RIP Jo Beverly

I just read on Dear Author that Jo Beverly, a popular author of historical fiction. Beverly had been fighting cancer for years and it had been thought to be in remission until only recently, when it was discovered that it'd returned.

When I was working at a local chain bookstore I remember her books being fairly popular and there were many who looked for her works specifically, especially the Malloren books.

Rest in Peace, Jo Beverly. You will be missed.

Book Review: The Angel Stone by Juliet Dark

Title: The Angel Stone (Fairwick Trilogy Book 3)
Author: Juliet Dark
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: 9/3/2013





You know those books, the ones that you eagerly await with baited breath? The ones that when you get them, you want to go run around the block screaming at the top of your lungs while holding your literary prize over your head like the Olympic Torch? This was one of those books and I was excited when I was approved for a copy. I can't say that this book really met those expectations, which were admittedly a little high.

For Callie McFay, a half-witch/half-fey professor of folklore and Gothic literature, the fight to save the enchanted town of Fairwick, New York, is far from over. After a hostile takeover by the Grove—a sinister group of witches and their cohorts—many of the local fey have been banished or killed, including Callie’s one true love. And in place of the spirit of tolerance and harmony, the new administration at Fairwick College has fostered an air of danger and distrust. 

With her unique magical abilities, Callie is the only one who can rescue her friends from exile and restore order to the school—a task that requires her to find the Angel Stone, a legendary talisman of immense power. Propelled on an extraordinary quest back to seventeenth-century Scotland, Callie risks her life to obtain the stone. Yet when she encounters a sexy incarnation of her lost love, she finds the greater risk is to her heart. As the fate of Fairwick hangs in the balance, Callie must make a wrenching choice: reclaim a chance for eternal passion or save everything she holds dear.

The story in this book didn't start off terribly. To the contrary, this actually wasn't half bad to start and I kept going through the pages at a feverish pace. There was still that element of magic that kept me mesmerized despite having some misgivings over how the book's prose felt in relation to its subject matter. The story so far has been fairly dark and the writing style felt slightly unsuited, as it felt pretty light and airy at times. That didn't overly bother me until it came time for Callie to travel back in time.

And that's about where the magic seemed to turn off for me as the reader.

The passages in the past aren't awful, but they seemed to lack the spark that the earlier pages of Angel Stone held. They almost felt a little forced and obligatory at times, especially when long stretches would pass and it just felt like things were going on forever. This kind of made this part of the story sag, which was unfortunate when you consider that once the story tries to return to its former pacing and setting, the plot rushes far too quickly and Dark tries to cram all of these various plot elements together and resolve them in the span of a few pages.

It just doesn't work and for people who were previously complaining that Dark tries too hard to mash too many plots into one area and ends up ping-ponging all over the place as a result, this will be a major issue. Some of the plot resolution just seems a little false, when you consider that some of these were built up to be awfully impossible to beat earlier in the book and they're resolved in about a page or so. It just rings a little hollow and I can't help but feel that while Dark is amazing at setting up a story and a great world, she doesn't seem to really have a handle on the endings. I can't help but feel that if maybe, just maybe she'd cut down on the long part in the middle about traveling to the past and/or used that to extend the ending and write it out a little more rather than resolving everything in about 30 pages, the book would have been that much stronger for it.

I liked the book for the most part, but ultimately I can't give this much more than three stars. This was a fizzle of an ending as opposed to the huge bang that I was hoping for. It's like expecting a Cherry Coke and someone gives you a Diet Pepsi. You might like Diet Pepsi, but it wasn't what you were expecting your server to supply. If you're eagerly awaiting the final book then I wouldn't say that you should avoid this book or only get it from the library. I would say that you should lower your expectations, as this doesn't really hold up to Demon Lover or Water Witch. I'd still check out Dark's other works, but with a little hesitation.

Three out of Five Stars


(ARC provided by Netgalley and Ballentine Books)

Book Review: How Beauty Met the Beast by Jax Garren

Title: How Beauty Met the Beast (Tales of the Underlight #1)
Author: Jax Garren
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: Out Now!
eISBN: B0092MPT80






Look at that cover. Isn't that the most enticing thing you've ever seen? I'll fully admit that I was drawn in by the kick butt cover that had a beautiful and strong looking woman on the cover that wasn't the typical "porcelain doll" perfection that you often see on romance covers. Well, that and I loved her outfit.

The Beast 

Scarred. Damaged. Living with a terrible secret. Agent of the Underlight Wesley "Hauk" Haukon has nothing left but the fight for liberty against the oppressive Order of Ananke. He's starting to lose hope...and then he sees her. 

The Beauty

Despite her night job as a burlesque dancer, grad student Jolie Benoit has always played the mostly good girl. That all changes following a scorching sexual encounter with a stranger whose face she doesn't see. After she's kidnapped by thugs and rescued by a man with a very familiar voice, Jolie becomes a pawn in a struggle she never knew existed. 

Hauk knows he cannot have her, and resolves to protect his heart and his secrets. But as they work together and grow closer, he finds new reason to keep fighting. Dare he risk hope in a new life, one where Jolie can see past his ravaged face and where their friendship can grow into something more? 

Now doesn't that sound cool? Not only do you have a book based around a burlesque dancer, but you also have an updated telling of Beauty and the Beast. Ok sure, I know that this is far from the first, but I really do love fairy tale re-tellings because most authors will put an interesting spin on the tale. That the "beast" in this one is scarred from fighting for his country is a nice twist because of what it might bring in the future of the trilogy.

First let me tell you the good. This has a good premise, that of an underground society, a rich girl turned burlesque dancer drawn into a conspiracy that applies to her more than she could imagine, and teasings of a potential romance between her and her occasionally rough savior Hauk. We're given a nice little sex scene early on in the book, which I'll warn you- is the only sex scene you'll get in this novella. There's some nice actions scenes here as well that occur later on in the book.

The bad? We don't have a huge amount of world building early on in this book. We're told some things, but by large this felt like it was part two of a larger series rather than the first book. I kept feeling like I was missing out on a lot, which kept me from getting as immersed in the book as I'd otherwise like. Every time I started getting really pulled into the story I'd read something about the Underlight in an offhand way, reminding me how little I knew about the world and reinforcing the "second book" feel. I think this was deliberately done so that we'd learn about the world along with Jolie and empathize more with her, but it just drew me out of the tale. I'd like to say that this wasn't a big issue, but I know that for some this will be a deal breaker. Some won't mind this, some will, and while I know that part of this was because of the huge secrecy requirements of the Underlight, it still bugged me. It also didn't help that at times we went from no information to total information deluge. I just think that if it'd been a little more spaced out info-wise, it would've made it a more even experience.

Overall though, this wasn't a bad read and I'll say that it's worth the two dollar "cover charge" to read. I've read a lot worse that I've paid a lot more for and despite feeling occasionally lost, I'm curious enough to see what will happen next.

3 out of 5 stars


(eARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: The Uninvited by Heather Graham

Title: The Uninvited (Krewe of Hunters #8)
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Mira/Harlequin
Release Date: 08/28/2012
ISBN: 0778313700





I believe that this might be the last book in the Krewe of Hunters series, and I have to say that I'm a little glad at that. The idea behind the ongoing series is good, but there's only so many times you can create new Krewes just to start a new love interest before it just seems a little "same old, same old".


1777: In the throes of the Revolutionary War, Landon Mansion is commandeered by British Lord "Butcher" Bedford. He stabs Lucy Tarleton—who spurned his king and his love—leaving her to die in her father's arms.


NOW: After the day's final tour, docent Allison Leigh makes her rounds while locking up…and finds a colleague slumped over Bedford's desk, impaled on his own replica bayonet. 


Resident ghosts may be the stock-in-trade of stately Philadelphia homes, but Allison—a noted historian—is indignant at the prospect of "ghost hunters" investigating this apparent murder. 


Agent Tyler Montague knows his hauntings and his history. But while Allison is skeptical of the newcomer, a second mysterious murder occurs. Has "Butcher" Bedford resurfaced? Or is there another malevolent force at work in Landon Mansion? Wary, yet deeply attracted, Allison has to trust in Tyler and work with him to discover just what uninvited guest—dead or alive—has taken over the house. 


Or their lives could become history!

Now I have to say that one of the things I enjoyed about this entry was that Allison and Tyler don't actually jump into bed together immediately. Graham has the pair experience sparks, but for the most part they focus on the whole "someone is killing people and Allison is in danger" stuff first. We see Allison feeling guilty about her attraction to Tyler, thinking that it's inappropriate to lust after him when people are dying all around her, people she cared about. This is a very natural reaction and one that I'm glad Graham explored here. After all, if a few of your coworkers died you probably wouldn't be solely focusing on the sparks between you and Agent Awesome-Sauce.

I also rather liked the way the book played out for the most part. The mystery was nice and the history seemed to be pretty well researched, something that I noticed in the last few books in the series as well. This is one of Graham's strong suits in this series.

Where the book falters is that there are some scenes where it just seems a little bland and I really couldn't help but wish that we'd more get to the point. I also felt that the ending was a little overly rushed, making the rationale of the killer and the reveal underwhelming. I wasn't expecting a reveal that would make me gasp, just one that felt a more built up. It just feels like Graham sort of ran out of pages and figured "OK buttercup, time to wrap this mother up". This felt a little disappointing because the book up to that point was good. I almost think that the book would've been better served by not having a big showdown scene and having the baddie arrested without the inevitable "hey, I'm kidnapping the girl so I can kill her" scene.

Overall though, this wasn't terrible. It was good to see Adam poke his head into the book. I liked the history mixed into the book and I liked that the romance took a back burner to the story. I just feel that this series has run its course and that while I wouldn't mind seeing a story centered around a pre-existing couple (much like how Nora Roberts's In Death series does this), it's time for Roberts to move on. She's gotten a fresh wind with the last few books, but I can't help but feel that she'd rather be writing something else.

3 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: The Unspoken by Heather Graham

Title: The Unspoken (Krewe of Hunters)
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Release Date: July 31, 2012
ISBN: 0778313611





If you've read my previous reviews for some of the books in this series, you'll know that I've been rather disappointed overall by the KoH series. Most of them seemed to more fizzle than anything else, but I'm glad to say that this book is a marked improvement over the last few books in this series. It's not an overwhelmingly great "Graham's back" type of book, but it's enough to where I can definitely recommend it to Graham fans.

1898: Bound for Chicago, the freighter Jerry McGuen goes down in Lake Michigan, taking with it every man aboard. But what other fate could befall a vessel carrying the ill-gotten sarcophagus of an Egyptian sorcerer?

Now: A veteran diver and "ghost ship" expert is exploring the legendary wreck for a documentary. He dies inexplicably inside the freighter's main saloon. Then another diver is killed and panicked rumors rise like bubbles from the lake: ancient demons have awakened below!

The expedition's beleaguered financier calls paranormal investigator Katya Sokolov to Chicago to save the film—and perhaps some innocent lives. Along with media forensics guru Will Chan, Kat plumbs the depths of an evil that may date back to the time of the Pharaohs. But some secrets are best drowned in the seas of the past.…

I really believe that part of what makes the book work is that our pairing in this book are two members from the separate Krewe teams. They've had their characters slowly built up in the previous books and because of that, they're more developed than some of the other love interests and you can get more invested in their characters and their romance. The mystery isn't bad either. It's not going to stump Sherlock Holmes anytime soon, but it's enough to keep me reading and the whole "investigating a shipwreck" part was entertaining.

My biggest gripe would've been that Kat and Will's romance goes a little fast at times. One moment they're ready to tear each other's heads off and the next they're totally into each other and friendly enough to where they can leave the door open between their rooms. The interaction between them was so nice that I didn't overly mind, but I'd have liked to see a bit more of the thawing of the ice between them. Their animosity/irritation for one another was so strong at first (without being outright hate) that it just seemed a little to sudden. The whodunit could've been a little better done, but it made sense for the most part and was entertaining, so I can't really get too angry about that.

Overall though, this was a very fun read and one of the better entries in the KoH series so far. There's a very good dollop of adventure here, which will make this a fantastic beach read. I didn't have to struggle as much through this as I did with some of the earlier books in the series and towards the end I couldn't help but want to keep reading. It's still not Graham's best work, but it's one that fans will want to read.

3.5 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book review: White Witch by Trish Milburn

Title: White Witch (Book 1 of the Coven Series)

Author: Trish Milburn

Publisher: Bell Bridge Books

Release Date: 03/01/2012

ISBN: 9781611940831

Witchcraft Is Her Family's Business.
No One Quits The Family And Lives To Tell About It.

"Jax" Pherson has power, enough power to know her future will end in service to the dark coven her father controls. Unless she can stay hidden in a small community in the mountains of North Carolina. She must find a way to live without magic and deny the darkness she feels welling up inside her-the same dark power that fuels the covens around the world.

All she wants is a normal life. A boyfriend. Friends. Some place to belong, but all too soon Jax's barely begun new life hangs in the balance when she discovers that the boy she's attracted to is sworn to kill her kind. He's a hunter with good reason to kill everything that goes bump in the night.

Even the most fleeting use of her power is tantamount to signing her death warrant and will bring both hunter and coven down on her. But can she walk away when her friends are threatened by an old evil? Something created by the magic of witches? Jax's only hope of survival is to convince the boy she loves to forget everything he's ever been taught and help her find a way to fight the covens. To believe there is some good in her.

I have to say that while this book wasn't perfect, it was insanely fun to read. A lot of the trends for witch books have been to cast witches as poor misunderstood groups with factions who "just" misuse their powers. This book has witches who appear to have deliberately tainted their magic with darkness and are very much the epitome of evil witch. Minus the ugly part, though. Apparently one of the bennies of being twisted around is that you all look drop dead gorgeous.

One of the things that this book has going for it is that while there's a lot (and I mean a LOT) of familiar literary tropes in here, Milburn has such an addicting writing style that you really don't care that you've seen similar versions of this story before. The characters here are easy to like, but I'll admit that it's the secondary characters of Stacy and Toni that I really got hooked on to. I loved Toni because she had the most description (plus she's a Whedon fan) and Stacy was fun because well, it's always fun to have a snotty mean girl around.

I did like the sparks and chemistry between our main character Jax and her love interest Kellan, although part of me does feel that it's more lust driven at times than romantically driven. Don't get me wrong, they do make an excellent couple but I just couldn't see the "OMG love" development until later in the book. Since there's at least two more books for this, I figure that there's enough time to have the relationship develop past the extremes and have more scenes that are more tender and less action or lust driven scenes. This I sort of think was a result of the book moving so insanely fast. Milburn has the book progressing at a pretty fast pace, with me wishing that some things (such as the romance and more background info on Jax and the covens) were given more screen time to develop.

Overall this was a blast to read and if you're a fan of books like Tiernan's Sweep, you'll probably like White Witch. It's well worth purchasing, in my opinion. There's enough here to make me seriously long for the next two books in the series.

4 out of 5 stars

(Arc provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Mesmerize by Artist Arthur

Title: Mesmerize (Mystyx #4)
Author: Artist Arthur
Publisher: Kimani Tru (Harlequin)
ISBN: 0373534647
Release Date: 01/24/2012

Things come to a head in this book for our little Mystyx gang, but I'll warn you: there is still more to come in this series. I'll try to keep the spoilers in this review to a minimum, but some of the stuff that happens here is pretty big.

You can’t move forward until you deal with the past…

Starting over is nothing new to diplomat’s daughter Lindsey Yi. She’s grown up changing schools the way other girls change clothes. Still, moving to Lincoln, Connecticut, is different. Although she’s still reeling from the loss of her parents in an accident, Lindsey is finally in a place that feels like home. Because here, Lindsey’s ability to read other people’s thoughts doesn’t make her weird. It makes her one of the Mystyx.

When Dylan Murphy—hot, popular and a senior—starts to notice her, things get serious, fast. But even as she’s figuring out how she really feels, the Mystyx realize that they’re not the only supernaturals in town. There are other gifted teens who have different motives. And they are hoping to get close enough to the Mystyx to convert them—and the world—to Darkness…

First off, I'll warn people that you might be surprised at some of the events in this book. We do get to see a whole new side of Lindsey, but it comes at a very serious cost for our main characters. I have to admit that I was pretty sad to see certain things in the book happen, but all things considered it made sense that things like this would potentially happen- especially considering all of the pain and loss that everyone has had to go through earlier in the series.

There's a big confrontation in this book and initially I thought that this might have been the end of the series, although there is still another book and enough here is left open to where the series can go into an entirely new direction. I'm kind of digging the way it ended, to be honest. I think it'd be more interesting to see how these new story lines develop.

The only big problem I had with this book is that at times the action scenes felt like they went by a little too quickly. This does help give me the feeling that things are happening fast and furious, but I just wanted a little more detail and explanation in a few places. It just needed a little more time spent on these elements.

Overall this was a good read and one I'd recommend to fans of the series thus far. It's good to get a deeper glimpse into Lindsay's life, although I wish the actions scenes were a little more drawn out. (Especially the final battle of the book.) It's not my absolute favorite of the series, but the last few paragraphs has got me pretty excited for what might happen in the next entry.

3.5 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

-----------------------------

Just to let you guys know, you still have plenty of time to win a copy of this book through the contest I'm hosting! This is something that I would recommend as a read, especially a signed copy!

Book Review: The Evil Inside by Heather Graham

Title: The Evil Inside (Krewe of Hunters #4)

Author: Heather Graham

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: 08/30/2011

ISBN: 0778312534

I was initially apprehensive about reading this book. After all, some of the previous books in this series weren't really as good as some of Graham's previous works. I decided to give this a read & ultimately I'm rather glad I did.

For as long as it has stood overlooking New England’s jagged coastline, Lexington House has been the witness to madness…and murder. But in recent years the inexplicable malice that once tormented so many has lain as silent as its victims. Until now…

A member of the nation’s foremost paranormal forensic team, Jenna Duffy has made a career out of investigating the inexplicable. Yet nothing could prepare her for the string of slayings once again plaguing Lexington House – or for the chief suspect, a boy barely old enough to drive, much less kill.

With the young man’s life on the line, Jenna must team up with attorney Samuel Hill to pinpoint who – or what – is taking the lives of those who get too close to the past. But everything they learn brings them closer to the forces of evil stalking this tortured ground.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I really enjoyed reading this book. From the very first page I was hooked. The suspense in this was well done for the most part & unlike some of the previous books, I couldn't instantly discover who the true killer was. The romance in this was also pleasant, albeit a little too overly similarly plotted to the romances in the previous books. I'd like to see a romance in this series (there's still one more character to match up) where the love interest didn't instantly go the skeptical route or have that be a big focus of the match up. It just gets a little overly tread after a while. Even with this handicap our main characters are still well matched. Their romance isn't "set the pages on fire" hot, but it is sweet.

One of the strongest points in the book was the book's atmosphere, which was helped along by Graham setting the story in Salem, Massachusetts. The name alone gives the reader a certain mental image, which helps out greatly in this book. It also doesn't hurt that Graham decided to bring in the idea of witch hunting, comparing the hunts of the past to those of the present. It was a bold but smart move by Graham.

It's not a completely flawless book, however. At times I really couldn't help but wish that Graham had fleshed out some of the characters more, especially our whodunit. The whodunit wasn't an outrageous surprise but a little more development would have made the finish really stand out. I sort of blame this on the fact that this book was part of a series. It was only when the KoH had to be involved that the book started somewhat unraveling & I feel like if our two heroes had to do more of the footwork themselves (rather than relying on people who could quickly do it offscreen) the book would have been a little more tightly woven. This would have been an excellent standalone novel.

I'd still highly recommend this as a last minute vacation or "yay, the kids are back in school" read. Despite a few stumbles, this was a lot of fun to read & I would recommend it even if you haven't read or been all that entranced by the previous books. I'd go as far as to say that this is easily the best book of the series so far.

3.4/5

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Check it Out: Lisa Lim

Hi everyone! This month's series of authors to watch for is winding down, but I've still got a few authors to reveal to you!

Lisa Lim has written a book that definitely strikes a chord with me. It's about a girl who works in a call center & as someone who used to work in an outsourced "call before you dig" call center (Indiana Underground, how can I help you?), I can commiserate with the craziness that abounds in this profession. (Spraypainted dogs, people yelling at me to turn their utilities back on... it was crazy.) This is a profession that's actually ingenious to cast a heroine in- there's a lot of potential for humor, drama, & for one call to take you in some of the most wild directions!

What inspired you to write Confessions of a Call Center Gal?

I’m a chick lit junkie and I've read countless of chick lit novels. The women usually have fancy jobs, and they fancy men who hold fancy jobs. And I wanted to read about a woman I could relate to. A protagonist who is regular chick with a very ordinary job, who falls for a guy with an ordinary job. Although, the guy is anything but ordinary (I like to think).

And I know this sounds cliched, but my English teacher in college prefaced every writing assignment with this advice – “Write what you know.” And I know too much about call centers. One only need to hear the word "call center" and everyone’s blood pressure skyrockets through the roofs. Callers go ballistic and become verbally abusive over the phone, and often feel entitled to unload their personal demons on us. I've seen many of my co-workers on the verge of tears... and I wanted to tell our story.

What do you do in your spare time when you're not writing?

I have three pooches that I adore to bits. They're shelter dogs and my motto is ~ Don't shop! Adopt!

I enjoy walking my furry companions but I find it mildly annoying when people ask, “Oh are you walking the dogs or are the dogs walking you?” Me: *Dry laugh*

Oh, I also love scarfing down bean burritos. Mexican food. *Nom* *Nom*

By the way, I want to marry a bean burrito.

And he will have Mexican Monterey cheese hair.

What’s your typical celebration ritual when you sell a new book or get exciting news about an existing one? Anything strange or quirky we should know about?

Um, did I mention I love bean burritos? I blast the Mariachi music and gobble up bean burritos.

If you could choose one dessert or snack food that you could eat as much as you want of (and never gain an ounce!) what would it be?

Bwarhahahaha. I think you already know the answer to that one.

What was your favorite book growing up and why?

Anne of Green Gables, Sweet Valley High, oh and of course Peter Pan. That book is chock full of memorable sayings that I cherish. *COUGH* If I may? Here goes ~

“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.”

“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.”

“To love would be an awfully big adventure.”

“To live will be a great adventure.”

“If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!”

“Wendy,’ Peter Pan continued in a voice that no woman has ever yet been able to resist, ‘Wendy, one girl is more use than twenty boys.”

~ by the great J.M Barrie

If your book were to be turned into a movie, would your dream cast be?

Ohhh this is fab fun. The lead protagonist Maddy would be played by Zooey Deschannel (500 Days of Summer) and Zac Efron or Zac Levi would be cast as Mika—the Belgian stud.

Rex Lee (flamboyantly gay Asian on Entourage) or Jo Koy as Truong Nguyen.

What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

No other emotion quite compares to laughter, and I hope my readers get plenty of laughs.

A fun chick lit that will appeal to fans of Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes. Bridget Jones meets The Office. Madison Lee is a fresh college grad, ready to take on the world of print media. But she has zero luck landing a job. Unemployment is at ten percent and on the rise. Desperate and left with no other options, she accepts a position as a service rep at a call center in Pocatello, Idaho. At the Lightning Speed call center in Spudsville, Maddy plunges into the wild and dysfunctional world of customer service where Sales is prided over Service and an eight hour shift is equivalent to eight hours of callers bashing her over the phone. Oh sure, the calls are bad. But Maddy manages to find humor on the phone and off the phone. And with all the salacious drama behind the calls, there is never a dull moment at the Lightning Speed call center.

Lately . . . Maddy has been pining for her smolderingly gorgeous co-worker Mika Harket. Now things are heating up on the phone--and elsewhere. Don't hang up on this novel. Working at a call center has never been this garish . . . or this delightful.

Confessions of a Call Center Gal: a novel is available on Amazon for Kindle and on Barnes and Noble for Nook for $2.99. The paperback edition is available on Amazon for $12.95.

Book Review: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Title: Die for Me (Revenants #1)
Author: Amy Plum
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 05/10/2011
ISBN: 9780062004017

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

I have to admit that I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into. The synopsis on the back of the book was incredibly vague about what type of supernatural critter the book was about & as such, I didn't really go into this book with any preconceived notions. That actually helped the book out immensely as it enabled me to see this particular supernatural creature in a different light. Because of this, I'm not going to spill the beans as far as what Vincent is. (If you're curious then take the first letter of each paragraph after this one & it'll tell you what the supernatural creatures are. Or you could just google "revenants" but it's more fun this way, I guess.)

Zealous fans of series such as Twilight will enjoy the gentle romance that's played up in this book. While there is a bit of action in the book, the plot takes a good while to get there & decides to focus on building up the romance between the main characters as well as playing up the beautiful scenery of France.

Others who aren't as fond of Twilight might get a little frustrated that the main character isn't as well fleshed out as they'd like her to be. I couldn't help but wish for a little more development as far as characters go, but even so I couldn't help but like Kate for the most part. She doesn't go through the "I'm just an average girl, poor pitiful me" mopes to the extent that Bella does & while it does exist in the book, Plum gives Kate a reason to doubt herself. (Plus Kate isn't really as willing to sit back & do nothing or put up with as much stuff as Bella did.)

My absolute favorite part of the book had to be the twist on a very common supernatural creature. I'll admit that I was initially a little skeptical when I first realized what Vincent & his friends were, but after some initial misgivings I was able to enjoy how Plum interpreted these characters.

Because the book is so slow I can't help but feel that this book will really only appeal to a portion of the YA reading audience. It took me a while to get into this book & I'll admit that at one point I put the book down because I just couldn't really get all that connected with the characters or plot. It just ran a little too slow for my tastes.

I will say though, keep at it. The slow plot movement pays off in the end & I admit that I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would.

Even though I ended up not being overwhelmingly drawn into this book in the same way I was drawn into similar books like Hush, Hush, this is still an enjoyable book that I feel many readers will still enjoy. I just recommend getting it from the library if you're not a fan of slower paced books. I'll probably glance through the next book when it comes out, but I don't know that I'll be dying to tear through the pages like I would with some of the other YA books out there. This is a good enough book but I'm not entirely sure if it can stand out against its peers even with the cool twist on supernatural creatures.

Since you've read to this point, you can now put the letters together to find out what the book is about. It might have been a little overly elaborate, but it was fun to post a semi-spoilerish plot point in this fashion.

3/5

(ARC provided through BAM)

Check it Out: LJ Deleon

Hi everyone! I'm going to be posting the winners of the contest soon, so check back in a little bit to see if you won!


For my final interview I have LJ Deleon, author of Warrior's Rise & Dragon's Child. She's one of the authors who generously donated an ebook for the contest, so one lucky person is going to get their choice of one of her books! (Click on the image below to go to her website!)

What made you decide to write? Did you always know that you wanted to be an author or was there an “aha!” moment in your life where you suddenly knew that this was what you wanted to do?

LJ: It was an aha moment, but not one you would expect. In retrospect, I have always been a storyteller. When a book or film or TV show didn’t end the way I wanted it to, I rewrote it. On the long drives I made between Fort Huachuca, Arizona and anywhere, I made up stories to amaze myself, such as the flicker of light was a UFO and the aliens have a secret base in the Cochise Mountains.

Then in 1990, I read a book that was a real wall-banger—the type where a book lover like me who doesn’t break the bindings would rip it to shreds—and I decided I can do better than that! A year later, I had a completed manuscript that lined the litter box. Six manuscripts later, I finally had a book I was willing to show someone.

How do you come up with the titles for your books? These can often be amongst the hardest things for authors to settle on, so how & when in the process do you start coming up with titles?

LJ: Warrior’s Rise went through three, or was it four, different titles before I settled on it. I had the title of the series, Warriors For Light, but Deva Morgan’s book gave me fits. I finally stopped torturing myself and looked at my story. Deva starts as a barkeep, by the end of the first scene she’s been told she is the future leader of an army to save Earth and Otherworld from the Dark Lord and his demons. Over the course of the book, she grows/rises into a warrior.

Whereas, I had the title for Dragon Child, the second book in the series, before I wrote the first line. I mean, truly, what else can you name a book when the heroine, Moira O’Neal, is a Saraph, a fire-breathing dragon shifter, who was exchanged at birth with the newborn Fae princess. The third book, Absolution, will be released in May. Again, this title came first. The hero, Lucan “Luc” Woods, is in search of forgiveness, why and how he achieves it is the crux of the story.

In my other series, The Turner Chronicles, it wasn’t the title, The Ultimate Game, that proved the problem but the series name. This series is a futuristic romance/cyberpunk. In 1875, a cave-in traps Max Turner and two woman in a mine filled with a strange gas. In 2484, he awakens in a cryo chamber. Max, a conman and professional gambler, plays The Ultimate Game, to keep the heroine and himself alive, uncyber-chipped, and to take down the ruling family that wants him dead.

Are any of the experiences in the books based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Obviously the more fantastical aspects come from your imagination, but have you ever drawn on anything that you’ve seen or done (or anyone you’ve known) in real life & used it in part of your story?

LJ: I joke about being an Army brat and a former CIA intelligence analyst set the stage for my writing fantasy romance, urban fantasy romance, and cyberpunk romance. But in a way, it’s true. Aside from being surround by testosterone most of my life, I lived in Japan as a kid. I’ve never forgotten their stories, myths, and festivals. I love mythology. Warriors For Light was born out of this. I combined Greek, Roman, Norse, and Celtic myths, threw in some of the Bible, and turned it all upside down.

For The Turner Chronicles, I wondered what the world would be like if globalization were taken to the extreme. What if these mega corporations were run by “families” who controlled physical territories and the lives of those who lived under their thumbs? What if someone from a time when absolute freedom was valued dropped into that world? Would he survive, and if so, how and what impact would he have?

Do you have any latest news I can dish for you?

LJ: The third book in the Warriors For Light series, Absolution, will be released in May and the fourth and fifth books Sophie’s Challenge and Kate’s Army will be out in late November or early December. Also, Warrior’s Rise got a terrific review from Bitten by Paranormal Romance. I’m hopeful it will be the first of many and that the reviews for Dragon Child and The Ultimate Game follow in the same vein.

Who are some of your favorite authors? Have they helped inspire your writing by reaffirming your decision to write or by indirectly giving you ideas for various stories?

LJ: My favorite authors, hmm. Let’s see, I love Nalini Singh, JR Ward, and Ilona Andrews. I’ve also discovered a new author and am nuts about her. KH LeMoyne. Like me, she writes out of the box, has subplots that run through the book and it seems through the series, and is an indie author.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

LJ: Write, take workshops on writing, get a critique partner but don’t let them change your voice, and write. Make sure you know grammar and punctuation. If don’t, learn it. Make sure you have the mechanics of writing down then set a schedule or quota for each day and write. If you write just one page a day, you will have a book at the end of the year. Also, don’t be afraid of failure or rejection. If you don’t follow your dream, you have already failed and rejected yourself.

What is the hardest thing about writing for you? Everyone’s got that one part of writing that seems to stick with them.

LJ: For me, it’s finding that first sentence of the scene. I know it sounds silly, but without that first sentence, I can find myself floundering. I usually call or email my critique partners and beg for a sentence. For some reason, just hearing it shoves my mind into gear and I’m off.

In the light of recent infamous responses to negative reviews, how would you recommend responding to negative reviewers?

LJ: Suck it up, be a professional. Yes, it’s your baby and its birth rivaled, maybe even was worse than childbirth labor, but not everyone will like it, any more than everyone likes you. It could be something as simple as the character’s name, over which you the author have no control. Or something you have complete control over, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

I’m an indie author. To ensure my books don’t disappoint because of things under my control, I have an outsider editor I use and a fantastic graphic artist to create my covers.

If a reviewer attacks me as a person, then shame on them. If they complain about the plot, characters, or the mechanics, shame on me. In both cases, I wouldn’t respond. But if it were the second, I would take a hard look at the review and learn from it. Reviewers aren’t a writer’s enemy. They’re usually book lovers who want to be swept away by the story, and when it doesn’t happen because of spelling, grammar, punctuation, or story, they have every right to complain. When disappointed it isn’t the cost of a book people object to. It’s the time they spent reading it.

So, to all those new authors, I say again, be a professional and suck it up. If you don’t say anything and are lucky, you may have a number of good reviews that bury that negative one.

What do you like on your pizza? (Not book related but everyone’s got a favorite topping!)

LJ: While I love UNO’s pizza where it has olive oil on the crust, sliced tomatoes with spinach, broccoli, and cheese piled high on it, ice cream is my downfall. My favorite food is ice cream—rich, fatty, ice cream. I mean really, if you’re going to blow the diet, do it in style with something that has a ton of calories. (Me: Oh my gosh, that sounds AMAZING. I know what I'm getting next time I go to UNO's.)

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If you're curious about LJ's books, you can purchase her books via Amazon, Smashwords, & other fine retailers!





For Fae-human half-breed Deva Morgan, life as she knows it changes on her thirtieth birthday. One moment she’s a barkeep, the next she is a warrior fated to save Earth from the Dark Lord and his demon hoard. Shunned by both her races, she faces a danger-filled quest with few allies. Too bad her powers haven’t fully emerged or stabilized.

For Deva it is life or death, on-the-job training with her companion, Padraig O’Neal, a Fae warrior with a shadowed past. Can he quiet the storm raging inside her, help her harness the growing power within her, and provide a barrier between Deva and a fatal outcome? Will their love be enough to save Deva and stop the Dark Lord’s demons from entering Earth?




A fire-breathing dragon, Moira O'Neal, was exchanged at birth for a Fae princess. Discovering the truth, she escapes the cage of the royal court and joins forces with the sexiest wereleopard on Earthworld. She fights the urge to mate and the trap that comes with it as they race against time to find the missing princess and a master of the black arts who covets her power.

Major Steve Taylor, a wereleopard in the Army For Light, partners with the impetuous Moira in the middle a dangerous mission where failure means all their deaths. Worse, his leopard decides Moira is his mate, leaving the man at war with his cat.


Bio: LJ DeLeon is an Army brat and a world-traveled former CIA Intelligence Analyst who has seen enough of this world to appreciate other worlds. Working for the CIA was great training for writing fantasy, paranormal, and futuristic romance—and understanding the warrior mentality. Amazing how real life and fiction overlap.

Visit LJ at her website and blog!

Check it Out: Sharon Nelson

Hi everyone! Thanks for reading through all of the previous blogs in this series! I hope that you've now got a good glimpse at these books, companies, & authors! Hopefully there's one of these that you really like & have downloaded! :)

In any case, finishing up this series is a guest blog from Sharon Nelson, author of Pursuit of Midnight, a romantic mystery full of dashing Dukes & sinister goings on! I also have the trailer to the book, so if you're a fan of romance or mystery then it'll be worth checking out. (Click on the book to go directly to Sharon's website!) You can purchase Sharon's book at either Smashwords or on Amazon to get sent directly to your kindle!


Society believes that her twin brother is dead but the recently widowed Lady Cadence Cooper was given reason to believe otherwise. A message delivered by a mysterious veiled woman has led her to suspect the involvement of the Midnight Club in his abduction. In order to keep her sisters out of danger, Cadence has no choice but to enlist the aid of a perfect stranger to help her. The Duke of Remington owed her father his life and she is hoping it will be enough to convince him to aid her. Little does she know that the current Duke of Remington is not the same gentleman her father once called friend and getting this dark stranger to help her may cost Cadence more than she is willing to offer.

Blake Morris, Duke of Remington has his own reasons for investigating the Club and when a very audacious Lady with surprising information about the club demands his assistance, he has no choice but to succumb to her demands. Before long he is caught up in her crazy plans and swept away by her courage. When a plot is uncovered that could destroy London they will risk everything to save the city, their families and each other. Will they be able to unravel the secrets of the Midnight Club? Or will they lose more than just their hearts in The Pursuit of Midnight.

Where to begin? I find that since publishing my book and muddling through the promotion process the hardest thing to do is to write about me. I have no problem creating characters and fantasy worlds and I could tell you every last detail about them. But me… that’s another story.

I don’t have a degree in writing or English; I went to school to be a nanny and again for business management. There isn’t anything that makes me particularly qualified to be a writer other than the fact that I love to do it. I have been writing for as long as I can remember, when I was little my brother and I used to staple pieces of paper together and write books. I have several completed books in many different genres but had never even thought about publishing. Then a couple years ago my mom talked me into joining a writing group a friend of hers was starting. It was great fun; we would meet at a local restaurant and do writing exercises, critique each other’s work and enjoy a good Ruby Red beer.

About a year later one of our members passed away suddenly, she was only in her early 40’s and it was an enormous shock to everyone. She had been a vibrant and amazing person and it really made me wake up and take a second look at my life. While I liked my job I loved writing and everyone told me it was good enough to publish. So I kicked myself into gear and got to work, polishing off the best of the bunch and started sending it out to agents.

As any aspiring writer knows waiting for replies to come is the most excruciatingly horrid part of the process, quickly followed by the receipt of the rejection letter. I have a whole stack of them and they haunt me still. Oh, they are always nice and even encouraging but still each one is like a knife through the heart.

Finally I decided I would take one of my books and publish it myself. I had a friend, who is fabulous at editing, run it through the wringer and muddled my why through the e publishing process. Book uploaded into iPub, KDP and Smashwords, I was elated; there was my book available to the world.

Sitting back congratulating myself I had no idea what to do next. I quickly found that the work had only just begun. Promoting your book and yourself as an author is an uphill battle, or as my grandpa used to say, “5 miles, in the snow, uphill both ways.”

It has only been a little over a month so I am trying not to despair. I have talked to some amazing writers and other professionals in the industry. Several blogs are doing reviews of my book and I have gotten some great feedback about my book that has encouraged me. I have read everything I could get my hands on about self publishing and promotion but I still feel like such a beginner.

I guess if I could tell someone considering indie publishing one thing it would be this: There is more to being an indie writer than uploading your book. I have found some great resources which I am happy to share and post on my blog bysharonnelson.blogspot.com. I am trying to stay active in the writing community and post to several different forums, learning and sharing as much information as possible. So if there are any writers considering indie publishing come find me I’m happy to answer any questions.

I would like to add a special thanks to Shalor and Book Goggles. I know how hard it is to run a successful blog and Shalor has been fantastic.





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Don't forget- today is the last day to enter to win a copy of one of Jim Bernheimer's ebooks! Tomorrow I announce the winner! (Click here for details.)

Book Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Title: The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1)
Author: Aimee Carter
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: 04/19/2011
ISBN: 0373210264










Let me just say that Harlequin Teen has proven themselves to be one of the top YA publishers in the field. They've managed to put out some of the most popular & high quality fiction that I've read. I guess that it just makes sense that once in a while I'll find something in their lineup that just doesn't thrill me as much as some of their other books do.


Every girl who has taken the test has died.

Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

If she fails...

This book had an incredibly good idea, taking the idea of Greek mythology & adapting it to modern day. It's interesting without being overexposed like vampires & werewolves have become. The basic character designs in this book are also good. Kate is a capable everygirl & is at a good age to appeal to both teens & older audiences. The mixture of old mythology & new ideas is a nice pairing & Carter manages to make this a book that people will want to continue reading.

The only problem? While this was something I was more than willing to keep reading, at the same time I found many of the characters to be somewhat shallow & some of the situations forced. The worst culprit of this had to have been the character of Ava, a snotty popular girl turned best friend of the main character. There was almost zero belivability for her to befriend Kate after all that was said & done, to be honest. If she'd been more built up then that would have been somewhat believable, but her character development just wasn't there. Another element that was sorely underdone was the romantic chemistry between Kate & Henry. We're told that the two of them have sparks & that Kate's gaga for him, but I just didn't see it happening to the point that Carter would have us believe.

Overall this was a decent enough read & I'm mildly curious about the next book in the series, but to be honest... this was just a mediocre read. It's not a bad read by any stretch but it just wasn't great either. This is just my opinion & I have no doubt that this will end up being someone's favorite book to read & re-read like I re-read Kim Harrison & Rachel Vincent. Bottom line is that this is absolutely a must read at the library, but at the bookstore? Flip through it first.

Final diagnosis: Definitely a library read for me, but will be a "must have" for others.

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

Title: Phantom Evil
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 03/29/2011
ISBN:0778329534







I'll admit that Graham's work has kind of suffered over the last few years, with some of her books not even holding a candle to how wonderful the earlier books were. (I don't know of many people who liked Dust to Dust, a title that has sat around on my bookstore shelves gathering well, dust.) She's released some stuff that's been pretty decent, but again- not stuff that's along the quality lines of her earlier releases. I almost passed this book up until I realized that it was an Adam Harrison book. Even though he's almost always a non-major character in the books, the ones that feature him are almost always great reads. This one generally followed that rule.

A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he’s gathered know a little of the otherworldly—each has honed a psychic talent of their own.

Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can’t tell if Adam’s demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he’s well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson’s careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam’s call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans’s French Quarter, a senator’s wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house—once the site of a serial killer’s grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives...and their immortal souls.

I was sucked into this book incredibly quickly & I feel that most readers will be as well. I was also quite taken with both the official pairing in this book as well as the potential pairings for future books as well. (I doubt this book will be the last we've seen of this team.) The plot moves along very quickly & I was glad to see that the couple in this book doesn't play a huge amount of love games.

The only downfall to this book is that while the premise is wonderful & the interaction between our two leads has tons of chemistry, the "whodunnit" of the book just seemed a little well, farfetched & overly complicated. There's several different things going on at once & the ending just seemed a little rushed, as if Graham had intended for something more & just ran out of room. I couldn't help but feel like it was just a teensy bit anti-climactic.

Overall though, this was an incredibly fun read & it's very much a turn in the right direction for Graham. It's not a complete return to her earlier greatness but it's in the same vein- enough so that longtime fans will enjoy this book & new readers will find themselves wanting to read more of her work.

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Aztec Gold by Caridad Piñeiro

Title: Aztec Gold
Author: Caridad Piñeiro
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: 01/03/2011
ISBN:9781426891045







Sometimes you get those stories that really work well in novella format, despite the large amount of detail & plot that's held within it. This book is one of those tales.

Six months ago, Cynthia Guerrera's lover and fellow archaeologist Rafael Santiago trekked into the Mexican jungle in search of one of the fabled Cities of Gold—and never emerged. Guilty over their parting, Cynthia won't rest until she knows what happened. When the discovery of a conquistador's journal corroborates Rafe's intended path, Cynthia is determined to finally leave the safety of the museum to rescue him, despite the conquistador's dire warnings, and her own traumatic past.

Arriving at a remote village deep in the jungle, Cynthia is both elated and angered to find Rafe alive. But he is far from well, having watched his team be decimated by a bloodthirsty demon-goddess. When Rafe reveals he has been gifted with supernatural powers—powers he plans to use to kill the beast and save his brother, still held captive in the temple—Cynthia must face her own inner demons to fight alongside the man she loves.

One of the best things about this story was the detail that Piñeiro put into it. She really put in her fair share of research when it came to both the location as well as the mythology in this tale. It's lovingly poured over & the history of the demon-goddess is incredibly well done. Also something to crow about are the love scenes between Cynthia & Rafe. With the story being so short & the two of them being apart for a good chunk of the first half, it's very important to try to show their chemistry, which I believe that the author did.

Some readers, however, might feel that the story is a bit slow to start off. My advice is to keep going- the story really begins to shine once Cynthia leaves to find Rafe. I will admit that I wish there had been a little more detail as far as Rafe's powers go (maybe a bit more about him gaining them), but the length of this story really does work well. Any more & it would lose the edge that it has.

The book has a definite conclusion, but there's enough here for a sequel & I'll admit, I'm curious about it. (Especially since it could include Machu Picchu in some way, a place that has more than its own fair share of mystery surrounding it.)

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Win a copy of The Paris Secret by Angela Henry!

Hey guys- want to win a copy of The Paris Secret by Angela Henry?

The answer is simple: go click on the image above & it'll send you to the author's personal blog. All you have to do is comment on that blog & you're entered in the drawing! Easy peasy.

If you're curious as to what the book is about, here's the synopsis:

Less than twenty-four hours after fleeing to Paris, Maya Sinclair is the prime suspect in a brutal murder—and targeted by the real killer. When she's viciously attacked in the gardens of Versailles, Maya barely escapes with her life thanks to sexy French journalist Simon Girard.

Simon has been investigating the mysterious death of his brother, an art forger with ties to the woman Maya is suspected of killing. Still healing from heartbreak of his own, Simon reluctantly joins forces with Maya, who has awakened feelings within him he thought long dead.

Their search for answers uncovers the existence of a secret society, and puts them on a quest to find a missing crucifix rumored to hold the key to everlasting life. Together, Maya and Simon race through Paris one step ahead of a killer who will do anything to ensure some secrets remain buried forever...

Book Review: The Paris Secret by Angela Henry

Title: The Paris Secret
Author: Angela Henry
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: 01/17/2011
ISBN: 9781426891083







If the DaVinci Code & Julie Kenner's Play or Die series had a baby, I think it might be a little something like this. While it doesn't entirely fill the shoes of these two greats (hey, those are mighty big shoes), it definitely satisfied my cravings for hot romance & historical mystery during the holiday season.

Less than twenty-four hours after fleeing to Paris, Maya Sinclair is the prime suspect in a brutal murder—and targeted by the real killer. When she's viciously attacked in the gardens of Versailles, Maya barely escapes with her life thanks to sexy French journalist Simon Girard.

Simon has been investigating the mysterious death of his brother, an art forger with ties to the woman Maya is suspected of killing. Still healing from heartbreak of his own, Simon reluctantly joins forces with Maya, who has awakened feelings within him he thought long dead.

Their search for answers uncovers the existence of a secret society, and puts them on a quest to find a missing crucifix rumored to hold the key to everlasting life. Together, Maya and Simon race through Paris one step ahead of a killer who will do anything to ensure some secrets remain buried forever...

This really was fun to read. Simon & Maya have a lot of chemistry together in & out of bed. Something I found refreshing (and might be considered slightly spoilery) is that while the relationship is left up in the air until the end of the book, our dynamic duo didn't fight their desire to bed each other early on in the book. It's pretty much a romance staple for our romantic leads to deny the lust between the two of them, so it was nice to see a couple that did the opposite of that. There's still a little angst in the relationship, so it's not completely smooth sailing for them. Also interesting is the mystery of the crucifix- while there were a few bumpy spots to the hunt, the historical aspects were obviously well researched & lovingly detailed.

While the historical parts of the story were well done, at times the story just seemed a little too large for the page count of the book. The later parts of the book seemed a little too glossed over for how important they were, plus some of the discoveries at the end seemed a little too coincidental. However, it felt less like an oversight or "easy way out" than it was an attempt to fit into a specific page count or to keep in tone with the quickly paced ending. I can't help but feel that if there had been about 10-15 more pages to the book, it would have been perfect.

Overall this was a very fun book to read & I really loved the characters in this book. (Brian & Jerrod were two of my favorites, short as their time in the story was.) I just wish that the ending had been a little more fleshed out to fit the story that preceded it. It's still well worth reading, if only for the romance built between the two lead characters.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: Can't Say No by Jennifer Greene

Title: Can't Say No
Author: Jennifer Greene
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: 01/10/2011
ISBN: 978142689105








I stepped out of my usual reading habits (which swing towards YA & UF) to check out this reprint of a Jennifer Greene book from NetGalley. I couldn't help but be intrigued by the plot synopsis as well as by the title, which happens to be one of my favorite songs from Oklahoma!. Upon reading it I was surprised to discover that the book was originally printed in the 1980s- if I hadn't known that then I wouldn't have known. The book manages to stay fresh, despite being 25 years old.

After tragedy strikes, Bree Penoyer's feelings of guilt leave her speechless-literally. Tired of always being the good girl and just letting things happen to her, Bree decides it's time to take life into her own hands. She dumps her lucrative but uninspiring career and her sweet but boring fiancé, and escapes to her late grandmother's rustic cabin in South Carolina to find herself again.

Her solitude is immediately disrupted by her new neighbor, Hart Manning, a sexy but arrogant rogue who doesn't seem capable of taking no for an answer. The last thing Bree wants is an affair, especially with a self-proclaimed womanizer like Hart. But she can't deny he arouses her as no man ever has, and when at last she finds her voice, she's very ready to say yes!

This really was a cute read. I'll admit that it isn't the deepest fare out there & some of the coincidences are a little hard to swallow, but it's kind of like a cupcake. You can't fault it for being what it is. I was also surprised to see that I rather liked the character of Hart. He's a stubborn mule of a man (something the author herself admits), but there's just something endearing about him. I do admit that I was a bit disappointed towards the end that we didn't learn more about him & what his past might have held, but there was enough character building to satisfy me & keep the interaction between him & Bree going.

Readers who are frequent readers of romance will find a lot of familiar territory in here & will also find a lot to love. If you aren't a fan of romance then unfortunately this isn't going to be the book that will draw you in. It's good, but it is going to best satisfy those who are fans of the genre. Again, I really have to give Greene props for writing a book that could stand the test of time & still appear fresh- especially with a heroine who works in the computer field, something that has drastically changed in the past 20+ years. It's not many who are able to do that.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

Title: The Vespertine
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Release Date: 03/07/2011
ISBN: 0547482477







Like your supernatural books with a little historical edge to it? Then you'll probably love this book. Want it to progress at a fast rate with lots of shocks & thrills? Then you'll probably be slightly disappointed. While this book is excellent, it isn't one of those types of stories.

It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

Rather than go quickly to the thrills or chase scenes, Mitchell decides instead to start her story with Amelia after the fact & slowly build up the suspense for what will eventually happen. We're told that something will go wrong, but what exactly it will be is only slightly alluded to in the beginning of the story. It's a smart move, as it gives the otherwise optimistic beginnings of the book a bit of an ominous tone. While there's not a huge amount of detail given to Amelia's heart throb Nathaniel, the richly written atmosphere more than makes up for it.

It's just that the book's description makes this seem like there's more action & supernatural elements to the book than there is & I can't help but feel like this might be a bit misleading for some. The paranormal aspect is interesting but to me it just seemed to be a little underdeveloped at points. I wanted to see more of Amelia's abilities as well as (trying not to be spoilerish) some of the other talents mentioned in the book. The big emphasis is on the social problems rather than the paranormal ones & while I loved that Amelia's abilities played a bit of a backseat for the first part of the book, it just needed a bit more meat to it.

Overall though this is a nice tale & it's sure to find a nice following, especially with the sequel (The Springsweet, only click on this link if you want to be slightly spoiled plot-wise) coming out in spring 2012.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: Stone Kissed by Keri Stevens

Title: Stone Kissed

Author: Keri Stevens

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date: 12/27/2010

eISBN: 9781426891014

The great thing about Carina Press is that it allows for newer authors to be published in e-format. Sometimes however, I wonder how some authors aren't published in paper format. Keri Stevens' Stone Kissed is one of those books that I really do believe deserves to be published in paperback format as well as e-book format.

When Delia Forrest talks to statues, they talk back. She is, after all, the last of the Steward witches.

After an arsonist torches her ancestral home with her estranged father still inside, Delia is forced to sell the estate to pay his medical bills. Her childhood crush, Grant Wolverton, makes a handsome offer for Steward House, vowing to return it to its former glory. Delia agrees, as long as he'll allow her to oversee the restoration.

Working so closely with Grant, Delia finds it difficult to hide her unique talent—especially when their growing passion fuels her abilities.

But someone else lusts after both her man and the raw power contained in the Steward land. Soon Delia finds herself fighting not just for Grant's love, but for both their lives...

While the synopsis makes this book sound like it's some thriller focused around someone hunting Grant & Delia, it's really not that type of book. The main thrust of the book focuses around their desire for each other & Grant's pursuit of the gun shy Delia. (Not that you can entirely blame her, though.) The passion between these two characters is very tangible & Stevens is to be congratulated for that- it's pretty hard to create that type of chemistry on paper & have it translate well to the reader. She should also be congratulated for coming up with what is quite possibly one of the most original magics that I've seen given to a lead heroine. Kudos for not giving Delia one of the typical heroine magics. It makes it that much easier to see Delia as something unique rather than yet another cookie cutter romance heroine.

The only part of the book that seemed to lose a little focus for me personally was when it came to the ultra tragic Cecily. There was a lot going on with this character & I couldn't help but feel like at times it was just a little too much & that a little simplicity would have been better. (slight spoiler here) Cecily was still a great character, but I never really saw her as much of a threat to either of the main characters & I just wanted to see her be a little badder.

This was still an awesome read & I managed to finish it within the span of a day, which really says something considering that I put off finishing school work to read the rest of the novel. I honestly recommend this to fans of Kenyon or some of the other paranormal romance books out on the market. This one's a keeper.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)