Sourcebooks, paranormal romance, September 2008
Connections: second in series, follows 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover

Linda Wisdom returns us to the wacky, wonderful world of witch Jazz Tremaine, her vampire lover Nick, her human housemate Krebs, her resident ghost Irma (who has obtained a slobbering ghost dog companion), and her sentient bunny slippers, Fluff and Puff. But all is now well in Jazz's world: first she gets awakened by the very real-feeling nightmare of Nick tearing her throat out, and then, as she runs home, her bunny slippers get accused of eating a were-weasel who works the boardwark carnival.

So now she has to track down both the source of her bad dreams and the real culprit behind the were-weasel's disappearance, all while balancing the rest of her life: Irma wanting new stuff all the time, Krebs wanting her approval of his latest girlfriend, her disgusting boss Dweezil wanting her help in his latest turf war...it's all in a day's work, but is it getting to be too much?

I like Jazz even better this time out -- she's less shallow, more vulnerable, more real. The unnecessary and condescending explanations of some things were, for the most part, gone (still, do you really need to explain what Father Knows Best was?!), which only improved the reading experience for me. Overall, I am really growing to enjoy Ms. Wisdom's creative world and the characters who live in it.

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

1. Julie Powell, Julie & Julia (4)
2. Gennita Low, Virtually Hers (4)
3. Sarah Wendell & Candy Tan, Beyond Heaving Bosoms (3.5)
4. Jayne Ann Krentz, Perfect Partners (re-read)
5. Linda Wisdom, Hex Appeal (3.5)
6. Lara Adrian, Ashes of Midnight (3)
7. Gena Showalter, Awaken Me Darkly (3)
8. Jeaniene Frost, Halfway to the Grave (5)
9. Terri Garey, Dead Girls Are Easy (4)
10. Gareth Roberts, Doctor Who: Only Human (still reading)

Dell, paranormal romance, May 2009
Connections: book #6 in the Midnight Breed series

For this book, we step outside the Order (at least for the main characters): our hero is Andreas Reichen, leader of the Berlin Darkhaven that was destroyed by the bad guys in the prior book. Andreas was presumed dead along with the rest of his family and community, but no one realized the talent he inherited from his Breedmate mother saved him -- like a phoenix rising from the flames, he survived, and has been wreaking vengeance, one bad guy, one crooked Agency employee, at a time ever since.

Now, only one remains: Wilhelm Roth, the mastermind of the entire plot to destroy Andreas and his Darkhaven. Roth is also the Breed who stole the woman who should have been Andreas's thirty years before. Claire, Roth's Breedmate and Andreas's former lover, is the only link Andreas has to Roth -- her blood links her directly to Roth, but is Andreas still honorable enough not to exploit that link? Things get even more complicated when it becomes apparent that Roth is in league with Dragos, the Big Bad that the Order has been tracking over the entire series.

The pathos of Andreas's past plays out well alongside the action of chasing Roth and Dragos, though Andreas gets a little too self-pitying and self-sacrificial for my taste after a while. Claire elicits sympathy, though, especially for the degree to which she's willing to protect or chase down and stay with Andreas once she knows he's alive.

There is, however, one gaping plot hole that drove me batty from the moment I detected it (behind a cut for spoilers): ( Read more... )

Overall, this was a decent entry in the series -- good couple dynamics and a nice advancement of the overall Big Bad arc. I'm still committed to the series.

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

HQN, contemporary romance, July 2009
Connections: Second in the Girlfriends trilogy, follows Cutting Loose

With this delightful and sizzling story, Susan Andersen returns us to the world of the three best friends -- Jane, Poppy, and Ava -- who have inherited a historic mansion and all its contents from their childhood mentor and inspiration. This time, it's artist, teacher, and "bleeding heart" Poppy at center stage, and she's going toe-to-toe with Detective Jason de Sanges over some teens caught vandalizing local businesses with graffiti. She wants the kids to help paint a mural on the wall they defaced, but Jase sees this as reward rather than a safe outlet for their creativity. The two figuratively strike sparks off each other, both in their arguments over the kids and in some truly spectacular sexual chemistry.

Jase is a fascinating hero -- it's like he doesn't believe redemption is possible, even for himself. Though he's so clearly not like the other men in his family, he still thinks he could slip up at any time. Poppy, with all her openness, acceptance, and intolerance for bullshit, really is his perfect match. I adore this couple -- they're the poster children for opposites attracting.

I really enjoyed both books in the Girlfriends series and am bitterly disappointed in HQN for their decision to not publish Ava's story. I live in hope that someday we readers will get that story, but in the meantime, enjoy Poppy and Jase's story, because it's worth it.

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

Pocket, historical romance, July 2009
Connections: final installment in School for Heiresses series

Forget the heiress students, in this installment, readers finally get the story of headmistress Charlotte Harris and her mysterious benefactor, "Cousin Michael," whose missives have graced the openings of every chapter in each preceding book. Fortunately, Ms. Jeffries doesn't hide Michael's real identity from readers for very long in this book, and I'm smugly pleased that I guessed correctly as to who he really is. Reasoning and blather behind the cut...( Read more... )...so the fun is watching David, Lord Kirkwood, try to keep it from Charlotte -- well, at least until he can present his case in the most advantageous light!

It's quite an intricate plot wherein David invented "Cousin Michael" as a form of revenge, but his plan backfired, because he ended up falling back in love with Charlotte, his first love, all over again, and now his house of cards is about to come down on his head. Charlotte herself is an intriguing contradiction -- so prim and proper with her "girls," and yet with such a streak of unrestrained wildness to her as well.

Their story is the Big Misunderstanding done right, set up in such a way that they can't really talk to each other about it -- at least not back in the day, and now, they're too proud or scared to do so, almost until it's too late. The interesting thing is it's a situation where I felt sympathy for both parties. Usually with this sort of plot I want to smack one or both of the people involved, but not this time. David was left humiliated with no idea why, while Charlotte was heartbroken and chose a very dismal fate for herself rather than endure what she thought would be a "ton marriage." It's bittersweet to the extreme.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older and so identify with characters more my age than those right out of the schoolroom, or maybe it was the huge buildup to Charlotte and David's story and the fact that Ms. Jeffries definitely didn't let readers down, but this was my favorite of all the books in the series, with mature love that stands a much better chance for happily-ever-after because it's stronger and better the second time around.

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

Jove, paranormal romance, August 2009
Connections: set on Harmony, but stands alone nicely

Lyra Dore is an amber "tuner" and prospector with a grudge. Cruz Sweetwater and his family company, Amber Inc., stole her claim of a magnificent amethyst amber ruin in the underground rainforests of Harmony. That was three months and a very expensive lawsuit ago. Now Cruz is back, claiming that he not only needs her professional help, but also that on a personal level, they are meant to be together.

Honestly, Castle/Krentz/Quick books are comfort reads to me, and not much more. If I ever found something new and earthshattering in one, I'd really be shocked, but being classified as a comfort read isn't a bad thing, either. They're fairly interchangeable but nevertheless enjoyable and entertaining in general, not to mention re-readable years later (as proven in my recent Krentz marathon).

What stood out to me as fun in this book was Vincent, the painting dust bunny, and the running joke among the Sweetwaters that Lyra broke Cruz's heart. What bugged me is that all stones, no matter what color they are, are considered amber -- that's hard to wrap my head around, since here on Earth, amber is essentially petrified tree sap and amethyst is a form of quartz rock. But hey, I guess on Harmony, amber is similar to how all carbonated beverages in the southern US on Earth are "Coke" even when you order a 7-Up. Another thing that's a little confusing is the intertwining of the Arcane Society through the Quick historicals, Krentz contemporaries, and Castle futuristics -- with the publication schedules for paperbacks, one can get confused with all the references if one hasn't read the referenced books yet.

Still, I quite like the world of Harmony, and someday, I'll do a marathon re-read, and this book will be a part of that.

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

Berkley Heat, erotic romance, August 2009

A decade ago, free-spirited rocker chick Erin Brown had a scorching affair with seemingly straitlaced cop Todd Keenan, but they went their separate ways when Todd couldn't handle his part of their sexual power exchange. Now in the present day, they meet again, both scarred (literally and emotionally) by events in the intervening years.

This time around, though, Todd is more confident and sure of his sexuality, even when his best friend Ben enters his relationship with Erin on an intimate level. But is his new-found confidence enough to tie him, Erin, and Ben together for good, especially in the face of Erin's past and their various families?

I really enjoyed this book. I could not put it down, but at the same time was trying to force myself to read slowly so that it wouldn't end too soon. I loved that Erin was a straight-up, in-your-face kind of woman, sure of who she was and what she wanted, but at the same time, she was emotional and vulnerable. So few authors give their characters both sides of the coin, and I love that Ms. Dane recognizes that even kick-ass females aren't completely invulnerable. Erin certainly isn't. Her emotional turmoil was heartwrenching and her eventual trust in a new life filled with happiness -- happiness she's allowed to have -- was great to watch.

The relationships and power exchanges were tremendously realistic and satisfying. The sex was, of course, off-the-charts hot and chock-full of chemistry. And how decadent that while Todd and Ben were all about lavishing Erin with pleasure, they weren't phobic about each other, either. Good stuff.

If I have one quibble, it's with the practicality of a permanent, formal menage. I've talked about this before with other books. Somehow, for me as a reader, it just seems to work better in a futuristic or some otherworldly setting. When set in our contemporary world, I end up getting caught up in the what-if type questions. That said, it did seem like Todd, Erin, and Ben had a good handle on things, and maybe if more was done with that angle, I'd feel better myself. Having said that, I know Ms. Dane has other books planned for this setting, so maybe I'll be getting my wish in the future. My quibble definitely wasn't enough to put me off; this book is going -- and staying -- on my keeper shelf.

1/2

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

Samhain, romantic suspense, October 2009
Connections: second in trilogy

First of all, a big fat THANK YOU to Samhain Publishing for picking up Gennita Low's contract on these books. You're not going to regret it, because she rocks!

A quick word of advice to GLow fans: because Virtually Hers picks up where Virtually His left off and it's been 2 years, it might be good to re-read VHis first, just to refresh your memory on the remote viewing programs and such, before embarking on the new adventures of Hell and Hades.

When last we left Helen "Hell" Roston, she had just done two hugely important things: she remote-viewed spontaneously without the aid of devices or her mysterious and seductive monitor, Hades, and through said remote-viewing, learned the identity of Hades. Now the trick is getting super-slick Jed McNeil to admit his role as Hades, and what results is a deviously seductive game of cat and mouse between the two super spies.

Personal games aside, Jed and Helen still have a mission to complete: locating missing weapons before a rival team, who apparently also have a remote viewer, does. And when Helen and one of the other COMCEN team members who can remote-view, Armando, have a close encounter on the "psychic plane" (for lack of a better word) with the rival team's remote viewer right there in COMCEN HQ, the whole team realizes that things are far more deadly than originally thought. And when Helen and Jed, as Hell and Hades, trace the invasion back to its source, Jed discovers it's far more personal too.

But before we can find out why, we're given one hell of a cliffhanger -- when is Virtually One coming out, anyway?!

I thoroughly enjoyed this second foray into the secret world of remote viewing. The plot was well-drawn, and by virtue of having read VHis first, I was entrenched in the lingo for this go-round. The commandos of COMCEN are great fun, and it was terrific to see them all again. But the centerpiece, of course, was the growing relationship between Hell and Hades.

Ms. Low expertly built the layers of interaction between Helen and Jed, giving them identities and interactions as Hell and Hades, Helen and Number Nine, and Elena and Jed, and making them functional on every level. The three levels might not fully mesh yet, but readers can see how they will, and the fun will be watching the characters get there.

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

Mira, romantic suspense, 2007
Connections: first in trilogy

I saved this book to read until the other two books in the set, Virtually Hers and Virtually One came out. Little did I know that I was going to have such a long, long wait! But, at long last, Samhain is releasing Virtually Hers this week, so I finally got around to re-entering the wonderfully complex world of Gennita Low with Virtually His.

I'm glad I saved the book to read together with the newer ones so that events would be fresh in my head. This isn't just romantic suspense, it's military romantic suspense, and it's filled with secret ops and acronyms and shadow organizations. Not only that, but it's military romantic suspense dealing with a special ops program about remote viewing in virtual reality -- aka, spying with the mind on the psychic plane -- so there were a ton of technical details to learn as well. Honestly, it was hard to keep straight at times...and still, I enjoyed the hell out of myself (pun intended).

Why? In short, the heroine, Helen/Elena/Hell Roston was just so damn much fun! She was both a kick-ass heroine and vulnerable. She surpassed every other candidate put forth by every other covert agency to win the position as the remote-viewing super soldier spy...and yet, inside the world of virtual reality, she is both in control of what she is seeing, but completely under the control of "Hades," her maddeningly mysterious and seductive monitor.

I had the unusual perspective of already knowing who Hades was, but such is the cleverness of Ms. Low's writing, that even I got lost in Hell's perspective of frustrated lack of knowledge from time to time. And when I did remember, all I could do was grin over how well-matched Hell and Hades were. A few scenes made me a bit squeamish as they had Hell under her monitor's complete control in every sense of the word, but at the same time, I have ever faith that Hell will give as good as she gets at some point in the coming books, and I can't wait to find out.

1/2

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews