Tag: Bewitching Book Tours

Review of Perfection Unleashed by Jade Kerrion

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: Paperback, ebook
Genre: Science fiction
Series: Double Helix #1
Length: 212 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace
Date Released: June 11, 2012
Purchasing Info:Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Two men, one face. One man seeks to embrace destiny, the other to escape it.

Danyael Sabre spent sixteen years clawing out of the ruins of his childhood and finally has everything he wanted–a career, a home, and a trusted friend. To hold on to them, he keeps his head down and plays by the rules. An alpha empath, he is powerful in a world transformed by the Genetic Revolution, yet his experience has taught him to avoid attention.

When the perfect human being, Galahad, escapes from Pioneer Laboratories, the illusory peace between humans and their derivatives–the in vitros, clones, and mutants–collapses into social upheaval. The abominations, deformed and distorted mirrors of humanity, created unintentionally in Pioneer Lab’s search for perfection, descend upon Washington D.C. The first era of the Genetic Revolution was peaceful. The second is headed for open war.

Although the genetic future of the human race pivots on Galahad, Danyael does not feel compelled to get involved and risk his cover of anonymity, until he finds out that the perfect human being looks just like him.

There were so many threads to this story! I’m not surprised that they weren’t resolved by the end. This story is too big to get everything wrapped up in a nice neat package in one book. The story continues in Perfect Betrayal, and finishes in Perfect Weapon. It’s a good thing they’re both available. Waiting would be torture!

Genetic manipulation is one of the great themes in science fiction. How will human beings react when we learn to control what we are? Are we as a species wise enough to make those kinds of decisions? How will the “have nots” feel about the “haves”? And vice-versa?

The genetic lottery is not fair in the first place. Pretty people have an easier lot in life than ugly people. Smart people have better chances than less intelligent people, unless they are statistical outliers. Adolesence is always miserable for people outside social norms.

What if you (or your parents) could rig the game? How would society treat the results?

Just think of the X-Men. The superior beings, the mutants, do not get treated well by regular humans.

In Perfection Unleashed, there is a parallel situation. Scientists have created a so-called “perfect” human, certainly a genetically superior human, and he is considered a lab specimen with no rights.

Mutants exist, but they are strictly controlled by law and monitored. Clones are also looked down upon. Even “normal” humans born via in-vitro fertilization experience some pretty nasty prejudice.

Yet the story is not so much about science run amok as it is about humans going crazy. A scientist lost his young son and his wife. He became much, much too involved in an unethical experiment. Because he spent all his energy on his work, his remaining son came to hate him, and the “perfect human” that his work created.

But it really started with the scientist’s over-involvement in his work. And doesn’t that happen now?

Galahad is the experiment. His rescue begins a chain reaction that drags in the alpha empath mutant Danyael, who turns out to be Galahad’s double. But only in looks. They have entirely different sets of powers.

As they unravel the riddle of how these two men came to be each other’s twin, they and their unintentional allies uncover a scientific and government conspiracy to create a supersoldier that results in abominations tearing through the Washington D.C. suburbs.

Escape Rating B+: I want to know where the mutants come from, or how they evolved. This future doesn’t seem that far from now, but there’s a link missing somewhere, and I really need to know. Cloning technology has seriously improved in this future, too.

The story moves along at an absolutely breakneck speed. I didn’t stop turning pages except to sleep, and I hated getting off the bus. Stops were not convenient!

This is a sci-fi action thriller. The chills never stop tingling down your spine. I wish that the human behavior in the book wasn’t so easy to imagine, but that’s what made the story so compelling.

***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.

Guest Post: Marie Treanor on Writing Unreality + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | blog tours> Giveaways> Guest Posts

I’m very pleased to welcome Marie Treanor back to Reading Reality! I had the pleasure of interviewing Marie back in August for the publication of her Serafina and the Silent Vampire, and she’s back to introduce us to her Gifted series with Smoke and Mirrors. I’m loving Smoke and Mirrors so far, I’ll have a review up as soon as I finish this stage of my moving adventure.

But in the meantime, here’s Marie on why she created a new, paranormal country in the back of the old Soviet Republics. 

Writing Unreality by Marie Treanor

One of the things I like to do in my writing is to set my fantastical story full of paranormal beings and magical happenings, in actual locations that I know well or have at least visited. For me, it grounds the unreal characters and events in the real world, and can add besides a pleasantly exotic atmosphere.

However, I confess I went a little off-piste in my latest book, Smoke and Mirrors. It does open in Edinburgh, Scotland, a city I lived in for several years, and moves across the river into the “kingdom” of Fife for a spell – also well known to me. But after that, the action shifts to the totally fictional ex-Soviet republic of Zavrekestan.

I had to make Zavrekestan up, because the country itself is very much part of the story – almost a character in its own right. I had this idea about an isolated country, poor and politically unstable, and outwardly not very interesting to outsiders, where paranormal activity abounds. One village in particular produces an amazingly high proportion of psychics. Within the country, the existence of the “Gifted” is an open secret, but they’ve survived the centuries without persecution or scientific study by not talking out of turn. Thus the Gifted can quietly help with the odd problem for their ungifted brethren and still remain an official secret.

However, how feasible would it really be to keep such a secret in this age of globalization, easy travel, and social networking? To say nothing of the world’s fascination with paranormal activity. So, at the start of Smoke and Mirrors, the secret’s starting to escape. A Russian soldier stumbled upon it during Zavrekestan’s war for independence, and, now a major player in organized crime, he’s determined to profit from it. Plus, my rebel hero, Rodion Kosar, has catapulted across the world, using his fire-gift in combination with his formidable intelligence, in order to rob banks and art galleries and other impregnable institutions, putting the Gifted’s secrecy at considerable risk. Add in the Scottish born daughter of a Zavrekestan refugee, who writes fiction about her own unacknowledged gifts of foresight, and things get a little explosive. 🙂

Anyway, my vision of Zavrekestan is of a large, mostly rural country made up of spectacular mountain regions, and vast plains and forests. A beautiful, mysterious place where the people speak a language that’s almost completely unknown outside its own borders. Politically, it’s drifted from one tyranny to another, so it has a dissident under-class and a powerful secret police force. Poverty has led to crime, and certain regions around the Russian border where even the police fear to tread. So, not a very safe country either, but I hope it’s as fascinating and exciting to readers as it is to me.

I thoroughly enjoyed “inventing” Zavrekestan, and like the actual characters, it seemed to grow as I wrote. In fact, I’ve just finished writing a first draft of the second book in this series, and I found myself learning even more about the country with each chapter. As if it’s not bad enough having your own characters tell you what to write, now I have a whole country at it!

So, if you were a Gifted Zavreki – maybe you’re telepathic, talk to the dead, heal by touch, dream the future, start fires with your eyes – would you keep it a secret, or tell the world? And why?

Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.

Marie has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL.

Connect with Marie on Facebook.
Subscribe to her Newsletter.
Join the party on her new blog: Marie Treanor’s Romantic Theme Party

Smoke and Mirrors by Marie Treanor (The Gifted #1)

Deceit and desire, and a treasure beyond price…

When struggling Scottish writer Nell Black accepts a one-off job with the police, translating for an arson suspect from the isolated ex-Soviet republic of Zavrekestan, she stumbles into a terrifying world of organized crime and paranormal abilities that turns her whole belief system upside down. Faced with an incomparable thief, hit men who spontaneously combust, gangsters, drug dealers, British Intelligence and a fiery goddess, Nell no longer knows who to trust. The man who saves her life is a criminal to whom deceit is second nature. He has more smoke screens and more plans in motion than anyone else can keep track of. He is, moreover, probably insane. Even his fellow gangsters are afraid of him. So why is he the one man Nell wants to touch her?

Rodion Kosar is in trouble. His convoluted plans all lead to one goal – the retrieval of his treasure – and to achieve that, he needs Nell to believe he isn’t the bad guy. He has many reasons beyond his own desires to make love to her. Especially when a plan goes wrong and he has to play dead before someone really kills him – either the police, the menacing Russian crime lord known as the Bear, or the powerful Guardian of the Gifted whom he’s defied once too often. Nell’s burgeoning gift of second sight could be his best route to the treasure, and yet keeping her with him spells danger. For Nell has her own agenda, her own mission, and she could just as easily cause his final downfall.

Buy at: Amazon | B&N

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Interview with Aubrie Dionne + Giveaway!

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> Author Q&A> blog tours> ebook giveaway> Giveaways

I’m always happy to host a fellow member of the SFR Brigade! My guest today is Aubrie Dionne, the author of the fantastic science fiction romance series A New Dawn. Aubrie is here to talk about the series, especially the final book in the series, Haven 6. (see review at Book Lovers Inc for more details)

This series has told a fascinating story of the last of the human race as it makes its way out among the stars, searching for a new home in colony ships on generations-long voyages. For the story of those ships, see Paradise 18 (reviewed here at Reading Reality), and Tundra 37 (reviewed at Book Lovers Inc.) Where it all began is told in A Hero Rising (review at BLI).

But now, here’s Aubrie to tell us about her writing journey. And if you want a copy of A New Dawn for your very own, take a look at the giveaway at the end.

Marlene: Hi Aubrie! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Aubrie: I’m a professional flutist by day and a writer by night. I make up stories to go along with the music that I play or teach, so the stories were always there in my mind ever since I started playing at age 9. Some of my flute students said I should start writing them down, and here I am today!

Marlene: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?

Aubrie: I write before work, then a little after work. I used to be a panster, but now I have to submit a synopsis to my agent to get my work on her reading list in time. So, now I plot. It works much better for me, because I’ve already figured out the story and I don’t get writer’s block nearly as much.

Marlene: What is it about the fantastic and the futuristic that draws you to write in those worlds? Why do you make yourself go through the pain of creating a new world for each story instead of writing contemporary?

Aubrie: Contemporary always seemed harder for me. I had no glorious settings to hide behind, and I knew anything I wrote about had to be realistic. That ruled out a lot of stuff for me, because I have no idea how a lot of things in the real world work! Like a cop- what is their day like? Who knows? Or an archaeologist?  Sounds cool, but I really don’t know what they do day to day. So, when I finally decided to take the plunge and write contemporary, I wrote about something I knew a lot about: music. Then, I branched out from there!

Marlene: In your blog, you mention your love of science fiction, but what was your inspiration for the New Dawn series? Why a “human race diaspora” story in particular for the series?

Aubrie: That’s what I think is going to happen to Earth. I’m so worried we’ll use up our resources and pollute ourselves into a bind. I want to know that we have a back-up plan.

Marlene: You’ve written about the science fiction shows that inspired you, Star Trek, Star Wars and Firefly, but what about the authors? Who are the science fiction and fantasy writers that made you escape into their worlds?

Aubrie: I love Patricia McKillip. My favorite book of hers is Winter Rose. Every sentence is beautiful and poetic. I also grew up reading Tad William’s Memory Sorrow and Thorn trilogy over and over again. I loved the alternating points of view and the way the main character, Simon, grows up throughout the books starting as a scullion and turning into the next King.

Marlene: What can we expect of Haven 6?

Aubrie: Haven 6 is epic. I had to tie in all the loose threads from the previous three books in the series and make the entire series arc make sense. It was no easy task for me. I wanted it to be a satisfying conclusion for my readers.

Marlene: How does playing a flute combine with being an author? Or does it? Explain about the flute, please?

Aubrie: I think I answered this in the first question. But, let me add that the two careers go very well together because they are both so flexible. I teach 3-8 Mon- Thurs, 9-3 Friday, and 8:30-5 Saturdays. All the rest of the time I can spend writing if I need to.

Marlene: What was the first moment you know you wanted to write?

Aubrie: Probably in grade school. My very first poem was about how I was sad I’d never see a unicorn!

Marlene: What book do you recommend everyone should read and why did you choose that book?

Aubrie: If you’re a writer, then you should read Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, and On Writing by Stephen King. If you’re a fantasy reader, then you should read Tad William’s Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy.

Marlene: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?

Aubrie: They are adventurous, they give you a warm fuzzy feeling at the end, and I think it’s the perfect combination of romance and fantasy/sci fi. Not too technical, but not too steamy you’re embarrassed to read it out loud.

Marlene: Will there be more books in this series? What is next on your schedule?

Aubrie: This is the end of the series, sadly. But, I do have a YA spin off series called the Paradise Reclaimed series. The first book, Colonization, comes out November 7th– which I think is the day of this interview!

Marlene: Coffee or Tea?

Aubrie: Both! I need all the caffeine I can get!

Amen to the caffeine! And also, double for me on Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. That’s one that we kept on our keeper shelf, in hardcover, through all of our moves.  Thanks so much Aubrie, for the marvelous interview!

About Aubrie Dionne:
Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over again until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation-favorite character was Data by far- and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.

Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be “A concert flutist” when she grew up. When she made that happen, she decided one career was not enough and embarked as a fantasy, sci fi author. Two careers seem to keep her busy. For now.

Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She recently signed her YA sci fi novel with Inkspell Publishing titled: Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed, which will release in October 2012.

Places to find Aubrie: Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

Haven 6 by Aubrie Dionne

A product of an illegal pairing, Eridani is the only woman without a lifemate aboard the colonization ship, the Heritage, and she is determined her less than perfect DNA will not get in the way of finding love. As the ship nears it’s final destination of Haven 6 after five hundred years of travel, images of the surface show evidence of intelligent life on a planet that’s supposed to be uninhabited. Commander Grier assigns Eri to the exploratory team to spy on the alien society and return with information on how to defeat them.

When Eri’s team lands, tribes of humans attack and Eri is saved by Striver, the descendant of a colonist and a pirate from Old Earth’s colonization efforts in other parts of the galaxy. Striver helps Eri rescue her team and they are drawn to each other despite their different allegiances. While Striver battles with trusting Eri, Eri must decide whether to warn him and his people about the commander’s intentions, or follow orders and complete her mission.

Places to buy Haven 6:

Amazon | B&N

~~~~~~TOURWIDE Giveaway~~~~~~
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Interview with Cindy Spencer Pape

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> Author Q&A> blog tours

I’m so happy to welcome Cindy Spencer Pape to Reading Reality! I discovered Cindy’s work in an all-night reading binge, when I tore through five of her books all at once, and I’ve been scooping them up as fast as they come out ever since. If you’re a fan of either paranormal romance or steampunk, you can’t go wrong with her Urban Arcana or her Gaslight Chronicles. The Gaslight Chronicles combines steampunk with the incredible concept that the Knights of Round Table weren’t just real, but that their descendants are still around!

But today she’s here to talk about the latest entry in the Gaslight Chronicles, Moonlight & Mechanicals. A werewolf trying to resist his love for an engineer! How much more steampunk can you get? (I loved it, take a look at my review for details) But let’s hear what Cindy has to say.

Marlene: Hi Cindy! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Cindy: Let’s see, I live in Michigan with my husband of 27 years and two college-age sons. Two dogs, one iguana, and I’m still the only female in the house. My professional background is in wildlife education, but now I write full time.

Marlene: Describe a typical day of writing. Are you a planner or pantser?

Cindy: I’m not disciplined enough to really have a “typical” day. I get up. Usually I answer my email and play for a little bit on Facebook, plus do any promo I need to for the day. Then I write until dinner time, and sometimes into the evening. I take breaks for email, Facebook  food and Diet Coke though-out the day. I can write through just about any chaos, so the TV or XBox is often chattering right beyond my monitor and the dogs demand in and out often enough to keep me from sitting still for too long. As far as plotting, I’m somewhere in between. I have a general idea of where the plot is going to go, and I usually sell on a synopsis these days, so I have a plan, but the details always surprise me.

Marlene: The Gaslight Chronicles take place in a steampunk version of Victorian England. Would you like to provide readers with an introduction to your particular version of steampunk Victoriana?

Cindy: Okay. In the real world, in the 1830-40s, a man named Charles Babbage developed plans for what he called an “analytical engine.” Ada, Lady Lovelace a mathematician and daughter of Lord Byron, wrote the code that this machine would use, on punch cards, to operate. In real life, Babbage’s world fell apart and he never finished this machine. Modern scholars are convinced it might have worked. So in the Gaslight Chronicles, computers were invented in the 1840s, and a woman was the first coder. Lady Lovelace went on (in my world) to establish a college for women in the sciences at Oxford. Therefore, by the middle of the Gaslight books, we have university-educated engineers and doctors who are female. Also, this world has vampires, but they’re not sexy. They’re stinky and rotting and all they want to do is feed. The Order of the Round Table, descendants of the original knights, still exists, mainly to kill vampires and deal with other supernatural threats. Werewolves, on the other hand, are just people, including Liam, the hero of Moonlight. There are some hints that the Fae might be running around as well.

Marlene: Steampunk isn’t just about fiction, it also influences art and costume design. What do you think makes the concept of steampunk so appealing to so many people in so many forms?

Cindy: Well, for one thing, the clothes are incredibly cool. You can go full-on Victorian, or just wear a knockout top hat with your jeans. The genre as far as music, art, fashion, and fiction go is really limitless. As for the social aspect, I suspect it’s a case of lots of grownups who are little kids at heart to get together and play with cool stuff. At least that’s what I like about it.

Marlene: It was an absolutely brilliant idea, but what inspired you to blend the legends of the Knights of the Round Table with steampunk in your Gaslight Chronicles?

Cindy: I have to give credit to my husband for this one. We were sitting outside on the deck and I said, “I need a name for my organization of monster hunters in Victorian England. I described a little of what they do and he suggested the Order of the Round Table. I looked at my manuscript and realized I had already named characters MacKay (son of Kay) and Lake (du Lac). It was as if The Order had already taken shape before I even realized it.

Marlene: A lot of your books, whether they are historical or contemporary, steampunk or not, have at least some paranormal elements. What draws you to write about worlds where the “things that go bump in the night” really exist?

Cindy: Again, I think it comes back to the idea of stretching my imagination. I like my fiction to be an escape from reality, so I try to take it all the way.

Marlene: What can we expect of Moonlight & Mechanicals?

Cindy: Well, Wink is one of the most headstrong heroines I’ve ever written. She’s literally crawled her way up from the gutters and she’s not about to let anyone stand in her way. Liam has a bit of a stick up his bum about his own potential as a mate, so he’s going to do his best to hook Wink up with somebody “safe.” You’ll find a bit of Cyrano creeping into the story. And then there’s a maniac trying to take over England with his infernal inventions.

Marlene: You’ve published a number of titles with Ellora’s Cave, and now quite a few with Carina Press. From your perspective, what was different about the publishing experience with these two different publishers?

Cindy: The biggest difference is that Carina is a division of Harlequin. So although the Carina team has a very similar mind-set to other e-publishers, the mechanics of it, the contracts, the royalty checks, and the covers go through more layers of bureaucracy. On the other hand, I’ve gotten a better distribution through Carina, but I do love that Ellora’s Cave offers print. Really, I have good things to say about both publishers, but the experience isn’t at all the same.

Marlene: Will there be more books in this series? What is next on your schedule?

Cindy: The next Gaslight Chronicles book will be out next April and is a shorter novel called Cards and Caravans. Or in my head, it’s the Order goes to the circus. 🙂

Marlene: Will there be any more books in the Urban Arcana series? (please? whimper, whimper)

Cindy: Right now, there aren’t any planned, but I haven’t ruled it out entirely. There’s still Vin the demon who needs a story, and Maeve, the healer from Motor City Fae. I’m not sure if they go together or if they need two separate stories.

Marlene: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?

Cindy: I’m really bad at touting my own work, but I’ll give it a shot. I tend to write characters who are smart and use their brains as well as brawn to solve problems. People tell me there’s humor in there, although I don’t write intentionally funny. What I *do* write is a story meant to take you away from your day to day problems for a little while and transport you to where the good guys always win and get their HEA.

Marlene: What book do you recommend everyone should read and why do you recommend that particular book?

Cindy: One of my books that very few people have read was my first sale, Curses. It’s set in a world fairly similar to Urban Arcana, although it’s in a small Michigan town. It was my first werewolf book, and remains one of my favorites.

Marlene: Tell me something about yourself that I wouldn’t know to ask?

Cindy: I was a grad student intern at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, once, a long, long time ago.

Marlene: Morning person or night owl?

Cindy: Night owl, all the way.

Cindy, you had me all the way back at “Diet Coke though-out the day,” just so you know. Thanks so much for giving us a little more insight into your world. Babbage’s Difference Engine made all the difference! That makes perfect sense. 

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.

Review: The Moonstone and Miss Jones by Jillian Stone + Giveaway!

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways
Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: Mass Market Paperback, ebook
Genre: steampunk, paranormal romance
Series: Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator #2
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington Brava
Date Released: September 25, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

A master of paranormal deduction—and paramour seduction—Phaeton Black has a knack for bumping into things that go bump in the night, from ghoulies and ghosties to long-leggedy beauties…

Mooning For The Moonstone

Barely escaping the clutches of a succulent succubus, Phaeton Black returns to London only to get sucked into another unearthly scheme. Professor Lovecraft has been tinkering with the secrets of life and death, replacing body parts with the latest mechanical marvels. To succeed, he needs to tap the power of the fabled Moonstone—and he needs Phaeton’s help. Of course, Phaeton would prefer to investigate the more interesting body parts of Miss America Jones. Perhaps, bringing his lady friend along for the ride won’t be to too much trouble…

Shanghaied In Shanghai

The bewilderingly beautiful and bountifully gifted daughter of a Cajun witch, Miss Jones is always up for an adventure, especially with Mr. Black as her traveling companion. But when Phaeton is mysteriously shanghaied in Shanghai, America thinks he’s run out on her. Stranded in the Orient—and steaming mad—she’s prepared to look under every stone for the missing detective. The case has put them both in the most compromising positions, but this time, Miss Jones is on top and Mr. Black is at the bottom…of a truly infernal plot.

Pardon me while I have a screaming case of “middle book syndrome”. ARRGGHHH!

Now that I’ve got that out of my system, let’s talk about the book. The Moonstone and Miss Jones is another darkly seductive delight in the adventures of Phaeton Black and American Jones. The difference between this story and their first adventure, The Seduction of Phaeton Black (see review here) is that in this second story the emphasis is more on the steampunk, the darkness and the mystery.

Don’t get me wrong, Phaeton and America are still very much taken with each other, but in this story they finally figure out that they are actually in this thing together, and are not mere ships passing in the night. The story is still steamy, but Phaeton’s finally figured out where to moor his boat. So to speak. His problem is going to be keeping things anchored. Literally.

Those visions of strange beings and and dangerous fantasms that Phaeton has had all his life? They are sendings from a parallel reality, and that reality is starting to come unraveled. Along with our own. Of course, Phaeton is the key. Along with a little present that the Egyptian goddess Qadesh gave him at the end of his previous adventure. Everyone thinks this “Moonstone” will solve all their problems.

Too bad for Phaeton that he’s the only one who can use it. Precisely because he doesn’t want a damn thing from it except to be left alone with America and their ‘pea in the pod’. There is much too much power at stake for that to happen.

But in the process of chasing after the evil-doers, keeping the world from unraveling, and guarding America, Phaeton discovers something that he never expected. He has friends. Real, honest to goodness friends. And a life worth fighting back from hell for.

Escape Rating B+: The Moonstone and Miss Jones is a completely wild ride into not just steampunk, but also parallel universes, the potentials of H.G. Wells time-machine, a little homage to H.P. Lovecraft, and the value of friendship, all wrapped into one. And it’s a cracking good adventure.

Read The Seduction of Phaeton Black first. This story starts pretty hard on the heels on that one, at least as far as continuity is concerned. Phaeton and America had a romantic idyll in between, one that’s interrupted by Phaeton being shanghaied in Shanghai, but the stories crack straight on from one to the other.

There are several interesting side-stories that I would love to see developed revolving around some of the Nightshades guarding America. The smoldering romances there have tons of potential.

I can’t believe I’m going to have to wait until next summer for book 3, The Miss Education of Dr. Exeter. I want to magic it up from the future and read it now, dammit!

~~~~~~TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Win Phaeton’s most charming charm bracelet. And find clues to the Moonstone’s hiding place in this modern, edgy take on the traditional charm bracelet created by Ana Karolina, a 19-year-old Mexican born designer who made her debut at Nordstrom at the ripe old age of 17. This silver-plated chain bracelet makes skulls and bugs look oh-so cool!

Win one of five copies of The Moonstone and Miss Jones (ebook or print-winners choice)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

***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.

Interview with Author Christi Snow

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> Author Q&A

My very special guest today is blogger-turned-author Christi Snow. Christi’s blog, Smitten With Reading (aren’t we all) is an absolute favorite of mine, so it was a real treat to see that she’d taken the leap from blogger to author! Her debut romance, Operation: Endgame, combines military action heroes with romantic suspense in that best-of-all-possible themes, a friends into lovers story. And it’s terrific! (See my review for details)

But let’s hear from Christi about her journey from review to writer. Take it away, Christi!

Marlene: Christi, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Christi: My first identity is wife and mother. I’ve been married to the same guy for twenty years and we have two great kids: a 17 year-old boy and a 5 year-old girl. I’ve been lucky to be able to stay home to take care of them and that has allowed me to follow my dream of writing too. We recently retired to West Texas after my husband served twenty years in the Air Force. We’re all slowly adjusting to civilian life and the thought of never moving, which just means my closets will never be cleaned out properly again.

Marlene: I know that you are also a book blogger. What was it like making the transition from being a romance book blogger to having written one of the books that other book bloggers are reading and reviewing?

Christi: I’ll admit it’s a bit surreal to see my book on other blogs. This was a dream and to now have it as a reality is amazing. I’ve been very lucky. It definitely gives me a different viewpoint as a blogger too. While I’ve always tried to be completely fair to authors in my reviews, it definitely gives you a different perspective to have your books reviewed. I still say though that absolutely no one reads the same book. Reading books is so subjective and not everyone is going to like my book and that’s okay.

Marlene: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?

Christi: I am most definitely a planner when it comes to my writing. My writing group makes fun of me with all my binders full of my character bios, scene outlines, suspense options, etc.

A typical day for me is:
*up at 6:00
*have everyone out of the house by 8:00
*try to have all my blog-hopping and blog-writing/reviewing done by 9:00
*read until 11:00
*write until I pick up my daughter at 2:30
*write again until dinner prep time.
*read again until going to bed at 11:30

Some days I mix it up by throwing some household chores in there, but I try not to have too many of those days. ;o)

Marlene: What inspired you to make your hero, Jake, a member of the Pararescue Jumpers (PJs) and not any other particular branch of military special operations? (It’s an inspired choice, but I’m terribly curious)

Christi: Well, coming from an Air Force background, we love that branch and I’m always amazed at how many people, even within the AF, don’t know about this special operations group and the amazing things they do. When you look at their training, how can you not be impressed? These guys do it all and I really admire them for reaching the level of training that they do. Their training takes two years and they do it all… from paratrooper jumping to free-fall jumping to survival to paramedic training to diving to underwater egress. Their training covers ALL the specialties from the other spec ops groups. These guys ROCK!

Marlene: Cassie is an expert in military strategy and wargame scenarios. What about you? Do you play any videogames?

Christi: I don’t play as much as I used to, but when the original Medal of Honor Frontline came out, all three of us (hubby, son, and me) lived that game until we all beat it. It definitely inspired Cassie’s role in her videogame, Endgame, because it had all the extras with the interviews from historians and the people that originally lived the events in the game. That’s how I pictured her role as a consultant and interviewee on the game.

Marlene: You’ve said in previous interviews (and on your blog, Smitten with Reading) that the friends into lovers story is your favorite trope. You’ve done that with Cassie and Jake, and it’s a beauty. But Cassie has two brothers! Are more friends going to come out of the woodwork?

Christi: I do LOVE a friends to lovers trope and will admit that every book in this series definitely uses it. I’m not gonna say anything else about it though. I don’t want to give away any spoilers because there are a few shockers throughout the series with the relationships and how they evolve.

Marlene: Can you give us any more hints about the rest of the series? And what other projects do you have planned?

Christi: I’m finishing up the final edits on Operation: Endeavor right now (book #2 in the series). It will be out in January. I will tell you who the two main characters are in that book. They are Cassie’s older brother Colton and her friend Penelope. They have a great love story and I’ve really loved watching them evolve. I will admit their story became a little more than I ever expected. They are such opposites that it took some extremes within their relationship for them to find middle ground and when they find it, it is fabulously fun! I love them together.

Operation: Endurance is completely plotted and the first 10,000 words written. It’s a highly emotional story so it’s going to be a challenge. It should be out in April.

Further on down the road, I have a paranormal dystopian series started calling Through the Veil. I hope to release the first book in that series in May or June. If you’re curious about it, the story synopsis and cover is already up on Goodreads.

Then eventually, I plan to revisit some characters who show up in book #2, Operation: Endeavor. That series will feature the Rocking M ranch and the Martin men. It will be another romantic suspense series, but instead of the military aspect this series has, it will feature some super-sexy cowboys.

Marlene: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?

Christi: *Sexy alphas who love to protect their girls
*Girls who honestly don’t need the protection, but can appreciate a strong shoulder to lean on
*Tons of passion, friendship, adventure, and suspense that will keep you guessing (I hope!)

Marlene: What book do you recommend that everyone should read and why that book?

Christi: Only one?!? Geez, talk about pressure and honestly, I think that’s an impossibility, but I’m going to give it a shot. I’m choosing this book because I think it’s my all-time favorite romantic suspense: Wild Card by Lora Leigh. Warning: this book is not for everyone. It’s erotic and completely overflowing with emotional angst, but any book that has me sobbing within the first chapter is a winner in my book. ;o) I truly do love this book and re-read it a couple of times a year.

Marlene: What is your favorite thing about the writing experience and why?

Christi: The research…hehe! I may or may not have files on my computers full of hot, half-dressed men, but I promise you, those files are PURELY for the purpose of research for my writing. No really. Honest. They are. Research. ;o)

Marlene: Morning person or night owl?

Christi: Night owl…all the way, but it would never happen without my copious amounts of coffee that I drink throughout the day. Without it, I am sound asleep on the couch before 9:00.

I’m going to offer up the cover of Operation: Endurance as further testimonial to just how much Christi loves her research. Absotively, posolutely adores it. And clearly has no shame about sharing the fruits of her research with the rest of us!

Thanks so much, Christi, for being my guest today. I enjoyed Operation:Endgame (a lot) and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series!

Review: Operation Endgame by Christi Snow

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: military romance, romantic suspense
Series: When the Mission Ends #1
Length: 302 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace
Date Released: June 20, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

It’s been six months.

Six months since Jake Madsen let Chris Robertson die.

Six months since the passion between Jake and Cassie, Chris’ sister, stepped over the line.

But now Cassie’s being stalked and it’s time for Jake to swallow his guilt, grief, and lust so he can save her life, even if it’s a life without him. He owes it to his dead friend and he owes it to Cassie. He’s fallen in love with her, but she doesn’t have to know that for him to keep her safe.

Operation: Endgame is a marvelous friends-into-lovers romance which manages to have both an alpha male military hero and a kick-butt heroine who not only rescues herself in the end, but also rescues the hero of one of the later books in this When the Mission Ends series. Not a bad day’s work, all things considered.

There’s a reason that the friends-into-lovers trope is a tried and true one. When it’s done right, it gives the love story a whole lot more depth than the insta-love connection that’s much too common in romance these days.  Operation: Endgame does a terrific job at filling in the long story of Jake and Cassie’s childhood bonding. Along with Cassie’s twin brother Chris, they were the neighborhood’s Three Musketeers. Those ties still run deep, even though adult responses have put a little distance between Cass and Jake, they are still best friends. They’re both too afraid to let their attraction to each other ruin the most important relationship in their lives.

But Chris’ death behind enemy lines changes all that. Chris and Jake are both in Air Force Special Operations, but Chris’ job was to infiltrate, and Jake’s duties are in the Pararescue Jumpers. Jake gets soldiers out after everything goes pear-shaped. But because bad weather moved in, he wasn’t able to rescue Chris. The Air Force declares Chris dead based on his dog tags, his uniform, and not much else.

One thing this reader has learned after many too many of the right (or wrong) kind of books–if the body is burned beyond all recognition, it’s never the right body. So when Cass starts having “twin dreams” that Chris is being tortured, it was obvious foreshadowing that he was alive and being tortured.

Two things happen in the wake of Chris’ death. Jake and Cass finally spend one glorious night together. Which Jake, being an idiot, believes is the result of him taking advantage of Cass in her grief. He leaves in the middle of the night.

And someone starts stalking Cass, naming himself after the main villain in the military strategy video game that Cass consulted on (Cass is an expert on military strategy). As the stalking escalates, Jake realizes that he has to come back home to protect Cass, no matter how he feels. He thinks she deserves better than the man who wasn’t able to save her brother.

Of course, he never asks her what she wants, or what she thinks she deserves. And that stalker has some pretty fixed ideas of his own on that score. Potentially deadly ideas.

Escape Rating B+: I loved the friends-into-lovers part of the story. Jake and Cass’ relationship, and the twists and turns in how they got from childhood friendship to adult partnership, were very well done. While I referred to Jake as an idiot, his idiocy was completely understandable within the context of the story.

On the other hand, while the suspense was fun, I found it fairly predictable. As soon as it was revealed how Chris’ body was identified, I knew he was still alive. That plot device has been used many too many times, including last week’s NCIS episode.

Likewise, it was blindingly obvious who Cass’ stalker was from the first moment the character was introduced. I will admit that his reason for stalking her turned out to be a surprise. Also a bit “over-the-top”. Someone that completely unbalanced would have had a hard time maintaining the kind of extensive criminal enterprise this guy was running.

But the mix made for a terrifically fun story. I had a fantastic time reading it and I can’t wait for book two in the series, Operation: Endeavor.

 

***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.

Interview with Author Marie Treanor on Isolating Your Vampires

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> Author Q&A> blog tours

I’d like to extend a very special welcome to my guest, Marie Treanor! Today, August 28, is the publication date of her awesome new book, Serafina and Silent Vampire (check out my review for the details of the awesomeness). Congratulations, Marie!

And without further ado, let’s hear it from Marie…

Marlene: Please tell us a little bit about yourself! What do you do when you’re not writing?

Marie: Hello! Well, I’m Scottish; I live on the east coast of Scotland with my husband of more than twenty years and my three kids, and I write mostly paranormal romance. Hmm, there isn’t actually a lot of time when I’m not writing, but in the odd moments I like to read, watch films, tv, or just spend time with my family and friends. Oh and I like to travel when I can, see new places and people.

Marlene: Most of your books deal with some aspect of the paranormal. What draws you to the eerie side of romance?

Marie: I think it’s the elements of danger which work so well with romance, together with the fact that you can just follow where your imagination takes you, without paying too much attention to what’s rationally and physically possible. The challenge is making it believable to readers!

Marlene: In Serafina and the Silent Vampire, you’ve created a universe where all the vampires are supposed to be telepathic but otherwise non-speaking. It’s a fantastic twist on the usual vampire trope, but what inspired you to make your vampires silent?

Marie: I wanted them to be cut off from humanity and just plain different to humanity and this helped to isolate them, and yet provide them with a means of communication among themselves that wasn’t open to humans – or at least to most humans! And then I found it was so much fun to see how Blair got around the challenges of getting by in the human world, and I did enjoy the comic value of the scenes where he talked telepathically to Sera and she answered aloud in front of her companions.

Marlene: We’ve all heard the joke that sharks don’t bite lawyers out of professional courtesy, but what gave you the brilliant idea for blood-sucking bankers who really sucked blood?

Marie: 🙂 It just struck me that controlling the money would be best way to control the world in this day and age. And then, of course, bankers were coming in for a bit of a bad press round about the time I was thinking about and writing this story, so I ran with it.

Marlene: What’s your favorite scene from the book?

Marie: Oh dear, I don’t know! I had so much fun writing the whole thing that it’s hard to narrow down. I do like the opening scene where Sera’s so pissed off at Blair for supposedly muscling in on her scam; and I liked the scene where she met Phil for the first time. And just after the first sex scene, although I don’t really want to spoil the story by saying why 🙂

Marlene: Who first introduced you to the love of reading?

Marie: My parents. There were always loads of books in our house, and my parents were always reading.  At first it was self defence to read a book of my own, but I quickly became even more engrossed than they were. 🙂

Marlene: Who influenced your decision to become a writer?

Marie: I think that was largely just me, although I have to allow a friend of my husband’s some credit! I always wrote stories, ever since early childhood, and had a vague idea that one day I would become a professional writer. Of course real life, study and steady jobs got in the way for a while. And then one day while I was complaining (again) about a job I hated, my husband’s friend said dismissively, “Pig it out and write your novel in holidays and quiet periods.” Which, when he didn’t even know that I wrote at all, was pretty stunning advice! It made me sit up, and I began to follow it in a much more focused sort of way.

Marlene: What book do you recommend everyone should read and why?

Marie: Just one book? Yikes. Maybe Catch-22 by Joseph Heller? It’s so deep and thought-provoking and yet you can just read it and love it for the laughs alone 🙂

Marlene: Would you like to tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects? There are going to be more stories about Seraphina’s, aren’t there?  (The ending certainly left me wanting more…)

Marie: Well that’s good to hear – thank you! Yes, I’m planning at least two more books set in Serafina’s, the first of which I’m writing just now. Then I have the start of another new series, The Gifted, beginning in November with Smoke and Mirrors, all about a mysterious criminal with the dubious gift of fire-starting. And my other on-going series is Blood Hunters, a sequel series to the Awakened by Blood vampire romance trilogy. The first of those, Blood Guilt, came out earlier in the summer, and the second, Blood of Angels, should be released in January 2013.

Marlene: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?

Marie: Hmmm….

  1. Well, you can escape through my books to intense worlds of fantasy,  roller coasters of emotion and steamy romance!
  2. I like to think my characters are a little bit different, and they might make you laugh sometimes because I do like them to have a sense of humour, however black.
  3. And, er, I need the money 🙂

Marlene: Morning person or night owl?

Marie: These days, providing I have coffee on tap, I’m a morning person. I used to be much more of a night owl but having kids seemed to change that. Now my teenage sons are the night owls and I’m tucked up in bed before eleven if I can get away with it!

Serafina and the Silent Vampire by Marie Treanor
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Serafina’s #1
Formats Available:
Purchasing Info: Goodreads | Author’s Website | Amazon
Book Blurb:

Silence has never been so sinful…

Welcome to Edinburgh’s unique psychic investigation agency, Serafina’s.

Serafina MacBride is psychic – but not strictly honest. While staging a hilarious vampire attack at a client’s party, Sera is stunned to encounter a real vampire – annoying, gorgeous and inaudible to everyone but her. When her client’s son is found dead with puncture wounds in his neck, she tracks the silent vampire to his lair.

But the amoral and seductive Blair is also on a mission – to find and kill a nest of young vampires who’ve invaded his territory. Soon Sera is drawn into the bizarre world of the undead, where danger lurks in the shadows along with forbidden sensual delights – and a murderous conspiracy to flood the world with financially astute vampires who talk.

Supported and hindered by Blair’s eccentric, undead friends, and by her own motley crew from Serafina’s, Sera and Blair uncover surprising truths about each other and about the mysterious Founder from whom all vampires are descended.

In the end, Sera draws on powers she never knew she had in a frantic fight to defeat the forces of evil and preserve the strange, complicated being she’s trying so hard not to love.

About the Author:

Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.

Marie Treanor has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL.

Website: www.MarieTreanor.com  
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Treanor-Paranormal-Romance/105866982782360
Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietreanornewsletter
Blog: Marie Treanor’s Romantic Theme Party: http://romanticthemeparty.blogspot.com/

 

Review: Serafina and the Silent Vampire by Marie Treanor

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

A psychic who doesn’t believe in vampires! How delightfully unexpected. You would think that one person firmly resident on the eerie side of the fence would automatically give at least some credence to the possibility that there might be some truth to rumors about the other denizens of the night.

But not Serafina. And that’s just a part of what makes Marie Treanor’s Serafina and the Silent Vampire so delicious.

Serafina MacBride absolutely does speak with the dead, among other “tricks”. But her own spooky powers are the only ones she has any faith in. So she uses them. Sometimes for good, and sometimes for things decidedly not so good.

She knows her current client, Ferdy Bell, is hiding something from her. He says there’s a vampire stalking him. Sera believes in ghosts, because they’re a natural part of being. We live, we die, our spirit passes on. But vampires are unnatural, so they must be fake. Therefore, Ferdy must be having her on.

However, Ferdy is a wealthy banker. His money is no lie. And he wants protection. Serafina’s, the psychic investigations agency that Sera owns, is perfectly happy to provide it. And while Ferdy is hosting a big house party for all of his rich friends, Sera and her friends have a plan to scare him with a fake vampire attack, all in good fun.

Too bad for Sera that their fake attack is crashed by two very real vampires. One kills Ferdy’s son, Jason, and gets clean away. The other very nearly seduces Serafina just when the murder is taking place.

Serafina still doesn’t believe that the man she met in her client’s garden–the one she saw biting her friend’s neck!–is a vampire. Even though he only speaks to her in her head, and not with his vocal chords. She’s the only one who can hear him.

She doesn’t believe until she sees Blair in action. beating up the “bad” vampires, the ones who killed, and turned, Jason Bell.

Blair and Serafina are surprised to discover that they have a common cause–eradicating the nest of vampires that is taking over the heart of Edinburgh’s banking industry. Serafina wants them removed because their insidious plan is to control Edinburgh, and eventually a much larger territory, by pulling the strings on a vast financial empire. They’re turning humans in key financial positions into vampires.

Blair wants these new vampires out of his territory. Edinburgh is his domain, and, reminiscent of Highlander, there can only be one — at least without an invitation. Too many vampires in one place risks exposure.

But Blair is working with Serafina for another reason, a much more personal one. The greatest enemy of the immortal is boredom. Until Serafina careened into his unlife, Blair had felt nothing for a very long time. With Serafina around, he’s been angry, frustrated, horny, satisfied, curious, excited, fascinated, impatient, eager and every other emotion he hasn’t felt for centuries. But he’s never, ever been bored.

Now that he’s found a reason to live, there’s someone out to kill him.

Escape Rating A: I didn’t want this one to end. The case had to be over, but it’s wide open for the next book in the Serafina’s series, and I want to find out what happens next to these people. Not just where things go between Serafina and Blair, but also Serafina’s whole crew.

Serafina and Blair’s love story isn’t just steamy (although it certainly is that!) but you feel the push/pull of Seraphina very properly worrying whether this is a good idea and what possible future they might have, and whether a fantastic time right now is worth the inevitable heartbreak.

And there’s Sera’s posse, who are also terrific. I hope that future stories will see them getting their own happy-ever-afters.

Oh yeah. Making the vampires silent was a stroke of genius. Very, very cool!