Liviania’s review of Tempted All Night by Liz Carlyle
Historical romance released by Pocket 17 Feb 09

Once you’ve read three or more books by the same author, you’ve made some decisions about what that author’s books are like.  Character or plot driven, good or bad at weaving an action plot with the romance, better at beginnings or endings, etc.  After reading Liz Carlyle’s Never trilogy, I’d decided that she wrote frothy, light historicals that were better when focused on the romance.  After reading Tempted All Night, I was stuck thinking, “Damn, Liz.  You sure fooled me.”

I feel in love with this book the moment I finished the prologue.  Lady Phaedra Northampton is alone and dressed as a servant in a bad part of London when scandalous ne’er-do-well Tristan Talbot notices her.  Despite his slight inebriation, he escorts her home, getting her safely out of the dangerous situation she got herself into, and keeping his hands to himself despite his attraction.  He’s honorable and sexy and won my regard quicker than any other romantic hero I can remember.

But you are of course wondering why I was so surprised by Tempted All Night.  Perhaps it’s the fact the heroine is not a virgin.  Perhaps it is the search for a missing mother that is as compelling as the romance.  (And the romance is hot.)  Perhaps it is the S&M brothel.  You heard me right, S&M brothel.  The instant my fellow historical romance loving friend came over, I shoved this book into her hands.  I felt like I’d gotten rid of my shame of romance covers, doing it in front of two guys.  They instantly demanded she read some of it, and she promptly opened the book to an S&M brothel scene, making me wish I had been subtle about handing her the book.  But I digress.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot, as it’s fun to uncover Phaedra’s secrets as you read.  She’s a fabulous heroine.  She’s prim and proper in public, especially compared to her friend Zoë Anderson.  But when society isn’t looking she feels quite free to be improper and get things done.  She’s a good match for Tristan, who has been acting out to spite his father Lord Hauxton, who is in the foreign office.  But now that he’s on his deathbed, Tristan is secretly taking over his job.  They appear to be opposites but act with similar attentions.

I think fans of Carlyle’s other works will love this one.  It has her wit and style, but it’s still surprising.  She’s not treading water but trying something new, and it pays off in spades.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Tempted All Night shows up in my Best Books of 2009.  To me, it has a perfect combination of hero, heroine, and plot.  I hope this one wins Carlyle some new fans, since it will also appeal to those who don’t like their historicals frothy.  (As for my friend who borrowed it . . . well, she liked it too.)

Grade: A+

Summary:
Even the most careful lady can be swayed by a scoundrel . . .

Lady Phaedra Northampton is a proper English miss—but burdened by a dark secret. She’s buried her shame in running her wealthy brother, Lord Nash’s, households while hiding behind a sharp wit and dull wardrobe . . . until a reckless village maid’s disappearance pulls her into London’s seedy underworld.

A former mercenary and jaded spy-for-hire, Tristan Talbot, Lord Avoncliffe, now does little, and manages to do it scandalously. Though Tristan’s an out and out rogue, when his dying father begs him to delve into the secrets behind a notorious brothel—a perfect task for his talents!—Tristan can’t refuse. Is the brothel a front for a notorious Russian spy ring? Tristan is on the hunt—until his path collides with the oh-so-tempting Lady Phae.

Soon what should be a simple assignment becomes deliciously complicated . . . when deception and desire lead to an explosive passion—and deadly foes!
Read an excerpt here.

Liviania’s review of Amazon Ink by Lori Devoti
Urban fantasy released by Pocket 26 May 09

I discovered Lori Devoti through this site, and instantly snatched up her trilogy about hellhounds.  I enjoyed all three, which definitely made me want to read Amazon Ink.  I also liked that it was about a tattoo artist, since I have a fondness for the culture.  (No, I have no tattoos of my own.  I’m too young.) Unfortunately, we don’t get much tattooing with in the book.  We do get Mel’s sexist attitude, which she works to overcome.

Mel is an Amazon.  After reading the book, I’m still not entirely sure what that entails.  It’s a race of women who can breed with humans, and specialize in weapons, artistry, hearth skills, or priestess skills.  Years ago, Mel left the tribe, taking her daughter.  Her mother and grandmother followed her into exile.  Now she’s getting drawn back in, since someone has been killing young Amazons and leaving them on her doorstep.

I liked Mel.  There are clearly things wrong with the Amazon system, and Mel sees well enough to try to change things.  But she’s clearly a first generation progressive, constantly tangled up by her own prejudices.  (She won’t hire men.  Over a decade as a single mother and she can’t bake, since hearth skills are wimpy.)  Yet she works to be self-aware and tries to accept new attitudes.

There are two love interests, though things don’t go very far with either one.  Reynolds is the detective investigating the girls’ deaths.  He didn’t have enough screen time for me to really get a feel for him or become invested in his relationship with Mel.  It seemed more like a physical attraction.  Peter is the tattoo artist she hires, despite being a man.  He quickly becomes helpful and interacts not only with Mel, but her family as well.  Of course, their relationship is impaired by his sometimes lack of honesty.  Mel left the tribe because of people taking action behind her back, and the events of Amazon Ink do nothing to sooth her trust issues.

Amazon Ink really focuses on a society in flux.  There are girls who are influenced by Mel’s example.  Dana, whose specialty is the hearth, is one of them and one of my favorite characters in the story.  She doesn’t make the best moves but she has a good heart.  Others distrust her no matter what she does.  After all, Mel is fomenting rebellion among the younger generation based on her legend alone.  The mystery never fades to the background, but it’s pretty quickly solved based on very little of the character’s actual detective work.  The romance barely makes it to kissing.  I found it enjoyable and a nice change of pace.  Those picking it up for the standard urban fantasy formula might be less pleased.

This was a good introduction to Mel’s world, and I look forward to what Devoti will do in the next installment now that she’s built up the characters and society.  (I am just one opinion, but I vote that some more Mel/Peter action next time around will not go amiss.)

Grade: B-

Summary:
Meet Mel: Business owner. Dedicated mom. Natural-born Amazon.
It’s been ten years since Melanippe Saka left the Amazon tribe in order to create a normal life for her daughter, Harmony. True, running a tattoo parlor in Madison, Wisconsin, while living with your Amazon warrior mother and priestess grandmother is not everyone’s idea of normal, but Mel thinks she’s succeeded at blending in as human.

Turns out she’s wrong. Someone knows all about her, someone who’s targeting young Amazon girls, and no way is Mel going to let Harmony become tangled in this deadly web. With her mother love in overdrive, Ms. Melanippe Saka is quite a force…even when she’s facing a barrage of distractions — including a persistent detective whose interest in Mel goes beyond professional, a sexy tattoo artist with secrets of his own, and a seriously angry Amazon queen who views Mel as a prime suspect. To find answers, Mel will have to do the one thing she swore she’d never do: embrace her powers and admit that you can take the girl out of the tribe…but you can’t take the tribe out of the girl.

Excerpt available here.

Sandy M’s review of Ricochet by Sandra Brown
Romantic Suspense published by Simon & Schuster 15 Aug 06

Every time I pick up a book by Sandra Brown, I always ask myself why in the heck I waited so darned long to read her again. She keeps me riveted to the page, she keeps me guessing, she keeps me interested, and she keeps the story right where it should be, front and center on the main characters.

Deception is always the name of the game in a Sandra Brown novel. Deception among and between characters and deception for the reader. One thing seems to something but it’s usually something else. The hero, Duncan Hatcher, is being deceived left and right in this book, but he’s a cop and most of the time he can keep the bullshit separate from the truth. This time around, however, when it comes to Elise Laird, he’s so drawn to her that he wants to believe her, trust her, but all the evidence begins to pile up and it looks like she’s guilty of murder.

Twice. Duncan is a good man, an honorable man. He takes pride in his police work. When his recent perp is released by Judge Cato Laird, Duncan begins to question if he’s doing any good when it comes to getting criminals off the streets. Then he meets Mrs. Laird and even his morality, like the sanctity of marriage, begins to crumble.

If Duncan is straight up honest, Elise is as evasive and dishonest as you can get. He doesn’t believe a word she says when he and his partner investigate a shooting in her home, the smoking pistol in her hand. Everything looks and sounds above board as explained by the judge, but Duncan has that gut feeling that something’s not quite right. The more they dig, the more questions come to light until their case has grown into a very elaborate one covering a multitude of characters.

Elise is a very complicated character. You never know whether to trust her or not and you feel for Duncan, knowing he has feelings for her and there’s not a damned thing he can do about it. As we learn more and more of her story and the woman she truly is is revealed little by little, both you and Duncan are in loads of trouble. Every character in this book has multiple sides and you get to see every one of them.

The storyline itself has just as many sides, but you never get lost, you just keep hanging onto every word through all the twists and turns, ricocheting from one unbelievable event to another, until it’s finally time for you to find out exactly what the story is. Ms. Brown is one of the best at romantic suspense, keeping us riveted with hardly any effort at all.

I’ve made a promise to myself not to wait so long in between Sandra Brown books. And I’ll keep it if I know what’s good for me.

Grade: A+

Summary:
Homicide detective Duncan Hatcher is called to the home of a superior court judge to investigate a fatal shooting. Enter Elise Laird, the judge’s trophy wife, who’s awfully cool, calm and collected considering there’s a dead man on the floor of the study.

Elise’s account of the shooting is sketchy at best, and Duncan begins to suspect it’s a fabrication to protect herself from prosecution. His investigation into Elise’s murky past convinces him she’s a liar, a manipulator, and more than likely a killer.

And then she throws him for a loop.

Not knowing whom to believe, Duncan is ensnared in a murder case that tests his logic, his reliable gut instinct, and his unshakeable integrity. He trusts the word of no one except the ruthless crime lord who has pledged to eliminate him.

And he trusts least the woman he wants most.

Read an excerpt.

Looks like a lot of Simon & Schuster romance novels (and then some) have been pushed back. Thea Devine‘s next novels has been not only pushed but renamed.

In Too Deep is now Sex, Lies and Secret Lives – a title I like much better. And instead of coming out in Sept it will be out in December.

If you can’t wait that long you can catch her new novella in a July BLAZE! We should have a review for it soon…

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION… (anthology)
The Guy Diet novella

LoAnne here—

Let me tell you about what I did last summer.

I went on a Guy Diet.

I decided to voluntarily remove myself from the dating food chain. It was time for a deep cleansing fast. I went cold turkey and cold baths. Said good bye to super chunk hunks. Tossed out those tempting devil dogs.

You can guess what happened: all a guy had to do was say hello, and suddenly I was parsing possibilities. You know—type “n”—not in this lifetime. Type “m” —as in, maybe baby. Type “h” —as in, he can deal with my quirks.

Quirks—that’s a diet drink, right?

It just wasn’t fair. Guys don’t obsess. They don’t diet. They don’t care. They just lop off the dead weight and move on. But women?—we make lists—girlfriends, guy friends, gay friends, boy buddies, bed buddies, boy toys, and sex toys …

Diets are SO hard.

And then, there was Jed …

Also includes novellas by Debbi Rawlins and Samantha Hunter