Review: Storm Force by Susannah Sandlin

Posted on August 16, 2013July 28, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook purchased from Amazon
Formats available: ebook, paperback, audiobook
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Omega Force, #1
Length: 343 pages
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Date Released: March 19, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

As leader of the elite counter-terrorism team Omega Force, former army ranger Jack “Kell” Kellison is always focused on getting the job done. So when a Houston high-rise is bombed and the governor killed or missing, Kell’s mission is clear: infiltrate the group suspected of the bombing and neutralize the threat by any means necessary. But once Kell meets beautiful chief suspect Mori Chastaine, he realizes there’s more to this case than meets the eye. And more to Mori than any man—any human man—could imagine.

Mori Chastaine is running out of options. Suspected for a crime she didn’t commit, forced into a marriage she doesn’t want, she sees no escape—until Kell walks through her door. A lifetime hiding her true nature warns her Kell might not be who he seems. But he could be the only one able to help save more innocent humans from becoming pawns in an ancient paranormal power play. If Mori reveals her secret, will Kell join her fight? Or will she become his next target?

My Review:

Let me say up front that I had two problems going in to my read of Storm Force. I really, really, let me emphasize this, really wanted this to be Cage’s story. Frankly I wanted it to be his HEA in Omega (reviewed here), and it wasn’t, so I want to see his story pretty badly at this point, and it looks like I’m waiting until sometimes in the fall. Color me annoyed on that score, especially since I bought the book.

The plot also had some similarities to another military romance I read not that long ago, in that the hero was having a difficult time dealing with having been forcibly discharged by injury, and couldn’t figure out whether this private contract thing, with or without the paranormal aspect, was what he really wanted. The villains in both cases also have a “bwahaha” aspect.

Let’s just say that Storm Force turned out to be way better than that other book, superficial resemblances aside.

Storm Force does take place in the world created by Sandlin’s Penton Legacy series. It’s kind of a side-sequel. All of the Penton Legacy has taken place, but those characters don’t appear. At the end of Omega, Randa Thomas’ military (and still human) family creates a joint human/vampire paramilitary task force as part of the deal that resolves the story.

The hero of Storm Force is the leader of one of those joint teams, but in the couple of years after Omega, more than just vamps have joined the strike teams. The all-too-human Jack “Kell” Kellison has both eagle and panther shifters on his team.

Which makes it a bit unbelievable that he doesn’t even guess that the person-of-interest his team is sent to investigate is also a shifter, even if she’s a shifter of a species that everyone believes is extinct.

What the FBI (and everyone else) does believe is that she is either responsible for a downtown Austin bombing, or being framed for it. The question are why would a known, non-violent environmentalist suddenly turn extremist? Or who would hate her so much that they would kill over 200 people just to get her attention?

The answers require more shifts in his thinking than Kell could have ever believed possible.

Escape Rating B: As I said, this book had to win me over, because I wanted it to be something other than it was. It’s a lot different in tone Sandlin’s Penton Legacy series, with more of a military romance layer on top of the suspense. It’s also a glimpse of the rest of the world that the vamps and shifters live in post-epidemic.

Kell and his unit are definitely an interesting group. Robin, is the star of the show, she’s an eagle-shifter and absolutely snark-tastic. She loves pushing everyone’s buttons, not just because she’s the only woman, but also because she’s different in other ways. She’s the only bird-shifter in the group too. She lives to defy expectations.

Our hero, Kell, fits the wounded warrior to a “T”. He’s on the fence about having surgery to repair what can be repaired in his spine. He’s going to have to make changes in how he fights. He has to recognize that his best contribution to a team that includes shifters (all of whom are stronger than he is!) is his tactical brain and not his brawn.

He’s never risked his heart before, but the first time he meets the heroine, he knows that she can’t be the bomber. Which doesn’t mean that she’s not the focus of whatever is going on.

Mori is the heroine, and she is the focus of events. I had a bit of a problem with her. She’s trying to be both Alpha female and Omega shifter at the same time, and those signals mixed. Also she doesn’t seem to realize that the villain is psycho, and could not be reasoned with. He just bombed a building to get her attention, which should have spelled it out for everyone!!!

There were one too many final battles to get this one resolved. It took a ton of resolution for Mori and Kell to figure out not just that they loved and needed each other, but how their relationship was going to work. And then they had to have a second epic battle with the big crazy. In the middle of a hurricane on a remote island. And he should have been put down a lot sooner with a whole helluva lot less fuss.

But I still read Storm Force by carrying my iPad around the house because I couldn’t put it down. I just hope Robin’s story is coming up next.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Die On Your Feet by S.G. Wong

Posted on August 15, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read:ebook provided by the author
Number of Pages:215 pages
Release Date:May 27, 2013
Publisher:Carina Press
Genre:Paranormal, Noir, Mystery
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Author’s website | Publisher’s website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

Crescent City, 1934

In Crescent City, the dead are always close.

At the point of death, people can choose to become Ghosts, tethered to the living. They can remain with their loved ones as invisible companions—or in the case of Crescent City’s ghostly mayor, remain in office forever.

Being a P.I. in Crescent City isn’t easy or glamorous. Luckily Lola Starke has an edge: her Ghost, Aubrey, who can gather valuable clues from other Ghosts in the Ether. When they accept a simple missing-persons case, they’re drawn into a complicated web of lies and double-crosses that involves the most powerful people in the City—including Lola’s own mother, Grace McCall, a famous film star and the mayor’s former lover.

As Lola races to untangle the deceit ensnaring her, she discovers an old enemy at its center carefully orchestrating the perfect moment to betray Lola and destroy Aubrey forever; unless Lola and Aubrey can stop them first.

My Thoughts:

I was never quite sure whether the “Crescent City” setting of Die on your Feet was meant to be merely a paranormal analog for Hollywood in the 1940’s, or whether we’d moved to a completely parallel world or other dimension. I wish the author had been a bit less coy about the setting.

It seemed that Crescent City was more than a noir-type 1940’s Hollywood, but it definitely was that. Lola Starke, our heroine, is a private investigator who carried at “gat” rather than a gun. She also talked as tough as any private dick out of the Sam Spade or Raymond Chandler tradition.

But the difference in S.G. Wong’s Crescent City is that many citizens have their own personal “Ghost” accompanying them. Aubrey haunts Lola day and night. The questions abound. Why does he? Why did she agree to this? What does he get out of it?

Aubrey used to be her mother’s dresser. Not the furniture, a person. There’s the Hollywood touch. Lola’s mother, Grace McCall, is a famous Hollywood actress. Her late father, Butch, was a Crescent City cop. And her mother’s lover was Mayor Matteo Esperanza. Except that now he’s just known as Mayor. Not the Mayor. Just Mayor. He’s the one and only ghost in Crescent City so powerful that he doesn’t need a person to haunt.

Lola starts the story by taking a missing persons case. A man wants to find his best friend. Sounds simple, right? Except his friend is a former heroin addict and the guy who hires her is so obviously lying through his teeth.

Then a former school mate who Lola hated (with good reason, the woman was so obviously one of the mean girls) and clearly vice versa, has Lola kidnapped and forces her to take a case. Forces how? Threatens Lola’s family. Her former school “chum” is now a seedy and greedy public official.

So we go from a lying client to a strong-arming client. And things get even more complicated from there. It has to do with the ghosts. And politics. And ghostly politics!

Did I mention that Lola does NOT have a very good relationship with her mother? Throw family politics into the mix. Definitely. And murder.

Verdict: There were a lot of very cool concepts in this story, but maybe one too many. The ghosts were interesting, but it’s clear at the end that having a ghost is a double-edged sword. They can be friend or jailor.

The history of Crescent City took a definite turn from our own history. Crescent City came to be Chinese-dominated instead of gwai, but the author didn’t explain enough to keep the reader from being confused, or at least this reader. Most of the obvious effects seem to have been in who controlled gambling, the nature of the gaming, and that it was legal. But there was probably a lot more that I just missed.

Lola was a hot mess. She seems to hate and distrust everyone from beginning to end, including her ghost. We don’t know why their relationship is so bad, except that she’s never forgiven her mother for leaving her father. Things don’t get much better during the course of the story, either. Lola solves the mystery in the story, but we don’t learn a lot about her.

The case gets more and more complicated as things go on. Missing persons to bureaucrat-on-the-take to political power play to sorcery. It might have been one turn too many. The villain was obvious from the minute she came onstage. Her motivations seemed a bit out there, even for this alternate world.

I give Die On Your Feet by S.G. Wong 3 smoking stars.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Guest Post by Author Elise Sax on Dreaming Up a Crazy Bunch of Characters + Giveaway

Posted on August 15, 2013August 11, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | blog tours> Giveaways> Guest Posts

Today I’d like to welcome Elise Sax, who recently published the funny and suspenseful second installment in The Matchmaker series, Matchpoint (read my review here). If you want to get the full giggle-fit, start with An Affair to Dismember. This series is too much fun to be contained in just one book. (I would love of book of Grandma Zelda’s matchmaking tips!)

How in the World Did You Dream Up Such a Crazy Bunch of Characters?
by Elise Sax

Elise: I was asked this question, recently. And I thought: Crazy? Who are you calling crazy? Really, I don’t set out and decide to create crazy characters. They just wind up that way. I think it’s a matter of perspective. I see the crazy in people—that’s what attracts me to them. People tickle me, and I seem to highlight that tickle in my stories. One of those characters is Ruth Fletcher, the elderly and feisty owner of Tea Time, the tea shop in the town of Cannes, California—where everything goes down in Matchpoint and the other Matchmaker series books. Hi, Ruth.

Ruth: It’s rude to comment on a person’s age.

Elise: I’m sorry, Ruth. That’s the writer in me coming out.

Ruth: I mean, what would you think if I call you “Middle-aged Elise” instead of Elise?

Elise: I see your point. I’m sorry.

Ruth: Or “Hippy” and I don’t mean you’re a progressive liberal or anything. I mean HIP-py. Hips! You got me? You know where I’m going?

Elise: Uh…certainly, Ruth. Yes, “Hippy” would hurt my feelings. Please, just call me, Elise.

Ruth: You writer folks think you’re something special and can just say whatever you please about anybody. And FEISTY! That’s a condescending word if ever I heard one. How about I describe you as “nosy” or “sluggish?”

Elise: That would certainly hurt my feelings. I understand, Ruth. Lesson taken.

Ruth: You look like a coffee drinker to me. You a coffee drinker? I hate coffee drinkers. Tea is a real drink. Why don’t people drink tea, anymore? I’ll tell you why! Because they’re stupid, that’s why.

Elise: Uh, Ruth I was just explaining to the readers that I write funny, sexy books that are fast-paced and a lot of fun to read.

Ruth: I guess that’s true. They’re pretty zany, too. But you made my life pretty miserable in Matchpoint…all those crazy cult people invading my shop and all wasn’t too much fun for ME, I can tell you.

Elise: Ruth, let me interrupt you there. I think you have to say SPOILER ALERT when you talk about the plot like that.

Ruth: And Gladie going off with those two handsome men at once in Matchpoint. I don’t know how she felt about that little plot device. I mean, a woman can get tired. Not me, of course, but Gladie seemed tired. You know, you could give ME two handsome men in the plot. How come you never did that?

Elise: Well, Gladie is the main character, and well…

Ruth: Or even ONE handsome man. What’s the matter writer lady? You think I’m too elderly and feisty for two handsome men? Sheesh! Yep, you look and act like a coffee drinker. Get out of my shop!

Elise: But I didn’t get my latte! Ahem, well, that’s an example of one of my characters in Matchpoint. Don’t be afraid. The others are quite as…feisty.

About Elise Sax
Elise Sax worked as a journalist for fifteen years, mostly in Paris, France. She took a detour from journalism and became a private investigator before trying her hand at writing fiction. She lives in Southern California with her two sons. An Affair to Dismember, the first in the Matchmaker mystery series, is her first novel.To learn more about Elise, check out her website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads,and YouTube.

TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY

Elise is giving away gift cards — one winner gets a $50 card for Amazon, and two winners get a choice of a $10 card at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Matchpoint by Elise Sax

Posted on August 15, 2013August 11, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, mass market paperback
Genre: Romantic suspense
Series: The Matchmaker, #2
Length: 290 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Released: July 30, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Since joining the family matchmaking business run by her eccentric Grandma Zelda, Gladie is always looking for love. But when an unbearable toothache knocks her out of commission and into the dentist’s chair, she prays only for relief. No such luck. Emerging from an anesthetic haze, Gladie awakes to find that not only is her tooth still throbbing, but her dentist is dead—and the lead suspect in the murder, office receptionist Belinda, just so happens to be Gladie’s first real client. Now it’s up to Gladie to find Belinda a man and keep her from being locked up behind bars.

As if that weren’t enough distraction, two gorgeous men are vying for Gladie’s attention: Spencer, the playboy chief of police, and Holden, Gladie’s secretive, gorgeously muscled neighbor. Still, Gladie’s not complaining about having a helping hand or two when the case leads her to a dangerously bizarre cult. She may have met her match—and if she’s not careful, it could be her last.

My Review:

I sympathize with Gladie, I don’t like going to the dentist either! But Matchpoint is about way more than a bloody clever way to avoid getting your teeth drilled.

Gladys Burger is California’s answer to Stephanie Plum. And so far (this is Gladie’s second case) it’s a damn good answer. Because Gladie seems to be making up her mind about a few things. And her zany relatives are both fewer in number and considerably on the sane side of the fence.

Gladie has come to Cannes, California to go into the matchmaking business with her Grandma Zelda. Not only does Zelda really have a gift for making matches, she’s positive that Gladie has it too. So far, Gladie has caught more murderers than she’s matched couples (see An Affair to Dismember for details of Gladie’s first case, oops, I meant match).

Everyone in town remembers Gladie’s gift for matching murderers with police handcuffs, so they want her to catch the killer this time, too. Especially since Gladie was right there at the scene of the crime. Unfortunately, she was knocked out by anesthesia while someone offed the dentist and removed his face. She just had the misfortune to find his faceless (not headless, faceless!) corpse.

Faces are a big deal in this case. One of the two men possibly vying for Gladie’s affections (of course there are two) is the hot manwhore police chief, who is being chased by all the women on Facebook (yes, I do mean Facebook) who all think they are “in a relationship” with him. There’s a “Keystone Kops” aspect to the chase that is much funnier than it should be.

Gladie’s other romantic possibility is her mysterious next-door-neighbor, the man with no past.

And the aliens have invaded Cannes. Okay, they’re not really aliens. It’s a cult that believes the aliens are about to arrive in their UFO. The townspeople are ready to murder the entire bunch of alien-lovers.

But no one is hunting the dentist’s face-stealing murderer. Except Gladie. Naturally, there is someone hunting her. Because no one involved in this comedy of suspenseful errors is exactly who they seem to be. Except Gladie.

Escape Rating B: Matchpoint is every bit as much fun as An Affair to Dismember (review here), or possibly even a bit more.

Gladie has been with her Grandma Zelda four months, and she is starting to settle into life in Cannes. The author has got her characters and background built too. The story is just a bit tighter than the first book, and everything clips along just that much faster.

The citizens of Cannes are an absolute hoot. The sideplot of the police chief’s sleeping around was not just funny but built on the characterization from Affair, as did the hilarious send-up of the Trouble wedding.

I could still do with a bit less of Gladie’s fat-shaming, but the quotes from Zelda’s matchmaker’s tips that start each chapter are winners every single time.

There is a mystery in Matchpoint, and it’s not obvious. The red herrings were quite carefully planted. I kind of figured out who towards the end, but definitely not why. The alien lovers proved a terrific distraction, even if I never did figure out quite what they were up to. Or care. Watching them drive the townspeople into a tizzy was much too much fun.

Most importantly Gladie made a romantic decision, which I will not reveal. It made sense in the context of the overall story arc. I just wonder if she sticks to it. And if he proves that he’s capable and worthy of being stuck to in the long run. In the short run (or short bed bounce) both Gladie’s choices were definitely yummy!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Lovestruck Giveaway Hop

Posted on August 14, 2013August 12, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Blog Hops> Lovestruck Giveaway Hop 2013

They say that lightning never strikes twice in the same place. But it looks like love does, because the Lovestruck Giveaway Hop is back!

This year, the Hop is hosted by Under the Covers Book Blog. Organizing one of these hops has got to be, well, a labor of love.

Speaking of love, let’s talk about new, or new to me, authors that I’ve fallen in love with this year. This is about being lovestruck after all. ♥

The author who has had me scrambling to find all her books this year has been Suzanne Johnson/Susannah Sandlin. I’ve lost a couple of weekends to her marvelous stories because her Penton Legacy series (written as Sandlin) is pretty much vampire romance crack, once I started it I couldn’t stop until I reached the current end. And I want the next one yesterday. They just seemed like the perfect blend of alpha heroes in need of redemption and strong women in need of someone to respect their strength. With a perfectly evil enemy.

Then there’s her Sentinels of New Orleans series, written as Suzanne Johnson, which is the one I discovered first. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. (We almost moved there). But the blend of the old city, the historic undead, the shapeshifters, with magic! It’s utterly cool. And the wizard coming into her own. Not his own, you note, her own. DJ is a fantastic heroine, snarky and kick-ass and sometimes in over her head. The portrayal of the post-Katrina cleanup of New Orleans in Royal Street was incredibly poignant and heartbreaking.

Because I want you to have a chance to be lovestruck by your own favorite author or series, I’m giving away a USD$10 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winner’s choice). To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To see what has struck other bloggers, visit the other hops:

Review: Heart Fortune by Robin D. Owens

Posted on August 13, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 4 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Heart Fortune by Robin D. Owens Format read: ebook purchased from Amazon
Series: Celta’s Heartmates, #12
Genre: Futuristic Romance, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Romance
Release Date: Aug. 6, 2013
Number of pages: 384 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Purchasing Info: Author’s website | Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Publisher’s Website

Jace Bayrum has always been a loner. Concerned more with getting an adrenaline fix and making money to live on his own, Jace cares little for family ties or matters of the heart. On the other hand Glyssa Licorice, Jace’s former fling and true mate, is both loving and loyal. She is determined to track down her HeartMate and have him claim her.

After hearing that Jace has been involved in an accident, Glyssa sets out to find him, departing for the excavation site of the lost starship Lugh’s Spear. Though her goal is to help Jace and finesse him into recognizing her as his mate, the excavation itself draws her in…

Thrust by fate into working side-by-side, Jace and Glyssa’s electric connection from years before sparks once more. She intrigues him, and Jace begins to realize that a HeartMate can make a difference. And one as magnetic as Glyssa could be exactly what he has been searching for…

My Thoughts:

Three things make Robin D. Owens’ Celta series compulsively readable for me: 1) she’s found a way to make the fated mate trope have romantic tension and make logical sense, 2) the worldbuilding behind Celta is not only multi-layered and totally awesome, but it seems eminently livable, and 3) the fams, the fams, the fams, who rock this particular entry in the series.

The Celta series is a futuristic lost colony series. So they are part of the Pern tradition without the dragon-induced rape. (I’m including that bit for Draconismoi). But what I mean is that the Celtans also escaped Earth because they had a major difference of opinion with the powers that be and decided to go their own way. In the case of Celta, the difference was that all the colonists had some kind of psychic talent.

Why does the fated mate trope work in the Celta series, at least for me? Because even though someone might have a mate, that doesn’t mean things automatically work out. And Owens has done stories in the series where people either don’t have fated mates, or make real relationships after the fated mate relationship fails. In the case of this particular story, the participants come really close to screwing things up.

In other words, just because they know who their partner is supposed to be, it doesn’t mean they are required to accept the partnership. Either or both of them can reject it. The worldbuilding is well-developed here, there are laws in place so that neither one can be forced.

In this story, we see why Jace has some darn good reasons that he doesn’t believe in any kind of love. Not between partners, and not between parents and children. No experience whatsoever.

On the other hand, his prospective mate does believe in love, because she’s grown up as the child of a HeartMate marriage. One of her best friends found her mate after a very rocky courtship, so she knows that the heartache can bring joy.

Jace has never seen love work, but then he’s made sure that he never has to. He’s lived his life on the surface of emotions. His own, and other people’s. He may be the first person in his family to have enough of the psychic power the Celtans call Flair to experience the power passages that make it possible for him to even have a HeartMate, which is pretty damn ironic.

The story takes place at an archaeological expedition, which is pretty cool. The Celtans have never forgotten where they came from, or how they got there. The dig is at the site of Lugh’s Spear, one of the two ships that brought them from Earth to Celta. The site has recently been re-discovered, so there are artifacts to discover and mysteries to solve.

Glyssa, being a librarian (yay!) has come to record the discovery. It’s an excuse to be near Jace again, to hopefully get him to acknowledge their bond. That attempt very nearly backfires, but Glyssa’s work achieves her final degree of advancement in her profession. Go Glyssa!

The structure of the society of Celta has been built up through many layers of stories. It feels solid. Each new person has a place. They know some people that we’ve met before, but also introduce us to new ones. I also find it interesting that for a somewhat fantasy-type society, rank has some mutability. Families rise to GrandLord and GreatLord status based on Flair testing. They can also fall based on that testing.

Then there are the fam animals. Fams are companion animals with enough Flair to communicate telepathically with their people. They can be seemingly any species, and all of them seem to have personality to spare, from Zanth the FamCat in the very first book, HeartMate, to Lepid the young and excitable FamFox and Zem the FamHawkcel in Heart Fortune. Lepid and Zem steal the show in this story. At many points they are more likable, and certainly more clear thinking, than their humans.

Verdict: As with many of the Celta stories, there is both a romance and a mystery going on in this book, although the biggest mystery is either whether Jace will get his head out of his ass or whether Glyssa will stop being a doormat and force him to. She can’t force him to be her HeartMate, but she can certainly stop letting him have his own way on everything. It takes her a long time before she realizes that standing up for herself is the only way forward for both of them.

Of course, they nearly get killed in the other mystery along the way. And I did not catch who that perp was, but then, I wasn’t looking. I was too busy watching the antics of the Fams. Lepid, the very young and very inquisitive FoxFam is probably the cutest character ever, and Zem possibly has the most heart.

4-Stars

I give Heart Fortune by Robin D. Owens 4 feathered stars (for Zem)!

Review: Baring It All by Megan Frampton

Posted on August 13, 2013July 28, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Historical romance
Length: 48 pages
Publisher: Loveswept
Date Released: June 24, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

It is with great discretion that this columnist discusses the sensitive topic of undergarments. Some ladies, it seems, do not pay strict attention to what they wear under their gowns. A crucial error, my ladies.

Lady Violet knows Lord Christian Jepstow is interested in women. The problem is, he hasn’t seemed to realize that Violet is a living, breathing woman—a woman with needs. Which is a huge problem, considering the fact that Violet and Christian are betrothed. Violet has no intention of saying her vows without knowing if her husband has the capacity to love her properly, so she does what anyone would do in her situation—she steps into his study and offers to take off her clothes. What happens next could be an utter disaster … or it could be surprising, seductive, and sizzlingly sexy.

My Review:

Hot, short, cute, frothy.

I get the feeling this is a prequel novella for the author’s upcoming What Not to Bare, since the characters in this one are a) baring everything and b) the excuse is the secret authorship of an advice column “What Not to Bare” that is normally written by the hero’s sister. Of course she’s writing under a pen name too.

The pseudonym of of a pseudonym.

The column is about women’s underwear, and the hero shouldn’t be writing it in the first place. But Lord Christian Jepstow needs a woman to model the undergarments he is writing about and his betrothed Lady Violet is all too happy to use the advice column as an excuse to show him her knickers…and everything else.

Because he hasn’t even kissed her yet. He didn’t kiss her after she accepted his marriage proposal. She’s not sure he wants to kiss her. She’s sure he likes women, there have been plenty of stories in that direction, but the question is whether he’s interested in her in particular.

If he isn’t, she’ll cry off the marriage. Because Violet does love him, and has ever since she was a girl of ten.

Christian hasn’t noticed. He’s been too busy burying himself in science and abstract mathematics. But offering to take off all her clothing damned well makes him notice. And reminds him just how distracting a beautiful woman can be. Something that Christian had been deliberately trying not to notice.

It takes more than a few dropped garments, and a bit of carnal knowledge, for Christian to admit to himself that the reason he has so thoroughly buried himself in his science is to keep himself from noticing the very distracting Violet.

Because once the matter has been brought to his attention, he can’t stop noticing. And doesn’t want to. Which is just fine with Violet. Finally.

Escape Rating B: Baring It All is one extended love-and-sex scene between two people who go from being friends into lovers during the course of the very short story. From Violet’s perspective it’s a dare and it’s daring, her whole future is on the line as well as her heart.

Christian doesn’t want to be distracted from his plans, and it takes him a while to wake up and realize that Violet is not only just what he wants, but also just what he needs.

For a good time, read Baring It All.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig

Posted on August 12, 2013August 4, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> book reviews

Format read: hardcover borrowed from the Library
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, paperback, audiobook
Genre: Historical fiction, Women’s fiction
Length: 367 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Date Released: April 9, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

As a lawyer in a large Manhattan firm, just shy of making partner, Clementine Evans has finally achieved almost everything she’s been working towards—but now she’s not sure it’s enough. Her long hours have led to a broken engagement and, suddenly single at thirty-four, she feels her messy life crumbling around her. But when the family gathers for her grandmother Addie’s ninety-ninth birthday, a relative lets slip hints about a long-buried family secret, leading Clemmie on a journey into the past that could change everything. . . .

Growing up at Ashford Park in the early twentieth century, Addie has never quite belonged. When her parents passed away, she was taken into the grand English house by her aristocratic aunt and uncle, and raised side-by-side with her beautiful and outgoing cousin, Bea. Though they are as different as night and day, Addie and Bea are closer than sisters, through relationships and challenges, and a war that changes the face of Europe irrevocably. But what happens when something finally comes along that can’t be shared? When the love of sisterhood is tested by a bond that’s even stronger?

From the inner circles of British society to the skyscrapers of Manhattan and the red-dirt hills of Kenya, the never-told secrets of a woman and a family unfurl.

My Review:

Two women in one family, across two generations, are both manipulated by people who love them “for their own good”. Because the other person believes that they “know best”. And their lives operate in parallel courses, although Clemmie at the end of the 20th century does not know the ways that her beloved Grandma Addie manipulated her life…or the secrets that she took with her to the grave.

At the beginning of the century, we see six-year-old Addie Gillecotte being taken under the wing of her eight-year-old cousin Bea in Ashford Park, after Addie’s parents’ sudden death in a auto accident. Bea is the spoiled and willful daughter of the Earl of Ashford, and Addie spends her girlhood never quite measuring up to her cousin’s shine or her baleful aunt’s expectations. Addie lives in the shadow cast by Bea’s glow, while Bea counts on having Addie to love her best.

But the First World War intervenes. Bea was taught to be an ornament. Addie was expected to be useful. Addie’s training makes her competent, where Bea discovers that she is ill-prepared for the world after the war, especially a world where so many of the men came back shell-shocked or part of the famous “Lost Generation.” One reason the 1920’s roared may have been because that was the only sound some of them could still hear.

Bea has always gotten everything she ever wanted. She was the daughter of the house, and it was expected. Addie finally found one thing that she wanted for herself. Bea stole that from her to fill up the empty spaces in her own life, and deceived herself into believing that what she did was best for Addie.

Then Bea ran away to Kenya to escape the scandal. Five years later, she invited Addie to visit her, and to gloat. But that’s not what happened.

Clemmie knows none of the history of her family. She doesn’t even know that her Grandma Addie lived in Ashford Park. Or about Bea. All she knows is that her own life is a shambles. She’s sacrificed seven years of her life to become a partner at a prestigious law firm, because her grandmother and her mother both emphasized how important it was for her to be independent.

The price of that independence has been to lose touch with everyone around her. She misses her last chances to say goodbye to the woman who was the main support in her life. Then the secrets unravel and she discovers that nothing was as she thought it was.
Who was her Grandma Addie? Really? And does it matter after all?

Escape Rating A-: The comparisons are not merely inevitable, but most are lampshaded during the course of the book; Brideshead Revisited, Out of Africa, and the multigenerational family sagas of Barbara Taylor Bradford. But also the works of Belva Plain who wrote stories very similar to Bradford with the exception that many of her heroines were Jewish, and last, but definitely not least, Downton Abbey.

The two points of view, Addie’s and Clemmie’s, are easy to track between the two time periods. Addie and Clemmie have very distinct voices within the story. One thing that fascinated me, I wish we saw Addie’s perspective as she manipulated Clemmie’s life in pretty much the same way that her life had been manipulated, but that happens by hearsay, the story is told from Jonathan’s perspective and not Addie’s. But the irony was delicious.

Still, this is a double second-chance-at-love story, which you do figure out. What doesn’t come easy is the method. I was expecting things to be more sinister on the one hand, and more complicated on the other. The actual story worked much better.

The 1920s have more life in the story than the 1999-2000 period that acts as the frame. The modern story is about the discovery of the family mystery, which was cool. The mystery also serves as Clemmie’s search for a real identity of her own, instead of the drudgery of pursuing a partnership that she couldn’t get except by pretending to be an asshat or a fool, and she was neither.

By finding Grandma Addie’s history, Clemmie discovered her authentic self. And true love.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-11-13

Posted on August 11, 2013August 11, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Lovestruck Giveaway Hop> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

I’m surprised by how strong a reaction I’ve had to the death of Dr. Barbara Mertz, better known as author Elizabeth Peters (also Barbara Michaels). Probably because the character she created, Amelia Peabody, made such an indelible impression from the first book I listened to, The Last Camel Died at Noon, undoubtedly helped by the marvelous interpretation of Barbara Rosenblat. The series is written from Amelia’s first-person perspective, and I doubt that anyone was ever neutral. Readers either loved Amelia’s “voice” or couldn’t stand her. She mostly skewered the haters with her steel-tipped parasol.

But in addition to a cracking good adventure, the Amelia Peabody stories always portrayed the long-term romance of a happily married couple who sometimes (often) argued ferociously. They also gave the reader an absolutely fantastic glimpse into the dawn of scientific archeology in Egypt, complete with scalawags, ne’er-do-wells, fortune hunters and thieves. And every season, another dead body to investigate. If you like strong, intelligent and extremely opinionated heroines, start with Crocodile on the Sandbank.

Current Giveaways:

Can’t Help Falling in Love by Bella Andre: one print copy (US only)
Mist by Susan Krinard: one print copy (US only)
Tourwide Giveaway from Lindsay Piper: Prizes include a $25 Amazon gift card and copies of the entire Dragon Kings series so far (ends soon, so hurry)

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: Blood Warrior by Lindsey Piper
Guest Post from Author Lindsey Piper on “So…Paranormal Romance?” + Giveaway
B Review: The Ides of April by Lindsey Davis
B Review: Mist by Susan Krinard + Giveaway
B+ Review: Can’t Help Falling In Love by Bella Andre + Giveaway
B Review: Omega by Susannah Sandlin
Stacking the Shelves (54)

Coming Next Week:

The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig (review)
Baring It All by Megan Frampton (review)
Matchpoint by Elise Sax (blog tour review and guest post)
Storm Force by Susannah Sandlin (review)
Lovestruck Blog Hop

Stacking the Shelves (54)

Posted on August 10, 2013August 10, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

If you’ve never heard of StoryBundle, and you love Classic Doctor Who, you have 10 days to get in on a treat. StoryBundle is HumbleBundle for indie books. Their current bundle o’books is the six Doctor Who titles I purchased this week. The deal is that you pay what you think the books are worth, and you get to download the books, DRM free. Looking at previous bundles, I’m sorry I missed The Fantastic Women’s Fiction Bundle and The Indie Fantasy Bundle. I won’t miss the next one, I signed up for the newsletter.

In much sadder news, Dr. Barbara Mertz, better known to the mystery and romantic suspense worlds as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels, passed away on August 8. As Elizabeth Peters, she was the creator of the indomitable Amelia Peabody Emerson, Victorian archaeologist and wielder of sharp parasols and even sharper wit. (I’ve always wondered if Amelia wasn’t one of the progenitors of Gail Carriger’s Alexia Tarabotti) Although I have read all of Peters’ Amelia Peabody series and her Vicky Bliss series (they connect, eventually) I never did read her Jacqueline Kirby series. I am now.

For Review:
Born Wild (Black Knights Inc. #5) by Julie Ann Walker
Forged in Dreams and Magick (Highland Legends #1) by Kat Bastion
Losing Control by Nina Croft
The Love of My (Other) Life by Traci L. Slatton
Naked Once More (Jacqueline Kirby #4) by Elizabeth Peters
What Makes This Book So Great by Jo Walton

Purchased:
The Best of TARDIS Eruditorum by Philip Sandifer
Dalek I Loved You by Nick Griffiths
Dining With The Doctor by Chris-Rachael Oseland
Hellfire (Theirs Not to Reason Why #3) by Jean Johnson
The Spy Wore Blue (Lord and Lady Spy #1.5) by Shana Galen
TARDIS Eruditorum Vol. 2: Patrick Troughton by Philip Sandifer
A Taylor-Made Life by Kary Rader
VWORP by Earl Green
Who & Me by Barry Letts

Borrowed from the Library:
Elisha Barber (Dark Apostle #1) by E.C. Ambrose
Enthralled by Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day, Meljean Brook and Lucy Monroe
Finding Camlann by Sean Pidgeon
How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire (Love at Stake #1) by Kerrelyn Sparks
The Seventh Sinner (Jacqueline Kirby #1) by Elizabeth Peters

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How in the World Did You Dream Up Such a Crazy Bunch of Characters? by Elise Sax

~~~~~~TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

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Blog Recap:

Coming Next Week:

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How in the World Did You Dream Up Such a Crazy Bunch of Characters?
by Elise Sax

TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY