Sometimes it amazes me the villains authors are able to write. I laugh and ask where they get their inspiration, how deep they have to dig. I mean, sometimes it’s spooky how evil these characters can be.

The High Mage of Eld is one of those villains. He’s taken centuries to hatch his plans, to gather an army darker than anything that’s ever been seen, to finally put his plans into motion, when and where to strike. This guy makes the devil look like a boy scout.

One of the best things in these books is when Rain takes flight in his Tairen form. Whether it’s in anger needing to fly it off or to impress Ellie or in battle, Ms. Wilson’s descriptions of him are simply breathtaking. I want a tairen of my own!

Please read my review of King of Sword and Sky and the excerpt following.

Sandy M’s review of King of Sword and Sky (Tairen Soul Series, Book 3) by C.L. Wilson
Fantasy Paranormal Romance published by Leisure 30 Sep 08

If you have not read this series of C.W. Wilson’s, you are missing out on some so spectacularly special. Ms. Wilson weaves her brand of magic in the pages of this beautiful fantasy world of the Fading Lands where the Fey and the tairen live. Her characters of full of honor and dignity, heart and passion, and, of course, love. The villainy she etches into her evil characters only causes you to root for the good of her hero and heroine to triumph. And her imagination is simply amazing. You just have to read this series!

In this book we finally get to the Fading Lands. We’ve been reading about them and waiting for them since the first book. But even before that we have to endure the Faering Mist with Rain, King of the Fey and the Tairen Soul, and Ellysetta, his truemate, daughter of a wood carver. The Mist is a barrier around the Fading Lands to keep all within its borders safe from evil, especially the Mages of Eld, who are on the rise once again after being vanquished in the Mage Wars a thousand years ago.

Their entourage makes it through the Mist relatively unscathed — it’s Rain and Ellie who are delayed by their past that the Mist throws in their path, doubling their fears and vulnerabilities. Coming together, however, they fight their way through so that Rain can ready his men for the war that is sure to break out with Eld and Ellie can begin her search for answers to save the tairen.

See the remainder of my King of Sword and Sky review here.

Prologue

Eld ~ Boura Fell

“Two Primages and sixty of my Black Guard slaughtered, and yet somehow the pair of you survived. While my prize escaped.”

In the lowest levels of Boura Fell, the subterranean fortress buried deep beneath the dark-forested heart of Eld, High Mage Vadim Maur paced the sel’dor-veined floor of a small, sconce-lit cell. Before him, two battered and bruised men sat chained to a pair of black metal chairs. One wore the blood-and-filth grimed remnants of an exorcist’s scarlet robes. The other wore shredded and stained crimson rags that had once been the silken garb of a Sulimage, a journeyman practitioner of the vast and ancient arts of Magecraft.

Vadim Maur’s pacing came to an abrupt halt. Luxuriant purple robes swirled about his spare form. Long, bone-white hair slid across his shoulders, accentuating the pallor of a face that had not seen sunlight in a thousand years. One beringed hand shot out. Thin, cadaverous fingers closed around the swollen jaw of Kolis Manza, Eld’s most famous and esteemed Sulimage, who had until only a few days ago served his master Vadim Maur’s bidding in Celieria City.

Now, the Sulimage’s sash had been stripped of its jewels of achievement, and the shredded, honor-bare swath of cloth had been tied around the man’s throat to mock his once-proud status as the High Mage’s most accomplished and magically gifted apprentice.

“Capture her,” Vadim hissed. “Bring her to me. That was my command.” Long, ridged nails dug deep into the Sulimage’s skin. “Yet you returned empty handed.”

“She was too powerful,” Kolis protested weakly. “Not even the Primages could stand against her.”

“Powerful?” Silver eyes snapped with fury, and white frost formed on every surface as the room’s temperature plunged in sharp response. “Of course she was powerful! She is the crowning achievement of my last thousand years of work! The Tairen Soul I created! My greatest triumph—and you let her slip through your fingers!”

“What more could I have done, master? The Fey broke through our defenses.” The Sulimage coughed, then groaned as his broken ribs protested. “I tried to hold them off, to give the others time to get her into the Well, but then she… her magic…just exploded. She surprised us all.”

“Silence!” Vadim’s free hand shot out with vicious force. Despite the High Mage’s great age and increasingly frail appearance, his fist smashed hard against his apprentice’s face. The heavy rings of power decorating each of his fingers amplified the force of his blow, and the crack of bone and the crunch of breaking cartilage echoed off the stone walls of the chamber. Blood sprayed from Kolis’s mouth and nose. A groaning breath wheezed out of his lungs, and he slumped senseless in his bonds.

Vadim turned to the man in the ragged exorcist’s robes and whipped a wavy-edged Mage blade from the sheath strapped to his waist. He snatched a handful of greasy brown hair and yanked hard, pulling back the prisoner’s head and exposing his throat to the dagger’s razor-sharp edge.

Pale blue eyes, surrounded by stubby black lashes, looked up at him in mute fear. Fresh blood trickled from both nostrils and the corners of the man’s mouth, and vicious purpling bruises swelled on skin still mottled from earlier beatings. A pulse beat like a trapped sparrow in the man’s throat, and his barrel chest rose and fell with short, rapid breaths.

The prisoner swallowed convulsively, and the skin of his neck pressed against the razor-sharp edge of the Mage blade. Even that light touch tore a fresh slice in the captive’s skin. No blood trickled from the wound. The dagger’s thirsty black metal drank every drop before it spilled, and the dark cabochon stone in the blade’s pommel began to flicker with ravenous red lights. The man froze in breathless silence.

Vadim’s mouth twisted in a snarl. “And you, butcher’s boy. Did you seriously think for even the tiniest instant that your miserable, insignificant mortal life held any value to me except as a means to capture Ellysetta Baristani?” Vadim leaned forward, letting his silver eyes turn to dark, bottomless wells of blackness sparkling with red lights as Azrahn, the sweet, powerful magic of the Mages, gathered within him.

Den Brodson, son of a Celierian butcher and former betrothed of Ellysetta Baristani, stared up into those twin pits of blackness and knew he was staring death in the face. He’d seen death before, a few days ago in the Grand Cathedral of Light, when Rain Tairen Soul had pulled a Fey blade from its sheath and smiled into Den’s eyes.

Then, Den had turned and leaped into the Well of Souls to escape. Now, gods help him, he had nowhere to go.

The white-haired High Mage leaned closer still. “Your only value to me now is what small service the Guardians of the Well will offer in return for the delivery of your rotting corpse as a sacrifice.”

A mewling whimper broke from Den’s bloodied mouth. He’d seen the Guardian’s handiwork…seen what they did to the dead and dying. As long as he lived, he’d never forget the high-pitched, animal screams of Eld soldiers being eaten alive when fresh blood seeped through their bandages and drew the hunger-maddened demons like wounded creatures drew thistlewolves.

Gods, he didn’t want to die that way. “Please…”

Black eyes sparked with a sudden flare of malevolent red. The High Mage put a hand over Den’s chest, directly over his heart, the fingers curved like claws so that only the fingertips touched. All five, pointed nails gouged into the skin as if the Mage intended to bore through Den’s chest bones and rip out his heart. The black eyes whirled. The skin where the pallid hand touched grew cold.

“No, wait! Wait!” Panicked, Den shoved his feet against the cell floor and scooted his chair back, retreating from the icy hand. The leg of his chair caught on an uneven stone and with a choked wail, he toppled over backwards.

Pain exploded in his skull as his head cracked against the stones. His hands, shackled at the wrists, scraped hard against their metal bonds. The sudden jolt shook his entire body, and a long, narrow parcel of wadded cloth fell out of his robe’s deep pocket to land beside him.

The pair of pale, hulking guards standing near the door strode forward to grab Den’s chair and haul it—and him—back upright. One guard kicked the small parcel, and sent it skittering across the floor. The fabric unwrapped as it went, and a handful of long, crystal-topped needles spilled out, chiming an absurdly cheerful series of tinkling notes as they rolled across the stone floor.

The High Mage went still. His eyes narrowed and lightened from nightmarish black to a slightly less terrifying shade of cold, glittering silver. Sheathing his dagger, the Mage pointed to the scattered exorcism needles. “Bring those to me,” he commanded.

Both guards rushed to obey, gathering up the fallen needles and bringing them back to their master. The Mage examined them closely. Most of the dark crystals topping the needles were dark, but several sparkled with ruby lights.

His jaw clenched. He spun around, grabbed Den’s chin in a fierce grip and shook him, making stars whirl across Den’s vision. “These crystals have tasted blood,” the Mage hissed. “Whose flesh did the needles pierce, mortal? Yours? Or someone else’s?”

Den swallowed the acrid bile rising in his throat. “Ellie Baristani,” he groaned. “She pulled them out to stop us from taking her into the Well.”

The High Mage released Den and straightened. He lifted the needles to his nose and inhaled deeply. His eyes fluttered closed. When he opened them again, the Mage smiled.

“Well, mortal, it seems you will keep your miserable life another day, after all.” He untied the sash from around his waist and wrapped the needles in it carefully, then deposited the small bundle in his own deep pocket. “I do not punish those who please me, and this gift is pleasing indeed.”

The shallow, relieved breath had barely left Den’s lungs before his chest constricted on a new surge of panic when the High Mage lunged and his bony hand closed round Den’s throat.

“Today is my gift to you,” the Mage hissed. “But for life after daybreak tomorrow, there is a price, mortal.” He lifted the Mage blade, twisting the black, razored edge so the light of the sconces made shadows dance across the dark metal. “Accept my Mark. Willingly bind your soul to my service. Or when the Great Sun rises, you will die a death more hideous than any you can imagine.”

Den whimpered.

The Mage smiled, pressed the point of his dagger to Den’s wrist and sliced. Blood welled from the cut and slid down Den’s arm like scarlet teardrops. The Mage lifted the wrist to his lips. Den flinched as a pale tongue flicked out, tasting his blood. “Answer me, boy. Surrender your soul or die. The choice is yours.”

Den’s hand shook. His entire body trembled. How had this happened? How had his plans gone so awry?

The Mage’s grip tightened, pointed nails digging into the soft skin of Den’s inner wrist. “Speak, mortal! Do you accept my Mark? Of your own free will, do you bind your soul to my service?”

Den’s dreams of living in luxury in some remote part of the world, growing fat on the profits of Ellie Baristani’s magic, shattered like broken glass. There would be no palatial estate. No soft-skinned, buxom serving wenches to tend his every need. No lords lining up to seek his favor. There would be no Ellie Baristani on her knees before him, kissing his feet and begging for his forgiveness, whoring herself to please him.

His eyes closed. His shoulders heaved with helpless, silent sobs.

“Yes,” he whispered.

“Yes, master,” the Mage’s hissing voice corrected.

“Yes, master.” Tears gathered in Den’s throat and burned at the back of his eyes.

“Then say it. ‘Of my own free will, I accept your Mark and bind my soul to your eternal service.’”

Den heard himself, weeping brokenly, repeating the damning words. Hot tears ran down his frozen cheeks. The cold press of the Mage’s mouth clamped against his wrist and pulled sickeningly as the Mage sucked Den’s blood from the sliced vein. Then came the colder press of that taloned hand gripping the skin above his heart. A sickly sweet aroma filled the air, overpowering, like barrels of rotting fruit. Pure, frigid ice, sharp as a knife, plunged deep into his chest. A will, heavy as stone, pressed down upon his.

He was in a black river, gasping for breath and fighting desperately to stay afloat, while a heavy weight slowly and relentlessly dragged him down. His head bobbed under. The thick, black, oily liquid of the river—so cold, so horribly sweet—enveloped him. His lungs burned as the air in them ran out and the need to breathe became overpowering. He fought, struggled, tried to kick his way to the surface, but the weight anchored him down, dragging him deeper and deeper.

His world was total darkness. No light. No hope. No hint of warmth. His lungs were on fire. If he breathed he would drown. If he didn’t breathe, he would die.

His mouth opened on a deep, desperate, despairing gasp. Oily blackness flooded in, filling his lungs, filling him.

With one last, choking, weeping cry for his lost life, Den Brodson surrendered.

Chapter One

Celieria ~ The Garreval

Seven days after departing Celieria City, the Fey reached the end of the mortal world. As the small caravan of wagons and loping Fey crested the top of a last, rolling hill, Ellysetta’s breath caught in her throat. A great fertile plain stretched out below, miles of land sectioned into hedgerow-partitioned fields, all greening with well tended crops against a dramatic backdrop of majestic mountains thrusting up from the earth like a solid wall.

“Oh, Papa,” Ellysetta breathed.

“’Tis the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen,” Sol Baristani agreed in a whisper as he sat beside his daughter on the wagon seat, a lit match held, forgotten, over the tobacco-filled bowl of his favorite pipe.

Together, father and daughter stared in awestruck wonder at the majestic peaks filling the horizon.

At first glance, the mountains almost appeared to be a single range but Ellysetta knew from the countless histories she’d read that they were actually two separate mountain ranges. The fierce Rhakis arrowed down from the north, nearly colliding with the stately swells of the Silvermist range. Only a scant mile separated the two, an infamous pass known as the Garreval, gateway to the Fading Lands.

Misty clouds swirled across forested cliffs and steep highland pastures of the Silvermist mountains. The clouds hovering over the Rhakis were less gentle, dark with rain and boiling into lightning-shot thunderheads as the sharp peaks continued northward towards Eld. Those soft clouds and fierce storms merged into a dense, shimmering fog that filled the pass between the two ranges, and Ellysetta gave a small shiver at the sight.

The Faering Mists. The magical barrier that surrounded the Fading Lands, impenetrable to all but the Fey.

The match Sol held over the tobacco-filled bowl of his pipe burned down unnoticed until the heat scorched his fingers. “Sweet brightness!” he yelped. Hissing, he shook the match out, tossed the scorched remains over the edge of the wagon, and blew on his stinging fingers.

Ellie turned, trying to stifle her laughter as she reached for his hand. This wasn’t the first time her father had seared his hands on a matchstick. It wouldn’t be the last. His attention was too easily caught by some real or imagined beauty—often while he held a lit match in his hand, thanks to his fondness for his pipe.

“I’m all right, Ellie-girl,” Sol protested when she took his hand.

“I know, Papa, but Marissya says I should practice whenever I get the opportunity.” She held her father’s hand in hers and focused on the reddened flesh, trying to block out the flood of thoughts and emotions that poured into her mind when she touched his skin.

Love. Worry. Instinctive fear, tinged with guilt. He still wasn’t comfortable with the shining brightness and palpable magic of the beautiful stranger sitting beside him.

Ellie forced back the stab of pain his fear caused and tried to focus her thoughts the way Marissya v’En Solande, the Fey’s most powerful healer had shown her. Throughout the week-long westward journey across Celieria, Marissya had spent several bells each day with Ellysetta, teaching her how to wield her own powerful healing magic.

Though Ellysetta still had much to learn, she now understood on a conscious level the basic patterns of the healing weaves she’d been unconsciously spinning all her life. Marissya assured her she’d soon be able to summon and spin those weaves on demand, using only the amount of power needed to weave them, but restraint was something Ellie still had difficulty mastering. The powerful, hidden barriers that had kept her magic bottled up were gone now, and the weaves she’d once spun with such subtlety now surged forth at her call like a river gushing through a shattered dam.

Remembering Marissya’s admonitions, Ellysetta reached down into the well of energy at her center, carefully calling forth the glowing threads of power she would need. Red Fire to draw the heat from the wound. Green Earth to heal the damaged flesh. Lavender Spirit to steal away the pain. And something else Ellysetta had discovered while observing Marissya during their lessons. A special, golden something that Marissya called a shei’dalin’s love, the mysterious force that was unique to Fey women. It made all the threads of the shei’dalin’s weave shimmer with a warm, golden cast. No Fey warrior could spin his magic the same way.

“It springs from the compassion and empathy of a Fey woman’s heart,” Marissya had told her. “It isn’t a seventh branch of magic. We cannot separate it out and weave the shei’dalin’s love by itself. It’s just the natural way Fey women weave magic.”

“And do I weave shei’dalin’s love the same way?”

At that, Marissya had laughed. “Feyreisa, you do nothing the same as other Fey.” Then, still smiling, she’d added, “I’m sure you must, Ellysetta, but when you weave, your magic is so bright, its power blinds me.”

Now, holding Papa’s hand in hers, she attempted to summon her magic and wield it with control and restraint, as Marissya had been trying to teach her.

She found the threads, wove them in a loose healing pattern, and with a gentle “push” of power, sent the weave into her father’s hand. The push slammed out of her with the force of a hammer strike, her weave flaring with blinding brightness.

The startled jerk of Papa’s body and sudden widening of his eyes made her grimace in dismay.

“Light save me,” she muttered under her breath. Then, in a louder voice, she said, “Are you all right, Papa?”

Sol blinked several times and took cautious inventory of himself. When he didn’t find any missing—or extra—appendages, he gave a smile. “Well done, Ellie-girl. The finger’s good as new.” He held up his hand to show her.

Sure enough, the angry red burn on the tip of his finger was gone. But that wasn’t the problem. She watched her father run his newly healed hand through his hair. His hand stopped in mid-motion.

“Oh,” he said. Sol Baristani was of the age when many mortal men began “thinning the forest” as Papa put it. Or, rather, he had been. Keeping his gaze fixed on her face, he patted the newly thickened growth of hair crowning his scalp. “Well…er… that’s not so bad. Provided it’s not some frightful shade of green.” His brows drew together in mock concern, and he added in a hesitant, rather fearful tone, “Er…it’s not green, is it, Ellie?”

Ellie sighed. “No, Papa, it’s not green.”

With a twinkle in his eye, he pretended relief. “Well then, there you go.” He laughed and grinned, and reached across to pat her hand. “You did good, Ellie-girl. You may have overdone the weave a little, but the finger’s healed. Besides, what man wouldn’t like a little more hair when his own starts to go missing, eh?” Thrusting his pipe stem back between his teeth, he lit a fresh match and held it to the bowl, puffing until the shreds of tobacco began to glow orange and puffs of fragrant smoke wreathed his newly regenerated headful of hair…and a face that had lost at least ten years of age in an instant.

She forced a smile. “Beylah vo, Papa.” Weaving youth on mortals wasn’t one of the things Marissya had taught her—but apparently the patterns were very similar to regular healing.

A happy shriek sounded at Ellysetta’s right. The Fey warrior, Kiel vel Tomar, his long silvery-blond hair woven into a plait, ran past with Ellysetta’s nine-year-old sister Lorelle perched on his shoulders. Kieran vel Solande, Marissya’s son, followed a few paces behind. Lorelle’s twin, Lillis, sat on Kieran’s shoulders and kicked his chest with her heels as if he were one of the Elvish ba’houda horses pulling the wagons in their caravan. Her small fingers clutched tufts of his thick, wavy brown hair.

Lillis and Lorelle were clad in miniature versions of Marissya and Ellie’s brown traveling leathers, which they had insisted Kieran weave for them. Kieran and Kiel had done their best to keep the children’s minds off the grief of Mama’s death by making each day of the trip a new adventure. The twins had taken to the idea, enthusiastically using even the briefest stops as an excuse to explore—always under watchful Fey eyes, of course, but rarely in clean, tidy places. The keepsake boxes Papa had carved for them years ago were now overflowing with treasures from their journey: small rocks, wildflowers, snail shells, bird feathers, whatever caught their attention.

Kieran cast a grin Ellysetta’s way. His steps faltered as he caught sight of Sol Baristani; then his gaze shot to Ellysetta. She blushed furiously. A shei’dalin’s ability to restore mortal youth was a secret the Fey had guarded for millennia, and she had just revealed it for anyone to see.

Fortunately, before he could say anything, Lillis tugged on Kieran’s hair and bounced on his shoulders. “Faster, Kieran!” she cried. “They’re beating us!”

With a final look and a shake of his head, Kieran turned away and raced down the grassy hill after Kiel and Lorelle.

Ellysetta watched them and the tension that had been growing in her all week squeezed her chest tight. They were nearing the end of the journey. One more day, two at the most, then she would leave what remained of her beloved family to follow her new husband Rain through the mysterious Faering Mists, perhaps never to return.

Sol patted her hand and nodded his chin in the direction of the twins. “It is good to hear them laughing again.”

“Yes,” she agreed. The twins hadn’t had much cause for laughter of late.

“They miss their mother,” Sol said. “They try to smile and laugh for my sake, but I hear them each night, crying into their pillows and pleading for her to come back.”

Just that quick, Ellie’s own sharp grief struck hard. Her face crumpled and her eyes filled with tears. “I miss her too, Papa.” Stern as Mama sometimes was, Ellie had never doubted her love—and never loved her back with any less than her whole heart.

“Oh, Ellie.” Sol slid an arm around his daughter’s shoulders and pulled her close. “My sweet, Ellie-girl. We all miss her.”

She turned her face into his neck as she had so many times in the past and sobbed. And her father held her, as he always had, patting her back and rocking her as if she were still the small child who’d crawled on his lap for comfort after evil visions tormented her dreams.

She cried until her tears were spent, and when they were done, wiped her eyes as best she could and begged again as she had so many times this last week, “Won’t you please come with us, Papa? Rain will grant you and the girls escort through the Mists. You could live there, with us, in safety.”

Sol sighed. “We are not Fey like you, Ellie. Our home is here, in Celieria, and the last promise I ever made your mother before…” His voice thickened. He drew a quick breath and swallowed the lump in his throat. “I promised her that day before she left for the cathedral that if anything ever happened to her, I’d make sure the twins were raised in Celieria, among their own kind.”

“Papa, she asked you for that promise when she still thought I was demon-possessed and the Fey were evil. She realized her mistake in the end. Don’t you think she’d realize her mistake about this too?” They’d been over this a thousand times since leaving Celieria City. “Wouldn’t she’d rather know the girls were safe regardless of where they live?”

“I gave her my word, Ellie. Shh.” He put a finger on her lips to forestall further objections. “It was my last vow to her, as sacred to me now as if I’d sworn it to her on her deathbed. So long as there is a chance of the girls living here in peace among our own kind, then here we will remain. You’re Fey, Ellysetta. You belong in the Fading Lands. We are mortal, and we belong here.” His eyes were filled with sadness but also unwavering determination.

Seeing that look, Ellysetta knew she’d lost. Her father was the most loving man she’d ever known, but when he had that hint of steel in his eye, it meant he’d made up his mind and would not be budged. She bit her lip, stared at the hands clasped tightly in her lap and nodded.

She heard her father sigh again, saw him shift in the periphery of her vision. His hand, broad and bronzed and callused from his years of woodcarving, reached out to cover hers. Love, rich and sweet and steadfast as love ever had been, poured into her through the touch, along with pride and gratitude, and a thought that rang in her head clear as a bell.

I love you, my sweet Ellie-girl. No man could love a daughter more, and no man could be prouder than I am of you. Though I will do everything I can to honor your mother’s wishes, I won’t risk my children’s safety needlessly. If trouble comes, the girls and I will pass through the Mists. That’s my oath to you.

Through vision blurred by swimming tears, she met his eyes and saw for herself the truth she could feel through the touch of his skin. It was more than she’d expected. His promise was an oath he considered as binding as the vow he’d made to his wife.

As the wagon continued its swift, smooth roll down the grassy hill towards the fertile plains of the Garreval below, Sol looked out at the majestic mountains and green fields.

“This is a beautiful place,” he said. “I think your Mama would have been very happy here.”

Ellie laid her head on her father’s shoulder. “I think so too.”

* * *

“The redirection weaves are up. The Garreval is secure.” Belliard vel Jelani, General of the Fading Lands, released the net of Spirit threads tying him to the dozens of Fey scouts spread in a five-mile radius around their destination. As they had all week, the warriors had cleared the caravan’s path of mortals and spun redirection weaves to turn away curious locals and Eld spies.

Just over three weeks ago, Celierians and their families had lined the roads and cart paths from the Garreval to Celieria City to watch the immortal Fey run past on their annual trek to the nation’s capital. This time, not one mortal would see or remember the Fey’s passing.

Bel turned to find Rain staring off towards the Fey caravan, his face drawn. “Rain? Something is wrong?” Bel’s hand went instinctively to his steel, his fingers hovering over the hilts of his Fey’cha throwing daggers.

“Nei.” With obvious effort, Rain dragged his attention back to his best friend. “Well, aiyah, but no different from the wrongness that has followed us since leaving Celieria. She weeps again for her mother.”

Bel glanced down at his hands, away from the pain in Rain’s lavender eyes. For all his power—impressive even by Fey standards—Rain could not weave the sorrow from his beloved’s heart. Oh, he could have spun a rosy illusion of happiness upon her—or asked another Fey to steal her memories—but that was not the Fey way. Both honor and love bound him, and he could do only what Fey men had for centuries: stand strong for his mate and offer what comfort his love could provide.

“You should go to her,” Bel said.

Rain sighed and shook his head. “Nei, she needs him more than me now—someone who loved her mother as deeply as she did.”

Bel had known Rain too long not to hear the comment left unsaid. “Everything Lauriana Baristani did, she did for love,” he reminded Rain gently. “And in the end she gave her life to save her child.”

“I realize that,” Rain replied, “but I cannot pretend an affection I never felt.”

Bel nudged a large clump of field grass with the toe of one black boot. Lauriana had never wanted Ellysetta to wed the Fey king, and she’d made sure everyone—including Rain—knew it. “Perhaps,” he finally said, “Ellysetta doesn’t need you to pretend love you did not feel. Perhaps it is enough just to know you are there, loving her.”

“She knows.” Rain swept a sharp gaze over the valley below. “So, there’s been no unusual activity in the last four days, and not a single person following us since we left Celieria City. I’m not sure if I should be relieved or suspicious. The Eld I knew would never let us get away so easily.”

Bel took the hint. “Perhaps our decoys are working.” A separate party of Fey had gone north, towards Orest, accompanied by a magic-warded wagon, so that Eld spies might think it held Ellysetta and her family.

“Let us hope so,” Rain said, his face set in stone. “But let us also prepare for the alternative—and not only from the Mages. If the dahl’reisen learn that Ellysetta can restore souls…”

Ice shivered through Bel’s veins. “You don’t think Gaelen would…” His voice broke off in disbelief, then surged back in protest. “He is Ellysetta’s lu’tan.” After Ellysetta restored his soul, Galen had bloodsworn himself to her service, vowing to protect her for the duration of his life and the death that followed. No lu’tan would break that vow. “Gaelen is Fey once more. His honor has been restored. Do not forget, without him Ellysetta would already be in the hands of the Mages.”

Rain’s jaw set. “I have not forgotten. Nor do I forget that all it takes is one look at his face without that scar, and his dahl’reisen friends will know the truth.” Of all the Fey, only dahl’reisen scarred, and they only when they made the kill that tipped their immortal souls into darkness. When Ellysetta had restored Gaelen’s soul, she’d wiped his dahl’reisen scar from existence. “No matter what trust you may feel for Gaelen as a fellow lu’tan, do not let your guard down. The dahl’reisen cannot be trusted, and they could attempt to use his long acquaintance with them to their advantage.”

Rain’s expression grew grim. Bel felt the brief surge of power, quickly harnessed, that came in response to whatever unpleasant thoughts were crossing Rain’s mind.

“I think I will return to Ellysetta after all,” Rain said.

He stepped back and the brief surge of power became a breathtaking flood as he summoned the Change. Sparkling gray mist billowed out in whirling clouds around Rain, and when it cleared a death-black tairen crouched in his place. The great winged cat fixed one large, glowing purple eye upon Bel, and a throbbing Spirit voice sounded in Bel’s head, powerful and resonant with the rich musical tones of the tairen.

**To Teleon, brother, and tomorrow, to home.**

* * *

Ellysetta climbed out of the wagon to walk the last mile across the greening plains of the Garreval as twenty Fey raced on ahead to secure their destination: the outpost built at the base of the ruins of the once-great fortress of Teleon. Lillis and Lorelle walked beside her, their small hands clutching hers.

She would always be grateful for this time Rain had given her with her family. He could have flown her straight to the Fading Lands on tairen-back but he had not. Knowing how dear her family was to her, he’d arranged for all of them to travel together. The Elvish ba’houda horses, bred for endurance and speed, traveled much faster than mortal steeds; but Rain in tairen form, using magic to power his flight, could have traversed the thousand miles across Celieria in a single day.

Even though he still left small courtship gifts on her pillow each morning, this extra time with her family was his true gift to her, and she worked to sear every precious memory into her mind. Like this one: the girls tripping through the tall grass at her side, their hair bouncing with their steps. A slight breeze blowing, fragrant with the scents of mist off the mountains and warm grass waving in the wind. She squeezed the twins’ small hands and watched dimples flash in their cheeks as laughter bubbled from them.

Dear gods, how she loved them. And if any harm ever befell them because of her…

**No dark thoughts, shei’tani.** The admonishment slipped into her mind on a now-familiar weave of Spirit.

Ellysetta glanced up at the great winged black cat soaring swiftly towards her over the top of a nearby hill. **Not so dark this time,** she answered. **Only a little grey.**

She could not blame him for thinking the worst. Her mind had not been peaceful since leaving Celieria City. The High Mage might not know where her body was, but despite Rain’s presence and the twenty-five fold weaves the Fey placed around the camp each night, the High Mage been able to find her soul more than once when she dreamed. He’d not managed to put another Mark on her, but each time he’d found her, she’d bolted out of sleep with her tairen roused to a raging bloodlust, roaring for death and vengeance.

Consequently, she’d spent most nights wide awake and flying the moonlit skies with Rain.

**I was just thinking I’ll miss my sisters when we’re gone. And I can’t help worrying about their safety**

**Kieran and Kiel will allow no harm to befall them.** The two Fey and two hundred of their brethren would be staying behind at Lord Teleos’s ancestral estate near the Garreval to guard Ellysetta’s family.

Rain swooped down the side of the hill fast and hard, Changing in mid-flight to the black-leather-clad form of his lean Fey body. He landed running, and a brief, swift jog brought him quickly to her side.

Just the sight of him and his glowing lavender eyes made Ellysetta’s breath catch in her throat. All Fey were ravishing creatures, but the legendary Rain Tairen Soul outshone them all. He was an immortal king whose unshielded Fey beauty dazzled the senses, his face a masterpiece of breathtaking male perfection, saved from prettiness by the thrust of strong bones beneath the skin and the aura of deadly promise that swirled just below the surface.

He was a Tairen Soul, the strongest and rarest of all Fey, a master of all five branches of magic wielded by the Fey, capable of Changing into one of the magical, fire-breathing tairen of the Fading Lands.

He was her truemate, the other half of her soul; and when at last Ellysetta found the courage and unconditional trust necessary to embrace the darkest shadows of his soul and her own without fear—to bare without reservation every thought, every fear, every shame and Eld-spawned malignancy inside her—then at last their souls would join for all eternity. If she failed, their uncompleted bond would drive Rain to madness and eventually death.

Yet even knowing that, Rain’s love—intense and absolute—shone from his eyes as he approached, setting Ellysetta’s senses aflame. She began to tremble. **Shei’tan.**

Luckily, before Ellysetta could embarrass herself, her young sister Lillis squealed and threw herself into Rain’s arms, shattering the intoxicating spell holding Ellysetta captive.

“Will you take us flying again today, Rain?” Lillis’s long eyelashes fluttered and her rosy lips curved in a beguiling smile. Only nine years old she might be, but Lillis Baristani had already honed her feminine wiles to an art.

“Oh! Yes! Yes! Please do!” Choosing natural exuberance over winsome guile, Lorelle bounded up, grabbed Rain’s free hand and jumped up and down with excitement.

Ellie smothered a laugh. Lillis and Lorelle had shed their fear of Rain and his power. He had become part of their family. Which also meant he’d become a hapless male to be twined around their fingers.

Rain, in return, had learned how to relax around them and let them draw out the Fey-gentleness in his heart. Though he was a man who could slaughter his enemies without mercy, with the twins, he now laughed and smiled like a man who had never known darkness.

“Let us get you safely settled in your new home first, ajianas. Then I will take you both flying again.”

Of course, he still had to work on how to say no.

“Hooray! Hooray!” Lorelle threw up her arms and danced around him in enthusiastic circles.

“Can we have a new kitty in our new home?” Lillis asked, fluttering her lashes again. “Since we had to leave Love behind.”

Kieran had convinced the girls that Love the kitten, who had a terrible aversion to magic, would be miserable living in the Fading Lands or staying with them so close to the powerful magic of the Mists. They’d reluctantly agreed to leave Love behind in Celieria City with Gaspare Fellows, the Queen’s Master of Graces.

Rain smiled. “A new kitten? I imagine Kieran and Kiel can arrange that. Perhaps one for each of you, hmm?”

Lillis strangled him with more hugs, then leapt out of his arms so she and her twin could run tell Kiel and Kieran they were going flying again and that Rain had said they could have a new kitten.

Ellie shook her head and watched them go. “One day you will have to learn the fine line between loving adoration and slavish devotion.”

He pressed a kiss on her palm. “Let me give them what gifts and freedoms I can. Their lives will soon have restriction enough. Teleos!” Rain lifted a hand to the Fey-eyed Celierian Great Lord, Devron Teleos, who stood beside the truemates Marissya and Dax v’En Solande, staring in silence at the place that was to be the Baristani family’s new home. “How long has it been since you’ve been to the Garreval?”

Teleos’s mouth drew down in a grimace. “I’ve made a point of visiting all my holdings at least once every year, but as you see, there’s not much to draw me here.”

Below, on the lower slopes of the Rhakis mountains, the remains of a once-great fortress rose from the tumbled rubble of silvery blue stone: Teleon, the former family seat of House Teleos. Even after a thousand years, its once-fabled beauty still lay shattered and abandoned, its Fey-spun towers and parapets crumbled, the remains covered in lichen and mosses and crowded with tufts of cliffgrass. A small stone outpost—crudely built and clearly mortal in origin—had been constructed atop a small hill at the base of the mountain, not far from the remains of what had once been a glorious gate into the walled city-fortress. Smoke curled up from a vent hole in the outpost’s small central hall.

Ellysetta tried to hide her dismay. This was her family’s new home?

As if hearing her thoughts, Lord Teleos said, “I feel a poor host for offering my guests so rude an accommodation.” The Celierian Great Lord, a descendant of Rain’s long-dead friend Shanis Teleos, eyed the remains of his once-great family estate with grim eyes. “Rain, are you sure the Feyreisa’s family would not be better served in one of my more respectable holdings?”

Rain smiled and shook his head, his straight, silky black hair sliding over his black-leather-clad shoulders. “Nei, this is perfect for our needs.”

“This was a place of great beauty once,” Lord Teleos said in a sorrowful voice. In the days before the raising of the Mists, his family had been close friends of the Fey, and the many Fey ancestors in his family tree had left Devron and all his forebears stamped with Fey eyes, a glow to their skin, and lifespans much longer than those of pure mortals. Teleon, which had once been an estate of inestimable beauty, had been a gift from the Fey to their kin in House Teleos.

“Aiyah, it was,” Marissya agreed. “I remember the terraced gardens with all their fountains. It reminded me of Dharsa.”

Lord Teleos regarded the ruins of his family estate with somber eyes.

“I always wished my ancestors had repaired it once the poison of the Wars was cleansed, but perhaps it’s best they never did. Mortal hands could never have done Teleon justice.” He sighed. “Some things, once lost, are better left in the past.”

Rain made a sound in his throat that sounded like something torn between a growl and a laugh. “And some things deserve to live again.” His eyes crinkled at the edges. “You did say we could make it habitable, Dev.”

Teleos’s brows drew together. “You mean to restore Teleon?”

“Aiyah te nei.” Yes and no. And on that mysterious note, Rain smiled and said, “Come. I think you will find you are not so poor a host as you fear.”

Brimming with curiosity, Marissya, Dax, Teleos and Ellysetta followed Rain as he led them the final half mile to the foot of the mountains.

Near the gate of the small outpost, and stationed along its outer wall, two dozen armored Celierian soldiers stood at attention. To a man, they sported snarling tairen’s-head helmets and white tabards edged with scarlet and emblazoned with the arms of House Teleos: a golden tairen rampant on a white field with a rising red sun. Pennants of white, scarlet and gold fluttered in the breeze.

They passed through the open gate, but when Lord Teleos would have headed for the main hall in the center, Rain stopped him. “Nei, Dev, not that way.”

Bel ran up just as the small party rounded the corner of the hall and started towards the back wall. Ellysetta turned to greet him, only to find him frowning up at the mountain towering over the back wall of the outpost. The shimmering radiance of the Mists was very bright, like a shadow made of light rather than darkness. Though mortal eyes would not see it, the whole mountainside glowed and rippled with undulating bands of magic.

Rain turned to cast a glance over his shoulder and smiled at Bel’s perplexed look. The rear stone wall of the outpost lay before him. Rain took another step. The air around him rippled like water in a pond.

With one more stride, Rain passed through the wall and disappeared from view.

“Spit and scorch me,” Dev breathed. He glanced at Marissya and Dax, then charged after Rain, plunging headfirst into what seemed like solid stone. The air rippled again, and Lord Teleos vanished too.

“Spirit weave,” Kiel said, his eyes sweeping over the mountainside. There was no sign of Rain or Lord Teleos, only the rear wall of the outpost and, beyond that, the tumbled remains of Teleon scattered across the mountainside, tufts of cliff grass and stands of hardy mountain trees waving in the breeze.

“Scorching clever one,” Bel said. “They’re using the magic-shadow off the Mists to mask the energy of the weave. Not even a Spirit master would see it until he was almost on top of it.”

“Well?” Kieran said with an eager grin. He held out a hand to Lillis. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go see what’s behind the weave.”

With a burbling laugh, she stuck her hand in his and they ran up the trampled path after Rain and Teleos. Lorelle grabbed Kiel’s hand and yanked the Water master with her as she darted forward in hot pursuit.

Ellysetta, Bel and Sol followed close behind, and when they stepped through the rippling wall of illusion and cast eyes on the sight beyond, Ellysetta’s jaw dropped open in stunned wonder.

“Bright Lord save me,” Sol whispered, staring awestruck at the gleaming magnificence before him. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”

“It’s like a magical palace from a Fey tale,” she breathed.

They were standing at the open, arching gate of an immense mountain fortress of unparalleled grace and beauty. Silvery blue stone soared high into the sky in a dazzling display of Fey artistry and architecture. Crenellated walls gave way to lush, gracefully terraced gardens bursting with trees, fountains, fragrant shrubs and flowers. Pennants in the bold colors of House Teleos fluttered in the breeze from every tower and along the series of interior walls that ringed up the mountainside and circled the upper keep with level after level of protection and silvery blue beauty.

“Ellie! Papa! Come look!” Lillis and Lorelle stood in the center of a small grassy park nestled against the second inner wall. They laughed and danced beneath the graceful, arching branches of cherry blossom trees as pale pink petals rained softly down upon them. Kieran and Kiel watched the children with indulgent smiles.

Lord Teleos stood dumbstruck at Rain’s side as Ellysetta and Sol crossed the lower courtyard to join the twins. “You did it,” he said. “You restored her to her former beauty.”

“Not completely,” Rain admitted. He dragged his gaze away from Ellysetta and the children and gave Devron Teleos his full attention. “A number of the gardens and buildings on the middle levels are still just Spirit weaves, but the walls and gates are real, and defensible, as is the manor at the top.”

“Even so…this is an amazing feat. How did you manage it?”

“Three thousand Fey stand guard at the great war-castles of Chatok and Chakai beyond the Mists. While we journeyed across Celieria, they came through the Mists to prepare a suitable home for the Feyreisa’s family. And to prepare Teleon for battle once more.”

Lord Teleos turned to him in surprise. “You think the Eld will strike here? With the Mists blocking any hope of entrance to the Fading Lands?”

Rain looked across the flagstone-cobbled courtyard to the lower garden, where Ellysetta, Sol and the twins were inspecting a marble fountain of dancing maidens whose slender, upstretched fingers rained veils of clear water into a small pond.

His expression lost any hint of softness. “If the Eld come,” he said, “I doubt it will be passage through the Mists they’re after.”

Chapter Two

In sorrow, the blood-sown earth despairs, and granite stone weeps bitter tears.
In fields once green, love lies entombed beneath a silent lake of glass
Forged in raging tairen flames, dark with the death of dreams.
There, shades of men and once-great kings yet battle evil’s tide
While silvery maidens softly dance and sing of love that died.

Sariel’s Lament by Avian of Celieria

Ellysetta stood on the balcony of a well-appointed bedchamber in one of Teleon’s spacious upper towers and looked up at the Mists. Several bells earlier, the setting sun set the Mists ablaze, giving the illusion of a curtain of fire burning across the world. Now the night was deep and the Mists were a shifting, shimmering glow of multicolored radiance against the dark of a near-moonless sky.

Rain and Lord Teleos had spent the day inspecting Teleon’s defenses and assisting the Fey in weaving silvery blue stone into magic-warded buildings and fortifications, Marissya, Ellysetta and the too-exuberant twins—who simply could not bear to be cooped up inside—had ventured through acre after acre of terraced gardens and countless miles of corridors, rooms and levels of the newly restored fortress. Though, as Rain had said, many of the middle gardens and buildings were naught but the shells of Spirit weaves—and how unsettling it was to enter a building only to have it disappear once you crossed the threshold!—there was still plenty of Earth-spun reality to explore; and the Fey who would be stationed here to protect the Baristanis would continue the reconstruction their brothers had begun until all of Teleon was restored to its former glory.

The girls, Ellysetta knew, would be happy here. With so much room to play and so many wondrous secrets to be discovered, it would be a long time before they felt the urge to stray from the safety of the keep in search of adventure.

The clap of bootheels on stone made her cast a glance over her shoulder. Still clothed in black leather and full steel, his Fey skin as pale and luminous as pearls in moonlight, Rain approached. He’d been meeting with Teleos, Bel, Kieran and Kiel to discuss the defense of Teleon and review troop strength and dispersal in the rest of Teleos’s holdings.

War was coming. No matter how some still tiptoed around the truth, all of them knew it. They only hoped there would be time enough to prepare before Celieria’s borders erupted into open battle.

And though it seemed a terrible thing to ask, Ellysetta had secretly prayed that when the attack came, the Eld’s first strike would come in some far distant part of Celieria like Orest or Celieria City so the Fey would have enough warning to evacuate Lillis, Lorelle, and Papa to safety behind the Faering Mists.

That secret prayer seemed ill-considered now. The hearth witches of the north—and there had been plenty of them living in her childhood town of Hartslea, despite the strong Church presence there—believed that wishing harm upon others would bring three times that harm to the wisher. Was hoping the first battle of a war started somewhere else the same as wishing harm upon another? Ellysetta shivered at the prospect.

“Cold?” Rain asked.

“A little.” She seized on the excuse, not wanting to admit how nervous a silly superstition made her.

“There is a thing I need to do tonight before returning to the Fading Lands. I had hoped you would come with me, but if you are cold, perhaps you should stay here, instead, and try to get some sleep.”

“No, I’m fine.” She reached for his hand. “Of course, I’ll come with you.”

“Then let’s go—and bring your cloak.”

Ten chimes later, they were soaring through the night skies high over Teleon. Ellysetta stretched out her arms and turned her face up to the stars. Rain spun a light Fire weave to keep her warm as the chill, thin air swept past.

**Hold on.** The brief command was her only warning before Rain twitched back his rounded tairen ears, spouted a warming jet of flame that lit the night, then tucked in his mighty wings and dove.

Ellysetta screamed with laughter and grabbed for the high, curving pommel of her saddle just as the unsettling thrill of weightlessness came over her. Together, she and Rain fell through the sky, plummeting freely towards the ground miles below. The moonlit sky went silvery white, and fine droplets of water misted Ellysetta’s face as they plunged into a cloudbank. She caught the tangy-fresh chill of cloudmist on her tongue, drinking its bracing sweetness.

One heartbeat, two, then they burst through the clouds back into the crisp, clear darkness of the night.

Tairen wings spread wide, snapped taut, and the wild, reckless plunge became a swooping ascent. Ellysetta screamed again, a breathless, exuberant sound, and clutched the saddle tight. **Rain! I think I left my stomach back there.**

The now-familiar, chuffing sound of tairen laughter joined the rush of the wind in her ears. **Hold on again, shei’tani. This is even better.**

Flows of magic spun out to bind her securely into place and Rain shot forward on a thrust of a magic-powered speed. The world rushed by in a dizzying blur, and with a subtle shift of his wings, he sent them spiraling into a corkscrew roll. Shadowy earth and moonlit sky whirled in a wild kaleidoscope before Ellysetta’s dazzled eyes.

Another woman might have shrieked in fear and begged him to stop. Ellysetta only flung back her head and laughed in delight. Freedom coursed through her veins like a potent drug.

She would never tire of flying. The limitless joy of dancing laughter-spangled winds, the thrill of diving through misty clouds and soaring so high she could almost scoop stardust with her fingertips: flying was a joy so rich, it chased back all sorrows and fears. Well, she amended silently, almost all.

**Rain, do you honestly think when we get to Fey’Bahren, I can just walk in and spin a weave that will cure the kitlings of whatever is killing them?** That was the reason Rain had come to Celieria to find her. Unbeknownst to the outside world, a mysterious sickness had been killing unborn tairen kitlings in the egg for centuries, decimating their numbers until scarcely more than a dozen of the great cats still lived A magical oracle called Shei’Kess, the Eye of Truth, had sent Rain to Celieria to find the key to saving the dying tairen.

She, Ellysetta Baristani, was that key. Even if none of them actually knew how she was going to manage the miracle.

**I know it doesn’t sound like much of a plan,** he said, **but the tairen have never let any of our healers into the lair—not even Marissya. You, however, are both a Tairen Soul and my truemate. You’ll be able to enter the lair and weave healing on the kits as no other shei’dalin has been able to.**

**This assumes I’ll even know what weave to spin when I get there—let alone how to spin it.**

**That’s why Marissya will be going with us to Fey’Bahren—so she can continue your training and counsel you while you’re healing the tairen. Besides, you may not even need her help. She tells me you have been doing well in your studies.**

**She is being kind.**

**I doubt that. I heard you healed Ravel’s new Fire master well enough this afternoon while I took your sisters flying.**

She gave a short laugh. **Oh, yes, I healed him all right. I made that wound vanish as if it had never been.**

**There, you see—**

**And I erased every hint of weariness from the last week of travel,** she informed him. **And wiped clean every shadow on his soul. And filled him with such an abundance of energy that he shone like a newly minted coin and spent the rest of the day racing circles around my quintets until Bel and Ravel both threatened to pull red on him if he twitched another muscle.**

There was a brief silence; then Rain said in an oddly choked voice, **Well, shei’tani, there are worse tribulations in life than healing a Fey too well.** Chuffing tairen laughter vibrated in his throat.

Her eyes narrowed. He found that amusing, did he? **And when he wasn’t annoying his brother Fey, he was following me around like a lovesick puppy.**

The chuffing laughter changed instantly to a low, rumbling growl. Licks of flame seared the air before Rain’s muzzle. **Oh, was he?** The fur on the back of his neck rose up, and his rounded ears lay back. Tairen were territorial creatures, and they definitely did not appreciate encroaching males trespassing too near their mates.

**Ha! You see? It’s not so funny anymore, is it?** She ran a frustrated hand through the wind-tangled spirals of her hair. **I’m like a rultshart in a spider-silk shop. If Marissya asks me to summon a puff of Air, I call a gale so strong it knocks her off her feet. If she asks me to summon Water, I nearly flood the encampment.**

**Your power is vast,** Rain soothed, **and no longer restrained by the weaves set upon you in childhood. You simply need time and practice to learn how to wield it in moderation.**

She sighed. **Even assuming I can learn to control my power enough to spin the right weaves, what if healing doesn’t stop whatever’s killing the kits?**

His right wing dipped, and he banked, wheeling back around towards the south. **Then we go to Dharsa and start from the beginning, asking the Eye of Truth for guidance and searching the Hall of Scrolls in the hopes of finding answers. Perhaps you can help us see something we have overlooked all these years, or perhaps your presence will induce the Eye to be more helpful.**

**Rain, be realistic.**

**I am. I asked for the key to saving the tairen and the Fey and the Eye sent me to you. To me, it seems quite clear that whatever is killing the kitlings, you are integral to making it stop. I do not doubt this, even though you do.**

Rain’s wings spread wide and he sank through the sky in a circling glide, alighting on a stretch of empty field. A cradling ribbon of Air magic deposited Ellysetta on her feet while the Change swirled around Rain’s tairen form in a sparkling mist.

His hands rose, long fingers threading into the wild spirals of her flame-red hair, the pad of his thumb brushing across her lips and leaving tingles of awareness behind. “We’re here, shei’tani.”

Ellysetta glanced at their surroundings. Nothing looked familiar.

“Where is ‘here’?”

His eyes went dark. “This is Eadmond’s Field.”

Ellysetta’s breath hitched.

Eadmond’s field.

The place where, a thousand years ago, the most infamous battle of the Mage Wars had been fought.

The place where Rain’s first mate Sariel had died.

The place where Rain Tairen Soul had gone mad and scorched the world.

Ash’s Duckies Do Series Review of The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Young Adult Science Fiction published by Scholastic Sept 08 – Aug 10

I’ve been wondering for days how to write this review, because I don’t think I can do these books justice. Suzanne Collins is an amazing author, and these books are some of the best I’ve read.  There is also no way for me to avoid spoilers, so be warned.

The Hunger Games
14 Sep 08

These books are one long, intense, heartbreaking journey. What starts here does not stop until the very end of Mockingjay. Right away I was drawn into Katniss’ life, her thoughts, her relationships. She is a strong character and it’s easy to root for her. The idea of children fighting to the death as entertainment is truly awful, having to see it through Katniss’ eyes makes it even worse. Watching her change from a teen who supports her mother and sister to someone who will kill to stay alive is at times agonizing. When she holds and sings to another girl who lies dying, I lost it.

Then there is Peeta. When I read this book the first time, I was Team Gale (her friend and hunting partner) all the way. The second time around I’m able to see just how special Peeta is. He is the heart of this series. At the end, which is really just the beginning, Katniss doesn’t yet know about the war that is brewing. Or that she will be the catalyst to set it off.

I think the build-up to book 2, Catching Fire, is done perfectly.

Grade A+

Summary:

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games.” The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.

Read an excerpt.

Catching Fire
01 Sep 09

As much as this book is a bridge between The Hunger Games and Mockingjay, it also stands on its own as a very important part of the story. Katniss doesn’t get a break and neither do the readers. There really is no rest for Katniss and Peeta, they have to go on their victory tour and they find out just how evil President Snow is when he calls for previous winners to go back into The Hunger Games.

One of the things with this series is that no one is safe. Suzanne Collins is not afraid to break hearts and one of the deaths I was most upset about happens in Catching Fire. Cinna is Katniss’ stylist, and he seems to be the only one who she’s able to be real with. He might have been in with the Rebels, but I feel like he saw her as more than a weapon against the Capitol. His death is one that, up until the end, I was hoping wasn’t real.

Peeta is still there by her side, and by this book I am desperately hoping that they get a happy ending together. Katniss also has to deal with Gale, who wants her to pick him over Peeta.

The cast gets bigger, we meet more of the previous winners and we get to like a few of them. Of course, it just sets us (and Katniss) up for more heartache This is the book when Katniss starts to get mad and we see her changing yet again into a soldier.

Grade: A

Summary:

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

Read an excerpt.

Mockingjay
24 Aug 10

Mockingjay is everything I was hoping for — and a lot I wasn’t. Things are just a mess and Katniss is right in the middle of it.

Peeta is being held captive by the Capitol and the war is going on stronger than ever. In this book I didn’t like who Katniss becomes, though after what she has been through it’s almost expected. Everything has just become too much at times and her mental health is definitely suffering. I think losing Peeta made her lose a part of herself, even if she doesn’t realize it. They became a team, and I felt his absence from the book just as much.

Then we get Peeta back and he is damaged, badly. The torture he’s put through has left its mark and seeing him and Katniss fighting each other is hard. Like I said, Peeta is the heart, but here he is finally broken down. The way Katniss deals with Peeta (and some other things) makes me hate her at times. He deserves better, and by the time she figures it out, I wanted to shake her.

While this is going on, they are fighting away. Katniss goes into battle and plays her role as the face of the Rebels in District 13. It’s hard to see who the good guys are, District 13 looks like it is just the lesser of two evils. The prove they will do whatever they have to in order to win, and in the end it’s the people who suffer. Both sides are lacking morals, and it makes things that much harder on Katniss.

There is also another death that leaves its mark with me, though not the same one that effects the story the most. Fellow Hunger Games victor Finnick becomes a casualty of war. I actually found myself days later thinking of a funny scene with him, and then getting sad when I remembered he died.  In the end the Capital is taken down, but  no one really wins.

My one complaint with this book is the epilogue. I wanted more closure with some of the other characters. I was ecstatic to see Peeta and Katniss together in their future, but I grew to love all the other characters. I wanted more of them, to know what happened to them. Especially Gale and Haymitch (who, though I have left out of this review, is a major character, another one I loved and hated). With Gale, I am hoping he is happy in the future and still in touch with Katniss. though I got the impression that isn’t the case. While I wanted Peeta to be the one she chose, I couldn’t not like Gale. If Peeta isn’t in the picture, I would have wanted her to end up with him.

Sadly, as great as all the books were, I’m left wanting more of the one thing I was hoping for.

Grade: A

Summary:

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

Read an excerpt.

There is a ton of things I left out, there is no way I can cover it all. So much happens, so I focused on what stuck with me the most, even then I left out so much, since I could probably write pages about my thoughts on this. I can’t say this is a happy series, it is basically one traumatic event after another. People I care about died, I got angry, I cried, I hated the characters, and I loved them all at the same time.

Then there are the bright moments, the relationships, the jokes and happy times. These books are keepers, but I don’t know if I will be able to read them again and put myself through this emotional ride. I do know that if you haven’t read these books, you are missing out on an incredible tale. The pain is worth it, and days later I am still thinking about these characters.

Overall Grade: A+

Limecello’s review of Line of Scrimmage by Marie Force
Contemporary romance released by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Sep 08

I love football. I really enjoy reconciliation stories. It stands to reason that I would like Line of Scrimmage, and I did. I have to admit that it was the price, and sports hero that attracted me to the book first. I bought an electronic copy, and it was well worth my money. I’ll definitely be looking for more books by Marie Force, especially if she writes another story with a sports hero.

The focus on this story, at least for me, was the romance between the characters, and how that was developing. Susannah is already engaged at the beginning of the book… while still married to Ryan. This actually didn’t bother me as much as I would have thought because she’d been separated from her husband and would have been divorced but for some fancy footwork by the judge. While that part did seem to be something of a deus ex machina…somehow it works here. That being said, on to the characterizations.

I found Susannah to be a likable character, albeit a little clueless. But that didn’t matter so much, because Ryan really stole the show. The fact that Susie could hold her own against him even a little bit really made my estimation of her increase. Also, the two of them simply had a perfect relationship. He was mad for her, but she kept him in check… and also, Susie absolutely loved Ryan too. While she wasn’t perfect, and at times rather confused and somewhat selfish… I think it was that Susie had a difficult time being honest with herself.

Ryan is a character that should be something of a villain or scummy, but he simply isn’t. He had the opportunity to do a lot of wrong, but didn’t. However, he definitely wasn’t perfect either, and made a lot of mistakes. Mostly before the book began, however, so it’s easier to forgive him of those faults. That, and he absolutely knows he did wrong, and is desperate to make amends. It’s always nice to see a nice, powerful guy who is on top of the world brought to his knees for love. And that’s exactly what happens here.

There’s one line where Ryan asks Susannah, “Do you like knowing you can have me any time you want me?” I love that at this point, Ryan gets it. While it seems like all the “power” is with Susannah throughout the book, near the end she has to scramble a bit, and I think it’s important to keep in mind that her husband is the superstar quarterback of the NFL. That has to be unimaginably difficult, and… well good thing it’s fiction. This story definitely worked for me.

I definitely recommend this book if you like sweet contemporaries, with a kick of heat, as well as sports heroes. (I’m quite fond of both.) I’ve got Ms. Force’s second book Love at First Flight in my reading pile. I hope that Ms. Force’s voice carries through, as the premise is entirely different.

Grade: B

In the Hail Mary play of a lifetime, a sexy NFL quarterback has just ten days to convince his wife to give him a second chance before their divorce is final—and he has to act fast because she’s already engaged to her high school boyfriend. Line of Scrimmage is a story of reunion, redemption, rejuvenation, and renewal. Readers will laugh and cry and hope—that at the end of the day, these two lovers, who clearly belong together, will somehow find their way back to one another.

Read an excerpt here.

LynneC’s review of Di Cesare’s Pregnant Mistress by Chantelle Shaw
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 1 Sep 08

Let’s get the title out of the way – it’s dreadful, and it’s also a spoiler, since the heroine doesn’t get preggers until later in the book.

However, it’s hardly a surprise. This is a Harlequin Presents, after all. Oh yes, and is it me, or is this cover a bit off-putting?

So, the heroine, Tamsin, is friendly with an old friend of the hero’s, too friendly, he thinks. Because James is far too old for Tamsin and recently lost his wife to cancer. Bruno is convinced she’s a gold-digger. In fact, she’s keeping James company when he visits the hospital for his chemotherapy treatment because James, too, has cancer, but he doesn’t want his family to know. The death of his wife upset them all too much.

It would have been less grating has the author used a different title usage, instead of picking on the one title in the country that runs counter to all the others. It irritated me that he is referred to as “Earl Grainger” when that seems to be his surname, too. There is one earldom in the country that has that, and it’s more than unusual, it’s unique. Earl Spencer, the family of Lady Diana Spencer, later Princess of Wales. So yes, it’s possible, but so different to the usual it stopped me every time it was used.

Tamsin is a talented interior designer, working with her brother, who was bailed out the year before by Spencer—sorry, Grainger. And because his father married a gold-digger, Bruno fears the worst.

If all this sounds familiar to you, then it’s not surprising. In fact, this a competently written Harlequin romance, but there are no surprises at all. It reads like a pattern-card for a Harlequin romance. Everything is there in the right place, the tall, dark Latin hero, the misunderstood heroine, the instant attraction, the pregnancy that brings them back together (which I wouldn’t have mentioned, were it not for the title). It’s same old, same old. It’s as if the author picked some of the popular tropes, arranged them and then wrote around them.

I know that Harlequin authors write fast, but this book shows how fast. Once an author is in the Harlequin mould, she can write a book like this in her sleep. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. I’ve had some disturbed nights recently, and I needed something to get me back on track, back to at least five hours a night. This book helped enormously. I’d also choose this book to read if I were waiting for a plane, and then the tedious seating, then the take-off, before they allow the use of laptops and before the film comes on.

This is definitely one of those books where a conversation early on would have solved a lot of problems, but it would have led to no book at all. I did tire of Bruno’s constant “all women are ebil” approach, just because of his nasty stepmother. And Tamsin was too good to be true. There was a scene where she tells him that she has no intention of giving up her career for him, and I wanted to cheer. But, sigh, by the end of the book it’s all babies and keeping house. That would definitely have upped my grade, if she’d insisted on continuing with her career, which, we’re told, means a lot to her. Even if it is interior design, something Harlequin heroines excel at. Bruno had inherited a fashion business, so I was interested, and I wanted to read accounts of models, frantic rushing around at the four times yearly shows, and the search for the perfect fabric, but I got none of that. Just the usual sitting at the desk in immaculate suits scenes, and business deals. I wanted a bit more colour, a bit more detail.

But as I said, this isn’t a bad book. It’s just not one that I’ll remember for very long.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Sexy, arrogant Bruno Di Cesare hears interior designer Tamsin Stewart is a gold digger. But on meeting her he’s instantly attracted, and hires her to work on his Tuscan villa. Down-to-earth Tamsin knows the Italian billionaire is ruthless yet she can’t resist him. Tamsin must leave Bruno to save her heart, but then she discovers she’s pregnant…

Read an excerpt.

Gwen’s review of The Price of Desire by Jo Goodman
Historical romance released by Zebra 1 Sep 08

Some books are just so damn good, you truly want them to never end.  I put this book down and sighed.  It delivers on so many fronts, it’s difficult to summarize them all. 

To begin with – the title.  This is one of the rare cases of the title really saying it all.  Throughout the book, I was struck by how much it was about how much desire costs everyone.  Whether it’s their own desire or someone else’s; whether it’s the desire for money, power, love, or another person, it all has a price.  It’s a case of the title being scary good.

Next in my list of “damn that’s good” is the pacing of this book.  I was struck time and again by how much I was enjoying myself with nary a slow moment or pause in the story.  I got the impression that the author was very much in control of me and really had something to tell me.  I just had to let go and enjoy the ride, because Goodman was going to tell it to me whether I wanted it or not.  When a book is that good, I trust the author to just let go, enjoy the moment, and never look back.  It’s incredibly freeing to trust a book and an author that much with my time.

Next in the list are the characterizations.  Goodman’s hero and heroine (Griffin and Olivia) are historical romance character types that have been seen before – scarred and damaged hero who is a peer, heroine down on her luck having to bail out a brother who is a cad.  However, Goodman does one better.  She reveals to us solid, tangible, and realistic reasons for our protagonists to be the way they are.  I didn’t feel that she was simply saying “trust me” – she actually shows why the heroine has night terrors and why the hero is desperate to succeed.  Goodman also manages to make the cad brother a sympathetic character (difficult to do, as you’ll see).  These characterizations make the story very believable and rich.  (By the way, I loved Nat.)

The evolution of the characters in Price is probably my favorite element in this excellent book.  And make no mistake – they all evolve and we’re there to watch it all unfold.  My favorite being the heroine – how she survived and eventually thrived is beyond me.  I cried several times for her in this book.  The characters remain true to their personalities with never a false moment to be had.  However, their lives change through the course of the book and this forces them all to adapt.  Watching the adaptations is fascinating.

Last on my list of “why I loved this book” is the romance.  I loved this romance and so wanted it to succeed.  It also evolves and these two damaged people, Griffin and Olivia, come together, find the core of who each other is and respects it despite society, despite the past, despite the present circumstances.  The romance is just so satisfying on so many levels that it’s difficult to tell you of it all.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romance and complex characterizations.  It’s a must read of fans of historical romance, and fans of the author.  I have read other books by Goodman, but none this good.  I’ll be glomming more of her backlist based on what I’ve read here – yes Sybil, including her westerns.

Grade: A

Summary:

Olivia Cole is devastated to learn that her ne’er-do well brother has promised her to the operator of a London gaming hall as payment of his debts. Olivia accepts her fate-even if it means that her reputation will suffer from living among rogues and gamblers. But when she meets the sexy and mysterious Griffin Wright-Jones, the Viscount of Breckenridge, Olivia has more than her good name to worry about-for he rouses in her wanton thoughts she’s never dared entertain-until now…

Griffin wears the scars of his life on his striking face, Although he wants Olivia like no other woman before, he doesn’t force her to share his bed-a difficult task considering how beautiful she is. But with each passing night Griffin and Olivia’s resolve weakens until finally they take their greatest gamble on one night of reckless pleasure…

Read an excerpt here (click on the Google Preview icon on the right).

Lawson’s review of Secrets of the Knight (Bladesmen, Book 3) by Julia Latham
Historical romance released by Avon 26 Aug 08

As I think a few readers are bemoaning (maybe), there aren’t a lot of different settings in historicals. So when Julia Latham’s books come out, I usually snap them up because medieval aren’t found around much. I was a bit behind in reading this one, as I’ve been in a major funk and uh. . .disappeared from reviewing. As Syb says, bad, bad Lawson, and I would have to agree, as a search shows the review for One Knight Only, book two in this series, went up in November 2007. But to amend things and get down to some reviewing business…

The legendary League of the Blade sent Diana Winslow to Castle Bannaster to watch Viscount Bannaster. A cruel man, her assignment is to protect the women of the castle from his abusive actions. In protecting one of the servants, the viscount ends up dead. Diana flees in fear and has no other assignment from the League to keep her busy. She is instead banished to an estate in Yorkshire with her sister by their brother.

The problem arises six years later when the new Viscount Bannaster, Thomas, comes to hopefully pay court to the Winslow sisters. After receiving the title from his brother, he does some not so wise things to keep his life on track in the way he thinks it should go. These acts were present in the first two books of the series, Thrill of the Knight and One Knight Only.

Diana knows of the wicked deeds of the viscount, and fears he will recognize her from years before, so she instead kidnaps him and keeps him in the dungeon to protect herself and the dreams of her sister. But when he fails to arrive at the estate as planned Diana must do everything she can to keep him hidden and her culpability in the past and present to herself and get her life back to the way she’s used to.

This all, of course, goes awry when Thomas escapes and sets out to punish Diana with seduction.

It’s an interesting story, using the semi-villain from two books and making him the hero of this one. What made him work is 1) his history, 2) his explanations for his behavior and 3) his honesty about what he had done and not trying to dodge the fact that he deserved to suffer his consequences. Plus spending time in a dungeon gives him the idea that he did some time for his past crimes anyway. Since he was the second son and not expected to inherit, Thomas was destined for the church and when he does become the viscount, he does his best to be the warrior that’s expected of him, instead of the scholar and cleric he’s always trained to be.

Diana seemed to be a bit more a woman of her time, or at least a bit more of one compared to the other two heroines in the first two books. Her sister-in-law’s jealousy of Diana and her sister had them forced to a far flung estate and out of London, but Diana instead does her duty and manages the household as best she can. Her participation in the League of the Blade, limited though it is, doesn’t fit much with the historical times, but then I’m sure there were some girls, like Diana, who had indulgent (or neglectful) fathers and let them train to use some weapons.

As they fall in love, talk about their pasts and lives, these two wounded and rather guilty souls do find their happily ever after, and it’s nice to see a villain become a hero without giving up his bad boy nature too much. The siblings of Diana give ample kinks to the plot, even if they are one note characters doing what they will try to do best, throw those kinks in the works. Overall, it’s a good way to pass the time and gives two guilty people the chance to make amends and make their own happy endings.

Grade: C+

Read more reviews of this series by following its tag.

Summary:
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A knight never reveals her secrets…
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When young Diana Winslow arrived at Castle Bannaster, her beauty and bravery disguised beneath a servant’s dress, she had no idea her life would change forever. But now the cruel and lecherous Viscount Bannaster lies dead–and the novice Bladeswoman cannot escape her guilt. Nothing, not even fighting for the Crown, can erase her fears…especially when she comes face to face with Thomas, the viscount’s startlingly seductive brother.
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Desperate to keep him from discovering the truth, Diana attempts a daring abduction. But all her skills as a knight are no defense against the powerful, irresistible nobleman who has just become her prisoner. A man with a mystery of his own. A man who eyes her so hungrily, so wantonly, that he could tempt her to give up all her secrets for one wicked night in his arms…
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Limecello’s review of Caught In the Act (Loving on the Edge Trilogy, Book 1) by Saskia Walker
Erotic Romance released by Harlequin Spice 1 Sep 08

Spice Briefs tend to be hit or miss (at least for me) – but I’m happy to say, Caught in the Act was a good purchase, and I enjoyed it a lot. Saskia Walker is an author I do look for in the Spice Line, and I’m definitely going to buy the other two Spice Briefs that are connected to this one, Strangers in the Night, and Hot on Her Tail. The trilogy is known as the Loving on the Edge series.

Chrissie Stanfield is an unexpected heroine, in that she’s a tech geek. Or, I think she’s a software developer, as well as a sexpot. In terms of romance, that’s a total anomaly. Nevertheless, what she does isn’t important. (Actually, I’m not really sure how I feel about Chrissie sexing it up in terms of her apparel at work, etc. But it works for the story.) She’s suspicious of Liam, but incredibly attracted to him. She’s stubborn, extremely controlled, and was a character I really liked.

Liam O’Neil is a hero who you have to admire. He’s something of a bad boy, and manages to get his way no matter what – even if he has to make some strategic maneuvers that border on ridiculous. Yet entertaining. (Liam recruits big brother to help get Chrissie to listen to him.) I like how far he’s willing to go to get Chrissie, and admire his tenacity. It doesn’t hurt that he’s charismatic, smart, and has a sense of humor. Liam is a great match for Chrissie. Another positive is that Liam is attracted to Chrissie from the start, and he’s the one determined to pursue her and establish a relationship, rather than waiting for her to make a move.

Recently I’ve been “realizing” how much I like heroes who are willing to take the initiative. I think this is something more prevalent in contemporary romances, and Ms. Walker does an excellent job with the budding relationship between Chrissie and Liam. They indulge at the office, and Chrissie immediately backs off. I like that Ms. Walker allowed the characters to get some space, and felt it made everything much more believable.

Caught in the Act is cute, entertaining, and very enjoyable. And of course the sexual chemistry between Chrissie and Liam is quite heated. Ms. Walker also manages to create a great set up for the other O’Neil brother’s stories, but she doesn’t make it obvious, and in no way does it detract from Chrisse and Liam’s romance. I was very entertained throughout, especially when Liam is telling Chrissie what he thinks and feels. I only wish that it was a little longer – I would have enjoyed reading more about Chrissie, Liam, and their interaction. This is something of a “feel good” story. If you like Harlequin Spice Briefs, I definitely recommend this one.

And on an unrelated note, props to Ms. Walker for having not only the book blurb on her website, but also an excerpt. Gold star! (And thank you.)

Grade: B+

Summary:
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There was something about the new IT guy that rubbed Chrissie the wrong way, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She told herself Liam O’Neil had to be the source of the company’s security leak, and that she was observing him to get the goods on him. But gazing at his hard, sexy body all day was getting her seriously hot and bothered.
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Then an after hours confrontation gave way to breathtaking seduction. But when Chrissie discovered Liam was not what he seemed, her searing desire turned to humiliation, then fury. Liam had been obsessed with the fiery little blonde from the first, and was eager for more of what they’d shared. But getting her to listen to his explanation and give him another chance was going to require seduction on a whole other level.
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Gwen’s review of Fallen (Fallen Angel Trilogy, Book 1) by Claire Delacroix
Urban fantasy romantic suspense released by Tor 30 Sep 08

The book takes place in a post-(multiple)apocalyptic United States, now called the Republic, in the year 2099.  It’s a dirty-nuke-ravaged, but functioning society that is literally powered by slave labor.  This labor is provided by “shades” – people born with radiation-caused deformities and mental deficiencies.  It isn’t even a crime to murder a shade, they’re considered that sub-human.  This is just the beginning of the oddities that Delacroix (a.k.a. Deborah Cooke) has populated this world with. 

Also prevalent in Delacroix’s world is a dress “code” and behavioral rules that are oddly Victorian, but very definitely 21st century enforced by bully-boys who are sanctioned by the government.  Then there’s the Society of Nuclear Darwinists who are responsible for rounding up the shades and putting them to work – for their own good, of course.  It’s all very complex and a tad bewildering at first.  The cast of characters is large, but we’re introduced to our key characters quickly.

The paranormal elements are a combination of spiritual – “fallen” angels (frequently mistaken for shades) who are here to help mankind – and physical – genetic mutations that have created “sensitive” humans who can see more of the world than perhaps the rest of mankind can, or should, see.  It’s all nicely woven into the story and adds the right amount of spice.  It was very easy to suspend my disbelief with this part of the story arc – nothing was overdone.

One of the complaints I have about the book is the amount of time spent on banalities.  It felt like not enough time is spent driving the plot forward.  For example, I didn’t need to know about the heroine showering, getting ready for bed, going to bed, waking up, calling her mom, etc., etc.  I would have rather had one or two sentences that told me all of that.  Not whole chapters.  I don’t know how many words this book was, but it probably could have been a couple of hundred fewer and I’d have been happy.

Fallen has an interesting suspense plot that kept me guessing for about two-thirds of the book – nicely done, Delacroix.  I was not very happy with the suspense plot’s resolution, but that’s just me.  I wanted more ass-kicking.  The “gray” left at the end may be the author’s point – perhaps to leave the “culprit” off the hook for more books.  I’d have still like to have seen more heads tumble for the unbelievably nefarious deeds done in the name of the “common good”.

I enjoyed the romance and the passion in Fallen.  I was a little disappointed that the hero and heroine took so much time to act on their feelings, but that’s my preference and shouldn’t be seen as a shortcoming.  I did find the hero to be very yummy and the description of his duality to be interesting and fun.  There’s some loose ends at the end of the book that I’m looking forward to resolving in the next book, Guardian, coming this October (you meet Guardian‘s hero in Fallen - his scenes are quirky and left me with a smile).

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes their urban fantasy on the not-so-dark side, with a nice suspense element, and anyone who enjoys “fallen angel” stories.  If you’re a fan of Delacroix’s historicals, this may not be the book for you.  However, if Deborah Cooke’s paranormals are your cuppa tea, you’ll like this.

Grade: B-

Summary:
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The Eyes of the Republic are Everywhere.
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When her estranged husband’s mysterious death is declared an accident, Lilia Desjardins knows that it is a lie. She leaves all she knows to risk the dark heart of the Republic – only to find that she herself has been targeted by forces unknown.
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Adam Montgomery will do anything to complete his earthly mission, even if he had to tangle with the enigmatic Lilia Desjardins. But when his contact is murdered and he must rely on Lilia’s silence to save him from the slave dens, Montgomery knows that his wings were only the first sacrifice demanded of him.
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As danger and intrigue surround them, Lilia and Montgomery realize that they must work together – body, mind and soul – in order to save the world.
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of Faefever (Fever, Book 3) by Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy hardcover released by Delacorte Press 16 Sep 08

When I first started reading it, I thought this series was kind of YA.  I mean, the heroine rarely cussed (“petunia” is “ass” in her personal vocabulary), there was no sexxoring, and it was really rather mild fantasy with fae and seers and the like.  Then things started getting darker with the end of that book and into the next.  Now, here in the third book of the series, I can safely say that Moning’s earlier YA tendencies have been left in the dust. 

I loved this entry in the Fever series.  The various storylines still haven’t progressed very far, but we know a lot more about everything that is going on.  Plus it’s just plain good story-telling.  The pisser of these Fever books is they’re so good, I normally suck them down like a crack addict sucks down a rock.

The story begins with Mac being pissed off at being a victim.  She shakes off the negative, decides to take charge, and suits up for a date in her old GRITS uniform of “fully done” hair, face, clothes, jewelry, and shoes.  Then her real life intervenes and leaves her quite literally in the gutter, puking her guts up, hair/makeup/clothes fully trashed.  The end of the book has a similar only different outcome (you’ll have to read the book to figure that one out) that shakes Mac’s world up, once again.

At the end of this book I still know very little about Barrons, except that I want that manly man to do his manly thing all over me.  He’s still tall, dark, handsome, and oh-so-mysterious.  Luscious like Belgian chocolate and equally bad for a woman if she partakes too much – just ask his ex, who happens to be consorting with the bad guys now. We get a few tantalizing details – enough to tell us both the bad guys and the good guys fear him and give him a wide berth.

I LOVED this entry.  It’s frustrating as hell that the storyline(s) still haven’t been tied off, but this book ends with a bang.  Literally.  I am panting for the next entry, Dreamfever.  Moning’s challenges with chronic Lyme Disease makes her ability to get any books written a very real miracle, so I’ll be patient – sort of (yes, I’m screaming in my head “but what happens next??!! write it already!!”).

I highly recommend this book to anyone following the series. While it COULD standalone, I recommend reading the other entries to get the full flavor and to experience the frustration with the rest of us fans.  If you’re looking for a new urban fantasy series to read, this is an excellent one to try.

Grade: A

Read reviews and info about this series by following its tag.

Summary:

He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too.

When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac’s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V’lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds with devastating consequences.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series (mass market paperback release linked where available):

and Shadowfever, Book 5 (release TBD)

Sandy M’s review of Prey by Melina Morel
Contemporary Paranormal Romance released by Signet 2 Sep 08

Well, this doesn’t happen to me very often.  A book that starts out fine, sounds and feels like it’s going to be good.  A book that starts to fall apart in Chapter 2.  A book that I just can’t pick up again to finish it. That’s happened to me maybe three or four times in the thirty-five or so years I’ve been reading. That’s how much I like books.  And how much I didn’t like this one.

I actually told a friend that I had started this book and I was liking it so far. That was the first chapter.  After that I’m not sure what happened in what order for me, but suddenly I just didn’t like the story anymore. I think it was the dialogue. It became stiff and almost childlike. I got no emotion from it at all.

There’s a scene where the heroine, Vivian, is kidnapped.  Though she’s a shifter and can more than likely take care of herself, there’s still that window of time where she should be frightened, and though the words in the book tried to tell me that, I never felt it.  Even when the characters talk to one another, they’re rigid and unemotional.  They read like one-dimensional people on paper, which is exactly what they are.  The blind date between Hank and Viv, as well as their conversation, was so…high school.  Just didn’t work.

All of that then led me to not caring about and not liking the characters all that much. In the first chapter I really liked Pavel and Ivan. They shift into their cat forms to save a little girl from her kidnapper.  The action is good, the emotion is there. When that’s over, however, for the next twenty-three chapters, which is where I stopped, nothing happens. Nothing worth mentioning anyway.  Certainly no action.  No emotion.  Not even any sex.  I would have been happy with lukewarm sex.  Nope. Even when Pavel thinks about, admires Vivian, big whoop the way it’s described. Same thing when she thinks about him.

All I got, and this was the best part in twenty-three chapters, was when Pavel and Viv decided to be honest with one another and shifted to show the other their cat. Lots of looking during that scene. Some love-bites or licks would have been nice, but nothing.  Not even any sniffing. I did, though, learn the difference between Maine Coon Cats, Siberian something or others, and Russian Blues. That was said I don’t know how many times.  I just didn’t care by this time.

Why we went from a good opening chapter of shifting cats hunting the bad guys to those same cats in search of a Russian icon in their human forms is beyond me, because it got so very boring. The author didn’t make me care about a thing in this book.  And, believe me, when that happens when I’m reading, that’s bad.

Grade: DNF

Summary:

Vivian Roussel prefers to keep a low profile—she is, after all, a werecat, descendant of an ancient demigoddess, and highly regarded in Manhattan’s nightworld. But when she’s robbed of a priceless icon, she has only one recourse for protection.

Surveillance expert and werecat Pavel Federov never gets personal with his clients.But he’s drawn to Vivian. Pavel soon discovers that the thief has something far more dangerous in mind—for he’s marked Vivian as his next target.

When Vivian Roussel’s business suffers a mysterious break-in, she turns to security expert Pavel Federov for help and finds herself in the midst of international intrigue. Rogue werecats have stolen one of Russia’s most treasured icons, and Viv can’t understand what they want with her. Closer to home, trouble in her own werecat clan poses problems for her and Pavel, but their growing attraction makes them willing to turn things upside down and write new rules for interclan romance if they must. Love won’t be denied. But it might be killed if their enemies have their way.

No excerpt available.

Shannon C.‘s review of Becoming Miss Becky by Shannon Stacey
Western romance eBook released by Samhain 23 Sep 08

I know I overthink things. I did even before I started reviewing, and it’s just gotten worse. Time was I could read a book like this one, smile in places, and shrug it off when I was done. But as I read, I kept wondering if the author had any idea what the underlying message of her story was, and if she did, why she would think that was a positive thing. Because what I got out of the story was, “Girls, don’t bother with the whole ‘finding yourself’ crap. Stick with your man, because he knows what’s best for you. Also women’s liberation? A laugh riot.” Needless to say, I wasn’t laughing. This is a shame, because I like Shannon Stacey’s online persona, and I wanted to like this book.

Rebecca Hamilton has just arrived in Gardiner, Texas, to find out what her aunt Adelle left her. She finds out that she’s been left with the town’s whorehouse, which goes by the always oh-so-erotic moniker the Chicken Coop. Rebecca’s a virgin, so she has no idea how to run a whorehouse. Sheriff Adam Caldwell, who meets her at the stagecoach station, tells her she has other choices. She can marry him. And while Rebecca thinks Adam’s hot, she’s not sure she wants to commit to that after knowing the guy ten minutes. So she goes to the whorehouse, and then decides that, being in a new place, she can shed the boring, drab image she’s always had, so she dresses in her aunt’s clothes, becomes bold and brassy, and wants to learn about sex from the oh-so-proper sheriff.

I actually liked Rebecca. I’ve read her before in other books, but I understood and approved of her attempts to try and figure out the kind of person she wanted to be. I have no idea what she saw in Adam, but I’ll discuss that more in a minute. I like that she was hesitant about taking on the whorehouse, but she was committed to the girls. (I absolutely refuse to refer to them, as the book does, as “the chickens”, because that? So not sexy. Also, I liked that Rebecca did have significant screentime with other female characters, and this book passed the Bechtel Test–and not just squeaked by, either.

Then, there’s Adam. Adam is a rootin’ tootin’ gun-totin’ twang-talkin’ scowl-wearin’ over-compensatin’ mean son of a bitch. (OK, maybe not the over-compensatin’ part, but he does actually tell us most of the rest. At great length. And often.) His favorite activities include shooting people. He is so prickly that people in town are afraid of him, except for his BFF and deputy, the town doctor. I have no idea how he got elected sheriff in the first place, since he is such an actively unpleasant person. Oh, and he doesn’t like whores. Because a fortune teller told him that a painted lady would be his downfall, so while he would marry Rebecca when she was drab and mousy, once she starts becoming Miss Becky, well, sure, he wants to do her, but he just can’t marry her. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the riveting romantic conflict. Needless to say, I found it ridiculous. I didn’t find Adam’s violent tendencies cute, and I didn’t believe his transformation at the end. I kept wondering if Rebecca wasn’t going to eventually trade a controlling father for an equally controlling husband. That said, I have to admit that there was a point where I expected a big misunderstanding to arise that would have shown up in another book, but Adam doesn’t go there. This doesn’t redeem him at all in my eyes, but it does raise the grade a little.

The secondary characters were about what you’d expect in a western. Rebecca’s BFF is a former women’s libber turned horrible cook and was the heroine in an earlier book, which I have no intention of reading. There are the whores, who all have hearts of shiny, shiny gold and are pretty and sweet despite the ravages of their profession. One of them even gets to get married and be all respectable. Then there’s the requisite strawman uber-Christian, and it’s a testament to… something… that this feminist, agnostic reader found her even more offensive than the former women’s libber turned housewife. Oh, and the women’s libber and the Christian hate each other and at one point get into a literal catfight. Boy, aren’t those uppity women cute?

The plot is fairly standard. Everything happens about like you’d expect from the beginning to the end. The aforementioned aversion of the Big Misunderstanding was the only real surprise here. Even the sex is a little boring, and felt more paint by numbers than actually passionate.

I don’t know. Maybe my sense of humor and Ms. Stacey’s just don’t mesh. I got the feeling this book was supposed to be a laugh riot. But I don’t find broad stereotypes amusing, and I don’t particularly like reading subtle misogyny in my books. I did like the heroine, and I wonder if maybe something more contemporary by Ms. Stacey would suit me better. But this book? Not so much.

Grade: D+

Summary:
A sheriff with a stone-cold reputation. An innocent madam hell-bent on disturbing his peace. Who will be the first to give in?

Rebecca Hamilton passed through life as bland as biscuits—until the day she buried her father and fled out West with a fortune in stolen jewelry. She arrives in Gardiner, Texas to find her aunt has bequeathed to her the only whorehouse in town.

With no other prospects except a proposal from a tall, dark stranger wearing a badge, Rebecca decides to embrace her vibrant aunt’s legacy and never again live under the thumb of an overbearing man.

After years of cultivating a reputation as a ruthless lawman, Adam Caldwell can’t believe he’s offered to marry the quiet, rather plain new madam. Even more perplexing is the fact she turns him down, choosing instead to become a sass-talkin’, sashay-walkin’ vision in feathers and lace.

With an innocent madam wanting him to teach her to be as wicked as she looks and rowdy townsfolk split over the scandal, the sheriff figures his cup of troubles is about full. But a man from Rebecca’s past catches up with her, and Adam has to decide just how much he’s willing to sacrifice for the woman who refuses to give up on becoming Miss Becky.

Warning: This book contains some brawlin’, some cussin’, and the kind of wanton lovin’ that brings a man to his knees.

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Tapestry of the Past by Alvania Scarborough
Contemporary paranormal erotic romance eBook released by Ellora’s Cave 24 Sep 08

I’ve had a rash of erotica books lately that just haven’t worked for me for one reason or another, mostly because there’s not really a storyline, let alone a good one, or the characters are very lackluster.  I’m happy to say this book is a very nice and pleasant surprise.  I liked the characters and the storyline is quite interesting with a paranormal twist to it all.  I just love it when I find a little pearl like this.

Kaleisa has had visions of murder for most of her life.  Of course, no one believes her when she tries to tell anyone about them, especially the police.  So she learned to keep these moments to herself.  Until her latest vision, however, in which it is her face she sees on a body by the lake she frequents for some quality downtime.  She braves taking her story to the police one more time, but once again she’s told there’s nothing they can do without evidence, and they don’t believe her, but she’s at least given the name and address of a man who maybe can help.

But Gabriel Steele covets his peace and solitude.  He has tortured secrets of his own and having a nut case interrupt his life is not what he needs.  He scares her off originally, but when he learns her home has been broken into, her situation takes on a whole new look.  He brings Kaleisa to his home where he can better protect her, calls in some favors from friends he trusts, and they begin to ferret out evidence to find the man responsible for not only terrorizing Kalesia but the one also responsible for several other deaths.

With her visions still occurring on a regular basis during the investigation and their feelings for one another becoming stronger day by day, Gabriel is learning to open up and trust Kalesia, something he hasn’t done in years.  But the villain they’re chasing is always one step ahead of them and causes Kalesia to doubt the man Gabriel is, which is something he should have expected.  His past is full of things he’s not proud of and having others find out about it closes him down faster than anything else.  He can’t even pull forth enough hope that Kalesia will see through the misinformation she’s seen to give them a chance at a life together.

From their first meeting there’s an instant attraction that sparks between Gabriel and Kalesia.  Though he wants nothing to do with her at their first meeting, we get a great look at how good it can be between them in the future.  And it definitely is good.  The love scenes are all well written and hot.  The storyline is very interesting and we’re kept in the dark as to the identity of the villain until near the very end, and it is a little bit of twist when he’s finally revealed.  I really enjoyed Gabriel’s friends who show up to help out.  They have a good camaraderie among them and they take to Kalesia early on.

I liked this book enough that I wanted to read more by this author, but unfortunately her website and blog have not been updated for several years.  That’s too bad.  I think she’d have a great following if folks could find out about her.

Grade: B+

Summary:
Visions of murder have always haunted Kalesia Brannigan’s nights. But this time it is her own face that stares back at her. Her only chance to stop a vicious killer before he makes her his next victim is to convince a sexy, cynical former CIA agent that what she sees are not just dreams.

Gabriel Steele is intimately acquainted with dreams that slide through the night like a sharp knife through flesh. Hell, he spent twenty years creating them…and losing a bit of his soul at the same time. When Kalesia turns up on his doorstep with her tale of murder yet to happen, she unleashes the past into the present. Gabriel is determined to protect the woman who’s brought warmth and light into his life, but can he keep her safe from a killer who stalks from the shadows? Because someone is watching…and waiting.

Read an excerpt.

Shannon C.’s review of Accustomed to His Fangs by December Quinn
Contemporary paranormal erotic romance eBook released by Ellora’s Cave 1 Sep 08

The one sub-genre of romance that I tend not to read often is comedy. I just don’t find most wacky hijinks particularly amusing, and I find “Oh, look what an idiot the heroine is” stories tedious. But I like December Quinn’s writing in general, and I also love the fish-out-of-water storyline, so I thought I’d give her latest EC release a try. And, sadly, I wasn’t laughing.

Rebecca is an image consultant to the stars. When she meets Sebastian, a vampire from a small Eastern European nation, she decides to make him over. The first thing she wants to do is get rid of his mullet. Then she’ll work on his use of contractions, and eventually, she hopes to pass him off as a sophisticated foreign gentleman. Plus, he’s good in bed, and she can enjoy a little sexoring on the side. So… everybody benefits.

I may have read a heroine in a book that I disliked more than I disliked Rebecca, but I can’t offhand remember when. I like my heroines to have character flaws, but being a shallow, selfish, manipulative, mercenary bitch brings the character from flawed straight into so obnoxious I really wanted to stab her in the eye. She spent so much time absorbed in her own little world that I really wanted Sebastian to just get rid of her and find someone else, because he certainly deserved it.

Sebastian, for his part, is wonderful and sweet and beta. I loved the glimpses we got of his homeland, and I loved his adorable cluelessness about the 21st century. I liked that he had the patience to put up with Rebecca, but I thought he should have left her way the hell sooner than he did, and she didn’t grovel enough to satisfy me. The sex between these two is certainly hot, but my actual hatred for Rebecca made it so I couldn’t appreciate it.

There were a few moments where I laughed out loud. The humor is quite sly in places, which is what I prefer anyway. I especially loved the little digs at popular vampire romance clichés.

I wish I’d have liked this book better. I enjoy Ms. Quinn’s writing voice, but I definitely think she’s got better heroines than the horrible bitch that is Rebecca. But if you do want to read this book, definitely read it for the sly humor and the wonderful hero.

Grade: C

Summary:
When image consultant Rebecca meets Sebastian, a vampire from a small Eastern European country, her first thought is how much better he’d look without that mullet. Her second thought is that no matter how silly his hairdo is, he’s incredibly hot — the perfect one-night stand.

And he is perfect, in more ways than one. Not only do they share the most amazing sex she’s ever had, Sebastian is rich and needs some serious help with his lame, old-fashioned image. It’s the perfect job for Becky, and she’s so confident she can make Sebastian cool she bets her ex-husband a weekend of hot sex that Sebastian will charm the snootiest social lions at the next charity ball.

But Sebastian wants to be more than just a client. He wants Becky to be his, forever, and he’ll do anything to win her. Getting into her bed was easy. Getting into her heart is the biggest challenge he’s ever faced.

Read an excerpt.

Liviania’s review of Mr. Cavendish, I Presume (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 2) by Julia Quinn
Historical romance released by Avon 30 Sep 08

The Lost Duke of Wyndham told of a highwayman and a servant falling in love. Julia Quinn appropriately approaches its companion Mr. Cavendish, I Presume in a different manner. It’s a bit more arch, and somehow feels less like a modern romance without truly being old school. While most reviewers seem to prefer whichever of the two they read first, I prefer Mr. Cavendish, I Presume. 

The first reason is the hero. Thomas Cavendish was my favorite in the first and he remains in that place. His responsibility is a good trait, but the Duke takes duty a bit too far and doesn’t know who he truly is. Possibly losing his dukedom to the highwayman who accosts his grandmother and her companion gives him the space he needs to find himself. (Too often he finds himself in his cups.) He acted like a jerk a few times in the first, but this one really fleshes out his motivation. It also shows that he had friends besides Grace.

The second reason to prefer this one is the heroine. In The Lost Duke of Wyndham, Thomas’s erstwhile fiancée Amelia had little color. In this one she’s vibrant, snarky, and clever. She has hobbies. She’s quite angry with Thomas for putting off their marriage for so long and happy that he’s finally getting to know her. Even knowing how the story would turn out I felt for her because she deserved her happy ending.

Of course, many people had a problem with knowing how things would turn out. The two books follow the same plot but one from the point of view of each couple. Quinn recycles some conversations, but I read the two books far enough apart (with enough between) that only two conversations struck me as overly familiar. A lot of it felt like new material to me and I really relished getting to explore Thomas and Amelia’s courtship. (I did remember the Hebrides, which still makes me laugh. Despite being made repeatedly, the joke does not wear out its welcome. Perhaps it is simply because the dowager really does deserve it.)

I first forayed into romance with authors like Julia Quinn. She’s such a wonderful place to start – likeable characters, humor, drama, and a sensible plot. She tells a story and does it well. Mr. Cavendish, I Presume was a perfect novel to accompany the comfort food of Thanksgiving Break. And it’s the comfort of knowing I’ll get a high quality read that will make me continue to pick up Quinn’s work.

Grade: B+

To read more reviews of this and other books in the series, follow the Two Dukes of Wyndham series tag.

Summary:
Amelia Willoughby has been engaged to the Duke of Wyndham for as long as she can remember. Literally. A mere six months old when the contracts were signed, she has spent the rest of her life waiting. And waiting. And waiting…for Thomas Cavendish, the oh-so-lofty duke, to finally get around to marrying her. But as she watches him from afar, she has a sneaking suspicion that he never thinks about her at all…
It’s true. He doesn’t. Thomas rather likes having a fiancée—all the better to keep the husband-hunters at bay—and he does intend to marry her…eventually. But just when he begins to realize that his bride might be something more than convenient, Thomas’s world is rocked by the arrival of his long-lost cousin, who may or may not be the true Duke of Wyndham. And if Thomas is not the duke, then he’s not engaged to Amelia. Which is the cruelest joke of all, because this arrogant and illustrious duke has made the mistake of falling in love…with his own fiancée!

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of The Dangerous Duke by Christine Wells
Historical romance released by Berkley Sensation 2 Sep 08

Every now and again, I seem to go on a Historical Bender.  I read all sorts of historicals – regency, medieval, and all kinds in between.  I love me a raw paranormal or some edgy urban fantasy, but it’s nice to soften the palate with a more genteel story once in a while. This was one of those nice historicals, but it had a hero and heroine who liked things a little on the raunchy side, no matter their breeding (heh). 

To begin with, I think this is a good, better than average story.  Not great, but fun to read.  It drags a bit in parts – the pacing is slow here and there when a character does much navel-gazing – too much introspection done too often.  For example, the hero’s rather repetitive doubts got on my nerves and the story got a bit tedious.  However, he redeemed himself when he was not always so honorable and it made things interesting.

The villain is a little unbelievable and not consistently portrayed – but that may just be because i didn’t see enough of him.  This lack also affected the pacing and suspension of disbelief.  I wasn’t quite “there” when the story’s climax occurred, but, meh, I just rolled with it.

All that said, I LOVE the heroine.  Kate is always very consistently portrayed and I felt she was the strongest character of the whole book.  Huzzah!  Finally a strong, steadfastly portrayed historical heroine!  And I didn’t even have to break out my urban fantasy TBR!  Both her portrayal and her motivation never wavered.  Kate’s portrayal made up for any lack in the book.

I enjoyed the romance.  The sexual tension between the main characters was very nicely steamy throughout.  The heroine’s opinion of her own sexuality and confusion over the same (all worked out as a result of overhearing another “well bred” couple’s sexual encounter) was a fascinating glimpse into the way a woman’s head works.  Men – pay attention.  Wells does an admirable job dealing discreetly with Kate’s confusion and Max’s attempts to be Kate’s “ideal lover” -  the ensuing scene where this comes to a “head” (heh) is worth the wait.

One main criticism:  I don’t quite understand the road trip – it doesn’t appear to serve any purpose to move the main characters around house to house, and adds very little tension to the story.

This is a fun historical romance and I recommend it to someone looking for a historical a bit on the lighter side, or fans of the author.

Grade: B-  C+  B- (yes, I waffled a lot writing this)

Summary:

When Lady Kate Fairchild threatens to publish a tell-all political diary if her brother isn’t released from jail, she meets a formidable adversary in Max, the Duke of Lyle. Max believes Kate’s brother knows the whereabouts of the rebels who burned his family home. Stealing Kate’s diary, he spirits her off to a country estate, ransoming her for her brother’s cooperation. But the wrong diary has ended up in Max’s hands-a sizzling account of Kate’s affair with a fantasy lover. And when Max discovers Kate’s sensual desires, he can’t resist exploiting them in every way…

Read an excerpt.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grade: C+

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

Summary:

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

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

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

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

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Shannon C.’s review of The Storm (Sons of Destiny, Book 6) by Jean Johnson
Fantasy romance released by Berkley 1 Sep 08

I’ll be sad to see the last of the Sons of Destiny. I feel like I’ve spent the last year getting to know all of them, and there are only two more books to go. I really do hope Ms. Johnson has other stuff in store for us, because I for one will definitely be on board when she brings it out. That being said, this sixth entry in the series isn’t my favorite, largely for personal, highly subjective reasons. Which isn’t to say I didn’t like it, because I did, quite a bit. Read on for my thoughts. 

Rydan is the sixth-born brother in the Sons of Destiny, eight brothers who were exiled to the island of Nightfall in accordance with a prophecy, and who have, with the help of the mates that they end up meeting, begun to form an insipid kingdom. Rydan shuns the day, preferring the nighttime. He has many secrets, and he prefers his solitude, finding his family’s imposition largely annoying. Of course, all of that is about to be disrupted with the arrival of Rora, a woman with secrets of her own, and power that could potentially start a war brewing.

I know that fangirls have been awaiting Rydan’s book for a long time. This is probably where the breakdown between me and most fangirls occurs, because the brooding loner type doesn’t appeal to me at all. I didn’t really understand why Rydan couldn’t explain what his deal was, which I figured out about four books ago, to the rest of his family, who are all genuinely nice people and would have undoubtedly done something to help him. The fact that this wasn’t addressed in a way that worked for me kept Rydan well into petulant adolescent territory most of the time. Rydan, you see, is an empath, a fact that is not spoilery at all since it is revealed fairly early on. He even describes his empathy as feeling as if he’s got an inner beast, which was one of those tropes that was jarring in its completely unnecessary application.

As for Rora, I liked her. She’s not one of Johnson’s best heroines — Serena is still my favorite — but she’s definitely a far cry from the bland and uninteresting heroines I’ve encountered from other authors. I love that she was pretty methodical about finding a way to be with Rydan and to help him. She is fairly powerful in her own right, but she does know her strengths and weaknesses, and was quite useful. The tension between Rora and Rydan was also well-played, and I felt their chemistry, although the one complete sex scene they got at the end went on a tad too long.

The secondary characters are also done well. It’s always nice to revisit the past happy couples in this series, and I was relieved to note that Kelly, the heroine in the first book, didn’t steal the show in every scene she was in. Further, I liked seeing that Morganen, the youngest brother and the matchmaker in the series, is capable of making missteps. It will make his own book much more interesting to read.

I think this is one of the most unique fantasy romance series out there. I love Ms. Johnson’s voice. I love the grand scope of her series, and as I said above, I will be sad when the end of the series comes. I eagerly await the next book, The Flame, which features a virgin hero — always a favorite of mine — and after that, Morganen’s story!

Grade: B

Read other reviews of books in this series by clicking on the Sons of Destiny series tag.

Summary:
Eight brothers, born in four sets of twins, two years apart to the day-they fulfill the Curse of Eight Prophecy. Though no longer trapped in exile, their growing family faces new problems. The sixthborn son must find a way to trust his Destined bride…

First, his most heavily guarded refuge is breached. And now, the worst of all crimes against Rydan of Nightfall: Rora, a pesky, privacy-invading foreigner, likes him and won’t leave him alone! Rydan knows he’s as appealing as a rosebush stripped of its blooms, so why does she persist? Any normal maiden should be seeking less thorny company than his.

But Rora isn’t normal. She alone sees the secret of what torments Rydan. And only she can persuade him to put it right before it destroys him. But Rora has her own secret as well-one of such vast power that other mages have killed in order to possess it. It once drove Rora and her sisters into exile, and, in the wrong hands, its power could annihilate their world. In the right hands, it could change her and Rydan’s fate forever.

read an excerpt

Other books in the series:

Devon’s review of A Historical Christmas Present by Lisa Kleypas, Lynsay Sands, and Leigh Greenwood
Historical Romance Anthology released by Love Spell 1 Sep 08

First off, everyone should know that these three novellas have all been published previously. I don’t want anyone to get their hopes up, thinking that a favorite author has a new story out. However, if you haven’t read these stories before, and you’re looking for some entertaining Christmas-themed romance, this is a good bet. While none of the stories were extraordinary, they were all nice, solid reads — a good way to wile away a few hours.

I Will by Lisa Kleypas

In this entry, my favorite of the bunch, Kleypas takes on a familiar story: the hardened rake and the bluestocking spinster who enter into a sham romance, only to find real feelings growing. In a gambit to regain his place in his father’s will, Andrew, Lord Drake asks his friend’s sister, Miss Caroline Hargreaves to feign courtship and an engagement. Although Caroline loathes Drake, she can’t refuse his offer to settle her brother’s debts, then get out of his life.

This was a great story from a dependable author. Although Andrew’s sudden attraction to Caroline seemed contrived, the relationship that developed was romantic and believable. There was a nice chemistry and banter between the two flawed, but charming characters. The love scenes were funny, sweet and hot. If you haven’t read this one, it’s definitely worth it.

Grade: B+

The Summary:
Andrew, Lord Drake, has been cut out of his father’s will because of his dissolute manner of living. To be reinstated, Andrew decides to pretend that he has changed his wicked ways. As part of his plan, he wants to convince his father that he is courting a respectable woman with the intention of marrying her. The problem is, he doesn’t know any decent women, except for his friend’s spinster sister, Miss Caroline Hargreaves. He blackmails the reluctant Caroline into helping him, and so the charade begins . . .(from the author’s site)
No excerpt available.

Three French Hens by Lynsay Sands

Another story involving a charade. In Medieval Britain, a kitchen maid is convinced by a noblewoman to take her place at Christmas festivities and with her unwanted fiancée. Against her better judgment, Brinna agrees, but when the fiancée, Royce, turns out to be very agreeable, she finds herself in a difficult position.

The medieval setting was well-drawn, and I enjoyed Brinna, and her partners in plotting Lady Joan and Lady Sabrina. There was a nice sense of humor, not too over the top. Unfortunately, (and this is a criticism I always seem to have with Sands’ books), I found the hero and the romance to be a bit bland. He was a nice guy, she was a nice gal, and hey, good for them, but it just lacked that oomph. Spark, intensity, whatever you want to call it. But still, it was fun. Totally far-fetched, but do we need stark realism at Christmas?

Grade: B-

The Summary:
In the Year of Our Lord, 1155, Menton Castle was the same as any other: It had nobles and minstrels, knights and servants. Yet from the geat hall to the scullery there were signs that the house was in an uproar. This Yuletide season was to be one of passion and merriment. The master of the keep had returned. (from the author’s site)

Read an excerpt

Father Christmas by Leigh Greenwood

We finish our tour of popular historical settings with a Western. This is the only Christmas baby story in the collection. I always assume that Christmas anthologies will be chock full of babies, so I was happy to see some different storylines. Anyhow, Joe Ryan has busted out of jail and made a beeline for Arizona and the man who stole his gold. He arrives at Pete Wilson’s ranch to find that the man is dead (and unlamented), and that he has left behind a very pregnant widow, and an odd daughter. Joe sticks around for a bit to search for the gold, and finds himself growing attached to Pete’s family.

This one was surprisingly subtle and schmaltz-free, given the set-up: the curmudgeonly fellow softening to bring the joy of Christmas to the troubled girl and her weary stepmother. I only rolled my eyes the teensiest bit when I realized that Joseph and Mary were delivering a baby in a barn. I liked all three main characters, and the story moved along at a nice pace. The romance was a bit rushed and awkward, given that Mary was in bed feeling quite unwell, and was days from giving birth. Not really sexy. But I was glad that these two people, wronged by the same man, found happiness.

Grade: B-

Arizona Territory, 1880. Delivering a young widow’s baby during the holiday season transforms the heart of a lonely drifter. (found on Amazon)
No excerpt available.

Overall Grade: B

The Summary:
Throughout the ages, Christmas has been a time of love and rejoicing. Now, from Dorchester Publishing, comes a selection of three classic tales to warm the hearts of historical romance readers everywhere…

Sandy M’s review of Subtle Voyage (Subtle Lovers, Book 5) by Beth Kery
Paranormal Erotic Romance novella eBook released by Ellora’s Cave 10 Sep 08

I’m always bummed when I read a Beth Kery book that just doesn’t work for me as well as some of her previous books have. This is only the second one, but I hate the feeling. In this case, I’m wondering if it’s maybe because I’ve read only one other book in this series, Subtle Destiny, which I also reviewed. I enjoyed that book and with it being my introduction to the series, I was wowed by the characters and also the world that Ms. Kery has created. The writing in this book is still darned terrific, but it’s the storyline that fell just short of the mark for me.

Anthropologist Aileen Peck and Dr. Saya Lange, a Watcher, have been sexually attracted to one another during a week of working together.  On the Winter Solstice, they, along with four of Saya’s colleagues, are headed to the ancient astronomical observatory of Saint Madeleine, a Neolithic site they’d been excavating.

Saya, who is able to “see” Aileen has short recovery periods between orgasms, is setting it all up for them all to enjoy pleasures of flesh as they record the effects of Venus’ pass over the chamber.  For Watchers, a human woman’s orgasm gives them a rush of sustenance, a subtle energy which enables them to maintain a solid body, so Aileen’s ability for multiples is a boon for them.  And they also have the ability to do things with their minds, and that’s how Saya and his men have sex with Aileen while she sleeps.

Each man take his turn with Aileen and she’s along for the ride every single time.  Her orgasms coincide with Venus and other stars passing over their position, and she never realizes they are on a totally different plane, due to Saya’s mind control, and may not be able to return if things don’t go right.  But things do go right, they all have the sexual experience of their lives, and whether Saya’s hypothesis for this evening was confirmed, I have no idea.  That never stood out after all the sex was said and done.

That’s definitely a disappointment because that’s part of the storyline, but it got lost in that sex fest.  That’s my main issue with the entire story.  There just isn’t the meat of the story to go along with all the orgasms that I usually get in a Bety Kery book.  The sex is hot and sizzling from all angles, but there’s just not enough story.  The fact it’s a novella probably has something to do with that, more pages were just needed to really flesh it out. There’s just something missing for me.

But I’ll keep reading the series.  Maybe something down the road will cause a spark and things will become more clear.  Or maybe I just need to read it all from the beginning and that would help me recognize and understand all the little nuances of this world that perhaps I’m missing.   Either way, reading Ms. Kery is still a treat.

Grade: C

Summary:

Aileen wonders if she’s fallen into an X-rated version of Alice in Wonderland as she excavates a Neolithic chamber with sexy Dr. Saya Lange. She has the strangest feeling Saya can read all her secret desires like bold print…and what’s more, wants to make them come true.

Saya must wield a wickedly potent brand of sex magic because on the Venus-lit night of the Winter Solstice Aileen finds herself leading Saya and four other gorgeous men into the ancient chamber for a night of uninhibited sexual pleasure.

And maybe her imagination has gone as wild as her libido but she’s starting to suspect these males are too divine to be mere men.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Wicked Garden by Lorelei James
Contemporary Erotic Romance eBook Novella released by Samhain 9 Sep 08

Lorelei James is turning out to be one of my favorite authors for erotic romance.  This is her first book I’ve read that isn’t a western, part of her McKay family series, and I enjoyed it almost as much as I do her sexy cowboys.  Besides the hot and sizzling sex you get in a James book, there’s just something about her characters that always draws me in.  They wear their hearts on their sleeves and you feel every nuance of their emotions, good or bad, leaving you wanting to know what happens to them and if they’ll be okay in the end.

Eden has finally gotten her life together after Billy left her right before the consummation of their young relationship. She runs a city-financed community center for kids and the city wants to shut the money-eater down.  That’s what’s brought Billy back into her life.  And he looks just as good now as he did back then.  Just sexier.  When realizing her feelings for him are cropping up again, she can’t afford to get into a relationship with the man whose word would give the city what they need, she tries to keep it all business.  But Billy has other ideas.

He wants to tell Eden why he left the way he did ten years ago, but every time he tries, Eden shuts him down.  He kicks himself every time he thinks he about it. Seeing her now shows him all he lost.  And he knows if they become involved again she’ll always question his decision concerning the community center, no matter which way he goes on it.  Keeping away from her is not an option, though.  She’s more complex and, of course, sexier all these years later, and seeing her with the center kids gives him an idea of how seriously she takes her job.  Feelings as deep and lust as hot as theirs can’t be stopped, and soon they’re caught up in a passion that will never let them go.

I always so appreciate a good story in any erotic writing and I always get that with Ms. James’ work.  Billy and Eden are great characters, serious when need be, but they still have fun together, as well as great sex.  A complication comes along in the guise of Eden’s friend Jon, a rock star who comes home to recuperate, and part of the relaxing usually includes no-strings sex with Eden.  Oh, but there’s such fun to be had when those three come together.   Another hit for Ms. James!

Grade: A-

Summary:

…One woman’s past and present collide in the ultimate temptation.

Eden LaCroix loved Billy Buchanan ten years ago, but he ran out on her the night of prom. Now he’s back, and Eden thinks a fling will help her move on from their tangled past. She wasn’t counting on Billy’s wicked side—or the return of her sometime lover Jon White Feather—to appeal so strongly to her own dark, hidden desires.

College took Billy away from Eden, but it’s a mistake he can rectify now that he’s in town to make the final decision on the fate of the community center Eden manages. Except reignited sparks keep getting in the way of his objectivity. The flames only leap higher when Eden’s rock star lover comes home from the road.

Eden considers herself a one-woman man, but in the arms of Billy and Jon she feels truly beautiful for the first time in her life. But does the healing go far enough to prevent her from letting love slip through her hands a second time?

Warning: ain’t nothin’ sweet about this garden of naughty sexual delights, including threesomes, creative use of a weight bench and bonding over bondage. 

Read an excerpt.

Lawson’s review of Game for Seduction by Bella Andre
Contemporary erotic romance released by Pocket 9 Sep 08

It’s fall, and during fall I love football. College football mostly (and surprisingly my team is doing surprisingly well this year, so I’ll put in a shameless plug for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Wreck ‘em TECH!), but pro is good as well, since it’s football. When I got this book, it was a good thing, as it’s romance and football. Win-win situation for me all around, though it isn’t the type of book that I normally read.

The reason it’s not my normal sort of book, is it’s erotic romance, which I don’t see a lot of as I’m the Avon historical chick. I’m not complaining, it’s just a fact. Anyway, the book starts out at a photo shoot during the off-season. Melissa McKnight is representing her father’s firm for it’s best client, wide receiver Dominic DiMarco. Melissa has had a huge lust crush on Dominic for years, but she’s never acted on it thinking that Dominic thinks of her as just a little sister. In trying to get a promotion and her father’s respect, she instead pricks her own ego and goes to a sports star only bar seeking new clients.

Drinking too much Dominic ends up taking her home, where though she’s a bit impaired, she’s not plastered and she takes advantage of the situation. Dominic feels guilty and offers to be her client, instead of her father’s, but Melissa doesn’t want him to apologize or feel guilty. Dominic does because he’s always thought she’s off limits, being his agent’s daughter and his deep dark secret from his past. Dominic can’t keep his hands of Melissa, and they end up doing the deed in several places they shouldn’t.

Melissa has a few image issues, coming from an awkward childhood and a disapproving father, but she had a good head on her shoulders and took her fantasies with Dominic into real life. She was a generally likable character, wanting her independence and even though she couldn’t keep her hands off Dominic, she didn’t want him dominating her life. Dominic did get rather possessive of Melissa rather quickly, but he does have the aha! moment and realize that he shouldn’t be railroading her life.

What didn’t work so well was the resolution with Melissa’s disapproving father at the end, it felt a bit rushed. Also, the deep dark secret that Dominic had been carrying around didn’t seem to be something incredibly horrific or life changing. It’s repeated enough times that when the big revelation does come and the reader finds out about his past, it’s almost a side note, added to have the only little extra kink in the plot. The chemistry, anticipation and sex scenes are smoking hot, and definitely well written.

A good story for smoking hot chemistry, a pretty good love story, realistic characters and a touch of football.

Grade: B

Summary:

The daughter of a powerful sports agent, Melissa McKnight has harbored lust-filled fantasies for Dominic DiMarco ever since she was an awkward teenager, when the San Francisco Outlaws’ gorgeous wide receiver became her father’s superstar client. Now Melissa’s a beautiful, tenacious associate in her father’s firm, and being around to-die-for hard-bodies is all in a day’s work…until tangling with Dominic at a photo shoot blindsides her with passion.

Dominic has built a flawless career by being in control — on and off the field. And despite his intense desire for Melissa, he’s not about to seduce his agent’s daughter — until Melissa stages a power play to break free from her domineering father and winds up at an edgy bar on the wrong side of town. Dominic thinks he’s rescuing the innocent Melissa he met years ago…but one night of sizzling passion reveals a woman with no limits — including a penchant for hot sex in public places. If anyone’s breaking all the rules of seduction, it’s sexy, irresistible Melissa.

But Dominic has a secret from years ago — one that could ruin his sterling reputation and take Melissa along with him. Will his bad-boy past bind them closer together? Or will they crash and burn?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of To Catch a Thief (Draycott Abbey Series) by Christina Skye
Contemporary romantic action/suspense released by HQN 1 Sep 08

This is my first Christina Skye book. Oh, dear. Should I have confessed that? It’s not for lack of want to read her books, it’s more a time issue, as it is with all the authors in the old TBR pile. But I think this was a good choice to start out with, a fun stolen-art caper with a strong hero and heroine, and a couple of villains I’m glad only exist on pages of a book.

The first chapter is chock full of action. Our heroine, Nell is an art restorer by trade, but her hobby, so to speak, is rescuing stranded or in-trouble mountain climbers. She’s an expert’s expert at it too. Decisive and caring, she takes control and does the job smoothly and perfectly. In this instance our hero, who is a SEAL, is also thrown into the mix during her current rescue of student climbers, a couple of which are injured.

Even though Dakota’s mission includes watching Nell as part of a recent theft ring, he is impressed by her and admires her skill and control when he sees her in action on that mountaintop. But the government has the idea that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree — Nell’s father is a former art thief recently released from prison, so they’re assuming Nell is also involved. Dakota nixes that idea very quickly and follows his own instincts in the process of getting to know her.

I really enjoyed the evolution of their relationship. This is another one where the hero and heroine work together to remedy outside conflict instead of having that conflict tear them apart for ten chapters before realizing love conquers all. In all the books I’ve read over the years, this type of relationship doesn’t happen all that often, so it’s always a breath of fresh air when I run across it.

Nell is perfect for Dakota. She’s independent, witty, resourceful, athletic, and very intelligent. She’s the one who teaches him how to free climb for the furtherance of his mission later in the book. For both of them to have a “no trust/no leaning” mantra in their lives because of either their past or their jobs, it was a treat to see them smooth into each other’s lives both professionally and emotionally. Their love scenes are sensual and either slow or fierce depending on the type of loving needed at the moment.

The entire storyline was very interesting. I have no idea if I missed anything by not having read any of the previous Draycott Abbey books. There are a couple of paranormal elements, Dakota’s enhanced vision being the best, but the Draycott ghost and friend, well, I’m not sure of the point of having them interspersed throughout the story. Maybe that’s something I’ll discover when I read those previous books. But since all of that was such a small part here and there, it didn’t detract any from the main story.

After this first successful foray into Christina Skye books, I’m looking forward to more.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Nell MacInnes can spot a forgery from a mile away. After all, she learned from the best—her father is one of the art world’s most notorious thieves. His brutal beating by the very authorities who claim to keep the world safe from harm taught her one more valuable lesson—trust no one.

The last thing rugged Navy SEAL Dakota Smith needs on his mission is a tempting woman he doesn’t trust. But a sketch by Leonardo da Vinci has gone missing, and the art conservator’s skill in detecting forgery would be invaluable, if only her ties to the criminal world are as dead as she says they are.

Soon an edgy partnership and white-hot attraction are forged between Nell and Dakota as they race to Draycott Abbey to track down a ruthless criminal with terrorist ties before time runs out—and the da Vinci is lost forever

Read an excerpt.

Read Gwen’s review here.

Liviania’s review of Jinx (Bigtime, Book 3) by Jennifer Estep
Paranormal romance released by Berkley Sensation 2 Sep 08

My hot little hands finally snagged me a copy of Jinx, the latest in Estep’s series of superhero contemporaries.  After staring happily at the book for a few minutes I managed to actually begin reading it.  Shortly after that I finished reading it.  At least, it felt like a short time since Estep delivered just as much excitement and romance as she did in the previous two novels. 

Fashion designer and secret artist Bella Bulluci can’t control her superpower.  Sure, her luck helps her out sometimes, but generally she’s embarrassingly clumsy.  Nor can she control the men in her family from being superheroes – a lifestyle that got her brother killed.  And her grandfather will not reveal the identity of his girlfriend.  What’s a girl to do but control every other aspect of her life?  Bella is deeply repressed, but still likeable.  It’s easy to understand why she feels she needs to control her life, especially in a city as chaotic as Bigtime.

Of course, things are about to spin out of control.  Ubervillian Hangman shows up at the art exhibit Bella coordinated for charity looking to steal the Star Sapphire donated by the richest man in town.  She manages to keep it out of his hands, but then she falls into the hands of art thief Debonair.  Debonair, who deserves his name – a playboy in tight blue black leather that does not look sexy (or so Bella tries to convince herself).

Things may heat up in his Lair of Seduction, but Bella remembers her parents’ tumultuous marriage all too well.  Often I find the psychological hang-ups authors burden characters with to be irksome and irrational.  Bella’s hang-up actually makes sense.  She grew up watching her mother plead with her father not to fight crime, cleaning his wounds one her mother passed away, and then attending his funeral after an ubervillain proved to be faster than his motorcycle.

In addition, I didn’t get frustrated because Debonair didn’t act like a jerk.  He bungled things a bit when he trapped Bella in his lair, but he lets her go.  He constantly gives her room to make her own choices and searches for a solution to their romantic dilemma.  He’s got a giant dash of sweet to go with the sexy.  Half the fun of Estep’s books is her strong characters and she hasn’t lost her touch.

All of the secondary characters shine in their moments.  I know the books are through a woman’s point-of-view, but I’ve wanted Swifte’s story since he first appeared in Karma Girl.  Each book he gets a little more flesh and it just makes me crave more.  Jinx also makes me want to see more of Joanne James, a character previously depicted in a less flattering light.  She becomes awesome in this book and not just because she’s seen through a friend’s eyes.  I to continue reading about her so that I know she gets the ending she deserves.

I would say unfortunately Estep’s next release is not going to be in the Bigtime series, but I would be lying.  The next release is the start of a new series about assassins.  I love books about assassins.  I love Estep’s writing.  I’m totally excited.  That doesn’t mean I don’t want the fourth Bigtime book too.  I’m greedy.

Grade: A

Click on the Bigtime series tag for more news and reviews.

Summary:

She never wanted to be a superhero. Too much danger. Too much spandex …Bella Bulluci’s big passion is the arts. Her big pain is being born into a family of superheroes. Of course, Bella might feel differently if her own superpower was one she could control – or at least get some use out of. Instead, her power is one of capricious luck – supercharged telekinesis. In other words, static electricity. Bella knows that’s not a power – just a jinx.

During a gala fundraiser for the local art museum, Bella comes upon two things no Bigtime supergirl should be without: an ubervillain of her very own who plans to steal a priceless gem; and a dashing – if slightly shady – stranger named Debonair. He may have a reputation as a notorious playboy, but the real sparks are going to come from Bella, who’s finally going to learn just how well love and danger can go together …
Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of Seduce Me At Sunrise (The Hathaways, Book 2) by Lisa Kleypas
Historical romance released by St. Martin’s 30 Sep 08

I love Kleypas’s historicals – some more than others, but they all have a place in my heart.  That’s not to say I don’t enjoy her contemps, but I really love her historicals.  In fact, I found SM@S to be one of her best historicals to date.  There is a richness and believability to her characters, dialog, and settings in SM@S that isn’t always so strong in Kleypas’s books. 

At the beginning of the book, Win Hathaway is an invalid as a result of a brush with scarlet fever.  She comes back from a health spa, besotted doctor in tow, a changed woman.  Her spirit as an invalid was strong – but her body wasn’t.  She returns with a stronger body and the same strong spirit.  She returns with her love of Merripen intact and all but consuming her.  I really enjoyed Win’s character.  The scene near the end with the armoire is classic.  I won’t spoil anything, but it says it all about Win – she’s kind and gentle, but perfectly willing to be ruthless to protect those she loves.

Kev Merripen is sure he isn’t good enough for Win, but he loves her with such a bone-deep passion and commitment that he knows there will never be another woman for him except Win.  His personal torment as he comes to terms with that love, and finally capitulates to it, is a very satisfying part of the story.  Kev is one of my favorite, if not the favorite, Kleypas Hero to date.  His torment is very personal to him – he doesn’t whine or bemoan or complain.  He just suffers quietly.  Those who love him – and all of the Hathaways love him like a brother – eventually see the torment and try to help him and Win come together.  However, it takes an earth-shaking confrontation with Win’s brother to make Kev see what a fool he has been about his feelings for Win.  THAT scene is classic – I loved how it ended with Win’s brother wanting a head start.

This is a very satisfying love story.  As is the case with many of Kleypas’s works, I didn’t find myself distracted from the romance by the setting or the time period.  It could be set in any time period and still be a terrific story.  The emotion is believable and warm.  The story is well-told and nicely paced.  The sub-arcs and character histories revealed here and there are all interesting and really lend strength to the bond between not just the hero and heroine, but all of the main characters.  It can be read easily on its own, but you’ll get more out of it if you read book 1, Mine ‘Til Midnight, first.

Brava, Lisa Kleypas, on another wonderful book.  And hurry with book 3!  I need it!

I highly recommend this to fans of historical and non-historical romance.  Fans of Lisa Kleypas should be in raptures with SM@S.  Now, if only I can find my own Kev Merripen…

Grade: A

Summary:

Kev Merripen has longed for the beautiful, well-bred Winnifred Hathaway ever since her family rescued him from the brink of death when he was just a boy. But this handsome Gypsy is a man of mysterious origins—and he fears that the darkness of his past could crush delicate, luminous Win. So Kev refuses to submit to temptation…and before long Win is torn from him by a devastating twist of fate.

Then, Win returns to England…only to find that Kev has hardened into a man who will deny love at all costs. Meantime, an attractive, seductive suitor has set his sights on Win. It’s now or never for Kev to make his move. But first, he must confront a dangerous secret about his destiny—or risk losing the only woman he has lived for…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Sandy M’s review of Bonded by Anne Wesley Hardin
Contemporary Erotic Romance eBook released by Red Sage Sept 2008

Well, I finished this book a couple of days ago and still have no idea what to say about it.  I almost didn’t finish the darned thing, but then decided I should give it a chance, you never know, maybe it will get better.  Maybe it’s one of those tongue-in-cheek things that starts out so silly you roll your eyes with every word.  I’m now sorry I gave it a chance.

Three friends are taking a weekend at the “Castle” where they can live out their fantasies, a place where actors will don whatever persona is necessary to give the women what they want, sexual or otherwise.  Okay, I can live with that.  But once two of the women are settled with their fantasy men and the third is taking the night easy with a book in her room because her hero called in sick, the book goes downhill at a very rapid pace.

Sela tells herself she doesn’t need a man. She has Charlie.  Her vibrator.  And she proceeds to use “him” with gusto.  This was the one of the silliest scenes in the book, especially when the owner of the place, who has decided to take Sela down a peg or two for her nervous but disparaging comments about the “Class A joint” on arrival, walks in on her during her rendezvous with Charlie — and her reason for naming the thing is ridiculous.

The scene and dialogue that follow are some of the same silliness, and not a bit of it was sexy or romantic in any sense of the word.  The words the author chose to use in the sex scenes and the way she worded those scenes just didn’t work at all.  Made it all sound like a medical convention than down-and-dirty sex with a stranger.  But the word usage continues throughout the book, words that just bring the wrong picture to mind no matter the situation.

Daniel Bond is the owner who takes exception to Sela’s remarks about his business and decides to “handle” her himself.  Although the Castle is a place where sex is not necessarily a part of the fantasy being lived, we, of course, know it can happen and these two go at it fairly quickly.  Dan slips into three different hero personas during the weekend, one of which is himself, the one that Sela doesn’t care for because of all she’s heard about him.  He wants her to want him for himself and not “Jorge” or “Randolph,” though she had fun with those “men” during their time together.

He’s determined to keep seeing her after she goes home, but she’s learned the truth and decides to exact her revenge by putting together a cheesy ad campaign for his business ventures.  She’s supposedly an intelligent woman, makes loads of money at her job, but she uses the workplace for an act of revenge?  Just doesn’t cut it for me.  The man didn’t do anything to her that would cost her personally or financially, but she decides to humiliate him in the boardroom.  Doesn’t make one bit of sense.

Even the supposed witty banter and snappy comebacks between the characters were sappy and irritating.  The only place in the book that any sentimentality at all was when Sela explained to Daniel how her husband perished in the September 11th attacks.  By this time, though, I was so disappointed that not even something as sad and heartfelt as that should have been could save anything about this book.  Even Sela’s friends keep the truth of Daniel’s identity from her until she figures it out for herself. Some friends.

This book just left me flat and cold.  The characters aren’t people I’d like to know.   The storyline has been done before and we aren’t given anything new or different to keep it interesting.

Grade: F

Summary:

W hen Sela Wilson requested a gothic hero during Fantasy Weekend at a luxury hotel, she didn’t expect to be stuck with the worst actor ever. Daniel Bond, womanizing, billionaire hotelier, didn’t expect to have to go under cover to play the part, nor did he expect Sela to ditch him for a dildo. But soon, his offer to fulfill all her sexual fantasies has him peeking out from under his mask, and finding that only Sela can coax out the real man he is inside.

Read an excerpt.

Holly‘s review of On the Move (A Harlequin NASCAR Book) by Pamela Britton
Contemporary Romance released by HQN 1 Sept 2008

I started reading the Harlequin NASCAR books a couple of years ago. I know Sybil will tell you it’s because I’m a redneck, but the truth is, I’m not a fan of NASCAR in real life. I’ve been to the sprint car races a couple times (mostly in high school) but that’s the extent of it. I generally find the action to be a good backdrop in these novels, though. Not enough that I’m now going to start following NASCAR, but still…

I really loved Vicki in the beginning of this book. She didn’t let Brandon get away with acting like a jerk or flirting with her just to get his way. She stood up to him and told him exactly how things were – not only with her agency, but also with her personally. I was really excited to see a heroine who didn’t act like she was better than any man, but who was strong enough to stand up for herself. She didn’t delude herself into thinking she was a Perfect Ten model, but she also didn’t sell herself short.

Brandon? Well, Brandon I never really liked. In the beginning he acted like a spoiled child. He was mean and hurtful just to be mean and hurtful, but worse, he was immature and acted out like some angst-filled teenager. I think the author wanted us to be sympathetic to him because of issues he had with his father, and also because he was illiterate. Sadly, it didn’t work. Rather than coming off as a character I wanted to empathize with, I kept thinking, “Seriously? You’re an adult?”

I kept reading because Vicki was a great heroine and I really enjoyed watching her stand up for herself and keep Brandon in line and because Brandon showed brief flashes of kindness and decency. But then, about 3/4 of the way through, Vicki turned stupid, too. She became jealous and shrewish and started demanding ridiculous things from Brandon. For the first time in the entire book, I was totally sympathetic to Brandon. It was sad, seeing that strong woman reduced to teenage antics.

Honestly, I can’t find much to recommend this book. I kept waiting for the turning point, where everything would come together and both characters would realize they were acting like morons, but sadly it never came. Brandon did show some emotional growth when it came to relationships with people other than Vicki (his road crew, the owner of his car, etc), but any progress he made was overshadowed by the petulant way he acted around Vicki. Vicki was great in the beginning, but she totally lost me when she saw Brandon shooting a commercial with some hot country singer and demanded he marry her. When she stormed off in a huff and then sat crying by the phone while waiting for him to call, it was just the icing on the cake.

Grade: D

Summary:

Vicki Bradford might work for the most ruthless sports agent in the business, but she’s no quitter, even when she hits the lowest of career lows—acting as a glorified babysitter to NASCAR’s disruptive newcomer, Brandon Burke. But his devilish grin and the gleam in his eye tell her he won’t be so easy to tame.…Brandon isn’t about to let his wild ways on and off the track be tempered by a buttoned-up stunner hired to make him behave. And he’s not above a little pulse-pounding game of seduction to send her running. But one kiss ignites something powerful between them. And now it’s a matter of how to avoid the crash and burn of two opposites steering recklessly toward love.

Read an excerpt.

Gwen’s review of The Rogue Hunter (Argeneau Vampires Book 10 or Rogue Hunters Book 1) by Lynsay Sands
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Avon 30 Sep 08

This is the first book of a new vampire series by Sands and is connected to her Argeneau Vampires books, but will apparently be a unique series.  I have never cared for the Argeneau books, to be honest, so I was hoping that a fresh series would lend a fresh voice to what I found to be good, but oh-so-deliberately paced writing.  However, after reading this first book, I’m not sure if I’ll be reading the next.

Unfortunately, I found that the same bones I have to pick with the Argeneau’s exist with the Rogue Hunters. I’m not saying that Sands’s writing isn’t good – it’s quite good if very deliberate.  Reading it is a bit like walking with a great aunt who believes that a nice, long walk after dinner is the key to her long life. You always see her at the same time, same place, in the same sweater.  You see her every day, same time, same place, walking with the same old friends.  This deliberateness is probably comforting to Sands’s fans, but I prefer more dynamic environments.  Again, not saying it’s bad – just not my bag.

Because of this seemingly strict adherence to Sands’s “model,” I didn’t care for The Rogue Hunter.  It was readable but I didn’t connect with the characters. I felt like the women weren’t developed enough – not enough angst or conflict was expressed when describing them almost as if they’re an archetype the reader should already know about.  I also felt like the men in the book were also similarly underdeveloped, particularly the hero.  Again, perhaps it’s a case of the reader should know what these characters are about before we pick up the book.

The Rogue Hunter is also heavy on interaction between the hero and heroine.  I don’t necessarily mean heavy on development of the relationship, but heavy on interaction.  Despite the heavy interaction, I didn’t feel like there was a very believable development of the hero and heroine’s romance.  And, considering why I’m reading the book (romance, HEA, and all that), kind of left me cold.

There was also a surprising lack of action – either the suspense/mystery or the secks kind.  The story kept promising on both fronts and but never quite delivers.  What results from this lack is a plot that meanders a bit and never really takes off.  Picture your great aunt walking around in circles for a while in the middle of the aforementioned walk.

To me, the book’s climax was a serious let down.  There was lots of set-up and plotting but no real villain, no real action.  All in all, this was a very anemic (heh) vampire tale, and just not my cuppa tea.

I can only recommend this book to fans of Sands’s Argeneau series.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Samantha Willan is a workaholic lawyer. She’s grateful for some rest and relaxation in cottage country, and after a recent breakup she wants to stay as far away from romance as possible. Then she meets her irresistible new neighbor. There’s something strange and mysterious about his eyes. Is it just her imagination, or are they locked on her neck?

Garrett Mortimer is a rogue hunter. His last assignment united Lucian Argeneau with his lifemate, and Mortimer is hoping this one will be less . . . adventurous. He’s here to track down a reported rogue, but fun in the sun is every bloodsucker’s nightmare. Worse, he can’t seem to get his mind off Samantha, especially when he spies her skinny-dipping in the lake. After eight hundred years as a bachelor, is he ready to turn a volatile attraction into a lasting love affair?

Read an excerpt (scroll down).

Gwen’s review of King of Sword and Sky (Tairen Soul Series, Book 3) by C.L. Wilson
Fantasy (romance) released by Leisure Books 30 Sep 08

Well, damn.  You know that feeling when you’ve read a book that just blows you completely away, and you don’t want to read another one for a little while so you don’t ruin the buzz?  Well I had that feeling for about a week after I read this book.  I. Was. THAT. Blown. Away. 

I don’t gush often.  Very few books (or movies or anything really) strike me as worthy of a gush.  But let me gush for a little bit on this book.  The first two books were good, but this one was GREAT. With the first two, I bemoaned the lack of forward momentum.  It seemed like we were reading about every little detail of these peoples’ lives for a LOT of pages (they’ve all been long books).  This book definitely didn’t lack forward momentum.  In fact, I couldn’t put it down for almost two days straight.  The tot wanted to know what I was reading that had me breathless, I was that engrossed.

I won’t give any spoilers except to say that in the beginning of the book we are still waiting for Ellysetta to complete the soul bond with Rain.  This bond will make Rain and Elly strong and nearly impervious to the dark influences in both their lives.  This inability to complete the bond lent a heartbreaking note to this couple’s relationship.  It kept me grounded in what little bit of reality was possible with a series set in an alternate world full of magic and supernatural beings.

Elly matures and evolves in King.  Her character begins as the rather small, former mortal and, by the end of the book, becomes so much more.  I am sincerely in awe of how she grows thru the book.  I can’t wait to see what she does in the fourth entry.  It should just blow our socks off.

There are many twists and turns in King.  I never quite knew how sub-arcs were going to turn out.  I love it when an author is able to surprise me.  I love it even more when I want to read ahead but I don’t dare because I might miss something.  My eyes were literally glued to the page, one after another, consuming this book in large chunks.

If you aren’t following this series, I don’t recommend starting with this one.  The story is involved, full of detail past and present, and because it’s so much fun to read, why would you NOT read the earlier books.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy – it’s a terrific fantasy novel, even without the romantic elements, which are present but in a perfectly delightful way, are not the key driver of the book.  It’s a fresh, new twist of these genres.  I loved it.

Grade: A+

Read all the TGTBTU reviews and info of this series by following the Tairen Soul Series tag.

Summary:

Returning to the Fading Lands with his Celierian truemate, Rain discovers a dissension among the most powerful members of his own council. As the Eld plot their next deadly strike, Ellysetta struggles to master her powerful magic and discover how to save the tairen, while Rain confronts open challenge to his rule and prepares to lead the Fey army to war.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Devon’s Review of Kristen’s Addiction by Evangeline Anderson
Contemporary Paranormal Erotic Romance eBook short story released by Ellora’s Cave 12 Sep 08

This one has a definite “bamp-chicka-wow-wow” factor. I freely admit that I wanted to read Kristen’s Addiction because of my prurient interest in the whole “girl doctor meets blue-collar mechanic vampire” thing. It sounds like a porno plot, no? But this was a fun story , and one in which the romance worked, despite some groan-worthy moments. And at only 96 pages (in PDF), it was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

Our narrator and heroine, Kristen, is a hardworking pediatrician, who is attacked by a vampire after dropping off her car at the mechanic. When a vampire drinks from a human, he apparently leaves behind venom. The victim becomes addicted to the venom, and can’t go without it very long. Good girl Kristen finds herself getting sucked on by any willing vampire in order to keep herself under control. One night she arrives for an assignation, and the vampire who answers the door is her sexy and mysterious mechanic, Joe. He agrees to help her with her addiction, but can there be more than a fluid exchange between them?

The story is told from Kristen’s POV, and at first I found it very awkward. It was talky and too “I, I, I” (like one of my reviews, perhaps). However, as the story went on this became less noticeable. Joe is a well-developed character in his own right, and quite likeable. I did think that his blue collar guy way of talking was a bit overdone: lots of “baby”, “damn”, “shouldn’ta”, “oughta”, and dropped “g”s (i.e. tellin’, thinkin’). A nice little romance developed between them.

While some of the sex scenes were hot, there was some erotic romance silliness. Joe’s member is described as being as thick as Kristen’s wrist, which had me glancing at my own wrist for quite a while afterwards. I have pretty small wrists, and still…yikes. When they are searching for the rogue who bit Kristen, the duo goes undercover as Master and Servant at a D/s club. Of course. I guess vampires don’t hang out at Starbucks. Naturally, this leads to public sex and spanking. This also leads to a squicky moment wherein the reader discovers that the well-hung Joe can ejaculate like no one’s business, because Kristen is just chock full o’ sperm. Go take a shower, Kristen. Plus the cure for the vampire venom addiction requires anal sex. M/M no less. Of course. Again.

The sexual shenanigans had me smirking at times, but I enjoyed this story overall. Kristen thinks that Joe only wants her for blood and sex, while Joe fears that Kristen’s only with him for a venom fix. Plus, they acutely feel the disparity in their lifestyles. There was good chemistry between them and I wanted them to get their HEA.

If you are in the mood for a fix of campy, vampy erotic romance, this is a good one to try.

Grade: B-

The Summary:

Dr. Kristen Johansen is a respected pediatrician. With her sexy plus-sized figure and long blonde hair you’d think she’d have a man. But her demanding career has put her love life on hold, until she’s attacked late one night and becomes an addict — of vampire venom.

Now she has no choice but to go out after sundown, offering herself to anyone with fangs who wants a late-night snack. Which is how she runs into Joe, the last person she would have suspected of being a vampire. Blue-collar and hard-core, Joe works as a mechanic and hides his intellect behind his skill with a socket wrench. But what he really longs for is an extra-curvy woman with appetites to match his own.

After an explosive sexual encounter, Joe offers Kristen the chance at a cure. But as they work together to find the rogue vampire who attacked her, Kristen begins to wonder if her addiction is turning into love. And whether regaining her old life is worth losing the only man she has ever cared for.

Read an excerpt

Sandy M’s review of Immortals: The Crossing (Immortals, Book 6) by Joy Nash
Contemporary Paranormal Romance released by Love Spell 30 Sep 08

This is the first book in the series that really doesn’t have anything to do with the immortal brothers we’ve come to know throughout the last five books.  I didn’t know what to expect, I really liked those immortal, muscle-bound gods.  I wasn’t sure I was ready to give them up.  But I’m very pleasantly surprised with this story and its characters.

We’ve dealt with Mac Lir a number of times during the series and I’m glad the author found a way to “mature” him for his own book.  I just couldn’t imagine a hero that looks like a 12-year-old.  We learn, though, that Mac ended up with the taint of death magic in his soul, as did the other immortals, when they saved Tain from his insanity and the Old One who’d kept him imprisoned for 700 years in The Redeeming.  It’s this sliver of death magic that brings on a few changes in Mac, one being a more mature look as the book opens and he meets Artemis, a witch that is able to ply both life and death magic, something not many are able to accomplish.

Artemis has been stealing the life essence of the faery in villages through the Scottish Highlands, and Mac, being the protector of all things magic, is on tour and not around when Artemis’ last “attack” takes a toll on faery children.  Angry at himself for failing in his responsibilities, Mac is determined to find the culprit and bring them before the council where most lawbreakers are put to death.  He doesn’t count on the pull he feels toward Artemis, something that feels right to him and that’s missing from his life.

Wanting more from her before he knows what she’s up to, he gives her the one thing she may not want, the one thing he wants more than anything else, and when their fight to the death comes, Mac knows he’d do whatever it takes to make sure Artemis comes through it alive, even at the cost of his own soul.

Being a former law enforcement officer who used her abilities for the good, Artemis left her policing days behind her when she discovered her superiors wanted her to use her power for their own devices.  Not contemplating any trouble in everyday life as a regular citizen, she lets her guard down and now she’s racing against time to save her son’s soul from another Old One, but she finds herself being stymied by a handsome and powerful demigod.

Knowing Mac can’t help her when she gets to Hell — his life magic is useless there — she refuses to share her story with him, determined to do it all on her own, ready to face anything as long as her son is allowed to live. They both end up in Hell, however, fighting demons at every turn, betrayal behind every door, and love with every look and touch.  Trust is Artemis’ one downfall, but when push comes to shove and it looks like neither one of them may leave Satan’s realm alive, she has to put her faith in Mac, even after all she’s done to him, and that’s one of the hardest things she’s ever done, all the while doubting she can really do it.

The fun part of this book is once Mac and Artemis descend into Hell.  It reads like a dream, one of those dreams that is really bizarre, you wonder what it all means and it’s as nonsensical as can be.  As they go through each layer of Hell, it’s that dreamlike weirdness that’s represented on each level, and they must figure out how to get past all strange things they find to move on to the next level.  Mac uses more and more of that death magic that is now consuming his soul, but he’s more than happy to give in to it to keep Artemis alive.  Despite the evil around them, they still cling to the good and the light in each other and in their love, but they still have to get through the deepest part of that hellpit, Satan’s level.  And it’s not what you expect.

At first I was a little disappointed the series was inching away from the immortal brothers, but I have to say this is a step in the right direction to keep it interesting.  Kalen is the only brother we see here and that’s in very few scenes.  But there’s enough going on in his book that I missed them only a little bit.  Mac comes into his own and ends up being a terrific hero.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Celtic demigod Manannán mac Lir (Mac) is hot on the trail of Artemis Black, a stunningly dangerous witch who is inexplicably able to intertwine life magic with death magic. Her rare talent nearly killed a faerie infant under Mac’s protection. For the safety of his people, he should punish her severely for this crime.

But once Mac runs Artemis to ground, he finds he just can’t handle the sexy, infuriating witch. Artemis is both vulnerable and cunning, and it’s not often that Mac meets a female who can tug at his heartstrings and challenge his magic. Each time Mac thinks he’s got Artemis cornered, she slips from his grasp. Soon, he’s obsessed.

Artemis is desperate. So desperate, she’s been skimming life essence from faeries, despite the inherent danger, intending to barter the stolen magic for the assistance of a ruthless demon. When her spell races out of control, nearly killing a faerie young one, Artemis calls the spell back. But not quickly enough to escape the notice of one very angry, very sexy Celtic demigod.

Passions run high between Artemis and Mac—and so does suspicion. What human would refuse the help of a demigod? Mac’s sure Artemis is hiding something he’s not going to like. It’s clear she’s in trouble, and dealing in dangerous magic. He won’t let her destroy herself. He’s going to stick tight by her side until he uncovers the truth.

Even when she leads him straight into Hell.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: