Month: September 2012

Review: Druid, Mine by Kerry Adrienne

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook from author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: time-travel romance, erotic romance, novella
Series: All Mine #2, 1Night Stand
Length: 39 pages
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Purchasing Info:Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks

Anya’s wish for a normal date—away from the old man she is caretaker for—comes true in unexpected ways when she finds herself whisked to an ancient Irish stone circle on solstice eve.

Carrick’s decision to follow the path to become an Ovate druid has not come lightly, and he plans to spend the solstice eve in meditation unless fairies or evil spirits disrupt the circle. When a feisty girl walks right up to the fire, more than sparks fly.

They each seek healing and a connection, but the darkness of summer is short, and once the solstice sun breaks through the circle at dawn, the magic of the night will be over. Even Madame Eve can’t stop the day from rising.

The story of Druid, Mine sounds a lot like the one from the first book in Kerry Adrienne’s All Mine series. And it’s almost as much fun the second time around. But not quite.

Anya seeks out Madame Eve’s services because she just wants a normal date…and she doesn’t have any way of getting one when all of her time is taken up being caretaker to an old man. He’s not family, it’s a job. But she’s traded security for any chance at her own life. Why, we don’t know.

Carrick is a mystery. He the druid in this story, and he’s just about to take his vows as an Ovate. Vows that will cut him off from his own society, but will allow him to travel in time, something he does believe in.

There’s that sticky time thing again. We don’t know exactly when Carrick is in time, but he’s way closer Darius than to us, both in time and in location. Carrick is in what we will call Ireland, and maybe less than a century before Darius’ Rome in Senator, Mine. And he has even less idea what he’s in for than Darius did. But he is questioning whether he’s ready to take his vows.

Carrick is tending the fires the night before the Summer Solstice, just outside a standing stone circle. It’s the longest night. From his perspective, one of the fay asks him if he wants one last night with a woman, before he has to be celibate forever. He’s a man, of course he says yes.

Anya is dropped off on in the middle of his lonely vigil. She knows she contracted for a 1Night Stand. She did not expect Carrick, or time travel.

They each get one perfect, beautiful night. A glorious sunrise directly over the standing stones of the henge. And a choice that comes all too soon.

Escape Rating B-: The relationship between Anya and Carrick is sensuous and beautiful, but the problem is that as a love story, this just wasn’t complete for me. Senator, Mine may have needed less backstory because the Roman period is so familiar. The Celtic Druids are very mysterious, and not a lot is known. With such a short story, the problem is that not a lot is known about Carrick’s background or the choices he is facing. We know he’s unhappy, but why? What is driving him to this lonely life? Being ripped out of time is a desperate choice, even for love. I needed to know more to make this work as well as Senator, Mine, but I still had fun with the parts of the story that encapsulated their night by the henge.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

 

Review: Senator, Mine by Kerry Adrienne

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook from Author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Time travel romance, erotic romance, novella
Series: All Mine #1, 1Night Stand
Length: 40 pages
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Purchasing Info:Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks

Eleanor’s romantic tour of Italy shatters when her long-time boyfriend dumps her in Pompeii. Hoping an evening with a handsome Roman might save her trip, she contacts Madame Eve at 1Night Stand, then goes out to explore, buying a small golden signet in a mysterious antiquities shop near the Forum.

Darius, a hard-working Senator in Ancient Rome, is puzzled by the Sibyl’s words: You will not find love in your lifetime. Following her directions, he spots Eleanor, a barbarian wearing his stolen senator’s ring.

A night spent together may be just what they both need to break down the columns of time that stand between them.

Decadent Publishing’s 1Night Stand series books have a fairly simple premise. Two people, occasionally using a fairly loose definition of the word “people,” contract with a mysterious being known as Madame Eve, or some name close to that, for one night of sex with their perfect match. The parties always think it’s just for one night, but Madame Eve is a much better matchmaker than they realize. What they find, for those willing to take a chance, is a lifetime of happiness.

After all, if someone is your perfect match for one perfect night, why wouldn’t they be your perfect match for a lifetime?

But occasionally, Madame Eve faces a real challenge. When the Sibyl predicts that Senator Darius will not find love in his lifetime he believes he is condemned to live alone. Or live in a loveless, soulless marriage as so many of his fellow senators do in the Imperium of Rome.

Instead, the Sibyl tells him to meet with a mysterious Eve.

In the 21st century Eleanor has just purchased the Senatorial ring of Darius from an antiquities shop after contracting with Madame Eve. Eleanor, at least, thinks she knows what she’s getting into with her 1Night Stand, but she thinks it’s just a date. Or a date with benefits.

Eleanor was dumped by her chump of an ex at the beginning of her Roman Holiday. She’s discovered that she doesn’t miss the man, but she does miss the confidence he stole from her. So, a 1Night Stand it is.

But the Sibyl and the ring, with the help of Madame Eve (whoever or whatever she is) take   Eleanor and Darius outside of time, to a place where they can have their 1Night Stand, even though they should never have met. Ever.

They both want to live, for just one night. He wants to forget his responsibilities. She wants to forget her mistakes.

He thinks she’s a barbaraian. She’s sure he’s pretending to be from Ancient Rome, that his ignorance of computers and modern conveniences must be an act, part of the setup.

And they are more comfortable with each other than either of them have ever been with anyone of their own time and place.

But once they figure out the truth, can they find a way to be together, forever?

Escape Rating B+: This was delicious. Both Eleanor and Darius are well-developed characters, which is surprising but delightful for a story of this length. It helps a lot that Ancient Rome is a time and place that readers are familiar with, so it was easy to fill in the blanks (This is the I, Claudius period, give or take a bit)

While I wish this were longer, because I would have loved to explore more of the story at every point, it totally works. The reader understands the motivations for both hero and heroine entering into the 1Night Stand arrangement, and their exploration of each other is beautifully done, not just on the sexual side but also the emotional and cultural side as they figure out that they really are from different times and places, and that it doesn’t matter.

I really wish this was longer. I’d love to know how they worked things out when Darius got to the 21st century.

 

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

 

Review: Wicked As They Come by Delilah S. Dawson

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews
Format read: signed paperback purchased from the author at Dragon*Con
Formats available: Mass Market paperback, ebook
Genre: Paranormal romance, steampunk
Series: Blud #1
Length: 395 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books
Purchasing Info: Author Website, Publisher Website, Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository

Have you ever heard of a Bludman? They’re rather like you and me—only more fabulous, immortal, and mostly indestructible. (They’re also very good kissers.) Delilah S. Dawson’s darkly tempting debut drops her unsuspecting heroine into a strange faraway land for a romantic adventure that’s part paranormal, part steampunk . . . and completely irresistible.

When Tish Everett forces open the ruby locket she finds at an estate sale, she has no idea that a deliciously rakish Bludman has cast a spell just for her. She wakes up in a surreal world, where Criminy Stain, the dashing proprietor of a magical traveling circus, curiously awaits. At Criminy’s electric touch, Tish glimpses a tantalizing future, but she also foresees her ultimate doom. Before she can decide whether to risk her fate with the charming daredevil, the locket disappears, and with it, her only chance to return home. Tish and Criminy battle roaring sea monsters and thundering bludmares, vengeful ghosts and crooked Coppers in a treacherous race to recover the necklace from the evil Blud-hating Magistrate. But if they succeed, will Tish forsake her fanged suitor and return to her normal life, or will she take a chance on an unpredictable but dangerous destiny with the Bludman she’s coming to love?

Run away and join the circus–it’s almost a cliché for living a life of adventure. But what if that adventure were in another world, a world parallel to our own? That’s the choice facing Tish Everett in Delilah S. Dawson’s Wicked As They Come. But it’s not the only choice Tish faces. It’s not even the hardest choice.

Tish has escaped from a controlling relationship with not much more than the shirt on her back and the tattered remnants of her self-respect. But she also has a career as a nurse that she has put back together, a terminally-ill grandmother who is helping her get back on her feet, and a desire above all else to never, ever lop off bits of herself to fit into someone else’s dreams or desires.

Then she accidentally walks out of an estate sale with a Victorian locket hidden around her neck–and wakes up naked in the world of Sang, the world of the Blud.

She thinks it’s all a dream. Until one of the rabbits bites her ankle. This is no fluffy child’s tale, no cute Bunnicula. It sucks her blood. And it has lots of friends. After all, it’s still a rabbit.

The man watching her is a predator. He wants her to come with him, to trust him. His picture was in that locket. She thought he resembled a decadent Mr. Darcy. He still does, but so much more. This Mr. Darcy has fangs, like the bludbunny he just killed for her.

Criminy Stain claims to have made the locket for her. That he called her. But Tish is too damaged to be let herself be “claimed” by any man, not just now. Still, she needs protection in this place where everyone, and everything will drink her blood for a meal. Even the deer.

Tish can’t quite wrap her head around a place where even Bambi is a deadly predator.

Then she discovers that she herself is something different in Sang. She sees the future. When she touches someone, she gets a “glance” at what their future will bring…if they do not deviate from their path.

When Criminy takes her hand, she sees their future. Together. And she is not ready. Nor does she know if he wants the real her, or just a woman to fit into his own dreams, as her abusive ex did. But Tish still needs his protection.

Discovering just how much, and what she needs protecting from, is a revelation.

Sang is…just a half-step off from Tish’s reality. London is London. London is always London. But on the maps, Brussels is Bruzzles, and Russia is, well, Freesia (it is freezing, after all). And everything in Sang is either predator, or prey. Or Stranger.

Tish discovers that one of her coma patients is in Sang. Casper Sterling plays the harpsichord in Criminy Stain’s carnival, and he’s like Tish, a Stranger from the world she knows. But Tish knows he’s wasting away after a motorcycle accident. But not in Sang.

Tish is just asleep. Until Jonah Goodwill, the despotic, and creepily bigoted ruler of Sang Manchester, sends agents to steal Tish’s locket, trapping her in Sang. Tish can’t bear to be trapped. To have her choices taken away. She’s already been there and done that.

Criminy magicked that locket to bring his perfect match to Sang. He can only do everything possible to let her come to believe that. No matter what it costs him or how much it might hurt. Even if what he has to do is get her the means to walk away from him.

The magic was to find his perfect match. Not to bring him someone he could force into that role. But someone who was already that right person. Tish just doesn’t believe she could be right for anyone, even herself.

It takes Tish a long time, and a lot of pain, to realize that the carnival is all about freedom. And so is the bludman who is its master.

Escape Rating A-: Wicked As They Come was a book that had been teasing me since I first saw it. I knew I would succumb to temptation eventually, and when I finally did, the story was every bit as deliciously wicked as the cover promised.

It succeeds on multiple levels. The world Ms. Dawson creates is an amalgam of off-kilter Victoriana, outright steampunk and paranormal alternate universe magickal delight. Not only is Tish not sure this isn’t a dream, the reader occasionally isn’t either. A dream with teeth.

There’s a quest mixed into this love story, and it is both. Tish needs to find herself, and Criminy needs to prove, not that he’s worthy, but that he wants Tish for who she is, not for who he wants her to be. It’s a crucial difference that isn’t often dealt with in romance. Very nicely done.

The other theme is that every dream has a price. Criminy wants his soul mate. Tish wants to retain her freedom to choose. The price of both of those desires is high, and Tish will eventually have to make a final choice. Freedom is never free.

Speaking of freedom, the world of Sang is not free. There is a villain in the piece, Jonah Goodwill. While the picture of Sang is clearly drawn and compellingly beautiful, although it takes a while to fill in, Jonah’s motivations are a little less clear. He comes across as a charismatic bigot with a devout and murderous following. But how did he get such incredible power? Defeating him was absolutely necessary, and made for a hair-raising climax on both sides of the story, but he felt a bit like a cardboard cutout.

I want to go back to Sang right now. The next book, Wicked As She Wants, is much, much too far away. Good thing there’s an enovella, The Mysterious Madam Morpho, coming next month to tide me over.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews
Formats available: Hardcover, ebook
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Series: Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #12
Length: 288 Pages
Publisher: Bantam
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher, Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository

Laurie R. King’s New York Times bestselling novels of suspense featuring Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, comprise one of today’s most acclaimed mystery series. Now, in their newest and most thrilling adventure, the couple is separated by a shocking circumstance in a perilous part of the world, each racing against time to prevent an explosive catastrophe that could clothe them both in shrouds.

In a strange room in Morocco, Mary Russell is trying to solve a pressing mystery: Who am I? She has awakened with shadows in her mind, blood on her hands, and soldiers pounding on the door. Out in the hivelike streets, she discovers herself strangely adept in the skills of the underworld, escaping through alleys and rooftops, picking pockets and locks. She is clothed like a man, and armed only with her wits and a scrap of paper containing a mysterious Arabic phrase. Overhead, warplanes pass ominously north.

Meanwhile, Holmes is pulled by two old friends and a distant relation into the growing war between France, Spain, and the Rif Revolt led by Emir Abd el-Krim—who may be a Robin Hood or a power mad tribesman. The shadows of war are drawing over the ancient city of Fez, and Holmes badly wants the wisdom and courage of his wife, whom he’s learned, to his horror, has gone missing. As Holmes searches for her, and Russell searches for herself, each tries to crack deadly parallel puzzles before it’s too late for them, for Africa, and for the peace of Europe.

With the dazzling mix of period detail and contemporary pace that is her hallmark, Laurie R. King continues the stunningly suspenseful series that Lee Child called “the most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today.”

So many shadows. The story begins in the shadows of Russell’s memory…she has been struck on the head and has forgotten who she is. All she knows is that she has enemies after her. If only her life were that simple. But it never is.

If it were, she would not be Mary Russell, and she would not be the partner and wife of the world’s first consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. And, most importantly, her life would not interest us.

The shadows of the title are in this case a metaphor. There are many shadows. Russell’s memory clears up. Eventually.

But the year is 1925, and the place is Morocco. North Africa during the shadow war between the great powers, in that uneasy temporary cessation of hostilities between World Wars One and Two.

Russell came to Morocco at the behest of Inspector Lestrade to investigate a film company, but mostly because she is waging her own private little war with Brother Mycroft. This would not be conducive to good family relations under normal circumstances, but Mycroft Holmes has occasionally been, at times, the British government. At least the secret parts of it.

In Morocco, Russell and Holmes meet old friends from their travels in Palestine. The only problem is that they are not sure whether Ali and Mahmoud Hazr are there to plan an assassination, or to stop one.

And which would best serve the interests of the people of Morocco, the people of England, and the interest of Mycroft Holmes?

Russell, for one, is very, very tired of worrying about the puppet-master in the shadows, manipulating her life, and the lives of those around her, thinking he knows what’s best for everyone. What if he’s wrong?

Escape Rating A-: What sticks in the mind at the end of this tale are two facets. One was the way that the story slid into historical events. This could have happened and would have left this little trace in history. This is just cool.

Then there’s the question that comes up so often, “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”  But when the decision is between this many over here and that many over there, the side with the bigger and better guns generally wins. “Might makes right” in other words.

But might isn’t always right. The way that the Hazr brothers questioned the British treatment of the Moroccan people is intended as reminiscent of T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) with good reason. What may have looked reasonable from London was undoubtedly balderdash from a closer perspective. Think of the U.S. Revolution for an example that may be more familiar.

Starting the story with Russell in a mental fog made for somewhat of a slow start. She normally has a very clear and direct narrative voice; even when she doesn’t know where she’s going, she knows what she’s doing while she’s getting there. The story took a while to gather itself together as Russell reassembled herself. Once she remembered who and what she was, and the plan pulled together, the story took off!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Holidays> Seasons

Today is Labor Day in the United States. A curious day when everyone “celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers” mostly by having a 3-day weekend.

It’s the unofficial end of the summer. I say unofficial, because the climatological end of summer is on the Fall equinox, usually around the Sept. 21 or 22. But no one cares. In the States, Labor Day is the date that counts, because it’s the one with the 3-day holiday weekend.

Besides, Labor Day is the start of the official U.S. Football season, and the pre-season really, truly doesn’t count.

So this beautiful field of summer flowers is probably gone for the summer.

Instead, we’re on our way to a scene more like this hayfield, maybe minus the hay, but you get the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

I keep thinking of fall in Anchorage. The Alaskan term is “termination dust”. It’s the first snow that falls on the Chugach Mountains surrounding the Anchorage bowl. And, you guessed it, termination dust marks the termination, or end, or summer. It usually falls around Labor Day, give or take.

Summers in Anchorage are brief but spectacular. I miss them. The winters there, not so much. But this picture (like all the pictures in this post, from wikimedia commons) captures it perfectly. Termination dust has fallen. Summer is over.

Time to curl up with a good book.

 

The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand? 9-2-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

This Sunday’s version of the Sunday post takes place at Dragon*Con, so today’s motto is: “Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup”.   I’ve probably picked up some signed copies of too many books in the Hucksters’ Room by now. And added way too many t-shirts to my t-shirt collection. (I’ve got to weed some of the ones I really can’t wear…one of these centuries)

And as happy as I am to be at Dragon*Con, there a part of me that’s sad not to be at WorldCon this weekend in Chicago. We would have managed, somehow, if it hadn’t required a TARDIS. <sniff>

This is Labor Day weekend here in the States. The last three-day holiday weekend that a lot of people get until Thanksgiving.  That’s what makes it the end of summer.

Before we forge ahead to Fall, or even to the upcoming week, there’s one big giveaway from last week that you still have plenty of time to get in on.

If you love small-town romance, take a look at Susan Wigg’s Return to Willow Lake. I reviewed it on Thursday (I’m afraid I waxed really eloquent), and Susan is offering a giveaway of one print copy of the book. So if you like her work, here’s a great chance for a free book. (US only this time, sorry.)

Coming up this week, I’ve got one review/interview combo this Thursday, too. Kerry Adrienne will be here on September 6 to talk about the first two books in her All Mine series under the Decadent Press 1Night Stand series, Druid, Mine and Senator, Mine. (Not US Senators, Senators in Ancient Rome, much yummier) Mixing the 1Night Stand concept with time travel, yes time travel, turns out to be pretty cool. Both books were a LOT of fun.

Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of other books to talk about this week. I’m in the middle of Laurie R. King’s new Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell book, Garment of Shadows. (No, I can’t resist Sherlock Holmes, apparently ever).

And looking ahead to next week, I’ll be hosting visits from Lia Davis, to talk about her paranormal entry in the 1Night Stand series, Ravished Before Sunrise.

I’ll also have a special treat, because it’s science fiction romance. I have an interview with Heather Long to get the scoop on her new superhero/time-travel/science fiction romance story, Yesterday’s Heroes. Even better, it’s the first book in a series, so there are more for me to look forward to.

So what are you reading to welcome Fall?

Romance at Random Labor Day Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Book Giveaway> Giveaways> Labor Day Blog Hop

Starting 9/1 through 9/15, Reading Reality, Romance at Random, & the participating sites below, are hosting a blog hop with FREE books! Enter your name into the Rafflecopter & you could be chosen to win:

  • A Free Romance book! (10 winners in all)
  • Be one of 5 winners to win a prize pack from author Elisabeth Barrett (check out her new release, BLAZE OF WINTER, below)
  • Grand Prize is a $25 eGC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Celebrating the next Loveswept release – BLAZE OF WINTER by Elisabeth Barrett – on sale 9/10 – Winter heats up in this hot new Star Harbor romance, as another sexy Grayson brother, a wickedly handsome writer, plots his happily ever after with a sweet stranger.

BLAZE OF WINTER by Elisabeth Barrett