Tag: 2012 Reading Romance Challenge

A Rogue by Any Other Name

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean is the first book in MacLean’s new pre-Victorian romance series, The First Rule of Scoundrels. It is also a delicious tale about a former tomboy who tells a bald-faced lie that her sudden marriage is a love match between herself and her former childhood sweetheart. There’s a problem with telling whopping lies like that one–fate is so tempted to make them real.

But the story is in why Lady Penelope Marbury and Michael, Marquess of Bourne are in the position to be telling such a whopper in the first place.

You see, there was a bit of a scandal. Actually, there were two. Make that three.

When Michael turned 21, when he reached his age of majority, he lost his entire estate over a hand of cards. Over just one hand. He was maneuvered into it. And the other man cheated. But Michael played, and he bet. And he bet everything that wasn’t tied up in the entail. And he lost it all.

To the man who had been his guardian after his parents’ death, Lord Langford. The man who had taken Falconhurst, an estate that was barely scraping by, and had built it up into something worth having…and who was unwilling to turn it over to a mere boy, even if that boy was the rightful heir. So Langford manipulated, maneuvered, cheated, and won. and gloated over his triumph.

Michael was disgraced. He never placed another bet. But he never lost the taste for it. Gamblers never do. Instead he ran games where other men lost their money, and their livelihoods. And eventually their inheritances. Ten years after Langford broke him, Michael, Marquess of Bourne was one of the four owners of The Fallen Angel, the most exclusive gaming hell in London.

Lady Penelope Marbury was the oldest daughter of the Marquess of Needham and Dolby. Growing up, Michael had been her best friend, along with Tommy Alles, the son of Lord Langford. At least, they’d all been friends until Michael’s scandal. Penelope had written letters to Michael for years, never receiving any in return.

But Penelope had suffered her own scandal. During her first season, she had become engaged. To a Duke, no less. It had all been perfect. Not perfect love, but perfectly arranged. The Duke of Leighton had been slightly boring, but her marriage to him would have made life so much easier for all of her younger sisters.

Instead, the engagement was broken and a week later the Duke married someone else. Infamously, it was an obvious love-match. and Penelope became a laughingtock for not being able to hold on to him. Six years later the ton was still tittering about it. Penelope was secretly relieved. Penelope wanted more than a dull, society marriage to a man she didn’t know or care for.

But her scandal affected all of her sisters’ prospects. Her father won Falconhurst from Langford, fittingly enough in a card game, and attached Bourne’s estate to Penelope’s dowry.

Penelope’s father was nobody’s fool. He knew what Michael thought he wanted–revenge against Langford. The older man wanted his daughter married and settled, and figured that Michael was what she wanted, no matter how he had to maneuver to get it.

Penelope wanted her sisters’ happiness, and was willing to bargain with her own to get it. Everyone in this story is gambling, but the stakes are much higher than your average card game.

Michael has been living for his revenge for ten years, and thanks to Penelope’s father, it is now within his grasp. But revenge, as the saying goes, is a dish best served cold. With Penelope back in his life, the only thing he can think of is the heat they generate together.

Which will win?

Escape Rating A-: I kept reading to see what would happen next! This was a story with a lot of twists and turns, and it also sets up the rest of the series quite nicely.

The glimpse into the past through Penelope’s letters to Michael is terrific! We don’t just see them growing up, we see Penelope changing over the years after Michael left, her transformation from tomboy to the “proper” woman at the beginning of the book. She used to be adventurous, and that’s all still inside her, but it’s been locked away because she has no outlet, and then Michael comes back and it all comes flowing, and sometimes raging, out of her again.

Michael is almost an enigma. He is beset by demons. His revenge has nearly consumed him, but not quite. He doesn’t gamble for money, but he so obviously gambles in so many other ways. He needs the adrenaline.

Penelope’s father is quite the schemer. He sets the whole thing up. Excellently well played!

Reviewers note: I received this egalley from Edelweiss in return for an honest review.

 

The Iron Heart

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews

The Iron Heart by Leslie Dicken is a terrific steampunk romance. The story takes place in and around Lundun, and yes, the resemblance to Victorian London is intentional and heightened, because there is a serial killer just like the infamous Ripper on the loose, and the hunt for him brings in the suspense.

Unfortunately, his first victim provides the introduction for our hero and heroine, and also points out the class divide in this quasi-Victorian society.

Lundun is where the common folk live. The Greenlands outside it are where the nobility reside. Except for Ella Wilder. She’s been secretly living above her Uncle James’ clockworks in Lundun ever since her cousin Jenny was the first horrific victim of the killer.

At the time, it seemed like a random murder. Lundun is a big and dangerous city, and sometimes, death happens. Even gruesome death. But when a second young woman, one who looks just like Jenny, turns up, Ella knows that Jenny’s death was the start of something horrific, and she wants to get the word out to other young women to protect themselves.

Ella even has a way to get that word out. Ella publishes a newspaper in Lundun, She also knows how to mobilize the upper crust to act. Ella is a member of the Syndicate of Provinces, the Council that governs Lundun. But Council members are required to live in the Greenlands, which is the reason that her actual residence over her Uncle’s shop must remain a secret.

The District Four representative is Bennett Pierce, Lord Barrington. He is alarmed by the recent death of the second young woman. He does not know about Jenny. But the second woman was his brother’s fiancee, before his brother’s accident.

Bennett wants to investigate the girl’s death himself. He is already investigating the girl’s death–by himself. He has reason to believe that his brother Hugh, who he rescued time and time again from excesses large and small, may have gone over the edge into madness, and that it is Bennett’s fault.

But as much as Bennett wants to quiet the Council, Ella wants to involve them. The only way for him to keep her from publishing her findings in her newspaper is to give her some information, and to keep her close enough to him to prevent her from finding out too much.

The difficulty with that plan is that Bennett Pierce discovers that Ella Wilder is the one and only person who has ever distracted him from his single-minded quest to find and save his brother. The only saving grace is that he tempts her every bit as much.

But with a crazed killer on the loose, will their mutual distraction be their salvation or their doom?

Escape Rating A-: I was up until 3 am trying to finish this. I didn’t quite make it, but I really, really wanted to. I wanted to find out how it ended so badly that I picked it up at breakfast the next morning. I got so caught up in the romance I forgot to figure out who the killer really was. Very well done!

This is very steamy steampunk. A genre description might be steampunk romantic suspense. The story is romantic suspense. There’s a serial killer on the loose and the hero is hunting him for personal reasons. The heroine is personally involved because someone close to her was a victim. There are hints she might be a target. This is romantic suspense.

But the world is so, so steampunk. Dirigibles, clockworks, automata. Not just big airships, but small personal vehicles as well. Clockwork parts for people are an integral part of the story. Even a tiny hint of Asimov’s famous Three Laws of Robotics makes an appearance.

I found this book because Heather Massey recommended it (while fanning herself) on The Galaxy Express. She also mentioned that the description of the book on Amazon and Goodreads doesn’t use the word “Steampunk”. And it doesn’t. The description is really cute, but the keyword isn’t there. This is steampunk, and the book description needs to just plain say it for readers who will love this book to find it.

Because steampunk romance fans will adore it.

 

Danger Zone

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews

Danger Zone by Dee J. Adams has all of the high-octane excitement of a hot Hollywood car chase movie. And so it should. But Adams’ story is much, much better, because Danger Zone is terrific romantic suspense, and more than satisfies on both the romantic and the suspenseful sides.

Quinn Reynolds has flown all the way from London to Hollywood to deliver an ultimatum to his older brother, Mac. Two years ago, Mac dropped the running of their business, Formula One Design, in Quinn’s lap, while Mac returned to the U.S. to lead the pit crew for his wife’s racing team.

Trace Bradshaw, Mac’s wife, is a top racer on the Formula Circuit in the U.S. Mac and Trace are in Hollywood filming her life story, which includes not just a horrific and nearly life-ending accident, but also a crazed and murderous stalker. The movie (and Adams’ first book – Trace’s and Mac’s story) is titled Dangerous Race (reviewed here).

Mac is busy when Quinn shows up on the set. Mac is always busy. It’s the story of their lives. Mac has acted more as Quinn’s father than his brother. While waiting around for Mac and watching the movie sets, Quinn literally bumps into Ellie Morgan, the stuntwoman playing the role of Trace in all the racing (and fighting and nearly dying) scenes of the movie.

Ellie is the first woman Quinn has felt attracted to since his own car accident six months previously. Ellie’s the first person who has made him feel anything good since that accident. Even though Quinn is only going to be in L.A. for two weeks, he pursues Ellie relentlessly, just like the playboy he used to be.

Ellie doesn’t want a playboy. And she doesn’t do casual relationships. Even though she is very attracted to Quinn, she knows she isn’t capable of giving her body to a man without letting him into her heart. And since Quinn will only be around for a couple of weeks, any relationship they might have is doomed from the start.

But Ellie’s roommate Ashley thinks that Ellie should let herself have a good time, just for once. Even more than that, Ashley thinks that Quinn is “the One”. The real one for Ellie, in spite of his playboy manners and his seeming wealth. Quinn has a limo and a driver, while Ellie and Ashley share an apartment. Ellie and Quinn couldn’t be more different.

But Ellie has a secret. Ashley is her lifeline. Ashley allows her to function. Because Ellie is dyslexic.

Quinn’s never made a secret of why he is in L.A. He wants, no he demands that Mac let him sell their company. They each own half, so they have to agree. Mac was a Formula racer before he had an accident. Then he ran the company until he met Trace and dropped it on Quinn. Mac loves cars and racing. Quinn’s made the company a success, but he doesn’t love it and never has. He wants out. But big brother won’t discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, someone is in L.A. stalking Quinn, because he wants to make sure the “right” company buys that company. That stalker starts staging “accidents” in order to take Quinn out of the picture. But he keeps missing Quinn and gets Ellie’s roommate Ashley instead. Without her lifeline, with her best friend in the hospital in a coma, Ellie turns to Quinn.

But can they survive long enough to learn each others secrets?

Escape Rating A: What makes Danger Zone so good are the people and their relationships. Quinn and Ellie are folks you would like to know in real life, you feel for them and the issues they deal with. Their romance is plenty hot and steamy, and it’s fun to watch them court and spark, but the author also made them easy to empathize with.

Dyslexia is a difficult problem for many people. Ellie fear of revealing her secret and the ridicule she will potentially face is made real for the reader. And there’s irony in that. If I suffered from dyslexia, how difficult would it be for me to read Ellie’s story?

I hope the next book in this series (Dangerously Close) is Ashley’s book. I really like that girl, and she so deserves her own happily ever after!

Merrick’s Destiny

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews

Merrick’s Destiny (exclusively available at All Romance Ebooks) by Moira Rogers is book 1.5 in her Bloodhounds series. It’s a very short and extremely steamy story that takes place between Wilder’s Mate and Hunter’s Prey. It stands alone well enough to serve as an introduction to this series, but it works even better if you’ve already read Wilder’s Mate!

Merrick Wood returns to consciousness in either the best of all possible worlds, or the worst. There’s a pretty woman straddling him, and he knows she’s his mate. On the other hand, there’s a crashed airship on fire about a hundred yards away.

That blazing inferno will act like a beacon to vampires for miles around. And there are plenty of vamps, since the ship crashed in the middle of the Deadlands. Merrick just has to get himself and his mate to safety before the new moon compulsion drives him out of his mind for three days.

Of course, if the lady is willing, it could be a very enjoyable three days–if the vampires don’t find them first.

Paralee Colton is an airship pilot. She’s always loved her freedom more than anything else in the world. Merrick just might make her rethink a few things if he can convince her that he wants her for herself, and not just a convenient female to spend his moon madness with.

Merrick needs to remember how or when or why she became his mate. Then he needs to convince her that she’s his destiny.

Escape Rating A-: This is a very fun, hot, short read. That being said, for a short story, it really does wrap up all the loose ends. One of the things that usually drives me crazy about short stories is that either the loose ends aren’t all tied up, or that I don’t find out enough backstory to understand how things got the way they are. Rogers ties everything up very well, and because this is book 1.5 in the series, it builds on some material established in Wilder’s Mate.

I picked Merrick’s Destiny initially because the cover absolutely floored me. The model, whoever it is, is dead-ringer for Jonathan Frakes from his days as Commander Riker in Star Trek Next Gen. The picture at the right is from the movie Generations, and the Enterprise-D is about to crash into a planet. But the resemblance to Merrick is startling to say the least.

Wilder’s Mate

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews

Wilder’s Mate by Moira Rogers turned out to be the perfect story for reading on a chilly winter’s night. Not only is this first entry in Rogers’ Bloodhound series a terrific blend of romance, steampunk, and steamy sex, but the hero is even described as having a higher than normal body temperature!

But the story of Wilder’s Mate starts with the “mate” in question. Her name is Satira, and she’s the apprentice to a Guild inventor named Nathaniel. The only problem is that Nathaniel’s just been kidnapped. Satira wants to assist whichever Bloodhound the Guild sends to recover him. One tiny detail: she’s trapped in the elevator.

Nathaniel’s inventions, including the steam-powered elevator that was currently vexing Satira, were the reason he was kidnapped by the vampires inexorably taking control of the very wild West in this steampunk version of the post-Civil War United States.

The vampires represent the lawless, and the Guild represents the law. In order to combat the powerful vamps the Guild has created a weapon of their own, creatures known as Bloodhounds. The Hounds used to be mere men, but alchemy has transformed them into powerful beings that can hunt and kill vampires with terrible speed, as well as claws and fangs. Bloodhounds are werewolves, the traditional enemy of the vampire.

These Hounds have a weakness. Not the traditional one. They don’t change into wolves at the full moon. They change into wolves at will. But at the new moon, they must have sex. A lot of it. For three days and nights. The Guild pays a network of brothels to be available for the Bloodhounds, and they pay well for the service.

The Bloodhounds also have a secret. Like wolves, they mate for life. If a Hound finds his mate, he has to protect her at all costs. If she dies, he follows within months. The alchemy that created the Hounds was not intended to pull this particular rabbit out of its hat, but there is no denying the fact that it has. The Guild doesn’t want the Hounds to find their mates, but when it happens, there’s nothing they can do.

Satira knows a lot about Hounds. Her mother lived with an old Bloodhound named Levi for about a dozen years. Levi helped to raise Satira, and Levi found her the place with Nathaniel before he died. Satira never knew that her mother was Levi’s mate. Her mother probably didn’t know either. But when her mother died, so did Levi.

Satira also enjoys the heat, the adventure, the roughness of sex with a Hound. She just doesn’t understand why none of the Hounds who have ever shared her bed have never come back. She thinks there’s something wrong with her.

But the Hound who pulls her out of that busted elevator knows exactly why none of those other Hounds have ever stayed, because it’s taking every ounce of restraint he has not to take her the moment he sees her. And Wilder Harding isn’t ready to do that until Satira understands exactly what’s at stake for both of them.

Because Satira is his mate.

Escape Rating A-: Wilder’s Mate is one of those stories where you just buckle up and hang on for the ride. This was an absolute blast from beginning to end. The story is very, very steamy, but there is a story and there is a romance and a happily-ever-after.

The story elements reminded me of several bits I’ve read before, but since those were all things I’ve liked, I didn’t mind. Satira’s situation is similar to Jaines Cord in Shona Husk’s Dark Vow, the woman apprentice to a steampunk-type gunsmith because women aren’t allowed to be master gunsmiths. The Bloodhounds mating-for-life compulsion being an unexpected side-effect of their change has some eerie similarities to the Breeds in Lora Leigh’s series. But it definitely works in both series!

For a short book, Wilder’s Mate wrapped all its loose ends very nicely. Great story and fantastic beginning to a series. I’m definitely looking forward to more!

The Devil of Jedburgh

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews

The Devil of Jedburgh is a title granted by superstition to Arran Kerr in Claire Robyns’ historical romance set in the Scottish Lowlands during Mary, Queen of Scots reign. There are no actual devils or demons involved. But if you have a taste for historical romance, this story is wickedly good.

Breghan McAllen’s father has promised Arran Kerr of Ferniehurst that he will give his daughter to him in marriage. The marriage will unite two of the strongest families in the Scottish Lowlands, families that are both loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots.

Bree is 19 years old, and has been indulged by her parents all of her life. She is the youngest of her parents’ 13 children, and the only daughter. She’s a little spoiled and a little wild. And she’s scared to death of marrying Arran Kerr.

Not because she’s afraid of men (she has 12 older brothers, after all). She’s not afraid of marriage itself. Or sex. She’s still a virgin, which is expected in that time for a woman of her class, but again, 12 older brothers, and there are horses and cattle and sheep. Some of her older brothers are married. She’s not stupid. Far from it.

But Arran Kerr is known far and wide as the Black-Hearted Kerr. The Curse of Roxburgh. Or the Devil of Jedburgh.

Breghan does not want to marry the demon-spawn who acquired all those horrible names.

Arran, on the other hand, wants to marry the daughter of Laird McAllen’s wife. Not because he’s ever met the Lady McAllen. Or her daughter. But because Lady McAllen gave her Laird 12 strapping sons and lived. Arran’s met some of the sons, and the Laird himself. Arran assumes the Lady must be a big, buxom woman to survive that much childbearing. And that’s just what he needs. He doesn’t care what her daughter looks like.

All those nicknames? Arran can be the very devil in battle. But that’s not unusual for the Scottish borderlands during the 1500s. His real problem is that he believes there is a curse on the Kerrs. He is the last of the Kerrs of Ferniehurst. Because of the curse. The curse that all of the Kerr women, wives or not, die in childbirth with the baby.

So the rumor that Arran killed his mother? Well, it’s true. After a fashion. His mother died in childbirth. His birth. Not that death in childbirth was uncommon in the 1500s.

But Arran believes in the curse. So he wants to marry McAllen’s daughter, thinking that the McAllen women must be veritable brood mares, not just capable of bearing an entire clan all by themselves, but looking like it, too. Arran figures he’ll just blow the candle out every night.

That’s what he tells Breghan when he meets her. While she’s running away–from marrying him. She tells him that her name is “Bree” and claims to be, well, her own servant. And Arran takes one look at her and falls, well, deeply in lust, at the very least. But decides he can’t have her, even to dally with, because of that curse. Because Bree isn’t big and buxom. She’s feminine enough, but on the slim and athletic side. (We’d call her a tomboy today.)

In the morning Arran arrives at the McAllen home, after Bree has run away from him. Again. Only to discover that 1) Bree is the woman he was supposed to marry and 2) the Lady McAllen is built along the same lines as her daughter, in spite of that fine brood of strapping sons, and 3) he wants Bree anyway, in spite of, or because of, her defiant spirit. At least for a while, and he’ll have his sons with some broodmare of a woman, later.

Arran and Bree are handfast by the priest who was supposed to marry them. A handfast was a trial marriage. A year and a day, unless there was a child. (Handfastings did exist, and were quite legal.)

Arran and Bree go into the marriage with very different expectations. Arran expects to have Bree, just for a while. Then find some other woman, and quite probably have her die in childbirth. He already cares too much for Bree to let her die bearing his child.

Bree has Arran’s word that after the year is over, he will let her go, and let her marry whoever she wishes. Her dream is to live in Edinburgh, to live a relatively civilized life in the city and be near Court.

So Arran brings Bree to Ferniehurst as his handfast Lady. And Bree discovers that the fearsome “devil of Jedburgh” is not quite as black as the rumors have painted him. But the Court in Edinburgh, that, on the other hand, might be worse than any evil she ever imagined.

Escape Rating B+: There’s a lot going on in this love story. It’s complicated and it mixes in some very real history from a period that has always fascinated me. Which is what made me get seriously sucked in to the story.

First there’s the love story between Arran and Bree. These are two really strong-willed people. They both think they can have their trial marriage and walk away unscathed after the “year and a day”. Watching them learn otherwise is a major part of the fun in this story. They both need to learn a few lessons before they’re right for each other. But watching their journey is very much worth reading!

The icing on the cake for me was the events that occur in Edinburgh. This story ties into some of the real history of Mary, Queen of Scots and her second husband Henry, Lord Darnley. This period of Scottish and English history has always been one of my favorites, so visiting again was a special treat for me, even if Arran’s and Bree’s involvement with the Court was somewhat problematic for them.

For more of my thoughts on this book see this post at Book Lovers, Inc.

 

 

Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | book reviews> C Reviews

Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel by Samantha Grace is a Regency romance with one of the tried-and-true plots: the story of the redemption of a rake. Except that in this story, the rake is almost ready to be redeemed, and the lady isn’t quite ready to trust his redemption. Although this story had all the right elements, including a likeable hero and heroine, a matchmaking mama and a pair of dastardly evildoers for spice, the whole thing didn’t quite jell by the finish.

Lana Hillary meets Drew Forest by falling into his arms. From a tree. While escaping from one of the many men her matchmaking mama believes would be a perfect husband for her. Or at least a better bet than Lana officially declared “on the shelf” after two London Seasons and no offers. Well, none after that first lying scoundrel who broke Lana’s heart and left her.

The problem with the men her mama finds is not that they are so terribly respectable, although they are. It’s that they are so terribly boring. And so terribly obviously fortune hunters. Lana would rather be a spinster than be leg-shackled to a man who only wants her for her marriage portion. Especially since he will have control over it, and her, once she marries.

Being caught in a compromising position with one of the bores would require marriage. Escape by tree climbing is infinitely better.

But being witnessed by Drew Forest is not. Being stuck in the bushes listening while Drew breaks off his relationship with Lady Amelia is even worse. Drew is a handsome, charming scoundrel. And Lana’s brother Jake is in love with the widowed Lady Amelia.

Andrew Forest found the spirited creature he rescued from the tree to be the most fascinating woman he had ever met. The fact that her brother Jake warned him off in no uncertain terms made the challenge that much more interesting. rven if Drew normally never pursued supposedly marriage-minded misses like Lana, the lure was simply too great for him to ignore

And even though Lana knew that Drew was the exact opposite of the type of man she should be interested in, she couldn’t resist his charm.

So began a cat-and-mouse game, from ton ballroom to country house party, except that it was difficult to tell who was the cat, and who was the mouse. Their mutual attraction proved stronger than anyone’s plots and plans to throw them together or keep them apart, and there was plenty of mischief in both directions.

Meanwhile, there was a villain in their midst with an evil plot of his very own that could ruin not just Lana’s happiness, but her very life!

Escape Rating C: The opening scenes were some of the best I’ve read in quite a while. The set up was excellent, the slightly unconventional heroine, the rake who’s getting a little bored, the matchmaking mama who’s not looking carefully at the husband candidates, and some very witty dialogue.

For this reader, the story went on a bit too long. There were enough roadblocks without the dastardly plot, or there needed to be a few less roadblocks before the plot. Lana and Drew fought and argued and railed at each other just plain too much after they fell into bed (or coach as the case might be). For two people who had such fun talking with each other the first half of the book they made a right mess of it the second half.

When books are very short, I have a tendency to want them to be a bit longer. In this case, I think I would have enjoyed the story more if there had been a bit less of it in the middle.

Dangerous Race

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews

When I think of “Formula racing,” images of the Grand Prix flash through my mind; fast cars, European cities, and “the beautiful people”. Dee J. Adams’ first book, Dangerous Race, is certainly about Formula racing, and there are definitely fast cars, but the location is in the U.S. The people in this terrific romantic suspense story may be beautiful on the outside, but the race to the finish line has left them with some pretty terrible scars, not all of them visible.

Dangerous Race is Tracey Bradshaw’s story. Four years before our story opens, she was the hottest thing to hit the circuit, then she nearly lost her life in a crash caused by a crazed attacker who threw oil on the track during her practice run. The perpetrator was never found.

That accident cost Trace nearly four years of her life, put a metal rod in her leg where her femur should be, forced her through years of rehab, and broke her engagement.

Now Trace is back at the same track, to prove to everyone that she still has what it takes to race, and win.

When the the chief mechanic of her racing team dies, at first it seems like Joe died of the heart attack that he had been courting for years. Trace and the rest of her team are bereft but ready to soldier on. But the autopsy tells a different tale–Joe’s medication was switched: he was poisoned by pills that were meant for Trace. Her attacker is back. Someone doesn’t want Trace to race again.

But Trace’s team still needs a chief mechanic. Ed Grayling, the owner of her race car, calls in a favor from a friend. Mac Reynolds, one of Grayling’s former drivers, flies in from London to lead the pit crew so Trace can continue to race.

Mac and Trace argue from the very first moment they meet. Trace thinks Mac is trying to control her every move. Mac thinks she’s reckless beyond belief. They throw sparks off of each other to the point of combustion.

But Trace thinks that her scars make her unlovable. And Mac stopped driving for a reason that he refuses to reveal. The killer may not give them long enough to figure out what they really feel.

Escape Rating B+: This was just a terrific story. I raced through it because I wanted to see how it ended. Mac and Trace were made for each other. They are both so messed up at the beginning of the story, you really want them to find a happy ending. And you want them to find it with each other.

There is a secondary story line involving Trace’s long-lost twin sister who has been hunting for Trace and a member of Trace’s crew. While the romance was fun and was also resolved very nicely, there was a dangling plot line about why Trace’s mother put Trace up for adoption but kept Chelsea. Inquiring minds really want to know, because this issue isn’t resolved in Danger Zone (book 2 of Adams’ series Adrenaline Highs)

The Night is Mine

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews

The Night is Mine by M. L. Buchman has got to be the lightest-weight military-oriented romantic suspense story I’ve ever read, in spite of the number of times the heroine gets injured. What I’m saying is that I found the story to be a tremendous amount of fun, and I absolutely got sucked way into it the first night, but that I totally checked my reality-meter at the door. And I had a wilder ride than any of the chopper pilots in the story!

Let’s start with our heroine. Emily Beale is a Captain in the U.S. Army. This is totally believable. And she is a helicopter pilot. Again, totally believable. She is also a member of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) generally referred to as SOAR, the elite unit that transports Navy SEALs and Delta Force teams in and out of covert missions. In other words, she flies in forward combat operations. I want to believe this is possible, but I don’t think we’re there yet.

Emily is the first and so far only woman in SOAR. And as the story opens, she and her unit are watching a profile of her that is being played on CNN. In spite of the secrecy that surrounds SOAR, this profile was okayed by “Command”. Because Emily is not just an ace-pilot. Her father is a career FBI agent and is now the head of that agency. And when Emily was growing up in the suburbs of DC, the “boy next door” that she had her girlhood crush on, well he’s now the President of the U.S. The youngest president ever. And no, he’s not Clinton. And Mrs. President sure ain’t Hillary.

That CNN profile showed nothing of Emily’s piloting skills and everything about how good she looks in her flightsuit and how well she’s figured out how to cook in the desert with minimal supplies. Someone back at CNN turned it into a girlie “puff piece”. Emily is so pissed she shoots the laptop her unit used to watched the profile. The crew buries the laptop with full military honors and gives Emily the tiny flag.

After the profile runs, Emily gets mysterious orders to report to an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean, which is not where she wants to be. After two months, she’s finally earned her place in SOAR as just another pilot, albeit a damn fine one, and that’s how she wants it. All she wants is to fly helicopters. All she wants is to fly. The DC political social whirl is not for her, even if it is the air her mother breathes and the water she swims in like a shark in an aquarium tank. Emily’s sure her mother is behind all the machinations as a move to get Emily back to DC and out of the military. Somehow, someway.

But Emily’s commanding officer, Major Mark Henderson, sees Emily’s mysterious orders and becomes even colder to her than she thought possible. Emily’s never quite been able to live up to the Major’s expectations of her, as a pilot or as an officer. She’s worked all the harder for it. Little does she know that the problem is completely different. Mark Henderson has been bending over backwards to treat her just like any other officer, because he can’t see her as anything except the one woman he wants more than any other. So he’s just a tiny bit colder and more distant than he needs to be, to keep himself under control–because he barely has any. And one misstep will cost them both their careers.

But Emily’s orders are not her mother’s doing. The former “boy next door” is now Emily’s Commander-in-Chief. He’s calling on his best friend to come back to DC and protect the First Lady from repeated, but so far unsuccessful, attempts on her life. Emily is the only one the President trusts.

So Emily goes back to Washington, to the world she left behind, to help her best friend. But President Peter Matthews, back when he was just a Senator, broke her heart when he married another woman, even if he didn’t know it. And he’s breaking her heart again by taking her away from the life she loves, to save the life of a woman she really doesn’t like very much.

And just before she gets on the flight that whisks her away, her commanding officer kisses her goodbye. For real. And Emily nearly breaks his hand and walks away.

So he follows her to Washington, and fakes his way into her secret mission. Then the real fun begins!

Escape Rating B: I started reading this one night at about 11:30, and 150 pages later I was telling myself that I really, really needed to get some sleep. I didn’t want to shut my iPad off; but this is a 400 page book, and finishing wasn’t realistic. I’ll admit I thought about it.

As a character, Emily is a little too good to be true. She’s not just an ace pilot, but all her commanders say that she’s the best they’ve ever seen. Her dad being head of the FBI and her childhood friend being President are both integral to the plot, but it stretches belief. DC may be a company town, but that level of connectedness smacks of a Tom Clancy novel. I will say that Clancy’s aren’t quite this much fun.

What The Night is Mine reminded me of most is Stargate SG-1 fanfiction of the Jack and Sam persuasion. It has the same flavor and the same problem to solve. This is not a criticism, I like Jack/Sam SG-1 fanfic. The issue is that both are in the military, they are in a commander/subordinate relationship and they have to deal with the military frat regs. Jack and Sam are even both pilots, they just happen to be Air Force instead of Army. Faking a relationship for a covert operation that turns real is one of the tropes.

A fun story is a fun story. The Night is Mine is the first book of the author’s The Night Stalkers series. Book 2, I Own the Dawn, will be out in August, 2012.  A couple of my nights were M. L. Buchman’s thanks to The Night is Mine. Looks like a couple of nights in August are pre-booked.

 

How to Dance With a Duke

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews

How to Dance with a Duke by Manda Collins has all the elements to make a delightfully frothy Regency romance; the hero is a Duke as well as a wounded warrior and the heroine is a bluestocking who only needs a little wardrobe consultation to transform from ugly duckling to beautiful swan.

Then there are the added elements from the dawn of modern archaeology, the men of the mysterious Egyptian Explorer’s Club who refuse to let our heroine translate her father’s diaries from his most recent expedition. And there are mummies and curses and of course, grave robbers and black market collectors.  A little mystery and mayhem always spices up a romance.

This romance starts out a bit rocky. When our couple first meet outside that Egyptian Explorer’s Club, they have both been shown the door. Miss Cecily Hurston, because unmarried ladies are not permitted inside under any circumstances. His Grace the Duke of Winterson, because he is not a member. And he is never going to be a member, either. On the Club’s most recent expedition, his brother, Mr. William Dalton, disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and is presumed dead. Cecily’s father, Viscount Hurston, led that expedition, had some kind of falling out with his secretary, and now lies in a coma. His death is believed to be imminent.

Of course, Hurston’s secretary was the Duke’s brother William. Lucas wants to find out what Hurston knows, but Hurston isn’t talking. He isn’t conscious. Failing that, Lucas would like to talk to Cecily. But when they meet outside the Explorer’s Club, they have their first fight. Not their last.

In spite of the continuous arguments, they finally agree to join forces. Lucas needs to find out what happened to his younger brother, not just for his own sake, but also for his mother’s. Not knowing is eating them alive. Cecily needs her father’s journals to figure out what happened; the stories going around London of a mummy’s curse may be ludicrous, but her father is deathly ill. Without the journals, she has no answers. Her father wrote in cipher, and Cecily is the only one who can translate the cipher besides Lucas’ brother. If something tragic occurred that brought on a seizure, they all need to know what that event might have been.

The action in this story takes on the breakneck pace of a serial melodrama, between the romance, the mummy’s curse, and the society parties that form the backdrop of the investigation into the Egyptian Explorer’s Club and its possibly nefarious ways.

The Duke doesn’t actually dance. War wound.

Escape Rating B-: This is a romance defined by how much the hero and heroine fight their attraction to each other, fight with each other, and fight about everything that happens between and around them. If “obey” was in the marriage vows, Cecily probably didn’t repeat that bit.

I would have enjoyed this book more but I felt that Cecily held on to her grievances a little too long. I understood why she protected herself after her disastrous first engagement, but she stayed angry and withdrawn too long after the marriage, which takes place in the middle of the book. Cecily and Lucas’ arguing was part of their pattern, but her cold withdrawal went on too long for this reader.