The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-16-14

Posted on November 16, 2014November 16, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Giveaways> Gratitude Giveaways Hop> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

We’re moving in less than three weeks. The panic has not yet set in, but it will. This chapter of the travels (and perils) of Marlene is moving back to the Atlanta area, pretty close to where we lived two years ago. We went back to look for a place to live, and it felt like deja vu all over again – everything seemed awfully familiar. But in a good way. It was just weird that we returned to a hotel room instead of going back home. But we will soon. My mom is just thrilled that we’ll be somewhat closer again. Atlanta isn’t actually close to Cincinnati, but it is way closer than Seattle. Or Anchorage.

I got a LOT of books read on the plane to and from Atlanta in the last couple of weeks. Which helped considerably in figuring out what this week’s reviews would be.

But speaking of reviews, last Thursday Cass and I did a joint rant about a book. I don’t normally trash books (although Cass often does) but this particular book was such a disappointment. The upcoming week’s books were loads more fun!

Review: In the Company of Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger

Posted on November 14, 2014December 7, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by the publisher via Edelweiss
Formats available: hardcover, ebook, audiobook
Genre: mystery
Length: 262 pages
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Date Released: November 11, 2014
Purchasing Info: Laurie R. King’s Website, Leslie S. Klinger’s website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

The Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were recently voted as the top mystery series of all time, and they have enthralled generations of readers and writers! Now, Laurie R. King, author of the New York Times-bestselling Mary Russell series (in which Holmes plays a co-starring role), and Leslie S. Klinger, editor of the New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, have assembled a stellar group of contemporary authors from a variety of genres and asked them to create new stories inspired by that canon. Inside you ll find Holmes in times and places previously unimagined, as well as characters who have themselves been affected by the tales of Sherlock Holmes. The game is afoot again!

My Review:

This second collection of stories inspired by Sherlock Holmes is the followup to the editors’ 2011 collection, A Study in Sherlock. Just as in that previous effort, this collection contains some stories that are actual Holmes pastiches, taking place during the time period covered by original canon, some are extensions of the Holmes we know into time periods not covered by Conan Doyle, and some are stories inspired by the Great Detective but don’t include him personally.

There are also a couple of stories told using unusual perspectives or narrative conceits. Several of the stories play with the question of whether Holmes was or was not a “real person”.

Like all collections, this is a mixed bag. Some of the stories are worthy successors. Some are memorable. Some are just a bit cute. Your mileage, of course, may vary considerably from mine.

Three stories in particular stick with me for different reasons.

My favorite story in the bunch is Dunkirk by John Lescroat. It is the one that haunts me after the book is closed. Dunkirk is not a Holmes story per se, it is one of those stories that speculates on Holmes’ life after he retired to the Sussex Downs to take up beekeeping. I read it mostly as a tribute to the men who took their small craft and little fishing boats from Dover to Dunkirk in the late Spring of 1940 to rescue the entire British Expeditionary Force that was trapped on the French coast in the wake of the Nazi overthrow of France. We see the crew of one little ship, operating on little food and less sleep, running back and forth day after day to pick up 60 men at a time from certain death. The perspective is that of a 72 year old Holmes, under his Sigerson nom-de-plume, who felt that he must do something to combat evil in this second World War, just as he did in the first. In the end, it is his connection to humanity that he feels, and we feel. The final touch of the heroism medal left for Sigerson and never claimed is pure Holmes.

The story in The Memoirs of Silver Blaze by Michael Sims relates the tale of the theft and recovery of the racehorse Silver Blaze, as told in the Conan Doyle story of the same name, from the perspective of the horse. While the method of retelling this particular story seems a bit twee, it actually works pretty well. After all, the horse was the murderer in this one, and it seems only fair that he get the chance to tell the story from his point-of-view. It does feel that we know a little bit more about what happened by getting the story straight from the horse’s mouth. So to speak.

My final favorite is of the “stories inspired by” school of Sherlockiana. In the case of The Adventures of My Ignoble Ancestress by Nancy Holder, it’s hard to tell how much of this is based on the author’s true family history, and how much is pure invention, which makes it that much more fun. The author’s ancestress was part of a Sherlock Holmes case, The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet. While her many-times great aunt was eventually discovered to be the thief of that Beryl Coronet, she disappeared after the theft was discovered and was assumed to have run away in disgrace. While investigating the truth of the tale, the author is able to lay to rest not only the ghost Mary Holder, but also some much more recent ghosts of her own.

Escape Rating B: The stories in this collection that I enjoyed, I really enjoyed. Especially Dunkirk. But looking back over my review of A Study in Sherlock (here) shows me that there just aren’t as many in this collection as there were in the previous one.

On that other hand, I particularly want to note that this collection, In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, is the inspiration for editor Leslie Klinger’s lawsuit to place all of the pre-1923 Holmes stories into the public domain in the U.S. (The laws in Britain are different, and the entire canon is public domain across the pond.) The Conan Doyle Estate blocked publication of this collection until Klinger had his day in court. And was vindicated. (For the complete history of the case, look at Free Sherlock).

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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 11-9-14

Posted on November 9, 2014November 7, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Giveaways> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is almost upon us, but it is barreling towards us at breakneck speed. Unless you are in Canada and it’s already been and gone.

But starting this coming Saturday I’ll be participating in the 5th Annual Gratitude Giveaways Hop. And I’m very grateful that we found a house in Atlanta on the first day of the search. I’m not looking forward to moving, but I am looking forward to being back. Once it’s all done, that is.

This Thursday, Cass and I are doing a joint review, or possibly joint rant, about a dragon book. (because, Cass). There will be snark. Tune in to see what we thought. Or felt. Or puked over.

Current Giveaways:

The French Executioner by C.C. Humphreys (print, U.S. only)
$50 Gift Card, 2 Gift Baskets, print copy of Not Quite Forever by Catherine Bybee and swag

Winner Announcements:

Blog Recap:

A Review: Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
B+ Review: Core Punch by Pauline Baird Jones
B+ Review: The French Executioner by C.C. Humphreys
Guest Post by Author C.C. Humphreys + Giveaway
A Guest Review by Cryselle: Manipulation by Eden Winters
B+ Review: Not Quite Forever by Catherine Bybee + Giveaway
Stacking the Shelves (111)

Coming Next Week:

The Red Book of Primrose House by Marty Wingate (blog tour review)
Soldier Girls by Helen Thorpe (review)
Dirty Laundry by Rhys Ford (review)
Til Dragons Do Us Part by Lorenda Christensen (joint review with Cass)
In the Company of Sherlock Holmes edited by Leslie S. Klinger (review)
Gratitude Giveaways Hop

Stacking the Shelves (98)

Posted on July 26, 2014July 26, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

This is pretty much the last two weeks. Lots of interesting stuff. I’m feeding my Sherlock Holmes addiction with not just one but two anthologies, and I bought the Brenda Cooper books just for the covers. (I have the cover of The Diamond Deep on the Detcon t-shirt).

Speaking of Detcon, I bought (or rather Galen bought for me) One-Eyed Jack by Elizabeth Bear. I adore her Promethean Age series (start with Blood and Iron) because it’s one of the best Fae/Earth crossover series I’ve ever read. I’m beyond thrilled that it’s continuing after a 6-year break!

gentlemen prefer curves by sugar jamison

221 Baker Streets edited by david thomas moore

in the company of sherlock holmes edited by laurie r king and leslie s klinger

For Review:
Dangerous Calling (The Shadowminds #2) by AJ Larrieu
The Devil in Montmartre by Gary Inbinder
Gentlemen Prefer Curves (Perfect Fit #3) by Sugar Jamison
Hard to Hold On To (Hard Ink #2.5) by Laura Kaye
In the Company of Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
Left Turn at Paradise (Antiquarian Book Mystery #2) by Thomas Shawver
Lethal Code by Thomas Waite
The Lodge on Holly Road (Life in Icicle Falls #4) by Sheila Roberts
The Magician’s Land (Magicians #3) by Lev Grossman
Slow Hand (Hot Cowboy Nights #1) by Victoria Vane
Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets edited by David Thomas Moore
While You Were Away by D.J. Davis
Wild (Ivy Chronicles #3) by Sophie Jordan

Purchased:
The Creative Fire (Ruby’s Song #1) by Brenda Cooper
The Diamond Deep (Ruby’s Song #2) by Brenda Cooper
Into Tolari Space (Tales of Tolari Space #0.5) by Christie Meierz
The Marann (Tales of Tolari Space #1) by Christie Meierz
One-Eyed Jack (Promethian Age #5) by Elizabeth Bear
Worth the Weight (Worth #1) by Mara Jacobs

Review: A Case of Spontaneous Combustion by Stephanie Osborn

Posted on May 28, 2014May 26, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: mystery
Series: The Displaced Detective #5
Length: 344 pages
Publisher: Twilight Times
Date Released: May 10, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

When an entire village on the Salisbury Plain is wiped out in an apparent case of mass spontaneous combustion, Her Majesty’s Secret Service contacts The Holmes Agency to investigate. Unfortunately Sherlock Holmes and his wife, Dr. Skye Chadwick-Holmes, have just had their first serious fight, over her abilities and attitudes as an investigator. To make matters worse, he is summoned to England in the middle of the night, and she is not — and due to the invocation of the National Security Act in the summons, he cannot even wake her and tell her.

Once in London, Holmes looks into the horror that is now Stonegrange. His investigations take him into a dangerous undercover assignment in search of a possible terror ring, though he cannot determine how a human agency could have caused the disaster. There, he works hard to pass as a recent immigrant and manual laborer from a certain rogue Mideastern nation as he attempts to uncover signs of the terrorists.

Meanwhile, alone in Colorado, Skye battles raging wildfires and tames a wild mustang stallion, all while believing her husband has abandoned her.

Who — or what — caused the horror in Stonegrange? Will Holmes find his way safely through the metaphorical minefield that is modern Middle Eastern politics? Will Skye subdue Smoky before she is seriously hurt? Will this predicament seriously damage — even destroy — the couple’s relationship? And can Holmes stop the terrorists before they unleash their outré weapon again?

My Review:

Mass human spontaneous combustion–it sounds like something that would be reported in the tabloids at the grocery checkout stands. And that is what happens in A Case of Spontaneous Combustion. But unlike the usual tabloid stories, this one is true, and MI-5 calls in Sherlock Holmes to investigate.

If it sounds like I’ve sailed even further into tabloid-land, I haven’t. This story is the fifth book in Stephanie Osborn’s Displaced Detective series, where Sherlock Holmes has been brought to our world through quantum physics. (Read The Case of the Displaced Detective: the Arrival (reviewed here) for details.)

The difference is that the Sherlock Holmes in this particular pastiche is a real person, not a fictional construct as he was in our version of the multiverse. And being human and not literary, he does not completely resemble the literary version in Conan Doyle’s stories. Because this one managed to fall in love, and get married. Eventually, and with a lot of persuasion and adaptation from the 19th century to the 21st. (See The Case of the Displaced Detective: At Speed (review) and The Case of the Cosmological Killer (review) for the full story.)

A Case of Spontaneous Combustion is a story designed to showcase both sides of the Holmes that came to our world. On the one hand, he has a diabolical mystery to investigate, and on the other, he’s in the middle of a fight with his wife, and it’s affecting the case. It also becomes a minor case in its own right.

Holmes and his wife Skye have their first major argument. And it’s the kind of thing that looms large at the time, but could be quickly gotten over in the morning, when both tempers have cooled off a bit. Instead, Holmes gets hauled off to England, and his orders specifically exclude Skye and invoke the Official Secrets Act. He’s stuck and screwed (or not, as the case may be)

He gets to London, and almost immediately goes undercover to look for the terrorists who set off something in the middle of a small town that exploded all the inhabitants, and every other living thing for a radius of two miles, without harming any of the buildings.

Skye can’t reach him, and it’s literally more than his life is worth to call her. They both write letters trying to patch things up, but neither set of letters is getting through. Each thinks that they have been abandoned by the other, and that their marriage is over. They both descend into a certain amount of self-destructive behavior, while Holmes is undercover among the terrorists.

Things look like they are not going to end well. The case turns out to be much bigger, and considerably more dangerous, than was originally believed. By the end, Holmes and Skye’s bodies may be among the dead, if someone doesn’t solve their missing communications first.

Is it all part of the terrorist plot, or is there a spy in MI-5? Holmes needs Skye to save him from himself, and to figure out the high-level physics behind the mass spontaneous combustion.

Escape Rating B: I love this series. The whole concept of an alternate-world Sherlock Holmes works for me. He’s Holmes, but he’s not quite Conan Doyle’s Holmes, and that provides enough leeway for the ways that he’s different. In fact, a point in this story is that people keep equating the living Holmes with the fictional creation, and make assumptions that prove very, very wrong or hurtful, sometimes both.

There are two stories here; the marital tension being exacerbated by the missing communication, and the terrorist plot. I’ll admit that there were points where I wondered if they might somehow be part of the same plot, but there were different “baddies” for each one.

One issue with basing a series on whether or not a romantic relationship forms between the main characters is that a significant part of the dramatic tension can dissipate when the sexual tension is consummated. The depths to which both Holmes and Skye sunk as a result of their argument took over too much of the story. And it felt like a misunderstandammit that should have been resolved much more easily. The reasons behind the plot to keep them from communicating were a bit simplistic and it was easy to spot the perpetrator.

The terrorist case was much more nefarious, and it took longer to develop and to bring to a (temporary) close. Watching Holmes work his undercover magic in a contemporary setting was marvelous. Changing his identity and immersing himself completely in his role is a skill that translated well from one century to the next. But I think the ringleaders of this one will be back, and I’m looking forward to it.

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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.

Stacking the Shelves (88)

Posted on May 10, 2014May 10, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

In addition to the usual suspects, this week Library Journal sent me the next Inspector Gamache book to review. It’s a really ugly ARC, and I don’t care. I absolutely adore the series, and I’m thrilled to get the next book in any form available. If you like character driven mysteries, start with Still Life. If you are eagerly awaiting the new one (due out at the end of August) let me tell you, it’s worth the wait!

rogues by george rr martin and gardner dozois

case of spontaneous combustion by stephanie osborn

heirs of the demon king uprising by sarah cawkwell

For Review:
Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy #1) by Ilona Andrews
A Case of Spontaneous Combustion (Displaced Detective #5) by Stephanie Osborn
Gemsigns (®Evolution #1) by Stephanie Saulter
Heirs of the Demon King: Uprising by Sarah Cawkwell
Leashing the Tempest (Arcadia Bell #2.5) by Jenn Bennett
The Long Way Home (Chief Inspector Gamache #10) by Louise Penny
Love and Let Spy (Lord and Lady Spy #3) by Shana Galen
Premonitions by Jamie Schultz
Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
Sundance by David Fuller
What a Bride Wants (Great Wedding Giveaway #1) by Kelly Hunter (review)

Borrowed from the Library:
Reaper’s Legacy (Reapers MC #2) by Joanna Wylde
The Silk Map (Gaunt and Bone #2) by Chris Willrich

Once More with Feeling: The Best Ebook Romances of 2013

Posted on December 27, 2013December 25, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | best book lists> book reviews

In spite of what the opening paragraph of the article at Library Journal says, this is actually the third year that I’ve been asked to choose the Best Ebook Romances of the Year for Library Journal.

Just check the archives, if you’re terribly curious, here are the links to the 2011 and 2012 lists. This is one of the most fun things I get to do all year that can be more or less labeled as work, even though, as what I call reverse full-disclosure, Library Journal does not pay for the writing of this particular article or for the book reviewing I do for them.

Creating this list is always personal for me. These are books or series that I read or am in the middle of. They are the books that I gave either A ratings or 4.5 or 5 star ratings to, depending on where I did the review. Or in a few cases, B+ reviews of books I absolutely couldn’t get out of my head.

The first year, I was told to list 5 books. Last year, 5-ish. This year, my editor said 10 from the start. I think she figured out that I cheat and list series. I did again this year and went over the limit.

Archer, Zoë. Skies of Gold. Avon Impulse. (Ether Chronicles, Bk. 5). ebk. ISBN 9780062241443. STEAMPUNK ROMANCE (4.5 star review)

The first four books in the Ether Chronicles (Skies of Fire, Night of Fire, Skies of Steel, Night of Steel) were on my 2012 list for good reason; this series is simply awesome steampunk worldbuilding. Also we have all the story possibilities inherent in a world war, but with airships and “ether” power. While Skies of Gold is a more than worthy successor to the first four books in the series, it is unfortunately the last book in the series. If you love steampunk romance, you’ll be enthralled. And then sad that it’s over.

Buroker, Lindsay. Forged in Blood I. ebk. ISBN 9781301493357. Forged in Blood II. ebk. ISBN 9781301349876. ea. vol: Lindsay Buroker. (Emperor’s Edge). FANTASY ROMANCE
I’ve adored the first five volumes of The Emperor’s Edge series (The Emperor’s Edge, Dark Currents, Deadly Games, Conspiracy, Blood and Betrayal) so much that I haven’t wanted to see it end. So I’ll confess that I put the entire series on the list even though only the last two books were published in 2013, and I’ve been saving reading the ending for a treat for myself. LJ was slightly puristic about things and only put the 2013 titles as the main entry on the list. The Emperor’s Edge is Epic Fantasy with a touch of Steampunk. The primary story isn’t a romance, but, and it’s a truly lovely but, there is a romantic subplot. Or maybe that’s sub-subplot. Our heroine convinces the best assassin not to kill her, and keeps on convincing him to help her, even though everyone tells her he’s just a heartless killing machine. Of course he’s not. Well, not completely.

Croft, Nina. Bittersweet Blood. Entangled. (Order, Bk. 1). ebk. ISBN 9781622669592. PARANORMAL ROMANCE (A- Review)
What a difference just a few days makes! At the time I wrote the article, I was just about to read the second book in Croft’s Order series, Bittersweet Magic (B+ Review). I didn’t want to jinx things by listing it, but I shouldn’t have worried. What’s so much fun about this paranormal romance series is that the standard definitions don’t really apply; the vampires maintain the Order of the Shadow Accords on Earth to prevent the Fae and the Demons from repeating their use of Earth as the battleground in the long-running Fae/Demon war. The contemporary fallout seems to be over the descendants of the Fae Juliet and the Demon Romeo of that war. But Demons are immortal, so Romeo isn’t dead. But his half blood daughter is ground zero for armageddon, and only the vampires can protect her. Make that one vampire with a personal “stake” in the result. The world-building in this just keeps getting better, and the love stories more complex.

Ford, Rhys. Black Dog Blues. Coffee Squirrel. (Kai Gracen, Bk. 1). ebk. ISBN 9781301668625. M/M PARANORMAL ROMANCE (4.5 Star Review)
This is a dark and gritty post-apocalyptic urban fantasy much more than it is a paranormal romance. There are several characters in this story who care a great deal for the elfin Kai Gracen, but Kai doesn’t even like himself enough to be ready for more than friendship with anyone else. He’ll get there, but he isn’t there yet. The story drops us into Kai’s world as it is; we know what he knows. We don’t know why or how the sidhe suddenly merged with what used to be our normal, just that Kai has to endure whatever crap gets thrown his way. It’s the person who emerges from the endurance that makes the story. That and dodging the dragons mating over the Mojave Desert.

Grey, Jeanette. Take What You Want. Samhain. ebk. ISBN 9781619213746.
NEW ADULT ROMANCE (A- Review)
Ignore the New Adult label. Take What You Want is an absolutely marvelous contemporary romance that just so happens to be about two people in college. Ellen can’t go away for Spring Break, so she takes a vacation from herself. Just for a few days, she tries to be someone a bit different; instead of being shy and retreating into her books, Ellen buys sexy clothes on sale, goes to a townie bar and picks up the hottest guy in the place. She pretends to be “New Ellen” for just one night. Josh thinks no-strings-attached sex with a girl that he’s had a crush on since freshman year is a fantastic idea, but he knows exactly who she is. Ellen really doesn’t recognize him without his glasses. The next night is where pretense starts butting up against reality, because he wants to turn their one-night-stand into something more and New Ellen and regular Ellen have a difficult time deciding the difference between what they should want and what they do want.

Kindred, Jane. The Armies of Heaven. Entangled. (House of Arkhangel’sk). ebk. ISBN 9781620611067. FANTASY ROMANCE (4.5 star review)
The fall of the House of Arkangel’sk is a deliciously complicated blend of the historic fall of the Russian Imperial House of Romanov with Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen with more than few tablespoons of the deviance, decadence and twisted political machinations of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart. There is love to be found, but the path to reach it leads through dark places, and our preconceived notions of good and evil, right and wrong, do not apply in Kindred’s Courts of Heaven. The best man in the entire series is a demon, although he would never think of himself as good. The biggest fool is a certainly an angel, and he would definitely label himself as such. The series begins with The Fallen Queen (4.5 star review) and continues with The Midnight Court (A Review) before the conclusion in The Armies of Heaven. Prepare to be enthralled.

Knox, Ruthie. How To Misbehave. ebk. ISBN 9780345545305. (4 star review)
Knox, Ruthie. Along Came Trouble. ebk. ISBN 9780345541611. (5 star review)
Knox, Ruthie. Flirting with Disaster. ebk. ISBN 9780345541703. (A- Review)
Knox, Ruthie. Making It Last. ebk. ISBN 9780345549297.
ea. vol: Loveswept: Random. (Camelot). 4-vol. set. ebk. ISBN 9780804180436. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
This small town romance series set in central Ohio is all about the Clark siblings, Amber, Katie and Caleb. Knox specializes in contemporary romances where real people solve very real problems while going through major life experiences. The tension in her stories comes from the kind of situations that cause stress in ordinary life; trying to reinvent yourself, trying to maintain a marriage, dealing with grief, not dealing with grief, returning home, being part of the sandwich generation, financial stress. The difference is that Knox makes her characters people that we all identify with and lets them have a fantastically steamy romance while they resolve their problems. Her stories pull at your heartstrings and make you smile. Every single time.

Osborn, Stephanie. The Case of the Displaced Detective Omnibus. Twilight Times. SF ROMANCE
I adore Sherlock Holmes re-imaginings, with the exception of the whatever-it-is that Guy Ritchie birthed with Robert Downey Jr. (who should stick to Iron Man). But I seriously digress. I read, and reviewed, Stephanie Osborn’s Case of the Displaced Detective somewhat in its originally published parts: The Arrival (A- Review), At Speed (B+ Review) and The Case of the Cosmological Killer (B Review). In the case of Stephanie Osborn’s continuing opus, I very much admire her concept of a Holmes who is not quite our Holmes and has an excuse for being so. She has used theories of quantum physics to create not just a possible universe where Holmes would have been a flesh-and-blood person, but to create causality that would bring that person into our 21st century. He is not quite the “thinking machine” of Conan Doyle’s fiction because he is not supposed to be, and that opens up a world of possibilities. Real human beings, after all, feel real emotions as they solve mysteries. Sometimes they even fall in love.

Rivers, Mary Ann. The Story Guy. Loveswept: Random. ebk. ISBN 9780345548740. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE (A- Review)
There was only one thing wrong with this story. It was too short, and at the time it was written, it was the only thing available by Mary Ann Rivers. The story is absolutely awesome, I wanted more by this author, and there just wasn’t anything else, yet.
What’s a “story guy”? A story guy is someone who may or may not be long-term relationship material, but who will, sometime in the future after the heartache is over, make a terrific story. Librarian Carrie West answers a personal ad from a very hot guy for one hour of kissing in the park every week. The answers to the questions about why this unattached and gorgeous man is willing to settle for so little for himself, and to make sure that no one is able to get attached to him, make for one marvelous and nearly heartbreaking love story. (And if you fall in love with The Story Guy you’ll probably also love Ruthie Knox’ Big Boy.)

Scott, Jessica. Anything for You. Loveswept: Random. (Coming Home, Bk. 2.5). ebk. ISBN 9781301165766. (A+ Review)
Scott, Jessica. I’ll Be Home for Christmas. Forever Yours: Grand Central. (Coming Home, Bk. 2.6). ebk. ISBN 9781455554249. (A Review) MILITARY ROMANCE
Jessica Scott’s Coming Home series, which began in 2011’s Because of You (A Review) and continued in 2012 with Until There Was You (A- Review), is a military romance series that gets to the heart of what it means to love someone who serves in the military, because author Scott is herself a career army officer and is married to a career NCO. So instead of writing about the glory of the battlefield, she writes about the toll that deployments take on a family with inside knowledge of what it’s like to wonder if someone is coming home, and how hard it is to wait and worry. She’s able to convey the emotional cost to a soldier with a career-ending injury, not just because his body is messed-up, but because he’s lost his purpose and he’s worried about the people he’s left behind. If you want to read a military romance with real heart, read Jessica Scott.

That’s it for this list. The specific requirements for the Library Journal list were that they all had to be ebooks, either ebook-only or ebook-first, or ebook-mostly. In some cases, there is a print available on demand, but the ebook looks like the primary format, or it did at the time. Also, for this list, there had to be a romance in the story. Yes, a couple of times you have to be looking for the romance, it’s not the primary plot. But there had to at least be a romantic element.

I used to be able to put this list in preference order, but it’s gotten too big. And there’s kind of an apples/bananas problem. How do you compare a steampunk romance to a paranormal romance when they are both at the top of their respective trees?

I will do a “best of the year” list next week (which includes a few contributions from my friend Cass!) These type of lists are loads of fun. It’s great to look back and see what I’ve read and which books stick in the mind by the end of the year.

Review: The Case of the Cosmological Killer by Stephanie Osborn

Posted on October 23, 2013October 20, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by the publisher
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Genre: Science fiction; mystery
Series: The Displaced Detective, #3-4
Length: Rendlesham Incident, 252 pages; Endings and Beginnings, 254 pages
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Date Released: Rendlesham, July 15, 2012; Endings, November 4, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

The Rendlesham Incident
In 1980, RAF Bentwaters and Woodbridge were plagued by UFO sightings that were never solved. Now a resident of Suffolk has died of fright during a new UFO encounter. On holiday in London, Sherlock Holmes and Skye Chadwick-Holmes are called upon by Her Majesty’s Secret Service to investigate the death. What is the UFO? Why does Skye find it familiar? Who – or what – killed McFarlane? And how can the pair do what even Her Majesty’s Secret Service could not?

Endings and Beginnings
After the revelations in The Rendlesham Incident, Holmes and Skye find they have not one, but two, very serious problems facing them. Not only did their “UFO victim” most emphatically NOT die from a close encounter, he was dying twice over – from completely unrelated causes. Holmes must now find the murderers before they find the secret of the McFarlane farm. And to add to their problems, another continuum – containing another Skye and Holmes – has approached Skye for help to stop the collapse of their own spacetime, a collapse that could take Skye with it, should she happen to be in their tesseract core when it occurs.

My Review:

I’m going to combine my reviews of books three and four in Stephanie Osborn’s Displaced Detective series because they read as one “case” even though they were divided into two books. The stop between book 3 in the series; The Rendlesham Incident and book 4; Endings and Beginnings, felt a tad artificial to me. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

And if you haven’t read the first two books in this series, and you enjoy Sherlock Holmes adaptations, start with The Case of the Displaced Detective: The Arrival and At Speed, previously reviewed. (A new omnibus edition including all 4 ebooks has just been released to make this easier) The game is definitely and marvelously afoot!

The case that Holmes and Chadwick have to solve is quite marvelously convoluted; a farmer in Suffolk, England has died of fright during a UFO encounter. The whole thing is of course patently ridiculous, and yet, the man is quite definitely dead.

And the whatever it is, UFO or not, is showing up on radar and all sorts of other high-tech instrumentation, moving at speeds that current aircraft, even top-secret military aircraft, are simply not capable of. Something is going on that is making some alphabet agencies extremely nervous. There are secret intelligence bases under the green fields of Suffolk, and that “UFO” is spooking MI-5 and MI-6. These are not the kind of people who enjoy being nervous. They much prefer making other people nervous.

The Intelligence services do something, well, intelligent. They request that Holmes and Chadwick come to Suffolk to investigate these strange happenings.

So they re-direct their honeymoon trip to London into an investigative trip to Suffolk. And thereby hangs a case. As well as a book or two.

And if you, like me, think that one version of Holmes is fun, just wait until you try it with two!

Escape Rating B: This series is solidly fun. If you enjoy Holmes’ stories, it’s an absolute blast. This one reads like an action-adventure story with romance added to give it flavor, and there were a few points where I expected a version of Indiana Jones to show up just for more fun.

The first half of the Rendlesham Incident is mostly taken up with wedding and honeymoon arrangements and the romantic aspects of the relationship between Holmes and Chadwick. I enjoyed that part, it’s the payoff for having watched them struggle to figure out whether they could manage a relationship. While it takes up a lot of book, I would have felt cheated if these issues hadn’t been resolved.

Also, it was a great setup for introducing the other version of Holmes and Chadwick, the ones who didn’t figure out how to have a romantic partnership, and just how badly they screwed up their lives. The fact that in their continuum, they didn’t avert the sabotage and made their world much messier only adds to their stress, but we get to see different versions of the relationship.

Also the sabotaged continuum resulted in a sabotaged tesseract which is having a ripple effect across spacetime. It’s case number one, so we see the two couples working together to avert one major crises while watching each other to see what might have been in its various permutations. This part is excellent.

Then we have the crazy case of the man who supposedly died of fright. This one turns out to be of very worldly motivations. No, he didn’t die of fright, he died of radiation poisoning. Holmes has to investigate the source of the radiation. What got buried in Suffolk during World War II and what certain idiots think got buried in Suffolk during WWII are quite dangerous worlds apart. This case was the point where I was half expecting Indiana Jones.

What I got was Dr. John H. Watson. His appearance was marvelous and sweet and amazing. But it slightly tripped my willing suspension of disbelief meter. Both Moriarty and Watson were real in this universe but not Holmes. I’m not sure Holmes would take that case.

But I still enjoyed every flick of every page, so I’m thrilled there will be more.

***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 or borrowed from a public library 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 10-20-13

Posted on October 20, 2013October 18, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Giveaways> Something Wicked Returns Blog Hop> Spooktacular Giveaway Hop> The Sunday Post

We’re in Reno right now, and part of this is funny. It’s the setting for Lisa Kessler’s Hunter’s Moon, which I’m reviewing tomorrow. I can see the mountains from our room, at least during the day. At night there’s just this pink neon glow.

The drawback to staying at a casino hotel? This is the first public place I’ve been to in years that allows smoking. I’d forgotten what that’s like, and it’s not a memory I wanted to revive.