Review: Heir to a Desert Legacy by Maisey Yates

Goodreads summary:  Sayid al Kadar was trained from childhood to be a warrior. He's fought, he's conquered-but was never meant to rule... Thrust reluctantly to the throne, Sheikh Sayid is shocked to discover a child who is his country's true heir, and he'll do anything to protect him, even if it means taking on the child's aunt!

Chloe James might behave like a tigress protecting her cub, but this trained soldier can see her weak spot. Taking Chloe as his bride would appease the people of his kingdom, and provide the perfect outlet for the blistering chemistry between them....

I usually stay away from “baby” stories, but the lure of an exotic location and a sexy sheikh overrode my general dislike of babies.  I ended up liking this story quite a bit.

Chloe James thought being a surrogate for her half-sister would be simple.  Sure, it was a lot to ask of her, but she thought she'd have the baby and then get back to her normal life.  Except that her sister and brother-in-law died before they ever saw the baby.  Chloe suddenly finds herself responsible for an infant for which she is not at all prepared.

Because of his brother’s unexpected death, Sayid al Kadar suddenly finds himself the leader of his country, a position he didn’t want and for which he was not trained.  When he learns his brother has a son, he sees some hope for his country, and a guarantee that his own position as leader will only be temporary.

I loved these characters, who were both damaged by their past experiences.  Neither of them had any interest in becoming emotionally involved with each other or anyone for that matter.  They’re logical and practical.  They follow the rules and they do what needs to be done.  They’ve both spent their lives trying to shut down their emotions, avoiding any connection that might lead to pain or passion or some loss of control.  But forced together because of their nephew, they see their flaws reflected in each other.  I enjoyed seeing them gradually break down the walls they’d built up over so many years as they began to fall for each other.

I'm drawn to emotionally stunted characters.  I can relate too well to the need to disconnect and not get involved as an act of self preservation.  Books like this make it nice to imagine that there's a sexy sheikh who would make getting involved seem worth the trouble.  This guy sounds so very hot.  

 

Of course, I kept finding myself reading the sexy bits at the most awkward moments -- like while waiting for the movie to start, or the car to get inspected.  In theory, having a Kindle has made it safe to read romance novels again, but a Kindle doesn't do much for the flush of heat in your face when things start to get steamy.  Oh well, strangers, never see them again.  Besides, I'd rather my mind be transported to a desert palace than the grungy lobby while I wait for my car to fail its inspection due to a torn wiper blade.  My life is so stupid sometimes.

 

Heir to a Desert Legacy is a quick read, very sweet and sexy.  I liked it a lot.  I liked it so much that as soon as I finished it, I bought another book by Maisey Yates.  Hoping I can get around to reading that next weekend.

 
I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley. 

Review: Wuthering Nights: An Erotic Retelling of Wuthering Heights by I.J. Miller and Emily Bronte

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is my all-time favorite book. I was in high school when I read the book for the first time, and I’ve read the book many times since then, and still it has a powerful impact on me. I claim that Heathcliff ruined me for all men. If I can’t be loved the way Heathcliff loved Catherine, then why bother? I’d rather be alone. And, well, yeah, you get the idea.

I know there are lots of people who don’t like Wuthering Heights. I notice the way people look at me when I mention it being my favorite book. I believe when it was first released it was regarded as quite awful. They say it’s too dark and the characters too selfish and horrible, lacking any redeeming qualities. But to me, they were simply two people who put their love for each other before everything else. Things like social convention, family and marriage are tossed aside in their desperate quest to be together again. The world stood between them, but even death couldn’t keep them apart.

Reading this as a teenager, I found this book to be more sexually intense than the explicit Danielle Steel books my friends and I were reading in secret. My mind had no trouble imagining what Heathcliff and Catherine were doing while alone in the moors. And when he went to visit her in the home she shared with her husband, I doubted they simply chatted and drank tea while her husband was away. This is why I was intrigued by the idea of “an erotic retelling” of this story that I’d loved so much.

But I hated Wuthering Nights. I hated this book so very much. I wish I had not read this book. It disturbed me, it grossed me out and it made me angry. So many times, I put down my Kindle and said to the empty room, “This is so stupid!” This was not the story of my beloved Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. There was nothing beautiful or passionate about this story. There was plenty of sex, but it was rarely, if ever, associated with love. The sex in this book was there to shock and horrify. It was about control, domination and humiliation. This didn’t turn me on, this disgusted me.

For some reason, Catherine, as a teenager, fooling around with Heathcliff, seems to have transformed into a 90s teen, willing to do “everything but” so as to not violate her purity ring. Not very believable. And Heathcliff is now a rapist, but he’s so impressive that his victims seem to enjoy what he does to them, and keep begging for more. Even with Catherine, who is supposed to be his very reason for living, he simply wants to degrade her, wanting to control her instead of love her. Heathcliff would never have been so coarse with Catherine and Catherine wouldn’t have tolerated that kind of treatment.

Some of the scenes were so very horrible. For no clear reason, Heathcliff decides to start chopping wood outside of Catherine’s house – this is after she’s married. As he’s chopping wood, Nelly, Isabella and Catherine are all in the window – three different windows — watching and masturbating. Catherine strips and presses her naked body against the glass door, in full view of Heathcliff, who simply keeps chopping wood. Then all three of the women orgasm at once at the sight of him taking a piss. Really? Gross.

But it gets worse. Heathcliff has a dungeon that would rival that of Christian’s Grey’s. It’s in this dungeon that he says to his wife, “My cock controls you.” Oh good grief. Then we’re treated to a three-way between him and Nelly and Isabella. This is the point in which I put down the Kindle and said, “Why am I reading this trash?” But for some reason, I kept reading.

The odd thing was, after reading something horrible, eventually I’d get to a part that I loved, and I’d think, “oh, okay, this is getting better” and then I realized every time that happened, it was because I was reading a part directly lifted from the original Wuthering Heights.

I suppose that lovers (or haters, for that matter) of Wuthering Heights all have their own opinion of the true nature of Heathcliff and Catherine. The characters in this story were not at all the way I imagined them to be based on my many readings of Wuthering Heights. My Heathcliff would never, ever do these things. Oh, I admit, he had a fierce temper and the potential to be cruel, but it was fueled by his anger at being separated from Catherine. He would have never treated Catherine the way he did in this book and he wouldn’t have cared enough about the others to torture and control them in this manner. None of that behavior came close to getting him what he wanted, and he wasn’t the sort of man who got sidetracked from his main goal. Now while I do admit to always thinking there was something controlling and maybe a bit kinky going on between him and Isabella – because why else would she have so readily abandoned her family for him? – I refuse to believe it reached the level of dungeons, whips and dog collars.

Clearly, someone who viewed Wuthering Heights as a love story did not write this book. It seems to be more the result of someone who was forced to read it in school and felt the need for vengeance.

I wish I’d not read this. Not only did it make me angry and disgusted, but it also gave me horrible nightmares. How dare this ruin the years of sweet dreams I’ve had of Heathcliff! This book might be enjoyed more by someone who doesn’t have a strong attachment to the original, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who loved Wuthering Heights. In fact, if you loved the original, stay far away from this re-telling.

I reviewed a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Review: Demon's Daughter by Paula Altenburg

I almost skipped over this book because, despite the hot guy on the cover, it made me think “cowboy” and, in general, I don’t like cowboys. But the title intrigued me because I do like demon stories. (That’s right, I don’t like cowboys, but I do like demons.) I decided to give it a try and I’m glad I did.

This isn’t a typical old west setting. This is set way into the future, long after civilization as we know it has ended, every once in a while they stumble upon ruins left over from our current world. Goddesses came to this world, followed by demons, and then the goddesses left and somewhere along the way, the world devolved, returning back to its “old west” like ways. Now the people in Freetown live on the edge of the desert, following the orders of a former priestess, in hopes of having some protection from the demons that remained after the goddesses departed.

Hunter is the demon slayer, who possesses an amulet that protects him against demons. He’s hired by the priestess to capture a woman the priestess claims is demon spawn. He doesn’t trust the priestess, knowing of her hatred for women, but he knows if he doesn’t take the job, someone else will. He can’t handle the idea of an innocent woman handed over to the priestess.

But once he meets Airie, his ideas of innocent and guilty become muddled.

Hunter’s instinct is to kill demons, but he can’t bring himself to kill Airie. Even though the fire in her eyes reveals she’s part demon, he’s also seen that she has the ability to heal, cares about people and has a deep respect for life. He’s with her when the priestess who raised her dies, and the mountain she called home is destroyed. He feels obligated to watch over her, at least until he can figure out a better solution.

He isn’t sure what to do, and he’s afraid that his feelings toward her are nothing more than the lure of a demon. The romance between the two takes a while to build. The attraction is instant, but Hunter goes back and forth between wanting her and hating that she’s a demon. At times I found this a bit frustrating, but because they took a while to figure out their feelings for each other, their relationship felt more believable.

I liked that Airie was such a strong character. She’s always ready to fight when necessary to protect herself and those she cares about, and is never content to stand back and let others defend her. She’s a bit naïve, but not at all stupid. She’s aware of her limitations and understands there is much about the world she doesn’t know.

A few things did bother me about this book. There are so many people telling lies and keeping secrets, I had moments when I couldn’t even remember what the truth was. It was late at night/early in the morning and maybe I was having reading comprehension problems, but I recall one paragraph saying Airie’s birth caused the fire on the mountain and about two sentences later, it says the Demon Lord caused the fire and he was completely unaware of Airie’s birth. So how did her birth cause the fire? And near the end, when Airie has to make a choice about who she wants to be – goddess or demon – I wasn’t entirely certain I understood her options. I re-read one page a few times and then decided to just move forward and accept that it was complicated.

Also, I felt like there was a very intense love story there between the Demon Lord and the Goddess and as I was reading the book, I kept hoping more would be revealed about them. Maybe a prequel? I would really like a Goddess/Demon love story.

Overall though, I enjoyed this book. It’s a different take on the ideas of demons and goddesses.  This is the first book in a series called Demon Outlaws and I’m looking forward to the next book.

Review: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

I finished reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald in the early morning hours before I went to sleep.  when I woke a few hours later, I felt a heavy sadness because I realized the book was over and I would no longer be in Zelda's world and also, sadness because her life had turned out to be so miserable. Even though I knew the outcome, as I read the book, I kept hoping things would somehow get better, that someday she'd have the life she wanted. But as we all know, that didn't happen. 

Being a feminist, I've always been very much Team Zelda.  My fascination with Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald began when I was in high school.  After reading and loving The Great Gatsby, I  read Tender is the Night, which is presumably largely autobiographical.  When I read it the first time, it seemed like a beautiful, but tragic love story.  When I read it again, as an adult, after having learned more about life in general, and in particular, the actual lives of Zelda and Scott, it seemed merely tragic.  Dick Diver was cruel to his wife, Nicole.  I despised the character as well as Scott, thinking how absurd he was to think he was writing a sympathetic character when in fact he was confessing to the horrible way he'd treated his wife and their marriage. 
I liked the way this book was written. As the title states, it's a novel, not an biography. The writer has taken liberties to create events as they may have happened, based on her research.  I thought it worked well. The Zelda of this novel sounds and behaves very much the way I have always imagined Zelda to be. 

This book does a great job of drawing us into the world of the Fitzgeralds - the success and the failures, the parties and the fights, but most of all the unrequited desire both Scott and Zelda felt to have something more. They were never satisfied with life, they always wanted something other than what they had - more love, more money, more acclaim, more friends, more booze. Scott wanted a beautiful, independent-minded wife, only to resent her independence and desire to establish a career of her own.  Zelda wanted a successful husband to take her away from her life in Alabama, only to resent being known as nothing more than the wife of a famous man.

The strongest theme of the book though is Zelda's struggle to create her own life, something independent of her husband. She wanted to be a dancer, a painter, a writer, something other than Mrs. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Every time she tried, every time she always succeeded, something got in the way - her husband or her health.  She admired feminists and other women who lived their own lives, but she was never brave enough to try and do as they'd done. 

By telling this story in Zelda's words, readers are able to feel as if they are directly involved in this world, they see the glamour, as well as experience the emptiness of that glamour.  It was never quite as fabulous as it seemed.  To the rest of the world, they were the "golden couple" and they worked at maintaining that facade, even as they fell apart at home.  While other marriages ended, they struggled to keep theirs intact because despite in all, they always believed they loved each other.  By hearing these stories told by Zelda, readers have a better understanding as to what they went through - true or not - and no one will ever know exactly what happened between the - it provides an interesting story.

I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald and would like to learn more about Zelda's story.

Review: Beauty Awakened by Gena Showalter

I was so eager to read Gena Showalter’s Beauty Awakened, the second book in her Angels of the Dark series, which is a spin-off of the Lords of the Underworld.

I read all nine of the Lords of the Underworld books this summer, one right after the other and was completely addicted.  I followed that with Wicked Nights, the first Angel of the Dark book, and was so sad when I realized it would be months before another book in either of the series was released.

 

When the gorgeous cover of Beauty Awakened was revealed, I was sure this book was going to be amazing.

But this book wasn’t amazing.  This book was not at all what I expected.  It wasn’t that I entirely disliked the story, but it wasn’t the story I was hoping to read.  It’s interesting and I am still fascinated by the world Showalter has created, but I’d been hoping for a return to the hot, sexy, steaminess I discovered this summer with the Lords of the Underworld.  Unfortunately, this book left me cold. 

I was uncomfortable with the heavy religious tone of this book.  There was so much talk about requesting assistance from the “Most High” and forgiveness and joy.  I got the impression this book was more about ideas, and less about the characters.  The two sisters in this book (they call themselves La La and Co Co, which made me cringe every time I read that) were born with weak hearts, but can supposedly be cured by being less fearful and adding more joy into their lives.  I found that a little offensive to the medical community or to anyone who has suffered from a heart condition.

My biggest issue though was the level of graphic violence in this book. In the Lords of the Underworld books, the violence is present, but it's implied, for example, you know Paris and Aeron are downstairs torturing hunters, but the details aren’t provided.  In this book, the violence is explicit, every cut, every drop of blood, every lash of the whip is explained in detail, but the sex is implied.   Why is that so often the case with religion?  Lots of violence and death and doom, but stay away from the sex, because you know, that's bad.  Sorry, but I very much prefer explicit sex to explicit violence.

I wouldn’t say this is a bad book and I feel so guilty giving this a bad review because I consider myself such a big fan.  But overall, I found it disappointing and feel as though this wasn’t written for the same fan base as Showalter’s earlier books.  That’s fine, an author should write what she feels the need to write.  But I wish there had been some sort of warning.  The sexy cover and the description is misleading in that it gives no indication that this book is so very different from what she usually writes.  It was as if the sexy book weekend I had planned morphed into a grim, violent church sermon, and that’s not my idea of fun times. 

Review: For the Love of the Goblin Warrior by Shona Husk

Initially, I wasn’t going to read Shona Husk’s For the Love of the Goblin Warrior because after I got a copy of the book, I found out it was the third book in the Shadowlands series. I feel an obligation to read series from book one. But after a few people assured me it wasn’t necessary to read the earlier books in the series to enjoy this one, I went ahead and read it. I’m glad I did.

In the beginning of the book, a man covered in gray dust is brought in the emergency room where Nadine, a nurse, works. He doesn’t seem to speak English and he’s confused. But Nadine is kind to him and he feels drawn to her and she’s certainly curious about him.

When their paths cross again, they begin a tentative relationship, starting with coffee. Normally, I would be scoffing at someone picking up a man who clearly seems to be a homeless guy, living in the park, but I felt like Nadine knew what she was doing. (This is fiction after all, so the characters are allowed a bit of carelessness.) This was written in such a way, that I found their attraction to each other to be believable and convincing. The two characters had great chemistry with things as simple as their hands touching or brief kisses resulting in steamy moments.

These two people both have pasts filled with tragedies, and are both haunted by nightmares. Only after they get to know each other do they realize the connection between the tragedies in their lives. When Nadine was a child, her mother told her a fairy tale about a Goblin King. For Meryn though, the fairy tale was his reality.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It has plenty of romance and the story is interesting. Being a fan of fairy tales, I liked the way the magic seeped into real life. Also, I agree with those who said it it’s necessary to read the earlier books in the series is necessary to understand this story. However, I do plan to read them because I liked this book and want to learn more about the world in which these characters live.

I received a review copy of this book via Netgalley.

A book boyfriend for Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to share some of my book boyfriends with you.  These guys are everything you could possibly want in a guy, and you don’t have to clean up after them or cook for them or deal with any of the icky stuff associated with real men.   

So here goes…

First and foremost, Heathcliff, from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.

This is the man who ruined me for all men - real or fictional.  He may seem cruel and possessive and angry all the time, but he loved Catherine with an intensity that knew no limits.  He may have given the impression that he hated everyone, but he worshipped Cathy.  She was everything that mattered to him.  When he lost her, he lost everything, including his soul, and to prove it, he created a hell on earth for those he believed responsible for taking her from him.  For anyone who wants to argue that it was an unhealthy obsession or abusive or whatever, let me remind you that Cathy felt the same for him.  She was in a difficult situation and wrongly believed she had no choice but to marry another – someone more suitable – thinking that with her marriage of convenience, she could also provide for Heathcliff.  Heathcliff’s love was not unrequited, but rather terribly inconvenient.  Cathy wanted him as much as he wanted her, but times were different then.  Despite her love for him, she couldn’t just run off with the orphan boy her father had adopted.  Heathcliff took off in the night after hearing Cathy say they could never be together, but he didn’t hear the whole story.  He was young and foolish and acted impulsively.  But whatever he did, he did it out of his love for Cathy. 

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.” -- Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

 

To love someone like that, to be loved like that.  I read this as a teenager and it’s the standard by which I hold all other love stories.  It may wrong and silly of me, but whatever.

Recently though, I discovered a more current book boyfriend which comes awful close to rivaling Heathcliff.  Matthew Clairmont of Deborah Harkness’ Discovery of Witches.  He’s a fellow of All Souls College at Oxford, a geneticist who spends a lot of time doing research in a lab, plus he knows all about wine and does yoga, not to mention he has a castle in France, and yeah, he’s a vampire (shut up, I’ve always had a thing for vampires), and he’s in love with a witch.  Vampires aren’t supposed to love witches, he’s risking everything, bringing about what could be a war between creatures in order to pursue his love for this witch.  And he’s so sexy, tall and beautiful, and so very, very smart.  They met in a library, not just any library, the Bodleian in Oxford.  Good grief people, this is like the story I would write if someone asked me to set up the perfect love story.

He’s got his flaws.  He has something of a temper and a tendency to be a bit of a chauvinist – blame it on his advanced age.  But he adores Diana, who is fierce and independent and has no problem putting him in his place when he gets a bit too old- fashioned with his views about women. 

“My ideas about vampires may be romantic, but your attitudes toward women need a major overhaul,” Diana says to him at one point.

The only thing I really disliked about Matthew was his family.  Too much family: the mom and the brothers and the vampire son.  But I suppose that’s a minor inconvenience.

As far as I'm concerned, this guy is pretty much perfect, and no man can ever come close to being this amazing.  So I just keep re-reading this book.  I’ve marked my favorite passages, and on days when I hate the world, I get out the Kindle and re-read my favorite parts.  Yeah, I know, I'm kind of pathetic.

 

A few other book boyfriends worth a mention – oh, and be warned, I tend to prefer my men to be of the non-human, supernatural variety:

You can’t go wrong with any of Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld.  I read the entire series this summer, and at this moment, I can’t recall exactly how many Lords there are, but there are nine books. (I’m going to guess maybe eleven or twelve Lords?)  There’s bound to be one that suits your pleasure. 

Punished by the gods centuries ago, they’re literally battling demons within themselves.  Each possesses a different demon, and each has their own unique struggles associated with their particular demon.  What I like about the Lords is that while they are tough and ruthless warriors when necessary, who never hesitate to destroy the bad guys, they're nice and generous and always take the time to make sure the women they love are happy.

 My favorites were Reyes (The Darkest Pleasure) who fell in love with an artist and Aeron (The Darkest Passion), who fell in love with an angel.  (Complete truth: I just noticed that.  Kind of awkward.)

I’m not a big fan of “bad boys.”  If a guy wants to be rude and horrible, he can be on his way.  I have no patience in real life or fiction for trying to redeem a bad boy.  I like the nice guys.  Of course, I still want them big and strong with the potential to create major destruction when danger is near.  But ultimately, I want them to be good guys and I want them to appreciate the women in their lives.  That’s what I find with the Lords of the Underworld.

 

A few other books with boyfriend worthy heroes:

I adored Nathaniel in Hailey Edward’s Soul Weaver.  He’s a fallen angel who suffered so much loss in his attempts to save his family.  Then he meets Chloe who is having such a difficult time with life.  And he’s so sweet to her.  I loved this guy.  (And I’ve noticed the ebook is only 2.99 on amazon.com – so if you want to spend your Valentine’s Day with Nate, three dollars is a great deal.)

Then there’s Alan in Karen Michelle Nutt’s Magic of the Loch.  Who would have guessed the Loch Ness monster would be so sexy?  Again, he can shift into a big, scary monster with the potential to create all kinds of havoc, but with Michaela, he’s kind and gentle.  Loved him so much.  (This ebook is .99 on amazon.  If you like romance novels, get this book.  It’s so good.)

Another guy that I liked quite a bit in a book I recently read is David in Lori Sjoberg’s Grave Intentions.  He’s a grim reaper.  Scary, right?  But actually, he's really nice.  He’s had a tough life, or rather, afterlife, I guess, but when he falls for Sarah, suddenly his life is worth living again.  He's one of those guys you read about and think, wow, I want someone just like that.  Well, not a grim reaper, but you get the idea.

And if supernatural isn’t your thing, I’ve got one name for you:  Braden Carmichael.  He’s the hero of On Dublin Street and oh, damn, he’s sexy.  On some level, he may not even fit into my whole “nice guy” requirement, but he gets there eventually.  You quickly realize he’s not quite the jerk he appears to be in the beginning. He’s used to getting what he wants, but he doesn’t flaunt what he has.  (Without going too far off topic, I just want to say I hate this whole “billionaire” trend in romances.  Throwing your money around to impress someone isn’t sexy, it’s gross, but despite Braden being wealthy and successful, I didn’t get that vibe with him.  He doesn’t use his money as a means to obtain power over Joss.)  Suffice it to say, he's hot, very hot, and I say that as someone who usually finds non-paranormal romances to be kind of blah.    

So, no reason to spend your Valentine's Day alone or disappointed with some guy who doesn't understand you or bores the hell out of you.  There are plenty of book boyfriends to pick from.  These are just a few of my favorites.  They seldom disappoint.

Review: The Love of My (Other) Life by Traci L. Slatton

First, because I tend to mention the cover of books, I would like to point out that this is not a book I read because of the cover. I don’t like the cover of this book. It has nothing to do with the story. Yes, there are mentions of Tessa posing nude, but for paintings, specifically Picasso-like paintings. So maybe use a painting of a nude for the cover?

However, I was very drawn to the description of the book. Tessa’s an artist – and I’m interested in art, so I usually like stories about artists – and there’s the whole parallel universe aspect. I’m kind of fascinated by the idea of parallel universes, seems like my early twenties involved a lot of late night, alcohol-fueled conversations about parallel universes. Yeah, so maybe my friends and I are kind of nerds.

This story explores the idea that in different universes, our choices lead us to different points in our lives – for example, in one world, Tessa gave up art to pursue music which took her along a very different path – but our soul mate remains the same, regardless of the path we take.

Because Brian is a physicist, I pictured him as Leonard from Big Bang Theory. This whole story seemed like something he would do. He’s created a device that will allow him to travel to a parallel universe so he can see his soul mate, Tessa. The reason he feels the need to do this isn’t revealed until later in the book, so I’m not going to reveal it now because it might spoil the story.

In his world, he and Tessa are married. However, in this world, Tessa’s life is a mess. Everything around her is falling apart, but rather than try to solve her problems, she’s ignoring them and she keeps going to work at the church, taking care of elderly people, and not caring that she isn’t making enough money to pay her bills. This isn’t working out for her.

Brian’s strange appearance in her life is the best thing that’s happened to her, though she thinks he’s a crazy homeless person. At first, she feels she should run away from him, convinced he’s out of his mind. But she can’t deny the instant connection she feels for him, even though she’s certain they’ve never met. Brian’s influence enables Tessa to think more clearly and make better decisions about her life. Being with him feels right, and soon she finds out that their amazing connection extends to the bedroom. He seems to understand her much better than her ex-husband ever did.

This book isn’t for everyone. It’s a little strange and the characters end up in some silly situations – there are some dealings with a shady art thief and dealer and an accidental foray into performance art. But it’s pretty funny. This isn’t a book that should be taken too seriously. This book is kind of artsy and a little nerdy. Tessa goes on and on about the value of art and her hatred of modern art and art that isn’t beautiful. That didn’t bother me, because, as I said, I’m involved in the art world on a daily basis and could relate to what she was saying. But someone who isn’t that into art might not find it at all interesting.

This is a very quick read. I read the entire book in one sitting. It’s a very sweet love story and a pleasant way to spend a few hours. If artsty and nerdy is your thing, you’d probably enjoy this, I certainly did.

I received a review copy of this book via Netgalley.

Review: Grave Intentions by Lori Sjoberg

I wasn’t sure what to expect with a book about a grim reaper, but I enjoyed Grave Intentions quite a bit.

David has been a reaper for 60 years, trying to work off his sins to avoid eternal damnation. The book explains the process of how and why reapers are chosen – at least the way David understands it. Not entirely sure he knows the whole story. I felt some of the rules to be a bit extreme. Maybe I just don’t like the idea of a higher power being so hard and fast with his rules and unyielding with punishment. This is why I think there must be more to the process than what David has been told.

I liked the way being a reaper was viewed as simply David’s job. Other than the ability to heal quickly and a bit of mind persuasion – to help with difficult reaping situations – he doesn’t have any superhuman abilities. He’s just a guy with a tough job who likes to have a few drinks at the end of the day.

Like anyone who has a job he hates, he’s learned some coping methods, his current being to simply not care, remain numb. However, meeting his neighbor challenges these coping methods. He finds himself drawn to her, but he’s afraid to get involved. It’s been so long since he’s felt anything and he knows that if he allows himself to feel pleasure, he’ll have to be prepared for the pain as well.

Sarah’s a research scientist who loves her work, but hates her boss and could do without the crowds of protestors that greet her at her lab every morning. She’s also emotionally struggling to care for her elderly grandmother, who is always getting in trouble at the nursing home for her disruptive behavior. Sarah needs a break from all the stress.

David and Sarah both are at a point in their lives where they could use a friend. I enjoyed the gradual buildup of their relationship. They actually got to know each other and really like each before they ended up in bed together. I liked the way they took care of each other and seemed to absolutely adore each other. They were grateful for each other’s company and companionship. I like to believe that this is how a romance is supposed to work. Neither was in a position of power over the other. They’re two adults, getting by the best they can in their circumstances that are glad to have found each other.

But the book would probably be boring if there wasn’t a twist of some sort. I’m not going to give away what happens, but things get intense and I found myself on the verge of tears for a while there. I might have also been mentally screaming, “that’s not fair, they were so happy” because I felt that close to these characters and my heart was breaking along with theirs.

This is a well-written, enjoyable story with strong, likable characters and plenty of romance, and paranormal elements blended into reality so carefully, it almost seems believable. (Almost. Don’t worry, I don’t really think there are grim reapers disguised as humans walking among us.) I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

I received a review copy of this book via Netgalley.

Review: Blood of the Sorceress by Maggie Shayne

I loved this book, absolutely loved this book. Before I read it, I didn’t think it was possible for it to live up to Daughter of the Spellcaster – which I thought was amazing. But it did. I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading it.

Blood of the Sorceress has everything I need in a book – plenty of action, good versus evil, some very intense, steamy romance, and it’s all wrapped up in magic – lots of magic.

This is the third book in Maggie Shayne’s The Portal Series. Everything that happened in the first two books has been building up to this book. After 3,500 years, Demetrius has escaped the Portal, and now Lilia has to convince him to reclaim his soul. The problem is, Demetrius doesn’t remember the past they shared, and as convincing as Lilia may sound, he’s afraid she may be using magic to persuade him.

I really liked these characters and was glad to see that the characters from the first two books in the series play a significant role in this book. These women – all witches — are strong and fierce, capable of taking care of themselves and determined to protect the people they love. The men help out, quite a bit, but they know who has the powers. There’s a scene when two of the sisters are trying to rescue the other sister, and their husbands are with them. They’re about to walk into a potentially dangerous situation, and one of the husbands says something along the lines of, “I know you’re the super witches, but would you please let us walk in first?” I thought that line summed up the relationship between the men and the women fairly well.

Strong women, and men who respect their strength – whether it’s mental, emotional, natural or supernatural — are pretty much essential for me to love a book. This book does well in that area.
   
And while this book is entertaining and exciting, there’s also a much deeper meaning to all of this.
Demetrius has a big decision to make. If he accepts the final piece of his soul, held by Lilia, he becomes human again, and sacrifices his immortality. As an immortal, he’s powerful and wealthy and can have whatever he wants, he’s only living sort of a half-life – he derives no pleasure from his senses: food all tastes the same, he’s unable to view things as beautiful, he feels no pain, but also no great joy. He likes the idea of living forever and having super powers, he likes the idea of never having to feel guilt or loss, but as he grows closer to Lilia, and she shows him bits of what he’s missing, he’s not sure if immortality is worth never being able appreciate beauty or humor or love.

I’ve been recommending the books in this series to all of my friends. I really enjoyed reading these books and I’m hoping there will be future books with these same characters.

I received a review copy of this book through Netgalley. Blood of the Sorceress will be released on January 22, 2013.

Review: On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

A while back, I started hearing about the book On Dublin Street.  Kept showing up in mentions and recommendations from the people I follow on social networks.  A lot of people were saying it was the next big thing, the book to read after 50 Shades of Grey. 

 

I like to know what everyone is talking about.  I thought it sounded interesting, takes place in Scotland, so that was a plus, and the cover art looked really beautiful – sexy and romantic, rather than trashy.  (I’ve since seen this exact same cover on a few other books, so guessing it’s a stock photo of some sort.) The e-book was only a few dollars on amazon, so I bought it.

 

 

With regard to romances, I tend to prefer those of the paranormal sort – you know, the ones that include vampires or witches or demons, or some sort of supernatural element.  People, regular people, they kind of bore me.  Usually.
 

Not the case with On Dublin Street.  Not bored, at all.  And let me say, this book is so much better than 50 Shades of Grey.  Of course, I didn’t really 50 Shades, thought it was more a story of abuse than romance, but that’s just me, wasn’t my thing.

 

On Dublin Street though -- I really, really liked this book.  For hot and sexy, this is the book everyone should be reading. 

 

 

These characters were likable and interesting.  Jocelyn is an American who went to school in Edinburgh.  She lost her family in a car accident when she was a teenager and she’s been struggling to bury her memories of them for eight years.  She’s learned to take care of herself in the best way she knows how.  Maybe not the healthiest way, but she’s safe and she’s careful.  I liked this about her.  She’s tough and she’s independent.  She’s not weak or whiny or annoyingly innocent.  She’s not seeking someone to take care of her.

 

 

Even though she can afford to get her own place, she’s looking for a roommate to maintain some sort of social contact.  This roommate is how she ends up getting to know Braden – who happens to be her roommate’s very protective and very handsome and successful older half brother.

 

 

There’s clearly an attraction between the two from the beginning.  But Braden has a girlfriend, and Jocelyn has no interest in getting involved with anyone.  She’s spent the last few years making sure she doesn’t care about anyone too much.  She’s had enough hurt to last a lifetime and has no desire to put herself in a position to feel any more. 

 

 

But Braden is used to getting what he wants, and he wants Jocelyn.  This could have gone a few different ways.  This could have turned into one of those books I hate where the guy is a complete jerk and the girl just swoons for him anyway because “oh my god, rich, hot guy wants me.”  There are too many books out there like that right now.  That didn’t happen though.  Jocelyn agrees to a sex only relationship with Braden, because, hey, she’s an adult, and yes, he’s hot and why not?  She’s still going to keep her guard up emotionally, so no harm done, right?

 

 

I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that despite their initial arrangement; the two end up falling for each other, and falling hard.  I liked the way their romance built over time.  In the beginning, it was just physical, but as they got to know each other they grew to like each other and care about each other.  It wasn’t the typical, “Oh, he/she’s the one,” five minutes after they met.  This felt like a real romance – with a lot of hot, explicit sex – so if that bothers you, probably not a book you should read.  As I’m reading more romance novels, I’m finding that it’s rare to find books that have what I consider to be the right combination of steam and story.

 

 

One thing I didn’t like about the story though was too much of the friends and family getting in their business.  I got tired of people lecturing Jocelyn about being too reserved and not letting people get to know her – this was from Braden’s sister and the former step-mom, she barely knew these people and they were acting like she’s a villain because she doesn’t walk around telling everyone about her innermost feelings all the time?  Maybe that annoyed me because I tend to be reserved and I resent people thinking I owe them some window into my soul without doing anything to earn the view.  I didn't think Jocelyn was so wrong in being reserved, I thought the other people were wrong in thinking she needed to be more like them, and less herself. 

 

 

Also, the version I had of this book had so many typos.  This was not a review copy; I paid for this ebook.  I would assume an editor at some point had read it.  A few times “your” was used when it should have been “you’re”.   This may not bother everyone like it bothers me, but it bothers me quite a bit.  For nine years of my life, I was a copyeditor for an international news distribution service, so no matter how into a book I am, that kind of mistake will throw me out of a story momentarily because my first impulse is to correct the mistake. 
 

I bought this ebook back in September and I’ve also noticed the version I have is no longer available when I go to the “manage my kindle” site.  Maybe a copyeditor read through the version that is available now.

 

 

Also, this is the second book I’ve read in the last few months that takes place in Scotland.  Both stories, an American who falls for an unbelievably hot Scotsman.  Well, this American will be visiting Scotland in June, men of Scotland, you’ve been warned.  My expectations are high.

 

Review: Forbidden by Jacquelyn Frank

The cover of this book is what caught my attention. Shallow of me, I know, but it’s the truth. Every time I paused in front of the book section at the store, at any store, I found myself picking up this book. But I kept putting it back because even though it’s the first book in a new series, The World of the Nightwalkers, that particular series is a spin off of another series, The Nightwalkers, and I was concerned I wouldn’t know what was happening in the story, having not read any books in the first series. But that book cover kept catching my eye. Finally, over the holiday break I decided to give in and read it.

Based on the description I was expecting some sort of tense Guinevere and Lancelot story, and based on the hot body on the cover, I was expecting lots of smoking hot sex.
Someday I will learn to not judge a book by its cover.

The story was so slow. It wasn’t so much that I disliked it; I simply didn’t care much about what was happening. I never reached a point where I felt that I couldn’t put the book down. After getting only 35% into the book after ten days, I had to force myself to finish it.

As for the romance, it wasn’t anywhere near as angst ridden as I’d anticipated and/or hoped it would be. They seemed to resolve what could have been a major problem very quickly and easily. Now, one positive thing about the book is that the two main characters – Docia and Ram – did have some real chemistry together. The scenes between the two of them, even something as simple as Ram touching her hands as he’s helping her dial a forgotten number on the cell phone seemed to sizzle. This kept giving me hope – but most of those scenes ended abruptly. There wasn’t enough of the romance happening in the book.

Most of the book was focused on the war between the Politic and the Templars and trying to explain the role of the Nightwalkers. This being the first book in a series, I guess all the explanation was necessary, but overall I didn’t find it all that interesting. Also, I found the concept of the Nightwalkers – ancient Egyptian spirits blending their spirits with humans – a little difficult to grasp. It seemed a little bit too weird for me. It wasn’t really reincarnation, but rather two spirits sharing one body. Not really my thing. I don’t have any interest in reading future books in this series, no matter how hot the guy on the cover looks.

I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Review: The Trouble with Fate by Leigh Evans

It took me a while to get into this book. I’d start reading it for a bit, lose interest and have to read something else and then return to it. Happened a few times before I finally started to care about what was happening.

What bothered me the most is in the beginning, the narrator, who is 21 years old, sounded too much like a teenager, trying to sound tough and cool. After she got past the initial setup and the events began to unfold, I didn’t notice this as much. What did continue to bother me though was her frequent reference to her “inner Were-bitch”. Reminded me a lot of another “inner goddess” in a very popular book I did not enjoy. I don’t like the idea that women are so bothered by their sexual desires that they need to assign them to a separate entity within themselves.

I was almost halfway through the book before I reached a point in which I didn’t want to put it down, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Once Robson Trowbridge becomes a part of the story, things started to get interesting. Hedi’s had a crush on him since she was a child, and once she’s alone with him, things begin to happen – as the title suggests, she seems to have finally discovered her fate.

Even though the love story is the central focus of the book, there’s a lot more fighting action than there are steamy love scenes. And their first time together, which had the buildup of what could have been quite steamy, ended up being ridiculous and maybe one of the worst “love” scenes I’ve ever read. But I think they have a lot of potential to be a great couple.

This is the first book in a series called The Mystwalker. Being that in this book, there isn’t much about Hedi being the Mystwalker, I assume this will be further explored in future books. I’m hoping future books take place more in the other worlds mentioned, but only visited briefly in this book.

This is an interesting story and I liked this book enough that I’ll probably read the next book in the series because I want to know what happens to Hedi and Robson. Also, by the very end of the book, Hedi seemed to have fully claimed her were side – so hoping that means no more separate “Were-bitch” mentions.

I received a review copy through NetGalley. This will be released on December 24, 2012.

Review: All for You by Dana Marie Bell

I was looking forward to reading this book. But a few pages in, I was bothered by all the similarities to another book I recently read and didn’t like. Woman with a brutal, abusive, evil ex-lover is living in terror, but she has a wonderful family, and her protective older brother assigns one of his close friends to watch over her. In the last book I read the friend was a former SEAL, in this case, he’s a nephilim – though no one knows that. Not sure why the brother felt so confident putting his little sister in the hands of an architect, but whatever.

My biggest problem with this story was the main character, Abby. She’s so weak and unable to take care of herself. She’s terrified one moment, so frightened she’s crying and fainting from fear and then she’s deciding that she’s going to leave and take care of herself and protect her family and friends on her own – only to be rescued moments later by Seth. This happens several times in the book. Got old after a while. Also, she acts so goofy and immature. Her thoughts and behavior seemed more along the lines of a silly teenager than an adult woman who had been through a harrowing tragedy. So many times I found myself actually rolling my eyes after reading parts of this book. Things like her getting out of bed and dancing around the room naked or one scene where she got sloppy drunk while waiting for Seth to finish a phone call. An adult woman should not be that unaware of her alcohol tolerance.

I never quite understood why Seth was so drawn to her – other than a desire to protect her because she was in danger. She didn’t seem especially smart or clever, just very, very needy. As for the sex in the book — I’d hoped that would make up for the weak character — it was okay, but a little silly at times. Abby never seemed to move past the idea that she was finally living out her teenage fantasy of hooking up with her older brother’s hot friend.

But the book did hold my interest. I thought the storyline was intriguing. There’s quite a bit of danger and action. This is the first book in a series, and I think the world of Nephilims who hunt Shemyaza holds a lot of potential. I thought for the first book in a series, this world was explained well, I didn’t feel lost or confused about what was happening. There were several other characters introduced in the book I would like to know more about. They seemed stronger and more intelligent than the characters featured in this book. So even though I didn’t love this book, I am interested in reading future books in this series.

I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Review: Let it Snow by Leslie Kelly and Jennifer LeBrecque

I love holiday romance anthologies. You might even say they are something of a guilty pleasure. Even when I was in high school and spending the little bit of money I had on books, I could never resist the holiday romance anthologies with the pretty covers. The stories were short enough that I’d could read at least one a night, providing a variety of adventures to keep me company. Back then, I’d read them to escape all the unpleasant family drama generated from the holiday “fun” and I’d think, “Someday, this will be my holiday story.” Well, twenty or so years later, I’m old enough to know better, but I still relish the escape provided by these stories, especially when I start to feel overwhelmed by all the holiday madness.

Let it Snow is subtitled, A Blazing Bedtime Stories Holiday Collection. And they are, indeed, blazing.

I loved the first story, The Prince Who Stole Christmas. Claire’s got a rough life. She’s always had to take care of herself and her brother. Money is tight as she tries to run her candy shop in Manhattan. Then Phil shows up, renting the run-down apartment in the building she inherited from her uncle. He’s gorgeous and he’s kind and he’s so very sexy. Of course he is, he’s from another planet, and he’s a prince on that planet. He’s perfect. His manners are impeccable, and he’s protective without being overbearing and he’s still respectful of her desire to remain independent, and he loves chocolate, wow, does he love chocolate. This is the perfect modern fairy tale. Sure, it’s a little silly and maybe he’s too perfect, but so what, we all need a little holiday magic, don’t we?

The other story in the book, My True Love Gave to Me, was also nice. I didn’t love it quite as much as the first one. But I guess anything is a bit of a let down after a prince from another planet. Two people who have been best friends since childhood realize they are in love with each other. They’ve been apart for almost two years, and it takes them a while to finally admit their feelings to each other. It’s one of those small town stories, where everyone in town knows everyone else and they’ve all been waiting for the two to finally get together. I’m not a huge fan of stories like that – I find small towns more annoying than endearing. Also, I felt like for such a short story, it took them a little too long for them to finally get together, but when they do finally get together, it’s with the knowledge of two people who have known each other long enough to be comfortable together. So yes, it was pretty hot.

I enjoyed these stories. I would certainly recommend them for some quick, fun holiday reads.

Review: Dark Dealings by Kim Knox

After reading one particularly intense scene, I found myself conflicted about this book, in that I was both disgusted and turned on at the exact same time. I couldn’t believe what I was reading, so I had to read over it again to make sure I understood what was happening. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to deprive any future readers of the shock I felt.

If I were to try to explain to someone what I had read, they would think I was depraved for thinking it was kind of awesome. There’s no way I could explain what was happening, and accurately describe the way the magic flowing through the story and around the characters turned this bit of horror into something so intensely beautiful.

Or maybe I am a bit depraved, whatever.

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are very unusual; Ava is a thief who doesn’t know much about her abilities or her past. She has managed to tame her instincts to kill and keeps her hunger at bay by consuming nearly raw meat (as a vegetarian, all the mentions of her eating meat were a little gross). She works for Reist, a mage and the Right Hand of the emperor. He sends her to work with Heyerdar, an elemental, and the Left Hand of the emperor, to investigate the thieves who are attacking the city.

What I didn’t like about the book is how confused I felt while reading about the different characters and their jobs and abilities. Maybe to some extent the confusion was intention because Ava knows very little about the world around her and the people in her life have purposely kept secrets from her. But at the same time, I never felt I fully understood what her job was, or what exactly the mages could do, or the connection between the thieves and the mages and the power of the Words. As I kept reading, more things were revealed, and no one was what they seemed and everyone had an ulterior motive of some sort. The more I learned, the more confused I became. I felt like there was so much more to know about this world, and it was interesting and I wanted to know about it, but everything seemed so vague and rushed.

Much of this was written as if the reader should already have some understanding of this world. I thought maybe this was a book in the middle of a series and that in some earlier book this world had been better explained. As far as I can tell though, this is not part of a series.

Even though I think I would have liked this a lot more if the storyline about thieves and mages had been simplified a bit, and there had been a few less minor characters, I still think this book was plenty hot and sexy and well worth reading.

I really liked the scenes between Ava and Heyerdar. I wish there had been more of that, a lot of more of that. I loved the interaction between the two of them. They were so cute and sarcastic and playful with each other. At first I didn’t like Heyerdar very much. He was too arrogant and crude. I usually like for my “book boyfriends” to be a little bit nicer to the women they’re trying to get into their beds – even if they’re horrible to everyone else. But there’s something about this guy. Despite my usual tastes, I found him appealing – which is exactly what is happening to Ava. This all starts out as something of a business transaction, she’s in love with someone else, and then it turns into something so much more.

When I reached the end of the book, I was not ready to stop reading about these characters, so I guess the author must have done something right.

I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Review: Daughter of the Spellcaster by Maggie Shayne

This review was originally posted on Brazen Reads:  http://brazenreads.com/review-daughter-of-the-spellcaster-by-maggie-shayne/

I loved this book. I figured I would like it. I really liked the first book in The Portal series, Mark of the Witch. But the second book in the series, Daughter of the Spellcaster was even better. Once I started it, I didn’t want to put it down for any reason at all. I was reading it on the plane while traveling on Thanksgiving morning. Once I reached my destination, even though I’d not seen my family in a while, I guiltily kind of wanted them to leave me alone until I could finish reading. (When the plane landed I was more than 80% into the story, so I only had a little bit left. I wouldn’t have been asking that much of them to leave me alone for a few more minutes.) I took my Kindle to the dinner table when we sat down for Thanksgiving dinner. I liked the book that much.

The story drew me in from the very beginning. The action starts right away, with Lena learning about the death of her former client, who was also the father of her former lover. The background information is revealed as needed in bits and pieces as the story progresses.

Lena was born a witch, was raised by her mother, who is a witch, and at an early age she saw visions of her true love, her prince, as she was certain he was. Her mother, thinking she was too young to see such a strong vision, brushed this off as being part of an overactive imagination – and the result of it being the summer Aladdin was released. But when, as an adult, Lena meets Ryan, she’s certain she’s found her prince.

But Ryan has no interest in being anyone’s prince. He watched his dad fall apart after his mom’s death and decided he would do everything possible to make sure he never cared about anyone so much that a loss would destroy him like that. However, he’s confused by his feelings when Lena disappears from his life without any explanation. He’s even more confused about what he wants when Lena shows up at his father’s funeral, eight months pregnant.

As much as Lena wants to win the heart of the man she feels she was destined to be with, she is determined to do so on her own terms. She’s not going to trap him into a relationship. She’s strong and independent, which is largely why Ryan is drawn to her. Well, that, and the fact that they were lovers in another lifetime a few thousand years ago.

I liked both of these characters so much and found myself feeling anxious about them working things out. There were times when the situation seemed so obvious to the reader, it was a little frustrating to see the characters still so hesitant to trust each other. Granted they were in some pretty stressful situations, so it wasn’t totally irrational that they would have doubts.

As if relationships aren’t complicated enough under normal circumstances, they’re also trying to figure out the significance of the magical tools left to each of them by Ryan’s father, as well as fight against a demon-like force who wants their baby. The story had hints of Rosemary’s Baby, but not in a bad way, more like a classic creepy sort of way. This book was very scary in parts, which is why I felt compelled to read it without stopping. I couldn’t set the book down and walk away when the characters were in such dangerous situations.

As was the case with Mark of the Witch, I very much enjoy the way Shayne writes about witchcraft. Her knowledge of the Craft gives the story power and makes it feel authentic. This book in particular though, it makes me want to believe in magic and true love that survives for centuries and withstands death.

Even though Daughter of the Spellcaster is the second book in Maggie Shayne’s The Portal series, I think it would read fine as a stand-alone. Having read the first book and prequel, Legacy of the Witch, I did have a fairly clear understanding as to what was happening – even before any of it made sense to the characters in the book. I recommend reading the entire series, because I think they’re great books, and I’m very much looking forward to reading the next book.

Links to other reviews

Here are the links for some reviews I've posted on Brazen Reads:

Now You See It by Cait Donnelly: The main character is this book was so pathetic - I don't like stories about weak, dependent women.  And I got so tired of her going on and on about her evil ex-husband.  Okay, we get it, he was very bad, and yet you remained with him for six years. 
http://brazenreads.com/review-now-you-see-it-by-cait-donnelly/

Kissed by a Vampire by Caridad Pineiro - Vampire in South Beach.  This was okay. 
http://brazenreads.com/review-kissed-by-a-vampire-by-caridad-pineiro/

Mark of the Witch by Maggie Shayne (I really liked this book, currently reading the second book in the series - Daughter of the Spellcaster, so there should be a review for that in a few days)
http://brazenreads.com/review-mark-of-the-witch-by-maggie-shayne/

Starved for Love by Annie Nicholas - Another story about a woman completely dependent on the men in her life.  I guess this is a thing with romance stories.  But yuck, and then then the whole sister-wives aspect of it.  Not my thing at all. 
http://brazenreads.com/review-starved-for-love-by-annie-nicholas/

Sole Possession by Bryn Donovan - Pretty good story about a haunted house, and it had its sexy moments. 
http://brazenreads.com/review-sole-possession-by-bryn-donovan/

Night Thief by Lissa Lessler - Really liked this, set in Paris, very strong female character, really to make it on her own, then she falls for a gorgeous Mayan god/shape shifter.  Nice, very nice.
http://brazenreads.com/review-night-thief-by-lisa-kessler/

Review: Now You See It by Cait Donnelly

I didn’t enjoy this book very much, and the further into the story I got, the less I liked it. I began to feel resentful, thinking of the other books I could have been reading when I was reading this instead.

Initially, I thought the concept sounded interesting. The characters have these special abilities. Brady can sense people’s feelings through touch and Gemma can make things disappear and reappear. I thought they were going to be these cool X-Men-like characters. I’m a huge fan of the X-Men. But their special abilities played a very minor role in this story. Brady isn’t able to sense feelings of guilt from sociopaths – because they don’t consider themselves to be guilty – so his abilities were almost useless in this case. And Gemma has no real control over her powers for most of the book. Also, she claims to be able to read a person’s “true self” the first time she sees someone – however, this hasn’t prevented her from making some extremely bad judgment calls regarding the people in her life.

Too much of the book is about how horrible Gemma’s soon to be ex-husband was. I got tired of reading about what a bad person he was and wanted the story to move on. The author wants to be sure that readers understand the husband was truly evil. He was cruel, he was manipulative, he belittled Gemma, he cut her off from her family, he had a sadistic sex addiction. He even played a practical joke on her that caused her to have a miscarriage. Even though he did all these horrible things, Gemma remained married to him for six years. Supposedly she came from a wonderful family, with no past history of abuse and was very close to her brother, so I was never clear as to why she felt she couldn’t leave this miserable situation.

The only explanation given is that the love of her life, her high school sweetheart, died shortly before they were to be married. She felt she could never love again, so she punished herself by marrying someone she didn’t love. I’m not quite sure why she felt obligated to get married at all. But it’s clear that she’s someone who needs a man to take care of her.

After she separates from her husband, she becomes completely dependent on her brother, who then hires his friend, Brady, to watch over her. Her brother and Brady are both former Navy SEALs, which is good because she needs people trained in dealing with exceptionally bad people. She seems to be surrounded by people like this. Now that her husband is dead, there’s someone out to harm her, someone connected to her husband, who is as, or more evil than was her husband.

I usually enjoy a good mystery, but I figured out the guilty person early in the book. To me it seemed obvious, so I found the rest of the book kind of boring as the characters struggled to figure out who was responsible for what was happening to them. And there are so many bad things happening to them and the people around them – vandalism, multiple murders, fires.

As for the romance, I understand that there is supposed to be something hot and intense between Gemma and Brady, but I didn’t feel it. Their attraction to each other didn’t seem to flow well with the rest of the story. They didn’t seem very convincing or genuine, and their sex scenes felt rushed and unsatisfying.

I found the situations to be too absurd and unrealistic. I’ll tolerate pretty much anything in a book if I like the characters, but I didn’t care much about these people. Gemma seemed so weak and unable to take care of herself and not very smart at all, I felt a strong dislike toward her. Brady’s life was so shrouded in mystery, I never felt I knew enough about him to have any sort of strong feelings toward him.

I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Review: Kissed by a Vampire by Caridad Pineiro

I found this book to be slow in the beginning. Maybe I had too much going on this week, but I had trouble getting into this book. Usually when I really like a book, I find time for it, regardless of what else is happening, but in the beginning, I had to keep forcing myself to go back to this. Once I finally got into it, I enjoyed the story.

One aspect that makes Caridad Piñeiro’s Kissed by the Vampire different from the vampire books I usually read is that the main character is a female vampire. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book in which a female vampire is the focus of the story. I’m sure the stories are out there, but I’ve not read them.

Stacia is described as a vampire with very strong elder powers, making her stronger than the typical vampire. She doesn’t need as much rest and doesn’t have to stay as hidden from the sun as other vampires. Most useful though are her elder powers that allow her to manipulate the thoughts and actions of those around her. She’s staying in a nice hotel in Miami, and her powers grant her the ability to buy anything she desires (she simply makes the cashier think they’ve already received payment) and bypass the long lines and easily walk into any crowded club she finds of interest.

I appreciated that, for the most part, Piñeiro sticks to standard vampire lore with regard to Stacia’s abilities. I tend to be a little bothered when writers change up vampires’ powers and traits so much that they no longer even resemble vampires.

Stacia has lived alone for 2,000 years, always keeping her distance, believing love was something that didn’t exist for her. Then one night, she sees Alex and feels an instant connection to him. It takes a while before both realize they’ve met before. (When I started reading this, I had no idea it was part of a series called, The Calling. After a little research, I discover there are at least eight books in this
series, and a few short stories. I believe the incident in which Alex and Stacia first met takes place in the first book in this series,Darkness Calls, but I’m not certain.)

Something about the way the story is written left me feeling distant from the characters. While I found their story interesting and enjoyable, I never felt especially close to Stacia and Alex. However, the writing takes on another level of intensity with the bedroom scenes. These two created quite a bit of steam once they finally got together.

There’s also a storyline here involving human trafficking, but while we know the investigation is taking place and see how it’s proceeding, it’s never revealed in enough detail to make this book seem like much of a crime story. But that’s okay. This is a romance novel, not a police procedural.

I liked the book, but I didn’t love it. After reading it, even though I’m a little curious about what happened in that first book when Stacia and Alex first met, I don’t feel strongly compelled to go seek out more books in this series. Not because I disliked the book, but rather because I’m already reading too many other series and it would take something outstanding to get me to add another one. This book reads fine as a stand alone.

If you’re wanting a sexy vampire story, heavy on the romance, without too much else in the story to detract from that, Kissed by a Vampire would work.