Tag: erotic romance

Ebook Review Central, Carina Press, September 2012

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

Welcome to the First Anniversary Edition of Ebook Review Central!

The first issue of Ebook Review Central was published a little more than one year ago. But what it covered, well, that’s the anniversary part. Roughly this time last year, ERC started with the Carina Press titles from September 2011.

And here we are, back again, with the Carina Press titles from September 2012.

Carina Press publishes slightly fewer titles per month than they did a year ago; 15-ish now instead of 20. However, everything they publish gets reviewed. Every single title. Usually in more than one blog, and often by RT Book Reviews, or Library Journal Xpress Reviews, or both. It must help a lot to have Harlequin’s deep pockets, but that wouldn’t matter if their books weren’t consistently good. And they are.

Talking about good books, which titles did reviewers say were good this month?

Number one has to be the re-release of  Christine d’Abo’s Long Shots Books 1-3. Not just because it garnered another bunch of extremely positive reviews for the very nicely priced set, but because it got people to go back and re-review the three titles that make up the series: Double Shot, A Shot in the Dark, and Pulled Long. This series of erotic novellas is the story of the Long siblings, the coffee shop they own, and a local sex club named Mavericks. There’s one friends-into-lovers story, one BDSM story, and one male/male story to round out this set that is guaranteed to warm up a winter night.

 

Sometimes, the number of reviews makes a book a clear choice, just because so many people are talking about the book. The Reluctant Amazon by Sandy James is that kind of story. Readers loved the idea of a normal woman discovering that she is a superhero with the power to save the world, and then they (well, we) all debated the merits of the details. The story has an absolutely fantastic opening scene, and the worldbuilding shows promise. Read Tracy’s review at Tracy’s Place for the positive spin and Mandi at Smexy Books for the so-so reaction.

The third featured book this week didn’t get quite as many reviews as a couple of other titles. But, every single reviewer who reviewed this book liked it. In many cases, they liked it a LOT. No mehs. no 2/5 or DNFs. Just a lot of good feelings about a fun book.

This week’s final featured title is How to Date a Henchman by Mari Fee. It’s a fantasy romance about a  girl who works for a mysterious agency. One where she doesn’t know what’s going on in the basement. She starts finding out when she goes on a date, not with the guy who comes to visit the company, but, you guessed it, his henchman. Mayhem ensues. The biggest complaint about this story was that it was just too damn short. Everyone wanted more of the fun!

So in September 2012 for Carina we have erotic romance and superheroes. Back in September 2011 we had urban fantasy, shapeshifters and romantic suspense. Still sounds like lots of things going bump in the night to me!

We’ll be back next time with the Dreamspinner Press titles from September 2012!

Stacking the Shelves (22)

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Stacking the Shelves

My book-filled cup runneth over. The publishers are putting their end-of-the year titles out, and the lists are getting pretty awesome.

Three authors are in here that I’ve always wanted to read, Lisa Marie Rice, Cassandra Clarke and Carolyn Crane, but I didn’t want to jump into the middle of established series. They are all starting new series, so a chance for me to get in at the beginning.

I also want to give a very big shout-out to Tor Books. They approved my request for Three Parts Dead on NetGalley after they’d archived the title, so they sent me out a non-ARC print copy. This is one I really want to read, so I’m very happy.

Did you get anything special this week?

For Review:
The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes by Raymond Benson
Chasers (Alone #1) by James Phelan (print)
The Escape Diaries by Juliet Rosetti
Fortune’s Hero (Soldiers of Fortune #1) by Jenna Bennett
Heart of Danger (Ghost Ops #1) by Lisa Marie Rice
Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure (Summersby #1) by Sophie Barnes (print)
The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke
The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen by Syrie James
A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara
Mr. Real (Code of Shadows #1) by Carolyn Crane
The Red Wolf Conspiracy (Chathrand Voyages #1) by Robert V.S. Redick
The Second Rule of Ten (Tenzing Norbu #2) by Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay
Seducing Mr. Knightly (The Writing Girls #4) by Maya Rodale
Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone (print)

Purchased:
Backstage Pass (Sinners on Tour #1) by Olivia Cunning
Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter (Midnight Liaisons #2) by Jessica Sims
A Groom of One’s Own (The Writing Girls #1) by Maya Rodale (99 cent sale)
Rock Hard (Sinners on Tour #2) by Olivia Cunning
A Tale of Two Lovers (The Writing Girls #2) by Maya Rodale (99 cent sale)
The Tattooed Duke (The Writing Girls #3) by Maya Rodale (99 cent sale)
Three Schemes and a Scandal (The Writing Girls #3.5) by Maya Rodale

Thrones of Desire edited by Mitzi Szereto

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

Format Read: ebook provided by the publisher
Number of Pages: 256 pages
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Cleis Press
Genre: Fantasy Romance, Erotic Romance
Formats Available: Trade Paperback, ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) |Goodreads | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website

Book Blurb:

Thrones of Desire is a place where lust and legend abound, and adventure, passion and danger entwine. Think mystical lands and creatures, kings and queens, knights and renegades, heroes and villains, warlords, maidens and princesses. Think battles and danger, honor and dishonor, good and evil. Most of all, think hearts filled with passion and secret desire. This is a place where romantic chivalry is alive and well, but so too is romantic wickedness. This is a place where the good do not always win, and the bad are often more captivating and desirable than their altruistic counterparts. In these lush and timeless landscapes, the battle for flesh can be as important as the battle for power. Intrigue, sorcery, revenge, lawlessness, dark secrets and mysterious elixirs; entanglements with supernatural beings — everything is possible in these magical mythical landscapes. Inspired by Game of Thrones these imaginative steamy tales transport the reader to fantastical realms.

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

The thing about short story collections is that some members of the set are going to be absolutely fantastic, and some are going to be, in a word, “meh”. It’s the nature of the beast.

But what about this collection?

There were two stories that stuck in my mind afterwards, that definitely lived up to the promise of being both dark fantasy and erotic sexuality intermingled.  Kim Knox’s At the Sorcerer’s Command and Ashley Lister’s Here There Be Dragons. In both cases, the darkness comes from the fantasy side of the equation.

In the Knox story, a paladin and an apprentice wizard invade the inner sanctum of a sorcerer, and are trapped. Or so it seems. But nothing is as it seems. The apprentice wizard, Miar, is a soul-catcher, she can find out the true-name of anyone, and with that true name, she can control them. Of course, there’s a catch: she doesn’t know what triggers her talent.

Varun, the paladin, is more than a paladin. Or less. He is a shadowbeast. He has no soul, being wizardspawn. But he is immune to most magic. Miar doesn’t know what Varun is, only that she desires him, and that it is forbidden. Her mage trainer is owed her maidenhead as the price of her training.

The sorcerer is the enemy. She thinks that she controls these enemy interlopers. That she is watching them fulfill their base desires for her own amusement, before she throws them both to her troops. But she is wrong. Varun has outplayed her. Miar’s fulfillment triggers her talent, and the soul-catcher steals the sorcerer’s name. Also perhaps what little heart a shadowbeast has.

Here There Be Dragons was haunting. A female dragon trainer, Georgiana, exacts revenge on an invader through a series of lies of omission so subtle that he doesn’t realize that he’s being misled to his death. Unfortunately for poor Georgiana, she sends him to his fate after she’s discovered through a bout of quite satisfying sex that this raider could make her very, very happy, but only if she were willing to betray every oath she ever swore, and she simply can’t.

Other stories in the collection are good, but much more in the vein of standard fantasy romance, or at least standard fantasy erotic romance.

There were a couple of stories, Nyla Nox’s The Widow’s Man and M.H. Crane’s Saints and Heroes, where I had the feeling I was reading a piece of something that belonged in a larger universe–I kept hoping for more explanation of the setup, or the background, than I had. I was interested, but I just didn’t have enough to figure the whole thing out.

Verdict: I found a lot of stories in this collection that I enjoyed. A couple didn’t veer much outside of standard fantasy, but were still good, while some, like the Knox and Lister stories, were absolutely standouts. The Eric Del Carlo and Janine Ashbless stories that open the collection are also very, very good and worth a shout-out.

I give Thrones of Desire four blushing stars.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Ebook Review Central, Samhain Publishing, August 2012

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

We return, not to the thrilling days of yesteryear, but to the August 2012 titles from Samhain Publishing.

And readers did find some of the titles pretty thrilling, at least according to the reviews. Others, not so much.

Let’s not talk about the stuff that no one else was talking about. It’s just getting old. In some cases, it already was old. Enough said.

The book that everyone was talking about, which made it easily swim into the number one slot in this week’s featured titles list, is Degrees of Wrong by Anna Scarlett. Degrees of Wrong is, and I am very pleased to say it, science fiction romance, in this particular case of the “futuristic medical plague and doctor needs to find a cure” school. Also while kidnapped by the future U.N. and working on a top-secret hi-tech undersea warship. The romance: the doctor is a feisty and highly intelligent woman who is pursued relentlessly by the warship’s captain. She resists that relentless pursuit for quite a while, because said captain is tied up in a politically arranged engagement. The doctor respects his upcoming vows way more than he does. The first-person perspective really put readers into the doc’s head as she battles to find a cure, figure out the true agenda behind all the research, AND protect her heart.

This week’s number two feature is all about lucky number seven. Because the book for this slot is Seven Sexy Sins by Serenity Woods. Ms. Woods has taken one of the all-time favorite themes, the friends-into-lovers story, and combined it with a trope that is hard to do in a modern context, the “sex teacher” trope, and found a way to make it work really, really fantastically. The heroine, Faith, is a writer who has to come up with an article on spicing up women’s sex lives. Her only problem is that hers, so far, has been a dud. She’s not innocent, she’s just been unlucky. That’s believable. Her circle of friends commiserate, but one of them is her brother! Now there’s a potential downer. However, Rusty, her long-time secret crush, offers to help her out. Faith agrees, as long as they keep it a secret. Faith’s got some very good reasons for this crazy idea. Rusty kissed her once, and her brother punched his lights out. And when her article is over, she needs his friendship: he’s one of her best mates. If they try to be more than friends, and fail, their whole group could fall apart in the explosion. But when their friendship adds way too much depth to their sexual explorations, neither of them is sure if they can pull away. This one is both hot and sweet, something that Serenity Woods does very, very well.

Number three for this week is hot but not sweet. More like hot and hotter, and with an extra helping of jet fuel into the bargain. Katie Porter’s Inside Bet is a story about a woman  who’s concealing a wild past behind her successful career as an accountant. Her decision to have a no-holds-barred one-night-stand with a playboy fighter pilot-jock leads to an unexpected longer term fling. Heather and Jon are two people who both thought they were too jaded to be in this thing for anything more than just sex. Instead, they find out that they are daring each other to do things they never dreamed of, including, just maybe, fall in love.

All of this week’s stories are on the steamy side of the equation. Degrees of Wrong with a side dose of futuristic thrills, Seven Sexy Sins with a helping of friends-into-lovers romance, and Inside Bet just plain sex first and love later. But steam heated every single one.

Just a little something to warm you up if Autumn is bringing a chill to the air!

Ebook Review Central will be back next week with the multi-publisher, multi-legged (in honor of Halloween) wrap-up.

Interview with Author Shiela Stewart + Giveaway

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

I’d like to welcome Shiela Stewart to Reading Reality today. Shiela is the author of The Naughty Angel, a title in one of my own personal naughty delights, the 1Night Stand series from Decadent Publishing. Shiela’s here to tell us about her devilishly decadent new book (review here), share our mutual love of J.D. Robb’s In Death series, (Wow!) and explain why she adores Halloween.

Take it away Shiela!

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

Shiela: I’ve been married for 27 years to a wonderfully supportive man who has stuck with me through the good and the bad.  If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today as an author. He pushed me to get my work published and for that I am forever grateful. We have three grown children, 17, 20 and 24 who always keep me on my toes. I love to write, which is obvious, but aside from that I love to create in other forms such as drawing, painting and knitting. I have a wicked sense of humor and love to scare people. My children are never safe. I’m not sure if I should be proud or annoyed that they inherited my sense of humor. LOL

Marlene: Could you describe a typical day of writing for us. Are you a planner or pantser?

Shiela: Often my ideas come from my dreams. I have very vivid dreams that are quite in-depth.

My typical writing day begins after I’ve cleaned my house, showered and returned emails. I put on dance music—a must have for me—grab a class of iced tea and get started. I don’t have a desk or an office. I prefer to write in my living room seated on the loveseat.

Marlene: I’ve noticed that a lot of your books are paranormal romance, including The Naughty Angel. What draws you to write about the “things that go bump in the night”?

Shiela: Having lived in a haunted house plays a big part in that. Aside from that it would be having an older brother who thought it was hilarious to hide under my bed and when I went to get ready to go to sleep he would reach out and grab my foot. He also loved putting his glow in the dark skull head in my closet. I guess it’s just in my blood because even as a small girl I was intrigued by scary stories. Halloween was and still is my favorite holiday. 🙂

Marlene: Where did your inspiration for this book come from? An angel and a demon, that’s an unusual combination for a love story!

Shiela: And precisely why I wanted to write it. It’s not a typical love story. Good and bad, Heaven and Hell. Such complete opposites.  I always like to throw a curve in my stories and what better way than bringing a demon and an angel together. It stemmed from seeing an episode of Supernatural where an angel surprisingly kisses a demon.

Marlene: Was writing a story for the 1Night Stand series different from your usual writing style?

Shiela: The Naughty Angel is the second book on the 1Night Series that I’ve written. The first was A Taste of Humanity. It was more difficult in that I tend to write longer works that range from 20,000 words to over a 100,000 words. Condensing everything I want to say into fewer than 10,000 is a bit of a challenge for me. But what is life without challenges. 🙂

Marlene: What projects do you have planned for the future? What is next on your schedule?

Shiela: Right now I’m editing a series I wrote a while back, and sharing chapters of it on my blog That’s What She Said. It’s a story of a woman who has the ability to see and speak to the dead (Shocker, it’s another paranormal lol) She’s visited by a deceased little girl seeking help in finding her killer. It turns out she isn’t the only victim and Samantha is suddenly bombarded by several more young victims. While searching for a killer, she becomes attracted to a married man in the midst of a nasty divorce.

I post two chapters a week on Monday and Friday. Curious, check it out. http://shielassays.blogspot.ca/

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

Shiela: I like to give the readers an escape from the real world by sharing a glimpse into a fantasy I’ve created.

I create likeable realistic characters that draw the readers in and make them feel like they can relate to them.

And lastly–nothing more needs to be said for this one other than, my vampires don’t sparkle.

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

Shiela: Every one of my titles of course. LOL Aside from my books I recommend anyone who loves a good mystery with romance to check out JD Robb’s In Death Series.
For those who want a steaming erotic novel check out any title by Faith Bicknell Brow.
And for those who like Non-Fiction I recommend Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony by Jeff Ashton.

Marlene: After reading your journey to becoming a writer, I was wondering if you had any words of advice that you would want to give to aspiring authors?

Shiela: Never give up. Don’t let rejections bring you down and never stop learning and perfecting your craft.  There are plenty of groups out there where you can get your work looked at and critiqued for free. I strongly suggest finding someone to look at your work before submitting it to a publisher. But also be cautious in who you have looking at your work. If the person has nothing but negative things to say, find someone else. There is nothing more discouraging than hearing someone rip your work apart and not give you any positive feedback.

Marlene: Before I let you go, would you like to tell us a little bit about your artistic hobby?

Shiela: I love to draw. My specialty is faces. I find faces so interesting, how each one is so different.  I also love to draw nudes and animals. I find the art of drawing very relaxing.  If you’d like to check out my drawings go to my artwork page in my website.  http://www.shielasbooks.ca/Art%20work.htm

Marlene: One last question: Coffee or Tea?

Shiela: Coffee.

From living in a haunted house to writing paranormal romances, that’s one fantastic journey. Thank you so much, Shiela, for sharing a bit of it with us.

~~~~~Tourwide Giveaway~~~~~

And speaking of sharing, 5 winners will get to share the deliciously naughty fun of The Naughty Angel by winning an ebook copy of the book. Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Author Louisa Bacio

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

My special guest today is Louisa Bacio, the author of A Date with Death. (This is a not as gruesome as it sounds! In fact, the date both does, and doesn’t, happen. To learn more, read my review. But if you like your love stories hot, sweet and bittersweet, go on A Date with Death)

Louisa was gracious enough to answer a few of my usual pointed questions. Here are her answers…

Louisa: First, Marlene, thanks so much for hosting me, and for the targeted and specific questions! I can really see the time that you put into them.

Marlene: Thanks, Louisa! Now, can you please tell the readers a bit about yourself?

Louisa: First, I love to tell stories, whether they are nonfiction that I share, or ones that I create. I also wear many hats as a wife, mother, professor, editor, freelance writer. I believe in putting everything that you have into a project with passion. And, I love animals and to cook.

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

Louisa: It all depends upon what I have to do that day. Today, I went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch for my 5-year-old daughter, then had to prep class, and I taught from 7 to 10 p.m. The writing time will probably come about midnight. But it’s an absolute passion. While walking to class, I was wondering about what would happen if one of my vampire characters cut his long hair. Would it grow back over night? And why? I think it’s a scene for a 2013 novella … so even when I’m not writing, I’m still creating. I’m a pantser who knows specific scenes, such as the one mention.

Marlene: What can we expect of A Date with Death?

Louisa: A good, sexy story with heart. My editor at Decadent Publishing Kate Richards really pushed me to hone my craft. My background is in journalism, so fiction uses a different skill set.

Marlene: This is your first book in the 1Night Stand series. How was it different fitting the entire HEA into a one-night encounter?

Louisa: I enjoy writing short fiction. The 1Night Stand stories average 10,000 words or so. I’ve done flash fiction, and 2,500 word stories. The key to turning one night into a HEA is the dynamics between the characters. Even though Maise and Reese in A Date with Death don’t know each other, something unites them.

I teach a class on writing a short story based on a call for submissions. One former student, V.S. Morgan wrote the majority of her m/m 1Night Stand The Gift within my January class. In her story, the characters have a history together, and then their brought back together during this night. Another friend Sabrina Sol will release her first book Reunited in November. By that title, you should be able to guess the connection, right? Those elements help make it more believable.

Marlene: Most of your books are erotic romance, whether paranormal or contemporary. What drew you to writing on the erotic edges of romance?

Louisa: Hmmm, good question, and one I probably haven’t been asked directly before. Maybe it’s because it’s what I enjoy reading. I’ve always considered myself a very sexual person, and I like showing the reality of that relationship. Life isn’t I Love Lucy twin beds. What we hope for is the lifelong passion.

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

Louisa: There really is so much. It’s that process of creating something from nothing. Of connecting with readers, and making them feel the way books have done for me. In some aspects, it’s having a character seem real to me, and “talk” in my head. At the same time, that’s maddening.

Marlene: Where is your favorite place to write?

Louisa: Absolute favorite has to be bed, where it’s soft and comfy and my butt doesn’t fall asleep as easily! Seriously, I also love those moments when I get immediate inspiration. I’m a member of OCC/RWA, my local chapter, and there’s nothing like a great guest speaker with a prompt that makes you come away with a new scene.

Marlene: What projects do you have planned for the future? What is next on your schedule?

Louisa: Earlier this week, I turned in The Wolfe Pack, book 4 in my The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf series. Next, I plan to focus on another 1Night Stand, A Dance with Death. (Notice the trend?) I already have the story and characters plotted out. I also have a new paranormal romance series that I’m starting to pitch to publishers so keep your fingers crossed for me. It’s really good!

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

Louisa: Passionate. Sexy. Caring. I love to read, and I writing stories that I enjoy, so hopefully that comes through.

Marlene: Morning person or night owl?

Louisa: Have you seen my Twitter feed? Definitely a night owl. The problem is with two school-age kids, I also have to get them up early for school.

Louisa, thank you so much for answering all my pesky questions! And I’m very happy to know that you’ll be writing another 1Night Stand with Death, because that first “Date” went very, very well!

Review: A Date With Death by Louisa Bacio

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: paranormal romance, erotic romance
Series: 1Night Stand
Length: 36 pages
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Date Released: August 21, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Death sucks. It’s boring, and there’s no chance of getting laid. Stuck in the waiting room of Heaven, Maise fantasizes about all the pleasures of the flesh she didn’t get to experience. When Maise discovers a business card for the dating service, 1Night Stand, she wonders if there’s still a chance.

Reece normally wouldn’t consider being set up, but after his brother buys him a certificate, he feels obligated. A romantic night on the Southern California coast, with the full-of-life Maise leaves him wanting more.

Will a 1Night Stand be enough to overcome death?

The trick, and sometimes it is a trick, with the 1Night Stand titles is to get the couple from meeting to happily-ever-after in the course (and definitely intercourse!) of one single night.

This doesn’t mean the couple can’t have met before, and it doesn’t mean that the HEA can’t be a work in progress at the end (the best 1Night Stand stories often use one or the other) but the story takes place in one night. And the author doesn’t have a lot of pages to work with.

Louisa Bacio uses one amazingly unconventional start for a 1Night Stand.

First, throw any preconception out the window. This is a paranormal, just barely. But there are no vampires, werewolves or any other creatures of the night involved, in spite of the suggestions sparked by that title.

The story opens with the heroine, Maise, finding one of Madame Eve’s brochures for her 1Night Stand service. What’s unusual is that Maise finds it while she is waiting for her number to be called in Limbo. Literally, Limbo, as in the waiting room for death. The last thing Maise remembers is the oncoming car, the one that killed her.

Cell phone service apparently reaches to this other-worldly waiting room, but only if Maise punches Madame Eve’s number before her own number gets called. Ironic, isn’t it?

Maise figures that she might as well take one last shot at living, especially since she’s already dead. What she can’t figure out is how Madame Eve manages to rescue her from Limbo, even temporarily, or what the absolutely gorgeous and definitely very much among the living man, Reese, could possibly need a 1Night Stand for. It’s all too obvious to Maise that Reese shouldn’t need a computer dating service.

But Reese’s life has gone into a grief-stricken tailspin for reasons that he isn’t willing to reveal to Maise, and a night of passion with a beautiful woman is exactly what he needs. He wants to feel and not to think. Not to think about the brother he just lost, the one who gave him this night as a present, just before he died.

But Maise and Reese have a connection, and not just the instant-lust that they feel for each other the moment they meet. It’s that real-world connection that will be the saving of them both…if they are willing to believe in what they experience in just one night.

Escape Rating B+: The author did an amazing job with this short erotic romance. She did a deft job of mixing the bittersweet sadness that begins the story for both Reese and Maise with the hot encounter of their one night that leads to the sweet ending.

I find Madame Eve’s powers occasionally beyond belief, but the story works beautifully. My only regret is that it wasn’t longer. I’d love to know how things worked out for Maise and Reece.

***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.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 10-14-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

Yesterday morning we had to do something we call “All Star Cat Wrestling.” Everybody went to the vet for their annual checkup. When there’s a human involved instead of two cats, the human usually wishes for a full suit of armor. Or dragonhide gloves.

And we’re going to have to do it again in a couple of weeks. Everybody needs their teeth cleaned. Joy! Not.

But about last week on the blog…

B+ Review: Skies of Steel (The Ether Chronicles #3) by Zoe Archer
B+ Review: Forge (Thrall Web #1) by T.K. Anthony + Interview
B+ Review: Blue Nebula (Blue Universe #2) by Diane Dooley + Interview and Giveaway!
B+ Review: Run the Risk (Love Undercover #1) by Lori Foster + Q&A and Giveaway!
B+ Review: The Second Seduction of a Lady by Miranda Neville

I must have been having a B+ week in general without realizing it. Hmmm, I wonder what that means?

This week there will be a lot of wickedness, one way or another. Which only seems fitting, since we’re closing in on Halloween!

On Monday, Ebook Review Central will be back. This week will feature the Dreamspinner Press titles from the end of summer. One last look at August, 2012, to take a look at the hits from Dreamspinner’s always long list. So far, I’ve got Tigers leading the pack. We’ll see if that holds up.

Tuesday, my first tour for Kismet Book Company is Of Blood and Bone by Courtney Cole. This first book in her new series, The Minaldi Legacy, is about dark secrets, love, death and monsters.

Thursday my book is also about love and death, but on a much lighter note (and doesn’t that sound contradictory?) But it’s a 1Night Stand title, so it’s meant to be lighter. Louisa Bacio will be here to talk about her 1Night Stand entry, A Date with Death. It’s surprisingly sweet, in spite of that rather foreboding title, as my review will tell!

On Friday I have another 1Night Stand author, Shiela Stewart, with her entry in the series, The Naughty Angel. And her angel is planning to be naughty in more ways than just the obvious. Tune in Friday to find out!

Speaking of wicked (well I was, sort of) on Saturday Reading Reality will be participating in the Wicked Romances Blog Hop. Be sure to stop by and enter the hop, AND hop on to all the participating blogs.

Doesn’t that sound simply…wicked?

 

Stacking the Shelves (20)

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Stacking the Shelves

This issue of Stacking the Shelves is back to normal. Well, normal for me, anyway, which means seriously overstacked.

I feel so much better now.

There are a few titles that landed on the list because of something I read elsewhere…so to speak.

Nights of Steel by Nico Rosso, and The Importance of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville are both the next books in series to books I reviewed this week (Skies of Steel by Zoe Archer and The Second Seduction of a Lady by Miranda Neville, respectively) I finished the one, and immediately went out hunting for the next. Thanks go to Edelweiss in both cases for feeding my addiction.

Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey is a book of other writers responding to E.L. James much talked about work. (Yes, I’ve read the Fifty Shades trilogy.) I’m curious to see what fifty writers had to say about it that a publisher thought there would be money publishing the collection.

And last, my one print book in this week’s stack, Cory Doctorow’s Pirate Cinema. Tor Books sent this to me with a very interesting reprint from The Guardian about “Why the death of DRM would be good news for readers, writers and publishers,” written, of course, by Doctorow. Galen and I are hoping to dual-review this one.

Of course, everything on the list except for Pirate Cinema is an ebook.

So, what terrific books are stacking your shelves this week?

For Review:
Above All Things by Tanis Rideout
The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
Bettie Page Presents: the Librarian by Logan Belle
Commencement (Hellsbane #0.5) by Paige Cuccaro
Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey edited by Lori Perkins
How Beauty Met the Beast (Tales of the Underlight #1) by Jax Garren
Ice Cold (T-FLAC #17) by Cherry Adair
The Importance of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville
A Lesson in Chemistry with Inspector Bruce (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard #2.5) by Jillian Stone
The Merchant of Dreams (Night’s Masque #2) by Anne Lyle
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow (print book)
Nights of Steel (The Ether Chronicles #4) by Nico Rosso
Scent of Magic (Healer #2) by Maria V. Snyder
Stellarnet Prince by J.L. Hilton
Sugar Rush by Rachel Astor
Tudor Rubato (Tudor Dynasty #2) by Jamie Salisbury

Purchased:
The Killing Moon (Dreamblood #1) by N.K. Jemisin ($1.99 ebook sale)
The Vampire Wardens and Werewolf Society 5 Story Box Set by Lisa Renee Jones ($1.99 for the entire set ebook sale)

Review: The Devil’s Match by Victoria Vane

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

Format read: e-ARC provided by publisher
Release Date: 24 August 2012
Series: Book #4 in the Devil DeVere series
Number of pages: 132 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon

Blurb:

Once burned twice shy… but when old flames come together…passion reignites…

When burned once… Arriving in London as her goddaughter’s chaperone, Baroness Diana Palmerston-Wriothesley wants to avoid her erstwhile lover at all costs. Once nearly consumed by passion, four years has reduced the former inferno to bitterness and ashes.

By an old flame… A world-weary master of seduction, Ludovic “The Devil” DeVere is bored with his chosen life of debauchery. When Diana’s charge disappears, she is forced to seek help from the devil’s lair, and their mutual desire reignites with undeniable ferocity.

Fire is best fought with fire… While DeVere is hell-bent to have her back for keeps, Diana is equally determined to bring him to his knees…by acquiring some sensual secrets of her own.

My Thoughts: Everything has been leading up to this. Which might be both good and bad. It’s possible to read A Wild Night’s Bride, The Virgin Huntress and The Devil You Know on their own and enjoy them as much as I did Bride and Devil, or didn’t in the case of Huntress, but The Devil’s Match is the culmination of the story begun in the other three books. You need to have read at least The Devil You Know (or, one could say you need to already know how Diana knows the Devil) in order for The Devil’s Match to have the resonance it should.

The “match” in the title of The Devil’s Match could just as easily mean a matchstick for lighting fires as a mate. And, come to think of it, one brand of matches in the early 1800’s was known as “lucifers”, yet another name for the devil. Entirely too appropriate, because the unfinished business between DeVere and Diana makes them set each other off like, well, tinder and matches.

The Devil’s Match picks up right where The Devil You Know ends. Diana stalks into DeVere’s house in the middle of a orgy, Really, an orgy! Full of righteous indignation because DeVere’s brother Hew has kidnapped her goddaughter Vesta (see The Virgin Huntress). There are half-naked women everywhere, and DeVere himself is in the middle of getting serviced while this conversation is taking place! Diana’s speech, and her maintenance of outward composure, is astonishing.

It’s too bad for Diana that DeVere has all too clear an idea of what’s going through her head, and that’s she wrong about who kidnapped whom between Hew and Vesta, admittedly with DeVere’s connivance.

But just like Diana’s assumptions about Vesta’s supposed kidnapping, very little about that scene is exactly what it appears to be. And that’s what made the resolution of this four book long story so interesting (not that the erotic scenes weren’t steamy!) DeVere starts out as merely a sybarite and a rake. A consummate puppet-master out for his own amusement. As the layers peel back, DeVere turns out to be the prisoner of his own fears, too worried about making the same mistakes his parents did to trust his own heart. Or even to trust that he has one.

Verdict: I dove straight from The Devil You Know to The Devil’s Match. I had to find out exactly how the Devil got his due! Once I finally found out how DeVere and Diana end up in the positions (hah!) they are in at the beginning of the series, I couldn’t wait to find out how they got out of the mess.

The Devil’s Match isn’t as frothy as A Wild Night’s Bride, but it’s even more delightful in some ways. Watching the rake not only admit that love just might be possible, but actually reform, is a far better ending for him than anything the reader might have expected when he first sauntered onto the pages of A Wild Night’s Bride. Bravo!

I gladly give The Devil’s Match 5 fiery stars.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.