Revisiting the Moon's Library

The Right Choice

2011-08-14T19:13:00.009-04:00

Author: Carly Phillips
Published: June 1, 2000 (OOP, Kensington, as Karen Drogin) / May 2011 (Inkwell, e-book only)
Cateogry: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 7/10

I was recently given the opportunity to review one of Carly Phillips' earliest publications, when she wrote in her real name, Karen Drogin. The books had been out of print, and Inkwell has re-released them in e-book format.

Our heroine is Carly Wexler, guidance counselor and advice columnist, and engaged to the wrong guy. He's good on paper, long-time friend, and will probably be a decent husband. Why the safe approach to selecting her husband? While she was in high school, her father had an affair with his secretary, and when he broke it off, the secretary killed herself. Scandal ensues, and her father leaves his political career behind to start a law firm. Carly now feels that her father's out-of-control passions ruined their family, so she needs to avoid passion in her relationships. Her fiancé Pete, is an ambitious associate, and he doesn't love Carly, but she'll be a good wife, and he can kill two birds with one stone. He can probably get partnership if he's married to the senior partner's daughter.

I couldn't stand Pete. He constantly used work as an excuse to be late or miss wedding appointments with Carly, and if his work kept him with a hot young associate chick at the same time, what's the big deal? The more you read about Pete, the more you dislike him. His brother Mike, the best man, is another story. He's a photographer and has had some emotional trauma on his last assignment, so he's using the month before the wedding to steel himself to go back to into a hot zone. He can see what's wrong with his brother's relationship with Carly, and he's also instantly attracted to Carly, but he's caught in the middle. He doesn't want to betray his brother, but he also doesn't want to see Carly hurt.

You can definitely tell that this is early in Phillips' career. The story is based more on the characters and their emotions than the setting. I found there was little description of settings and characters, but I figure this is an experience thing, and Phillips' later books are more well-rounded (I suppose, as I've never read one of her books before this one).

I loved the storyline and how long (time-wise, not book length) it took to reach the resolution. Nothing dragged, but it also didn't feel rushed. It's reading a different kind of romance novel, where it's really all about the emotions and thoughts of the characters, with no tangents for side characters. I'm glad the Mike and Carly didn't just jump into bed, but showed real care towards their relationships to Pete. Carly and Pete really were friends; they just weren't meant to be romantically involved. I felt that everything turned out the way it should, and Carly and Mike's emotional wounds were healed with proper communication (I hate it when people don't communicate!).

The Right Choice is just one of three re-releases. You can also get Solitary Man and Perfect Partners. She also has a new title releasing this September, Serendipity.

Mercy Thompson: Moon Called, Volume 1

2011-08-01T14:19:00.003-04:00

Author: Patricia Briggs
Published: March 2011 (Dynamite Entertainment)
Category: Urban Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Rating: 8/10

This is the second graphic novel for Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series, the first being Homecoming, which was a prequel to Moon Called. The publisher kept things consistent, with Amelia Woo illustrating again.

I feel like I read these graphic novels and have to think of it like I do when books are made into movies. As a reader of a series as well established as Mercy Thompson, my imagination has a very set idea of what the characters look like. Once you get past that, you can appreciate the graphic novel.

Of course, some cuts are made to the storyline to translate it to a graphic novel, but there is nothing egregious or horrible about the minor things that are left out for the sake of moving things along. The graphic novel definitely stays true to the regular novel. However, this volume does not cover all of Moon Called; you'll have to pick up the next volume to continue.

Magic Bites

2011-05-26T22:41:00.006-04:00

Author: Ilona Andrews
Published: March 27, 2007 (Ace)
Category: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels #1
Rating: 8/10

If you love Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series, you are most likely going to love Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I love me some Mercy Thompson, but those books come out once a year, and I believe the next one doesn't come out until 2013! The world Andrews has created, where magic and non-magic alternate in unpredictable waves also reminds me of Steven R. Boyett's Ariel books (post-apocalyptic world where the Change brings magic back and technology down).

Kate Daniels is a mercenary, taking care of magical problems when official channels aren't ideal. You know, like Hank Lawson of Royal Pains, where some prefer concierge doctors over dealing with hospital bureacracy. She carries old and strong magic in her blood, but nobody can know how she inherited that magic, because her real father would be more than happy to kill her. She's skilled enough to be a member of the very official Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, but didn't want to join because she didn't want her personality to be crushed by their rules and methods.

However, she gets dragged back into the Order's business when her guardian, Greg, is killed in the line of duty. Greg had been investigating the murders of several shapeshifters, and Kate has to deal with Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta. He's the pack leader of all the Atlanta packs, which consist of werecats, werewolves, werehyenas, wererats, and the list goes on.

It seems like solving the murders wouldn't be so bad, what with all her magical powers, but magic's presence in the world doesn't make things easier. Just getting from one side of town to the other can take forever. If your magic-powered car engine ceases to work when the tech hits, you're stranded, and if you're driving a regular gas engine car when magic hits, you're also stranded.

Here's an interesting tidbit: Ilona Andrews isn't a real person. She's actually a husband-wife writing team, Ilona and Gordon Andrew. You can tell it's a real team effort, because it doesn't feel like there are two different authors writing the same story, which sometimes team-written books tend to show. The male-female dialogue and interaction (not sex, you smut-brains!) is amusing and witty, with hint of future romance between Kate and Curran, and extremely well-written action scenes.

If you're looking for an urban fantasy with a brave, smart, kick-ass heroine, look no further. Kate Daniels is it! There are five books in the series so far, with a couple novellas on the side.

The Heir

2011-05-20T09:35:00.003-04:00

Author: Grace Burrowes
Published: December 2010 (Sourcebooks)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Duke's Obsession #1
Rating: 8/10

I think I discovered this book in another blogger’s review post and it sounded like something I’d enjoy. The Duke of Moreland wants to secure the succession and have his heir, Gayle Windham, Earl of Westhaven, married off. Of course, Moreland has more than one son, not all legitimate, so this will be a series, probably a trilogy. He winds up falling for his housekeeper, Anna Seaton, a woman of good breeding, but many secrets. Their relationship begins with her coshing him with a fireplace poker, as all great relationships start, of course.

The Heir is not a light, frothy romance. It leans more towards Julia London/Stephanie Laurens style, romance touched with drama. I liked the upstairs-downstairs elements in the relationship between Windham and Anna. Windham has the luxury of falling in love with Anna, despite her supposedly being just a housekeeper, because his father’s so desperate to get him married off. In fact, the duke was so desperate that he was willing to have Windham’s mistress get preggers and force the marriage, despite the fact that said mistress was already knocked up by some other guy. Windham preferred to choose on his own if his father was going to resort to those types of tactics. He knows Anna is more than what she says, based on her education and manner.

However, Anna and her sister are in hiding, and can’t tell Windham why because they’d promised their grandmother they’d never reveal their family’s secrets to an outsider. It did get annoying towards the end of the book, where I just wished Anna would trust Windham, who had already proposed marriage to her, and let him help her, as he offered to do so.

I really enjoyed how their relationship grew, and the things Windham did to be a gentleman, even bringing his meddling father into the mix. The book has been called an “erotic regency,” but I don’t find that the sex is gratuitous or all over the book. I’m excited to read the next entry in the series, The Soldier, which is releasing June 1st.

Note: The Heir is available on the Nook and Kindle for less than a dollar right now!

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake

2011-01-25T22:46:00.005-05:00

Author: Sarah MacLean
Published: March 2010 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Love by Numbers #1
Rating: 9/10

I came upon this book when reading a Book Binge review for the second book in the series, Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord. I wanted to read that book, but I have a thing about reading a series from the start. I'm really glad I did that, and quite happy to add Sarah MacLean to my list of "must-read" authors!

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell is a spinster. Granted, she was never really a success when she first came out, but the fact that the only suitors she received were too old or cared too much about her dowry. She's also more curvy than the in-fashion slender figures and is always comparing herself to them. Since coming out, she has been in love with the one man who showed her some kindness, a notorious rake, Gabriel St. John, the Marquess of Ralston. Ten years after she meets him, her skinny gorgeous little sister makes a brilliant love match with a duke, and Callie is reminded of how she'll never have what her sister and friends have. So she figures that if she isn't going to have what she always thought she'd have, why not live a little, and do some daring things that a respectable lady wouldn't dream of doing? After all, she believes she's so firmly on the shelf that she doesn't have to worry about her reputation.

Gabriel figures into the first item on her list: Being kissed passionately. While Gabriel agrees to help her with the kiss, he gets her to agree to help his newly-found half sister, Juliana, enter into society. While a wealthy marquess brother should pave the way, his sister is the product of the scandalous dowager marchioness, who abandoned her husband and sons for the Continent, where she cut a swath through more men, including Juliana's father. Her entrance into society won't be easy, as stuffy people would consider Juliana illegitimate, but her status is fuzzy.

As Callie goes into her list, Gabriel keeps intercepting her, and feels like he has to save her from herself. He doesn't quite know why he wants to do it, but he gives the excuse that if she shreds her reputation, who will help him launch Juliana? They become partners in crime while they start pushing the boundaries of propriety exploring their attraction to each other. This is one of those one-sided love stories, where one member is totally in love with the other, and the other one doesn't believe in love. I thought it would frustrate me, but the story really worked.

I thought the book would be a lot funnier, but it was more serious than expected, not in a bad way though. You really feel Callie's sadness as people rudely comment about how she's a fleshy spinster, and how her sister made such a wonderful match. She's so lonely, and no one wants her for just being her. And Gabriel is a man who never learned to love, thanks to his mother abandoning their family when he was a little boy. Callie's faith in love is what he needs to break out of his shell and pull his ragtag family together.

I loved the hodge-podge family the Ralstons made, with Gabriel's twin brother, Nicholas, who is the star of the next book, and Juliana. They're just getting used to the idea of being a family and I think it'll make for even better reading for the rest of the series, especially Juliana's book, which will be released in April this year.

Halfway to the Grave

2010-09-05T20:16:00.003-04:00

Author: Jeaniene Frost
Published: October 2007 (Avon)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Night Huntress #1
Rating: 7/10

I don't recall how I stumbled upon the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, but I'm so happy I did. I'm betting it was one of those "You might like this" titles that Barnes and Noble shows me when I'm online shopping, the easily-impressionable impulse buyer that I am.

Cat, our heroine, is a half-human/half-vampire product of an attack her mother suffered at the hands of a newly-made vampire two decades before our story begins. For the first sixteen years of her life, she believed she was different, but couldn't figure out why she was stronger than other kids, or could see in the dark as well as she could during the day. When her mother told her her true heritage when she turned sixteen, she began a quest to kill as many vampires as possible. Her mother schooled her that all vampires are EVIL and will date rape you at the first opportunity. So what does Cat do? She sets herself out as bait at night clubs waiting for a vampire to pick her up, and then stake him when they leave the club.

Eventually, she meets Bones, a vampire who happens to be a vampire bounty hunter. He's a little pissed because she staked the guy he was hunting. He decides to make her his pupil/partner. She's the bait, and then he'll do the dirty work, questioning the vamps before dispatching them.

The romance part is not as large a part as the paranormal element of the book, but excellent when it's there. Bones has been attracted to her from the beginning, when she challenges him to a fight rather than accept his deal, despite the fact that she's far less powerful than him, and chained to a wall in her underwear. Bones knows he has an uphill battle because she's been brainwashed into thinking that all vampires are evil murderers. In fact, their first date only happens because he makes her think they're hunting a vampire at a club, so she has to put on her hoochie clothes, but turns out the vampire they're looking for is actually him. Cute, without being nauseating. I'm glad that the love admissions don't take forever to come about, but Cat's mom poses quite the problem with her rabid belief that all vampires are evil and that her half-evil daughter will succumb to one of them and turn into a full vamp.

The reason I gave the book 7/10 was the ending. Very sad, because there is no happy ending. If you look at the description for the next book, you'll see that Cat and Bones aren't together, but they will be by the end of it, for sure (they better!!). When I got to the end of Halfway to the Grave, I was supremely pissed because I don't have the sequel, One Foot in the Grave on hand. If you want to torture yourself, you can visit the HarperCollins website to read the first 60 pages of the book, but here's a warning: The excerpt doesn't end on a chapter. I found myself in the middle of a sentence only to be cut off and even more tortured than before. So congratulations HarperCollins! I bought the book and now have to wait for it to arrive this week when I get back to the office!

The Search

2010-07-06T21:19:00.003-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: July 2010 (Putnam)
Category: Romance/Suspense
Rating: 10/10

Dogs? Check. Hot guy who happens to be really handy? Check. Gorgeous setting for all the action? Check. As soon as I picked up the newest standalone Nora Roberts book, I was SUCKED IN. This is undoubtedly my most favorite book of hers, knocking High Noon off its pedestal (The Bride Quartet is my favorite series).

Fiona, our heroine, lives on a small island off the coast of Washington, and runs a successful dog-training school and the local K-9 Search and Rescue squad. Right from the get-go, the reader is thrown into Fiona's world, going on a search with her and one of her three loyal labrador retrievers (she has one of each color!). You learn how organized, methodical, and capable she is, while knowing exactly what to say to people in any situation.

Simon, our hero, is new to the island, and his mother thinks he's too lonely, so she buys him a puppy, who he promptly names "Jaws." You can figure out why he gets that name. He's so hilarious with how he deals with the dog, because as much as he gripes, he loves his dog and is proud as soon as Jaws does something right. And typically, he has a hard time with the idea of neutering his dog.

The suspense portion of the novel is excellent. Fiona, years before coming to the island, was supposed to be a victim of the "Red Scarf Killer," only she escaped and identified him to the police. Putting the serial killer behind bars cost Fiona more than her anonymity, and she retreated to her island to rebuild her life. In present day, she finds out that a copycat killer has begun committing the same exact crimes, and she will most likely be on his list of victims as a tribute to the first Red Scarf Killer.

The story was great, balancing between the romance, suspense, and filler material. I loved reading about Fiona's work with dogs, and all the searches that leads. I'm constantly amazed by Nora Roberts' research for her books. I'm aware of all the jokes people tell about how all her new books are just patchworked together with pieces of previous books, but while some things seem familiar, it always seems fresh when I read them. Nora is a guaranteed-good-read for me, sort of like a chicken pot pie for a bad day is perfect comfort food.

I was surprised at the 3.5 star rating on bn.com! From the first couple reviews I read, it appears that people think that the ending is weak. The ending wasn't much different than a typical Nora ending. Yes, Nora doesn't seem to provide much detail in her endings and doesn't do epilogues either. Maybe she's leaving it to her readers' imaginations to figure out what happens in her her characters' lives afterward.

Anyways, The Search is fantastic and I can't wait to read it again.

Ten Things I Love About You

2010-06-06T22:42:00.003-04:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: May 25, 2010 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Bevelstokes #3
Rating: 5/10
Quote of Choice: He never argued with females unless it was absolutely necessary

In Ten Things I Love About You, the story of Sebastian Grey, friend and cousin to Sir Harry (hero from the previous Bevelstoke book, What Happens in London), is revealed. Basically, his uncle, the Earl of Newbury, hates him because he's the heir presumptive. Apparently, the earl thinks Sebastian is an ass (seriously, that's what he said), and will do anything to prevent Sebastian from ever inheriting the title. So he lays eyes on Annabel Winslow and her lush body that is so made for baby-boy-birthing and is so fertile birds sing when she's near. Never mind that she's not even half his age, but he must have her, no matter how disgusted Annabel finds him.

I was really looking forward to reading Sebastian's story, because he's so fun and witty. In What Happens in London, he gave a spirited reading of some idiotic book, perhaps it was called something like Miss Buttercup and the Mad Baron? Turns out he's the author of these ridiculous books, which are so made fun of by the couple from What Happens. So the idea of reading Sebastian's story when he has this huge secret of being a popular female author of absurd mystery novels seemed so promising.

My first problem was with Annabel keeping her true identity secret from Sebastian. She really liked him, but knew that her suitor hated him. She didn't bother to inform him of her connection to his uncle, and of course, that led to confusion. There is also a lot less conversation between Sebastian and Annabel than I would have liked because they were constantly being kept apart because Annabel couldn't anger the earl.

The book wound up being dragged out, and I feel like the story could have been handled better in a novella. Too much of the text was filler and I was bored a lot of the time. There were only so many times I could read about how much the earl hates Sebastian and how Sebastian has this awesome secret that would shut up everyone saying that he's poor (he's well off from his best-selling novels). I was expecting the truth to come out about the author's true identity, but that was also shoved aside. I think the only book worth reading out of the Bevelstoke series is What Happens in London. Books 1 and 3 are kinda blah.

Silver Borne

2010-03-30T21:38:00.003-04:00

Author: Patricia Briggs
Published: March 30, 2010 (Ace)
Category: Urban Fantasy
Series: Mercy Thompson #5
Rating: 9/10

In the year that I was spending planning for my wedding, I didn't get around to reviewing my discovery of Patricia Briggs's "Mercy Thompson" series. This review will sort of cover my liking of the series rather than just Silver Borne.

Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is a Volkswagen mechanic (Yes, she's heard all the "Volkswagen mechanic named Mercedes" jokes) who also happens to be a walker, a creature of Native American myth that can turn into a coyote at will. This is not to be confused with a skinwalker, which is an evil, nasty creature. I think I've seen skinwalkers featured in Supernatural and Dresden Files episodes. She lives in the Tri-Cities area in Washington, and she's not the only supernatural creature in the neighborhood. There are vampires, werewolves, Fae, and ghosts. In this universe, Fae have come out to the public, although the Gray Lords who rule the Fae are sure to control how much humans learn of them.

Mercy is closely linked with the werewolves, who eventually come out to the public eye as well after Moon Called, the first book in the series. She was raised by the head werewolf in North America and fell in love with his son, Samuel, another powerful and old-timey werewolf. While Mercy believed herself in love with Samuel, he wanted her more for the possibility of living offspring with her. Female werewolves cannot bear children because of the involuntary monthly change to werewolf (in this universe they can become werewolves at will), and Samuel has lost loved ones already in his centuries of living. His father realized what was going on and packed Mercy off, leading up to her life in Tri-Cities, where she happens to live in the territory of another (very hot) alpha werewolf, Adam Hauptman.

The love triangle of Mercy-Samuel-Adam stretches over a few books, finally sort of resolving at the end of Iron Kissed, the third book and really picks up in the last two books, Bone Crossed and Silver Borne. SB is my favorite because Mercy and Adam's relationship is firmly cemented, and Samuel's loneliness is finally addressed.

I can't say enough good things about this series. You have a smart heroine with a sharp tongue, a backbone of steel, and a propensity to attract trouble. Over the course of the series, she fights vampires, Fae, werewolves, and humans while slowly building a love life with Adam, who she has described as "the hottest man [she] knew." While I'm no prude when it comes to reading books, it's nice to have a heroine who isn't jumping into bed every other chapter like some other urban fantasy series. I can't get enough of the world Patricia Briggs has created, and the only reason this book got a 9/10 is because I want the next book already! The sixth book in the series, River Marked, is scheduled to release Spring 2011.

Angels' Blood

2009-03-16T14:47:00.003-04:00

Author: Nalini Singh
Published: March 3, 2009 (Berkley)
Category: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Series: Guild Hunter #1
Rating: 9/10

In a departure from her hugely successful Psy-Changeling series, Nalini Singh has created a new world in the one we know, where angels watch over humans from skyscrapers and create vampires regularly. I know, it sounds very very strange, but once I started reading, I was sucked into this odd version of New York City.

In the Guild Hunter series' world, angels are overseen by a Cadre of Ten archangels. Angels also have the ability to grant immortality to humans by turning them into vampires as long as the human is acceptable. After being turned, the new vampire must fulfill a 100-year service. Some vampires decide they don't need to honor the contract and jump ship; this is where Guild Hunters come into play. They don't hunt vampires in the traditional sense (i.e. staking them), rather they act as bounty hunters, returning the wayward vamps to their sires for a certain fee.

Elena, a natural born hunter (not one that learns how to hunt and develops the skills), is one of the best, and has been selected by Raphael, Archangel of New York City (he also oversees North America) for a super secret and super dangerous mission tracking an archangel gone rogue. Elena is attracted to Raphael, but they have a rocky start, where he keeps using his powers to suggest things inside her head. He, as an immortal, has lost a good bit of his humanity and it takes a stubborn hunter to bring it back. As I was reading, I agreed with Elena. Sure, Raphael is hot, but he might kill me, or drop me from the sky. But then he realized his fascination and attraction to her made him more human and gave him the ability to see the downturn of the Cadre's members.

I don't want to say much more because I don't want to give away the ending, but the next book in the series, Angels' Kiss is coming out in 2010 and it can't be soon enough for me! In fact, it is the continuation of Elena and Raphael's story, which is another new thing for Singh, as her books are usually standalone.

Surrender

2009-02-06T21:43:00.002-05:00

Author: Amanda Quick
Published: October 1990 (Bantam)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 5/10

I know, it's been a long time since I posted. I have a huge backlog of books to review and am not even sure if I can get back to them after all this time. I went through this weird period where no book I read was good enough to finish, and I was also dealing with being newly engaged and wedding planning. However, all the major planning stuff is done, so I have no excuse now!

Victoria Huntington is twenty-four, an heiress, and very independent. She's rather looking forward to being a spinster so people will stop thinking she's a complete hoyden. She meets her match in Lucas Colebrook, the Earl of Stonevale. He happens to be hunting for an heiress to restore his family's estate, and the only heiress that catches his interest is the one who has no desire to marry, especially to a fortune hunter.

Lucas uses Victoria's wild tendencies to his advantage, promising her midnight adventures that would normally be unavailable to a young lady. He figures she just wants to dine out dressed in men's clothes or go to Vauxhall Gardens, but she has bigger plans, going to brothels and gaming hells. At each of their adventures, she makes Lucas get into more trouble, insisting that he save some poor victim at these locations.

I got tired of Victoria trying so hard not to admit her love for Lucas after their hasty marriage. She argued with him all the time, and she was a supposedly smart character, so most of her arguments sounded like they were coming from a stupid person. Lucas, having long realized that he loved Victoria, couldn't tell her he loved her because upon discovering he was poor, she'd think he was going to say anything to make up for hiding that fact. So for a good part of the book, you deal with a married couple that is constantly fighting despite the fact that they love each other and Victoria's pride is all that stands in the way.

I was too annoyed to fully enjoy this book, but it had a nice ending.

Romeo, Romeo

2008-10-29T13:16:00.006-04:00

Author: Robin Kaye
Published: November 2008 (Sourcebooks)
Category: Romance
Rating: 8/10

Do you like that commercial with the hot shirtless guy ironing a dress for his toddler and making dinner reservations for his six-month anniversary, and then cleans the toilet? If so, Romeo, Romeo is the book for you!

Our heroine, Rosalie, is a successful Brooklyn businesswoman, too occupied with her career to find true love. Unfortunately, she's got a long-term boyfriend who wants to marry her so she can help him run a deli and have babies, and a mother who thinks getting married is the true goal of a woman. Nick Romeo is a hugely successful car dealership owner, with locations all over the east coast. He has gorgeous cars and a gorgeous Park Slope brownstone. Oh, and he's gorgeous as well. Aside from the money and good looks, Nick is a really great cook and he vacuums when something's bothering him. Rosalie meets Nick on the side of the Prospect Expressway when she's trying to change her tire, only to find that her idiot brother took her money for a spare tire without actually purchasing one. She assumes Nick, wearing coveralls from the shop at his dealership, is a mechanic, and he doesn't correct her assumption. In fact, he's pretty comfortable with the idea of seeing a woman who doesn't see him as a prime catch for a husband.

I normally have problems with stories where a hero or heroine keeps their identity secret and pretty much lies to the other the whole time, and you know it's going to end badly, but Romeo, Romeo was different, because Rosalie learned Nick's true identity soon after she meets him and understands why he'd keep it from her (too many golddiggers). And maybe my opinion of Nick is painted by his caring for Rosalie when she comes down with pneumonia very soon after they start seeing each other.

The romance is very sweet and very different from most romances I read. While Nick is an alpha male, he's a milder version than those found in the usual alpha male romance; I don't think this book would offend readers who think alpha males are too bossy and arrogant. He also gets along with Rosalie's huge dog, funnily named Dave, which is new to her because Dave hated her ex-boyfriend. I'm a sucker for big, goofy dogs with humorous names, especially when I was considering naming my cat Dave. It was all for the possibility of yelling, "Dave, stop licking your butt," when our (human) friend Dave was over. Sorry, I digress.

As a Brooklyn resident, I was amused by mentions of the Prospect Expressway, where Rosalie's tire blew out (I lived above it!) and the Park Slope neighborhood. The one inaccuracy that bugged me? When Rosalie and Nick were on the subway, Nick holds on to the strap, when there aren't any straps to hang upon anymore.

The suspense/action part of the book seemed a little unnecessary and outlandish, when it would've made more sense to humiliate the white collar thief in a board room. Otherwise, the book moves along smoothly for an excellent weekend read, the kind where you curl up under a big blanket with a purring cat (possibly named Dave) warming your feet.

I'm adding Robin Kaye to my "must read" list!

At the Bride Hunt Ball

2008-09-14T10:21:00.004-04:00

Author: Olivia Parker
Published: May 2008 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 5/10

I picked up At the Bride Hunt Ball after Julia Quinn recommended it on her website. The premise sounded interesting, a sort of regency twist on The Bachelor. I'm always amused by the ridiculousness of reality shows that promise romance and happy endings, and I like Julia Quinn, so this book should be good, right? Not really.

Gabriel Devine, Duke of Wolverest (odd name for a duchy, more of an excuse for the females to liken the Devine men to wolves), doesn't want to marry because his parents didn't have a love match, so he dumps the responsibility on his rakehell younger brother Tristan. He's pretty much forcing Tristan to marry, setting up a private ball/house party with invitations to seven perfect specimens for Tristan to choose from. However, one of the candidates has caught the eye of Gabriel.

Madelyn doesn't want anything to do with any of the Devine men because they are awful, awful rakes! She's only going to the ball because her scheming stepmother is making her go and she wants to protect her best friend Charlotte, who's been in love with Tristan for so long, ever since he helped her family out of a carriage accident. Madelyn's stepmother thinks she should aim for the duke, and has promised Madelyn the little cottage where she grew up if she makes a decent effort in chasing Gabriel.

I thought the book was sloppy. There are all these clues of a side romance between Charlotte and Tristan, but that was yanked away at the very end, without even a hint for Charlotte's happy ending. If Parker was intending to leave Charlotte's story open ended for a future book, it was a terrible way to do so. Madelyn's horrid stepmother never got her comeuppance, just a buttload of money from Gabriel when he anonymously purchased the cottage that Madelyn wanted so much. I was waiting for Madelyn or Gabriel to put the wicked stepmother in her place, but no, nothing of the sort. The "bride hunt" wasn't featured very well, just mentioned briefly in the background, when it could've been so much more amusing. The book turned out poorly balanced as a result.

The Lady Chosen

2008-09-09T22:56:00.005-04:00

Author: Stephanie Laurens
Published: September 2003 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Bastion Club #1
Rating: 8/10

I think I saw Stephanie Laurens recommended to me on B&N and figured I'd give her a try. She's got favorable reader reviews, appears to have sufficient bodice ripping, and has a big back list. I had no idea the back list was so huge with just her Cynster Family series. I'm hoping it's sort of like Nora Roberts' MacGregor clan. I decided to start with her Bastion Club series, which is about seven titled gentlemen, all former spies, who have retired from service only to find that they're very eligible bachelors. They decide to form the Bastion Club, a place where they can get away from the matchmaking mamas and power-hungry papas. While the men know they must marry, they want to do it on their own terms. As I was such a fan of Rebecca Hagan Lee's Free Fellows League, I liked it before I opened the book.

Tristan, Earl of Trentham, is overseeing the renovations of the house purchased by the Bastion Club, and in the course of doing so, he observes a lovely lady walking in the gardens of the house next door. She is Leonora Carling, a spinster who runs the house for her uncle and brother, and also the only one dealing with the threat to her family. Someone wants to get into their house for an unknown reason and has taken to scaring her and attempting to burgle the place. She introduces herself to Tristan, inquiring if he was the man who wanted to buy their house, and he decides to help her and satisfy this attraction he feels for her. Soon he is drawn into the plot as the Bastion Club is also invaded by the burglar, and Tristan's protectiveness of Leonora only grows stronger.

Thankfully, he realizes she's the only wife he'll ever want, but there's a problem, as he has to marry within the year or lose his income but not his responsibility to his fourteen aged female cousins and great aunts. I was afraid that Leonora would go ballistic when she found out about this condition and think that he's only after her because he'll lose his money, but she came to her senses very quickly, avoiding the drawn out drama that I was expecting. You know, like whenever a heroine finds out she was originally the subject of the bet, she flips out, despite the fact the hero is trying to explain that he fell in love with her and it's not about the bet anymore?

My biggest problem was the flitting about of Leonora sans chaperone. Was it because she was 26 and therefore a spinster and could do whatever she wanted? I'd think you'd need to be more firmly on the shelf before you can go running off without even a maid all over London and its surrounds. In most historicals, the couple will sneak off to neck in the garden, but Tristan managed to sneak off with Leonora to some secluded room and do the nasty with her every night at different events. I understand he was a very good spy and great at collecting intelligence, but finding out which room will be the best place for dalliance at a party is a stretch even for me, a very romantic reader.

This book is long for a historical romance written recently. I remember historicals being much longer several years ago and feel that recent novels are much shorter. The Lady Chosen was very well paced, with a gradual building of love. The descriptions of Tristan's first improprieties are filled with tension, like when he opens her glove to kiss the inside of Leonora's wrist. *swoon* This is going to be a great series! I have the first two Cynster novels on their way to me, if the B&N same day shipping guys can figure out that my office isn't open at 7 p.m., and I may pick up the second Bastion Club novel tomorrow if I'm feeling crazy.

Marie Force - Guest Blog!

2008-09-08T09:38:00.005-04:00

Marie Force, author of The Line of Scrimmage is doing a guest blog here today! I'm so happy that she's graced my little blog with her writing as I loved LOS and can't wait to read her next book! I'm also a wee bit romance-happy because the football season has started and my boyfriend will be decidedly unromantic until it's over.

Let's get to Marie's post, shall we? She's even being generous and giving away a signed copy of LOS to a commenter who responds to her question at the end!

How does she do that? by Marie Force

One of the questions I’m often asked is, “How do you write a book?” Stephen King says, “One page at a time.” The writers out there will attest that it’s as simple as Stephan suggests—and much more complicated. Most of the time, I’m convinced I could never teach my process because it’s so bizarre. However, as I’ve connected with more and more writers, I’ve decided we’re all a little bizarre, but that makes us better writers.

So how do I do it? I’ll try to explain my process using my debut novel “Line of Scrimmage” and my spring release “Same Time Sunday” as examples. The seeds of “Line of Scrimmage” began with a vision: boots dropping in a fancy foyer. From that came a series of questions and answers: Are those boots welcome? No. Work boots or cowboy? Cowboy. Definitely cowboy. What if the house is his but he doesn’t live there anymore? And what if the mistress of the house is entertaining her fiancé and his parents when her soon-to-be ex-husband shows up? And what if that ex-husband happens to be an NFL superstar who just won his third Super Bowl championship? And what if he blackmails his wife into spending their last ten days as Mr. and Mrs. together or he’ll stop the divorce? Since she’s due to married in a month, that’s going to be a problem.

That’s exactly how it unfolds in my mind. Then come the decisions about where they’re from, what brought them together, and what broke them up in the first place. Often I don’t have those answers before I start a book. I tend to discover these things as my story unfolds, which I’m told makes me a “linear pantser” in writing vernacular. I write the story in chronological order, I edit as I go, and nothing gets in unless it propels Character X or Character Y’s story forward. Because I go back, re-read, and edit often during the writing process, I end up with a pretty clean first draft. In fact, I recently stumbled upon the hand-written opening scene of “Line of Scrimmage” and discovered that other than a renamed character, not much had changed.

For my second book, “Same Time Sunday,” I began with a conversation I overheard in an airport. Two twenty-somethings, on their way to visit their significant others for the weekend, discover they are on the same flight home and agree to meet up again to compare notes on how their weekends went. That part actually happened in the overheard (note I don’t say eavesdropped”) conversation. From there I wondered, what if both their weekends were a disaster? What if they strike up a friendship that leads to love? What if their exes don’t go quietly? What if he’s a prosecutor on the eve of the biggest murder trial of his career and she gets sucked into it in ways that endanger them both? From there, it was off to the races!

Since I don’t plot, I spend a lot of time staring off into space when a book has me by the throat. During these phases, my kids often ask, “ARE YOU LISTENING TO US?” at the top of their considerable lungs. I have to confess that Mom just took a brief trip to Pluto, but I’m back now and you have my full attention. I do my best zoning/plotting when I’m driving (watch out for a green Honda Odyssey), doing dishes, showering, drying my hair, and vacuuming. I’ve solved a lot of plot issues while sucking up a few days’ worth of dog hair. I’ve run dripping from the shower to the computer to get something down before I forget it. Bizarre? You bet. My friend Chris likes to say that my mind is a strange, scary place. Of course I take that as a compliment!

To the writers out there, are you a plotter, a seat-of-the-pantser, a linear plotter, a linear pantser, an organic or what? To the readers, are you more convinced than ever after reading this that all writers are a little bit nuts? I’ll give away a signed copy of “Line of Scrimmage” to one lucky commenter, so let’s hear from you!

The Book of Scandal

2008-09-05T20:59:00.001-04:00

Author: Julia London
Published: August 2008 (Simon & Schuster)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 9/10

The Book of Scandal reminds me very much of another book I read recently, The Line of Scrimmage. Like LOS, the hero and heroine of BOS became estranged after the death of their baby (although LOS was a miscarriage). Rather than being set in the modern day, BOS is set in England during the Delicate Investigation, which was looking into the Princess of Wales' behavior and possible birthing of a royal bastard. In retaliation, Princess Caroline is threatening to publish correspondence with the King, which contains many details of scandals at court.

The Earl and Countess of Lindsey have been estranged for three years, with Evelyn residing in London and Nathan in the country. Evelyn serves Princess Mary and Nathan has earned the reputation as the Libertine of Lindsey, holding house parties filled with gambling, drinking, hunting, and loose women. When Nathan learns that Evelyn may be named in Princess Caroline's Book of Scandal, she may disgrace his family and possibly result in their family lands being taken away by the Crown. The most obvious solution? Drag her home to the country and put on a show that they've reconciled so Evelyn's supposed actions will be less likely to be punished.

Once home, Evelyn and Nathan are at odds, bickering with each other at first, but drawing closer and closer, talking about how badly they had handled the mourning of their son. At such an early stage of their marriage, they weren't friends enough to understand each other. With three years of life past, they've grown up some and fall in love for real. Just when they're almost reconciled, an attempt is made on Evelyn's life and they realize someone believes she knows something about the royal scandal. The only way to ensure Evelyn's safety is to go back to London and get to the bottom of the mess, and London's the last place she wants to go, as it brings up the uncomfortable subject of the man she almost had an affair with before Nathan showed up.

This is Julia London at her best, with a fantastic dramatic love story full of easy-t0-understand historical detail. I never knew very much about the Delicate Investigation or Princess Caroline, so it was nice to learn something new.

Line of Scrimmage

2008-08-18T21:44:00.004-04:00

Author: Marie Force
Published: September 2008 (Sourcebooks)
Category: Romance
Rating: 9/10

Line of Scrimmage doesn't waste any time, as the book starts with Susannah, our heroine, dining with her fiancé and future in-laws when her soon-to-be ex-husband drops his cowboy boots in the foyer. Ryan Sanderson, the boot dropper, is a famous quarterback and has just won his third Superbowl, but he wants his wife back, and is going to spend the last ten days of their marriage to show her he's a worthy husband.

I couldn't put this book down and I did tear up a couple times because it shows a couple working through their difficulties with such heartbreaking detail. Susannah and Ryan started having serious problems when she miscarried and they couldn't share their grief with one another, so they started drifting apart. When they're together again, they talk through their feelings from that terrible time and get closer than they were before. Of course this wasn't just a tearjerker, as there were plenty of times where I chuckled.

You'd think the book would be pretty thin if they get together by the end of ten days, but there are more conflicts layered on. Susannah has to deal with her fiancé, who was her friend since she was a teen, and he's always been hoping for her marriage to fail so he could have her back again, feeding her with ugly thoughts about Ryan. Then Ryan is set up a couple times and the evil fiancé makes him think that Susannah is too good for a guy with a low class childhood. You'd think it would be too much conflict, but it really worked and I think Force found a great rhythm.

Ryan is the perfect guy. He knows he's made mistakes and wants to work it out and thinks his wife is the perfect woman for him. I'd usually say that I wish he were mine, but I liked Ryan and Susannah so much that I'm glad their story ended so well. I will definitely be reading more Marie Force; she has another book coming out next year.

Line of Scrimmage - Author Q & A

2008-08-16T16:15:00.004-04:00

I've been a huge fan of romances involving football, like Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Chicago Stars series, so when I heard about Marie Force's new book, Line of Scrimmage, I had to find out more. In short, it's about an NFL quarterback whose wife is about to divorce him because she's sick of being number two to his career. He realizes he misses her and demands they spend the last ten days of their marriage together or he'll call off the divorce. My actual review will follow in the next couple weeks as I've just gotten it. In the meantime, check out this Q & A with Marie Force:

Where did you get your inspiration for Line of Scrimmage?
I had a vision of cowboy boots landing in a foyer, and I knew they weren’t welcome there. The rest of the story sprang from that vision. Ryan’s boots land in Susannah’s foyer while she’s entertaining her fiancé and his parents. To say her soon-to-be ex-husband is unwelcome at this event would be putting it mildly. With just ten days until their divorce is final, Susannah thinks she’s home free until Ryan shows up and “blackmails” her into spending their last days as Mr. and Mrs. together. It all goes back to the boots!

Not only do you go into detail to describe plays, there’s a lot of player-to-player interaction that seems pretty authentic! What kind of research did you do for this book?
Thank you for that compliment! As someone who never really. . . um . . . liked football all that much, it was a huge surprise when the Muse presented me with Ryan. Since I’m big into baseball, I tried to remake him into a star shortstop, but Ryan wasn’t willing to be reinvented. He was every inch the NFL quarterback, so I immersed myself in football during the 2006 season. My husband was thrilled (not) with my newfound interest and the litany of questions I peppered him with during the games. I also relied on my brother and a girlfriend who are football fanatics to make sure I got the facts right. As for the dialogue between Ryan and his teammates, I wish I could say I visited a locker room or two and hung out with big, sweaty men wearing skimpy towels, but in reality my goal was to have their interaction reflect the way guys talk to each other in general, not just in football.

Susannah seems so certain that she will be happy with her new fiancé, Henry, but Ryan is goes above and beyond to prove that they are meant to be, which brings about a lot of conflict. What was your favorite part about creating this tension?
Writing Ryan in all his over-the-top glory was so much fun! I love the way he talks down to Henry even though he’s scared to death that Susannah is really going to pick Henry over him. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Susannah is telling Ryan that he could have any woman he wants, and he says the only one he wants is the one right in front of him. “You can’t have me,” she says. “What part of that don’t you understand?” To which he replies, “Um, the ‘can’t’ part?” He pulls this intentionally obtuse routine with Henry, too, which makes for some major fireworks between the two men vying for Susannah’s heart.

Even though Ryan could have any woman in the world, he chose Susannah back when they were in college. While he was able to go forth in his career, Susannah takes a back seat, doesn’t finish school and supports Ryan (for as long as she can). What do you think this aspect of the back story added to their divorce?
When she left school to marry Ryan, Susannah was young and in love and under the impression that love would get them through any challenge. The series of events that led to their separation taught her that sometimes love isn’t enough. This is especially true when you’re competing with your husband’s larger-than-life career, public image, and sex-symbol status. I made sure Susannah spent the year she and Ryan were separated reestablishing her own life and figuring out who she is without him at the center of everything.

Henry, Susannah’s new fiancé, while wimpy and conniving, has always been second fiddle to Ryan. Do you think some of his initial actions are justified because he wants to be with Susannah, a woman he’s been in love with since high school and had always “been there” for (as he feels)?
Absolutely! Henry has loved Susannah since they were in high school and is on the cusp of having everything he ever dreamed of with her when Ryan shows up. Henry, who was Susannah’s high school boyfriend, is definitely nerdy, but his conniving side comes out in full force when he realizes Susannah might be capitulating to Ryan’s campaign to win her back. Susannah broke up with Henry after she met Ryan in college. Since then, she’s thought of Henry as a friend and never paid much attention to his passive aggressive behavior when she and Ryan were together. Ryan, however, was well aware of Henry’s obsession with Susannah and refers to him the “third person” in their marriage.

What advice would you offer to aspiring writers?
Perseverance is the key to this business. Before I sold, my motto was: “The only thing I know for sure is if I give up, it’ll never happen.” No one else is going to do it for you, so you have to stick with it no matter how many lumps you take, no matter how many rejections you receive or roadblocks you encounter. If you want to be a writer, WRITE every day. Nora Roberts has a great quote about how you can’t edit a blank page. It’s so true! Don’t get caught up in activities that take time away from your writing. I’ve learned to say no to a lot of things. I only volunteer in my kids’ schools, for instance, if the activity directly involves them. Finally, keep writing while you’re waiting to sell. “Line of Scrimmage” was the seventh book I wrote and the first one I sold. The third book I wrote will go next. “Same Time Sunday” (and it’s not about football, despite the name) will be out next spring. How glad am I that I wrote a lot before I sold? Very glad! Sometimes it takes a while to find an agent and an editor who “get” you. I’m thrilled to have both now.

What else do you do other than write?
I have two children, a daughter who’s 13, and a son, who’ll be 10 in October, and they keep me busy! My family would say I don’t do much besides work the day job and write at night, but I also read something every day, even if it’s just a magazine or the newspaper. I love to spend time at the beach, but my favorite way to pass a summer day is on my dad’s boat with my husband and kids as well as my brother’s family. We have a good time out there! I wrote about my love of the water on my website at www.mariesullivanforce.com/about.php if you want to read more. After ten years of living away from the Northeast when my husband was in the Navy, I’ve also developed a whole new appreciation for snow days. I used to hate snow! Now, it’s a lovely excuse to light a fire and write, write, write all day while the kids play outside.

What’s next for your writing?
I’ve been writing about “Line of Scrimmage” all summer! :-) I’m working on the second book in a suspense series, and I have a fun idea for another single-title contemporary. I knew this was going to be a crazy summer, so I gave myself a few months “off” from new projects. Now I’m ready to get back to the WIP!

What are you currently reading?
I brought back a box full of fun books from RWA National. I’m looking forward to “Sugar Daddy” by Lisa Kleypas (who was sooooo nice); “Say Goodbye” by Lisa Gardner, a member of my RWA Chapter and a lovely person; and “Nightkeepers” by Jessica Andersen, another chapter friend. I just finished Brenda Novak’s Last Stand series, and I loved it. Of course, I recommend all my Sourcebooks Casablanca sisters’ books! You can view the fabulous covers and read more about the books on our Casablanca Authors Blog at http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/.

What’s your writing process? When do you write best?
I learned at a recent chapter meeting that I’m a “linear pantser.” I don’t do outlines, plotting, or storyboards. I start with the germ of an idea (such as “the boots”) and go from there. I write, go back, re-read, edit, think, write some more, and then repeat the process. I keep all the various threads in my head, which will no doubt explode some day soon, and somehow end up with a decent first draft that doesn’t require much revising. I’d have trouble teaching someone to write a book the way I do it. It’s one of those “don’t try this at home” things. I write at night and on weekends—and only after the day job is done, the laundry folded, the kids played with, the lunches made, etc.

Breaking Dawn

2008-08-06T10:23:00.003-04:00

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Published: August 2, 2008 (Little, Brown)
Category: YA/Paranomal Romance
Series: Twilight Saga #4
Rating: 7/10

I just happened to be next door to Barnes and Noble at 11 p.m. on Friday, August 1st, so Josh caved and went to the midnight release with me. I felt like I'd been cheated out of the whole midnight release experience with Harry Potter, so I figured I'd go to this one. Wow, what a mistake. Getting the book wasn't a problem. It was getting home that sucked, as my train stopped running at 12:01 a.m. and Josh was angry with me for wanting the book ("What difference does it make if you get the book the next day?!"). He says he's never going to another one of these things with me.

I know a lot of bad things have been said about Breaking Dawn, and how some readers hated it so much that they want their money back and are pledging never to buy another book by Stephenie Meyer (my money's on those people going to the library instead). Um, if you see a movie you don't like, do you ask for your money back? I was satisfied with the book, maybe a little surprised at times, but I was happy with the ending, which happened to leave it open for future books. The 7/10 is mostly for the middle of the book, which is narrated by Jacob, my least favorite character, and the ultra-dramatic emotions going on at the time.

The MacGregor Grooms

2008-08-04T10:20:00.004-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: 1998; Reissued July 2008 (Silhouette)
Category: Romance
Series: The MacGregor Family
Rating: 8/10

This is the last of Nora Roberts' MacGregor stories, as her contract ended before she finished writing about the rest of Daniel MacGregor's grandchildren. The three stories in The MacGregor Grooms have heroines that choose to push away the handsome, charming MacGregor men, all to save their hearts from breaking.

My favorite of the three was D.C. and Layna's story. D.C., the bachelor artist, is of course, determined not to get married like three of his female cousins just did (in The MacGregor Brides). Daniel (Grandpa) asks D.C. to do him a favor and escort Layna to a charity event, but no worries, it's not one of his matchmaking schemes, because Layna is absolutely not for D.C. Daniel says he doesn't think they're a good match. Of course, that makes it easier for D.C. to fall for Layna, and Daniel knew it'd work out that way.

The MacGregor books are great for a cozy, heartwarming read. Unlike a lot of Roberts' other books, the MacGregor stories are all about the relationship without her usual suspense elements.

Bright Lights, Big Ass

2008-07-23T01:37:00.002-04:00

Author: Jen Lancaster
Published: May 1, 2007 (NAL)
Category: Memoir
Rating: 8/10

Jen Lancaster isn't perfect, but she's really funny. Yes, she's very confident, but also isn't afraid of criticizing herself too. In her first book, Bitter is the New Black, she documents her fall from a high-paying dotcom job and the drastic change in her lifestyle as a result. In this installment, Jen describes various incidents that counter Carrie Bradshaw's declarations about how life in a big city is oh-so-glamorous, all while she's anxiously awaiting the publication of Bitter.

This is a great read, not just for the beach, but beware: laughing aloud on the subway may occur when reading especially funny parts like the one where she was at her dreaded yearly gyno exam (I know that feeling - my heart races just thinking about it) and her paper gown exploded and she tried to staple it back together. I had to stop reading until I got home because I was starting to snort and didn't want the other subway riders to think I was crazy.

Bright Lights was just as funny as Bitter; Jen's sharp, smart humor is back with her hilarious asides stuck in footnotes and tons of stories about her dogs and husband (who likes Rachael Ray, but Jen has a whole chapter about why Rachael is NOT awesome - hurray!). Her third book, Such a Pretty Fat came out in May and I'm adding it to my TBR.

Chasing Harry Winston

2008-07-16T12:17:00.007-04:00

Author: Lauren Weisberger
Published: May 2008 (Simon & Schuster)
Category: Chick Lit
Rating: 7/10

I've never read any Lauren Weisberger before this, although I did see the movie of The Devil Wears Prada.

Chasing Harry Winston is about three unlikely friends. Well, one is more unlikely than the other two, because she is Adriana, a Brazilian trust fund child of a former supermodel. Leigh and Emmy are the more "norma" of the trio, with Leigh working in publishing as a rising star in editorial and Emmy as the romantic (think Charlotte of SATC) of the bunch. She wants the white picket fence, smart and funny husband, and 2.5 kids.

Actually, Leigh reminds me of Carrie in her engaged-to-Aidan days, because Leigh has the perfect guy. He's the most sought-after bachelor in Manhattan (a sportscaster for ESPN) and happens to be sweet and considerate. When he proposes, Leigh says yes because it's what's expected of her, not because she's happy. Leigh's got a lot of personal space quirks, like all her friends and family know that Monday is off limits. She likes to sit in her apartment by herself. She inevitably has an affair with the married author she's editing and breaks up with her fiance, but winds up happy. I just didn't like her because she was a coward and kept being all quirky (not in a funny way), having anxiety attacks, and shutting people out. She could've avoided a lot of her so-called anxiety if she broke up with the sportscaster when she was feeling smothered before the engagement.

And Emmy? She lets her friends convince her to have sex with a bunch of random guys all over the world because she's always been in long-term relationships, and any new relationship opportunities that come up are immediately analyzed for future-husband potential. She even gets embarrassingly attached to a hot Israeli dude, thinking that he'll change all his plans for her after their one-night stand. You cringe a little reading that particular part; it's so awkward. And all this sleeping around? It didn't get her a Harry Winston ring.

I was surprised to find that the character I liked the most was the one I thought I'd dislike most: Adriana. She's spoiled and beautiful, but her character makes the most improvement, even adopting Emmy's parrot (leftover from another long-term boyfriend) and doing research to give him appropriate care. She reforms herself from a jobless trust fund baby to a successful magazine columnist, and becomes more responsible, finally moving out of her parents' penthouse.

The book isn't bad; it's pretty good for a summer beach read. Just don't expect to learn much from the characters.

Dark Moon Defender

2008-06-25T13:40:00.003-04:00

Author: Sharon Shinn
Published: September 25, 2007 (Ace)
Category: Fantasy
Series: Twelve Houses #3
Rating: 9/10

This is my favorite of the Twelve Houses books so far. I felt like overall series storyline moved along nicely, and we also learn more about the mysterious Lirrenfolk who live over the mountains in eastern Gillengaria, with their own brand of magic. This is also the only book so far that I could see real romantic novel-ish elements.

Justin and Ellynor's romance was forbidden in a number of ways. First she's from the Lirrenlands, and Lirren women are not supposed to marry outsiders. If they do, one of her relatives will duel her suitor to the death. Most women will lie to their suitor, denying any affection rather than risking the death of a family member or her lover. Also, Ellynor's a novice at the Daughters of the Pale Moon convent, and is supposed to make like a nun and stay chaste. Justin, a King's Rider, sees the Lestra and her Daughters of the Pale Moon as enemies because the Lestra is hunting mystics and orchestrating a rebellion against the king.

Ellynor didn't know about the mystic hunting, and once she witnesses the Lestra burning down a house with its mystic owner inside, her eyes are opened and she must escape. Unfortunately, her cousin Rosurie, the reason she's there at the convent at all, doesn't want to leave. Rosurie had been a bad Lirren girl, falling in love with a boy from an enemy Lirren clan, and her family sent her to the convent until they settled the matter, and sent Ellynor to keep her company (and in check hopefully). Instead, Rosurie becomes a fanatic and drives herself into a coma with her religious fervor, and Ellynor delays her escape because of this, resulting in Justin's near-death by convent soldiers.

I was mad when Ellynor got captured after she and Justin made an escape from the convent. It was all her fault for wanting to stay so long with a relative of the Lestra, who she had healed previously. A servant betrays her and convent soldiers arrive to take Ellynor back to the convent that she'd wanted to escape so badly, and she's slated for burning at the stake, and needs rescuing yet again.

All characters from the previous books are back again, which is lovely, and they're more family-like than ever, particularly at the end, when Justin has to come up with an heirloom bride gift for Ellynor. Definitely the best so far!

The MacGregor Brides

2008-06-15T14:12:00.004-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: 1997 (Silhouette)
Category: Romance
Series: The MacGregors
Rating: 8/10

This installment of the MacGregor family books tells the stories of three of Daniels granddaughters: Laura (daughter of Caine and Diana), Gwen (daughter of Serena and Justin), and Julia (daughter of Alan and Shelby).

My favorite was Gwen's story, partially because Branson Maguire discovered Daniel's plot and embraced it; he'd already fallen in love with Gwen. All the other couples fought Daniel's matchmaking, even though he'd found them the perfect partners.

The stories were nice, but the three women getting mad at Daniel for throwing their perfect matches at them was getting tiring. Each of them says they'll know when Daniel's setting them up, but they fall for it every time. The book is also charming because you get to see how their fathers deal with the idea of their baby girls getting married, or just kissing a guy (Caine's violent reaction, classic overprotective father, is the best).

Definitely read this if you're a fan of the MacGregors.

Eclipse

2008-06-12T14:40:00.006-04:00

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Published: August 2007 (Little Brown)
Category: Paranormal Romance/YA
Series: Twilight Saga #3
Rating: 9/10

Oh Stephenie Meyer, what have you done to me? Please provide another serving of textual crack so I can stop rereading my favorite parts of Twilight. Anyways, receiving Eclipse was a reward to myself for finishing my move into a new apartment. Also, if I had the book, I wouldn't have gotten any packing accomplished.

Eclipse picks up soon after New Moon left off, with Bella and Edward reunited and her preparing to become a vampire. However, more danger is on the horizon, with someone creating vampires in nearby Seattle, and someone is sneaking into Bella's room to steal her clothes for her scent, and the Volturi (heads of the vampire world) may come to take care of the Seattle problem and stop by to see if Bella's still a human. If she's not a vampire, she'll be killed because no humans are supposed to know about their world. At the same time, Edward is trying to push back Bella's changing, and comes up with the condition that he'll turn her if she marries him first, knowing that Bella has an aversion to marrying young. He's starting to get used to the idea of Bella becoming a vampire, but he doesn't want her to do it because she's afraid of the impending doom of a newborn vampire army hunting her. He wants her to do it of her own free will, not because she's afraid of being killed.

And to add to the angst, Jacob, Bella's pseudo best friend, werewolf, and other part of the love triangle, isn't giving up. Edward makes the good point to Jacob that even though Jacob may love Bella now, as a werewolf, he could imprint on his true mate when she comes along and leave Bella. I was going to give this a 10/10, but the Jacob portion of the storyline bugged me too much. Yes, it's good to have some romantic competition, but Jacob manipulated Bella, and most of the time, he was a little boy trying to act grown up. He knew acting depressed would make Bella feel bad and then he offers to die while fighting vampires so Bella can have what she wants. Ugh.

It's obvious I'm on "Team Edward," but it's mostly because Edward was willing to step back if that's what made Bella happy. Jacob did not take that route in his rough courtship, not taking "no" for an answer and disregarding Bella when she says she loves Edward. And near the end, Jacob has the nerve to say he's like that woman in the King Solomon story who gives up the baby rather than letting it get cut in half. Ummm.... Edward's been like that the whole time, so do you want a cookie or something? I spent most of the book saying, "I hate Jacob!" Stephenie Meyer better not make Bella flip back to Jacob in the last book!

Aside from the Jacob stuff, I loved everything else! Bring on Breaking Dawn!

I was introduced to the world of Twilight less than two weeks ago, and browsing fan sites on the internet is crazy. I find it funny that a lot of people don't agree with the casting of Robert Pattinson as Edward, but I think he's a good fit for the role. Just look at him... and that hair! I can't believe some people think Hayden Christiansen would be a good Edward Cullen. Gah, remember what he did to Star Wars? Or maybe the teenagers who're going nuts about Pattinson being casted were too young to remember the horror of Hayden Christiansen as Anakin Skywalker? I hope they'll give Pattinson a chance and at least see the acting before they string him up.

I'm very excited for the future of the series, especially after seeing this B&N video of Stephenie Meyer discussing Breaking Dawn and the next book after that, which is Twilight told from Edward's perspective (I think it's called Midnight Sun). Breaking Dawn is called the last book in the Twilight Saga because it's the last one told from Bella's perspective. Meyer also talks about how each book in the series drew from a classic, like the first was a little Pride and Prejudice, the second obviously Romeo and Juliet, and the third, and best interpretation so far, Wuthering Heights. She picked some great passages from Wuthering Heights to illustrate the love triangle, and ultimately, Bella's feelings for Edward.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham

2008-06-09T13:10:00.003-04:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: May 2008 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: The Two Dukes of Wyndham #1
Rating: 6/10

Jack Audley, formerly a respected soldier and currently a highwayman, has just held up his grandmother's coach, and then kissed her companion, the lovely Grace Eversleigh, while grandmother, the dowager Duchess of Wyndham, fetched a miniature of his father. While on the way back to England from Ireland, Jack's father died in a shipwreck, and his family never knew that he'd married in Ireland and fathered a legitimate son. If the marriage record is found, Jack would become the true Duke of Wyndham, displacing his cousin, Thomas, who has been raised as the future duke.

Jack doesn't want the dukedom, but his grandmother, who still hasn't completely redeemed herself by the end of the book, is shoving it down his throat because she wants to restore him to his rightful place, mostly because she liked Jack's father more than Thomas's father. Usually this sort of older character is amusing and has a really soft heart, but the dowager didn't have many good moments and annoyed me most of the time. And then out of left field, it turns out Jack can't read, probably because of dyslexia, and that's partially why he doesn't want to be duke. I thought that was completely unnecessary; Jack didn't need that extra excuse to decline the dukedom. The responsibilities that come with the title are more than daunting to someone who never expected to inherit them. And did I really want to spend most of the book reading about a character who doesn't want the power and responsibility? That's why I didn't like the Spider-Man movies!

I felt like the romance took second place to Jack and Thomas dealing with the possible monumental changes to their lives. Once Grace and Jack's mutual attraction was established, it felt like their story was on autopilot, and I was kind of disappointed in The Lost Duke of Wyndham. I'm hoping that the sequel, Mr. Cavendish, I Presume is fantastic and makes up for this one.

New Moon

2008-06-06T00:36:00.007-04:00

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Published: September 2006 (Little Brown)
Category: Paranormal Romance/YA
Series: Twilight Saga #2
Rating: 8/10

So in my review of Twlight I mentioned that I couldn't wait to read the next book. Clearly, I didn't, as I whipped through New Moon in less than a day.... a working day. I should also mention that I got NO packing accomplished for my move this weekend. I'm so screwed with that, so I am not allowing myself to purchase the third book, Eclipse, until after I move.

This review is a bit difficult to write because I'm trying to judge based on the writing, not the fact that I was unhappy with a turn the story took. At the beginning of New Moon, one of Edward's family nearly kills Bella when she gets a paper cut. When Edward sees that Bella's association with him has put her in danger yet again, he breaks up with her, and not just in the "we're not dating anymore" way. His whole family leaves Forks, WA right after he tells her he doesn't want her.

Bella's heart breaks, and Meyer wrote it so well. I was sort of reminded of how my chest had that empty feeling right after a relationship ended. I love the way she showed time passing with nearly empty pages that just had the name of a month in the middle. That's how it feels when you've just had your heart ripped out by your true love. I won't say that's how it feels when you're young, because heartbreak is never easy.

You can guess that my main problem with the book is Edward leaving because I love him! I understand that he's doing it because he thinks he's bad for Bella. He doesn't want to change her into a vampire because he believes he'd be stealing her soul and humanity, and he's afraid she'll be hurt because she's a fragile human. You can't call him a jerk because he's thinks he's doing what's best for Bella, giving her a chance at life as a human. But then Bella begins filling the void in her chest by doing dangerous things, like riding motorcycles, approaching men in dark alleys, and jumping off cliffs.

Yes, this book was more teen angsty than Twilight, but it wasn't bad. The werewolves hinted at in Twilight make an appearance, and I hope this isn't going to be another unsatisfactory lycan vs. vampire thing like when I saw Underworld, but I'm going off on a tangent. The ending was good, but bittersweet, and is a pseudo-cliffhanger. I'm getting antsy here because I want the next book already!

Twilight

2008-06-05T17:02:00.003-04:00

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Published: September 2006 (Little Brown)

Cateogry: Paranormal Romance/YA

Series: Twilight Saga #1

Rating: 10/10

I've finally given Twilight a try, and I'm so very glad I did. I was hesitant to pick it up these past couple years because of all the hype and the fact that it's YA vampire romance. I was afraid it would be very angsty Buffy-Angel stuff, and I fear that having past the 25 years old mark, I'm too old for this stuff. The last YA paranormal romance series I read was Cate Tiernan's Sweep series, and I think this book had far less angst than Sweep.

When Bella Swan's mother remarries, Bella decides to move from Phoenix to her father's house in a small town in Washington. She's not looking forward to leaving sunny Arizona for the rainy Pacific Northwest, but she wants her mom to enjoy traveling with her new professional athelete husband. On Bella's first day at school, all the boys are intrigued by the new girl, and she draws the attention of extraordinarily and eerily handsome Edward Cullen. He looks like he's angry at her, and she doesn't know why.

Edward's reacting poorly to his sudden and inexplicable attraction to Bella, a forbidden human. He tries running away from her, but it doesn't work, and he gives in to his desire to know her and be with her. It makes you think back to the cover image of the apple, as Bella is Edward's temptation. He has incredible self control, teaching himself to stand being near Bella without hurting her with his superhuman powers or his hunger for her blood.

I was expecting Edward's family to reject Bella, but for the most part, they're very accepting of Bella because she makes Edward happy. I thought they were going to pull one of those "She's not one of us!" things and be all close-minded. When the threat of other vampires comes to Bella, Edward's family bands together to keep her safe. In order to protect her, Edward and Bella must separate so she has a better chance of survival, and Meyer writes the pain of separation so well, you can practically feel the heartache.

Twilight is a beautiful story of first love, and not just any first love. It's true love in that Romeo and Juliet way, but hopefully without the tragic ending because they've got a lot working against them. I was up to the last chapter this morning and picked up the next book, New Moon, on the way to work because I didn't want to take my usual break between series books. I was sucked in within ten pages, which is rare for me, and I can't wait to read more!

The MacGregors: Daniel and Ian

2008-05-27T23:13:00.003-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: March 2007 (Silhouette)
Cateogory: Romance
Series: The MacGregor Family
Rating: 6/10

This was my least favorite of all the MacGregors books. While Daniel is funny as the patriarch of the family, I didn't enjoy the story of his romance with the quietly strong Anna. He's the same as he is 30 years in the future. In fact, I may like Daniel less after reading his story.

The story of Ian was a historical romance about a MacGregor ancestor. I felt like it was blah, nothing special. I prefer stories about the present-day MacGregors. This is definitely a book you can skip for this series.

The Olive Farm

2008-05-25T18:05:00.004-04:00

Author: Carol Drinkwater
Published: June 25, 2002 (Penguin)
Category: Memoir/Travel
Rating: 7/10

I hit one of those romance walls again, where I can't bring myself to read another romance and have to read something from a different genre. It's like sorbet in the middle of a meal for palate cleansing.

Carol Drinkwater is a British actress and writers, best known for her work playing James Herriot's wife in the UK television series based on his books. In The Olive Farm, she recounts her crazy decision to buy a rundown olive farm olive farm with her fiancé Michel, a French film/TV producer. They'd only known each other a few months and were living separately in France and England, and they weren't rich either, so all of Drinkwater's friends and families thought she was insane for considering the purchase.

Drinkwater's descriptions of life on an overgrown olive farm are beautiful and I know it sounds cliché, but they made me feel like I was standing on her terrace and looking over the wild olive trees and orchard in the heat of southern France. I loved her stories about harvesting the olives and the pressing process. The book isn't just about the olives, but also about her and Michel's growing love and becoming a family.

However, I was annoyed often with the obstacles Drinkwater described. Most of the time, it was about how they didn't have enough money, but I thought they threw their money around irresponsibly. Why buy all these flowers and hundreds of rose bushes when there are more important things to take care of, like a leaking roof? While it is so romantic to buy this house on impulse, I kept thinking that the two of them weren't prepared for owning a summer home that needed so much work. During the summer, Michel flew down from Paris every weekend to be there, and oftentimes, Drinkwater would fly there from England. Just think of all the money spent on airfare!

The Hollow

2008-05-10T11:04:00.003-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: May 6, 2008 (Jove)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Sign of Seven Trilogy #2
Rating: 9/10

I've been waiting for this book for so long that I went into a ready slump the week beforehand in anticipation. Then when it arrived, I started reading it and then realized I should reread Blood Brothers so everything would be fresh.

The Hollow focuses on Fox and Layla, who share the ability to look into other people's minds and interpret the present. Cal and Quinn share the ability to see into the past and Gage and Cybil get glimpses of possible futures. While Fox has gotten used to his special power over the past 21 years, Layla has a hard time accepting her newfound power. She's also the odd-girl out, as Quinn and Cybil make a living investigating the paranormal, and all three men have been dealing with the horrors of the Seven since they were ten. Layla was managing a trendy boutique in Manhattan when she started having the dreams about Hawkins Hollow and picked up her life to figure out why she needs to be in this odd town that suffers a week of insanity in July every seven years.

Since, Fox's secretary decided to move away from Hawkins Hollow before the next Seven, he hired Layla to replace her. He just has to remind himself not to jump his hot secretary like some cliche. He takes it slow with Layla, charming her and kissing her in the supply closet when she needs his help reaching for something, then introducing her to his quirky hippie family with some embarrassment (his mom walks in on their first kiss in the supply closet).

It's also interesting to see that Gage and Cybil figured out that the group is pairing off, and perhaps it was meant to be, but they're not exactly thrilled about that, with Gage's "no serious relationships" rule.

Sigh. The final book, The Pagan Stone comes out in December. Why do I have to wait so long? The paranormal events are escalating in frequency and intensity, but I found that I wasn't as creeped out as I was while reading Blood Brothers. Really, nothing beats creepy demon kid peering into your second-story window in the middle of the night.

The Thirteenth House

2008-05-05T16:21:00.002-04:00

Author: Sharon Shinn
Published: February 27, 2007
Category: Fantasy
Series: Twelve Houses #2
Rating: 6/10

Kirra, serramarra of Danalustrous, has just returned home from rescuing Romar Brendan, the kingdom's regent, and finds out that her younger sister has been made heir to her father, the marlord of Danalustrous. Some people think she should be upset because she's the eldest and it should've gone to her, but others are happy because who wants a mystic shiftling running their House? Kirra understands why her sister was chosen over her, and even agrees to masquerade as Casserah in social tour of Gillengaria. Eventually, she runs into Romar again, and she reveals her true identity to him, and they begin an affair (he's married).

I was a little disappointed in this book because Kirra seemed so selfish for most of it. Does she want to be the kind of woman who breaks a marriage apart? Is Romar the kind of man to set his wife (who has done no wrong) aside? And at the same time, Donnal, her shiftling companion, has loved her always, but watches as she falls for the wrong man. Then Kirra gets jealous of Princess Amalie, who is also on the tour, because Donnal spends a lot of time guarding her.

Good thing: All the characters from Mystic and Rider return, most of the group being present to guard the princess. The bonds between the group members grow stronger, with Justin being the person to finally scold Kirra for her behavior, and Cammon's reading powers seem even more limitless than before. In terms of overall series storyline, I feel like not a lot happened regarding the Daughters of the Pale Mother and their evil leader, the mystic-hunting Lestra.

Natural Born Charmer

2008-05-01T16:13:00.003-04:00

Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Published: April 2008 (HarperCollins)

Category: Romance

Series: Chicago Stars #7

Rating: 8/10

Sorry, super short review. It's the usual more than your average romance again. The story is more than just the main couple; it involves Dean's odd and scattered family. It's a funny and poignant love story that isn't just about romantic love, but family love too. Very very sorry about crappiness of this post because it's late August and I read this months ago!

Red Lily

2008-04-29T16:17:00.002-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: November 29, 2005 (Jove)
Category: Romance
Series: In the Garden Trilogy #3
Rating: 7/10

Finally, the end of the ghost mystery! Red Lily features the story of Hayley, the very pregnant young woman who showed up on Roz's doorstep in Blue Dahlia. No longer pregnant, but a single mom, Hayley has been working at In the Garden alongside Roz and Stella. She and Harper are falling for each other, but Hayley finds herself under the control of the Harper Bride ghost with increasing frequency.

You know what's a little freaky? The ghost possesses Hayley while she and Harper are going at it. The ghost is Harper's great-great-grandmother or something! Eeuw!

This is definitely not one of my favorite trilogies. I know a lot of Roberts' characters are similar from book to book, but this trilogy felt especially unoriginal characterwise. That being said, I think Red Lily was the best of the trilogy.

Black Rose

2008-04-28T20:14:00.002-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: May 31, 2005 (Jove)
Category: Romance
Series: In the Garden Trilogy #2
Rating: 6/10

This entry into the In the Garden Trilogy shows us that grandmas are not too old to get it on, as Roz finds new love in the geeky (but hot in that Indiana Jones way) Mitchell Carnegie, who's doing the research on the Harper Bride ghost.

I felt like there was nothing special about the romance, even with the jerky ex-husband who returned to town to spread lies about Roz, making her the bad guy in their divorce. He was the one who stole thousands of dollars from her!

The ghost gets a little more interesting, and she even defends Roz when she's in danger of being hurt by jerky ex-husband. But the ghost is also a little crazy because she tries to kill Roz earlier.

The MacGregors: Alan and Grant

2008-04-26T21:23:00.003-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: March 2006 (Silhouette)
Category: Romance
Series: MacGregors
Rating: 8/10

Sorry, I read this one four months ago and never posted a review.

Alan is the last of Daniel and Anna's offspring to tie the knot. He's a handsome US Senator and his party wants him to be President. While tossing that idea around in his head, he's falling for Shelby Campbell, owner of a high-end shop selling her own pottery. Shelby is falling for Alan as well, but she doesn't want to get involved in the world of politics again, as her father was a senator too and was assassinated before her eyes when she was a little girl. I found the easy approach to politics entertaining and I always like it when a Roberts character has a cool job, like making pottery.

The second story is actually not a MacGregor story, but related by marriage, as it's about Shelby's recluse brother, Grant. He winds up with Genevieve Grandeau, a famous artist, and in a small-world moment, she's actually a cousin to Diana and Justin Blade.

I liked Alan and Shelby's story more, but both are good reads.

The Third Circle

2008-04-23T16:19:00.005-04:00

Author: Amanda Quick
Published: April 22, 2008 (Putnam)
Cateogry: Paranormal Romance
Series: Arcane Society #4
Rating: 8/10

Thaddeus Ware, a psychic mesmerist, runs into Leona Hewitt (disguised as a man) while he's sneaking around Lord Delbridge's private museum, and they discover a dead body. Leona's there to retrieve a precious crystal that was stolen from her family, and during the escape, Thaddeus is poisoned with a hallucinogen, which will cause insanity. Leona saves him using the crystal and then dumps him unceremoniously in a crappy inn.

Of course, Thaddeus tracks her down, but he's not the only one. A hunter (seen in the contemporary Arcane Society novels as well) under the employ of Delbridge has found her and takes the crystal back. Thaddeus finds out that Leona, a talented psychic crystal worker (yes, I found this a little confusing), is the only one who can use the crystal, and is still in danger, so he takes her to his house for protection. I'm so amused by historical romances where the heroine and hero wind up under the same roof before marriage, or even a declaration of marriage. It provides so many opportunities for rendez-vous that are so improper.

The Third Circle provides insight into the matchmaking system that's so important in the contemporary Arcane Society novels, and also reveals the beginnings of the Cabal and how it's organized. Apparently, it's arranged into levels, called circles, and members of one circle don't know members of another. Very interesting, and I'm excited to read the next book in the Arcane Society series, Running Hot.

Blue Dahlia

2008-04-21T09:29:00.002-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: October 26, 2004 (Jove)
Category: Romance
Series: In the Garden Trilogy #1
Rating: 7/10

Sorry, it's June, and I'm trying to clean up this backlog of April books I finished, so I'm resorting to a lot of summaries.

Against the backdrop of a house steeped in history and a thriving new gardening business, three women unearth the memories of the past and uncover a dangerous secret—finding in each other the courage to take chances and embrace the future.
Stella has a passion for planning that keeps her from taking too many risks. But when she opens her heart to a new love, she discovers that she will fight to the death to protect what’s hers.
Trying to escape the ghosts of the past, young widow Stella Rothchild, along with her two energetic little boys, has moved back to her roots in southern Tennessee—and into her new life at Harper House and In the Garden nursery. She isn’t intimidated by the house—nor its mistress, local legend Roz Harper. Despite a reputation for being difficult, Roz has been nothing but kind to Stella, offering her a comfortable new place to live and a challenging new job as manager of the flourishing nursery. As Stella settles comfortably into her new life, she finds a nurturing friendship with Roz and with expectant mother Hayley. And she discovers a fierce attraction with ruggedly handsome landscaper Logan Kitridge
But someone isn’t happy about the budding romance…the Harper Bride. As the women dig into the history of Harper House, they discover that grief and rage have kept the Bride’s spirit alive long past her death. And now, she will do anything to destroy the passion that Logan and Stella share...

I'm not crazy about the start of this trilogy. Maybe I've read too many Nora Roberts books with women running away from their former lives. Blue Dahlia was a good read, but definitely nowhere near the best of her work. The ghost? It was a little creepy, but also a little annoying. However, the book does a good job setting up the rest of the trilogy. I hope the ghost story has a better ending than the one in Midnight Bayou.

Match Me If You Can

2008-04-16T23:59:00.004-04:00

Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published: August 2006 (Avon)
Cateogry: Romance
Series: Chicago Stars #6
Rating: 8/10

It's been two months since I read this book, so I'm cheating and using the cover summary:

You met star quarterback Kevin Tucker in This Heart of Mine. Now get ready to meet his shark of an agent, Heath Champion, and Annabelle Granger, the girl least likely to succeed. But that's going to change now that Annabelle’s taken over her late grandmother's matchmaking business. Why does the wealthy, driven, and gorgeous sports agent Heath Champion need a matchmaker, especially a red-haired screw-up like Annabelle Granger? When the determined Matchmaker promised she'd do anything to keep her star client happy . . . did she mean anything? If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town.

I found match Me If You Can absolutely adorable, and one of my favorite scenes was the football players invading Annabelle's little house because they felt like they were at their moms' houses there. When Heath sees her there, unafraid of these gigantic men, swatting them and yelling for them to use coasters, he knows she'd be perfect for him, while his perfect date cowered in the corner because she preferred seeing football players from a luxury box.

There's a good side romance in this one for Bodie, Heath's right-hand man, and it's an interesting one, although not surprising. Read it and see!

Heaven, Texas

2008-04-12T15:06:00.005-04:00

Author:Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published: April 1995 (Avon)
Category: Romance
Series: Chicago Stars #2
Rating: 9/10

I'm working through the Chicago Stars books in a very roundabout way, pretty much determined by what Barnes and Noble has in stock when I stop by. I know I've said Nobody's Baby But Mine is my favorite, but this is right up there for a great read.

Come heck or high water, Gracie Snow is determined to drag the legendary ex-jock Bobby Tom Denton back home to Heaven, Texas, to begin shooting his first motion picture. Despite his dazzling good looks and killer charm, Bobby Tom has reservations about being a movie star - and no plans to cooperate with a prim and bossy Ohio wallflower whom he can't get off his mind or out of his life. Instead, the hell-raising playboy decides to make her over from plain Jane to Texas wildcat.

But nothing's more dangerous than a wildcat with an angel's heart in a town too small for a bad boy to hide. And all hell breaks loose when two unforgettable people discover love, laughter, passion - and a match that can only be made in heaven.

Gracie Snow can't fail at her job as a movie production assistant, and her first big assignment is fetching Bobby Tom and getting him to the set in TX on time. When Bobby Tom proves difficult and wants to take the most indirect route to Heaven, Gracie figures she'll have to make do with getting him there at all. When they finally arrive, she gets fired and Bobby Tom feels bad; then he makes her boss hire Gracie back, but he pays her salary in secret. He makes her his personal assistant and declares her his fiancee to keep horny women away. But they wind up falling for each other, and Bobby Tom can't express his love properly in the end, making Gracie leave him.

The secondary romance between Bobby Tom's mother and Way Sawyer was very strongly written, probably the most well-developed secondary romance I've ever found. Their story was also very well balanced in the book, without taking up too much attention, and not so underexposed that you're shaking the book and asking what the heck's going on.

I think I cried during the final scene of the book. It's just so dramatic and heart wrenching. Phillips really knows how to write to your heart, and I guess that's why I can't get enough of her Chicago Stars!

Mystic and Rider

2008-04-09T09:25:00.005-04:00

Author: Sharon Shinn
Published: February 28, 2006 (Ace)
Category: Fantasy
Series: Twelve Houses #1
Rating: 8/10

Mystic and Rider is the first of Sharon Shinn's books set in Gillengaria, a land where some people are born with mystic powers. Senneth, a very powerful mystic, has the power to create and manipulate fire, and she's on a mission for the king to gauge the feelings of his vassals. With her are a couple King's Riders, a sort of elite guard to the king, and a few more mystics, among them shapeshifters and a mind reader.

Times are changing, and people are beginning to fear and hate mystics thanks to the whisperings of a fanatical religious order called the Daughters of the Moon. Mystics are being driven out of towns, beaten, or even killed. I find these sorts of plots the most disturbing because witch hunts really did happen, and people really did believe these kinds of holier-than-thou folks. During the group's travels, Senneth and Tayse fall in love so quietly you might miss it if you're insensitive and dense.

I find it funny that a lot of people think Sharon Shinn's stuff is so romantic and wonderful, but I don't find them very romantic at all. Just because two characters get together doesn't make it a romance. It's easy to assume that the Samaria books are romances because most involve an Archangel finding his/her mate. In the first book, Archangel the hero and heroine are fighting each other, and it's supposedly so romantic, which reminds me of how Lessa and F'lar, of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern, didn't get along when they were made co-leaders. While they and a couple in each book get a happily ever after, I've never thought of them as romances. Couples get together in Dean Koontz horror novels but no one calls them romances either.

Anyways, my confusion on what constitutes a romance aside, Mystic and Rider is a fantastic first novel in the Twelve Houses series. It provides exposition of this new world without being tedious, and each character is well crafted. I've already purchased the rest of the series.

The Macgregors: Serena - Caine

2008-04-04T23:27:00.004-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: January 2006 (Silhouette)
Category: Romance
Series: The MacGregors
Rating: 8/10

I've always heard about Nora Roberts' MacGregors series, but I was a bit wary of them because they were written so long ago. They've now been repackaged into several volumes containing multiple books. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe this volume contains the first MacGregor books.

Basically, Daniel MacGregor is a powerful, wealthy man with three children. His greatest desire is to see them happily married and producing lots of little MacGregor babies. If he has to meddle and matchmake, then it was all for the greater good, and Daniel gives all the matchmaking mamas from Regency romances a run for their pin money. I was afraid that I'd be annoyed because Scottish characters in romances tend to have exaggerrated accents. Thankfully, Roberts didn't subject me to that and didn't write Daniel's accent into his dialogue. Authors, you don't have to put in "verra" and "sich" to your dialogue. Just say that the character has a thick Scottish accent and I can imagine it rather than bend my mind around bastardized Scottish.

Playing the Odds

Serena MacGregor, Daniel's only daughter, has been going to school for a long time, studying all sorts of subjects, and finally left school to work as a blackjack dealer on a cruise ship. It's not that she needed the money; she just wanted to work with and meet all sorts of people. During her final cruise before returning to her family home and getting a "real" job, she meets Justin Blade, casino mogul, who happens to be on board because his friend Daniel MacGregor thought he needed a vacation. When Justin realizes how sharp Serena is, he offers her a job managing his Atlantic City casino. When Serena finds out Justin is there because of her father's meddling, she doesn't want to get involved with him romantically, but winds up taking the job.

I was rather fascinated by the descriptions of the inner workings of a casino. Serena and Justin make a great team and she's a strong female character without being all "I'm a feminist!" We also meet her brothers Alan (the politican) and Caine (the lawyer); of course, they're very charming and awesome brothers, and I couldn't wait to read their stories as soon as they appeared on the page. Playing the Odds is quite good, and its shortness helps focus on the romance with minimal background storylines. However, the story does show its age with all of Justin's smoking.

Tempting Fate

Caine MacGregor, successful lawyer and former district attorney of Boston, is opening his own practice, but he happens to be at Serena and Justin's Atlantic City hotel/casino during the reuniting of Justin and his sister Diana. Justin and Diana had a rough upbringing, with a Comanche father and society French-American mother. When their parents died, a mean aunt from their mother's family took in Diana, but refused to take Justin, so he left his sister behind. Serena, hoping to mend the rift, invites Diana to their hotel for a visit to get the healing started, but it was very difficult for Diana to accept her brother again. Caine was there to help her over the bumps and at the same time, offer her space to practice law in his offices.

Caine and Diana's romance is very character driven with no side plots to distract. Caine is very open to the romance, but Diana's upbringing by an aunt who despised her made her a very guarded person, seeming almost icy in personality. Once the MacGregor family began twining with the Blade family, Diana had to start opening up, first with her brother, and then Caine. Of course, there's the obligatory visit to the MacGregor castle where Daniel badgers all his children to get married and have babies. The family scenes are adorable and so much fun to read.

I've already ordered more MacGregors!

Welcome to Temptation

2008-04-02T23:28:00.003-04:00

Author: Jennifer Crusie
Published: April 2001 (St. Martin's)
Category: Romance
Rating: 8/10

This was another Jennie recommendation, my third Jennifer Crusie book, and definitely my favorite of them. I feel like Crusie's books are fun reads with madcap hijinks surrounding the hero and heroine. I'm entertained, but in such a way that I don't feel the urge to run out and buy all of her backlist.

All Sophie Dempsey wants to do is help her sister make a video of a washed-up actress and get out of town before they get into trouble. The daughter of generations of con men, Sophie's trying to walk the straight and narrow, but it's, well, difficult.

All Mayor Phineas Tucker wants to do is run Temptation with as little fuss as possible and win his upcoming election without cutting into the time he needs for his real passion: playing pool. The son of generations of mayors, Phin's trying to be an upstanding citizen, but it's, well, boring.

It only takes one look before Sophie knows that Phin's the kind of boy her mother used to warn her about-- a fast-talking town boy-- and Phin knows she's the kind of woman his father told him to stay away from-- the devil's candy.

And in no time at all, boredom is the least of their difficulties. Gossip, adultery, and blackmail; pornography, politics, and murder; vehicular abuse of a corpse and slightly perverse but really excellent sex: all hell is breaking loose in Temptation, Ohio, while Sophie and Phin fall deeper and deeper in trouble… and in love.

I was annoyed by Phin's mother for most of the book. What is with all these crazy Southern mothers trying to run their sons' lives? I feel like I've read a bunch of books with overbearing, ambitious WASPy moms (case in point - Carolina Moon) in the South.

I was surprised that the love scenes were pretty raunchy, despite the supposed pornography that occurs in the movie. But maybe I shouldn't be surprised because the town council kept arguing about the painting of the water tower which usually resulted in it looking like a penis.

Once I got over the annoying characters, the book was a lot of fun, with the romance between the supposed pornmaker and respectable (but really hot) mayor, and the murder mystery in the background.

SEALed with a Kiss

2008-04-02T07:47:00.001-04:00

Author: Mary Margret Daughtridge
Published: April 2008 (Sourcebooks)
Category: Romance
Rating: 9/10

When I first heard about SEALed with a Kiss, I was told that it's touching, has a little boy who needs a family, dogs, and a muscle-y hero. I'm a sucker for strong men dealing with new challenge and needing a strong woman's help. And did I tell you there are dogs in the story?

Lt. Jackson "Jax" Graham has always put his career in the SEALs first, so much that his marriage had been very brief, and he has seen very little of his four-year-old son Tyler. His ex-wife passed away suddenly and he has to figure out if he should sign full custody of his son to his ex-mother-in-law. I didn't know this until I read the book, but SEALs are away for at least 200 days a year, and when they are home, they're training all the time. I can see how that would put strain on a marriage.

While in North Carolina visiting his mother-in-law and Tyler, he meets Pickett Sessoms, our heroine. She happens to be a family therapist and does some work with Marine families as well. Her family isn't very supportive and makes her the odd ball out with their little verbal jabs, criticizing her being single, rescuing mutts, and having celiac disease (can't eat products with wheat flour). Being a family therapist and counseling marriages, Pickett has very strong notions about what kind of man she wants to marry, and a SEAL definitely doesn't qualify.

While Jax thinks Pickett is high maintenance and not what he's looking for in a woman, she thinks he's unacceptable as a love interest. But when they're thrown together in Pickett's house during a small hurricane, they find out they might have to rethink their first impressions. They coax Tyler out of his shell and act like a real family, complete with three rescued dogs.

This is a great book for readers who have a problem with alpha males due to their macho manliness. Jax, while an alpha male (he even says that all SEALs are), is in new territory that his elite training can't help him conquer. And don't be afraid that there'll be too much technical SEAL mumbo jumbo. There's enough facts to make Jax's character believable, but it was in no way a Tom Clancy super-techno-action novel. Heck, Jax keeps thinking about how his extensive training can't prepare him for fatherhood. It was so lovely seeing these characters grow: Pickett stands up to her family; Jax realizes he can be a father and want a real marriage; and Tucker shows himself to be a smart little boy. SEALed with a Kiss is greatly touching and heartwarming, a cozy read for a rainy day. Daughtridge's descriptions of the setting for the book made me want to live in Pickett's charming farmhouse, tucked in safely from a storm (preferably with Jax!) with a dog warming my feet. I wanted to read more about the new little family, but books have to end sometime. I can't wait to read the next SEALs romance!

I do have to say that the cover is kinda yummy, despite it being too naked to read on the subway openly. Two problems: His mouth seems kinda feminine. Maybe if he had scruff it'd be less noticeable and dang, that's a HUGE nipple. That is all.

SEALed with a Kiss Q & A

2008-04-02T07:35:00.003-04:00

Mary Margret Daughtridge, author of SEALed with a Kiss has kindly done some Q & A for her web tour! If you have a question you'd like to ask Mary Margret, you can post it in the comments by the end of the week (4/5/08) and she'll answer it.

Both Jax and Pickett have occupations that are very technical and specific. How much research did you do for them?

Fortunately, my speech pathology and family education background is somewhat similar to that of a family therapist, so for Pickett I drew on my own experience. After all, she doesn’t try to be a therapist to Jax and Tyler—just a friend.

Detailed, current, technical data about SEALs is very hard to come by because their work is covert, and most of their operations classified. However, I was more concerned with how being a SEAL shapes a man’s character, than whether he would prefer a Heckler and Koch semi-automatic or a Glock.

JC Roat’s Class 29 was probably the most insightful book I read about what character traits make a man want to be a SEAL, and how becoming a SEAL changes him. I read and reread more than twenty books about SEALs and Special Operations, poured over military web sites, and corresponded extensively with two former SEALs, one of whom has become a good friend. A Navy lieutenant who works closely with SEALs was another source of information.
Without the two SEALs who patiently told me how they would handled this or that, SEALed With A Kiss would never have been written. In some scenes, I have actually used their own words. They exemplified the generosity of spirit, willingness to overcome all obstacles, and uncompromising accountability of these extraordinary men.

You created some important secondary characters in Tyler, Pickett’s Dogs, and many others. Talk about their roles and what made them so special to you.

There are characters that an author designs to fit a role, and characters that just appear. Tyler was the former. I needed a bright child, old enough to talk fluently, but too young to be left unattended under any circumstances. I chose a four-year-old because between four and five is an unstable age emotionally. Without warning, an otherwise good-natured child may return to the trantruming and non-compliance one associates with two’s, so Tyler could be counted on to give Jax a hard time. [grin] However, once I had established the parameters, Tyler proved he was his father’s son. I knew it the moment he surprised me by asking Pickett out of the blue, “Is my mother dead, do you think?”

As for the dogs, the lumbering yellow Lab, Patterson, and his sidekick, the cheerfully lowbred Lucy, just popped into my mind. Later, scruffy and a little dangerous, a Shepherd-mix named Hobo Joe turned up and I almost wrote him out, because, my goodness, Pickett didn’t need another dog! I was wrong. It turned out there was a lot more to Hobo Joe than met the eye.

The other secondary character is Tyler’s grandmother. When I first imagined her, she was only Jax’s antagonist, but in time I came to feel such compassion for her…she isn’t evil, she’s only trying to stop the pain of losing her daughter. I hope I get to write her story someday and give her a happy ending.

See, there’s this SEAL who’s not intimidated at all by her money, power and beauty. He tells her some truths she needs to hear, and then, because no good deed goes unpunished, he winds up having to ride herd on her, but he’s got troubles of his own, not the least of which is an injury that could sideline him permanently, and then…

Navy SEALs lead a pretty intense life. What do you think this brought to the character of Jax?

I chose a SEAL as my hero precisely because the life of a SEAL is just too hard, too all consuming to bear unless he wants it passionately. Jax’s marriage foundered because being a SEAL came first, and he has a son he hardly knows, because being away two-hundred plus days a year doesn’t leave much time for visits. But SEALs also feel hyper-responsible for those in their care. Of course every SEAL is an individual, but both by nature and by training they share certain characteristics. It was fun to extrapolate how Jax would think like a SEAL in a non-SEAL challenge.

Pickett seems so unsure of the developing relationship with Jax. What was it like creating a character with such an internal struggle?

The truth is that therapists have as many insecurities and blind spots as everyone else, and can just as easily fool themselves. Pickett has worked hard and overcome much to become the woman she is. However, she has placed all her confidence and her personal pride in her clinical expertise. So when she’s attracted to a man who doesn’t measure up to her husband checklist, she’s more lost than the average person would be. Pickett’s real problem is that she’s achieved a certain a level in her life and now she’s playing it safe. Jax is just what she needs to kick her out of her comfort zone.

I had fun dropping hints to the reader that Pickett is much more than thinks she is. Right up to the end, the reader can see Pickett more clearly than she sees herself.

What’s next for your writing?

Jax’s friend, the wily and subtle MENSA material, Caleb “Do Lord” Dulaude, demanded his own book before I was half done with SEALed With a Kiss. For this ex-bad-boy who grew up at the dirty fringes of society, becoming a SEAL saved his life and probably his soul. Now, to finally live up to a promise he made his mother, he has to trust an absent-minded professor, rather than another SEAL, to watch his six and he has to lose his heart, if he hopes to mend it.

What else do you do other than write?

I love choral singing, for which I have extremely minor talent, and painting. Recently I took up ballroom dance. It’s so much fun, one of these days I want to work it into a book. I also love to learn and most of the time I’m taking a course in something—right now, I’m studying a communication process called “Non-violent Communication.”

It Had to Be You

2008-03-31T10:23:00.005-04:00

Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published: August 1994 (Avon)

Category: Romance

Series: Chicago Stars #1

Rating: 6/10

I started the series with This Heart of Mine, which tells Molly Somerville's story. The series starts with her older sister Phoebe's story, at her father's funeral and inheriting the Chicago Stars. Her jerk of a father's will gave her the team, but only allowed her to keep it if they won the AFC Championship. She didn't want anything to do with it, but Dan Calebow, the rough and tough head coach convinced her otherwise.

Phoebe annoyed me a lot, and this was due to her behavior, pretending to be a dumb bimbo so she wouldn't be threatened by men, and the out-of-date fashion descriptions. Fourteen years after It Had to Be You was first published, the book is starting to show its age. Granted, Phoebe had a horrible youth, where she was molested by her cousin, and disbelieved by her father, thinking that Reed was the son he never had and the best thing since sliced bread.

I was also annoyed with the way Dan and Phoebe's relationship grew in fits and starts. They sleep together, then he starts dating a teacher because she'll be the perfect wife, then she thinks he's with her for the football team ownership, then she finds out about the other woman, etc. Too much drama!

I was amused by Phoebe dealing with running a football team and the way she drives Dan crazy with her lack of football knowledge (i.e. Knowing which one's the kicker). I found it hilarious, now that I've been watching football for several years with my boyfriend and learning by osmosis.

Creation in Death

2008-03-26T19:58:00.003-04:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: November 6, 2007 (Putnam)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #25
Rating: 8/10

Have I run through almost the entire In Death series already? I think I should save Strangers in Death for a rainy day! As I'm behind in my reviews (I can't remember the last time I've been on time with them), I'm resorting to the publisher's summary.
NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of a near-future New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn't save-and the killers she couldn't capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier. The city was on edge from a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days, courtesy of a man the media tagged "The Groom"- because he put silver rings on the fingers of his victims.

When it turns out that the young brunette was employed by Eve's billionaire husband, Roarke, she brings him in on the case-a move that proves fitting when it becomes chillingly clear that the killer has made his attack personal. The victim was washed in products from a store Roarke owns, and laid out on a sheet his company manufactures.

With the Groom's monstrous return, Eve is determined to finish him once and for all. Familiar with his methods, Eve knows that he has already grabbed his next victim. Time is running out on another woman's life.

And chances are he's working up to the biggest challenge of his illustrious career-abducting a woman who will test his skills and who promises to give him days and days of pleasure before she dies: Eve.
This was standard Eve/Roarke fare. The emotional drama in this one comes from Feeney, who takes umbrage to Eve taking point on the investigation. With Eve's traumatic childhood, Feeney is really the only father she's ever known, and his anger at her in how she's doing her job (may as well insult her for her entire life, because that's what her job is) throw her off severely.

The villain was a little disappointing. I'm not sure if I've been desensitized to Eve's opponents by now. It always comes down to Mommy issues with murder mysteries like this, where the women are hurt and the bodies prepared like they were for the Groom. However, it's still a good entertaining read.

Heart of the Wolf

2008-03-25T23:57:00.002-04:00

Author: Terry Spear
Published: April 2008 (Sourcebooks)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 8/10

Heart of the Wolf is a different kind of paranormal romance, as it is a werewolf story, but based on researched wolf behavior. The shapeshifters do not call themselves werewolves, but lupus garou, and that designation makes them more like a real species rather than a mythical beast. And rather than just a general lupus garou, there are subspecies. Spear also wrote some great descriptions of the setting for the story. I could really feel the cold and damp of the northwest, the smell of the forest, and the ground beneath my feet, or paws would be more appropriate.

Bella, our heroine, is a red lupus garou who was adopted into a gray pack (these seem to be more common and happen to be bigger than reds) as a pup. Volan, the pack leader and evil guy, has singled Bella out to be his mate and tried raping her when she was very young. Bella actually loves Devlyn, the gray who rescued her when she was a pup, but doesn't want to show him preference because then he'd have to challenge Volan for her. Bella escapes the gray pack and lives under the radar, hoping to find a human male she can bite and change, therefore creating a mate for herself.

During one of her moon runs as a wolf, she gets captured and put in a zoo, as red wolves are very rare, and arouses the attention of her old pack and single red wolves close by. If she thought escaping Volan for a mate was bad, she had it much worse after that. Devlyn rescues her after she changes back to a human, and their attraction to each other flares up again, but this time, he's ready to challenge Volan. Unfortunately, that's not the only obstacle to happiness, as a red has been committing murders on red-haired women in the area.

The one annoying thing that stood out was the italicization of lupus garou. I understand that the book is based on real wolf behavior rather than werewolf myth (except for the part of people shifting into wolf form while the moon's out) , but the term lupus garou was used so much that seeing it italicized all the time made it seem out of place in the text, and broke the smoothness of my reading.

The attraction between Bella and Devlyn is steamy hot. There's a lot of tension and anticipation because they want each other, but Bella won't give in because she doesn't want Devlyn to be killed by Volan. Because this is based on animal behavior, their lust seems more primal and pure at the same time. They were meant to be mates, and when they're together, it's right and the obstacles fade away, at least while they're in bed... or in the back of his car.

While the overview makes Heart of the Wolf seem like a shallow story (star-crossed werewolves have to kill packleader to be happy, but want to solve a murder mystery where they know a rare red wolf is the culprit), it turned out to be deeper, with rich characters and great writing. I hope this turns into a series, because I'd like to read more about the lupus garou. There are hints of another book in the making, maybe set in the red wolf pack Bella and Devlyn cleaned up. There's an alpha male who hasn't taken control of the pack, and he seems like a pretty decent fellow. He helped Bella and Devlyn against the reds and Volan. I hope there's a sequel about him!

The Calhouns: Suzanna and Megan

2008-03-23T22:05:00.003-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: March 2005 (Silhouette)
Category: Romance
Series: Calhoun Women
Rating: 7/10

The Calhouns: Suzanna and Megan actually contains two books, Suzanna's Surrender and Megan's Mate. Suzanna is actually a Calhoun, but Megan moves into the family home and business (the mansion is also partially a hotel) to be its accountant. While Suzanna was married to her scumbag husband, she found out he had a second family with Megan. Due to the timing of events, Suzanna is sort of the other woman, because her husband was dallying with Megan before they married. He was a jerk anyways, and the women were better off without him!

Again, I'm behind in my reviews by over a month, so here are the summaries:

Suzanna's Surrender: Burned-out and tired as hell, all ex-cop Holt Bradford wanted to do was relax. But when beautiful single mom Suzanna invaded his solitude to search for the missing Calhoun emeralds, he couldn't say no. Holt had changed from a bad-boy teen to a dangerously sexy man, but Suzanna couldn't risk her well-ordered life for a man who made her mouth go dry . . .

Megan's Mate Calhoun sister-in-law Megan O'Riley and her young son had traveled far to become the Towers' newest residents. Cool as an Atlantic breeze, Megan buried her passions and vowed never to let her heart control her life. But when boat captain Nate Fury set his course for her, the practical lady was swept away by his formidable charm.

I wasn't that impressed by both stories, with the ex-husband making an appearance in each. First he tries to take the kids he had with Suzanna on a WASPy vacation in Martha's Vineyard and bend them to his will. Then he threatens Megan when he decides to run for Congress, not wanting his philandering past to come to light.

And the necklace line was blah to me. There are better Roberts books to be read.

Nobody's Baby But Mine

2008-03-21T22:05:00.004-04:00

Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published: February 1997 (Avon)
Category: Romance
Series: Chicago Stars #3
Rating: 9/10

This is my favorite of the Chicago Stars series so far!

Dr. Jane Darlington is freakishly smart, and regrets the abnormal childhood she had due to that freakish intelligence. On her birthday, she's alone and wants a baby, but doesn't want her child to suffer as she did. She figures that her baby daddy has to be dumb as a rock so the baby's intelligence will average out.

With her neighbor's help, Jane gets into Cal's birthday party, where she's presumed to be a stripper/escort, and they sleep together, but she doesn't get prenant. Cal doesn't understand his attraction to the mystery woman, but shrugs it off because he'll never see her again. Jane shows up at his away-game hotel where they have another awkward sexual encounter (she refuses to take her clothes off), and she gets what she wants. However, she doesn't figure Cal will find out.

Cal Bonner, despite being a football player, is not dumb. He's actually really smart, graduating at the top of his class in college with a biology major, not the usual underwater basket weaving type of major serious athletes graduate with. He finds out about the baby and he's pissed that he was used for his man seed, and marries Jane, taking her back to his Southern hometown. While sharing the house, they fall in love, and their charade to his teammates and his family is so great to read. Kevin Tucker, hero of This Heart of Mine, is Cal's backup at this point in the Stars timeline, and he acts like a jerk for the beginning, but Jane gets to him and helps the two men become friends in that mentor-mentee (or manatee, if you're Tracey Jordan) way.

This series is too much fun :)

When He Was Wicked

2008-03-20T20:36:00.004-04:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: July 2004 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Bridgerton Family #6
Rating: 8/10

I was eager to read this entry in the Bridgerton series because Francesca wasn't in the previous books much. Either she was too young or already married and mourning soon after in the later ones.

Michael Stirling, the notorious rake and cousin to John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin, has always chased skirts, but when he sees Francesca Bridgerton, he knows she's the one. Unfortunately, she's about to marry John, and because John is his best friend and practically his brother, he sucks it up. He, Francesca, and John are the best of friends, and when John dies out of the blue, he can't deal with being the new earl. Is it possible he made this happen because he wanted Francesca?

He goes abroad for several years, trying to get over Francesca, but when he returns, he finds that he loves her still. He and Francesca are definitely attracted to each other, but after they kiss, she's overcome with guilt, thinking she's desecrating her memory of John, and this time, she runs away.

This is one of those less common novels where the hero admits he loves the heroine but must work to get her to accept his affection and help her learn the truth of her own feelings. Of course, Michael uses his sensual expertise to encourage Francesca along, and it's quite steamy, maybe the steamiest of all the Bridgerton novels I've read so far. When Francesca realizes she loves Michael, and that her first husband would have wanted her to be happy, it's quite touching and sweet.

Remember When

2008-03-19T22:55:00.004-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb

Published: April 27, 2004 (Berkley)

Category: Romantic Suspense

Rating: 7/10

I had been reading Memory in Death, and Eve and Roarke refer to his Christmas gift of fabulous diamonds as the jewels from the O'Hara heist, like it was a big deal. At first, I thought I had read too many J.D. Robb titles too quickly and have forgotten details. However, it turns out that the J.D. Robb portion of Remember When takes place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.

The first half of book is the Nora Roberts part, telling the story of Laine Tavish, daughter of a con man named Big Jack O'Hara. She wanted to live a straight life, so she changed her name and opened an antique shop. And then one of her father's partners shows up to tell her something important, and dies in a car accident outside her shop. Turns out he left a stash of stolen diamonds with her, but she doesn't know where. Enter handsome Max Gannon, the investigator hired by the diamonds' insurance company. He sets himself up as her bodyguard when her home is ransacked, and figures that she's his best source for clues. In the end, not all the diamonds are found and it's up to Eve Dallas to find them fifty years later.

The second half of the book is the J. D. Robb portion, and it's not the best of the Eve Dallas books, but entertaining enough. The villain was disappointing; he's a spoiled rich kid who wants more because he feels entitled to it. I think I spent most of the time being annoyed with him.

This Heart of Mine

2008-03-16T20:45:00.003-04:00

Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published: February 2002 (Avon)
Category: Romance
Series: Chicago Stars #5
Rating: 8/10

Jennie and I have a little problem. We can't resist the Borders Rewards coupons that appear in our inboxes every week. "I have to buy a book because I have a 25% coupon!" is what usually runs through my head, while I also tell myself that I have a huge TBR and there's nothing I really want anyways. While I was visiting Jennie, we each had coupons and she recommended Susan Elizabeth Phillips to me.

Molly Somerville, sister to Phoebe Somerville, owner of the Chicago Stars football team, has always been the good girl. However, that's not really what she's like, and the pressure of being perfect vents itself once in a while in outrageous behavior. Like when she gave away her $15 million dollar inheritance, or when she pulled the fire alarm at her school. Or the time when she was stuck in her sister's cabin with her crush, Stars quarterback Kevin Tucker, and she took advantage of him while he was asleep. And got pregnant.

When Molly's pregnancy is discovered, Kevin does the honorable thing (with some encouragement from Phoebe's husband) and marries her. The two don't really get along, partially because Kevin has never noticed Molly and doesn't remember her name. However, when Molly suffers a miscarriage on their way to their honeymoon, Kevin is kind and gentle, and he's suddenly a hero. He even helps Molly get out of her depressive funk after the loss, taking her to a summer lake resort he's inherited.

Shouldered with the burden of resort guests and preparing meals, Molly heals and finds peace, while she and Kevin fall in love. It's a very endearing story, and the ending is perfect.

Hooray for new authors with backlists! I'm going to plow through the Chicago Stars series, and use some more coupons that way.

Midnight Bayou

2008-03-15T19:00:00.003-04:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: November 26, 2002 (Jove)
Category: Romance
Rating: 8/10

In 1899, Abby, wife of wealthy Lucian Manet, is raped and killed by her brother-in-law, Julian (twin to Lucian) in the middle of the night. Lucian, away on business, doesn't know that his mother, who always disapproved of his marrying a woman of the bayou, covered up the murder and tells him Abby ran away with another man.

In 2002, Declan Fitzgerald, successful lawyer, picks up his life in Boston and moves to New Orleans, having purchased the decrepit old Manet Hall. Other people have tried to to restore the mansion before, but the ghosts of the Manet family have driven them out. However, Declan feels a connection with the hall, and it feels right for him to be there, despite the disturbing visions and noises he experiences while renovating the place. He relives the romance of Abby and Lucian, the birth of their child (I found it interesting that a man got to experience childbirth), and her murder. It turns out that Declan was reliving Abby's memories, and that meant Lucian, the other half of the ill-fated couple would be played by a descendant of his daughter.

Angelina, owner of a successful bar, falls for Declan, but doesn't want to commit because she's got issues, thanks to her good-for-nothing crackwhore of a mother. Once in a while, her mother shows up, saying she's cleaned up her act, then robs Angelina or Angelina's grandmother, and disappears for a while. This time, the deadbeat mother tries seducing Declan, and when he rejects her, she robs him. Next to Abby's horrid mother-in-law, Angelina's mom was my least-liked character in the book.

I thought the ending was kinda anticlimactic. Abby and Lucian weren't the only spirits haunting the place; Lucian's mother was there as well, slamming doors and such when Declan decided to alter the original plans of the hall. I thought there'd be this big showdown against psycho mama ghost after Declan and Angelina set the spirits of Abby and Lucian to rest by solving the murder mystery.

Despite disappointments with the ending, the book was great with fantastically written descriptions of the bayou and New Orleans. It made me want some creole cooking (good thing there's a New Orleans-style restaurant close by).

Lost and Found

2008-03-14T16:44:00.005-04:00

Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Published: November 1, 2001 (Jove)
Category: Romance
Rating: 7/10

I picked up this Krentz because I was doing my usual weekend dance of "what do I want to read," which was made worse by the fact that I was traveling to visit Jennie and her sister for a long weekend as well. I probably drove Josh crazy with my, "Do I have enough books? What if I don't like what I brought?" Not that Jennie didn't have books I could read while visiting or anything like that.

Cady Briggs is useful to mack Easton. Her expertise in art and antiques helps his low-profile company, Lost and Found, find missing treasures for high-paying clients. But Cady knows that being useful to a client is one thing - and being used is another. So no matter how alluring she finds Mack, she plans to keep business and pleasure entirely separate.

But then a sudden tragedy puts Cady in charge of Chatelaine's, her family's prestigious art and antiques gallery. Suddenly the roles are reversed, as strange developments at Chatelaine's lead Cady to ask for help from none other than Mack Easton. And instead of tracking down missing masterpieces together, they'll be hunting for a killer.

I always enjoy the plot device where the hero and heroine pose as an engaged couple so they can investigate a mystery. The mystery was quite good, very layered with a surprise at the end after you think everything's been settled neatly. I liked the way Cady and Mack started out, dealing via e-mail and phone calls when he needed her expert opinion. Each of them thought the person on the other end of the line was their fantasy, but they kept the idea at arm's length because this is strictly business.

This was a good book, nothing mind blowing, but got me through most of my plane ride.

Innocent in Death

2008-03-13T08:40:00.003-04:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: February 20, 2007 (Putnam)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #24
Rating: 10/10

The mystery was pretty good for this one, with Even investigating the death of a poisoned history teacher in a swanky Manhattan school. Among all the teachers, students, and parents, several likely suspects arise, as swanky schools are far from squeaky clean.

Eve and Roarke's story is fantastic, with the return of Magdalena, Roarke's old flame from his criminal days. She's a blond bombshell who happens to be sharply intelligent, glamorous, cultured, and sophisticated. Eve comments to Summerset that he'd prefer Magdalena to be Mrs. Roarke, but in a not-so-surprising turn, Summerset is on Eve's side. He tells her she's got to get Roarke to see Magdalena's sly manipulation. When they were partners, Magdalena ditched Roarke to run away with their rich (and really old) mark. Now she's back because Roarke's hugely rich (and hot and in his prime) and she figures she can bump Eve out of the picture and take up where she left off.

You'd think Eve would just take care of the problem, but she's not too good with this love stuff. Roarke, normally the sensitive one of the relationship, is blind to Magda's sabotage, so he gets angry when Eve gets jealous or paranoid. It's really great seeing the two of them work out their squabble, and you know that Eve will deck Magda eventually.

This one was really great, one of my favorites in the series.

Born in Death

2008-03-11T13:17:00.004-04:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: November 7, 2006 (Putnam)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #23
Rating: 9/10

Eve's investigating a double murder of young lovers who worked for the same accounting firm. This common fact between the two murders points Eve to dig into the firm's customer's. At the same time, Mavis asks Eve to help her with a missing friend from her birthing class. Of course, these two cases would be linked.

The best part of this book is Eve and Roarke dealing with Mavis' birth. Roarke, for all his smoothness, is absolutely terrified of all things to do with pregnancy and birth. I find this hilarious, because he's the one who actually wants children and Eve thinks they're little aliens who grow in your body for nine months. I classify her fear of babies/children with her fear of farm animals. It's such a funny quirk for this tough cop, who finds herself planning a baby shower with a rainbow theme.

I would've given this one a 10/10 if the mystery were a little better. It was kind of a "ho hum, yawn" thing after the horror of Origin in Death, but all of the baby stuff was so much fun to read. A baby black market seems kinda tame after that.

The Kitchen God's Wife

2008-03-09T14:57:00.003-04:00

Author: Amy Tan
Published: 1991 (Putnam)
Category: Literature
Rating: 10/10

I don't read what people call "critically acclaimed" books very often, but after my most recent romance read, I fell into a slump and didn't want anything out of my regular TBR. I read The Joy Luck Club in high school for class and while it was good, I think reading for class tainted my feelings for classic Amy Tan books. However, I figured it was time to get over high school English classes and read something serious (I guess this means I'll get back to Jane Austen soon).

The Kitchen God's Wife is so smart and moving that I don't really feel like I can write about it. I loved reading it and got lost in the words every time I picked it up, despite the near-tragic story it told. Pearl, a Chinese woman who was born in America, is listening to the story of her mother Winnie's life in China. Winnie's childhood wasn't easy, with a mother who ran away, and having to grow up in her cousin's family. Reading about the family dynamics in the traditional Chinese family, despite taking place in China, reminded me of my very old school family (I'm quite the black sheep in my family).

Winnie later marries Wen Fu, who seemed to be a good catch, but he turned out to be a horribly cruel man. He abused her and indirectly caused the deaths of their children, and then later took over Winnie's father's household. After years of trying to be a good wife and respecting family, Winnie escaped to the man she loved, a Chinese-American soldier from California. It turns out that Amy Tan's mother was basis for this: She had married an abusive man in China and wound up leaving him to marry the man who would be Amy's father. The story is amazing and the writing is perfect.

I think I'll put The Hundred Secret Senses into my TBR for the next time I'm feeling the need for a literary novel.

Memory in Death

2008-03-04T23:27:00.003-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: June 27, 2006 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #22
Rating: 9/10

During the Christmas season, Eve and Peabody are wrapping up an open-and-shut case when a very unwelcome blast from the past walks into Eve's office. Her abusive foster mother, Trudy Lombard (the sort who makes you bathe in ice-cold water because you're an evil and dirty girl), comes in all teary, wanting to reunite with her little Eve after all these years. Eve kicks her out and gets sick as a reaction. Thankfully, she comes clean to Roarke about Trudy, and they're prepared for her. She later realizes that Trudy's after Roarke's money, but I'm also surprised it took her so long. Of course, Trudy would underestimate Roarke, and he scares her away.

Trudy really is evil and I hated her in a way I rarely hate characters. After all, they're not real! After Roarke warns her off, Trudy decides to extort the money by beating herself up and making a video framing Eve and Roarke. It turns out she's been blackmailing her former foster children, threatening the new lives they've created with the ugliness of their childhoods. Eve deals with lots of horrible people, but sometimes they don't come across as evil; they seem like bad guys. Trudy Lombard was an evil woman and the scary thing is, there could easily be people like her taking in foster kids for the money and mistreating them.

The murderer's identity was pretty easy to figure out in this one, but the story was so great, with more of Eve's past revealed and healed, sort of like lancing a boil. Pretty picture, I know.

Origin in Death

2008-03-01T23:19:00.003-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: July 12, 2005 (Putnam)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #21
Rating: 9/10

When a famous reconstructive surgeon is murdered in his office in broad daylight by his lunch appointment, Eve Dallas is first on scene with Detective Peabody. She does the usual digging into the past, and lots of people are offended, because this Dr. Icove Sr. was the best dude ever and pretty much shat golden eggs that he gave away for the great good of humanity, blah blah, how dare you insinuate he ever did anything bad, blah blah. Of course, his son, the second Dr. Icove is murdered soon after, and it's revealed that the Icoves were involved in human cloning of the cruelest kind. They want to control every baby that's born, eliminating imperfections and flaws as they see fit, and make it so every pregnancy is conducted artificially in a lab.

I laugh sometimes and say that having kids should require a license, but the Icoves took that idea and ran with it. Where does Roberts come up with this stuff? Anyone can come up with human cloning, but this creepy idea of Quiet Birth, where all babies are created in labs, made to order, and all humans are sterilized is like something from a scifi movie.

The mystery really ruled this book, and I was more than happy to eat it all up.

Face the Fire

2008-02-28T10:17:00.003-05:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: May 28, 2002 (Jove)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Three Sisters Island Trilogy #3
Rating: 7/10

In Face the Fire, the confident and sexy Mia Devlin, dumped by her lover a dozen years before, has to deal with him returning to love her forever. But after so many years blocking out the heartache, Mia's not so willing to accept him again.

This was my least favorite of the trilogy, with Mia annoying me even more than Riley. For some strange reason, I find Riley's behavior and fear of her power more than Mia's behavior. Mia is the wisest one of the three, and she had no problem nudging Nell and Riley in their matches. And when her destined mate comes along, she hems and haws about it for most of the book. Yes, she was hurt by Sam, but is she really going to do with her ancestor did and toss herself over a cliff instead of grasping the new chance for love?

It surprised me quite a bit to find that Sam is also a witch, representing the fourth element of water. He's very skilled, and it's really interesting to see the three come together with their menfolk participating as well.

The ending was a bit anticlimactic, but it was a nice closing to the trilogy.

Survivor in Death

2008-02-23T22:54:00.005-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: August 30, 2005 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #20
Rating: 9/10

The title of this In Death book is especially fitting. A well-to-do family is slaughtered by military-style hitmen, but Lexie, a little girl escapes because she got up during the night to sneak a soda. Her best friend, sleeping over, took the hit intended for Lexie.

Lexie, the survivor of her family's cold deaths, made the story so compelling. This little girl who did everything right when professional killers is alone in the world, and looking at Eve with big eyes for justice. And we know that Eve doesn't do well with kids... She found the child, hiding in a bathroom, and seeing the little girl smeared with blood brought Eve's childhood nightmare rushing back to her on the job.

Eve and Roarke deal with a bunch of things that make them uncomfortable. Mavis is around, helping with Lexie, and at first opportunity grabs Eve's hand to touch the growing bump of her pregnancy. Most of us find experiencing that heartwarming, but Eve regards pregnancy as a time when an alien being is growing inside your belly. They have to care for Lexie as she has nightmares and asks awkward questions about death, and it gives the reader a peek into the future, when she and Roarke have kids, if that ever happens in the series.

Really good read for characters, but mystery was eh for me. There have been better.

Heaven and Earth

2008-02-22T15:04:00.004-05:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: December 1, 2001 (Jove)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Three Sisters Island Trilogy #2
Rating: 8/10

I loved Dance Upon the Air so much that I was upset when I didn't have Heaven and Earth in my TBR, just Face the Fire, which is the last book in the trilogy. I know, there are worse things in life than having to wait a few days for a book to arrive.

But before Ripley and Mac can dream of what lies in the future, they must confront the pain of the past. For Three Sisters shelters centuries of secrets—and a legacy of danger that plagues them still…
Ripley Todd just wants to live a quiet, peaceful kind of life. Her job as a sheriff’s deputy keeps her busy and happy, and she has no trouble finding men when she wants them—which, lately, isn’t all that often. She’s perfectly content, except for one thing: she has special powers that both frighten and confuse her—and though she tries hard to hide them, she can’t get them under control…
Distraction soon arrives in the handsome form of MacAllister Booke—a researcher who’s come to investigate the rumors of witchcraft that haunt Three Sisters Island. Right from the start, he knows there’s something extraordinary about Ripley Todd. It’s not just her blazing green eyes and her sultry smile. There’s something else. Something he can detect, but she’ll never admit. Fascinated by her struggle with her amazing abilities, he becomes determined to help her accept who she is—and find the courage to open her heart.

Riley grated on me a little in Dance Upon the Air, so I was wary of her book. I was amused that Riley's love interest would turn out to be a scientist who couldn't get enough of magic, studying it in the most respectful of ways, unlike the villain. This time it's a reporter looking to get rich exposing Nell's story and the truth of the events on Three Sisters Island. Some evil spirit had been using Nell's ex-husband as a tool to repeat the tragic events that killed the original Three.

Now it's Ripley's turn to face this new incarnation of evil, but she has to get over her fear of repeating Earth's mistakes, giving in to the temptation of using dark magic. Because she's afraid of abusing her power she tried shutting away all magic, but once Nell came to the island and set events in motion, Ripley's power couldn't be held back any longer, or she'd feel awful pain.

Heaven and Earth was good, but I loved Dance Upon the Air a lot more, probably because Nell's story seemed more interesting to me.

How to Marry a Marquis

2008-02-20T20:10:00.002-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: April 1999 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 7/10
Quote of Choice: He is a man, after all, and therefore stupidly proud.

How to Marry a Marquis follows To Catch an Heiress in this duology, telling the story of James, best friend to Blake Ravenscroft. If you haven't read TCAH, James comes along to reveal that Caroline isn't the spy Blake thought her, and pushes the reluctant Blake along in the courtship, offering the ultimatum that if Blake will not have Caroline, then he will make her his marchioness instead. I love supporting characters like that in romances, so when the prospect of reading James' story came, I was quite excited.

When Elizabeth Hotchkiss stumbles upon a copy of How to Marry a Marquis in her employer's library, she's convinced someone is playing a cruel joke. With three younger siblings to support, she knows she has to marry for morney, but who might have guessed how desperate she's become? A guidebook to seduction might be just the thing she needs - and what harm could there be in taking a little peek?

James Sidwell, the Marquis of Riverdale, has been summoned to rescue his aunt from a blackmailer, a task that requires him to pose as the new estate manager and his primary suspect is his aunt's companion, Elizabeth. Intrigued by the alluring young woman with the curious little rulebook, he gallantly offers to help her find a husband... by practicing her wiles on him. But when practice becomes all too perfect, James decides that there is only one rule worth following - that Elizabeth marry her marquis.

One of my pet peeves in historical romances is mistaken identities. It's one thing where the ruse is kept up for a very short time, like in The Spymaster's Lady, but when it's for a good chunk of the book, and hurts someone's feelings, I get annoyed. James, using his position as the humble estate manager, gets closer to Elizabeth first for the purposes of the investigation, and then to romance her. Then he has to deal with the fallout of her discovering the truth when Caroline and Blake make their entrance and expose him.

Of course, my being annoyed at this one aspect doesn't mean that this was a bad book! Lady Danbury, a very amusing supporting character in the Bridgerton books plays a large role, as Elizabeth's boss and James' aunt. Lady D being Lady D, she's actually concocted this whole blackmailing scheme to play matchmaker for these two young people she loves and knows will be right for each other. There's also Malcolm the cat, who saves the day, despite Elizabeth's claims that he is a "stupid cat."

Definitely read this if you're a Quinn fan. Maybe you won't be like me, waiting for most of the book for the shoe to drop, knowing that Elizabeth will be angry and hurt by James' deception.

Visions in Death

2008-02-16T23:00:00.003-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: January 25, 2005 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #19
Rating: 8/10

Now this is an improvement on villains, with a murderer shaped by childhood abuse from his mother. It seems a lot of fictional murderers' problems are blamed on the mother, sometimes well deserved. In Eve and Roarke's case, they haven't let their horrible childhoods make them into evil adults.
On one of the city's hottest nights, New York Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas is sent to Central Park-and into a hellish new investigation. The victim is found on the rocks, just above the still, dark water of the lake. Around her neck is a single red ribbon. Her hands are posed, as if in prayer. But it is the eyes-removed with such precision, as if done with the careful hands of a surgeon-that have Dallas most alarmed.

As more bodies turn up, each with the same defining scars, Eve is frantic for answers. Against her instincts, she accepts help from a psychic who offers one vision after another-each with shockingly accurate details of the murders. And when partner and friend Peabody is badly injured after escaping an attack, the stakes are raised. Are the eyes a symbol? A twisted religious ritual? A souvenir? With help from her husband, Roarke, Dallas must uncover the killer's motivation before another vision becomes another nightmare...
The psychic assisting on the case really annoyed me, because while in Eve's time, there are reputable "sensitives," I was still skeptical about her. Her visions weren't really helpful, and she was so whiny in a "I didn't ask for this to happen to me, why me, why me" way.

The twist at the end was pretty good, but wholly unnecessary if you were to get rid of the psychic all together. The book would've been fine without her side plot.

To Sir Phillip, with Love

2008-02-15T16:59:00.003-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: July 2003 (Avon)
Catgory: Historical Romance
Series: Bridgerton Family #5
Rating: 8/10
Quote of choice: Her brothers should never have been talking about such things in front of her, but even more, the last thing she wanted to know was whether Sir Phillip had tupped a tavern wench with bosoms the size of soup tureens.

I suddenly realize that I never posted a review for Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, which told Colin Bridgerton's story. The events in that book spurred Eloise's actions in To Sir Phillip, With Love. Since the death of Marina, Phillip's wife, and Eloise's distant cousin, Phillip and Eloise corresponded frequently. It started with Eloise's condolence note to Phillip, and they became penpals over about 18 months.

Phillip, widowed and with young, mischievous twins, needs a mother to run his house an care for his children so he can pursue his botanical studies. He figures Eloise is a good choice because they know each other through their letters, and she's a spinster. Surely his offer of marriage would be most welcome. He suggests a visit to see if they will suit, and Eloise was hesitant, until Penelope gets married, and she runs off to Gloucestershire.

Their courtship lasts about two days, where Eloise is subjected to pranks from Phillip's children, and Phillip realizes he's not very good at romance. Eloise's brothers show up to break Phillip's legs, and Anthony tells Eloise she must marry Phillip or else her reputation will be in shreds.

Quinn really knows how to tug on the heartstrings. After they're married, Eloise tries to get Phillip more involved in his children, and wants them to have a good marriage based on more than lots of time in bed. Phillip, dealing with an abusive childhood at the hands of his father, figures he married Eloise so he wouldn't have to worry about his kids, so he pushes her away, only to soon find out that the children's nurse is beating them. The scene made me all teary-eyed.

Next one up: When He Was Wicked.

Divided in Death

2008-02-14T14:03:00.004-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: August 31, 2004 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #18
Rating: 7/10

I think this one may be my least favorite of the series.

Roarke's head of security, Reva, who happens to be daughter to his personal admin, Caro, is found at the scene of her husband and his mistress's murder. Rather than calling in the crime, Reva calls her mother, who gets Roarke involved. Eve takes the case for him, because he trusts her over any cop that may have been assigned to it in her place.

The writing is good and it's fun to see Peabody mentioning her new rank every chance she gets.
This time, the mystery bored me. Reva was set up by a rival government agency that was miffed Roarke's company got a government contract. It turns out this same agency was doing surveillance on Eve's father, and witnessed the abuse to the minor on premises. Instead of coming to young Eve's aid, the observers chose not to do anything, because it would ruin their investigation. Their investigation wound up coming to an end, as Eve killed her father, and they have it on record, as well as the identity that was assigned to her by the state when she was found.

There's no reason to skip reading this one. It seems each book is written with some new tidbit of Roarke or Eve's past, or some new development in characters' relationships, increasing the must-readability of each new title. I enjoyed this one for the characters, not the mystery.

Dance Upon the Air

2008-02-12T13:10:00.004-05:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: June 1, 2001 (Jove)
Category: Romance/Paranormal Romance
Series: Three Sisters Island Trilogy #1
Rating: 9/10

I picked this one up for two reasons: 1. Jennie recommended it and 2. I'm craving another Nora Roberts + magic trilogy since the second book in her Sign of Seven trilogy doesn't release until May. Don't remind me of the Circle trilogy, because that was so bad I don't like to think about it.

When I started reading Nell Channing's story, I thought, "Oh here we go, it's a mix of Angels Fall and Montana Sky." Nell suffered an abusive marriage for three years and escaped by faking her death, changing her name, and traveling from California to Three Sisters Island off the New England coast. Unlike those other books, Nell was destined to wind up on that island.

During the late 1600s, when the great witch hunts were occurring, three sister witches, called Air, Earth, and Fire, called on their power to create a safe place, and according to legend/history, Three Sisters Island split off from Massachusetts. However, an evil spirit hunted down the sisters, cursing the island to crash into the sea unless their descendents could break the curse.

Roberts created the island so perfectly, with her descriptions of this little town where everyone knows everybody. It sounded so lovely that I wanted to live there! I loved the descriptions of Nell's work at Cafe Book (owned by Mia Devlin, another descendent of the three), and her romance with Zack Todd, sheriff of the island, was so sweet. Of course he was meant for her, and he was patient and determined to show Nell that he was definitely not like her abusive husband.

I loved this book so much that I wanted to pick up the next one, which is about Ripley (Zack's sister), the descendent of Earth. Woe is me! I have the third book in my TBR, but never got my hands on the second, so I have to order it and not get instant gratification.

Mine to Possess

2008-02-11T11:49:00.004-05:00

Author: Nalini Singh

Published: February 5, 2008 (Berkley)

Category: Paranormal Romance

Series: Psy/Changeling #4

Rating: 8/10

I have a feeling I'm going to cop out on a lot of the next several reviews and use the cover blurb to summarize the story.

Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed... and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man, and lost his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.

Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodhsed and terror. Now a new nightmare stalks her - the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...

Clay lost Talin once. he will not let her go again and hungers to possess her with a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past... or lose everything that ever mattered.
This is the first book with a human hero/heroine, and Tally, seeing herself as the weak half of the couple, has a hard time with the fact that she's a plain ol' human. To make things worse, she's got some untreatable brain illness and will die soon. But Clay doesn't care about any of those things because he'll find a way to overcome them so he can be with her finally.

The plot thickens in the war against the Psy. They're conducting experiments on what seems to be a random selection of children, but with the Psy, everything has a purpose. It's creepy when you think about how cold the Psy are, with the attitude that their way is the logical way. They believe it so much that the idea of right and wrong no longer exists for them. There's only ONE way, so why do we need a moral right and wrong?

Caressed by Ice is still my favorite in the series, but this was a good read. I do love my alpha males. I'm pretty excited about the next book in the series, Hostage to Pleasure, which features Dorian, the latent leopard, and Ayasha, the Psy scientist who actually cares for her son, and engineered the escape of her test subjects in Mine to Possess. HtP is scheduled for September release.

Imitation in Death

2008-02-07T11:48:00.005-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: August 26, 2003
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #17
Rating: 9/10

Umm.... I read this one over a month ago.

Salient points? Eve is investigating a serial murderer who imitates famous murderers of the past (i.e. Jack the Ripper). With each body, he left a cocky note on expensive and very hard-to-find paper to Eve (paper made from non-recycled paper is illegal in the future), and the paper led to several possible suspects. I was most pleased when the murderer's identity was determined.

One of the most entertaining parts of the book was Peabody studying for her detective's exam. Peabody, being Peabody, would constantly doubt herself when her instincts are quite good to start with. McNab and Eve provided support in their very different ways, McNab's ways being more naked. Of course Peabody passes and Eve wears her uniform for the ceremony, much to Roarke's amusement.

Wedded Bliss

2008-02-05T17:12:00.003-05:00

Author: Barbara Metzger
Published: March 2004 (Signet)
Category: Regency Romance
Rating: 8/10

I figured it's been a while since I read a Metzger, and Wedded Bliss features a favored Regency romance device: the marriage of convenience that becomes a love match. It fulfilled my need for a sweet book with happy endings and appropriate comeuppance for evildoers.

When Robert Rothmore, Earl of Rockford, receives word that a neighbor has taken his son, he hastily vows to enforce the kidnapping laws. But he quickly discovers that widowed Alissa Henning is no criminal. Instead she is exactly the kind of woman who'd make the perfect mother for his sons. Marriage would be an ideal arrangement for both of them, wouldn't it?

At first, Alissa swears she wills pend the rest of her life scraping pennies together rather than wed the insufferable earl and becoming a glorified governess. Still, she can't very well let her own children starve, and there is no doubt that Rockford will provide for them. So she reluctantly accepts his offer, but there's more to a good life than what's in one's pockets. And Alissa intends to find out what's in her new husband's heart....

I find Metzger hit or miss, and this one's a hit. We get a bunch of young boys, which leads to hijinks, a spinster sister who runs away with a crook, and a despicably unsuitable suitor for Alissa's younger sister. Of course the spinster sister finds her true love, and Alissa is reunited with her dead husband's family (they had disowned her husband for marrying beneath him).

I was surprised by the sexytime scenes, because I had Metzger categorized with the very traditional Regency authors who avoided the nitty gritty stuff. Alissa, already attracted to Robert, confronts him about the non-consummation of their marriage, and demands a daughter. Robert tries to do his duty and not further the mushy feelings he has about his convenient wife, so she's disappointed by the event. So disappointed that she drops a big hint by leaving a copy of the Kama Sutra under his pillow...

To Catch an Heiress

2008-02-03T11:44:00.006-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: July 1998 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 8/10

To Catch an Heiress is the first of a duology involving two best friends who happen to be gentleman spies. I do love me some gentlemanly spying! I picked this one up after I read the excerpt on Julia Quinn's website. Caroline has been set up by her nefarious guardian, leaving her with his disgusting son with the goal of compromising her reputation, thus leaving her no choice but to marry the son and keep her fortune in her guardian's control. However, Caroline isn't one to follow instructions to the tee, and shoots her erstwhile suitor (merely a flesh wound) instead.

When Caroline Trent is kidnapped by Blake Ravenscroft, she doesn't even try to elude this dangerously handsome agent of the crown. After all, she's been running from unwanted marriage proposals. Yes, Blake believes she's a notorious spy named Carlotta De Leon, but for six weeks until her twenty-first birthday, when she'll gain control of her fortune, hiding out in the titillating company of a mysterious captor is awfully convenient - and maybe just a little romantic too.
Blake Ravenscroft's mission is to bring "Carlotta" to justice, not to fall in love. His heart has been hardened by years of intrigue, but htis little temptress proves oddly disarming and thoroughly kissable. And suddenly the unthinkable becomes possible - that this mismatched couple might be destined for love.

Blake's obstacle to true love is his dead fiancee. She was also a spy, and she died on a mission while Blake was ill. He feels responsible for her death, thinking he should have stopped her. After that, he couldn't open himself up to mushy feelings. Caroline realizes her feelings early on, but has to compete with a dead woman for Blake's love.

Entertaining read, full of Quinn's trademark witty banter. James, Marquis of Riverdale (why isn't it marquess?), was great for annoying Blake, and his declaration that he would marry Caroline if Blake wouldn't, was perfectly timed. James' story is told in the second book of the duology, How to Marry a Marquis.

Portrait in Death

2008-02-01T11:41:00.003-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: February 25, 2003 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #16
Rating: 9/10

The 9/10 doesn't come from the quality of the villain, but from the growth in Roarke's back story. I was disappointed in the villain this time because the investigation was very loosey goosey. The murderer considers himself an artist (pronounce it like "artiste"), killing people and taking perfectly posed death photos. Then he dumps the body in public places and sends the pictures to Nadine Furst so he can get some media exposure. The selection of the victims was pretty random, so it felt like there was nothing Eve could do to stop future killings.

At Roarke's newly established women's shelter, he meets the therapist on staff, who knows more about his past than he does. She tells him the story of his true mother, not the Meg Roarke he knew and hated, but a pretty young girl who stayed with the abusive Patrick Roarke because she wanted her son to have a family. The news shocks Roarke so much that he takes it out on Eve and Summerset, shutting them out. Eve winds up thinking that he's tired of her, and it's all his fault that she's in love with him when she didn't want this whole love thing in the first place.

Eve also puts Peabody's name in for the next detective's exam, since she's been working in homicide for 18 months already and closed a cold case in the last book. Officer Troy Trueheart, placed under Baxter's wing for training, plays a larger supporting role this time, and it's nice to see that he's doing well after working with that horrible officer in Conspiracy in Death.

Sizzle and Burn

2008-01-29T16:47:00.003-05:00

Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Published: January 29, 2008 (Putnam)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Arcane Society #3
Rating: 8/10

I really like JAK's flipping back and forth between contemporary and historical romances for the Arcane Society series (historical ones are written under Amanda Quick).

Raine Tallentyre is reluctantly drawn into a J&J investigation involving her murky past when she goes back to her hometown to settle her deceased aunt's affairs. A long time ago, her aunt fell in love with Wilder Jones of J&J, but Raine's father was under suspicion for stealing the founder's formula, the basis of the addictive drug being used by Nightshade (the cabal mentioned in White Lies). On the day of her father's funeral, Jones destroys his lab, cementing the Tallentyre's notorious reputation in the Arcane Society. Raine and her aunt turn their backs on the Society and J&J until the day Zack Jones, another J&J investigator, show up at her hotel room door. On the same day she discovers a girl locked in her dead aunt's basement, the work of a serial killer known as the Bonfire Killer.

Actually, the Bonfire Killer is a secondary mystery, because Zack is investigating the disappearance of Lawrence Quinn, an Arcane Society researcher who disappeared. He worked on the founder's formula, and they're afraid Nightshade got a hold of him. Quinn also paid a visit to Raine's aunt the day she died, leading Zack to believe Aunt Vella knew something about the formula.

Stereotypically, in the course of the investigation, Raine and Zack give in to their attraction for each other. However, Raine doesn't fully trust Zack because he's another Jones from the Arcane Society. She was also hurt by the last man she worked with. Since she's a clairaudient (she hears voices), she helped close some cold cases, but all the credit went to her partner in the police department. She thought there was more to their relationship, but he told her he was creeped out by the idea of sleeping with someone who heard voices. So ended their working relationship. Zack smartly tells her that her hearing voices turns him on, and he happens to see visions. Zack's obstacle to true love is his previous engagement to a woman planted by Nightshade. He caught her trying to poison him and thus undermined his confidence in his mirror talent (sort of anticipates things, like someone's moves in a fight). At the same time, he's been tapped to be the next Master of the Arcane Society, which makes Raine think he'll leave her so he can marry some well-bred Society woman, not the daughter of one of its most infamous ex-members.

I thought this was a great addition to the series, as the mysterious formula's background and workings are really explained, and the fight against Nightshade becomes clearer. It's confirmed that Nightshade agents on the formula must keep taking it, or they'll go insane and extra murderous, and then commit suicide. By the end of Sizzle and Burn, it seems as if the next contemporary Arcane Society book will have a lot of action (and not just of the romantic variety). I had a really good time reading this one.

Darkling

2008-01-28T08:04:00.006-05:00

Author: Yasmine Galenorn
Published: January 2, 2008 (Berkley)
Category: Urban Fantasy
Series: Sisters of the Moon #3
Rating: 7/10

This is, appropriately, the darkest book of the series (so far), telling the story of vampire-sister Menolly. She was the touchiest of the three sisters in the last two books, dealing with her unwanted form of un-life. Before she was turned, Menolly worked for the OIA as a spy, using her acrobatic skills to observe from odd places, like the ceiling of a cave. However, on one of these missions, she was captured by the Elwing Clan and turned by their leader, Dredge.

All over Seattle, humans have been going missing, only to turn up as newborn vampires - the sure sign of a rogue vamp on the loose. It looks like Dredge is to blame - the same sadistic Dredge who gave me my scars, and who may well be in cahoots with the demon Shadow Wing. If so, Otherworld and earth are screwed. The only way we can hope to defeat Dredge is for me to travel home to Otherworld, and face my own demons. For unless I sever the ties that bind me to Dredge, all hell is going to break loose...

A word of warning to prissy people: Menolly is bi and has relations with a female were from the Rainier Pumas we met in Changeling and a priest in Alastril, the City of Seers. That's the least of a prissy reader's worries, as the description of Menolly's torture, rape, and turning by Dredge are rather graphic and violent. Despite that, it's very well written. Clearly, I have no problem with violence (and I didn't even play lots of damaging video games as a child!).

I really enjoyed the view into Menolly's past; it felt like she was hidden away in the first two books of the series. Reading about her emotional pain made me feel so bad for her, but at the end, she accepts her nature, and fulfills a prophecy that claimed she would do what she would never do. So in accepting her vampire nature, she became human again.

Morgan Le Fay makes a brief appearance in Darkling, really more for the purposes of foreshadowing events to come in the series. The next book, Dragon Wytch, is scheduled for July release, and goes back to Camille's story.

Purity in Death

2008-01-25T08:04:00.003-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: August 27, 2002 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #15
Rating: 8/10

The killers in Purity in Death choose the computer as their weapon of choice, sending a virus to the user that makes the brain swell and drives the victim crazy. If there are other people in the vicinity, the victim will act out on them in the most violent of ways. The vigilante group responsible, called Purity, is meting out justice as it sees fit, seeming to target criminals who have slipped through the system, like drugdealers and child molesters.

Eve then has to fight with Roarke, who doesn't regret the deaths of the bad people. He thinks that the victims deserved it, and the system was flawed because they weren't punished, thanks to money or trivialities. At the same time, Eve is right that Purity must be punished because the system isn't perfect, but we have to trust in it, otherwise Purity will start offing anyone they choose because they weren't "good" enough, and the deaths caused to bystanders is inexcusable.

One thing I really didn't understand: Roarke wants to test the shield he and the e-team have put together to resist Purity. However, he could go berserk from exposure to Purity if the shield fails, so he figures he'll hide a gun at the console and kill himself if it gets that far. But why would he place an illegal weapon in his reach if he is exposed to a mental bug that can make him violent and irrational, hurting people indiscriminately. Seemed rather cocky of him in a "Yeah, this virus could make me crazy and violent, but I'll use this gun on myself instead of the team in the next room" way.

Peabody and McNab have some drama, with McNab being paralyzed in the line of duty. He tries to break up with her, but you know Peabody won't have any of that!

Good read, not too romancey though.

Brief Gaudy Hour

2008-01-21T23:21:00.000-05:00

Author: Margaret Campbell Barnes
Published: 1st Printing: 1949 (MacDonald & Co.); Reissue: March 1, 2008 (Sourcebooks)
Category: Historical Fiction
Rating: 9/10

I was never one of those people obsessed with Henry VIII and his six wives, but I was accidentally suckered into the recent popular fiction explosion of Boleyns when I got a free copy from a coworker. True, I'm a couple years behind everyone, but I've found the books I've read so far an entertaining train wreck.

Brief Gaudy Hour is the first book I've read that portrays Anne Boleyn in a very human and likeable way. The other books I've read paint her to be a power-hungry monster, eager to stomp on all those who help her rise, so I never liked her, but after reading Barnes' version of the story, I find myself sympathizing with Anne.

Barnes paints Anne as an unconventional dark beauty compared to the fair English roses that set the standard for looks, but she also had a small deformity on her left pinky: a second fingernail. I was surprised at this, and Googled this right away, and there have been some accounts of Anne having this deformity, but it's not widely confirmed.

In this version of history, Anne was truly in love with Henry Percy, heir to the Duke of Northumberland. When Wolsey puts an end to their love affair, Anne's hatred of him is secured and the choices she makes after that are for achieving revenge. After several years, she gets her revenge on Wolsey, but finds that it wasn't as sweet as expected. All of the anticipation for that moment, only to be disappointed, is only the beginning to Anne's downfall, and instead of my usual "Serves her right" attitude, it seemed sad.

Is it disturbing of me to to say that one of the best parts of the book is the execution and Anne's final days in the Tower? Those several pages really stick in my mind, with that chilling description of her steps to the chopping block, and I didn't want to finish the book because that meant Anne would die. Silly, I know.

Definitely read this one if you want a different take on Anne Boleyn; I found it very refreshing.

The Spymaster's Lady

2008-01-17T12:48:00.000-05:00

Author: Joanna Bourne
Published: January 2, 2008 (Berkley)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 9/10

Oh dear. It's been a while since I read a book with a cringe-worthy cover. Clearly, I didn't pick this one up based on the cover; I chose it because Jennie told me it was really good and Julia Quinn also recommended it on her site. Jennie, aware of my subway shyness in regards to cravat/waistcoat ripper covers, warned me that the cover was pretty bad. In person, it's worse. Grey's (our hero, duh) chest is bare, but he has this narrow, yet potent love trail heading into those oh-so-tight buckskin breeches and right by that riskily-placed pistol. Gah, just that was enough to make me read this one only at home, and I think my boyfriend was a little disturbed by the cover as well. As I said to Jennie, "At least they didn't emboss his pecs." I suppose I must be thankful for small things.

Scary cover aside, this was a fantastic first book from Joanna Bourne! Grey, one of Britain's best spies, escapes from a dungeon with the help of Annique Villiers, a notorious French agent, and luckily enough, his quarry. Both Grey and LeBlanc, the man who threw Annique and Grey into the dungeon, want Annique for the Albion plans, which detail Napoleon's invasion of England. Grey takes Annique into custody, and it took more than one trained man to catch her, which only goes toward her reputation as an excellent agent. I don't want to spoil anything, but she's fighting with a handicap that makes her an even more amazing heroine.

While she's being held captive by the strangely compelling Englishman, Annique never stops trying to escape, and it's no secret to Grey. They have this constant fight going, and each acknowledges the other's skills, all while being attracted to each other. I'm a very big fan of romances where the hero and heroine can't stand each other, and what better vehicle for that than spy versus spy? Their dialogue is fantastic and smart, and I loved Annique's musings on the strange things love did to a person.

The spying background, which plays rather prominently in this romance, isn't shallow at all. Annique's murky background throws twists into the fate of the Albion plans, as she doesn't want to betray France, but also doesn't want to allow deaths of innocents, both French and English.

Why didn't I give this book a 10/10? There was a point in the book where Grey deceives Annique, and I don't like those situations at all. Thank goodness it didn't last more than a few days.

Bourne is writing another historical romance set during the Napoleonic Wars, My Lord and Spymaster. I can't wait to read it!

Brighter than the Sun

2008-01-14T22:32:00.000-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: December 1997 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 9/10
Quote of Choice: And, he added silently, he'd have to get himself an heir eventually. Might as well find someone with a bit of a brain in her head. Wouldn't do to have stupid progeny. He eyed her again. She was staring at him suspiciously. Yes, she was a smart one.

Brighter than the Sun is the second half of the duology that started withEverything and the Moon. Ellie, the cheeky younger sister of Victoria (heroine of EATM), is out for a walk when Charles Wycombe, Earl of Billington, falls out of a tree, drunk.

Their first exchange?

"You smell as if you've imbibed a winery."
"Whishkey," he slurred in response "A gennleman drinks whishkey."

I was sucked in from the first page and first drunken slur.

If you love fast, funny, witty banter between a hero and heroine, this is the book for you. In fact, the story moves quite fast, with the inebriated Charles proposing marriage by the end of chapter one! True, they don't have much in common, but their marriage benefits both of them. He had to find a wife within fifteen days or his fortune would pass to his cousin, thanks to a clause in his father's will. Ellie, facing a horrid life under the thumb of her future stepmother, chooses Charles, who offers her an opportunity to manage her life freely, even making her own investments.

Ellie is so often exasperated by the charming Charles, who is fascinated by his new wife. He respects her wish not to consummate their marriage until she knows him better (they do marry within a week of meeting), but he reserves the right to convince her the time is right by kissing her senseless and being absolutely adorable. He makes various lists, like the one on how "to seduce Ellie," and seeing his hilarious ideas organized in such a serious manner was so much fun to read. For example, "Compliment her business acumen. Typical flowery compliments will most likely not work on her."

The only reason this didn't get 10/10 was the annoying factor. Ellie tries to make Wycombe Abbey more of a home, but every effort she makes is sabotaged. She adjusts the rack in the oven so they won't get burnt toast, and immediately after, the kitchen's on fire. She gardens in the orangery, and then plants start dying amidst a horrible odor. The thing is, she didn't really investigate into things, and the orangery was the easiest thing to investigate, while all the other residents were blaming her for causing all these disasters. This, combined with Charles' unwillingness to believe her rather than seeing the obvious culprit, made me rethink the couple's intelligence.

I loved this book, and definitely prefer it over Everything and the Moon. This was also the only Quinn where the couple was married for almost the entire novel, and I really liked that.

Reunion in Death

2008-01-13T14:16:00.002-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb

Published: March 5, 2002

Category: Romantic Suspense

Series: In Death #14

Rating: 8/10

In this entry into the In Death series, Eve faces an old foe, a beautiful young woman who married old rich guys and offed them. She was part of the team that captured her, and now that Julianna Dunne is out of prison, she's getting her revenge by offing men she'd scoped as potential targets before she was convicted, and Roarke is one of them. It's not because he's rich, and he's certainly not old, but because he belongs to Eve.

There was nothing wrong with Eve or Roarke that makes me go below my usual 9/10 rating for a book in this series. Something about Julianna, the villain, was disappointing. She was so petulant when she didn't get her way that I found it hard to see her as this intelligent and cold-blooded killer. She escaped detection in most cases because of her femininity. I think I was a little put off by that, expecting more of my villain than some batting eyelashes and convenient tears.

Peabody and McNab grow only more endearing, with Eve giving Peabody a cold case to solve. Despite Eve ragging on Peabody all the time, she really does care about training her and bettering her skills as a good cop.

Eve also deals with some unwelcome intrusion into her childhood when Peabody's parents stay in her house for a visit. While Mr. Peabody, a "sensitive" (aka psychic) is helping Eve with a headache, he accidentally glimpses the horrors Eve endured as a child. While this did make things awkward for a while, Eve deals with it, knowing that she can't stonewall caring people from her life.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever

2008-01-10T22:31:00.003-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: July 2007 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 8/10

I think I picked this particular Quinn because Borders was out of the next Bridgerton book and I had a coupon that was about to expire. I actually find that Quinn's non-Bridgerton books are consistently good, whereas the Bridgerton titles are really good or disappointing, because they don't live up to the expected Quinn awesomeness.

At the age of ten, Miranda Cheever showed no signs of Great Beauty. And even at ten, Miranda learned to accept the expectations society held for her—until the afternoon when Nigel Bevelstoke, the handsome and dashing Viscount Turner, solemnly kissed her hand and promised her that one day she would grow into herself, that one day she would be as beautiful as she already was smart. And even at ten, Miranda knew she would love him forever.

But the years that followed were as cruel to Turner as they were kind to Miranda. She is as intriguing as the viscount boldly predicted on that memorable day—while he is a lonely, bitter man, crushed by a devastating loss. But Miranda has never forgotten the truth she set down on paper all those years earlier—and she will not allow the love that is her destiny to slip lightly through her fingers . . .

To make this quick, as yet again, I'm 12 reviews behind, Miranda has to overcome Turner's refusal to marry ever again because his first wife was a horrible woman. In the end, it takes the stereotypical "stuck in a remote cabin during a scavenger hunt at a house party during bad weather, and get preggers as a result" to push Turner into marrying her. Of course, he has to chase her to Scotland, because he was a dumbass and left the party "on business" and didn't return to town for a few weeks, during which Miranda discovered her condition and removed herself from society to have her child out of wedlock. And after she marries him, Turner has to figure out how to say "I love you" to his new and wonderful wife.

It's rare that I cry from a book, but I did during the dramatic birth scene at the end of the novel. Miranda was smart enough to ask Turner if he decided to say the long-awaited "I love you" because he thought she was going to die, and his response was so sweet and perfect that you realize how much he's grown since being with Miranda, putting his dark past behind him.

A fun read, but still doesn't topple Splendid as my favorite Quinn.

Seduction in Death

2008-01-09T23:39:00.000-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: September 1, 2001 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #13
Rating: 9/10

It appears human nature doesn't change in the futuristic world of Eve Dallas, as she's pursuing killers who uses a very rare and expensive date rape drug being used in a horrible game where the women are just game pieces.

The killers were another example of someone having too much money and too much time. Roarke could've wound up like the rapist, but he uses his time efficiently to make more money and love his wife. I found the comparison between them very interesting, as the killers use their parentage as an excuse for the way they are. Both Eve and Roarke didn't have parents and opportunities like these jerks, but they turned out so differently.

Peabody and McNab are still working through their relationship, and the conflict in the triangle comes to a head as McNab finally confronts Charles Monroe, Peabody's other interest. I'd been eagerly awaiting that headbutting for quite some time.

For Roarke and Eve, this case was important because Roarke was recovering from a personal loss that occurred in the previous book, Betrayal in Death. Eve finds herself in the rare position of having to care for Roarke, and she was happy to point this out to him.

Everything and the Moon

2008-01-01T23:01:00.000-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: March 1997 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 7/10
Quote of Choice: "You needed to knee a man in the groin before you could tell me you love me?"

I seem to be in this Nora Roberts/Julia Quinn frenzy at the moment. I can't bring myself to read anything different and as I have lots of backlist titles to catch up on, this could go on for quite some time. Everything and the Moon is the first half of the duology about two sisters that ends with Brighter than the Sun.

When Robert Kemble stumbles across Victoria Lyndon in a hedgerow maze, he can't believe his eyes. The girl who'd torn him in two, who let him plan an elopement and then left him standing by the side of the road, was suddenly within arm's reach, and even though his fury still knew no bounds, she was impossible to resist...

Victoria's father had told her an earl would never marry a vicar's daughter, and he was right. Robert had promised her marriage, then danced off to London while she suffered the shame of a foiled elopement. But even though Victoria doesn't particularly enjoy her new life as a governess, when Robert offers her a job of a different sort - his mistress - she refuses, unable to sacrifice her honor, even for him.

But Robert won't take no for an answer, and he vows to make her his, through any means possible. Can these star-crossed lovers learn to trust again? And is love really sweeter the second time around?

The romance was so incredibly sweet. Here are two young people who realize and confess their love to each other. Robert courts Victoria for a couple months, but his father disapproves of the match, so he figures they can elope. Victoria's father tells her that Robert will use her and discard her, and when he catches her the night of the elopement, he ties her to the bed so she can't disgrace him.

I got impatient with Robert and Victoria. If they'd told the truth about what really happened the night of their elopement, we could've avoided a lot of frustration. But no, it dragged out for a really long time, even when Robert gets the truth from Victoria's sister. He's so cocksure about getting Victoria back that he tries to manipulate her into accepting him, after he'd insulted her by offering to make her his mistress. I thought he didn't respect her intelligence enough.

If the frustrating wait for Victoria's acceptance of the marriage proposal wasn't enough, then there was the stereotypical wait for "I love you." True, they'd said it before when they were younger, but since being reunited, they both held back the words they were desperate to hear from the other.

Amusing, but not one of Quinn's best.

Betrayal in Death

2007-12-30T01:09:00.000-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: March 1, 2001 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #12
Rating: 10/10

A very satisfying entry into the Eve/Roarke series. Yet again, the crimes are taking place because of Roarke, which isn't new to Eve, but it's so prominent and even in their own home this time.

The crime spree starts off with a random victim: a maid doing turn-down service at Roarke's most sumptuous NYC hotel. Each crime gets closer and closer, until Summerset is attacked, but with his wily past, is able to escape the hitman. The layers behind the hitman are extremely well done, and I didn't expect it. I don't want to give anything away here, so read it.

I really loved this one, and it stands out to me.

Confessions at Midnight

2007-12-27T01:04:00.000-05:00

Author: Jacquie D'Alessandro
Published: December 26, 2007 (Avon)
Category: Regency Romance
Series: Mayhem in Mayfair #2
Rating: 8/10

I was anxiously awaiting the release of this book because I loved Sleepless at Midnight so much. It wasn't a traditional regency romance, as the heroine was sleeping around with the hero without much hope for marriage, but they loved each other. Confessions follows in that same style.

Carolyn Turner, Viscountess Wingate, is absolutely shocked by the Ladies Literary Society of London's latest selection. Memoirs of a Mistress is scandalously explicit and downright wicked... and it's stirring feelings within Carolyn that she hasn't felt... well, ever! She's sure that this steamy read is the only reason she's succumbing to the charms of notorious rogue Daniel Sutton, Lord Surbrooke. She couldn't possibly be falling for the rascal and his illicit caresses... or could she? The last thing Daniel wanted was to be shackled by marriage vows. He lusted after Carolyn, sure, but he never imagined that once he lured her to his bed he'd never want to let her go. Yet only when a murderer targets his beloved will he be spurred to confess his true love... and claim Carolyn as his bride.

I was a little disappointed by this entry into the series. Carolyn is devoted to the memory of her late husband and feels guilty about her feelings for Daniel. Daniel has loved Carolyn ever since he met her on the night her engagement was announced. After all these years loving her from afar, it takes a remarkable amount of time for them to admit their love for each other. It's one of those miscommunication things: She thinks she might love him too, but what's the point? He says he never wants to marry. He thinks she can't stop thinking about her dead husband, so what's the point of revealing his true feelings?

I was amused by Daniel's jealousy and Matthew's (hero of Sleepless) teasing him about it. The rich American upstart, Jennings, who was also in the previous book, is interested in Carolyn, going so far as to kiss her. However, Jennings is observant enough to realize that his pursuit of the lovely widow is useless because she cares for Daniel, and Daniel is constantly glaring daggers at him for even talking to her. I hope that Jennings will have a nice story in this series. He has a refreshing view (for a rich man), that as an American with lots of money, he's not interested in pedigrees and titles like the British are, so he's free to marry a woman who actually interests him (hence his interest in Sarah in the last book).

The next book in this series is scheduled for January 2009 release. Sigh. That's a really long time.

Penelope and Prince Charming

2007-12-18T01:12:00.000-05:00

Author: Jennifer Ashley
Published: April 2006 (Leisure)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Nvengaria Trilogy #1
Rating: 7/10

I read The Mad, Bad Duke, the sequel to this book a while ago and really enjoyed reading about the Nvengarians and their magical culture, so I wanted to catch up with the series by going back.

His blue eyes beguiled. His muscular form could have satisfied any fantasy. He had a delicious foreign accent - and to top it off, he was royalty! What woman would dare refuse the most sought-after lover in Europe? Miss Twice-a-Jilt Penelope Trask, that's who. And, unfortunately for Damien, marrying Penelope was the only way to inherit his kingdom. Good thing this enchantingly infuriating woman didn't seem completely immune to his many charms. The passionate way she returned his kisses told Damien he wasn't the only one head over heels. But wooing was difficult amid assassination attempts, wild magic, and desire so strong it threatened to overwhelm him every time they touched. Why had no one mentioned the road to happily-ever-after was so difficult?

I didn't really like Damien as a romantic hero. It really felt like it was more about lust and the prophecy driving him than real love. And I didn't like his bossiness, and that's a lot of bossy, coming from someone who likes alpha male characters.

In terms of the trilogy, Penelope and Prince Charming did a nice a job setting up the world and political intrigue. We also see the growing relationship of Michael Tavistock and Simone Trask, single parents of Megan and Penelope, respectively. It's a very minor side story, but still very sweet, and it had rough patches, despite little spotlight.

I find that Jennifer Ashley's romances aren't fluffy and usually have some grittiness to them. Before Penelope and Damien get their happy ending, they race to Nvengaria, hoping to reach it by Midsummer's Day, and there's nothing easy about their journey. Limited fluffiness aside, there is a LOT of steam to this book. I still prefer The Mad, Bad Duke though.

Judgment in Death

2007-12-16T13:10:00.000-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: September 1, 2000 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #11
Rating: 8/10

I usually go with a 9/10 rating for Roberts' In Death books, but something about the story irritated me. Maybe it was all the cops thinking that Eve was so horrible for cleaning up a corrupt precinct. Basically, an undercover cop gets killed at a club called Purgatory. At first it seems like he was a dirty cop who was punished by some vigilante, but the corruption goes deep into the 128th precinct and cutting through the muck is harder than expected because the Internal Affairs Bureau is involved.

Most amusing Eve-Roarke thing in the book? Don Webster of IAB and former romantic interest of Eve lets his lingering feelings show, and Roarke doesn't take kindly to this puppy drooling on his territory. Fight! Fight! Fight!

Eh, not one of my favorite Eve books, but still entertaining.

Minx

2007-12-14T23:28:00.000-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: September 1996 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 6/10

Here's the dud for the Splendid and Dancing at Midnight trilogy. Dunford was a great and funny supporting character in those books and he did deserve his own book, especially after Belle bet him a thousand pounds that within a year, he'd be married and blissfully happy with it. At least it wasn't a spectacular, go-down-in-flames kind of dud.

Henrietta Barrett has never followed the dictates of society. She manages her elderly guardian's remote Cornwall estate, wears breeches instead of frocks, and answers to the unlikely name of Henry. But when her guardian passes away, her beloved home falls into the hands of a distant cousin.

William Dunford, London's most elusive bachelor, is stunned to learn that he's inherited property, a title... and a ward bent on making his first visit his last. Henry is determined to continue running Stannage Park without help from the handsome new lord, but Dunford is just as sure he can change things... starting with his wild young ward. But turning Henry into a lady makes her not only the darling of the ton, but an irresistible attraction to the man who thought he could never be tempted.

I was so disappointed because Splendid and Dancing at Midnight were so wonderful. I think it's because I didn't like Henry very much. Well, I tend to dislike female characters who want to go by male names, because it makes for very odd love scenes.

I hated their post-marriage conflict, where Henry believes some woman who was angry she didn't get Dunford, saying that Dunford is keeping a mistress despite his declarations of love and devotion. For such an outspoken young lady, Henry was remarkably dim. Yes, she saw Dunford visit his mistress (he was ending the relationship), but she didn't bother confronting him about it. This was the girl who had no problem duping him into the perception that Stannage Park was a poor farm where he, as baron, would have to muck out stalls, chase after pigs, and eat nothing but porridge and mutton.

And then she makes him believe that she married him just so she wouldn't have to leave Stannage Park and she lied about loving him. I didn't think Dunford would be that dim either, to be such a poor judge of character that he believed everything was faked.

Disappointing, but thankfully, Quinn has so many other books to read.

Blood Brothers

2007-12-11T13:18:00.001-05:00

Author: Nora Roberts

Published: November 27, 2007 (Jove)

Category: Paranormal Romance

Series: The Sign of Seven Trilogy #1

Rating: 10/10

I have to wait until May 2008 to read the next in the trilogy?

Excellent spooky elements. Fewer things horrify me more than the idea of a monster on the other side of my non-ground floor window in the middle of the night. I imagine Blood Brothers is a combination of Stephen King and Nora Roberts. Don't take my word for it though, as I've tried to like King, but can't because I don't want to read about the character's alcoholism when all I want is a good scary story (not that alcoholism isn't scary).

Basically, three boys accidentally release a demon on their birthday, and every seven years, for seven days in July, their town goes crazy, with people hurting each other and having no memory of it when the week is over. The boys, now men, try to help as much as possible during every occurrence. Each of the three has special psychic powers (i.e. seeing into the past, the future, etc.) and have remarkable healing powers.

This first entry into the Sign of Seven Trilogy focuses on Caleb and Quinn, the partner fate has handed him. Quinn is doing research on the town of Hawkins Hollow and the odd events that occur every seven years, and contacts Caleb a town leader and descendant of the town founders. While she's investigating, Caleb takes her into the haunted woods where lots of creepy things happen, and she's also stalked by the demon as well.

As the book progresses, the other members of their group convene. Fox, who still lives in Hawkins Hollow, and Gage, playboy/gambler, and Layla and Cybil, two more women who will pair up with the Fox and Gage by the end of the trilogy. I didn't enjoy Roberts' Circle Trilogy, where all six characters were introduced in the same book, but the book's featured couple was lost in the mix. I was afraid this new trilogy would suffer the same fate, but I can happily say that Blood Brothers balances the scary with the developing romance and the large cast of supporting characters.

The most disappointing thing is the six months' wait until the second book, The Hollow. If I'd bothered to check into this, I would've tried slowing down my reading!

An Offer from a Gentleman

2007-12-10T07:56:00.000-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: July 2001 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Bridgerton Family #3
Rating: 5/10

I can definitely say this is my least favorite Julia Quinn, and rather oddly, most reviews rave about this installment in the Bridgerton series. My problem is not with the writing, but with the story.

Sophie Beckett is the illegitimate child of the Earl of Penwood. He takes her in out of guilt (not love) and raises her as his ward, despite all the servants knowing that she's his by-blow. When he marries, the story takes a turn towards the Cinderellan. His new countess is insulted by Sophie's presence and coldly tells the little girl that her two daughters (from her previous marriage) will be the daughters of the house and that Sophie is not to speak with any of them socially. Of course, the earl dies and his will forces the wicked stepmother to keep Sophie or her income will be made much smaller. She keeps Sophie in her house, but as a slave, performing the duties of three servants and not earning a wage, and also hides the fact that the earl left Sophie a dowry.

Benedict meets Sophie at the Bridgerton masquerade, which Sophie sneaks into with the help of her fellow servants. She and Benedict meet, but she never tells him her name and she leaves at midnight. It would've been better if she'd told him her name, but the book would've been too short that way. So we deal with the frustration of seeing Sophie kicked out of her house when her stepmother finds out what happened.

Several years later, Benedict happens to be attending a house party of one of his less-respectable friends, and saves Sophie, a servant in that household, from being gang raped. He takes her back to London and finds a place for her in his mother's household. All the time, Sophie is sad that Benedict didn't recognize her (she lost weight since hitting hard times and sold her long hair to a wigmaker) and Benedict realized he had feelings for Sophie, but was still hung up on that woman from the masquerade ball.

I was so fed up with Sophie's "woe is me, he doesn't remember me," when Benedict has never stopped thinking about her since that ball. And then Benedict is stupid enough to proposition Sophie, to set her up as his mistress. Ugh, there really was a severe lack of romance in this book. I kept waiting for Sophie to tell the truth about whose daughter she truly was, so Benedict could get over his "I can't marry a servant," even though his mother was so lovely, saying she would support his decision no matter what.

Definitely a dud. I'm glad I got this one from Paperbackswap rather than buying a new one like I've been doing for most of my Julia Quinns.

Witness in Death

2007-12-09T19:11:00.000-05:00

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: March 1, 2000 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #10
Rating: 9/10

I find it so hard to write much about Nora Roberts' Eve Dallas books because there are so many, and not much changes between the books, as timeline-wise, they're all very close together.

This one was a little special to me because the crime takes place onstage while Eve and Roarke are attending the performance. A lot of the investigation goes on backstage, which amused me so much because I used to stage manage when I was in high school.

And the crime? It was a little creepy how a stage knife was swapped for a real, but then all sorts of questions come up. Was it the actress wielding the weapon? Or did someone else switch the knife to let her take the blame? It's hard to narrow down a suspect when everyone hated the victim.

I haven't gotten tired of Eve and Roarke yet, as I love following characters as their relationship grows. As there's no real end in sight to the series, I guess it could get boring and repetitive, but I've not reached that point after ten books. Watching Peabody and McNab "date" is hilarious though and it's even more amusing watching Eve deal with it (entails the equivalent of her holding her hands over her ears and screaming LALALALALALALA).

Good fun read, satisfying my cravings for Eve and Roarke as always.

An Enchanted Season

2007-12-07T18:12:00.000-05:00

Authors: Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, and Jean Johnson

Published: October 2, 2007

Category: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 8/10

The cover says that this is a holiday collection, but I didn't get much of a holiday feel from the stories as I read them. The season was more of a passing background detail and I wouldn't have missed it.

Melting Frosty by Maggie Shayne
This is one of those romances where a lot of cliches are thrown in. Complete strangers who are totally opposite of each other are stuck in a remote location due to the weather. A Serendipity-like coincidence shows that the two were meant to be together. I didn't really feel the romance, as the characters slept together because there was nothing else to do in the middle of a snowstorm, and the fact that she had his father's long-lost hat meant that they were supposed to be together.

Charlotte's Web by Erin McCarthy
This story was pretty amusing. Charlotte and Will love each other, but they don't know the other's feelings. Charlotte's two younger sisters convince her to give in to her witchy heritage and construct a lust spell for Will. The younger sisters can see Charlotte's and Will's feelings plainly even though the two are so oblivious to it and tell Charlotte this. She goes along with the plan but tells the truth to Will, only to find that her sisters are right about his feelings. This one was sweet despite the steaminess, and comes in second to Beat of Temptation.

Beat of Temptation by Nalini Singh
This was my favorite of all the stories. In Singh's Psy/Changeling series, Tamsyn and Nate are already mates and have a family. Beat of Temptation is the story of their tumultuous courtship. Tammy and Nate are both members of the DarkRiver leopards, and have been lucky enough to find each other as mates. However, when the mating bond appeared, Tammy was only fifteen, and Nate waited for her to grow up. After several years of distancing himself from her, he's used to ignoring the bond, and tells Tammy that she needs to experience life for herself before they become mates. However, Tammy has loved Nate for so long that she doesn't need to go anywhere else to be truly happy. All the relationships in the series so far have been psy-changeling, so this story really gives you insight into the mating bond between two changelings. The fact that it was Christmas during the story didn't affect the plot. It could've been any time of year and the story would've been fine.

Gifts of the Magi by Jean Johnson
I was a little confused by this one. An engaged couple run an inn that has run into some financial trouble. A few men trying to make trouble for them are stuck in the inn as well, when three odd travelers show up needing rooms. During their stay, the couple's financial troubles are solved and they make friends with the jerks who were threatening them at the beginning of the events. It was weird and I wasn't really interested in this assortment of characters. Miracles seemed to happen with these three travelers, and the characters were puzzled, but didn't think anything of it. To be honest, I was really bored, and it wasn't much of a romance and not sure if it really counted as a paranormal either.

Splendid

2007-12-04T23:55:00.000-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: May 1995 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 10/10

Splendid is the book that comes before Dancing at Midnight, which I picked up at the library and loved. Of course I had to run out and buy the aptly-named other half of the duology, and this may be my favorite Quinn yet! Alex and Emma were so much fun to read, what with Alex's belief that all women are after his fortune and title, and Emma's desire to go back to America and run her father's shipping company.

There are two things everyone knows about Alexander Ridgely. One, he's the Duke of Ashbourne. And two, he has no plans to marry anytime soon...

That is until a redheaded American throws herself in front of a carriage to save his young nephew's life. She's everything Alex never thought a woman could be - smart and funny, principled and brae. But she's a servant, completely unsuitable for a highborn duke - unless, perhaps, she's not quite what she seems...

American heiress Emma Dunster might be surrounded by Englishmen, but that doesn't mean she intends to marry one - even if she has agreed to participate in one London Season. When she slipped out of her cousins' home, dressed as a kitchen maid, all she wanted was one last taste of anonymity before her debut. She never dreamed she'd find herself in the arms of a dangerously handsome duke... or that he'd be quite so upset when he discovered her true identity. But true love tends to blossom just when one least expects it, and passion can melt even the most stubborn of hearts.
I often complain about how the hero and heroine should be truthful with one another, but in most romances, there's something they keep hidden from each other (i.e. the fact they actually love the other person or are that same person they met several years ago in a masquerade). I understand why it happens so much, as there wouldn't be much conflict to write about and be entertained by, but I feel like the conflict and ignorance of the characters crosses my imaginary "level of tolerable annoyance" boundary. Splendid manages to have this conflict and entertain me, but resolve the conflict before I get annoyed.

For example, Emma's cousin, Ned, loses at cards to a cheater, and she would help him pay the debt, but can't touch her funds until she's married or reaches a certain age. She proposes to Alex, who was planning to propose to her by the end of the week, and he's so happy and they make plans. Then he asks her what made her propose, and she says, "I needed money...", triggering his distaste of marriage, as he believed that women were interested only in money and titles. At this point, the usual romance novel would drag this out until almost the end of the book, but Alex realizes his mistake the next day after waking up with a horrid hangover.

The resolution of that conflict didn't end the book, as Quinn found more than enough to keep the book going, with Emma saving Belle from the scumbag who cheated Ned at cards. Of course, Alex had to save Emma and Belle, as her rescue didn't go quite to plan, and after being wounded, he told Emma that he would lock her up.

I couldn't get enough of this book. In fact, I think I have to read Dancing at Midnight again because Emma and Alex play such large supporting roles. Time to buy more books that don't fit in my bookcase!

Dancing at Midnight

2007-11-28T22:33:00.000-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: December 1995 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 9/10

I was at a standstill with Julia Quinn because I was waiting for my next Bridgerton book to arrive in the mail. I happened to be in the library and this was the only Quinn they had on the shelf, so it was meant to be. Apparently, Dancing at Midnight is the middle of a trilogy, between Splendid and Minx, and before Quinn wrote the Bridgerton series.

When a suitor tells Arabella he's willing to overlook her appalling bluestocking tendencies on account of her looks and fortune, she decides to take a break from the Marriage Mart. During an extended stay in the country, she never expects to meet Lord John Blackwood, a wounded war hero who intrigues her like no other man.

Lord John has lived through the worst horrors of war... but nothing could have been as terrifying to his tormented herat as Lady Arabella. She is intoxicating, infuriating... and she makes him want to live again. Suddenly he's writing bad poetry and climbing trees in the pitch-dark night... just so he can dance with her as the clock strikes midnight. And even though he knows he can never be the sort of man she deserves, he can't help wanting her. But when the harsh light of day replaces the magic of midnight, can this tormented soul learn to love again?

Belle is the heroine who plans on marrying for love, and nothing less. Even luckier for her, her parents support her decision and have let her turn down several offers. She visits her newly married cousin, Emma, the Duchess of Ashbourne, and while out reading, she accidentally trespasses on their new neighbor's land.

Lord John Black Blackwood was made a baron after his heroic acts in the war, and invested his money wisely over the past few years, coming out plump enough in the pocket to buy his own estate. Unfortunately, the estate had an awful name: Bletchford Manor. He carries a lot of guilt from when one of his men raped a young girl, and has nightmares about it, thinking that he may as well have been the rapist. When he meets Belle, his heart is lighter than it's ever been since that horrible night. She's smart, witty, beautiful, and bright in spirit. They flirt and Belle begins to believe that John's the one for her, but then he pushes her away because he's afraid of hurting her like he did that little Spanish girl he let down.

Belle fights back, going home to London and having Emma help her pass on the fake news that she's about to be engaged. John realizes that maybe he isn't the best man for Belle, but he will do his best for her. What if she married some nobleman who made her stop reading, or one who mistreated her physically? So he storms off to London to confront her, and she's actually honest about her plot to get him to chase after her, and they begin their real courtship, complete with poetry. That was one of the funniest parts of the book. Emma, thinking that John has a poetic soul, insists that he write her a poem, but he keeps plagiarizing and reciting other poets' work instead. She always catches him, and I crack up.

They do marry quickly, and Belle helps him get past his guilt. Besides trying to rename Bletchford Manor, which Belle kept mistaking for Blumley Manor, Brimstone Park ("At least Brimstone Park had some character to it. And 'bletch' rhymes with 'retch,' which conjures up images even more unfortunate than hellfire."), etc., someone from John's past is threatening their new life.

This was a fantastic, fun read, and included a lot of face time for Emma and Alex, who were so lovely that I had to run out and buy Splendid.

The Pirate Next Door

2007-11-27T22:04:00.000-05:00

Author: Jennifer Ashley

Published: September 2003 (Leisure Books)

Category: Historical Romance

Rating: 8/10

Yikes, yet another cringe-worthy cover, but I braved the subway reading by hiding the cover against my bag as usual. I've enjoyed Jennifer Ashley's writing, particularly The Mad, Bad Duke, and I'm looking forward to her upcoming books in her Calling series next year.

What was a proper English lady to do when a pirate moved next door? Add the newly titled viscount to her list of possible suitors? Take his wildly eccentric young daughter under her wing? Let the outlandish rogue kiss her with wild abandon? As everyday etiquette offered no guidance, Alexandra Alastair simply set aside her tea, peeled off her gloves, and followed her instincts - whether that involved rescuing her new neighbor from hanging, fending off pirate hunters, plotting against aristocratic spies, or succumbing to a little passionate plundering. Forget propriety! No challenge was too great and no pleasure too wicked, for Grayson Finley promised the adventure of a lifetime.

The hero and heroine are so amusing; I loved the way Grayson reviewed Alexandra's list of potential husbands with its symbols (a minus meaning a deficiency in character and a plus meaning a merit).

"Why does St. Clair have so many?"
"Well he is a duke."
"Well, I am a viscount. Excellent." He gave himself a cross. "What else?"
"He is a family friend-"
"I live next door." Another cross to Lord Stoke.
"I have known him a long while, and he has proved his kindness many times."
Grayson contained the snarl that built inside him and continued to make crosses by his own name until he came to the edge of the paper. "I seem to have many merits," he said."

Sadly, despite him being the clear winner (in his mind) on the list of suitors, Grayson says he cannot marry Alexandra. It turns out he made a deal with a pirate villain to ensure his daughter's safe crossing to England, her life for his. Despite that, he is protective of Alexandra and rescues her when she's kidnapped by enemy pirates, and they begin a steamy affair. Once she becomes Grayson's woman, his enemies use that against him.

A lot of swashbuckling action, more than I actually expected, and I will read more of Ashley's pirate books.

The Gift

2007-11-25T22:47:00.000-05:00

Author: Nora Roberts
Published: October 2007 (Silhouette)
Category: Romance
Rating: 6/10

Apparently, all of these stories were previously published, but as I became a Nora Roberts fan relatively recently, that didn't matter to me.

Home for Christmas is about Jason, a journalist who left his tiny hometown to find adventure and success. Ten years later, he returns to claim Faith, the woman he left behind, only to find that she's been divorced and had a baby. This was my favorite of the three stories in the book, and the coziest. It also deals the best with its shortness.

All I Want for Christmas is the cutesy made-for-TV-movie story, with twin elementary school boys trying to find a new mom for their family. Their mother callously abandoned them to their father when they were babies, and he's been doing the best he can to raise them ever since. Nell and Mac, the couple for this story, were kind of blah to me. I'm normally amused by couples who bicker, but they're fighting being together and suddenly they're together. Maybe it would've worked better if the story was longer.

Gabriel's Angel was by far the most dated and my least favorite of the three. Gabriel, an artist trying to find his muse, is holed up in a remote mountain cabin. As a blizzard descends on the area, Laura, a very pregnant woman, crashes her car close by and Gabe takes her in. She's got lots of secrets about her past; she's hiding from her deceased husband's controlling, blue-blooded, entitled family. They want the baby because it belongs with them, not some model who captured the passing fancy of their sleazebag of a son. Of course, they never saw him as a sleazebag, despite his cheating on Laura two days into their marriage and dying in a drunken car accident with his latest mistress. How is this most obviously dated? Gabe smokes cigarettes rather frequently around Laura when pregnant and around the baby later on. Laura does not utter a peep about this.

Both Gabe and Laura have sadness in their pasts, but their hasty marriage has them tiptoeing around each other. They married because they do care about each other, and they want to protect Laura and the baby from his grasping grandparents. But the dancing back and forth with "I want you but I don't want to hurt you or make you think about your crappy dead husband" and the "I want you but I'm afraid of being hurt again or being under the thumb of another rich and powerful family" was so boring. For once, I wished one of these anthology stories was shorter. Give the extra pages to Home for Christmas!

Definitely not my favorite Nora Roberts or Christmas anthology.

Carolina Moon

2007-11-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

Author: Nora Roberts

Published: April 1, 2001 (Jove)

Category: Romance
Rating: 8/10

Time for my dose of Nora Roberts. I have to space my favorite authors (who have backlists) apart so I don't get tired of them. It appears I'll have to do the same with Julia Quinn. While Carolina Moon has a heroine with a dark and twisted past, like so many of Roberts' heroines, this one is psychic.

Tory Bodeen grew up in a small, rundown house where her father ruled with an iron fist and a leather belt - and where her dreams and talents had no room to flourish. But she had Hope - who lived in the big house, just a short skip away, and whose friendship allowed Tory to be something she wasn't allowed to be at home: a child.

After young Hope's brutal murder, unsolved to this day, Tory's life began to fall apart. And now, as she returns to the tiny town of Progress, South Carolina, with plans to settle in and open a stylish home-design shop, she is determined to find a measure of peace and free herself from the haunting visions of that terrible night. As she forges a new bond with Cade Lavelle - Hope's older brother and the heir to the Lavelle fortune - she isn't sure whether the tragic loss they share will unite them or drive them apart. But she is willing to open her heart, just a little, and try.

But living so close to unhappy memories will be more difficult and frightening than she ever expected. Because the killer of Hope is nearby as well.

Tory is a real psychic, the kind that can tell you where you left something several years ago. She had the bad luck of growing up under the heavy hand of an ultra-religious father though, who tried to beat the evil out of his witch of a daughter. Roberts can really write herself a tormented heroine. Cade, for a hero, was okay. Nothing really wowed me about him.

Goodness, I wanted something really bad to happen to Cade's mother. She was one of those cold society women who cared more about how she and her family looked than that family's actual wellbeing. Of course, she frowned on Cade's growing relationship with Tory, the woman she blamed for Hope's death. But she was so cold about it, trying to pay off Tory to stop seeing Cade. Then she tried to get around Cade by taking control of the family's properties, and thereby kicking Tory out of the house she was renting. She said such horrible things, and then she leaves the story, no poetic justice served for her, and that was my biggest problem with Carolina Moon. I know, not a real problem.

I felt like this book was 1/3 romance and 2/3 mystery, maybe even more towards mystery. Roberts did a good job of keeping the identity of the murderer in the air. It could've been any of the guys in town.

Definitely an entertaining read, and good for someone who doesn't want to read a saccharine-sweet love story.

The Duke and I

2007-11-15T23:49:00.000-05:00

Author: Julia Quinn

Published: January 2000 (Avon)

Category: Historical Romance

Series: Bridgerton Family #1

Rating: 9/10

After reading my first Julia Quinn (The Viscount Who Loved Me), I decided I had to read about the rest of the Bridgertons and start with the book I inadvertently skipped. Daphne's story is the first of the series and I thought it was so much fun to read.

Simon is one of the most interesting heroes I've read about in a long time. His mother died giving birth to him, the long-awaited heir to the Duke of Hastings, so he grew up with his father's great expectations. When it turned out that the little boy had a stammer, his father rejected him, saying horrible things about how he'd produced an idiot and how Hastings is better off in the hands of the cousins who were next in line to inherit. Simon spent the better part of his life trying to prove his father wrong, and trained himself to get over the stammer, which would only come out when he was under a lot of stress. And then when he appeared constantly calm and spoke so sparingly, people made him up to be arrogant and exclusive about his friendship, and therefore more important and more desirable as a potential husband.

Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, has hatched a plan to keep himself free from the town's marriage-minded society mothers. He pretends to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton. After all, it isn't as if the brooding rogue has any real plans to marry— though there is something about the alluring Miss Bridgerton that sets Simon's heart beating a bit faster. And as for Daphne, surely the clever debutante will attract some very worthy suitors now that is seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, she soon forgets that their courtship is a complete sham. And now she has to do the impossible and keep herself from losing her heart and soul completely to the handsome hell-raiser who has sworn off marriage forever!

I really liked the way Quinn doesn't end the book with the couple getting married. The question a lot of people ask at the end of romantic movies and a lot of romances is: "What happens after the wedding? What's their life like? Does Prince Charming take the trash out?" As with any marriage, there are adjustments, compromises, and obstacles to overcome. For example, Daphne decides not to sleep with Simon after she figures out how he's denying her a child, and he gets upset and drunk and purposely sounds pathetic outside her door so she'll let him in. Hilarious!

I could not put this book down because of the fantastic characters and dialogue! Daphne and Simon's conversations were so entertaining, the kind that leave the corners of your mouth tilted up slightly as you read. I found Simon's lifelong quest to overcome his stuttering absolutely touching. When he got upset with Daphne for defying his wish to never have children, his stuttering came and I felt so bad for him (yes, I know he's not real).

Now I'm in some sort of Julia Quinn frenzy and am buying them or borrowing whatever's available at the library.

Irresistible

2007-11-14T12:03:00.000-05:00

Author: Mary Balogh
Published: October 2, 2007 (Berkley)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 6/10

This was my first Mary Balogh. I've heard nice things about her and I remember she gave a nice blurb for Lauren Willig's Secret History of the Pink Carnation, one of my favorite random discoveries. I found that the writing was nice, but the story was a problem, and the blame falls mostly on the bullheadedness of the heroine. Yes, I like historical romances with a sassy, forward-thinking heroine, but this was ridiculous. Sophie wasn't really forward-thinking. She just liked being on her own.

Sophia Armitage was a friend, indeed. She had agreed to help Sir Nathaniel Gascoigne find a husband for his cousin Lavinia in the glittering city of London— only half hoping that she'd find one for herself. Sophia knew the odds were against her. Men simply did not seem to be attracted to her— not that way. Even her late husband had treated Sophia more as a companion than a lover. But then something shocking happened in London— Sophia found herself in the arms of Nathaniel himself! Not only did this act of indiscretion threaten their lifelong friendship, it revealed a depth of passion that defied everything Sophia believed about herself...
Sophie really annoyed me. Yes, it's nice to be an independent woman (cue: Destiny's Child), but she was independent to a point of being beyond stubborn. For a woman who's known for being practical and reliable, she didn't really think. She was being blackmailed by an army acquaintance, Boris Pinter, with her dead husband's love letters, and apparently this could've resulted in ruination for her and her family. Her niece wouldn't make a good marriage and her brother's flourishing business would suffer. The contents of the love letters weren't revealed until the very end, but the scandalous secret was pretty obvious, given that Sophie's husband didn't really care for her in that way. If he'd had a mistress on the side, it wouldn't have been such a big deal, as that frequently happened back then. Instead of discussing her problem with her supportive family, which has offered financial assistance time and time again, she decided to pawn her things and keep paying off Pinter. So stubborn.

And when Pinter demanded that she introduce him to Nathan's cousin, she turns to do so, but Nathan does not approve of such an acquaintance (Pinter was an awful man in the army, whipping soldiers under his command for his own pleasure) and gives Pinter the cut direct. Then Sophie goes off and gets angry at Nathan when she really didn't have the right to. And when Pinter demands that Sophie cut herself off from Nathan and his comrades, her dearest friends from her days following the drum, she does so and is absolutely horrible to them. Half the time, I didn't think she deserved such devoted friends.

And then after Pinter is taken care of, and all the letters are destroyed, Sophie turns down Nathan and runs off to the country! WTF??? It wasn't even one of those melodramatic twists that I enjoy; I wanted to shake Sophie and tell her she didn't deserve Nathan.

The more entertaining romance of the book is between Nat's ward/cousin, Lavinia, and his friend Eden. I wish they'd gotten a whole book to themselves. Actually, I liked everyone but Sophie and the villain.

Cotillion

2007-11-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

Author: Georgette Heyer
Published: 1st print: 1953; Reissue: October 2007 (Sourcebooks)
Cateogry: Historical Romance
Rating: 9/10

Cotillion is definitely my favorite Heyer. Kitty Charing, ward to Mr. Penicuik, is the potential heir to his vast fortune, as long as she marries one of his grand-nephews. Dolph, the earl, would be a good step up in the world, except he's really stupid, in an adorably funny way. Then there's Hugh, the rector, who proposes out of pity and always tells Kitty that she shouldn't speak in the manner she always does (rather forthright and not so ladylike). They all figure that Kitty's hung up on Jack, the handsome rake of the nephews. Freddy, the pink among pinks, shows up last and agrees to Kitty's plan, pretending to be betrothed so she can visit London. Otherwise, her cheap uncle would never allow her to leave. However, once she gets to London, Dolph and Jack compete for her hand as well, as Jack and Dolph's mother do not believe the betrothal is genuine.

Dolph's mother, who treats him like a puppet, wants Kitty's fortune to replenish the family coffers. Dolph wants to marry a tradesman's daughter who takes care of him in a non-manipulative way. Jack always took Kitty for granted, thinking that he would marry her someday when he wanted to claim his innocent country bride and inherit his uncle's fortune. He is that slimy jerk who happens to be charming and good looking, kind of like a politician.

This was a book driven by its characters. I can't tell you much about the settings and those sorts of background details, as the characters' interactions and dialogue were what made this book. Kitty, being a country-raised innocent, offers her help to Dolph despite the social consequences that may result. At the same time, she makes friends with a Miss Broughty, who happens to be gorgeous, but has a horrible mother who's auctioning her daughter off to the highest bidder, and the offer doesn't have to be one of marriage. The friendship with Miss Broughty is completely inappropriate, but Kitty is too kind and naive to say no, and offers her help, despite Freddy's advice. In the end, it is Freddy who saves the day in both of Kitty's projects.

Kitty and Freddy's romance is one where she realizes that the storybook romantic hero isn't such a great idea. He'll look and talk like Jack, and slay dragons, and ride a white charger, but that's not really practical in her time and society. Instead, having a man like Freddy with unparalleled social graces and a generous heart is far more useful in the ton.

There were some unlikely instances of impropriety. Kitty frequently went off alone with her male cousins, and spoke behind closed doors with them. In most romances, the characters make a point of leaving the door ajar for propriety's sake. Kitty goes to London with Freddy, without the company of a maid because her adopted uncle/Freddy's actual uncle is too cheap to pay for one. I guess he didn't think about Kitty's reputation in this case because she was supposedly engaged to Freddy. There wasn't any impropriety in that smutty sort of way though.

All in all, this rather long historical romance was surprisingly entertaining. You'd think a bunch of characters gossiping about what the other characters might be doing would be tiresome after a while, but I couldn't get enough of it. Just think - back then, that's all they had to entertain themselves. There wasn't any TV to watch; instead, friends called on friends and they gossiped over tea. I think we need to do that more often nowadays.