Gwen’s review of The Warlord’s Daughter (The Borderlands, Book 2) by Susan Grant
Sci-fi romance released by HQN 1 Feb 09

I really love a good sci-fi romance.  The last couple of months I’ve been lucky enough to read a couple of really good ones.  This is definitely one of them, so much so I’m going to have to glom all of Grant’s backlist. And I admit, I have heretofore been unwise to underestimate Grant’s books simply based on the rather, well, “lighthearted” titles.  I mean, How to Lose An Extraterrestrial In 10 Days? Seriously?  My unwarranted prejudice is understandable, right?

This is another of Grant’s books set in the same world/universe as I think all of her other sci-fi’s, allowing her to expand on the details, history, and characters.  This gives these books a very “real” feel because of the impression of visiting someplace that has real substance.  I think this all adds to the reader’s  enjoyment because you can just cut loose the disbelief and dive into the story without fear.  There won’t be some little  detail will jerk you out of the story’s “zone”.

I love when that happens.

This is the first book of this world/series I have read. Regardless, I had no trouble following it and yet I didn’t feel like there was any info-dumping.  The details are woven into the story in a very natural manner.  As a result, Daughter stands alone very well, though I am definitely going to read the related books.

From what I gather, Daughter‘s hero and heroine are royal members of what has largely been, until this book, the bad guys – the Drakken Horde (I know, cool name, innit?).  When they were early adolescents, they met eyes across a crowded room and from then on, they thought of nobody else.  In fact, the hero connived, maneuvered, and basically sold his soul to make sure he was able to claim the heroine as his wife.  It’s tremendously romantic.

I very much enjoyed the “quest” aspect of the story.  We’re brought along with the heroine, Wren, as she makes some heartbreaking discoveries about herself and her family. I frequently got teary-eyed as she struggled with yet more devastating news. There’s quite a bit in this book about prophecy fulfilling and the goddess aspects of this society, but it’s all fun and adds to the story.

There’s so much happening in the plot that it’s tough to pick out just one detail that really sells it.  I suppose that’s why it all worked so well for me.  I really felt like I was reading about something that happened.  Even the secondary characters have a full and interesting life.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a departure from the normal fare.  While it is definitely a wonderful romance, it’s got so much more – it’s got intrigue, politics, human interest, and just a rocking good sci-fi story.  Go get it.  Now.  I’ll wait here for you to comment with your own kudos.

Grade: A

Summary:

The war is finally over. But Wren’s life is in tatters. The only living offspring of the notorious Drakken Warlord, her genes could very well start a new dynasty of terror. And the Coalition can’t have that.

She alone holds the key to finding a legendary treasure. Having seen enough bloodshed, shy, petite Wren vows to destroy it before anyone, Drakken, Coalition or Earth, can get their hands on it – but she’ll need help.

The Drakken’s ruthless evil turned Aral toward the Coalition years ago. War is all he knows, until he finds passion and love in the most unlikely of women – the Warlord’s Daughter. But will trusting each other with their secrets risk not only their hearts, but their lives?

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

and Sureblood (Book 3), scheduled for Aug 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marg

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

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

Disdaining Trouble by MaryJanice Davidson

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

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

Grade: C
No excerpt found.

The Nanny from Hell by Susan Grant

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

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

Grade: C+

Read an excerpt.

A Tawdry Affair by Gena Showalter

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

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

Grade: B
No excerpt found.

It’s in His Kiss by P.C. Cast

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

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

Grade: B
No excerpt found.

Overall Grade: B-

The Summary:

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

Devon’s review of Moonstruck by Susan Grant
SciFi/Futuristic Romance released by HQN 1 Jun 08

SciFi/Futuristic Romance tends to be hit or miss for me. And lately it’s been all miss. That’s why I was I was nicely surprised by Moonstruck, the first in Susan Grant’s new Borderlands series. It is sure to be enjoyed by readers who like a bit of Space Opera, and readers who like a kick ass heroine.

Moonstruck takes place just after the end of a very long war between the Coalition and the Drakken Horde. In order to promote peace, the newly established Triad government (Coalition/Horde/the Shrine of Earth) wants to put together a new flagship with a crew made up of the three groups. Coalition Admiral Brit Bandar is assigned to helm the ship, called the Unity. Unfortunately, her second in command is Finn Rorkken, a Drakken pirate turned military officer. Brit really, really hates the Drakken. She has spent half her life trying to exterminate them. Will she be able to work with them, particularly the charming and sexy Rorkken?

I enjoyed the world set up in this book and the motley crew aboard the Unity. The three different groups were very distinct. The Coalition are the “civilized” ones, reliant on reason and technology. The Drakken Horde are chaotic, violent, desperate to survive. They’re the most interesting. Earth, a recently rediscovered backwater planet, is represented by a knucklehead called Tango, whose idea of showing Earth culture to the others revolves around Rubik’s Cubes, Disco Balls, and the DVD of “The Devil Wears Prada”. Oh well, perhaps he’ll grow up a bit.

Brit and Finn had great chemistry. Brit was a very interesting heroine-a cold military leader, motivated by pure vengeance. She had the potential to be a shrill ballbreaker, but never fulfilled it (Thank goodness). She was able to be fair and listen to others, despite her overwhelming prejudice. Her inner struggle was palpable as she fought her attraction to Finn, and she had good reason to hate his people. I felt for her. Finn was a good foil for Brit, rough around the edges, intelligent, strong.

Finn wants his people to prove themselves to the Coalition, to show they aren’t barbarians. As he falls for Brit, he starts to smooth his rough Drakken edges to fit in (and appeal to her more). This made him less interesting to me, as his character arc seemed to revolve around pleasing Brit. Brit changed over the course of the book as well, but she still seemed the same at the core. It’s unusual to read a romance where the hero kind of fades next to the heroine, rather than the other way around. This didn’t bother me as much as it might, because Finn did start off really interesting, and I was very involved in their romance by the time he got boring.

The plot was interesting, and not hard to follow. Sometimes the technology and “space jargon” (as I call it) in this type of book come off a little ridiculous and nonsensical. You know, the random oaths and words (frikken, frakken, flooping). Here, things were consistent and I was able to understand everything in the context. I was pleased by the absence of random, meaningless apostrophes as well. There was a pretty big cast of characters, but I was able to keep them all in order. I am looking forward to more more of the Unity’s adventures, and I want Bolivarr and Hadley’s book now. Moonstruck is a fun read for those who enjoy love in space.

Grade: B+

The Summary:
PEACE IS FOR LITTLE GIRLS.

And Coalition starship admiral Brit Bandar is one tough woman. A mere intergalactic treaty could never get her to trust the Drakken Horde. There was too much bad blood between the Coalition and the Horde and, for intensely personal reasons, Brit wasn’t sure that she was through spilling it! But now a peaceful accord has made Finn Rorkken, a notorious Drakken rogue, second-in command on her starship – and through some grand cosmic irony – front and center in her thoughts…and her heart.

WARLEADER. PIRATE.

Either title sat easily on Finn’s battle-hardened shoulders. Though second-in-command to “Stone-Heart” Bandar? That would take some getting used to. Peace required as much sacrifice as war, so he’d comply even if his reaction to the gorgeous admiral fell decidedly outside protocol. But would he end up kissing or killing her if the galaxy’s tentative truce turned into all out war?
Read an excerpt here