Grand Central/Forever, historical romance, May 2009
Connections: book #3 in the Legend of the Four Soldiers quartet

OK, I did 2 less-than-good reviews tonight, and I want to end on a high note -- with Elizabeth Hoyt, I can do that. To Beguile a Beast is a wonderful take on the Beauty and the Beast fable.

Helen Fitzwilliam is the mistress of the powerful Duke of Lister, and had two children by him. Lister is cold and cruel, and Helen takes her children and flees, unable to take it any longer. Her friend Melissande (To Seduce a Sinner), sends her little family to the wilds of Scotland, to be "housekeeper" for Sir Alistair Munroe, a naturalist who became a recluse after he was horribly disfigured in the Spinner's Falls massacre. Really, Melissande is engaging in some subtle matchmaking.

And it works. Alistair is both blown away by Helen's beauty and by the fact that Helen isn't put off by his scars. But he also sees the down-to-earth woman behind the beauty, and that's what thrills Helen. As they explore their feelings for each other, Lister's henchmen close in on them, and Alistair tries to get closer to the answers that remain about the massacre and who among the ranks betrayed the regiment.

As anyone who's followed my reviews knows, I'm not nuts about kids in my romance novels, and Helen's kids aren't an exception, although I did like how Alistair bonded with them, and they did serve their purpose in drawing Alistair out of his self-imposed exile. What I really loved though was Helen opening up to Alistair and vice-versa, and Alistair finally coming to the realization that he didn't have to punish himself for life for the horrible things that happened to him. Their relationship is beautifully drawn, and the over-arching plot of the mystery of the massacre is building up nicely. I definitely can't wait for the final installment!

1/2

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

Berkley Sensation, historical romance, July 2008
Connections: only very slightly related to The Spymaster's Lady, stands well alone

I absolutely loved The Spymaster's Lady, and was eagerly anticipating this release, but sadly, My Lord and Spymaster didn't live up to my expectations.

Jess Whitby's father has been arrested for treason, accused of being the notorious spy "Cinq." She's determined to prove him innocent, and she's sure Captain Sebastian Kennett is the real Cinq. But of course her attraction for him complicates her mission...

I was frustrated with the lack of believable motivation for the characters. We find out almost NOTHING about Jess until page 262, when she finally tells Sebastian how she came to work for Lazarus. I still know practically nothing about Sebastian himself, except that he's a bastard who had a hard life until he was taken in by his aunt, and he looks at Jess and alpha males, "Hnnngh. Mine," with no real reason for why he wants her. I totally didn't buy their chemistry.

If that wasn't bad enough, I can't figure out the damn plot at all. What's with the Irishmen? Who employed them? What happened in the past to make Sebastian the rich one and Quentin dependent on him?

I like animals, but the ferret thing struck me as unrealistic.

The speech patterns drove me insane. Particularly Josiah Whitby's. With Jess, he's all "thee" and "tha" but with Sebastian, he talks normally.

About the only thing I liked about this book was Adrian...and even he was being a little too obtuse for my taste.

I think that yes, my expectations were far too high after The Spymaster's Lady. I was mostly forcing my way through the book, telling myself, "Everyone else loved this book, what are you missing?" When I got to the bit about her going back to Lazarus, I got excited, thinking I was finally about to learn something of value, but after that, enthusiasm died off again.

I'll still read Ms. Bourne's next book -- hopefully it will line up with my expectations.

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

This volume of short stories, all by new-to-me authors, left me with mixed feelings. I liked 2 of the stories, was "meh" about another, and the first story in the volume was the worst piece of dreck I have EVER read in all my years of reading. Without further ado...

"Torn Desires," Lacey Danes: The only reason I finished it was to count the number of times the author used the word "futter" or some variation thereof...no less than 37 times! The characters were horrible and unsympathetic, and the heroine's fascination for one of the men she was "torn" between was completely incomprehensible. ( Read more... )
Ugh. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. And I warn all of you now not to play a drinking game with the word "futter" in that story, b/c you will die of acute liver poisoning. Absolutely, positively zero readers, happy or otherwise.

"Get There," Megan Hart: Fortunately, this story was completely wonderful and took the bad taste of the first story out of my mouth. This was a sweet and sexy story of an engaged couple counting the hours until they can start their new life together. Edie and Ty are a terrifically believeable couple, and I was rooting for them 100% of the way. My only complaint was that it was too short! Now I simply must get Hart's full-length books...5 happy readers.

"Hell Is Where the Heart Is," Jackie Kessler: I have the first of Ms. Kessler's books featuring succubus Jezebel, but I haven't read it yet. Perhaps I would have liked this story better if I'd read the full-length books first, but since I didn't, this was basically a thin plot with lots of sex -- sex that seemed meaningless without a broader context and understanding of the characters. Yes, you've finally heard me say something had too much sex, LOL. This was probably more my bad than Ms. Kessler's, and I'll still be reading the full-length books. 2 happy readers.

"By Valentine's Day," Jess Michaels: this story was the other winner in the volume. Charlotte once made a play for her brother's best friend, and he turned her down. Colin grew to regret his rejection, and now that Charlotte is a widow, he's ready to play for keeps. This story was both charming, heady, and emotional -- this couple is utterly real, learning from the mistakes of their past, and ensuring their happily ever after. I'll be looking for more from Ms. Michaels. 5 happy readers.

To be fair to the other authors in this volume, I'm only going to count 3 stories for my average rating:

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

Berkley Heat, erotic romance, May 2009 (ARC)
Connections: set in same world as Undercover but stands alone

If I had to think of one phrase to describe this book, it's "a sweeping romance." Lead characters Abbie and Roman call to mind other seemingly impossible lovers like Lara and Zhivago. It's amazing how a simple thing such as love can become epic in the hands of the right author -- and this is most definitely the case with Ms. Dane's creations in Relentless.

Set in the same multi-'Verse world as Undercover, this story focuses more on the meaning of Family rule, for both the Families and the Unranked citizens. Abigail Haws is an Unranked barrister who spends her days fighting for the rights of those in her class, not only in her legal work but also as the head of the Movement for Representative Democracy, a committee that is striving to give the Unranked a voice in their own government. To that end, she schedules a meeting with Roman Lyons, the head of House Lyons and highest ranked of all the Families, to talk with him about the MRD's wish list.

Roman is a good leader, and at first he doesn't see the need for the Unranked to get a say. But he listens to Abbie, not only because he is a good leader, but also because something about her really appeals to him on a personal level. Soon they are engaged in an illicit and incendiary affair that they both know can go nowhere due to Roman's status and Abbie's lack thereof.

A secondary plot involving the Unranked son of Roman's assistant Marcus serves as an excellent foil and tutorial for the class differences between the Ranked and the Unranked, for readers and characters alike. Because Jaron was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was the only Unranked person in that wrong place, he is the scapegoat for a murder charge. Abbie's quest to clear his name mirrors her quest to bring a truly fair and equal style of government to the Federated Universes. As with politics in the real world, she wins some people over, and alienates others.

What I love so much about this story is that though it's set in an imaginary world so far removed from our own, there's still a real-life feel to everything: determined, caring people fighting for a cause they believe in, and two wonderfully complex people falling in love and following their hearts. I absolutely love that Roman separates the professional Abigail from Abbie, the woman he's attracted to. His care in making sure that her cause isn't hurt by their feelings for each other is telling of his noble character -- he shows his world and the readers that he truly deserves to be the head of House Lyons. Equally wonderful is how Abbie refuses to use her personal relationship for professional gain, and how she defends that decision to others who want her to do so.

Achingly poignant romance, principled ideals, and some truly spectacular love scenes all add up to one thing: a sweeping romance that's simply perfect. I'll let Lauren Dane sweep me away any day of the week.

She's hosting a big contest as well as daily book giveaways. To enter, go to this link.

Jove, contemporary romance, April 2009 (mass-market edition)

So I RUSHED to get this book and read it in time for the made-for-TV movie on Lifetime. I needn't have rushed, given what a crapfest the movie was. Seriously, people who also saw it, how AWFUL was that?!?! Miscast, mis-adapted, missed the mark...OMG, I want those two hours of my life back. It took me slightly longer than two hours to read the book, but those were hours well spent, thank the book gods.

Tribute is the story of Cilla McGowan, a former child star turned house flipper, who buys the Little Farm, her famous late grandmother's country home in the Shenandoah Valley. Her plan is to restore it to its former glory as a tribute (get it?) to the incomparable Janet Hardy and to her paternal ancestors, who owned it before her grandmother. While cleaning out the attic, she finds a series of unsigned love letters to her grandmother that indicate not only that Janet had an affair with a local married man, but that she was pregnant with his child at the time of her suicide. This tidbit weaves a malicious thread through the backdrop of Cilla's new life, and the new love she is discovering with graphic novelist Ford Sawyer.

Ms. Roberts's stand-alone novels still rate very highly in my estimation, and this is no exception. Despite having been famous at one point in her life, Cilla is very practical and down to earth. Ford, despite his own fame, is the same. I love the joke that he's so inept with tools, no one will trust him with them. Ms. Roberts always gets the family dynamic down pat -- I really like how she slowly brings Cilla into a closer relationship with her father and stepfamily and even manages to put a few chinks in the wall between her and her mother. If there was one thing that bugged me about this book it was that the ending was rather abrupt, with little closure. One of Cilla and Ford's closest friends has just suffered an incredible blow, and it's all "whew, we're safe, we'll be there for our friend, the end." Other than that, this was a damn good read. So if you watched the TV movie, don't judge Ms. Roberts on it -- get the book. Trust me.

1/2

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews

Sourcebooks, paranormal romance, 2008
Connections: first in series

I found Linda Wisdom via Yasmine Galenorn, but the two styles of writing could not be more different. Both, though, are terrific -- Ms. Galenorn's writing is dark and intense and Ms. Wisdom's writing is lighter, but no less intense for it.

In this book, we're introduced to real-life witch Jasmine "Jazz" Tremaine. She lives in LA with her human (male) roommate Krebs, Irma, the ghost who haunts her classic car, and Fluff and Puff, feral bunny slippers of indeterminate origin. She makes her living as a freelance curse-lifter and a limo driver for otherworldly beings at All Creatures Limo Service, run by a creepy goblin-type named Dweezil.

Jazz's life is turned upside-down (again) when her on-again-off-again lover, vampire Nick Gregory, shows up asking for her help. Every time she sees Nick, sparks fly, danger brews, and she usually ends up in jail -- sometimes worse. One of the "sometimes worse" involved assault at the hands of Clive Reeves, a sick-minded, sadistic human, back in the earlier part of the century. Jazz thought she killed him, but...not so much. Nick is sure Reeves is behind the disappearance of vampires he's been investigating. At first Jazz thinks, so what, it's only vampires, but then she realizes that Reeves might not stop at the bloodsuckers -- who's to say he won't come after the witches of the world too?

Despite the dark tones of a vampire serial killer (serial killer of vampires?), this book was a delight to read. Jazz and Nick have terrific chemistry, rather like Tracy and Hepburn, or a supernatural Nick and Nora Charles. There are so many clever elements to the world that Ms. Wisdom has built, I don't know where to start: the witchy temper tantrums that piss off Mother Nature, the wall mail, the totally sinful idea that witches can eat all they want and not get fat (LOL), the bunny slippers...? I think my favorite, though, has to be that Jazz's personal version of "so mote it be" is "because I say so dammit!" That one line sums up Jazz so well.

There were some klunky parts, though the one thing that really bugged me is if Jazz would make a pun or something, an explanation of it would quickly follow, like the readers wouldn't get the joke otherwise. For example, Jazz once refers to Irma as "Mrs. Loose Lips Sink Ships" and the next sentence is "Nick grinned at Jazz's World War II reference to people giving away secrets." Not being a complete idiot, I don't need the reference spelled out for me like that.

But honestly, other than that, I had so much fun with Jazz and Nick that I was sorry to see them go. So I'm very glad this is the start of a series, because I definitely want to spend more time with them.

Review © 2009 by Riley's Reviews