store, Women Only. I wish we had a store like that where I live. I would shop there in a heartbeat.

Grade: A

The two books are well written and a quick afternoon read. I hope you give them a look see. I was not disappointed in either of them.  Tori Carrington has not let me down once.

Overall Grade: A

Summary:

Indecent – From the moment Lucky Clayborn struts into his office, psychologist Colin McKenna wants the fiery redhead badly. But how can he possibly have a proper patient/doctor relationship—something his career depends upon—when all he wants to do is to get lucky…with Lucky? Lucky figures the sexy doc needs his head examined if he thinks she’ll be telling him her deepest thoughts. Because all she’s thinking about is getting naked with him! She hadn’t counted on his sexy bedside manner breaking through her mind’s defenses—or her heart’s.

Wicked – Will Sexton can’t wait to run into his knockout neighbor every day as she leaves for work in her sexy dance costume. But what he’d really like is a chance to see what’s underneath the soft material. Renae’s been craving a wild session in the sack with Will, too, and when they get together—again…and again—she thinks she’s getting exactly what she needs. Insane, illicit, incredible sex, no strings attached. But she soon realizes she doesn’t want to be just the woman Will has forbidden sex with. She wants to be the woman he’ll never, ever forget.

Read an excerpt here.

C2’s review of Whisper Falls (Destiny Series, Book 3) by Toni Blake
Contemporary Romance published by Avon 28 Dec 10

Whisper Falls takes us back to Destiny, Ohio, a small town that sounds a good bit like some towns I’ve visited in Ohio, actually. Small towns always play well in books, I think…they are much better in fiction than in reality, says me. I really enjoyed the first Destiny book and the second book was okay. Whisper Falls reminded me of the first book – a bad boy and a good girl find love.

Our hero is Lucky Romo, long lost brother of the hero of Sugar Creek (Book 2 in the series). Lucky is a tattooed, motorcycle-riding, former gang member, bad boy of the highest caliber – totally different from his brother the upstanding small town cop. Or so it seems. Lucky is also an artist. He paints motorcycles, motorcycle helmets and whatnot; he has set up a business up in the countryside near Destiny so he can be near a young son he just found out about. He hasn’t told anyone he is back. Or why. Has he managed to outrun his bad boy past or will it come back to haunt him?

Our heroine is Tessa Sheridan who has returned to Destiny from the big city after being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. Her illness played havoc with her life in the city – feeling lousy and maintaining her job was problematic so she came home to recover and live a quieter life. She isn’t exactly happy about being back home but she recognizes that returning to Destiny was the best thing to do.

As luck would have it, Lucky’s new home/business is right next door to the house Tessa is living in. When she is outside searching for her vacationing best friend’s cat (she’s cat-sitting), she meets her new neighbor and recognizes Lucky. Tessa wonders why no one has mentioned him being back home – one of her best friends is engaged to Mike so she knows she would have heard about his return.

Lucky does not want anyone to know he is back in town – he knows people will find out eventually but he wants to make sure his old life hasn’t followed him back to Destiny. He is afraid bad things could happen to people he cares about. Apparently he was involved with some Very Bad People and he left under not-so-good circumstances so the gang members could be out for revenge. Still, he can’t quite stop himself from being interested in Tessa – he hires her to redecorate a room in his house for his son. And as they spend time together, Lucky and Tessa both see that they might have found something really special.

The bad guys from his past aren’t Lucky’s only concern – he hasn’t been in touch with his family since he was a teenager. He left town and never looked back, as far as his family knows, and relationships were strained before he left. His brother Mike is not happy when he finds out Lucky has been in town for a while and hasn’t told the family – and he isn’t happy that Lucky won’t talk about his past. Their parents are just glad that Lucky has returned and realize there are still issues that need resolving.

They have more in common than meets the eye – they are both trying to deal with the hand life has dealt them, stop focusing on the past and look to the future. Neither Lucky nor Tessa is particularly happy about being back in their home town but know it is the best place for them to be. Tessa still has health issues. She has more good than bad days now but the bad days are still bad and staying positive isn’t always easy. Lucky admires the way she deals with her illness.

I think this may be my favorite of the series so far. It seems more balanced and the plotting is more even than the previous two books. The lead characters are likable and sympathetic and realistic, mostly (what do I know about gang stuff??). There is enough angst to satisfy the angst-lovers (you know who you are) but not so much that the rest of us want to throw up our hands and say “Snap out of it!”. Whisper Falls is an excellent addition to the Destiny series.

Grade: B

For more info on the series click on the Destiny series tag.

Blurb:
Welcome to Destiny, Ohio—where coming home means finding your true heart and maybe even your true love
Tessa Sheridan came crawling back to her quaint hometown of Destiny after her big-city interior design career crumbled. Now not only must she struggle to make ends meet, but she has to contend with a biker next door and the roar of Harleys shattering the serenity of her cabin in the woods by Whisper Falls.
Worse still, her sexy, bad boy neighbor makes her feel breathless and weak—and shy, petite Tessa knows what a major mistake it would be to get involved with someone so . . . dangerous.
They say that former teen rebel Lucky Romo has a dark, secret past—that he’s trouble with a capital “T.” Still, Tessa feels all tingly when she sees how well he fills out a pair of tight jeans. And when Lucky invites her into his world, she knows the intense heat sparking between them could lead her somewhere wild and wonderful . . . and, yes, dangerous!

Read an EXCERPT!

Other books in the series:

Dinca’s review of The Ex Factor by Nancy Warren
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Blaze 1 Oct 10

I have never read any works by Nancy Warren and I find reading The Ex Factor strange. However, knowing the book will end in happily ever after, I’m surprised to find myself reading about a divorced couple, including a cheating husband. Not to mention finding it hard to believe the heroine would jump back into bed with the ex-husband.

I love the name of Karen Petersham’s wedding planner business, If You Can Dream It. It does heighten the imagination. When Karen’s appointment shows up with her ex-husband in tow, she assumes he’s to be the groom… even if he is her ex-husband. Her pride is stinging thinking that he’s coming to her to get himself remarried. When she was married to him, she caught him cheating on her, so she thinks why not flaunt this new woman in her face as well.

Dexter Crane has one chance to redeem himself by helping his friends plan their wedding. Karen had divorced him because she thought he was unfaithful. Instead of saving him from a compromising position, she condemned him and walked off, leaving him to fend for himself.  Now presented with the opportunity to be in constant contact with his ex-wife, he’s not going to let the opportunity pass them by. He’s hard-pressed to keep the amusement from his eyes when Karen finds out he’s not the groom.

As Dexter sets out to create the perfect wedding for his friends, he takes every opportunity to romance Karen back into his life and her bed. As the book progresses it’s hard to believe why he even bothers. She’s having sex with Dexter while she’s trying to meet men online. Not the usual kind of heroine you find in a Harlequin romance.

I’m left with a lot of questions. Does she love him as much as he loves her? If she cares for him why doesn’t she try to be more possessive of him when she finds the girl all over her husband. If Karen loves him, she should fight for him, and just not have walked away from her marriage so easily before. I find this heroine has a lot of emotional problems. She is kind and loving and wonderful with her female friends and rude and obnoxious to their male friends. She even calls her best friend’s fiancé an emotional cripple. I guess it takes one to know one. I feel that Karen needs counseling to get her own emotions together before she attempts any kind of personal relationship.

There is a secondary romance in this book that I feel deserves a story of its own. I really enjoyed Laurel and the boring accountant, Ron who falls in love over spy novels.

Although I feel the book is well-written, I think Karen needs to get her stuff together and Dexter needs to suck it up and find someone who deserves him. Since the book is well-written, I will look for another Nancy Warren novel and give her another try. Ms. Warren gets an A for a well-written novel, an F for her heroine and a C for her hero, and Laurel and Ron get to live happily ever after. Due to the instability in Karen and Dexter’s relationship, they will have their ups and downs.

Grade: C

Summary:

Wedding planner Karen Petersham loves weddings—usually. Her newest client, Sophy, has brought along her best man for advice. And the best man is none other than Karen’s sexy ex-husband, Dexter Crane. But there are rules when engaging in ex-sex:

1) Do not get romantically involved (obviously)

2) All fun. No fight.

3) Two words—booty call!

4) (Reminder: nix the romantic involvement)

5) Remember why it ended (important!)

6) And get out before you fall in love with him again…

Read an excerpt.

Gwen’s review of Bayou Moon (The Edge, Book 2) by Ilona Andrews
Fantasy romance released by Ace 28 Sep 10

Ever wonder where the term “redneck” comes from?  In Texas, it has a very different meaning than in other parts of the country. No matter where you live, though, being called a redneck is not usually a compliment.

The authors of this book call it “redneck romance” – I call it a unique and captivating story.  No hint of redneckery involved.  Read on to see why…

“Ilona Andrews” is the husband/wife writing team of Ilona and Andrew Gordon.  I’d like to think that this combination of male and female perspectives is what makes the characters so rich and complex.  No matter the reason, the result is a book full of people you know, believe in, and want to spend time with.

The “redneck” or rustic overtone is not buck teeth, “aw shucks” type.  It’s used as an important story element, lending a sense of impoverishment and an edge of desperation to the characters and their actions.  It helps explain a lot of what happens in this very dense story.

And a lot happens in Bayou Moon – lots of very well thought out fight scenes, lots of fun dialogue, and good quality time spent in the heads of the hero and heroine.  It’s a well told story of some very interesting characters in a very believable alternate reality.  It was easy to read it and forget where I was for a while (literally startled out of the “book trance” a couple of times).

I can’t say enough good things about the way the hero was written.  William is a damaged, lonely man yearning for some softness in his life.  Then he meets a woman who is anything but soft – they don’t even like each other for much of the beginning of the book.  But the heroine, Cerise,  manages to bring to William that sense of family and belonging he craves.  You will have more fun being in his head than any other character in the book.

The world and the plot is delightfully complex.  It’s been a while since I’ve read such a believable alternate reality.  It’s easy to think “this could really be true” when reading it – nothing dragged me out of the story with a “wtf?” feeling.  I stayed fully engaged in the book until something or someone startled me out of it.  LOVE that.

The romance is believable and so wonderful when it finally happens.  I was really cheering for the couple by the time they got together.  However, I would have a difficult time classifying this strictly as a “romance” – there’s so much more to the story than the simple “boy meets girl” plot line.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good paranormal/fantasy book.  I didn’t read the first book and didn’t feel lost in this one.  You will enjoy the time spent in William and Cerise’s world. You may even feel like you should wash the swamp mud off your feet as you read it.

Grade: A+

Summary:

The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Walmart and magic is a fairytale–and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny…

Cerise Mar and her unruly clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire, the Edge swamplands between the state of Louisiana and the Weird. When her parents vanish, her clan’s long-time rivals are suspect number one.

But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge—and Cerise’s life . William, a changeling soldier who left behind the politics of the Weird, has been forced back into service to track down a rival nation’s spymaster.

When William’s and Cerise’s missions lead them to cross paths, sparks fly—but they’ll have to work together if they want to succeed…and survive.

Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of One Touch of Scandal by Liz Carlyle
Historical romance released by Avon 28 Sep 10

Sybil and I were trying to figure out if this book was historical or paranormal.  We landed on “historical with important paranormal elements.”  How’s that for decision making?  Solidly in the middle.

In spite of our collective irresolute tendencies, I have decided that this could best be described as a good historical romance that uses the paranormal to help tell the story and move the plot forward.  Ahh, decisiveness. 

In One Touch of Scandal, Liz Carlyle has written a mid-Victorian era historical that has a hero with ESP and a heroine in a very serious pickle.  Hero, Adrian, belongs to an ancient organization that supports  and protects women and children with the Gift or those who are descended from people with the Gift. Heroine, Grace, is a governess who is suspected of murdering her fiancee/employer.

Adrian and Grace come together in a very believable and interesting manner that I won’t spoil for you.  In fact, that statement of believable and interesting could be said about the book.  The ending is a little sugary for my taste, but I still enjoyed it.

I am happy that both Adrian and Grace are flawed people who are sincerely trying their best to live with the hands dealt them.  I also like that they don’t have prideful TSTL moments.  It’s nice to read about a couple that I can identify with, not that I want to shake and say, “Get out of your own way, you idjit!”

The murder and suspense elements in the book are quite good.  There is a plot twist that is a ton of fun to read and downright scary good.  Loved it.

The only reason I’m giving this a B+, and not an A, is the ending.  It was good – just a bit saccharin for me.

If you’re a Liz Carlyle fan, you need this book.  If you like a little paranormal spicing up your historical, you’ll love this book.  It’s the start of a new series that I think will be tremendous fun to read.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Desperation drove her into the arms of a devil…

Grace Gauthier had taken a position as governess hoping to find security and peace in a life that had very little of either. She’s always yearned for a good marriage, a family, and a home, but it was not to be. And when the brutal murder of her employer leaves her unprotected and alone—as Scotland Yard’s prime suspect—she has no one to turn to except the mysterious and reclusive Lord Ruthveyn.

A dark-eyed Lucifer, Ruthveyn guards his secrets carefully. His shadowed past as the Queen’s most trusted agent in India is the stuff of whispered rumor, as is his mixed ancestry. Deeply moved by her plight—and haunted by her beauty—Ruthveyn is determined to save Grace by unmasking a killer. But his growing passion for her soon places his own heart at risk and threatens to expose his dark gifts—and his dark society—to the world…

Read an excerpt here.

Gwen’s review of The Iron Duke (A Novel of the Iron Seas) by Meljean Brook
Steampunk romance released by Berkley Trade 5 Oct 10

Well, hello there.  Miss me?  That’s correct.  I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet, and, contrary to popular rumor (Sybil), neither have I been committed to the local booby-hatchery.  I’ve just been keeping a low profile, trying to reassemble my life after some pretty significant changes (more on that later).  Now on to the reason I’m here – to tell you about Meljean’s latest fantasy romance set in a cool steampunk world, The Iron Duke.

Meljean Brook started this world in a story called “Here There Be Monsters” in the Burning Up anthology.  If you haven’t read the story first, you’ll be okay and shouldn’t get too lost in the details.  But I’d read it – it’s a good story that I’ll review another time.

For those of you who are saying “what the hell is steampunk?”, here’s a quick definition from Wikipedia:

Steampunk is a sub-genre of…  speculative fiction that… involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them…  Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of “the path not taken” for such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage’s Analytical engine.

Brook’s world is not so much steampunk dystopia as it is alternative and slightly grungy and full of wicked cool machines and automatons. Oh, don’t forget hawt hawt hawt men and the beautiful, capable women who love them.  If you’re not a huge steampunk fan, I think you’ll be okay with this book.  Steampunk is used as a tool to expand the possibilities, creating surprising situations and solutions, not as a character in itself (thank goodness).

As per usual, I won’t spend time summarizing the plot because the book’s blurb does a dandy job of that.  Instead, I’ll focus on the author’s craft and the flow and feel of the book.

Whenever I read one of Meljean Brook’s novels, I bring my big girl panties.  She doesn’t coddle her readers. You need to keep up – the pace is quick, and she frequently leaves emotions and motivations unsaid.  The reader is often left to draw their own conclusions and to interpret why a character is doing what he/she is doing. We aren’t hammered over and over again with the why or how.  This can be refreshing but it can also be frustrating if the you aren’t tuned into the characters, or have skimmed more than a paragraph or two.

No matter the challenges, this is a very satisfying story. Brook develops a heroine in Mina who is truly heroic and very human.  The love story between Mina and the hero, Rhys, is touching because of all the challenges these two overcome.  We’re left really cheering for them when the plot resolves itself.

The secondary characters are all a lot of fun and add quite a bit of satisfying roundness to the story.  There is an oblique mention of the main characters from the first short story but lots of the secondary are major parts of this new book.  The worldbuilding is incredibly detailed but not unwieldy – just enough to make it fun.

If you’re ready for a change of pace and want to visit an alternative universe that is by turns familiar and bizarre, and want a good dose of romance and sensuality, then this is the book for you.  If you’re a Meljean fan, you really gotta read this.

Grade: A

Summary:

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power — and fear — of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

Mina can’t afford his interest, however. Horde blood runs through her veins, and despite the nanotech enhancing her body, she barely scratches out a living in London society. Becoming Rhys’s lover would destroy both her career and her family, yet the investigation prevents her from avoiding him…and the Iron Duke’s ruthless pursuit makes him difficult to resist.

But when Mina uncovers the victim’s identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans — and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

Sandy M’s review of A Portrait in Time by Barbara Donlon Bradley
Time Travel Romance published by Hard Shell Word Factory 1 Jul 08

Oh, my.  What a time I had with this book.  And I’m sorry to say that I don’t mean that in the usual way when you hear that sentiment. This is another of those books I pulled out of the nearest drawer when my eReader needed some juice the other night.  I didn’t get nearly as lucky this time as I did with the prior surprise I pulled out of that drawer.  And not for the reason you might think.

I have this book, to begin with, only because it’s a time travel.  I fell in love with time travels after reading Linda Howard’s Son of the Morning years ago.  After that I scoured the internet looking for any and every one I could find.  I knew not every one I would find would be as good as the Howard.  I was willing to take that chance, though, and this book is one that didn’t pan out quite that well.

The biggest problem with the book is the errors in it.  Loads and loads of ‘em.  Sigh.  I was distracted three-quarters of the time when reading it.  I know mistakes happen, but these errors are the result of either the manuscript not being properly and thoroughly proofread or the proofreader(s) didn’t have a grasp of the English language and punctuation.  Horrible job.  Okay, I got that out of the way first thing.  Let’s talk about the story.

That part of the book is actually not bad.  Alexandra is called home to New Orleans by her grandmother, but the news is not as dire as she’d expected.  But it gives her a chance to relax and catch up, all the while grandma has other things else in mind  At a neighboring plantation something life-changing awaits Alex.

After going through their family history, Grams feels it’s time for a tour of the plantation.  When they come across a portrait, Alex is stunned to see her likeness in it.  Grandma tricks her into touching it and the next thing Alex knows is she’s not in Kansas anymore, Toto.  She’s been thrown more then 100 years in the past and has come face to face with handsome Trey Dalton.

It takes some doing, however, to get used to the man and his time.  She’s an independent 21st Century woman and living with all the constraints of a bygone era is difficult for her.  As she falls in love with Trey, though, all those things seem to diminish and life becomes easier. At least for a time.

Trey’s life is pretty simple before a beautiful, stubborn, and very odd woman invades his life.  She claims to be from the future, but even after all the things she tells him to convince him of those claims, he just can’t bring himself to believe.  He still protects her, however, and when his Aunt Rose comes up with the idea of Alexandra being his fiance because she’s an unmarried woman living in his home, he doesn’t refute the lie.

Along with Alexandra has also come more and more dangerous and threatening happenings around his property, which he blames on a former friend, who just happens to be Alexandra’s great-great-great grandfather.  That danger is stepped up a notch when Alexandra is kidnapped and his enemy’s plans are finally revealed.

While I liked the characters, the storyline ends up being run-of-the-mill that we’ve read before.  The time travel aspect works fine and both Trey and Alex do okay at their disbelief of the phenomenon, but their emotion concerning that issue and others, including the love scenes, just fell short.  I never felt totally invested in their feelings throughout the book.  I’d say that was due to a combination of the writing and all the errors that pulled me out of the story so many times.

There’s too many other variables that can happen with a book to make readers not care for certain aspects that authors and these smaller publishers just need to do a better job with things like grammar and punctuation that are more controllable.  Such oversights don’t do the reader or the author any darned good.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Trey Dalton is having a very bad day. Someone is trying to destroy his plantation, his meddlesome aunt has come to visit, and some strange woman has appeared on his doorstep spouting some nonsense about coming from the future. Alexandra Tibideaux’s day isn’t any better. After racing from California to New Orleans because of an urgent message from her grandmother, Alex learns that all Grams wanted was to tour an old plantation, where Alex finds an exact likeness of herself. When curiosity causes her to touch the portrait, she finds herself trapped in the past with a man who is far too cute and too pig-headed for her taste.

Read an excerpt. (click link on left-hand side)

Next we have another excerpt, steamier excerpt from What a Scoundrel Wants, the Zebra debut from Carrie’s Lofty. Don’t forget to read the first excerpt, and check out this Duck Flash for contest info!
In this dazzling, original tale, Carrie Lofty imagines a new chapter in the well-loved Robin Hood fable. Meet Robin’s rakish nephew, Will Scarlet, a man whose talents with the sword and the ladies are legendary–until his desire for one woman changes everything.

A Passionate Lover…

A swordsman for the Sheriff of Nottingham, Will Scarlet has finally emerged from his famous uncle’s shadow. But when he’s unwittingly drawn into a bloody battle between the Sheriff and a nobleman, it’s impossible to tell friend from foe. A woman’s screams lead Will straight into the carnage to save her–but the ravishing young lady is not the helpless maid she appears to be…

An Amorous Lady…

Meg of Keyworth lost her sight to illness years ago, but that hasn’t stopped her mission to save her imprisoned sister, who’s been arrested by none other than Will Scarlet. Meg wants to hate Will for betraying her family, but he sparks heated desire in her heart–a desire that only he can satisfy. Meg is lovely and loving, and bedding her is sensual bliss. To please her in every way is what he wants most, for Will knows he will cherish her forever….

Excerpt

“I should examine your shoulder when you finish chopping wood,” Meg said.

“Why?”

Because I enjoy torturing myself. Because I want to touch you.

She swallowed heavily. “To check for signs of infection.”

“If you want me out of my tunic, you only have to ask.”

“I should let it fester until your arm rots,” she said, her cheeks on fire.

“That’s hardly charitable.”

“Better than you deserve.”

Will leaned closer, slowly, his breath warming her cheek. “Open your mouth.”

Her lungs shuddered to a halt. “What?”

“I said, open your mouth. I have something for you.”

“You’re being absurd.” Her heart was a terrified animal, shivering and demanding flight. But her feet refused to move.

“Trust that at this moment I have no notion of doing you harm.”

The soft timbre of his voice nestled seductive images behind her eyes. She pinched them shut. “And why should I trust you?”

“I fear your ability to transform into a ball-twisting wench.”

“You deserved that.”

“Blessed be, woman, no man deserves that.” Will edged closer still, his hair tickling the skin of her forehead. He slipped a hand around the base of her neck, softly kneading and massaging her tense muscles. She may as well have been a kitten held by its scruff, so completely did he imprison her. “Open your mouth before I have to hold you down and pry your lips apart.”

Every sharp retort and defensive reply shriveled to naught. She swallowed the pathetic whimper that wanted to beg for mercy, some reprieve from the onslaught. First Hugo and his hideous, baiting insults. Then Scarlet–the worry and guesses and vain attempts to understand him. Protecting against his influence was like trying to catch smoke. He was some powerful potion in masculine form, intent on driving her to madness.

“Open for me, Meg.”

The intimate nature of his command shocked her. Dread flared, digging into her bones and settling between her legs. A throbbing ache blossomed, her body thriving on a spiteful blend of danger and curiosity. Heat licked over her skin like flames, setting good sense ablaze.

She opened her mouth.

He touched his finger to her tongue. An explosion of sweetness enveloped her mouth, nearly buckling her knees with the unexpected pleasure. Thought fled. She closed her lips around his finger and sucked, discovering every last crystal of sugar he offered.

Scarlet pulled his finger free. His breath was fast, strained, and very close. “More?”

She gave the smallest nod. He petted her lower lip, painting tiny grains along her thin, sensitive skin. She caught his finger again and licked the sweetness. The hand at the back of her neck tightened, near to pain. A combination of man and sugar swathed her tongue, slid down her throat, set her body on fire. Her breasts felt heavy and hot. A familiar hollowness opened inside her, aching to be filled. He offered more sugar. But she wanted more of him.

She swirled her tongue around his finger, sucking again. He moaned and shuddered. She could take no more. Burrowing eager fingers into a shaggy length of hair, she dragged his face to hers. Lips met in a heady explosion of heat and sweetness. His tongue thrust into her mouth. The syrupy remains of the sugar mingled with his own spice. His arms circled her back, deepening the kiss. Tight nipples crushed against the solid leather shielding his chest, arousing and frustrating her in turn.

Her hips found his. The insistent ridge of his erection offered proof of his desire. He groaned her name and arched her back, dusting quick, hard kisses along the length of her neck. She resented the high bodice that barred him from traveling lower, but flicks of his tongue wet a trail to one ear. He nibbled and suckled, threading his fingers into her hair. Lightheaded, she clung to his body as if a heartsick year had passed since she last held him, since he last held her.

Will.

And like a drowning woman finding a single gulp of air, she found herself–and ran.

Copyright Carrie Lofty 2008

Devon’s review of Hallowe’en Husbands by Lisa Plumley, Denise Lynn, and Christine Merill
Historical Paranormal Romance Anthology released by Harlequin Historical 1 October 2008

This anthology features three stories, set in different places and times, against the backdrop of Halloween. The crisp autumn atmosphere was nicely captured, that mysterious element in the air that makes you think anything might happen. Despite some issues, I enjoyed all three stories, and would seek out other books by the authors.

Marriage at Morrow Creek by Lisa Plumley

The first stop is Arizona Territory, 1884, against the backdrop of a traveling medical show. Rose (“the plain sister”) is desperately in love with Will, the bagman for her father’s show, and desperate to win him. Encouraged by a mysterious new acquaintance, Rose decides to go for it. I have nothing against a girl going for what she wants, but Rose was so desperate, determined and deluded, it was kind of annoying. I felt like she strong armed the clueless Will into submission. He went from not even noticing her to thinking perhaps he had cared for Rose for a long time. His feelings changed so quickly, I wasn’t buying it. His reasons for not wanting to get together with Rose felt like excuses.

Still, this was a cute and sweet story, with a touch of magic. I liked the small town, Americana setting with its homespun Halloween celebration. The paranormal element was nicely done, if a bit predictable. I didn’t care for the name-dropping. Many characters from Plumley’s past books drop in, with no real purpose. Overall, this was a pleasant change of pace. I just wish there was more magic to the romance.

Grade: B-

The only thing Rose Tillson ever wanted was a life of travel beneath the Western stars—and to marry secret sweetheart Will Gavigan! All Rose needs is a small dose of Hallowe’en magic to make Will realize she’s the girl of his dreams….

Wedding at Warehaven by Denise Lynn

Next we head to 12th Century England for a story of tension between old Pagan ways and newer Christian beliefs. This story got off to a great start, with a wild pagan celebration. I should mention that it was the sole story without a paranormal element, despite all references to the demonic. I guess Medieval types were obsessed with demons. Randall Fitzhenry, knight and royal bastard, is sent to Warehaven to put a stop to the locals’ Godless ways. He is to consolidate his power by marrying the lady of the keep, even though he believes she’s a witch. Birgit of Warehaven wants nothing to do with the brute.

I liked the two characters and their battle of wills. They were both well drawn and interesting, and the chemistry was nice. Then Birgit acted like a complete dunderhead and withheld info from Randall that put her and others in danger. There was no good reason for that decision. The ending was a bit abrupt, with Birgit’s father showing up to do the deus ex machina thing and settle everything neatly. My favorite of the bunch, and I may yet become a Medieval convert.

Grade: B

When Brigit of Warehaven casts a simple spell to reveal her true love’s identity, she never expects to wed him that same night! But until the mischievous trickeries of All Hallows’ Eve are over, Randall FitzHenry cannot truly claim his bride’s heart….

Master of Penlowen by Christine Merrill

Master of Penlowen is set in Regency England, and also got off to an exciting start. There’s an abduction, a breathless rescue on horseback, and a creepy estate. Merrill creates a suitably Gothic atmosphere, as Arabella finds herself stuck for the night in the house full of secrets and its handsome but strange owner.

This was a creepy, compelling read. I found the hero, Richard, less than appealing for some reason. He seemed kind of greedy, and wimpy too. Richard did exhibit some charm, and the beginnings of chemistry with Arabella, but I didn’t believe that they fell in love over the course of the night. I mean, during their big love scene, they were kinda possessed, and there was a skeleton nearby. It was ick. I wasn’t really feeling that. Gothic fans may well enjoy it though.
Grade: C+

Arabella Scott cannot decide whether she’s been saved or abducted when she is rescued from highwaymen by a darkly brooding stranger. In his eerily cold, dilapidated home, she has no choice but to trust her cavalry officer rescuer.

Overall Grade: B-

Gwen’s review of Dark Light (Ghost Hunters, Book 5) by Jayne Castle
Sci-fi romance released by Jove 26 Aug 08

I’ve read three of the Ghost Hunters books now – this one, Silver Master (#4), and Ghost Hunter (#3). I’d have to say that my opinion of all three is consistent – good, slightly above average reads in the sci-fi romance sub-genre. I like them quite a bit better than I do the Arcane Society books, but considering how much I don’t like those, that may not be a compliment.

In this entry, Dark Light, we get a very entertaining read. There’s a well-developed heroine in Sierra and an interesting alpha hero in Fontana. The secondary characters, with the exception of the dust bunnies (you have to read it to understand), are a bit of non-entities, but that’s been the case in all of the Ghost Hunters books. The villains are suitably evil, if a bit predictable.

The plot’s tension is provided very early by a rather unbelievable, and hasty, marriage between hero and heroine. This is all toward their attempt to find out who is pushing drugs on retired Ghost Hunters on the streets of Crystal City (not Crystal City, Texas). There’s lots of fun action and suspense while they go about their investigation. Houses burn down, people die. New alien tools/weapons are discovered. It’s all very fraught with tension.

I didn’t think Dark Light had the emotional content I found in Silver Master (not reviewed): DL had a good love affair, it lacked the passion of SM. But it’s still a very entertaining sci-fi romance read with logical and complete story arcs, good dialog, and good action. Great for a quick weekend read.

Grade: C+

Summary:

From Amazon.com: Tabloid reporter Sierra McIntyre wants a scoop when she interviews Ghost Hunter Guild boss John Fontana about the disappearances of retired, homeless hunters. She doesn’t want to trust the physically and psychically powerful man, but her intuition-and her dust bunny companion-give her the green light. To uncover the conspiracy within his own organization, Fontana proposes…marriage. And though it’s purely a business arrangement, there’s nothing pure about the attraction that sizzles between them.

From author’s site: Reporter Sierra McIntyre’s stories on Crystal City’s ghost hunters-and their mysterious guild-have earned her tabloid a bit of respect. And they’ve allowed her to clothe her dust bunny companion Elvis in rock-and-roll style. It helps that she has mega-rez intuition to fall back on…

Especially when she interviews Ghost Hunter Guild Boss John Fontana about the disappearances of retired, homeless hunters. She doesn’t want to trust the physically and psychically powerful man, but her senses-and Elvis-give her the green light. To uncover the conspiracy within his own organization, Fontana proposes…marriage. And though it’s purely a business arrangement, there is nothing pure about the attraction that sizzles between them…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Devon’s review of Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly
Contemporary Erotic Romance released by 1 Jun 08

Slow Hands first caught my eye because it shares a title with my favorite song of the past five years or so. The blurb grabbed my attention as well, although it featured one of the hoariest setups in TV movies and romance: the bachelor auction for charity. I live a decidedly suburban mom existence, but I have never heard of one of these happening in real life. I was a bit nervous, because the whole plot seemed to hinge on a Big Misunderstanding (pretty much guaranteed groanworthy). But the ice princess/regular Joe pairing piqued my interest. Would Slow Hands deliver, despite my misgivings? 

Slow Hands was exactly what a Blaze should be: a fun, sexy read that one can polish off in an evening and be happy afterwards. I really enjoyed the characterization in this one. Maddy was indeed an ice princess, hiding a passionate side. It was understandable given her experiences and crazy family members. But she never seemed humorless, quite the opposite. Ms. Kelly pulls off the witty banter well, without it ever seeming forced or overdone. Jake Wallace was a good foil for Maddy—an open-hearted, decent guy who really wants her. I enjoyed Jake’s pursuit of Maddy, and their chemistry was hot.

Some readers may be annoyed by the plot, which hinges on a case of mistaken identity. There were a couple of times where I rolled my eyes, because it was hard to believe that Maddy wouldn’t have said something to Jake. But then, Kelly did something I wasn’t quite expecting. Jake becomes aware of Maddy’s misconceptions but chooses not to enlighten her. Again, some readers might not like his actions during this part of the book, but I didn’t mind, because I thought Maddy kind of deserved it with her behavior. And Jake just really wanted to convince her to love him.

Slow Hands was a fun read. My one previous read by Leslie Kelly was a DNF, but this book revealed a deft hand with the humor. There can be a fine line between amusing and corny and clichéd. In this book, the heroine and hero always remained likeable and sympathetic, despite their not always likeable behavior. The plot could have been super annoying, but held my interest and amused me. I am definitely going to seek out the sequel, Heated Rush, which takes place concurrently.

Grade: B-

The Summary:
This is Maddy Turner’s lucky day. The civilized society girl just bid on sexy rogue Jake Wallace at a charity bachelor auction—and won! But Maddy knows Jake’s dirty little secret. And it should keep her from trying out her new boy toy. Too bad she can’t stop herself from indulging in raw, quite uncivilized sex all the same….

Jake Wallace is utterly bewitched by Maddy—and utterly bewildered. How can this tantalizing woman melt so rapturously under his ministrations one moment, then turn into a haughty queen the next? He’s determined to get to the bottom of Maddy’s agenda. One slow, delicious inch at a time…
Read a excerpt here

Firefighters and reunited lovers…Sounds good to me! Jill Shalvis’ Flashback was released this month. Read on for an excerpt and a chance to win (yes, WIN) a copy. And don’t forget to visit Jill’s blog. It’s very funny.

Firefighter Aidan Donnelly has always battled the flames with trademark icy calm. That is, until a blazing old flame returns—in the shape of sizzling soap star Mackenzie Stafford! Aidan wants to pour water over the unquenchable heat between them. But that just creates more steam….

Kenzie is not the delicate, fragile female she looks like. She has one clear objective, and nothing will stand in the way of her goal—well, nothing but the red-hot touch of a certain dangerously sexy fireman, that is!

**EXCERPT**
Kenzie hit the icy water, and as she took in a huge mouthful of water, she realized she’d forgotten to hold her breath, a thought that was completely eradicated when the Blake’s Girl exploded into the early dawn.

In the brilliant kaleidoscope of sound and sights, she barely registered the splash next to her, or the two strong arms that came around her, supporting her above the water as pieces of flying, burning, spitting debris hit all around them.

Aidan. My God, Aidan . . . That it was him boggled her mind. She needed to remind him she could swim on her own but the shock of the cold water sapped both her voice and the air in her lungs, and also hampered the working mechanics of her brain.

She’d never experienced anything like it. Never in her life had she been so hot and so frozen at the same time. The heat came from the flames, so high above them now that she was in the water, but no less terrifying. And yet from the neck down, an icy cold had taken over her limbs, making movement all but impossible, weighing her down, sitting on her chest, squeezing, sucking the last of the precious air from her overtaxed lungs.

Someone was screaming, and she envied the ability to draw air into her lungs because Kenzie’s own felt constricted as if she had a boa slowly squeezing the life out of her.

The scream came again.

Huh.

It sounded sort of like herself, and then she realized as if from a great distance that it was herself screaming, which meant that somehow she was breathing. Okay, that was good, very good. So was the man holding her in the water, tucking her head against him, shielding her from the pieces falling out of the sky at his own risk.

“Shh,” he was murmuring. “I’ve got you. It’s okay, Kenzie, it’s going to be okay . . .”

He did have her. Which was a good thing. Without him, she’d have gone down like a heavy stone and knew it. She was hurt, but not that hurt to stop the memories bombarding her at the sound of his voice. How could she not have instantly recognized him?

He was the first man who’d ever broken her heart.

Now, contest time! Leave a comment, any comment to win your own copy of Flashback. About cute firemen, Jill Shalvis, Blaze titles, or the high price of gas. Whatever, I’m feelin’ easy. I’ll pick a winner on Tuesday, August 26.

Shannon C.‘s review of Fire Princes’ Bride by Rebecca Airies
Fantasy erotic romance released by Ellora’s Cave 25 Jun 08

Fire Princes’ Bride had a blurb that compelled me, and was a bit of an experiment on my part. It’s obviously part of a series, and I know that I need to get over my compulsive urge to read everything exactly in order, so I picked this book up hoping the conflict would be entertaining and hoping I could follow along without having read prior books. It turns out that I could, although ‘entertaining’ is not precisely the word I would use to describe this book.

The quick and dirty premise is as follows: Callan and Tyral (henceforth referred to as Callantyral for the purposes of this review) are fire elementals. They have many enemies, and they end up magically stranded on a random planet. Along comes Karissa, an ice elemental, who joins them. Lots of fun sexoring is had by all, only Callantyral fail to let her in on the fact that she is their bonded mate. She goes home, but must return to their side, because otherwise her very life is in danger. Not that it’s any safer when she joins her men, because a faction in their realm wants her dead as well.

There was a lot going on in this story, some of which seemed overly convoluted. I didn’t ever really understand what an Aliara was, or why men should bond with their mates when they get to a certain level of power. I don’t know if this was explained in previous volumes of the series, but this was one of those rare times when I really wanted someone to go, “As you know, Bob, when X occurs, that causes Y.” That being said, I was definitely curious about the different kinds of elementals and how they worked, much less what it would be like to have a spirit of your chosen element living inside you. I also never really got why the princes had fangs, which was a detail that kept popping up but didn’t really seem to need to be there.

As for the characters, I had trouble with them. For one thing, Callan and Tyral were pretty much indistinguishable, hence my jumbling them together as Callantyral. The author does this a lot herself, having the men react of one accord. This took away from the dynamics of the romance for me, because essentially I felt like Karissa was with the same guy, but in two bodies, for convenience. Therefore, I didn’t feel the chemistry, and this book failed the litmus test by which I judge such things, since I did at one point fall asleep while reading a sex scene. Not only that, but Callantyral were the worst sort of alphas. There was a lot of “Now, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.” And whenever Karissa was angry with them, there was a lot of smiling indulgently and metaphorical patting her on the head and patronizing, “Awww, you’re so cute when you’re mad.” If anyone treated me the way those men treated Karissa, there’d be more than just an icy bath in the works for them. There would be two hot alpha men currently… well… not getting any. But that’s just me.

This book pretty much didn’t work for me. I suspect that readers who like M/F/M romances will find this appealing, but there’s no way I can wrap my head around making it plausible, particularly when the men are brothers. There’s enough here that could be interesting, but I can’t recommend a book where the heroes are two halves of the same uber-asshole jerk and the fantasy world-building is too complex for the story it tries to tell.

Grade: D

Summary:
One thing is universal in all the Elemental Realms — women are told when to seek a mate. Because of the power she holds, Karissa knows she will have to embark on that journey far earlier than most women in the Ice Court. But she does not expect to find her betrothed — especially not before her search has even begun. And she certainly does not expect to have two mates — let alone for those mates to be the Princes of the Fire Court.

Twin brothers Tyral and Callan know Karissa is their mate as soon as they see her. They greet her with a carefree playfulness, wanting to give her time, but things quickly heat up between them. The Princes’ biggest challenge, however, proves not to be their opposing Elemental Spirits, but convincing Karissa to submit to their rules.

As Fire and Ice clash in the bedroom, an enemy moves in, plotting to destroy the Fire Princes’ future with their new bride.

Read an excerpt here.

Shannon C.’s review of Warrior (Time Hunters, Book 1) by Angela Knight
Sci-Fi romance released by Berkley 1 Jul 08

Angela Knight is one of those authors everyone recommends when suggesting erotic romance authors, but I’ve never read any of her books. And even though I made fun of the blurb when it came up for review over at Duckie Central, Gwen’s review made me eager to read it when Sybil sent me a copy.

The book didn’t work for me as well as it did for Gwen. It wasn’t that I had a hard time keeping up, not having read Jane’s Warlord. My major stumbling block was the fact that some of the sci-fi aspects of the world were more cheesy than anything else. (Warfems? Seriously? Why not just call them female warlords?) But once I accepted all the cheese, I enjoyed this book.

Jessica Kelly, the twenty-first century artist heroine, is remarkably resilient considering what she’s been through, snatched out of her time and place and brought to the future. I liked that she was assertive without being feisty, and while she will not make my top ten list of romance heroines, she did kick ass in her own way.

Galar Arvid, our temporal enforcer, was the kind of hero that a lot of readers seem to like but which leaves me cold. He is totally alpha, totally determined to protect his woman, and he demonstrates this at times by being patronizing. I thought he really should have listened to some of the things Jessica tried to tell him long before he actually did. That said, I bought the chemistry between himself and Jess, and I believed their HEA.

The plot is interesting, too, though I wasn’t sure what Ms. Knight was going to do to resolve it. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a lot of people out to kill Jess and Galar, and I felt that the sections in their POV weren’t handled terribly well. Chapters also seemed to start and stop at random points, for no discernible reason. I also thought the book had an excess of secondary characters, some of whom are doubtless destined for sequels.

I’m not sure how to grade this. On the one hand, the plotting was uneven, and the characters weren’t memorable enough that I’ll be able to tell you much about them in a month or so, but at the time I was reading I was pretty much hooked completely, and I definitely think I’ll enjoy reading more from Ms. Knight if she finishes the series. That counts for a lot with me, hence the slightly higher grade.

Grade: B-

Summary:

In the 24th century, anyone can leap through time at will. To police the time jumpers, the Temporal Enforcement Agency has established a precinct in time. Galar Arvid is a genetically altered warlord and agent who’s been sent back to 2008 to save a pretty Atlanta artist from a Xeran time traveler who intends to kill her for profit. What Galar doesn’t count on is the powerful desire Jessica Kelly ignites in him. But could a romance between them work? A three-hundred-year chasm separates them and, even if they dart through time, there’s still a maniacal killer on their tails.

Read an excerpt here

Sandy M’s review of Double Enchantment (Relics of Merlin, Book 2) by Kathryne Kennedy
Paranormal Historical Romance published by Love Spell 28 Aug 08

I have the best time in Kathryne Kennedy’s special world of magic she’s created for her Relics of Merlin series. It’s fun and lighthearted, full of romance, all the while throwing loads of mystery and evil deeds at you. And her were-heroes are to die for.

As with most firsts, the first book in this series gives you such special people and places, and I fell in love with Sir Terrance from Enchanting the Lady and figured that, though the hero in her next book would be another I could fall in love with, I wouldn’t fall quite as badly as I did for Sir Terrance. I’m delighted to say I was very wrong! Sir Sterling Thorn is a were-stallion, big, bold and strong, just as he is in his human form. I fell very hard.

Lady Jasmina Karlyle is the glue that keeps her parents’ house in order and running smoothly. She’s also the one who keeps her mother out of prison when she decides to borrow things from people, mostly jewelry, with the intention of returning them but conveniently forgetting to do so. Jasmina has taken it upon herself to prowl the streets at night, breaking and entering to return these borrowed items so her parents can go on living in relative comfort and ease, demanding their daughter never marry so she may take care of them through their dotage. Personally, the parents irritated the heck out of me, especially when they doubt her later in the story. But Jasmina loves them and does what they ask of her with no thought to herself — until she meets the man who makes her heart gallop.

Though Sterling is the first born, it is his younger brother who inherited upon their father’s death only because Cecil manipulated his father and fed him lies about Sterling during his stint in the military. Still a baron, Sterling lives his own way and is immune to magic, as are all others of his class. He happens upon “Jaz” at the prince’s ball and falls instantly into lust, so much so he marries the girl after he deflowers her, much to his delight.

But his happiness is short lived when he discovers a second Jaz, the original one, that is. Jasmina conjured a twin of herself to fool anyone checking on her in slumber when she was actually out on one of her reverse thieving jaunts. Everything goes totally wrong when Jasmina recites her twin spell while holding the brooch her mother absconded with this time. In actuality it is one of the thirteen Relics of Merlin and causes her spell to go awry, thus giving her Jaz duplicate a little more human personality than is needed.

Sterling and Jasmina are thrown together to search for the brooch to reverse her spell and rid the city of Jaz-Gone-Amuck, thereby saving Jasmina’s already degraded reputation, and Sterling is given the opportunity at the same time to continue looking for his kidnapped sister. Needless to say, all these things are related in unusual and magical ways and a lot of fun and romance are to be had along the way.

I love the way Ms. Kennedy gives Sterling the characteristics of the stallion when he’s in human form. He is a large man with a mane of black hair and I could see him tossing his head, mane flying, each time it was described so. He playfully snorts and stamps his feet just like a horse when the situation calls for it. He is, however, much more magnificent when in his were-form, everything he is as a human is just intensified and made larger than life. One of the best scenes in the book is Sterling galloping and flying through the nighttime streets with Jasmina on his back, both as carefree as the wind. Lady Jasmina’s prim and properness works very well against his animal characteristics, and it’s a delightful process to watch her lose herself and her hoity-toity ways with each step of Sterling’s seduction.

This is an enjoyable series. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. This is what reading is all about. Leave your worries behind and just let go and have fun with a world of magic and romance and characters who will entice you to dream for a happily-ever-after just like theirs.

Grade: A

Summary:
.
Lady Jasmina was in a world of trouble. A simple spell had gone disastrously haywire and now there was a woman running around London who looked exactly like her–a woman with no sense of propriety whatsoever. All Society was whispering, and a baronet she’d never met was suddenly acting like he knew her…in a most intimate way. To find her double and set things right, they’d have to work together–braving the fog-shrouded streets, a mysterious group called the Brotherhood, and a passion stronger than any magic.
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Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

Read Devon’s review of Enchanting the Lady

Shannon C.’s review of Pitch Black by Susan Crandall
Romantic suspense novel released by Forever 1 Jun 08

I really like books about troubled kids and the adults that help them. I know a lot of readers are actively repelled by that sort of thing, but I’m not one of them. Stories about mothers, social workers, or concerned human beings doing anything and everything to protect their children just tug at my heartstrings and make my inner budding social worker squeeful. And in Susan Crandall’s romantic suspense debut, she hits everything right.

Madison Wade is a Philadelphia journalist who recently adopted Ethan, a street kid she met who tugged at her heartstrings. They’ve moved to Buckeye, Tennessee, and are just settling in with Madison working as the editor of the local paper. Ethan’s even made some friends, and Madison’s attracted the interest of local sheriff Gabe Wyatt. Then Ethan is invited on a camping trip with his best friend, Jordan, the end of which results in Jordan’s stepfather being murdered. Immediately, suspicion turns on Ethan, and Gabe has to juggle his feelings for Madison with the fact that he doesn’t want to compromise his investigation.

Romantic suspense is usually a hard sell for me, and though I’ll try any new author once, very few of them write romance and suspense in such a way that I believe both. Thankfully, Ms. Crandall absolutely gets it right. The suspense wouldn’t have been nearly as compelling if it weren’t for the romance, and the romance only heightens the degree of suspense. I also liked that I was completely on the wrong track when it came to figuring out who the real killer was. Usually, I guess these things right away, and then spend the rest of the book being frustrated because the characters are too stupid to connect the dots. Thankfully, this didn’t happen, and when the killer was revealed, it only hits the reader a few pages before Gabe and Madison figure it out.

The really compelling thing about this book is that Ms. Crandall writes some great characters. I loved both Madison and Gabe. At first, I thought they would be a little bit typecast–she’s a brisk, city girl. He’s a laid-back Southern boy. But gradually, I connected with them. And I adored Ethan, too. This is no saccharine sweet kid. He’s definitely had it rough, and yet he’s grown into a person with unswerving loyalty and a strong sense of personal integrity. I also really liked the scenes between Madison and Ethan. They start the book already bonded, but their relationship is still sometimes a little tenuous even for both of them.

Madison herself is also refreshingly intelligent. She’s obviously a good journalist, and she doesn’t take any unnecessary risks to uncover the truth. It’s clear exactly what Gabe sees in her, and I loved the scene where she realizes that her life just isn’t complete without Gabe and Ethan in it. As for Gabe, I liked that he was an honorable man, who did a lot of self-examination. He knew what he had to do, and he tried to be conscious of the fact that he definitely had some personal biases during his investigation.

I also have to mention Ms. Crandall’s writing style. She keeps the tension up nicely, and she has a knack for ending chapters on cliff hangers, and feeding both the reader and the characters enough information that the suspense is heightened. She also did a great job of conveying menace and threats to the characters. There were times I was really glad I was reading this in the light of day.

I see from the information about the author that Ms. Crandall will publish another romantic suspense novel in early 2009. If this book is any indication, I will be anxious to read it.

Grade: A-

Summary:
In an effort to give her newly adopted teenage son, Ethan, a fresh start, Philadelphia journalist Madison Wade relocates to a small Tennessee town. When Ethan goes on a camping trip with three other teens and returns without their chaperone, Ethan’s past casts him as suspect in a crime. The secrets Madison uncovers as she tries to clear her son brings danger from unexpected places and puts her at odds with the local sheriff — a man who has been trying to win her heart.

Read an excerpt here

Shannon C.’s review of Whispers in the Dark by Kira Sinclair
Contemporary erotic romance released by Harlequin Blaze 1 Aug 08

This is one of those books that suffered from the “It’s not you, it’s me” syndrome. I liked the story well enough, and it features a heroine who felt like a genuinely real person, but there were several things that struck me as too cheesy for words.

Karyn is a rape survivor, and she’s been without sex for the past five years. Her best friend convinces her to call a local radio sex talk show and ask for some expert attention from the delectable host. Chris, known to the world as Dr. Desire, knows that getting involved with Karyn could potentially ruin his career, but she intrigues him, and so, wanting to help her, he sets out to thoroughly seduce her.

As I said above, Karyn made this story for me. Her reactions seemed real, and I liked that she wasn’t overly angsty. Her issues with her mom were also a very nice touch, and I liked that she seemed to have a genuinely good relationship with her best friend, who was there for actual substantial parts of the book, not just the first chapter’s ruminations about how much Karyn needs a man.

Chris I didn’t like so well. First of all, I couldn’t get over the name Dr. Desire as a pseudonym. It just begs to be read aloud with porn music in the background. And he is one of those heroes with whom I have no patience. He had a bad childhood, oh noes! He refuses to be put in such a precarious financial position ever again, and he goes through a lot of “I shouldn’t touch Karyn for her own good” moments, which frustrated both me and Karyn. Ultimately, I really wanted to cut him a huge slice of Get Over Yourself cake.

There was other stuff that bothered me, which might not make anyone else raise an eyebrow. I question whether radio sex talk shows are really as popular as Ms. Sinclair would have us believe. I mean, do people really sit around the house and listen to The Love Line and fantasize about Dr. Drew? I also found the introduction of Chris’s father, the book’s major villain, to be a bit too much. His scenes were definitely extraneous, and while they did add tension, in the end I just thought they were unnecessary.

I think others will enjoy this book more than I did, and I think Ms. Sinclair is an author to watch out for, but my recommendation here is only lukewarm.

Grade: C

Summary:
Karyn Mitchell once thought she’d never let another man touch her. But that was before she was seduced by the sinful voice of Dr. Desire! Listening to the radio talk show host, Karyn knows that his suave advice masks deep urges. Longings she’s sure she can answer skin on skin … Christopher Faulkner, aka Dr. Desire, has built an on-air career in carnal counseling. When Karyn calls in, he hears a pang in her voice that he longs to soothe. But when they finally have the chance to fulfill their explicit fantasies, he has to wonder which one of them is playing doctor. Because the supersexy treatment he’s prescribed seems to be healing them both….

Read an excerpt here.

Shannon C.’s review of The Ballad of Jimothy Redwing by Maia Strong
Fantasy gay erotic romance ebook released by Samhain Publishing 10 Jun 08

There are two things that are guaranteed to make me swoon with delight. One is fantasy. The other is a musician hero. This story features both, which made me exceedingly happy. While I did have my fair share of nits to pick, I thought that the world Maia Strong created was interesting and I would visit it again.

Jimothy Redwing, the title character, is a wandering minstrel. On his way to the city of Couvin, where he needs to deliver some important mail, he meets up with Ricky, and the two of them spend a wonderful night full of great sex together. Upon his arrival into the city, Jimothy realizes that his new lover is not what he seems, and he finds himself drawn into various political conspiracies.

I really liked both Jimothy and Ricky. They were likeable young men, and neither of them fit into any specific role. They were both really nice beta guys, and they were cute together. The actual sexoring didn’t entirely work for me, but the romance itself was very sweet.

Aside from our leads, Ms. Strong introduces us to a variety of interesting characters, all of whom were drawn very well, despite the fact that they were sort of peripheral to the main romance. I got the sense that Maeve and Japheth, the owners of an inn where Jimothy stays, had lives outside of what was happening with Jimothy and Ricky. I was also relieved to see that there wasn’t any sequel-baiting going on.

The non-romance plot takes up far more of the story than does the actual romance, but I was fascinated with it. There was a bit of a mystery which I liked, and in the process of solving that mystery, we learn a great deal about Ms. Strong’s world.

Not everything worked quite so well for me, but most of my nits are pretty subjective. I didn’t find much of Jimothy’s poetry especially compelling, for example, and sometimes the way the characters talked didn’t quite seem real. I don’t expect high-falutin’ language in my fantasy, but I felt a bit like I was reading Americans talking in bad British accents while at a ren fair. And some of the offhand comments during and after sex scenes bothered me. I really didn’t need to know, for example, that one character left a three foot rope of ejaculate on the sheets. I mean, ewww. Did we have to be *that* specific? Also, I wasn’t satisfied with the ending. I imagine that Ms. Strong has left herself some room for writing a sequel with more adventures of Jimothy and Ricky, but I’d have liked a less tenuous HEA at the end of this book.

Those things might not bother other people, and though they did detract from my own enjoyment of the story, I still think fans of m/m romance or fantasy romance might enjoy this. I know I’ll definitely be interested in seeing what else Ms. Strong can do.

Grade: B-

Summary:
New lover. New city. New dangers.

Wand’ring Minstrel Jimothy Redwing is used to life on the road, living by the words and music that are his stock in trade. While he’s comfortable finding his way alone, he’s always amenable to a friendly stranger who knows the lay of the land. Ricky Lennox is smart, funny, handsome, and very amenable.

With a place to stay, a sexy new lover, and some local contacts, Jimothy looks forward to delivering the letters in his care—including a message for the local ruler—and earning a little money with his music before moving on.

Ricky’s declaration he’s interested in more than just a one-night tryst starts Jimothy thinking about settling into a life of perfect harmony. But things hit a sour note when he learns his lover’s true identity—and exactly what’s in the epistle to Kanbec’s ruler.

Jimothy’s journey turns out to be far more complicated than he could have dreamed, and as dangerous as any epic ballad. For himself—and for Ricky.

Warning: This book contains a sexy musician, hot nekkid manlove, violence, and nuns dressed in blue.

You can read an excerpt here.

Shannon C.’s review of The Cat: Sons of Destiny, Book 5 by Jean Johnson
Fantasy/paranormal romance released by Berkley 3 Jun 08

As I’ve stated numerous times, I love the Sons of Destiny books. The family dynamic is a lot of fun, the world building just keeps getting better and better, and there’s always a new twist on the romances presented that keep them from becoming too trite.

The premise of these books is that eight brothers are sent to Nightfall Island because of a prophecy foretelling some kind of disaster. Trevan is the fifth of the eight brothers, the reputed ladies man. Living without a woman for the past three and a half years has left him horny and frustrated, and illusions just don’t really cut it for him. He’s all too eager for his verse in the prophecy that exiled the brothers to come true, because then he can get laid.

Enter Amara and Arora. They have their own issues, namely that Arora is pretty much every mage’s wet dream, since she has access to a lot of power. Amara, on the other hand, is a natural shapeshifter, whose job it is to protect her twin. She isn’t always happy about this, and all their fleeing has resulted in her becoming cranky, resentful and paranoid. Naturally, they end up on Nightfall, and naturally, Trevan immediately notices and begins courting the prickly Amara.

While Amara is probably my least favorite heroine to date in this series, just because she’s such a shrew, I really liked her and I couldn’t fault her for being paranoid and resentful. I also thought it made her human to hold on to her resentments as long as she did without apologizing, because it’s something that I think we all do, and honestly, her paranoia and prickliness felt justified. I also liked that she made Trevan work to win her, which is a really nice thing considering that he’s pretty much set on fulfilling his part of the prophecy. Oh, and she calls Kelly on some of her bitchiness. It was *really* nice to see Kelly have some human moments as a result, because my major complaint about her lately is that she’s been sooo perfect and knowledgeable about everything.

As for Trevan, I liked him. He’s one of my favorites out of the brothers, and I liked the progress of his romance, as I said. I definitely felt the chemistry between himself and Amara, and I didn’t realize that makeout scenes could be so hot. I think where I had quibbles was that the actual consumation scene went on just a smidge too long for me, and that was right near the end. But I definitely felt the chemistry and the romance, and I believed in their HEA.

The rest of the characters were fun to visit, although I can’t help but think that the AAR reviewer got it right when she said that sometimes the writing feels sitcom-ish. I definitely got that vibe in places, but it’s something that’s always been present, so I didn’t mind. I also liked the touches of humor, and I have to say that the random gay sailor who makes a minor appearance for about five minutes near the end of the book totally stole the show for me. I wanted to know more about him, and I think if an author can get me wondering about bit characters like that, she’s doing something right.

I still could have wished for a bit less in terms of the building the kingdom from the ground up aspect of the books, because some of those digressions drew the story out unnecessarily. But the world building does keep improving from book to book, and I feel that by the end, I really will understand the whole of the world Ms. Johnson has created.

If you’re just starting out with the sons of Destiny books, I think you could pick this one up without being too lost, but I also highly recommend starting the series in order with The Sword. Though this isn’t my favorite entry in the series, I’m still looking forward to seeing what the next three books bring.

Grade: B

Summary:

New in the national bestselling Sons of Destiny series, hailed by Jayne Ann Krentz as “wildly entertaining.”

Amara is wary of mages––they chased her out of her homeland. Yet there is something about the mage Trevan of Nightfall that Amara can’t resist. But can he be trusted with her most fiercely guarded secret? Courting such a pretty yet prickly outlander won’t be easy, but Trevan is determined to try. She may be fierce, proud, and from a different culture, but after all, he is the Cat, and none but the most fascinating and challenging of women could satisfy him…

Read an excerpt.

You can read my thoughts on other books in this series by clicking on the Sons of Destiny Series tag.

Other books in this series:

Shannon C.’s review of The Billionaire Boss’s Secretary Bride by Helen Brooks
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Presents 1 Jul 08 

I have to admit, until recently, I’d never read a Harlequin Presents. I also admit to being turned off by the cheesy titles and the descriptions that made me sit and think, ‘Oh, there we go again. Yet another alpha jerk incapable of listening to the heroine for five seconds.’ But both Holly and Jane lurve them some Presents, so I thought I’d try a Helen Brooks book, since at least one of them said she was good.

You know, it didn’t suck. I realize this is really really faint praise for a book, but I was a huge skeptic going in, and while I’m not completely converted to reading Presents, (or this author, for that matter), it could have been way worse.

I liked the fact that our two leads, Harry and Gina, are relatively normal people. Gina has always been in love with Harry, but she’s a forever kind of woman, and Harry is obviously a playboy. Harry is afraid of commitment, so he dates floozies, but he’s always had a thing for Gina. This conflict is very understandable, and I liked watching both characters struggle with that conflict.

Where I had issues was Gina herself. She’s likeable enough, but she jumps to erroneous conclusions about Harry from the beginning. She doesn’t give him enough credit for actually wanting to change his ways, and at times I found her nagging to be a bit too much. It seemed to me that Harry could probably do better than someone who was probably going to be a shrew for the rest of his life. Also, I really didn’t like the connotation that Gina, who appears to be something of a feminist, just needs a strong man like Harry to guide her through life. It could be that I read too much into the book to draw that conclusion, but there were several scenes where Gina shrilly accuses Harry of being sexist when he is, in fact, not.

As I said, I did like the writing. And I was expecting sooo much worse. Maybe the next Helen Brooks or Harlequin Presents book I like will work better for me.

Grade: C

Summary:
As far as secretary Gina Leighton is concerned, billionaire businessman Harry Breedon has never shown more than a professional interest in her. Why should he? Plain and plump, Gina knows she’s hardly trophy-wife material!

But Harry has noticed her–sexy curves and all–and now that Gina has another job offer, he’ll have to act fast. This handsome tycoon is determined to seduce her into staying–even if that means making her his wife!

You can read an excerpt here

Shannon C.’s review of The Wild Road (Dirk & Steele, Book 8 ) by Marjorie M. Liu
Paranormal romance released by Leisure 29 Jul 08

I’ve jumped on certain romance bandwagons late, so it was only last year that I discovered the absolutely fantastic Dirk & Steele series by Marjorie M. Liu. What really impresses me about each of the books I’ve read in that series is that they seamlessly blend action and adventure, great world-building, and paranormal romance. I am always telling non-romance readers that they really need to read Ms. Liu’s books. So I was excited when I got the ARC for her latest, The Wild Road. Unfortunately, I’ve only read the first three Dirk & Steele novels up to this point, and I have a compulsion to read things in order, so it took me forever to get to this book. I finally decided I needed to skip ahead and read it, because Ms. Liu is a favorite author and the torture of having but not reading the book was killing me.

I’m glad to say that The Wild Road stands alone very well. I think some familiarity with the previous books in the series is helpful, but not necessarily required. I did stop early on and go back to read the short story, “A Dream of Stone and Shadow” from the Dark Dreamers anthology, which features Charlie, the brother of our hero Lannes, but that was more for my own curiosity than something I had to do in order to understand what was happening.

Ms. Liu does something interesting in this book. The heroine wakes up in a hotel room, covered with blood, holding a gun, with no memory of who she is. She spends the whole book not knowing who she is, and so consequently revealing her name would be a spoiler. I wasn’t sure that this would work particularly well at first, but even without a name, the heroine is probably my favorite Liu heroine to date. She is stubborn and resourceful, capable of taking care of herself but finding herself leaning on Lannes because more than she needs to be independent, she needs someone to be there for her and ease some of the oppressive loneliness that not having a past causes. I really did feel her loneliness, and I empathized with her as she gradually came to trust and then depend on Lannes.

As for Lannes… Well, I hate to be a squeeing fangirl here, but I loved him. Gentle giant archetypes are my favorites, and Lannes qualifies. He, too, is lonely, because he’s not human, and he can’t let anyone discover who he really is. He fears that if people knew what he was, they’d be repulsed, and so he’s kept himself apart from most people. But when he meets the heroine, his instinct is to protect her. It’s just in his nature, and even though she distrusts him at first, he’s so sweet about it. I just wanted to hug him throughout most of the book, and I absolutely believed in their HEA. Plus, Lannes has an awesome declaration of love speech at the very end that sent actual tears to my eyes and I never never cry at books.

I want you here,” he rasped. “I want you with me. I want to care for you and love you and have you with me every moment, every day, for as long as we live. I want to be the one to protect you. Not them, not anyone else, ever. And all those . . . handsome doctors and tennis players and men who know their wine can just . . . go away. Because I might not be as handsome as them, and I may not even be as human as them, but they will never believe in you the way I do, and they will never know you as I do, and they will never, never, come within a breath of loving you as much as I do. Never, [Heroine]. And if ever there should be a man who loves you more, then I bow to him. Because you deserve nothing less.

The plot is as compelling as ever. It’s definitely a road romance, which are always my favorite, but unlike other Dirk & Steele books, it’s set in the Midwest, which Ms. Liu evokes perfectly. As usual, the pacing is good, with enough quiet moments to round out the action scenes.

If I have a quibble, it’s that a lot of the climactic moments of these books feel the same. I don’t want to talk about specifics, but I will say that when the scene was foreshadowed, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and my predictions came true.

If you haven’t tried the Dirk & Steele books, you are definitely missing out on some great storytelling, some wonderful romance, and some fabulous characters. Recommended, especially to those looking for a little substance and solid world-building in their paranormals.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Lannes is one of a dying race born to protect mankind. And while most see a beautiful man, this illusion is nothing but a prison. But when he finds a woman covered in blood, with no memory or past, he will be drawn into a mystery that makes him question all he knows.

Read an excerpt here.

Read my review of The Red Heart of Jade (Book 3) here.

The other books in the series:

Devon’s review of Never Romance a Rake (Neville Family Trilogy, Book 3) by Liz Carlyle
Historical Romance released by Pocket 22 Jul 08

Liz Carlyle can always be counted upon to deliver. I haven’t read all of her books, but I have read a number of them. She writes great characters and passionate, romantic stories. Her novels are meaty and often a bit dark. Carlyle deals with the darker side of nineteenth century social system-the strictures placed upon people by birth, ethnicity, classes and money. No fake rakes here. The heroes and heroines of her books have troubled pasts, and are in need of love and the redemption it provides. Never Romance a Rake looked to be another compelling read, and Sybil has raved about it. So was it “the historical of the summer?”

To be honest, I don’t read enough historicals these days to feel qualified to make a judgment. But the book was a satisfying read with much to recommend it. The hero, Baron Rothewell (Kieran), lives a dissolute existence. His troubled child- and young adulthood have left him so damaged that he spends all his time drinking, gambling and consorting with shady sorts. At one late night session, he is startled when the slimy Comte de Valigny offers up his daughter as a prize. He is intrigued by the woman’s beauty and fiery demeanor, and wins the hand in order to keep her from going to a total creep. Kieran has now won Camille’s hand in marriage, although he doesn’t think he wants it.

Camille was great. She has had a rough life herself, with two amazingly self-centered parents. Now all she wants is the baby and the financial stability that marriage to Kieran will provide. No stranger to dealing with outsize personalities, she is more than a match for Kieran. She speaks up for herself and stands up to him and others. But she also had a kindness and an empathy that shone through. She and Kieran had great chemistry and I really wanted both them to get their HEA.

But something kept this from being a keeper for me. I think it was Kieran. He was very troubled, and has almost ruined his health. I liked him, but I was a bit put off. He acts like a dick for awhile, and I was just like, eh. The gambling drunk thing doesn’t really sweep me off my feet. There was also a familiarity about the proceedings: the troubled rake, the daughter being gambled away.The book definitely kept my interest. I liked Camille in particular and was intrigued by the larger cast. I’m going to go back and read the other two in the trilogy now. While it’s not among my favorites, I don’t think that fans of the author, or readers looking for an angsty historical, will be disappointed.

Grade: B

The Summary:
Baron Rothewell lives a dark, shuttered existence by day, and a life of reckless abandon by night. Scarred by a childhood filled with torment and deprivation, Rothewell cares very little anyone or anything. His life on the edge of ruin suits him—until he meets a man who just might be his nemesis. The Comte de Valigny likes to play deeply and dangerously, but Rothewell’s recklessness is undeterred. Until one night when de Valigny wagers something just a little more valuable than gold.

Mademoiselle Marchand is a desperate woman in a strange land, and her pleading eyes seem to swallow Lord Rothewell body and soul—assuming he still has one. Now the baron must play his hand with the utmost care, for at last something meaningful is at stake . . .

Read an excerpt here

The other books in the series:

Devon’s review of Compromised by Nathalie Gray
Futuristic erotic romance eBook released by Red Sage 1 May 08

When will I ever learn to pay more attention to detail? I enjoy a good futuristic/Sci-Fi romance now and then, and Nathalie Gray’s books looked like they would fit the bill. I was intrigued by the descriptions of kick ass heroines, and harsh futuristic settings. So when Compromised came up for review, I jumped on it. When I opened it up to read, I was dismayed to see that it was a novella. Novellas tend not to work for me, especially erotic romance ones. But it sounded good, and I like reunited lovers stories, so I pressed on.

Compromised is the story of Jojo DaSilva, a soldier whose latest mission is to rescue an undercover operative from the clutches of some very nasty aliens. The operation goes horribly awry, and Jojo is faced with a tough decision: abort the mission and leave the prisoner behind, or go against orders and get him out. When she finds out that the prisoner is her ex-lover Mathias Horsen, the decision is made for her.

Compromised was okay. My issues with it were the same issues I always have with erotic romance, particularly of the paranormal/futuristic kind. There’s just not enough length to get a strong feel for the world, the characters, and the romance, and I’m left feeling unsatisfied. Unlike the hero and heroine, who barely wait to make their escape to get to some heavy duty sexin’. The sex scenes were pretty hot and well-written, but I had to stifle a giggle when Mat pops a boner even though he’s strapped in a torture chamber. One would think it might take a moment to recover, but I guess he was real happy to see his ex.

Of the two, Jojo was the more interesting character. I think I got to know her character better, because more time was spent on her at the beginning. Mat was more of a cipher. His overriding characteristics seemed to be his Scandinavian hotness, his sexual prowess, and the fact that he’s really into Jojo. The futuristic setting was interesting at first, but then merely served as a backdrop for the sex scenes. The ending was a bit abrupt as well.

Nathalie Gray’s writing style is good. The story flowed well, and I liked her heroine. I would definitely try her again, but in a longer format, where there could be more plot and character development. If you’re looking for something short and hot, this definitely fits the bill, but if you’re interested in a stronger sci-fi element, this will probably disappoint.

Grade: C

The Summary:

Jojo Da Silva always gets her man.

She’s been an elite extraction team member long enough to know second-guessing can kill you. Get in, secure the target, then get out. Anything in the way is to be shot, blasted or destroyed. Especially those vicious Elfs, Exoskeletal Humanoid Life Forms with a mean streak that seems to grow wider in torture chambers during interrogations. No human has ever survived an Elf interrogation. Never.

Jojo knows this time she has to get her man before the Elfs discover his true identity and interrogate him. He’s been undercover on their trading station, so deep undercover that even she doesn’t know his identity. All she knows is the yellow dot on her wristband monitor that shows his location.

But when her target turns out to be her tough, daring, disappearing ex, a man as handsome as he was shrewd, one gifted with amazingly skilled hands and an even more wicked mouth, Jojo can’t seem to follow orders as usual. Abandon the compromised mission? No way! She has two hours, and Jojo won’t let Mathias die. He disappeared from her life, and she’s missed his loving ever since. She won’t let him slip away again.

Because Jojo always gets her man, and this time, it’s personal.

Read an excerpt here (scroll down)

Shannon C.’s review of Damned, Delicious and Dangerous by Delilah Devlin, Lisa Renee Jones, and Megan Kerans
Paranormal erotic romance anthology released by Aphrodisia 1 Jun 08

Ahh, paranormal erotic romance. It can be the cheesiest thing ever, or it can be a place to escape into a dark, sensual world for a few hours. Two of the three authors in this anthology were ones I’ve heard praise for, so I was eager to try out their work. Sadly, my favorite piece in the anthology wasn’t one written by either of the authors I was hoping to read. 

The Demon Lord’s Cloak by Delilah Devlin

This is a Beauty and the Beast story. Reading it, I was struck with a sense of deja vu. I’ve read this story before countless times and this rendition didn’t stick out. Both the characters were likeable, but I kept getting distracted by the fact that I never really got a good sense of place from the story and kept noticing continuity slip-ups. I also find it annoyingly implausible that a man who keeps getting virgins sacrificed to him had never encountered anyone as innocent as the heroine. I mean, they can’t all have been whores in disguise. And Voletta seems more like an Italian name than a French one. But, like I said, the story itself is pleasant, and I haven’t written off Ms. Devlin yet.

Grade: C-

Summary:
Bound and naked, Voletta has every reason to fear the mysterious man holding her in his arms. Instead his brooding presence intrigues her, his hard body excites her—and his rough touch arouses her…

You can read an excerpt here

Night Sins by Lisa Renee Jones

This offering has the germs of a really good story. In fact, though it started out fairly weakly, it’s grown on me.

I was at first worried that heroine Kayla would merely be a faux strong woman–feisty and TSTL. But though she does have a couple of bad moments, I really liked how she and Ethan, the hero, worked together to solve their problems. I also liked the ending, which promised that their hurdles weren’t entirely over. And what’s more, I believed that Ethan and Kayla had long been attracted to each other.

Unfortunately, a lot of time is spent setting up this world, time I’m not really all that sure we needed to have taken. There was information about the world that never ever came into play, and could have been left out entirely without the reader having lost anything. This built to a very weak start that only picked up as Ms. Jones settled into her story.

Grade: C+

Summary:
In the battle between good and evil, Kayla Ward knows vampires are strictly off limits. But Ethan’s dark sensuality and seductive allure leave her craving hot, passionate sex…

I couldn’t find an excerpt for this story.

The Devil’s Paradise by Megan Kerans

This was my favorite story in the anthology. I really liked the characters and got a sense of who they were. Both of them are a bit cliched–Justice works as a wedding planner, and she’s raising her brother and is completely selfless. Dashiel is a devil doomed to an eternity of torment managing a hotel that works as a last fling for the damned. But they both work. I loved their banter, and their sex scenes are actually pretty hot. I wasn’t totally engaged in the story, but I definitely think it’s the best in the anthology and shouldn’t be missed.

Grade: B

Summary:
Justice Malloy is looking for the perfect place for a wedding reception. What she finds at The Last Resort Hotel is a man whose raw male power promises carnal pleasure like she’s never felt before.

I couldn’t find an excerpt for this story.

With two stories that were just OK and one story that was pretty good, I’d recommend this anthology to paranormal fans who want something light to read, or fans of the three authors. Casual readers should definitely pick up the Kearns story but could probably give the others a pass.

Overall Grade: C+

Summary:
Men of darkness, men of passion.trapped by temptation and bound by desire. No woman can refuse their erotic invitation for sexual pleasure. “The Demon Lord’s Cloak” by Delilah Devlin Bound and naked, Voletta has every reason to fear the mysterious man holding her in his arms. Instead his brooding presence intrigues her, his hard body excites her-and his rough touch arouses her. “Night Sins” by Lisa Renee Jones In the battle between good and evil, Kayla Ward knows vampires are strictly off limits. But Ethan’s dark sensuality and seductive allure leave her craving hot, passionate sex. “The Devil’s Paradise” by Megan Kerans Justice Malloy is looking for the perfect place for a wedding reception. What she finds at The Last Resort Hotel is a man whose raw male power promises carnal pleasure like she’s never felt before.

Devon’s review of His Wicked Sins by Eve Silver
Historical Romance released by Zebra 5 Aug 08

Like many a reader (I suspect), I found my way to romance through Gothics. Not the old school nineteenth century ones (though I’ve read many of those too), but books by authors like Barbara Michaels, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. Nothing was more compelling than an innocent young heroine, alone in an unfamiliar place, which filled with secrets, and the mysterious man she was unsure she could trust. If your heart once thrilled to read such stories of mystery and romance, you might want to check out His Wicked Sins, a classic Gothic with all of the elements I’ve listed above.

Beth Canham, the impoverished and troubled heroine, was quite interesting. She is plagued by fears and anxieties, and has developed certain routines and rituals to deal with them. Today she would definitely be diagnosed with OCD tendencies. But instead of seeming weak, Beth is very strong. She is able to face her fears, because she has developed a mechanism for dealing with them. Her own troubles have also made her empathetic toward others, and practical in her outlook on life. I could see why the hero would be drawn to her.

The hero, Griffin Fairfax, was less interesting. He’s handsome, wealthy and regarded with suspicion by everyone. The locals suspect him of killing his wife. That’s not a spoiler, is it? The guys in Gothics are always suspected of having killed their wives. It’s what really happened that’s the mystery. That may be why I was less interested in him. He’s pretty much standard issue broody guy, and I was like, c’mon I know you’re not teh ebil, get over yourself. But he dealt with Beth’s anxieties well, and they managed to generate enough chemistry to keep my interest.

The mystery regarding the secrets of Burndale Academy was creepy, and perhaps a bit gory. I was intrigued and it kept me on my toes. The story flips between “present day” and seventeen years earlier, before coming together in a very satisfactory, “A-ha” sort of way. My only quibble was with the identity of the villain, but I hesitate to say more because it’ll be spoiler-y.

His Wicked Sins wasn’t the most memorable book I’ve read this year (I had to look up the hero’s name when writing the review). But it definitely kept my interest while reading. The atmosphere of menace is done just right, the heroine is likeable, and the romance works. I definitely recommend it to those who miss Gothics, or who would like to try one.

Grade: B-

The Summary:
In the quiet hamlet of Yorkshire, the hallowed halls of Burndale School stand…and evil lurks in its dark corners. For a serial killer with a proclivity for blonde women has struck again-this time, murdering two of its teachers. Now everyone is wondering when the killer will seek his next victim…

Elizabeth Canham has accepted a teaching position at the local boarding school in Yorkshire. But her quiet life takes a surprising turn when she meets Griffin Fairfax-the handsome father of one of her pupils. His mesmerizing stare quickly draws her in, and she can’t deny the fierce attraction between them…

Griffin Fairfax appears to be a doting father and gentleman. But one disturbing truth lies at the heart of the murders-all of the victims were intimately connected to him. When Elizabeth discovers this, she wonders if it’s a mere coincidence or if Griffin could be a charming, seductive killer so many women have lost their hearts-and lives-to…

Read an excerpt here

Gwen’s review of Hotter Than Hell (Hell On Earth, Book 3) by Jackie Kessler
Paranormal fiction/urban fantasy released by Kensington 29 Jul 08

This book is compellingly grim and I really didn’t want to like it. I’m very conflicted about the world it embodies. Technically, the writing is very proficient. Thematically, the book hits on all my “I don’t know about this” buttons. This is the second of this series I’ve read, the first being a short story in Eternal Lover (reviewed here). Let me get the technical bits of the review out of the way first, then I’ll tell you how I felt about the book and why it’s still a Grade A book to me in spite of all my internal conflict.

HtH is told in first person from the hero’s viewpoint. His name is Daunuan – presumably pronounced “Don-wahn” with all intendant double-entendres. Daun is a very believable character with some incredible depth, for an Incubus (a demon male who seduces and takes his victims to hell once they’ve compromised their souls). The internal and external dialogue are all male – Kessler has done a magnificent job keeping the “female” out of his head. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been.

The overall story arc is Daun’s struggle with himself and his obsession with a former succubus, Jezebel (a.k.a. Jessie Harris). He doesn’t know it, or admit to it (because, hello, demon here), but he’s madly in love with Jezebel. Through his adventures in this book, he finds some shreds of “humanity” in himself and comes to realize just what “love” is and it only makes him stronger, contrary to what he always thought as a demon. The evolution of this epiphany is actually painful to read and really grabs you by the throat, so to speak.

The book’s plot twists and character machinations are sincerely Machiavellian. Kessler does an incredible job making our anti-hero a little nutso trying to figure out who the hell (heh) is trying to kill him and why. I was left guessing the whole time and loved it.

Daun is complete anti-hero goodness, in my opinion. He’s a very unsympathetic character that I sympathized with. He was darkly fascinating to me. The task set out for him to complete and be promoted, or don’t complete and be killed, was something I didn’t WANT him to succeed in and yet found myself cheering him on. And here is where we come into my ambivalence about this book.

First some background to help you understand my dithering. I grew up in a church-going house – you know the drill: church three times a week, Sunday school, Vacation Bible School in the summer, church softball, church youth groups, etc. It’s been a couple a lot of years since I parked my rear-end in a pew, but that kind of early training doesn’t go away.

Even with this history, I have read a lot of paranormal with all the accompanying vampires, demons, and other dark creatures. I am able to enjoy these books because they’re patently fantasy. As I read HtH, I increasingly wasn’t able to make that distinction – its fantasy is too “real” and I don’t know whether that is a good thing.

What the book IS NOT is a book for the faint of heart. What this book is is something that hit my “I don’t know about this” button many times and made me suck it down fast, in the dark, before anyone could see me reading it. Once I was done, I felt a little “tainted” and dirty. But damn (heh) if it wasn’t very, very good.

There is no HEA in this book – it’s very “urban fantasy” that way. I mean, perhaps a demon’s version of HEA but not one we would call HEA. I can recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Kessler, the series, or simply paranormal fiction. It stands alone from the other Hell On Earth series books. If you want a read that makes you think, drags you over the coals (heh), and leaves you satisfied if not terribly happy, then this is the book for you.

Grade: A-

Summary:

From the author’s site:
The incubus Daunuan loves his job: seduce a lot of mortals, bring their souls to Hell, party at the best interdimensional pub this side of the Astral Plane. But when the King of Lust makes him an offer he can’t refuse, Daun has to give up all the tricks of his trade to properly befriend-and bed-Virginia Reed, a woman who’s meant for Heaven.

If he can get her to love him for the incubus he really is, and if he can avoid the rogue demons that are hell-bent on destroying him for reasons unknown, Daun will become the First Principal of Lust, second in line to the King. But Daun learns that love is more than a four-letter word, and that maybe, just maybe, demons really do have feelings after all…

From Amazon.com:
In HELL’S BELLES and THE ROAD TO HELL, Jackie Kessler brought readers into an unforgettable Underworld populated by alluring demons and sexy devils. Now Daunuan, the most irresistible incubus of all, is facing one Hell of a challenge…

So whose soul do you have to damn to get a promotion around here?

Daunuan was never the ambitious type. There’s so much to love about his job just the way it is–mind-blowing sexual prowess, the power to seduce any human, excellent dental plan. But now Pan, the King of Lust, has offered to make Daun his right-hand incubus–a position other demons would give their left horn for. All he has to do is entice a soul destined for heaven into a damnable act of lust. Should take, oh, seven minutes, tops.

Then he meets his target, Virginia Reed. She’s cute. Funny. Smart. Unfathomably resistant to his charms. He can’t understand it. But Daun has centuries of seduction to his credit. He’s the best there is. Sooner or later he’ll transform this polar icecap of a female into a pool of molten desire, and every instinct tells him she’ll be worth the effort.

Meanwhile, he has to deal with a plague of rogue demons Hell-bent on taking him down, sent by an unknown enemy with a serious grudge. And one other problem: the dawning realization that he’s falling in love–that unholiest of four-letter words–with the woman he’s about to doom for all eternity…

Read an excerpt (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

Sandy M’s review of Immortals: The Gathering (Immortals, Book 4) by Jennifer Ashley
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Love Spell 28 Aug 07

I kept my hopes up that this book would bring the series together and be a satisfying pseudo ending for the first four books. I’m happy to say that my hopes were very highly rewarded. The action, romance, and emotion was perfect and we’re left in just the right place for the next edition of the series, beginning with Tain’s story, The Redeeming, due out next month.

Hunter is the pleasure-grabbing Immortal of the four brothers. At first you figure that’s just who he is, he loves the ladies and goes for it every chance he gets. But then you learn the real reason why he basically loves’em and leaves’em and, like Leda when she finds out, you just want to hold on to him and make it all better, especially when you further learn that his tragedy happened nine hundred years ago and he still hurts like it happened yesterday.

We know way before he does, of course, that he’s now found the one person who can fill that void in his heart and soul, that one person who can love his hurt away, that one person who can make him whole again. He just has to jump through a lot more hoops before that happens, and those hoops are action packed and right down scary at times.

Even with the heartache Leda has had in her life, she comes to the realization that Hunter is the one for her early on and knows that there’s not much to entice him to stay with her if he won’t open his heart to her. The handsome devil who communicates with animals could drive a saint to drink, but she knows life will be boring and not worth a plug nickel once he decides to leave when he knows he’s getting to close to her to risk being hurt again. When they’re drawn into the hunt for Tain and the demon who wants to control of the world, things begin to move at a frantic pace and no one is sure any of them will survive to worry about such things as love.

I really liked the scenes later in the book when the brothers are finally brought together after so many centuries apart. Even being immortal doesn’t stop the squabbling and the competition between them. When they do come together to save Tain from his self-destructiveness, the emotion among them is deep and heartfelt.

Hunter’s interaction with Mukasa the lion throughout the book is a lot of fun. I kept thinking it would be even more fun if he’d had other interactions with a few more animals, but it’s not that much to quibble over. I know Tain had to leave to find himself after so many eons of captivity, but I wanted to scream at the brothers to make him stay with them after they’d just found him again, but he’s on his own path once again and we’ll find out soon enough what’s in store for him.

This book is a nice ending to this part of the series. We now head for a whole new look for the books themselves and a lot more excitement starting next month.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Created at the dawn of time to protect humanity, the ancient warriors have been nearly forgotten, though magic lives on–in vampires, werewolves, the Celtic Sidhe, and other beings. But now one of their own has turned rogue, and the world is again in desperate need of the Immortals.

He was known as “the crazy one.” And Leda Stowe could see why after finding the stunning half-naked warrior in her lion’s pen–unarmed and completely unafraid. Though he could somehow soothe the temperamental beast, nothing could calm the desire that sparked through her body at his touch. She wished they could hide away together on her island forever, but the world thrummed with danger. Before Leda could claim Hunter for herself, they would have to join the other Immortals to face the greatest trial yet: The Gathering.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: