Category: Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.

Dual Review: The Virgin Huntress by Victoria Vane

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 2 1/2 Stars> book reviews> Dual Review> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Latin Lover> The Rocket Lover

Format read: ebook
Series: Book #2 in the Devil DeVere series
Release Date: 29 June 2012
Number of pages: 140 pages
Publisher: Breathless Press
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Breathless Press, Read an excerpt

Blurb:

Desperate times call for devilish measures… when the object of one’s passion has eyes for another… it’s time to take matters in hand!

Lady Vesta Chambers is accustomed to getting what she wants…Coddled and pampered, since her mother’s death, Lady Vesta Chambers is beside herself when her father goes to London to prepare for her come-out and returns with a young bride of his own. With her world turned upside down, Vesta accompanies her godmother, Diana, to town, where she is smitten the moment she lays eyes on a certain captain of the Seventeenth Light Dragoons.

But when the object of her passion has eyes for another…

Captain Hewett DeVere, younger brother and heir to Viscount Ludovic “The Devil” DeVere, has returned from the American war scarred, disillusioned, and looking forward to settling down to a quiet and respectable life. But when the handsome and straight-laced captain turns his eyes toward the widowed Diana, Vesta is prepared to take devilish measures to prove she is no longer a little girl, but a woman with the passion of … a huntress.

Our Thoughts:

Marlene: A Wild Night’s Bride was so much fun because Ned and Phoebe (the hero and heroine) were essentially very likeable. You want them to get their happily ever after. Vesta Chambers, Ned’s daughter from his first marriage, is something else again. Vesta is a manipulating little baggage. It’s too bad that DeVere is fated elsewhere, they almost deserve each other.

Stella: I enjoyed A Wild Night’s Bride, the first novella in Victoria Vane’s The Devil DeVere historical erotica series, I found it a light and entertaining, a steamy and fun romp, so I was excited to read the subsequent instalment, but sadly I just didn’t really enjoy The Virgin Huntress, the 2nd novella in the series. It’s not even that I had lukewarm feelings towards this 2nd story, but rather that I found it frustrating, and I think the main reason for that (or at least 90%) is the heroine’s fault.

Vesta is a young girl of about 18 years old, who is preparing for her coming out. As such I knew I should expect some immaturity, but what frustrated me was to see the petulant, spoiled brat she was behaving like: she was whining, rebelling and throwing hissy fits constantly. Not only was she childish but she was so selfish, the way she did whatever she wanted without any care in the world about how it would change others’ life irrevocably made me so angry. Even the hero realized this when he said:

“How can you possibly think I could ever love such a spoiled, petulant, self-absorbed, and scheming little wretch?”

I couldn’t put it better myself.

Marlene: Having said that DeVere deserves Vesta, he’s not as black as he’s painted. He manipulates, yes. And he enjoys manipulating the people around him. Very much. But the results, while they amuse him, tend to end up being for the person’s own good. At least the man’s own good. Ned got shaken out of his grief. Hew needs to get shaken out of what sounds like PTSD. If DeVere enjoys watching the show, well, he is a consummate puppetmaster.

Stella: Sorry Marlene but I don’t agree with you, in my opinion Vesta would be too great of a punishment on DeVere, and besides he is too much of a father figure for her. But regarding your other statement I agree. Despite his repulsive debonair, roguish ways (Ludovic DeVere is the most debauched rogue I have ever read about, if there is an orgy he is there and upping the ick factor), he has a warm and generous heart and what he has in mind is his friend’s/brother’s happiness. So in a way he is quite selfless 😉

Marlene: I did say that DeVere wasn’t quite as bad as he’s made out to be, now didn’t I? Having Vesta end up as his sister-in-law will be quite enough of a punishment in any case. 😉 But back to the story as written, Ludovic DeVere seems to be out for his own amusement first, what he believes will be his friend’s best interests second, and whatever happens to the female in the equation is much farther down his list of considerations. Vesta brings any consequences on herself, of course. In the first book, Phoebe gets lucky.

Stella: I already noticed in The Wild Night’s Bride the archaic language Victoria Vane used in the dialogues, and although they made the repartee somewhat stilted it didn’t detract from the story. However in The Virgin Huntress there were a lot of Americanisms that bothered me, they were most prominent in Vesta’s hissy fits and lines (“Vesta gushed”).

Marlene: I enjoy the author’s writing style, but this romance just didn’t have the zing that the first one did. This couple didn’t have the right long-term chemistry. Vesta comes to London because she’s not the center of her father’s life anymore now that he’s remarried. Talk about self-centered! She falls in love with the first man she sees, and kidnaps him to make him fall in love with her. And it works? It forces the marriage, but why does it force an actual happy ending? I’m not feeling it.

Stella: I agree, besides Vesta what made The Virgin Huntress a disappointment was the lack of credibility of the romance (which once again failed due to Vesta’s character). Vesta’s infatuation, childish crush for Hew cannot be called love and whenever she passionately (=whiningly) declared that Hew was the one, he was the love of her life and how much she loved him, it just made me roll my eyes.

“No, this time Vesta would not run away like a child. This time she would hold her ground and fight for the man she loved.”

That’s what she thinks after spying him for the very first time from afar and a 3 sentence meeting. She’s behaving childishly fancying herself in love, which wouldn’t be a problem if she didn’t take it upon herself to force others’ hand and alter their lives irrevocably. That I couldn’t forgive her.

Verdict:

Marlene: The romantic leads in this romance unfortunately do not carry the book. Vesta remains a whining little brat who does not grow up. Her behavior is unfortunately rewarded, so she is not redeemed. Hew, the ostensible hero, is more of a cardboard cutout than an actual man, let alone a hero. The scenes that sparkle are the ones between Vesta and DeVere (her godfather, too delicious) and between DeVere and Diana. Their history is revealed in the next novella, and I really want to know, because it clearly screwed them both up something fierce.

I give this 2.5 rather disappointed stars.

Stella: Sadly I found the heroine of The Virgin Huntress (her actions and motivations) despicable and as there was no character development for Vesta, she couldn’t redeem herself. Though the hero had some promise, he remained quite 2D and undeveloped as a secondary character, DeVere and Diana (Vesta’s chaperone of pseudo-step mom) got more screen time than poor hero, and their scenes were the most vivid and pulsing in the book. I preferred the 1st story in the series, but as the next one will be about DeVere and the woman who will tame him, I’m looking forward to reading the 3rd novella in the series.

I give The Virgin Huntress 2.5 stars as well.

***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: Big Sky Mountain by Linda Lael Miller

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 4 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: eARC from NetGalley
Number of Pages: 384 p.
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Parable, Montana #2
Formats Available: Mass Market Paperback, ebook, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)  | Author’s Website 

Book Blurb:

With his rugged good looks, vast wealth and family name, hell-raiser Hutch Carmody is still the golden boy of Parable, Montana. But he’s done some growing up-making peace with his illegitimate half brother and inheriting half of Whisper Creek Ranch, which should have been all his. These days, Hutch knows there are some things money can’t buy: like the heart of loving, ladylike divorcée Kendra Shepherd.

Kendra’s quiet mansion reminds her of what she wants most-a devoted husband and the pitter-patter of little feet. She can’t get Hutch Carmody out of her mind. But a rough-and-tumble cowboy like Hutch, coming home for family dinner? Seems crazy! Then again, crazier dreams have become reality under the vast Montana sky.

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

In The Needy Lover’s review of the first Parable, Montana book, Big Sky Country, the review mentioned that the story lit up whenever Hutch and Kendra sashayed through the plot. And that was true for me as well.

Big Sky Mountain finally tells Hutch and Kendra’s story, or at least the grown-up version of it. One of the “big teases” about Hutch and Kendra is that they have some serious history that didn’t end the way everyone thought it would. Kendra’s return to Parable is their second chance. But only if they can start with who they are now, and not who they used to be.

Or who they each think they are.

The problem is that Kendra thinks Hutch is the “love ’em and leave ’em” type. And he seems to be running true to form. It’s all over Facebook and You Tube that he stopped his own wedding, using hand signals to keep the bride from walking up to the altar.

That’s just low.

Really, really funny, but low. (It was the only way Hutch could get the girl’s attention. She never listened. She REALLY never listened)

Kendra has come back to Parable to raise her adopted daughter. Which sounds simple, but it’s definitely not. Something happened, and it was a very big something, back in the past. Kendra and Hutch should have married each other, way back when. Instead, someone else, a rich titled Englishman named Jeffrey Chamberlain, came to Parable on business and struck up a friendship with Kendra.

Hutch seems to have gone all caveman and started delivering ultimatums. Always a bad idea. I say “seems” because the story of what happened back then still isn’t clear. (I’d love to read a prequel novella really telling that story!) But Kendra married Jeffrey while angry at Hutch, expecting a last-minute storybook rescue at the altar. It didn’t happen.

Instead, the marriage failed. Jeffrey is dead. And his dying wish was that Kendra adopt and raise his daughter. His daughter, not her daughter, not their daughter. His daughter. The little girl, Madison, is four years old and an absolute sweetheart. It’s not her fault that daddy was a lying, cheating jerkwad.

This story is much more about re-making your dreams in new circumstances than anything else. There is a love story, very definitely, but the real story is how Kendra and Hutch re-build the bridges they tore down. They both dreamed of a life together, once upon a time. Neither thinks they can have that dream back. Kendra is convinced she doesn’t want it anymore, but she still wants Hutch.

And Hutch has never wanted anyone else.

This story is also pulled along by all of its characters. That’s where the richness is. There’s more of a romance than Big Sky Country, but everyone from the first book makes an appearance, and that’s a good thing. The town feels like an extended family, and they are mostly folks you want to see again (there’s always one bad apple).

I was glad to visit Parable again, and I’m looking forward to my return visit for the third book in the trilogy.

I give Big Sky Mountain 4 stars to shine in its wide Montana sky.

*If you want to win some cowboy swag, there’s a Big Sky Mountain giveaway at BookRiot. Check it out!*

***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: The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 5 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: Print ARC picked up at a Conference
Number of Pages: 400 p.
Release Date: June 19, 2012
Publisher: Mira
Series: Forensic Instincts #2
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Formats Available: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Book Blurb:

“The man she loved is gone forever. The child she lives for could be next.”Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason’s newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency. Justin’s best chance for a cure lies with his father, who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child.

Or was he?

One emailed photo changes everything, planting a seed of doubt that Amanda latches on to for dear life: a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul. Could Justin’s father be alive? The mother in her is desperate to find out. But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs.

“Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge.”

A behaviorist. A former navy SEAL. A techno-wizard. An intuitive. A retired FBI agent. A human-scent-evidence dog. Together they achieve the impossible, pushing ethical and legal boundaries whenever the ends justify the means.

The manhunt is on for the elusive father. Yet the further FI digs into his past, the more questions are raised about whether the man Amanda fell in love with ever really existed at all.

Dark secrets. Carefully crafted lies. From the congressional halls of Washington, D.C., to exclusive Hamptons manors, there are ruthless people who would stop at nothing to make Forensic Instincts forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find.

Little do “they” realize that once Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends “The Line Between Here and Gone.”

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

The first book in the Forensic Instincts Series is The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, and I will say that its title makes way more sense than this one. It isn’t necessary to read Girl to read Line, but it helps to explain the team dynamic at Forensic Instincts, because that’s what drives this group. It’s about the team of crime solvers. And what makes them tick together. You don’t see much of how they tick separately.

And the book is so darn good you don’t care, either.

I kept seeing this as one of the crime shows, like Bones or NCIS, and it would so work.

This is a thriller, it’s all about solving the case. There’s no romance here, and there’s not supposed to be.

What you have is a tightly-knit organization of pretty-close-to-geniuses who got tired of trying to solve cases by coloring inside the lines, so they don’t. They work on cases where the ends really do justify the means.

Like rescuing a little girl from her kidnappers. That was Girl Who Disappeared Twice. In Line Between Here and Gone, it’s a case where an infant’s life is on the line. His mother thought the father was dead in a no-body homicide. But he’s been photographed after his supposed death.

She doesn’t want child support. It’s not that mundane. The baby, Justin, needs a bone-marrow transplant, and his mother is not a donor. His father is the best chance, if he can be found in time.

But about that no-body homicide–there’s a cover-up, and it’s a doozy. Somebody, it turns out lots of somebodies, don’t want anyone looking into that case. Not even to save a baby’s life. Even if they have to scare, or maybe kill, a few adults along the way.

This thriller kept me, not just up late, but glued to a chair until I finished it. I read Girl and Line back to back non-stop until I was done. The team at Forensic Instincts fits perfectly into the “Five Man Band” trope (see the TV Tropes Wiki for a complete description). This makes for not just a great organization, but a fantastic group dynamic for storytelling purposes.

And they have a totally awesome dog, named Hero, who frequently steals the show.

I give The Line Between Here and Gone 5 stars. I just wish it had a better title. I hated the title. I loved the book.

***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: The Blacksmith’s Lover by Heather Massey

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 4 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook from author
Number of Pages: 100 p.
Release Date: June 1, 2012
Publisher: Red Sage Publishing
Series: The Clockpunk Trilogy #2
Genre: Steampunk
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Book Blurb:

The year is 1840. On the run after being caught in a scandalous incident, scullery maid Sarah Bailey must find refuge before her vengeful former mistress has her killed. When she stumbles upon a blacksmith’s shop in need of an apprentice in West Boylston, Massachusetts, she applies for the position.

Viktor is a brawny, reclusive blacksmith who creates strange clockwork and steam-powered devices. The gruff man makes it clear that Sarah’s plight is no concern of his, but ghosts from his past dictate otherwise. Viktor agrees to protect the spunky maid, but only until her trail of henchmen runs cold.

Sarah quickly discovers that the fire of this blacksmith’s forge runs volcanic hot. Unable to resist one another, she and Viktor begin a lust-filled affair. But how long will their idyllic arrangement last before Sarah’s former mistress destroys it?

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

There aren’t a lot of romances with working-class heroes. In historic romances, everyone’s a nobleman. In contemporary romances, everyone is either a white-collar worker, military, or police.

That’s a broad generalization, but maybe not too far off.

In an early scene in The Blacksmith’s Lover, the heroine, Sarah, sees Viktor, the Blacksmith, bathing nude, and it does kind of make you wonder why there aren’t more blacksmith-heroes, at least in erotica.

While you’re fanning yourself, think about it.

However, that’s not the point of the story. There’s plenty of steam in this steampunk, but it doesn’t get there until later. There’s also not a lot of steampunk, or clockpunk, in this story at the beginning. It sort of eases its way in, too.

What we have throughout is the subversive story of two people who rescue each other. Viktor and Sarah are really equals. It just takes them a good chunk of the story to figure that out.

It works as a story. Viktor’s no nobleman, although he is very noble in his own way. And Sarah’s no simpering miss, either. They are both strong. Not just strong -willed, but physically strong. He needs her as much as she needs him. And not just for sex, although that turns out to be a big part of what happens.

They also have one heck of a lot of secrets, and they are keeping way too many of those secrets from each other to have a happily ever after. It almost costs them everything.

One big secret involves the steampunk/clockpunk element. Viktor learned some really cool stuff back in Russia. He learned to make mechanical marvels. He wants to train an apprentice, to pass his secrets on. Instead of getting an apprentice blacksmith, he gets Sarah.

She wants a refuge. And finds a protector. Together, they make a formidable team. It’s all a matter of learning to trust.

It made sense that Viktor was keeping the more “outlandish” aspects of his blacksmithing a secret from the general populace. Trust does not come easy to him. Neither does communication. He’s used to working with his hands, not talking. Yet he needs to find someone to train. It’s a very real problem.

This story begins because Sarah is being hounded by her previous employer, Mrs. Reynolds. The issue with Mrs. Reynolds does have to be resolved before this story can come to an end, and it does involve Viktor’s clockworks and steamworks. All does get revealed.

But I’m glad we don’t really see much of Mrs. Reynolds. I found her motivations completely unbelievable, even in fiction.

The Blacksmith’s Lover is a more “traditional” steampunk romance than The Watchmaker’s Lady. Both the lovers are fully human, and the reader doesn’t find themselves wondering if the hero is out of his mind.  Without that challenge, the story is not quite as haunting.

Which makes it very steamy steampunk with a down-to-earth hero and a heroine who is his equal. For that, I give The Blacksmith’s Lover 4 stars.

***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.

Bookish Rants or Raves: ARC-gate at ALA

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Bookish Rant or Raves> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Last week, and it is difficult to believe it was already more than a week ago, the American Library Association held its Annual Conference in the land of Mickey Mouse, Anaheim, California.

And there was a kerfuffle on YouTube about ARCs and who should be able to pick up how many on the exhibit hall floor.

Two bloggers at The Lost Lola posted a 22-minute video, since retracted, detailing their incredibly awesome book haul at ALA. They scored, and I think scored is a fair assessment, two copies of everything possible, including a lot of books they had no personal interest in.

A librarian who blogs at Stackedbooks questioned on Twitter how authors would feel “knowing a librarian couldn’t get an arc of their book at ALA, but a blogger picked up multiple copies.”

The Lost Lolas have printed an impressive and well-thought out response and clarification, but lots of questions still stand.

Let’s start at the beginning. I have described ALA as BEA for librarians, and I think it’s a fair description. ALA is a business conference for libraries, just as BEA is a business conference for the book industry. And just like the book industry, a good bit of the business of libraries happens to be books.

Not all of it, but a lot of it. That doesn’t make ALA a book convention. There was another half of the exhibits that was all about automated systems, materials-handling units, furniture, and supplies. This stuff isn’t sexy, but it was all on that floor. And those things are a significant part of the business of libraries.

Libraries do promote reading. And one of the ways we promote reading is through books. (I can hear you saying “well, duh” from here). Libraries are also part of the publishers’ ecosystem to promote books and authors. Libraries constitute about 10% of book sales in the U.S overall. For some genres and markets, like children’s books and audiobooks, we’re a lot more.

For midlist authors, libraries are a critical lifeline. Libraries provide the author, not just sales, but also word-of-mouth “advertising”. If the librarian likes the book, it gets “sold” across the desk. One enthusiastic reader puts the book directly into the hands of another. It’s a trust relationship.

We bloggers are trying to get into that “space” but we’re not there yet.

For anyone who has noticed that I’ve said we on both sides of this issue, I have. I am a librarian. I attend ALA because I am a member of the Association, and because I serve on a committee. I’m part of the business of the Association that gets done at the Conference.

And right now, most of my day-to-day work is as a book blogger.

But ALA is a business convention. It’s one of the largest conventions in the U.S. Not just for the number of people who attend (20,000!), but also for the number of simultaneous meeting rooms. On Saturday and Sunday, there are more than 100 meetings every hour.

And because it’s a business convention, if you’re there to be at a meeting, or three, or five, you can’t drop everything to stalk the exhibit halls for the author signings. People notice when you don’t show up at committee meetings, especially if you’re the chair of the committee. Or when you don’t make the presentation when you are one of the speakers.

ALA is a volunteer-run organization for the most part. The members do most of the work.

So when a librarian can’t be in the exhibit hall at a particular time for a particular signing, it’s because she or he has a commitment to keep. It’s a working conference.

But what ALA isn’t, is a book convention. It’s not RomCon or the RT Booklovers Convention or even WorldCon. There’s a great picture at the RT Booklovers Convention site from the RT Booklovers Book Fair, where the description touts the 100’s of authors who are there just to sign books. That’s not what ALA is.

The thing about this whole mess is that all the parties involved went in with different expectations. The bloggers saw it as a book conventions, with that set of expectations. They had a plan of attack to maximize their resources to get as much out of the book convention as possible. What they did is understandable from that perspective.

The librarians who come to the conference see it as professional development, or professional commitment. They get ARCs for a whole different set of reasons. Some are just for reading. But a lot more have to do with programming, especially YA programming. Teen librarians want ARCs to give to teen readers as prizes for book clubs, to plan programs, and just to figure out what their groups will be reading next.

Yes, the libraries that sent those librarians should find better ways to reach out to publishers, and should have better funding. And a lot of other things. But library budgets are shrinking right now. And a lot of librarians are self-funded to conferences. In other words, they pay their own way.

Just like bloggers.

Review: The Fallen Queen by Jane Kindred

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 4 1/2 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook from publisher
Number of Pages: 330 p.
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Series: The House of Arkhangel’sk #1
Genre: Paranormal romance / Fantasy romance / Angels and Demons
Formats Available: ebook, trade paperback
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Publisher’s Website, Book Depository

Book Blurb:

Heaven can go to hell.

Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive.

Hunted by Seraph assassins, Anazakia flees Heaven with two Fallen thieves–fire demon Vasily and air demon Belphagor, each with their own nefarious agenda–who hide her in the world of Man. The line between vice and virtue soon blurs, and when Belphagor is imprisoned, the unexpected passion of Vasily warms her through the Russian winter.

Heaven seems a distant dream, but when Anazakia learns the truth behind the celestial coup, she will have to return to fight for the throne–even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

I think it is going to be very, very important later, possibly much, much later, that this entire story is told as a flashback.  It’s an intriguing plot device, and one that’s easy to forget as you get caught up in this wild and compelling tale of fallen angels and risen demons, but the narrator is remembering the story she tells.

That means Anazakia, unlike her earthly counterpart (oh yes, that matters too) survives her trials. You can’t narrate your memoirs unless you live to tell the tale.

There were four princesses and one sickly prince in the supernal House of Arkhangel’sk. And their fate is made to almost, but not quite, mirror the earthly history of the House of Romanov more than a century previous. The Romanovs also had four princesses and one sickly prince. But unlike the Romanovs, the youngest princess survived, and thereby hangs the proverbial tale.

Because she survived through magic. And it’s magic that makes this story of power lost, power gained, and ultimately, power corrupted, different from history. It’s also where it merges with myth.

There’s also more than a touch of Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen, a very evil version, at the cold, dark heart of this story.

And then there are the angels, and the demons. Don’t attach traditional definitions to these terms, because they aren’t strictly applicable. Demons in this myth refer to those who have fallen from the supernal realms, or have mixed their blood with humans. Sin as we know it may or may not apply.

Righteousness, carried too far, can be much more deadly, and more damning, than any “fall from grace”. And angels can be hoodwinked.

The best man in the story is a demon. The biggest fool is an angel.

At heart, this is a story about political power. The evil Snow Queen wants to control the Supernal Realms, so she stages a coup, using magic. Anazakia escapes, because she’s in the wrong place at the right time, also using magic.

That’s where the “fun” begins.  By escaping, Anazakia becomes more than the privileged daughter of the upper classes. She learns how the other half, several other halves (demons, fallen, humans) live. She fights for her life. She learns to love.

And she becomes part of a legend.

Or so she says. After all, she’s the one telling the story.

The Fallen Queen fascinated me. The layers to it keep peeling back and there is just more stuff in each layer. Be warned, this story is not for the faint of heart. The Snow Queen is really evil, and characters get tortured in some seriously inventive ways. And as the interview with author Jane Kindred detailed, the demons Belphagor and Vasily are very into BDSM. (It’s consensual between them, not so much when the Queen does the torture thing) The parallels between Russian history and the Supernal Realms are intentional, and must go somewhere in later books. This political density reminds me of the Kushiel books.

The Fallen Queen is the start of Anazakia’s epic journey through dark places to find herself.

I give The Fallen Queen 4 1/2 stars

***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: The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine by Jayne Fresina

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 2 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook from NetGalley
Number of Pages: 384 p.
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Regency Romance
Formats Available: Mass market paperback, ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Book Depository

Book Blurb:

“Wanted: one husband, not too particular. Small dowry, several books, sundry furnishings, and elderly aunt included. Idlers, time-wasters, and gentlemen with other attachments need not apply.”

Scarred in a childhood accident, Sophia Valentine doesn’t expect any takers on her ad for a husband in the Farmer’s Gazette, until the mysterious Lazarus Kane shows up at her door. To Sophia, he is an exciting, enigmatic stranger. But Lazarus has known Sophia for years and has come a long way to find her. Things are about to get complicated for the mischievous Miss Valentine.

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

Once upon a time, Miss Sophie Valentine did something very, very improper. She and her fiancé, the rather wealthy James Hartley, were caught, as they say, in flagrante delicto on a billiards table in the middle of a house party. There were scads of witnesses. (Not precisely, but nearby)  So James did the proper thing and asked Sophie to marry him. They would probably suit. They’d been friends for years, and he was rather handsome.

The worst part was that the experience wasn’t any good for her. Today we’d call it “wham, bam, thank you ma’am”.

No, the worst part was that while Sophie was standing on the balcony, waiting for James to bring her some punch, she saw him talk to one of the serving maids. And she saw that he showed the girl more real affection, more love, than he would ever show her.

And Sophie Valentine wasn’t ready to be a complacent wife. Not even to escape the scandal.

She climbed down the groundskeeper’s ladder next to the balcony, escaping the life that society expected of her, and tearing a gash on her face that left a permanent scar. Just like the one on her life.

The assistant groundskeeper who left that ladder out watched her every move–and was dismissed for his inattention to his duties.

Ten years later, Sophie is rusticating with her brother and his absolute harridan of a wife, still trying to live down that scandal, and she finally breaks out of her attempt at propriety by writing an advertisement in the local farmer’s journal for a husband.

Of course, the ad brings a handsome stranger to the village. And, because there are no coincidences in romance, it’s the assistant groundskeeper who got fired for watching her escape ten years ago.

And all the players from that long ago drama return to Sophie Valentine’s life to try to prevent her from causing yet another scandal.

Based on that opening scene, this should have been tremendous fun. Not terribly true to period, but fun. Except it all falls kind of flat.

The characters seem more like caricatures than real characters. There’s the hero of course, who had to go off and become dark and tortured before he could be redeemed and rescue the heroine. Lazarus has a number of secrets that he refuses to reveal to Sophie, but seem obvious to the reader. He also has a mysterious wound that might kill him at any moment, but is miraculously not a problem at the end of the book.

There’s Sophie’s brother  Henry, who isn’t capable of managing his estates without his sister’s more sensible advice. Henry is weak and resents his sister for pointing out the things that he should be taking care of and can’t seem to stand up to his shrew of a wife, who is spending money that they don’t have.

Then there’s the sister-in-law who resents Sophie. Sophie who is doing all the work Lavinia should be doing, and who occasionally reminds her that the household is spending far, far too much. And that she’s really, really stupid.

Are all the awful Regency sister-in-laws named Lavinia, or does it just seem that way?

The seduction of Sophie Valentine by Lazarus Kane from her prim and proper, scandal-reducing life back to her true improper self takes much too long and is down-right boring.  Sophie may have been teased but after she fell down that ladder, I wasn’t.

I give The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine 2 Stars.


***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: The Magician of Wall Street by Minta Hall + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 3 Stars> book reviews> Giveaways> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook from publisher
Number of Pages: 138 p.
Release Date: April 23, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website

Book Blurb:

Oliver Pendragon’s days as the Magician of Wall Street are legendary. When he finds a way to get everything he’s ever wanted—including Abby Daltry—of course he can’t refuse, even though there will be hell to pay if ever Abby found out. But when he discovers his old business partner is out for Abby’s blood, Oliver will do anything to protect her…and win her heart.

New Age bookstore owner Abby is perfectly happy with her life the way it is—the independence, the quirky clientele, and even the occasional tarot card reading—are all part of the charm. But when the cards reveal Oliver is back and bringing danger along with him, she refuses to heed the warning for another chance with the only man she’d ever loved.

As shots fly, the Magician will have to perform his best trick ever if he hopes to keep Abby safe and by his side forever.


My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

The Magician of Wall Street isn’t really a magician, or at least, not a stage magician. He’s a financial wizard. Or he was.

But there’s something singularly appropriate that a story about a man called “The Magician” begins with a tarot card reading, a reading where, when you look back at it after the story ends, every single thing in it has come true. But not in the way that the heroine thinks.

I found this chilling, how Abby is totally warned about what’s going to happen, and completely ignores the warnings because of her preconceived notions about Oliver (the Magician) who admittedly hurt her terribly, and Gil, her old friend and Oliver’s former business associate.

In spite of all the evidence that Gil was running a Ponzi scheme (a la Bernie Madoff) Abby refuses to believe that Gil might want to hurt her as part of his plans. Because she doesn’t trust Oliver not to control her the way her father did. And the way she knows her daddy still wants to.

Abby has some serious “Daddy issues”. And Oliver is definitely a LOT like her father. Which does make one wonder a whole lot about why she got so deeply involved with a man just like dear old dad.

But I digress.

The Magician of Wall Street had two different stories going on. The surface story was the suspense. The financial genius, Oliver, loses his investment firm because his associate, Gil was running a Ponzi scheme under his nose. Oliver missed the whole thing because he was too busy with Abby.

And Abby thought Oliver was too busy working to pay enough attention to her, so she left him, moved to the West Coast and went into partnership with her best friend in a New Age bookstore. From Abby’s perspective, Oliver may have lived with her and slept with her, but he didn’t love her. Oliver never let himself lose that much control. Oliver was all about taking control–of her. So Abby ran away.

And Gil, he manipulated the whole thing. Well, not the love. But he pointed them at each other and watched them dance. Then messed everything up by trying to kill them. Except these two people are already very, very messed up. Gil just added bullets and explosives.

Abby’s daddy threw in money and a company. I’m not sure who was more destructive. This story has an absolutely fantastic beginning. The scene with the Tarot card reading really works.

But Abby keeps wimping out after that. Gil was right, she is easily manipulated. This was an okay story, but after that fantastic beginning, I’d hoped for better.

I give The Magician of Wall Street 3 Stars.


***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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~*~*Giveaway*~*~

 Entangled Publishing has generously offered a digital copy of The Magician of Wall Street to one lucky commenter! 

All you have to do is leave a meaningful comment about the review to enter!
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)

Please leave us a way to contact you.
(Email in blogger profile or twitter name – no way to contact you – no entry).

This giveaway is open to International entries!

Giveaway ends on Saturday, June 16, 2012; and we will announce the winner on Sunday.

Good luck!

Review: The Cinderella Blues by Obren Bokich

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 4 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook from author
Number of Pages: 294 p.
Release Date: April 12, 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Formats Available: paperback, ebook
Purchasing Info: : Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Book Blurb:

The Cinderella Blues (Thuh Sin’-dur-rel’-uh Bluze)
n.
1.
The phenomena whereby otherwise intelligent, capable, successful professional women are convinced they need rescuing by a prince.


My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

The Cinderella Blues starts out in the middle of some of the cheesiest, I swear, the most cliché-ridden, bodice-ripping drivel ever written.

And I could have sworn this was supposed to be a contemporary romance. It said so right there on the label.  A couple of pages later the heroine dropped out of her daydream and into an auto body shop. She was daydreaming this stuff.

That made way more sense. Haven’t you done that? I’ve done that. Drifted off in my head to fanfic-land. My fantasies aren’t half that cliché-full. At least, I hope not.

Kat, on the other hand, has an unfortunate tendency to daydream so deeply, to travel so far into Katland, as her friends fondly call it, that she wrecks her car. Over and over.

On her way out of the body shop, she runs a red light and dings a big red pickup truck. His fender is dented. Her Mini needs a tow. Her insurance company is not amused. The scruffy but yummy guy driving the pickup takes off without so much as a word.

Kat finally admits that her trips to Katland while driving are hazardous to her health as well as her wallet. She puts her car in storage and starts taking the bus. In Los Angeles!

Kat is dreaming of, not just Mr. Right, but Prince Charming. She’s a career woman working her way up the ladder, but she still thinks she wants to be rescued.

The Cinderella Blues is all about the frogs she kisses along the way. And not only are they froggy, but swampy and muddy into the bargain. Ribbit!

But Kat has a fairy godmother. And some terrific friends to help her along the way. Including remind her that she doesn’t need Prince Charming to rescue her. She’s more than capable of rescuing herself.

All Kat needs is to get her head out of the clouds and figure out what it is she really wants. She can make her own dreams come true. And if she rescues herself, she’ll have a chance at a real happy ending, with a real man, not a fairy-tale prince.

But also not a frog.

I give The Cinderella Blues 4 stars for doing a terrific job of lamp shading the Cinderella trope, standing it on its head, dancing a jig with it, and still bringing home the happy ending.

***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: Invitation to Scandal by Bronwen Evans

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 4 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook from author
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Number of Pages: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington Brava
Formats Available: Mass market paperback, ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, All Romance Ebooks

Book Blurb:

Her secrets are coming undone…

Plagued by scandalous rumors, Rheda Kerrich will stop at nothing to restore her reputation and make an honest living for herself—and she’s determined to do it without a husband. But times are hard, and smuggling is a risky though profitable trade. So when a dashing agent for the English government catches her in the act, she desperately resists his charms and conceals her illicit profession. Until she realizes he may be the key to her ultimate freedom—and unbridled passion…

Rufus Knight, Viscount Strathmore, has never had trouble beguiling the ladies of Kent. When his search for “Dark Shadow,” a cunningly elusive smuggler, leads him to alluring and headstrong Rhe, her objections to his amorous advances merely incite a tantalizing game of cat and mouse. Soon, they’ll find the very secrets driving them apart could ensnare them in a love they can’t escape…

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

It should have been “scandals” plural. The sheer number of the scandals being courted by the hero, the heroine, the heroine’s brother, the entire Kentish town of Deal, and pretty much everyone else in this tale of coastal smuggling and Napoleonic era spy-catching almost beggars the imagination.

Rufus Knight is trying to restore his family’s good name after his father’s death twelve years ago in a scandal. Not that his death was scandalous, but the results were. Death was due to a hunting accident, but a note was found on the late Viscount Strathmore’s body linking his father to treasonous spying for the French.

Rufus himself is now an English agent and searching for answers. He’s almost caught up to them. The smuggler, “Dark Shadow,” has been sending messages to the French, and Dark Shadow operates from the Kentish coast, near Deal.

Rheda Kerrich, older sister to the Baron de Winter, kept her brother’s barony out of debt by leading the village in that time-honored English coastal business, smuggling. She also does it to keep the women and children in the village fed and clothed. Too many men are dead, fled, or deported.

So Rufus is looking for a smuggler to clear his family name. He operates as a government agent. Rheda is a smuggler, needing to avoid government agents at all costs.

Except that she is also part of the local gentry. Of course they meet. And in the worst possible circumstance from Rheda’s perspective. Rufus finds her on the road, dressed as a gypsy, trapped behind a contraband barrel of brandy.

He wants to seduce her in hopes of getting information about “Dark Shadow”. She hopes to tease him in return for escape from the damnable barrel, which she desperately needs to get down to the village. Selling the contents of that barrel will feed a village family over the winter.

The other thing Rheda needs desperately is to keep Rufus from finding out her true identity as a member of the local gentry. Or her even more secret identity.

The best thing about this book were the “cat and mouse” games that Rufus and Rheda play with each other.

There’s no question that they want each other from the minute they meet. There’s also no question that they have plans to use each other. Rufus wants information, Rheda wants Rufus’ stallion Caesar to cover her mares almost as much as she wants his master. Occasionally more.

But the biggest secrets, in a story where nearly every player has a secret, is that they are falling for each other. This is a secret they keep from themselves, because they both have darn good reasons to not get emotionally involved with anyone, but especially with each other.

And in the middle of this stew, there is still one scandal left. There really is a French spy. And everyone has been totally wrong about who it is.

I give Invitation to Scandal 4 stars.

***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.