Tag: 2012 NetGalley Reading Challenge

Review: Cast in Peril by Michelle Sagara

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: Trade Paperback, ebook, audiobook
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Chronicles of Elantra #8
Length: 544 Pages
Publisher: Harlequin Luna
Date Released: September 25, 2012
Purchasing Info:Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

It has been a busy few weeks for Private Kaylin Neya. In between angling for a promotion, sharing her room with the last living female Dragon and dealing with more refugees than anyone knew what to do with, the unusual egg she’d been given began to hatch. Actually, that turned out to be lucky, because it absorbed the energy from the bomb that went off in her quarters.…So now might be the perfect time to leave Elantra and journey to the West March with the Barrani. If not for the disappearances of citizens in the fief of Tiamaris—disappearances traced to the very Barrani Kaylin is about to be traveling with…

If you adore urban fantasy, pick up Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra. Start from the first book (Cast in Shadow) and be prepared to wallow. Also, if you like epic fantasy, dig in! Because Elantra is both. It’s an urban fantasy set in an epic fantasy world.

What it isn’t is a romance. Like many true urban fantasy series, someday, at some point, Kaylin might figure herself out enough to let love happen. But it will be at the right time for her. That’s not what this story is about.

It is Kaylin’s journey. And she has way too much pain in her past having to do with sex to think about love. Especially since the man she knows loves her murdered two children that she thought of as her sisters.

And Kaylin took a long time about it, but she finally admitted that he was right to do it. For certain select painful definitions of right. Definitions that only belong to orphans eking out an existence in the fiefs of Elantra.

Kaylin has come a long way from there. Kaylin is now a Hawk. An officer of the law in Elantra. She is also a Lord of the Barrani Court. One of only two human lords in that otherwise immortal court. And she is currently the roommate of the only female dragon to be seen in hundreds, if not thousands of years.

And she is Chosen. Her skin is inked with runes of power. But not inked by tattoos. No one knows how or why she was Chosen, only that it happens once in so many generations. And that it gives her power.

Few mortals, few humans ever become Chosen. It shapes her life, and she shapes others.

She saved the High Lord of the Barrani, when no one else could. She fought an Outcaste Dragon, and survived.

Mostly, Kaylin gets into a LOT of trouble. Without even trying. Every time she does, she changes her world. She always tries to change it for the better, and someone always tries to stop her. They usually fail, but not without doing a great deal of collateral damage.

In Cast in Peril, a Barrani Arcanist embezzles money from the Imperial Exchequer. Always a bad idea, but especially when the Emperor is a Dragon. Dragons guard their hoards zealously.

It turns out that the Arcanist was using the money to attempt to make himself a Lord of Chaos. He misjudged his ability to become a Lord, but he certainly got the chaos part right.

Especially with Kaylin involved.

Escape Rating A: Reading this was my holiday treat to myself. The story gets off to a rollicking start and never lets go. I love Kaylin’s voice. She’s snarky and snarly and insecure, all at the same time. She hopes for the best from everyone, but knows that it just isn’t possible. She hopes for the best from herself, and tries always.

She’s playing so far above her weight class, all the time, and knows it, but keeps on, because that’s the only life she’s ever had.

The characters around her are fascinating. Everyone’s backstory is so deep, but we only see what Kaylin sees, and the urge to peel back the layers is overwhelming. Elantra is a world I could explore forever.

At the same time, while the Elantra Chronicles as a whole are Kaylin’s journey, Cast in Peril is about one very specific journey, and it’s not done. We get cut off right before the climax and this story feels a bit incomplete because of it. The completion of this specific trip will be told in Cast in Sorrow (ominous title, that) which won’t be out until September, 2013. Dammit.

***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: All I Want for Christmas is a Duke by Delilah Marvell and Maire Claremont

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> B Reviews> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Historical Romance, Holiday Romance
Length: 209 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Date Released: December 5, 2012
Purchasing Info:Delilah Marvelle’s Website, Maire Claremont’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Two ladies. Two dukes. One Christmas. And scandal galore.

A Christmas anthology by two hot names in historical romance fiction…

Merry Christmas, Mrs. Robinson by Delilah Marvelle

Lady Jane left her father, the Earl of Chadwick, and the ton behind to experience life on the stage. After a disastrous marriage, the widow is living on the edge of poverty, determined to guard her heart, when a secret admirer from her past demands a second chance.

Shy and retiring Martin Nicholas Pierce, the Sixth Duke of Somerset, has carried a torch for Lady Jane since her youth, but he is five years her junior. When she married another man, he left for Europe, determined to put her out of his mind. After returning to find Lady Jane free, he vows to replace the memories of her cursed Twelfth Night with a new beginning.

The Twelve Days of Seduction By Màire Claremont

Alexander Hunt, Eighth Duke of Berresford, is aware his ward’s governess isn’t quite what she seems. Although Miss Flint is beautiful and intelligent, she misrepresented herself to gain employment, and he threatens to give her the sack mere days before Christmas.

Desperate to convince the sexy duke not to tear her from the little girl she’s grown to adore, Adriana challenges him to seduce her before the Twelve Days of Christmas have come to an end, although she fears it may cost her heart. Alexander accepts the challenge, unconcerned that he has as much to lose, if not more, than the delectable Miss Flint.

Two Christmas romances, both featuring Dukes as the heroes. You’d think that these stories would be similar, but beyond that superficial detail, they’re not.

The Twelve Days of Seduction by Màire Claremont starts with one of the classic themes, the governess who falls for her employer. Of course, the author adds more layers onto that trope. The governess also falls for her charge, the Duke’s somewhat willful daughter. And she also falls for the whole gig. She wants to be part of a family, because she never was. Adriana Flint definitely bootstrapped herself up from the underclass.

When the Duke of Berresford discovers that she isn’t what she seems, he should give her the sack. What he wants is to finally take her to bed. Because all the things that were forbidden when she was his daughter’s prim and proper governess are not forbidden if he fires her.

Adriana wants to stay. She loves the child, she loves being part of a family. She might even love Alex, her Duke. But the trick is to get him to let her stay long enough to let him convince himself that she’s the right woman for him. Not as his mistress, but as his duchess.

I found this story to be quite entertaining, and very sensual, but it did break the willing suspension of disbelief quite a bit even though it had lots of Christmas spirit. Maybe it would take the Ghost of Christmas Present to make this one come true.

Escape Rating for The Twelve Days of Seduction by Màire Claremont: B–

The first story in this duology is Merry Christmas, Mrs. Robinson by Delilah Marvelle. The story gets off to a slightly rocky start, but turns out to be an absolute polished gem by the end.

Lady Jane takes to the stage, and leaves the life she should have had behind in favor of the glittering world of being a singing sensation. While it might not be the same as being Lady Gaga in our time, Lady Jane has a musical gift that carries her beyond singing in drawing rooms for a few friends, think of Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes’ A Scandal in Bohemia. She has a major talent, and a need to share it.

But Ladies don’t sing on stage.

She has a secret admirer, a man who sends her beautiful letters, every night, letters that reveal his understanding of her true spirit. But she never knows his name. The man she marries claims to be the mysterious Mr. X turns out to have been stealing the letters to read in advance so he could pretend to be the man she loved but had never met.

When confronted with the truth, her husband has a stroke and dies instantly, leaving her a young widow, cut off from society.

Years later, she ekes out a living giving music lessons, unwilling to sing, unwilling to return to her family hat in hand, when a friend from her youth comes to her boarding house.

Martin Pierce has recently become the Duke of Somerset. He’s discovered that his great-aunt, cut off from his family long before he was born, is living out her remaining years in that boarding house.

And is surprised beyond all belief to find Lady Jane. Surprised, stunned, relieved. Gobsmacked, although that term hadn’t been invented yet.

Because when Lady Jane sang on the stage, she was in her early 20s, and Martin Pierce was a 17-year-old boy painfully in love with her. He was the real Mr.X. He loves her still.

Now that they are both adults, the five-year gap in their ages is immaterial, but the difference in their status suddenly looms very large. As does his secret.

Can they start over? Should they? Martin is no longer the shy boy he once was, and he knows that he has to try.

Merry Christmas, Mrs. Robinson turned out to be utterly marvelous. Lady Jane’s pride was painfully well drawn, as was the spritely character of Martin’s aunt, Lady Ernastine. She’s a gem. Watching Martin take charge of his life is beautiful and powerful to watch.

Escape Rating for Merry Christmas, Mrs. Robinson by Delilah Marvelle: A-

***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: Romancing the Holiday by Jaci Burton, HelenKay Dimon and Christi Barth

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> B Reviews> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, audiobook
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Holiday Romance
Length: 257 pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Date Released: December 3, 2012
Purchasing Info:Jaci Burton’s Website, HelenKay Dimon’s Website, Christi Barth’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance

We wish you a merry Christmas…and a happily ever after!

A memorable three-night stand gets rekindled in a cabin in West Virginia. An office romance is sparked by an impulsive holiday kiss. And two best friends scout locations for a marriage proposal and discover that they make a perfect match. ‘Tis the season for laughter, love and a lifetime of happiness.

Edited by Angela James this anthology includes:

We’ll Be Home for Christmas by HelenKay Dimon
The Best Thing by Jaci Burton
Ask Her at Christmas by Christi Barth

When I picked up Carina’s contemporary Christmas anthology last year, I didn’t know that two of the stories in Holiday Kisses were part of ongoing series. It didn’t matter at the time. In my review, I really enjoyed Jaci Burton’s A Rare Gift, and didn’t care much for HelenKay Dimon’s It’s Not Christmas Without You.

But both those families are back! Those were the middle stories. Part one must be in the first Carina Christmas collection, Naughty and Nice. Clearly I must complete the set.

First, there’s this year’s contemporary collection to review. (Future reviews will deal with the erotic collection Red Hot Holiday and the sci-fi romance collection A Galactic Holiday. I can’t resist collecting the set)

This collection was a lot stronger than the Holiday Kisses collection last year, which for me had one home run, two strong base hits, and one pretty big miss. This year, the stories were all very good.

So what does that mean, you might ask?

My favorite story in the collection is Jaci Burton’s The Best Thing. There are multiple layers to this story, because Tori and Brody have so much going on in their relationship. Brody Kent is the last single brother standing of the Kent brothers. They own Kent Construction. They also happen to all be Tori’s bosses. But Brody, well, she’s had a crush on him forever, since she first moved into town when she was 16. The thing is, she didn’t have much of a family, and Brody’s parents adopted her. So if she and Brody mix pleasure with business, and it goes pear-shaped, Tori will lose her heart, her job, and the only family she’s ever known.

No man is worth that, no matter what kind of skills he might have in the bedroom. And rumor has it that Brody has plenty of skills. But since Brody took their mad flirting to a searing kiss at last year’s Christmas party, neither of them has been able to recover. Is it worth losing the safety of a sure thing to find out if they can reach wonderful?

Escape Rating for The Best Thing: A-

I was surprised at how good HelenKay Dimon’s We’ll Be Home for Christmas turned out to be. It’s the same family as It’s Not Christmas Without You, a story where I did not care for the characters at all. But in We’ll Be Home for Christmas, the Thomas brother involved is big brother Spencer, and although he’s also being idiotic, he gets his head handed to him much quicker. Lila Payne gets good and mad and stands up for herself in a way I could respect and empathize with.

Spence goes out of town for a one-night stand to let off some steam, and meets Lila. She’s just gotten divorced, and also wants to forget about her troubles. This is all fine, except Spence tells Lila his name is Austin Thomas. When Lila comes to town to take over her Uncle’s broken-down resort, no one is happy about the name switch, especially embarrassed (and happily married) Austin. The fireworks never stop after that.

Both The Best Thing and We’ll Be Home for Christmas are terrific in the way that their respective groups of brothers tease and joke and kid around with each other. In spite of some tragedies in both backgrounds, these are great families to read about.

Escape Rating for We’ll Be Home for Christmas: B+

My least favorite story in this year’s bunch was Ask Her at Christmas by Christi Barth. It’s a story about a geek hero who has always felt like a disappointment to his hard-charging corporate father. Kyle is planning to finally please dear old dad by marrying a woman he doesn’t love, in order to further the merger between his father’s company, and her father’s company. The only problem is that the woman is a bitch.

And he’s been trying to ignore his feelings for best friend Caitlin for too many years. Feelings that go way beyond friendship. Feelings that poor Kyle has no idea that Caitlin reciprocates.

The story is really cute, but I did wonder how oblivious these too could possibly be, considering how much time they spend together.

Escape Rating for Ask Her at Christmas: B-

***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: Stellarnet Prince by J.L. Hilton

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, audiobook
Genre: Science fiction romance, Space opera
Series: Stellarnet #2
Length: 252 pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Date Released: November 12, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance

An otherworldly love. Human blogger Genny O’Riordan shares two alien lovers: Duin, a leader of the Uprising, and Belloc, the only surviving member of the reviled Glin royal family. Their relationship has inspired millions of followers—and incited vicious anti-alien attacks.

A planet at risk. A Stellarnet obsessed with all things alien brings kidnappers, sex traffickers and environmental exploitation to Glin. Without weapons or communications technology, the planet cannot be defended. Glin will be ravaged and raided until nothing remains.

A struggle for truth. On Earth, Duin discovers a secret that could spur another rebellion, while on Glin, Belloc’s true identity could endanger their family and everything they’ve fought for. Have the Glin found true allies in humanity, or an even more deadly foe?

What goes around comes around. Saying that is a universal truth seems even more applicable when the entire universe is really involved.

The Glin believe in a kind of “rule by committee” and their society works as a type of ultimate democracy. They aren’t technologically advanced in the way that humanity strives for, but it works for them. And think of Starfleet’s Prime Directive. We don’t know the best way their society should develop. Their way might turn out better. Who knows?

So when a “ruling clan” developed among the Glin, a clan that reserved certain artifacts and certain special ways to themselves, traditional Glin rose up and wiped them out, down to the last child. Duin, one of the main characters in Stellarnet Rebel (reviewed here) led that rebellion.

Duin kept a secret. He may have been the hero of the Uprising, but he let one child of the Star Tribe survive. That child, that prince, was just a baby then. Now he is a full-grown Glin. He’s also Duin’s co-husband to the human Genny Riordan. It’s Belloc.

Secrets come full-circle. Genny is the hottest thing on the Stellarnet, the all-the-time/everywhere news channel/invasion that is our internet + television on way too many steroids.

Their life with Genny is broadcast to everyone, everywhere, all the time. They have fans. They have enemies. They have stalkers.

Duin is the Glin ambassador to the UN, or its equivalent. Genny’s parents think she should be deprogrammed, so that she’ll leave Duin and Belloc.

And there are even more predatory races than the humans who are sniffing around Glin, races that the humans are supposed to protect Glin from. But maybe they’re not. Maybe all the negotiations are just a smoke screen to keep Duin busy while the humans sell his planet out from under him.

Because there are secrets that he doesn’t know. And secrets the humans don’t know. Maybe Belloc’s secret identity as the last Star Prince is the terrible liability that Duin has always thought it was.

And maybe it will be enough to save every Glin from extinction.

Escape Rating B+: The science fiction romance aspects were toned down a bit in this story. After all, the relationship between Duin, Belloc and Genny is already established to a significant extent. Not that they don’t still have some work to do together.

The space opera aspects of the story are the ones that really come to the fore in this one. Lois McMaster Bujold’s comment about science fiction being the “romance of political agency” comes into play here. Duin starts out as a political newbie. He thinks he’s not, but the UN-type agency is the big leagues, and he’s only played in the minors up til now. He’s on guard, but the game is just so much bigger. He knows they are all lying to him, but the lies are way huger than he imagines. The particular lie was a doozy!

The subplot with Genny’s parents was just a shade too predictable. Everyone should have been way more on their guard for that one.

But the space opera was top-notch, and I loved the surprise ending! I hope there are more in this series. There’s some terrific world-building here, and I’d love to see more in this universe.

***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: Heart of Atlantis by Alyssa Day

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: Mass Market paperback, ebook, audiobook
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Warriors of Poseidon #8
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Date Released: December 4, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

As a war wages between the immortals of Atlantis and those of the vampire realm, a Poseidon warrior fights to save his world—and the woman he loves. And no risk is too great.

The desires of a high priest.

Alaric, Poseidon’s High Priest, has made a vow to Quinn, the woman he loves and the leader of the Resistance: to save her friend Jack before his last bit of humanity has been drained. Should Alaric succeed, there’s one intimate danger: he may lose Quinn to the love of the man whose life he saved. But damn Atlantis to the nine hells, he’s willing to put Quinn’s wishes first, regardless of the consequences.

The warning of a threat reborn.

The final jewel of Poseidon’s trident has turned up in the hands of mysterious Ptolemy Reborn, who claims to be descended from Atlantean royalty. He’s about to reveal to the world that Atlantis is real, positioning himself as king. But this magical terrorist is bent on chaos. The only warrior who can stop him is following his own path, driven by the even more powerful force of love. Atlantean powers over the sea could prove just as cataclysmic—for Quinn’s love, Alaric might drown the entire world.

My Review:

Alaric has been Poseidon’s High Priest for over 500 years. It’s a very, very powerful job, with one tremendous drawback–the High Priest has to be celibate. As bad as that sounds, he managed to get used to it, well sort of used to it, by walling himself off from his emotions. (It turns out you really can channel all that energy into power, at least if you’re a Warrior of Poseidon!)

Then Prince Conlan brought home his human bride, Riley, and Alaric met Riley’s sister Quinn, the leader of the human resistance against the vampires. Quinn was his soulmate, but as the High Priest, Alaric couldn’t claim her.

Que up 7, count ’em 7 books of angst for Alaric and Quinn, while all the other Warriors found their soulmates. Even the one who was cursed not to feel any emotions at all! Talk about torture…

Heart of Atlantis is Alaric and Quinn’s chance at a happy ever after. But, since there is a very real fear that if Alaric gives in to the temptation that Quinn represents, he’ll lose his power, their HEA is wrapped up in the resolution of the series.

They need to find the final stone for Poseidon’s trident, and Atlantis must rise from the depths of the oceans to take its place among the nations of the world.

Of course, there are obstacles. Not just their old enemy Anubisa, queen of the vampires, but there’s a new guy on the block. He calls himself Ptolemy Reborn, and he outs the Atlanteans before they are ready, and exposes Quinn as the leader of the resistance. But the good guys don’t know who he is or even what he is. He’s not vampire, and he’s not demon. So where did he come from and why does he care about their squabbles and their gods?

Meanwhile, Quinn’s best friend, Jack, has retreated to his tiger form and refuses, or is unable, to turn human again.

Can this universe be saved? Before the dome over Atlantis cracks completely and everyone drowns?

Escape Rating B-: This wasn’t quite as much fun as I hoped it would be when I saw that Day was wrapping up the series. The individual stories have been tons of fun, but there were too many plot threads in the air for this last book, and the story felt scattered.

Ptolemy Reborn’s origins came out of nowhere. His obsession with Quinn, and with this world, was never fully explained. It would have made more sense plot-wise if Anubisa were the driving force again, or at least one of her kind. His cannon was a little too loose, in more ways than one.

Alaric and Quinn spend the whole story running all over the place and debating whether they should or shouldn’t. Then they get interrupted just as they’re about to make love. It’s funny the first time, maybe the second, then it gets annoying. Also, they’re adults and they never seem to have a rational discussion about the elephant (maybe that should be pod of whales) in the room.  And when they finally do manage to consummate their relationship, what should be the epic love scene of all time gets rather short shrift.

It was great to have all the Warriors come back to Atlantis for the final raising of the continent. That was cool. What was not cool was the way that Jack just walked off alone at the end, alone and lonely. I need to know that there’s someone for him in the future.

***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: Naughty & Nice by Ruthie Knox, Molly O’Keefe and Stefanie Sloane

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> B Reviews> book reviews> C Reviews
Format read: ebook provided by the publisher through NetGalley
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Holiday Anthology
Length: 210 pages
Publisher: Loveswept (Random House)
Date Released: November 5, 2012
Purchasing Info: Ruthie Knox’ Website, Molly O’Keefe’s Website, Stefanie Sloane’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance

’Tis the season for romance with three original holiday-themed novellas! Unwrap this festive eBook bundle and discover why these authors are quickly becoming the biggest names in the genre. Ruthie Knox tells a heartwarming contemporary story of first loves given the gift of a second chance; Molly O’Keefe releases the ghosts of Christmas past with a prequel to her novel Crazy Thing Called Love; and Stefanie Sloane weaves an irresistible Regency tale of fiery passion that burns deep on a cold winter’s night.

ROOM AT THE INN by Ruthie Knox

Carson Vance couldn’t wait to get out of Potter Falls, but now that he’s back to spend Christmas with his ailing father, he must face all the people he left behind . . . like Julie Long, whose heart he broke once upon a time. Now the proprietor of the local inn, Julie is a successful, seductive, independent woman—everything that Carson’s looking for. But despite several steamy encounters under the mistletoe, Julie refuses to believe in happily ever after. Now Carson must prove to Julie that he’s back for good—and that he wants her in his life for all the holidays to come.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU by Molly O’Keefe

Maddy Baumgarten and Billy Wilkins are spontaneous, in love, and prepared to elope the day after Christmas—that is, if Maddy’s family doesn’t throw a wrench in their plans. After all, Maddy’s barely out of high school and Billy’s a notorious bad boy. Maddy doesn’t care about Billy’s rough past—all she cares about is living in the here and now. But after Maddy’s mother stops speaking to her in protest, and a Christmas Eve heart-to-heart with her father leaves her with butterflies, Maddy starts to get cold feet. She loves Billy, but is she taking this big step too soon?

ONE PERFECT CHRISTMAS by Stefanie Sloane

After being jilted by her fiancé, Jane Merriweather turns to her dear childhood friend, the Honorable Lucas Cavanaugh, for support—and unlocks the smoldering desire simmering in the man’s troubled heart. Frightened by his newfound feelings, Lucas flees to Scotland. But when the Christmas season brings them together again, one glance is all that’s needed to reignite his yearning. If Lucas can convince Jane that his intentions are as pure as the falling snow, they’ll turn a dreary December into a joyous Yuletide affair.

‘Tis also the season for Holiday anthologies, as Loveswept gets into the swing of the holidays with this trio of Christmas themed stories. Unlike the Carina Press holiday bundles, these stories are not available separately, so if you want one, you have to get them all.

I say that because, as with so many story bundles, one person’s cuppa tea is another person’s day-old coffee grounds. But this holiday treat is priced as a virtual stocking stuffer at $1.99, so it’s not a big deal. Or it’s a great deal, take your pick.

Speaking of picks…the pick of this litter is Ruthie Knox’s contemporary story, Room at the Inn. It’s also the longest story, so Ms. Knox has the most time to develop her characters and her background. Inn takes the second-chance at love theme and really works it. Carson and Julie are on more like their tenth chance. Maybe their twentieth. Carson comes back to his small upstate New York home town as seldom as possible, because two things always happen; he fights with his father, who he feels like he always disappoints, and he falls into bed with Julie, who he always leaves. He knows he’s breaking her heart every time, but he can’t resist her. And vice-versa. But he can’t stay in Potter Falls. He has an important job. One that takes him as far away as possible.

Until his father manufactures a breakdown, and forces him back for longer than 10 days, and life wraps him back in the place he left behind. He finally stays still long enough to see that his home, his old friends, his old frenemies, and even Julie, are not quite the same people he thought they were when he was 20, not now that he’s 35. And neither is he.

Escape Rating for Room at the Inn: A-

Molly O’Keefe’s All I Want for Christmas is You is a prequel short story to the third book in her Crooked Creek Ranch series, Crazy Thing Called Love. And it felt very short and slightly incomplete to me. There was too much backstory that I didn’t know about the town and the people, and I didn’t feel for why Maddy wanted to rescue Billy quite so badly that they HAD to get married on her 18th birthday. Too many of the motivations behind the events were missing for me. Especially since I know that this is not a happily ever after, just a set up for a later story.

Escape Rating for All I Want for Christmas is You: C-

The last story in the group is Stefanie Sloane’s One Perfect Christmas. This one is a Regency romance, and also a friends into lovers story. This one drove me crazy! It wasn’t long enough. I could tell that there was oodles of backstory between Jane and Lucas, but we only catch glimpses of it. They were childhood friends, having grown up on adjoining estates. But she’s loved him forever, and he never realized it until recently. Now she needs to marry for money, and would love to marry him. He even has money. It would be perfect. But only if he also loves her, which he does. Misunderstandings abound. There’s even a wandering donkey for comic relief.

This is a case of the story being bigger than the format allowed. I needed more!

Escape Rating for One Perfect Christmas: B

***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 Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook
Genre: Mystery
Series: Deborah Knott #18
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Grand Central
Date Released: November 20, 2012
Purchasing Info:Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Judge Deborah Knott and her husband, Sheriff’s Deputy Dwight Bryant, are back home in Colleton County amid family and old friends. But the winter winds have blown in several new faces as well. Lt. Sigrid Harald and her mother, Anne, a well-known photographer, are down from New York to visit Mrs. Lattimore, Anne’s dying mother. When the group gathers for dinner at Mrs. Lattimore’s Victorian home, they meet the enigmatic Martin Crawford, an ornithologist researching a book on Southern vultures. He’s also Mrs. Lattimore’s long-lost nephew. With her health in decline, Mrs. Lattimore wants to make amends with her family-a desire Deborah can understand, as she, too, works to strengthen her relationship with her young stepson, Cal.

Anne is charmed by her mysterious cousin, but she cannot shake the feeling that there is something familiar about Martin . . . something he doesn’t want her or anyone else to discover. When a string of suspicious murders sets Colleton County on edge, Deborah, Dwight, and Sigrid once again work together to catch a killer, uncovering long-buried family secrets along the way.

A visit with Judge Deborah Knott is my Thanksgiving treat every year, although usually not with buzzards looking over my shoulder. Or over Deborah’s shoulder. Last year we were in New York for Three-Day Town and it was fabulous (see review), this year Deborah is back home in North Carolina.

Margaret Maron’s Deborah Knott series is an excellent mystery series, usually set in Colleton County North Carolina, involving the crime-solving skills of Ms. Knott, who now sits on the county bench as a judge. In her first outing, Bootlegger’s Daughter, Deborah was just a lawyer, and she was, and is, that bootlegger’s daughter. One of her fears is that someday her daddy will appear before her in court, but it’s not likely. Her daddy is in his 80’s, and doesn’t seem to be operating a still any longer.

But everyone knows that he used to. Everyone knows everyone’s business in rural North Carolina. Deborah knows everyone’s business, too. If they don’t appear in her courtroom, her husband is second-in-command in the county sheriff’s department. She hears about most crimes, sooner or later.

The events in The Buzzard Table strike much closer to home for Deborah. Her cousin, Lt. Sigrid Harald, is down from New York, along with Sigrid’s mother Anne Harald, because Anne’s mother is one of the grand old ladies of Colleton County, and she is dying of cancer.

Another family member is visiting, a long-lost cousin. Martin Crawford is staying on the estate, studying Southern vultures. In other words, Martin is an ornithologist who studies buzzards. He’s also a photojournalist.

So is Anne Harald. Anne is an award-winning photojournalist, and there is something about Martin Crawford that seems familiar…she just can’t place where she’s met him before in a life that has been full of travel, chance-met people and exotic places.

But Sigrid Harald, skeptical New York cop that she is, is suspicious. She knows that Martin Crawford is lying about something.

Then people start dying, and Martin’s excuses and alibis seem just a shade too contrived. Especially when the buzzards give him away.

Escape Rating B+: The reasons behind the murders turned out to be chilling, but I don’t want to give the game away.

The build-up to finding out what was going on was a bit slower than is usual for this series. I think that may be because neither Deborah nor Sigrid was in actual danger this time. While that’s more realistic, it does drop the suspense factor down just a bit.

I definitely enjoyed seeing the development of Deborah’s relationship with her stepson Cal. That ended the story on a high note.

***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: Bared to You by Sylvia Day

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: Trade Paperback, ebook, audiobook
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Series: Crossfire #1
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Date Released: June 12, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Our journey began in fire…

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness—beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I’d never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily…

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other’s most private wounds… and desires.

The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn’t tear us apart…

There’s a temptation to call Bared to You a grown-up version of Fifty Shades of Grey, but that’s not quite the right metaphor.

Yes, I read the Fifty Shades Trilogy, and I enjoyed it. I didn’t think it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, or the greatest romance since Romeo and Juliet (probably a good thing, considering the way that one ended) but it was fun to read. It did read a lot like good fanfiction, but that’s okay. I like good fanfiction. Sometimes quite a lot.

One of my pet-peeves about Fifty Shades revolved around the character of Ana. I couldn’t imagine someone Ana’s age being quite as innocent as she was, and yet, managing to deal with Christian’s demands as well as she does. The opposites don’t quite gel into one person. Either she knows what she’s doing or she doesn’t.

In Bared to You, Eva is no innocent. She’s young, but she’s been battered by life in some of the worst ways possible. Also, even though Gideon Cross, like Christian Grey, is mega-rich, so is Eva. Whatever seductive qualities Cross has, the ability to support her in the style to which she wishes to become accustomed is not one of them. Eva’s already lived that life with her succession of rich stepfathers.

The other way in which Eva and Gideon are equals, and where Ana and Christian were not, is that both of them have demons in their past. The difference is that by the end of Bared to You, we know what Eva’s are, but Gideon is still hiding from his, and hiding them from Eva.

In Bared to You, a lot of the edginess in the relationship comes from both of them knowing that what they are is co-dependent. They are obsessed with and addicted to each other. This is not necessarily a good thing. Or a healthy thing. It has the potential of working for them because it’s the first time either of them has had a relationship where they’ve taken off the masks they wear to the rest of the world.

It’s the first relationship they’ve had where they both admit that they are broken. It’s also the first real relationship that Gideon Cross seems to have had at all. Whatever his successes are in the corporate world, on the inside, he is one very messed-up man. The question that remains at the end of the book is what made him that way?

And can he let Eva in close enough for their relationship to work? Or will his damage derail the healing journey that she has managed so far?

Escape Rating A-: To me, this works better as a story than Fifty Shades, because Eva and Gideon make more sense as characters. There’s still a certain amount of wish-fulfillment, in that both of them are young and gorgeous, but that’s often true of romance in general. (I do wonder about the trend for über-rich and specifically 28-year-old mega-rich entrepreneurs, but that’s a minor quibble.)

While it is less clear at the beginning why Gideon is so instantly attracted to Eva that he will change all of his coping mechanisms for her, she is an adult in this relationship, and reasonably equal. They’re both rich, and they’re both damaged goods. They’re also both controlling, obsessive and scared of real relationships.

The difference is that Eva manages to have real relationships. Maybe not romantic ones, but other kinds. Her best friend Cory, with whom she shares a different kind of co-dependency. Her mother and stepfather. Her dad. She is healing.

Gideon is just covering up what’s wrong with him. And that’s the tension in the relationship. She’s trying to get better. He hasn’t been. Now they’re either going to go down together, or get up together. Two steps forward and sometimes three steps back. Sometimes only one.

***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 Devil’s Thief by Samantha Kane

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Saint’s Devils #1
Length: 293 pages
Publisher: Loveswept (Random House)
Date Released: November 12, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

The daughter of a reformed jewel thief, Julianna Harte knows a thing or two about stealth. When the foundling home she provides for finds itself in dire financial straits, Julianna is forced to do the unthinkable. In a bit of misguided Robin Hood derring-do, she slips through the window of a wealthy rake to search for a treasure she knows is there: an invaluable pearl. But when the towering and very naked occupant of the moonlit bedroom ambushes her with a bargain—a night in his bed in exchange for the pearl—Julianna doesn’t know if it’s masculine heat or sheer desperation that makes his terms so tempting.

Alasdair Sharpe had no intention of keeping his end of the bargain. Planning to offer his little cat burglar carte blanche instead, he promptly loses himself in the delights of unexpected pleasure. But when he awakes the next morning to find his family heirloom gone, fury quickly replaces sensual languor. Of course, Alasdair is more than willing to use seduction to reclaim his stolen pearl—and find the key to Julianna’s heart.

Midnight burglars either have to be very, very good, or very, very lucky. Julianna turns out to be a little bit of both, and neither.

She also seems to have forgotten that some, maybe most, of her father’s skill rested on his ability to charm the petticoats off a number of his marks. Julianna gets off easy in one aspect of her first foray into the family business–her first mark isn’t wearing anything at all.

The Devil’s Thief is a romance, and a comedy for the most part, of misunderstandings. That’s what makes it so much fun.

While Julianna steals the pearl in order to pay the rent on the foundling home she supports, her reasons for not asking her father and step-mother for assistance turn out to be a misunderstanding.

But then, so does her father’s misunderstanding of his new wife’s issues with the foundling home itself, which are the reasons he is less supportive than he used to be.

Alasdair thinks Julianna needs the rent for herself. When he finds out she is his neighbor, he is mortified to realize that they have met, and that he totally overlooked her. That she dressed and acted in a manner designed to cause that very reaction makes him feel even more deceived.

Her determination to remain independent, and his to protect, keep them dancing around their feelings for each other until the very end. Almost to the very bitter end.

These two lovers require the help of all their friends, and even some of their enemies, to figure out if they can find a future together-one without too many misunderstandings.

Escape Rating B-: I read this all in a single froth-whipped gulp. It’s fun. The plot runs from one charming misunderstand-dammit to the next, but it’s meant to. The reader, and all the side-characters, are too busy watching in amused horror as these two lovers careen past each other in increasingly insane attempts to steal back the original pearl without putting the other in danger, and all in vain. Meanwhile discovering that both their original reasons for this mess might have been unnecessary, except as a means to get their lives on the track they should have been in the first place.

The most interesting character in this story might be Wiley, the gang-leader who helps Julianna. I can’t wait to see what he turns into.

We get some very teasing hints that every single one of these men is a “gentleman” in name only. And that all of them have something that they are either trying to forget, or otherwise are looking to replace something in their past that they lost.

They’re all very bad boys, but they seem to be bad for a reason. I can’t help wondering what those reasons are. Hopefully, we’ll find out in the rest of the series.

***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: Moonlight & Mechanicals by Cindy Spencer Pape

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, audiobook
Genre: steampunk romance
Series: Gaslight Chronicles #4
Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Date Released: October 22, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance

London, 1859

Engineer Winifred “Wink” Hadrian has been in love with Inspector Liam McCullough for years, but is beginning to lose hope when he swears to be a lifelong bachelor. Faced with a proposal from a Knight of the Round Table and one of her closest friends, Wink reluctantly agrees to consider him instead.

Because of his dark werewolf past, Liam tries to keep his distance, but can’t say no when Wink asks him to help find her friend’s missing son. They soon discover that London’s poorest are disappearing at an alarming rate, after encounters with mysterious “mechanical” men. Even more alarming is the connection the missing people may have with a conspiracy against the Queen.

Fighting against time—and their escalating feelings for each other—Wink and Liam must work together to find the missing people and save the monarchy before it’s too late…

Moonlight & Mechnicals, even without being part of Cindy Spencer Pape’s awesome Gaslight Chronicles (see reviews of Steam & Sorcery and Kilts & Kraken) just by itself matches up what has to be one of the ultimate steampunk couples: the hero is a werewolf and the heroine is an engineer. Talk about awesome.

But the story does this pairing proud, as well as the previous bits we’ve seen of the Hadrian family-by-love that engineer Wink is very much a part of. Although that would be Lady Winifred Hadrian to the likes of you or me. But in Steam & Sorcery, Sir Merrick Hadrian rescued her, and the rest of her adopted siblings from the worst part of London, in the middle of fighting vampyres.

Wink’s ladylike exterior is just that, an exterior. She’s seen the worst that life has to offer. And just because she could become an idle society twit, doesn’t mean she’s constitutionally capable of it. Wink is still a genius engineer. And even though women can’t become actual Knights, she’s very much a valued employee. Her skills are too valuable to waste. But just because Wink has a career of her own doesn’t mean she doesn’t also want a home and family of her own. The only problem is that she’s been in love with Inspector Liam McCullough for years. Since the day he and Merrick rescued her, in fact.

Wink thought that Liam was waiting for her to grow up. That wasn’t it. She’s 24 now. Definitely grown up. Liam is swearing that he’ll never marry. A childhood filled with nothing but beatings, combined with the strength and temper of a werewolf, have left Liam afraid to let anyone close. Especially Wink.

Liam should have seen his protectiveness as a warning sign that it was already far too late for him. Instead he tries to help another man court her. And if this sounds like Cyrano de Bergerac, it should, and with similar results.

But while Liam is trying to avoid romantic entanglements with Wink, there is Order business that they must deal with together. People in the poor districts of London are going missing in alarming numbers, at the same time as mysterious sightings of mechanical men. It’s either magic or machinery, and that means trouble. There’s also a plot against the Crown, and the two things may be connected.

Can they solve the mystery of the missing citizens, discover the plot, save the Queen, and figure out what’s stopping them from being happy together, before it’s too late? The race to solve the mystery is every bit as enthralling as the romance in this adventure.

Escape Rating A: A werewolf, an engineer, a mechanical dog, and shades of Cyrano de Bergerac courting Roxanne. How much more fun could this story have gotten? Add in a dastardly plot to bring down Queen Victoria using mechanized men that sound a lot like something straight out of Doctor Who, that’s how!

The love story is the plot, and it goes from sad to happily ever after so, so well. Liam’s reasons for not wanting to marry do make sense from his perspective. He’s totally wrong, but completely understandable. And Wink’s attempt to settle for something less is heartbreaking for everyone, but necessary to provide Liam with the appropriate kick in the arse.

The anti-Monarchist plot makes a terrific mystery. Very convoluted, and kept me guessing right up until the end on some of the particulars.

This story ends on an absolutely lovely note. The point about the family that you make being as much, or possibly more, important than the one you are born to, particularly for Liam. <sniffle>

 

***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.