Review: Unbound by Cara McKenna

Posted on August 12, 2014August 12, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook purchased from Amazon
Formats available: ebook, audiobook
Genre: contemporary romance
Length: 268 pages
Publisher: Penguin Intermix
Date Released: October 15, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, All Romance

She set out to find herself, and discovered the darker side of desire.

Merry’s lost a lot recently—first her mother, then close to a hundred pounds. Feeling adrift, she strikes out in search of perspective. A three-week hike through the Scottish Highlands was supposed to challenge her new body and refocus her priorities, but when disaster strikes, she’s forced to seek refuge in the remote home of a brooding, handsome stranger…

Rob exiled himself to the Highlands years ago, desperate to escape his own self-destruction. Haunted by regrets, he avoids human contact at all costs…but when Merry turns up injured, he can’t very well run her off. And as he nurses her back to health, Rob can’t resist his guest’s sweet demeanor—or her flirtatious advances. The igniting passion between them rouses a secret appetite Rob has long struggled to keep hidden. But Merry craves nothing more than to help Rob surrender to his desires, and the journey draws the lovers into an entirely different kind of wilderness.

My Review:

Last week I read the latest Cara McKenna book, Lay It Down, for a joint review at The Book Pushers. One of the things we did in our review was compare her latest to After Hours, Hard Time and Unbound, because it was a bit different from her other books. The romance was much slower to build, and it took quite a lot of book to get there. There’s also a strong omantic suspense element that isn’t in evidence in some of her earlier work.

I realized that I had read both After Hours and Hard Time (reviews here and here) but had missed Unbound. I wanted to see where it “fit” with the rest. And I had a very long airplane trip in front of me. I knew I’d be in for a good read, so I let my fingers do the walking to Amazon.

It turns out that Unbound is kind of in the middle between After Hours and Hard Time on the one side, and Lay It Down on the other. Here’s my take on it:

Unbound is a romance between two people who have gone through way too much to get to the isolated location where they meet. They also each have a metric ton of secrets that make a remote getaway romance seem fascinating, but have devastating consequences in the real world.

Merry takes herself on a three-week hike in the wilds of Scotland. Because she can. Because it’s a trip that her mother always wanted to take (the Scotland part and not the three-week hike part). Those points have relevance because her mother died less than a year ago, and Merry is still having difficulty coping with the loss. And speaking of losses, her mother’s death kicked her into losing almost 100 pounds. Not out of a health scare, but because she needed something to obsess over to deal with her grief. Exercise and healthy nutrition turned out to be an all-consuming quest that kept her going.

Her exercise journey made it possible for her to take that hike alone in the Highlands. It also seems to be straining her relationships with her friends, and certainly caused her ex-boyfriend to break up with her, now that she had enough self-confidence to stop settling for letting him make booty calls whenever he wanted without being willing to introduce her to his friends.

But her recovery is something that she is still working through. Changing her body has resulted in life changes that she wasn’t expecting. Some good, like the strength and stamina to take the trip, and some bad, like changes in all her relationships.

Alone time is great, until she catches a nasty bug from swimming in a few too many unfiltered Highland lochs. And that’s where Rob comes in.

Rob is the hermit who takes her in and helps her get over her illness. He seems to be the perfect mountain man, at one with his surroundings and living off the land in his small, isolated cabin.

But Rob is not at peace with much of anything. He’s running away from all the people and relationships he broke when he was at his depths. And from sexual impulses that his upbringing told him must be wrong.

He’s so shy and withdrawn that Merry, in the midst of her own isolation, can’t help but reach towards. Especially since all that survivalist living has made him way hot. Being on his own has made him way scared.

They start out exploring each other, not just physically but also emotionally. But for as many secrets as Rob reveals, there’s one he can’t bring himself to admit–right up until it bites them both in the ass.

Escape Rating B+: I remember not being interested in this story when it was first released because of the weight loss meme. It seemed like it might fall into the trope of “fat girl gets skinny and guys are suddenly interested” like Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich. In spite of the blurb, this isn’t that.

Merry is more focused on her strength and stamina, that her exercise program has made her more capable. She doesn’t seem to be a size 2, but healthy and strong. She’s fascinated with the things her body is now able to accomplish. She acknowledges that she will always have a love/hate relationship with food, and that some women are very able to rock their curves, she’s just not one of them. Her journey is about finding her inner strength by developing her physical strength.

There’s also an element of Merry saying “goodbye” to her mother, and to her own past. She’s getting her head together and moving forward. Until she gets sick and drops into Rob’s isolated life.

Rob is out there in the hills because he feels that the only way he can stop damaging himself and others is to be completely removed from all temptation. He starts out thinking that he can’t hurt Merry because she can’t stay. And the short-term nature of their relationship allows him to reveal the sexual kink that shames him; he needs to be tied up.

Merry finds that her inner vixen is more than up to that particular challenge. For someone who has kept her libido under wraps, the games that Rob needs to play turn out to be endlessly hot and incredibly fulfilling.

But the closer they become physically, the closer they get emotionally. And that’s where the trouble comes. Merry doesn’t have a clue why Rob can’t come to town with her, can’t leave his mountain. And he dodges all the possible opportunities for revelation until it seems like it’s too late, not just for their relationship, but also for his survival.

The thud in the story as that shoe drops reverberates for the rest of the book, making the ending just that much more satisfying.

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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: 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino + Giveaway

Posted on August 11, 2014August 10, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, audiobook
Genre: women’s fiction
Length: 274 pages
Publisher: Crown
Date Released: August 5, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Madeleine Altimari is a smart-mouthed, rebellious nine-year-old who also happens to be an aspiring jazz singer. Still mourning the recent death of her mother, and caring for her grief-stricken father, she doesn’t realize that on the eve of Christmas Eve she is about to have the most extraordinary day—and night—of her life. After bravely facing down mean-spirited classmates and rejection at school, Madeleine doggedly searches for Philadelphia’s legendary jazz club The Cat’s Pajamas, where she’s determined to make her on-stage debut. On the same day, her fifth grade teacher Sarina Greene, who’s just moved back to Philly after a divorce, is nervously looking forward to a dinner party that will reunite her with an old high school crush, afraid to hope that sparks might fly again. And across town at The Cat’s Pajamas, club owner Lorca discovers that his beloved haunt may have to close forever, unless someone can find a way to quickly raise the $30,000 that would save it.

As these three lost souls search for love, music and hope on the snow-covered streets of Philadelphia, together they will discover life’s endless possibilities over the course of one magical night. A vivacious, charming and moving debut, 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas will capture your heart and have you laughing out loud.

My Review:

2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas contains an interesting trio of contemporary stories that feels like there’s a touch of magical realism or fantasy mixed in with some very gritty problems. It’s also possible that it contains just a bit of Christmas magic, taking place as it does just a day before Christmas Eve.

In this story, Christmas Eve Eve becomes a special day with a magic all of its own.

Three stories, all centered around a jazz club that used to be absolutely legendary. But The Cat’s Pajamas has fallen on hard times, as has its owner. While it used to be the best club in Philly, now its just hours away from being closed due to multiple violations of the city code.

Not the health code, but much more damning things. The house band is living in the club, and it definitely isn’t zoned that way. One guy has made his bedroom in the old walk-in freezer. That gave me the shivers on a hot August day.

All the band members, and the owner, are just one drink, or fix, or code violation, from living on the streets. There’s been way too much bad luck to go around.

The club’s other problems are that they can’t manage to shut themselves down at 2 am, and they can’t seem to keep underage musicians from trying out with the band. Including Tony Lorca, the owner’s son.

Lorca Sr. wants a better life for his kid than chasing music and bars to play in. But Tony is already on the slippery slope to addiction, and only music has a chance of saving him.

Sarina Greene finds herself at the Cat’s Pajamas with the one man she never got over, on a magical night that is almost, but not quite, a date. Because he’s still married to someone else.

Last and most important, Madeleine Altimari doesn’t merely want, she actually needs to become a jazz singer. A great jazz singer. It is her only real escape from her mother’s death, her father’s all-encompassing depression, and her need to follow the box of instructions for life that her mother left her.

And she knows that she can make her debut at The Cat’s Pajamas.

There’s one little problem. Madeleine and her very big and marvelous voice, is only 9 years old. She needs a little magic, and a whole lot of sneaking around to make her splash. And help The Cat’s Pajamas’ go out with a really big jazz bang.

Escape Rating B: This is a story that takes a while for its disparate threads to come together. Madeleine grabs the reader’s heart from the very beginning, she is loud, brash, foul-mouthed and very smart in some ways, while completely naive in others. The more her father sinks into despair, the further out Madeleine gets in bravado. She’s covering up just how bad things are, because she knows they can always get worse. A hard lesson for a nine-year old. Her aggressiveness is all defense, and everyone knows it but Madeleine herself.

Her voice is very real magic. Not just because it’s big and utterly fantastic, but because magical things happen when she sings. Her ambition is quite real, even though the effects tip into fantasy.

Sabrina Greene’s story is easy to sympathise with. The man she has loved since high school really does love her back. But he keeps following bad instincts or terrible advice and never manages to tell her how he feels. They’ve been dancing towards each other for years, but never quite get there. It’s sad but so, so real.

Lorca’s story is the one that doesn’t quite gel. The situation with The Cat’s Pajamas has been steadily trending downhill for years, but we don’t get quite enough of Lorca’s perspective, or the sad decline of the “boys in the band” to really understand how he got into the fix he’s in.

But Madeleine’s story carries the book. She schemes, she connives, she stalks people in order to make her dream come true. And when it does, she gives everyone just a bit of magic.

GIVEAWAY

Marie-Helene is generously giving away a hardcover copy of 2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas to one lucky winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is part of a TLC book tour. Click on the logo for more reviews.

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-10-14

Posted on August 10, 2014August 10, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Giveaways> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

The flavor text of the week is family. We’re back East again, visiting Galen’s family this time. Also inspiring his guest post yesterday about Silly Cat Books, complete with picture of one very silly cat. (We miss our girls, even as we worry what they are destroying in our absence!)

One of this week’s tour books, 2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas, is set in Philadelphia. We’re not far from there, but I think the book’s Philly is a bit more magical than the real version.

We’ll see…

Current Giveaways:

Diamond Accent Devil Heart with Wings Pendant in Sterling Silver and a $25.00 Amazon gift card from Jane Kindred
Inamorata by Megan Chance (paperback)
$25 Gift Card from Alibi Publishing

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: The Yankee Club by Michael Murphy + Giveaway
B Review: Inamorata by Megan Chance + Giveaway
A- Review: Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina
B Review: Hard Knocks by Lori Foster
A Review: Master of the Game by Jane Kindred + Giveaway
Guest Post: Silly Cat Books

Coming Next Week:

2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino (blog tour review + giveaway)
Unbound by Cara McKenna (review)
The Sweet Spot by Stephanie Evanovich (review)
The Hexed by Heather Graham (blog tour review + giveaway)
An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd (review)

Guest Post: Silly Cat Books

Posted on August 9, 2014August 9, 2014 by Galen Charlton | Author : Galen Charlton | Guest Posts

Today I’m at my sister’s house. My sister has a cat named George, who is perhaps two years old. That means that George is actually “Georgie”; he’s a very silly cat, and consequently needs a sillier name than just “George”.

This is Georgie, pretending that he is not at all silly:

What aren’t you seeing in the picture? The toesy-pouncing! His three-second attention span!

What goes with a silly cat? Silly cat books, of course! Books to read (or for silly cats to bat at). Here are some of my favorites.

The Theory of Cat Gravity by Robin Wood. Do you know the feeling you get when a cat curls up on your lap and you lose not only the desire, but the ability to stand up? It’s not just you! There are scientific reasons why your black ~~hole~~ cat feels like she instantly gained five hundred pounds.

When I read this book a few years ago, my reaction was a combination of recognition and the thought that yes! This explains so much!

All My Patients Are Under The Bed by Louis J. Camuti. This book is by a veterinarian who made house calls in New York City. Of course, if the vet comes to you, you don’t have to deal with the trauma of packing kitty up and going for a drive — on the other hand, a vet in your house is a still a stranger. Must hide! If I can’t see him, he can’t see me! Doesn’t matter if my tail is sticking out from under the bed!

Ahem…

This is a heartwarming book by somebody who had devoted his life to animals and clearly loves them and their ways (and, as I just learned, whose life may have been saved by a cat when he was 11).

Games You Can Play With Your Pussy by Ira Alterman. No, that those kind of games — get your mind out of the gutter! Taking care of cats can be a serious thing, but as anybody who is owned by a kitty knows, there are lots of funny moments to be had. This book covers important topics like Naming Your Pussy, Pussy Hairs, How to Handle a Hot Pussy, Exercising Your Pussy, and Talking With Your Pussy.

What are your favorite silly cat (or dog) books?

Review: Master of the Game by Jane Kindred + Giveaway

Posted on August 8, 2014August 7, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by the publisher
Formats available: ebook
Genre: paranormal romance; m/m romance
Series: Demons of Elysium, #3
Length: 285 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Date Released: August 5, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

Now that his lover is back in his arms, Belphagor is taking his own sweet time to say the words Vasily longs to hear: “You’re my boy.” And savoring the sweet torture of driving the firespirit into a frenzy of unfulfilled need.

As the undisputed master of Heaven’s gaming tables, Belphagor never plays unless he’s certain of winning. But this time, political machinations send the game—and Vasily—tumbling to the brink of even his formidable control.

Vasily can’t deny enjoying their delightfully edgy play—until the airspirit auctions him off for a night to the one demon with a gift for taking things too far. Seductive Silk, tight-lipped about the end of his relationship with the sweet submissive Phaleg, may also be involved with a new faction threatening the pregnant queen of Heaven.

Belphagor couldn’t be less interested in the games angels play, but when angelic and demonic intrigues overlap, he’s drawn in against his will. And forced to break his one inviolable rule: Never gamble what you can’t afford to lose.

Warning: Contains more than a mouthful of m/m ménage, with intense D/s situations featuring intricate rope work, balaklavas, and a flurry of snow.

My Review:

Master of the Game is a story on multiple levels; it’s the continuation of Bel’s attempt to rid Raqia of the child slavery ring from King of Thieves (reviewed here), it’s the foreshadowing the dynastic war among the supernal realms that blows into full eruption in The Fallen Queen (reviewed here), and it’s first and foremost the love, sex and domination story between Belphagor and Vasily.

Considering the Vasily is a fire-spirit, it would be correct to call Master of the Game one very hot mess, in a completely captivating way. Everything boils over into delicious decadence.

Master of the Game is still (and always) Belphagor’s story, no matter who might be occupying center stage on any particular page.

After three books of the Demons of the Elysium series, I still see these as the story of how Bel changes from the selfish bastard he presents himself to be (and clearly used to be, based on his history) and the demon who saves the supernal realms in The House of Arkhangel’sk trilogy. There had to be a transformation, and this is the way it went.

The first story, Prince of Tricks (reviewed here) was mostly about Bel finally admitting to himself that he actually loved Vasily, and that they weren’t just mutually using each other. The second showed him rescuing a bunch of demon children who had been sold into sexual slavery, meanwhile risking his relationship with Vasily in the process.

Bel does the right thing using some of the wrong methods. And doesn’t learn his lesson, because he does it again in Master of the Game. The difference is that this time Vasily calls him on it when he’s gone too far.

But the stakes are even higher this time. A group of Angels from the higher courts is planning to assassinate the queen, before she gives birth to yet another baby, but one who might be male and cement her husband’s rule.

Instead, the wrong woman is killed and the events that follow set the stage for The Fallen Queen. The child that the queen bears is the daughter who falls.

But the trick is to try to get the King to let go of his idealism about demons, so that he can survive and not be overthrown. At least not now. Later will happen, well, later. Everyone hopes much later.

In the middle of the politics, a very personal quest surfaces. Bel needs to rescue the demon children that he failed to save in King of Thieves from a fate that isn’t worse than death, because it is death.

A very long, painful and drawn out death.

Bel uses everyone and everything around him to get the results he wants. He nearly loses Vasily, again. Vasily nearly gets killed, again. It’s what they do.

But the story that hurts the heart is that of the Angel Phaleg, who admits that he loves the demon Silk so much that he will risk his career and his life for a man that he is not supposed to be seen with on the streets, let alone love.

Angels are allowed to play with demons. Male angels are allowed to play with male demons. But letting it get serious is dangerous and forbidden and everything that Phaleg isn’t supposed to want. But still needs.

He uses his rank to save them all. And loses everything but the man he loves.

Escape Rating A: The world of Raqia and the Devil’s Doorstep is a place that is dangerous and seductive and will steal your soul.

Belphagor is not a good man. He’s not a good demon. But he seems to be what everyone needs to solve every crisis and patch up too many people’s broken places. He’s a savior who always sees himself as a tempter and a player.

He plays to win, but no outsider ever seems to realize that the stakes he is playing for are not the ones on the table. He’s not someone that anyone would be eager to meet in a dark alley–unless he’s their only answer to a prayer. Or a curse.

If you love the darkest of darks in your antiheroes, introduce yourself to Belphagor. He’ll steal your soul and your wallet, and possibly save your life. Or at least put you inside an awesome story.

About Jane Kindred

Jane Kindred is the author of The House of Arkhangel’sk trilogy, the Demons of Elysium series, and The Devil’s Garden. Born in Billings, Montana, she spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed.You can find Jane on her Twitter account and Facebook page and on her website, www.janekindred.com.

TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY

Jane is giving away a Diamond Accent Devil Heart with Wings Pendant in Sterling Silver and a $25.00 Amazon gift card! To enter, use the widget below:

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***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 or borrowed from a public library 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: Hard Knocks by Lori Foster

Posted on August 7, 2014August 3, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook
Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Ultimate, #0.5
Length: 61 pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Date Released: August 4, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

Power. Brute strength. Unforgettable moves. It’s no wonder Harper Gates hasn’t been able to get her fling with Gage “Savage” Ringer out of her head. Months have passed since she laid eyes—or any other body parts—on him. Months without a word of contact…until, sidelined by injury, he comes back to town.

Staying focused on his training seemed like a smart move to Gage, even if he thought about Harper every day. Seeing her again only makes it clear how much is at stake. He’s got one night to earn back her trust. One night to show her that behind his breathtaking skill and ripped body is a man who’ll give her everything she needs.

My Review:

Hard Knocks is a short teaser that shows readers just how Lori Foster is planning to combine two of her series (Love Undercover and SBC Fighters) into one sizzling story.

The action takes place at Cannon’s rec center. Cannon was an important side character in Getting Rowdy (reviewed here), the third book in Love Undercover. Cannon is a mixed martial arts fighter who is training himself to fight in the SBC. While training, he becomes Rowdy’s bartender and bouncer, and helps police the neighborhood and bring down the bad guys.

His reward is a contract with the SBC, but he uses some of his new found wealth and prestige to open a recreation center in the run-down town he started from. It’s a place where fighters can train, and most importantly, a safe place where kids can play, learn and keep off the streets. The disciplined fighters serve as coaches and role models for the kids who might otherwise be sucked into gangs or other dangerous and hopeless behaviors.

While the story takes place at Cannon’s rec center, it isn’t Cannon’s story. That comes next in No Limits. But in this story, the neighborhood and all the fighters back at Cannon’s center are watching him fight on TV.

Instead, we have the story of Gage and Harper. While I want to say that Harper is kind of the mascot of Cannon’s rec center, that diminishes both her role and her agency, so it’s not quite right. She is kind of the glue that holds the neighborhood to the center, AND she’s the honorary sister of every one of the fighters who train there.

She’s family.

Gage is the one fighter who doesn’t see her as a little sister. They grew up together, but now that they are both adults, they were heading towards a relationship. Fast.

Until Gage went to another camp to train for an important fight, and wasn’t the least bit clear about his feelings for Harper or his intentions when he came back. Then he got injured in training and had to come home. He expected a warm welcome, and got the cold shoulder.

Let’s just say he was REALLY unclear (read that as silent) about his feelings for Harper or his hopes for furthering their relationship. He was too busy concentrating on the fight.

The sizzling heat of Hard Knocks is created when Gage and Harper try to figure out what they each want, while in the middle of that neighborhood crowd watching the fight. So everyone they know watches them court and spark.

Lots and lots of sparks, enough to set the place on fire.

Escape Rating B: Hard Knocks is way, way too short. It does provide a nice setup for the rest of the series (It feels like all the fighters we meet are going to get their own book!)

Gage and Harper’s story gets shorted just a bit. This isn’t a “falling in love” story, it’s more of a long-term friends into lovers story, but we don’t get quite enough background. Other people report on their feelings and reaction to each other, and we see into both of their heads a bit, but the story is more of one hot encounter than seeing them fall in love and getting invested in their relationship.

I also felt that Harper sold herself short, or gave up too easily about communicating what she needs. On the other hand, the introduction to the guys and the neighborhood was great.

As a tease for the Ultimate series, Hard Knocks certainly set the stage for plenty of hot romance and fighting action to follow.

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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: Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina

Posted on August 6, 2014August 5, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, mass market paperback
Genre: fantasy
Series: Majat Code, #1
Length: 496 pages
Publisher: Angry Robot
Date Released: February 25, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Kara is a mercenary – a Diamond warrior, the best of the best, part of the Majat Guild. When her tenure to Prince Kythar comes to an end, he wishes to retain her services, but must accompany her back to her Guild to negotiate her continued protection.

When they arrive they discover that the prince’s sworn enemy, the Kaddim, have already paid the Guild to engage her services – to capture and hand over the prince (who she has grown very fond of).

A warrior brought up to respect both duty and honour, what happens when her sworn duty proves dishonourable?

My Review:

Blades of the Old Empire is the start of a damn fine epic fantasy series. It reminds me a bit of what has come before (more on that later) but it certainly hits the ground running.

Seeing a title like “Blades of the Old Empire” makes the reader think that old heroes, or possibly heroes of old or heroes like in the old tales, are going to come and rescue the empire. Or maybe the emperor. Throw that set of assumptions out the window.

In this case, those blades from that old empire are evil reincarnated warriors and their old empire was a horrifying tyranny. Everyone thinks that the remnants of those sorcerers are long dead, but as they good guys discover in this first book in the series, they are wrong. Dead wrong.

The Kaddim Brotherhood is back, and they are more evil than ever. Also much better at infiltrating the good guys’ strongholds and institutions.

The action splits between two centers in this story, Good King Evan and his heir, Kyth. (One of the great things about this series so far is that the king doesn’t have to die for his heir to come into his powers.)

King Evan is off to gain followers for his movement to strike down the laws against magic that would keep Kyth from inheriting the throne. Kyth goes on his own separate quest to gain followers among the Forest Dwellers, including their powerful foreseer and the powerful and ancient Lady of the Forest.

Evan gets captured, and Kyth spends most of the book on the run. But they both find themselves head to head with the evil Kaddim, as the forces of darkness begin to expose their long campaign to re-take the empire that once was theirs.

In the middle of all the plots and counterplots are the Majat, the assassins’ guild for which the series is named.

The Majat as a group are expensively mercenary, fearsomely well-trained, and supposed to be completely uninvolved with politics. The guild accepts any contract that pays. The Kaddim exploit that famous neutrality to grievous results.

They turn the only force capable of stopping them in upon itself, as the best assassins are forced into contracts against each other, supposedly in order to protect the reputation of the guild.

Instead, they begin to rebel, which only feeds into the plans of evil. Even as they figure out why they are sent, the manipulation of events continues at higher and higher levels.

Only Kyth is capable of resisting the evil magic. So the sorcerers use the Majat to compromise his heart instead.

Escape Rating A-: True confession, I was supposed to read Blades of the Old Empire in time to do a joint review with E over at The Book Pushers, and couldn’t quite squeeze it in. Today, we’re reviewing the second book in The Majat Code, The Guild of Assassins, so I had to finish the first book first. And it was pretty damn awesome.

The story has a sense that readers have been dropped into the middle; some events are possible only because of things that have happened to the characters in a time before the story begins. It gave me the feeling that there must be another book before this one, but if there is, I can’t find it.

Still the story of Kyth’s first meeting with the Forest People would make an interesting story, based on the hints we get.

While this isn’t a quest story, it is definitely the tale of a young man and his friends coming into their powers and their adulthood. Kyth’s companions, Alder and Ellah, clearly have important parts to play in putting things right.

Something about Kyth and the way that his story is set up reminded me of Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera. Kyth made me think of Tavi, in the way that his magic is unknown and suppressed and coming out to save the situation.

That the church has suppressed magic and now has to reap the consequences had many echoes for me. In Katherine Kurtz’ Deryni series, and in Jean Johnson’s recent The Guild (reviewed at The Book Pushers). Attempting to remove all the magic users from the population as a means for the church keeping control was bound to have nasty results in the end. I think that point is going to get made over and over. (Insert your own possibly modern-day political parables here)

The manipulation of the assassins’ guild and simply the use of assassins as main characters also struck me as reminiscent of Amy Raby’s Assassin’s Gambit (reviewed here) and Lindsay Buroker’s Emperor’s Edge (first book reviewed here) series. Since these are all stories that I loved, from my perspective they are all excellent antecedents.

As Blades of the Old Empire concludes, the kingdom is still very much in crisis. There are both political and magical ramifications to every act. It also sets the stage for the main focus to switch from the royal party to the assassins Kara and Mai and their defiance of the corruption in the guild.

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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: Inamorata by Megan Chance + Giveaway

Posted on August 5, 2014August 3, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, paperback, audiobook
Genre: historical fiction; fantasy
Length: 421 pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Date Released: August 1, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

American artist Joseph Hannigan and his alluring sister, Sophie, have arrived in enchanting nineteenth-century Venice with a single-minded goal. The twins, who have fled scandal in New York, are determined to break into Venice’s expatriate set and find a wealthy patron to support Joseph’s work.

But the enigmatic Hannigans are not the only ones with a secret agenda. Joseph’s talent soon attracts the attention of the magnificent Odilé Leon, a celebrated courtesan and muse who has inspired many artists to greatness. But her inspiration comes with a devastatingly steep price.

As Joseph falls under the courtesan’s spell, Sophie joins forces with Nicholas Dane, the one man who knows Odilé’s dark secret, and her sworn enemy. When the seductive muse offers Joseph the path to eternal fame, the twins must decide who to believe—and just how much they are willing to sacrifice for fame.

My Review:

There is a hunger that lurks in the shadows, waiting impatiently to feast on its right and proper prey.

The hunger is monstrous, but is not necessarily evil. It bargains with its victims, and once struck, the bargain is fulfilled to the letter.

In return for providing an already talented artist with the inspiration and the vision to create on masterwork of towering genius, the muse takes, in return, everything that made the artist who he was.

The death that usually follows is not the monster’s fault. The bargain is kept.

There are a number of artistic geniuses, in art, in letters, in music, who produced one final towering masterpiece, and then died or faded. Keats, Byron, Schumann, Vivaldi, Canaletto, Shelley. Great artists who burned out young, whether they died or not.

What if their great inspirations came from a single source, despite the differences in time and place? What if John Keats’ Lamia was all too real?

The beautiful decay of 19th century Venice is the perfect backdrop for this story of love, corruption and inspiration.

Odile Leon has sold her soul for a chance to be remembered. Quite literally sold her soul. Once every three years, she must find an artistic genius, sung or unsung, and make him a legend. In return for artistic immortality, that artist must sell his own soul to her as his muse.

In Venice, Odile is brought to bay by one man she toyed with but did not consume, and an artist who has already found his muse, in the person of his twin sister.

Nicholas Dane is obsessed with stopping Odile, in the hopes that she will return his poetic talent. Joseph and Sophie Hannigan are bent on outrunning the salacious rumors that follow them, and finding the perfect showcase for Joseph’s magnificent artistic talent.

Odile needs a victim, before it is too late. But her long life has not prepared her to face that it is already too late, not just for her, but for all of those she has drawn into her web.

Escape Rating B: So much of this story operates in the shadows, and those shadows give it its sense of creeping horror and dark need.

In atmosphere, it reminds me a bit of Lauren Owen’s The Quick (reviewed here), but the motivations behind the monstrousness are different. In The Quick, the society only wants to make vampires out of the “right sort” of people, and others are pawns, toys or food. Their complete sort of self-centeredness feels evil on multiple levels.

Although both stories are set in the same era, the monstrousness of Odile is not necessarily evil. Many artists of all types would think their lives were a reasonable trade for otherworldly inspiration and artistic immortality. She offers a bargain, and she keeps it. Admittedly, her victims are often too much in her thrall to refuse.

Odile is a succubus, but a very particular one. She maintains her life by sucking out their talent. In return they live forever, or at least achieve immortal renown.

Nicholas Dane hounds her from city to city, believing that if he prevents her feeding, she will be destroyed. He is both right and wrong, in a way that he pays for dearly. Because Odile fixes her sights on the twin brother of the woman he loves.

And Sophie can’t live without her brother, or vice versa.

The relationship between Sophie and her brother Joseph both fascinates and repels everyone they meet, including Odile and Nicholas. We’re never 100% certain, but readers are intended to find more than a hint of V.C. Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic in the Hannigans’ backstory.

It’s obvious that they mean too much to each other, but nothing is ever confirmed. That background becomes part of the rotting decadence of Venice.

The story starts out slowly, and switches between multiple points of view with every chapter. But we still only explore each party’s surface thoughts, and not the secrets they keep from themselves as well as each other.

This story gets darker and darker as it leads to its conclusion. It haunts, and makes you want to brush off lingering traces of the web, both at the same time. The story is definitely a case of atmosphere over action, but I couldn’t go to sleep without finishing it. And had a difficult time sleeping afterwards.

GIVEAWAY

Megan is giving away a paperback copy of Inamorata to one lucky winner (US/Canada)! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is part of a TLC book tour. Click on the logo for more reviews.

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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: The Yankee Club by Michael Murphy + Giveaway

Posted on August 4, 2014August 3, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Historical mystery
Series: Jake and Laura Mystery, #1
Length: 264 pages
Publisher: Alibi
Date Released: August 12, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

In 1933, America is at a crossroads: Prohibition will soon be history, organized crime is rampant, and President Roosevelt promises to combat the Great Depression with a New Deal. In these uncertain times, former-Pinkerton-detective-turned-bestselling-author Jake Donovan is beckoned home to Manhattan. He has made good money as the creator of dashing gumshoe Blackie Doyle, but the price of success was Laura Wilson, the woman he left behind. Now a Broadway star, Laura is engaged to a millionaire banker—and waltzing into a dangerous trap.

Before Jake can win Laura back, he’s nearly killed—and his former partner is shot dead—after a visit to the Yankee Club, a speakeasy dive in their old Queens neighborhood. Suddenly Jake and Laura are plunged into a conspiracy that runs afoul of gangsters, sweeping from New York’s private clubs to the halls of corporate power and to the White House itself. Brushing shoulders with the likes of Dashiell Hammett, Cole Porter, and Babe Ruth, Jake struggles to expose an inconspicuous organization hidden in plain sight, one determined to undermine the president and change the country forever.

My Review:

The Yankee Club is an actual baseball bat, signed by the New York Yankees in 1933.

It’s also the name of a speakeasy in New York that Jake Donovan used to call his home away from home, before he ran away from his problems and holed up in Tampa.

Coming back to the city doesn’t just force him to face everything and everyone he walked away from, it turns him back into the detective he used to be, for one last case.

And what a case it is! The story starts with Jake discovering that the girl he left behind has gotten herself engaged to a rich banker, and his best friend and former partner gets himself gunned down right outside their old offices–leaving Jake as a wounded witness with a promise to keep.

At first, the case seems simple enough, in motive if not in execution. Jake sets out to find out who murdered his old partner. It seems like a mob hit, and ought to be solvable when Jake goes out and barges in on his old friends; and his old enemies.

Nothing is ever that simple. As Jake delves deeper into the case, he discovers that his friend (and his ex-girlfriend) are secretly working for the government. The conspiracy that Jake uncovers could end with the overthrow of the government and change the face of history forever.

There’s no question that it’s probably going to get him killed. His only question is whether he can get the job done, and save the girl. Jake has to channel the private detective who stars in his mystery novels to have even a chance at saving the day.

Escape Rating B+: The Yankee Club has a very definite noir feel to it. The story takes place in the middle of the Depression, at a point where Prohibition was still very much in force. The city has mean streets, and too many people with mean attitudes and guns hidden away. Nothing says noir quite like guys with tommy guns in suitcases prowling the streets.

Everyone involved has a murky past (or present). Both the good guys and the bad. They all grew up in part of Queens that was rough, and they’ve all learned a lot from the school of hard knocks.

Jake has been using his less than savory origins as fodder for his Blackie Doyle detective series. His ex-girlfriend, Laura, learned to act while pretending that her father wasn’t beating her every week. Gino always “knows a guy who knows a guy” and pays off corrupt cops to keep his speakeasy open.

But at least their faults are honest. It’s the rich bankers who are shameful, in spite of their squeaky clean origins.

Someone tried to kill FDR before his inauguration, as a way of preventing the New Deal from taking place. (This part really happened) Now that he’s in office, they’re even more committed to stopping any policy that might help people dig out of the Depression, because they are on the “right” side of the “haves vs. have nots” equation.

The elaborate conspiracy feels all too real for the time period when this story takes place.

Jake and Laura remind me a bit of the characters from The Thin Man — a couple who find themselves solving crimes together. It’s an appropriate fit as well. Dashiell Hammett (and Lillian Hellman) are among the many historical characters who provide the period ambiance for The Yankee Club. While there was a point early on where the intermix of historical figures felt a bit like name-dropping, as the story continues they make the story “fit” into its time and place in a way that fictional characters might not.

I very much enjoyed this glimpse into the era of Babe Ruth, Hoovervilles and private eyes. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Jake and Laura series, All That Glitters. I can’t help but wonder what sort of fool’s gold, or just what kind of fool, they will be tangling with next.

TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY

As part of The Yankee Club Tour, Alibi Publishing is generously giving away a $25 Gift Card to the etailer of the winner’s choice!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is part of a TLC book tour. Click on the logo for more reviews.

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-3-14

Posted on August 3, 2014August 3, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Giveaways> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

It’s hard to believe that summer is more than half over. Seattle has reached the hot stage, in other words, the point where I bemoan the lack of air conditioning. That homes didn’t have air conditioning made sense in Anchorage, but here, not so much.

Even the cats are refusing to cuddle. It’s obviously way too warm if you have a fur coat that you can’t take off.

Speaking of taking off, we saw Guardians of the Galaxy last night. It is absolutely awesome. Terrifically fun, and the retro sound track is perfect. The villains are more than a bit cardboard cut out, but who really cares? The characters of “our heroes” are marvelous, and Rocket frequently steals the show. Just as he should.