ARC Review: The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl by Gina Lamm

Posted on February 15, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Number of Pages: 352 pages
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Formats Available: Mass Market Paperback, ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

THE STAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER…

An avid gamer, Jamie Marten loves to escape into online adventure. But when she falls through an antique mirror into a lavish bedchamber—200 years in the past!—she realizes she may have escaped a little too far.

Micah Axelby, Earl of Dunnington, has just kicked one mistress out of his bed, and isn’t looking to fill it with another—least of all this sassy, nearly naked girl who claims to be from the future. Yet something about her is undeniably enticing…

Jamie and Micah are worlds apart. He’s a peer of the realm. She can barely make rent. She’s wi-fi. He’s horse-drawn. But soon the pair will do anything to avoid a Game Over.

My Thoughts:

The favorite ways to time travel are 1)standing stone circle and 2) fall through a mirror, followed by 3) witch’s spell, often gone awry.

This one combines methods 2 and 3. (Word to authors, don’t touch method 1 unless you are looking for a comparison to Diana Gabaldon. It’s a really HIGH bar to get over)

The geek girl falls through a mirror cleaning out her uncle’s antiques warehouse. She’s a geek of the “too cool” school, up on all the latest gadgets. Her iPhone comes with her to the 19th century. Lucky for her it’s just been powered up. Unfortunately for her, she’s wearing an outfit that makes everyone mistake her for a trollop.

Jamie misses regular bathing. Not to mention toothpaste. Her descriptions of the clothes, and the lessons in manners, are very 21st century. She’s sure it’s all a mistake.

(And why do all 21st century girls think that historic men look like Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice? Really! Are none of them blond? A little variation, please!)

Moving right along, our geek has been drawn back in time by a witch’s spell, and not by accident. Micah’s housekeeper has determined that Jamie is the perfect woman for him, because she is his equal, and won’t give a damn about the scandal that surrounds him.

About that scandal…Micah’s first mistress seems to have been poisoned. And his second mistress is a poisonous bitch. While these two things should not necessarily be related, it’s pretty obvious to the reader that they probably are.

The geek has to get the earl to believe she is something out of the ordinary. Which she does by introducing him to her iPhone. And Angry Birds!

She also introduces him to what it is like to be cared for for himself, and not for his money or his title. Which is the greatest gift she can give him. Too bad the way she proves is is by saving his dog…in the 21st century.

Verdict: This is a hoot. True love through Angry Birds. Really. The deportment lessons alone were worth the time it took to read the book.

I will say that the Earl believes her improbable story just a bit too easily, and that the villain was incredibly obvious, but this story was intended as light-hearted fun.

But underneath the trappings of the time-mismatched lovers was the classic story of two people who need to see beneath the surface to find true love.

This story takes that premise to the edge of silliness a few times, but all in good fun.

I give The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl 3 1/2 stars flying over the heads of Angry Birds.

***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: Wait Until Dark by M.L. Buchman

Posted on February 6, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Series: Night Stalkers #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Military Romance
Release Date: February 5, 2013
Number of pages: 386 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Formats available: ebook, mass market paperback
Purchasing Info: Goodreads | Author’s Website | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Book Depository (US) | Book Depository (UK) | Publisher’s Website

Two Crack Mechanics, One Impossible Mission

Being in The Night Stalkers is Connie Davis’s way of facing her demons head-on, but mountain-strong John Wallace is a threat on all fronts. Their passion is explosive, but their conflicts are insurmountable. When duty calls them to a mission no one else could survive, they’ll fly into the night together—ready or not.

My Thoughts:

M.L. Buchman’s Night Stalkers series anticipated the U.S. military’s removal of the ban on women in combat positions by casting three women as warriors in the Night Stalker squadron in what I suspect is well ahead of actual events. Notice I said “combat positions” and not just “combat”. In the modern era of warfare, there is no defined front line. Women are serving in combat. They just haven’t been able to be recognized for it when promotions come around in these days of the “all-volunteer” army.

Somewhere in fiction-land, Sam Carter is smiling.

Each book in Buchman’s Night Stalkers series has focused on one of the four seats in a four-seater DAP Black Hawk helicopter. So far we’ve seen the pilot and the co-pilot find their HEAs. This time it’s the Chief Mechanic, Big John Wallace’s turn. Big John has been a mainstay of the crew so far, so it’s only fitting that he should finally get his chance at a happy ending.The thing about the story is that John really isn’t the point-of-view character. That position is reserved for Connie Davis, the temporary replacement mechanic taking over for Kee Stevenson while she’s on her honeymoon.

And Connie is a closed book. We spend a lot of the story, not just waiting for dark, but waiting for Connie to open up a little, even to herself.

Connie is in a LOT of pain. Most of the Night Stalkers have something traumatic in the pasts, either the reason they strove so damn hard to join SOAR, or something that happened after they got there. But Connie is so closed off that she doesn’t let much daylight in, even in the privacy of her own head.

This story is a lot like jokes about being in the Army, “hurry up and wait”.

Connie refuses to get close to anyone. She refuses to let anyone close to her. And we really don’t know why. She doesn’t let herself feel anything. Again, the explanations are left unrevealed because she just won’t go there, even to herself.

While I admire Connie’s tenacity, it makes her damn frustrating as a heroine. Big John is also the strong, silent type. We’ve basically got two people who don’t talk much, even in the privacy of their own minds.

The way their relationship begins is that they are able to fix the helicopter without needing to ask each other for tools or parts–they are just that in sync. It scares her and intrigues him. But it doesn’t give us readers much to work with.

Then John takes Connie home with him on leave, not because he necessarily thinks they might start something, even though he’s finally begun to see her in that light…but because he’s finally gotten through her silent withdrawals to realize that the woman has absolutely nowhere to go. At all.

Never has, and has no expectation that she ever will. Connie has no belief that a soldier can have a future. John and his family teach her otherwise.

John finally gets it through her head, and her heart, that there’s a future worth fighting for.

And not just a mission worth dying for.

Verdict: Unlike the first two Night Stalker books, this one had a surprisingly slow start. The action doesn’t pick up until John takes Connie home with him, and then it’s more about her reactions to his family than the romance.

There is a romance, but it’s of the slow and steadily developing kind. They do get there, but neither of them are people who wear their hearts on their sleeve. This story is a lot more about Connie coming to believe that love and happiness are something worth fighting for.

One of the best parts of this series as a whole is that the women are soldiers every bit as much as the men. There’s a scene in the book that gave me chills. John’s younger sister graduates ROTC and becomes an officer. Connie arranges to be the first enlisted person to salute her. It’s tradition. But instead of seeing an “old boy’s network”, we see an “old girl’s network” start to rise. Very cool.

I give Wait Until Dark 3 and 1/2 shining stars! Somebody needs to salute!

Review: Lycan Unleashed by Tiffany Allee

Posted on January 29, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook received from the publisher
Number of Pages: 115 pages
Release Date: January 13, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Series: From the Files of the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency #3
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

Detective Astrid Holmes is a sensitive, a human capable of feeling the energy of otherworlders. When she is dispatched to the horrific murder scene of a local vampire, she expects it to be just another day on the job. But when evidence is stolen on her watch, she is removed—not only from the investigation, but from her job as a member of the Chicago police department’s paranormal unit.

Astrid’s only hope of reinstatement lies with her ex co-worker and almost-lover, Lycan Mason Sanderson. But convincing the OWEA agent to let her assist with the investigation isn’t nearly as difficult as staying alive when the murderer realizes that Astrid may hold the key to unlocking his identity.

Fighting to take down a killer could have deadly consequences for Astrid and Mason, but working together puts their already fragile relationship in jeopardy.

My Thoughts:

Now that we’re three books into the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency, the “world” it operates in is already established. This is excellent, as this series is made up of novellas rather than full-length novels, and each one ends up being just a bit short. Prior background is good.

The heroine of Lycan Unleashed is Astrid Holmes, and she’s someone we’ve met before. Astrid is the “sensitive” who’s been called on in previous cases. Astrid can, well, “sense” what type of paranormal committed a crime, and what kind of energy surrounds a crime scene.

She’s usually an office worker, because her sense is acute. She senses paranormal energy all the time. From every paranormal or Otherworlder (OW) around her. Every aura they exude. For example, vamps smell like old cigarettes and are surrounded by a miasma of fear. The scene where Astrid describes what it’s like to be her is truly awesome.

But speaking of aromas, lycans smell like the forest. Mason Sanderson particularly. Astrid thought that they might have the possibility of a relationship, but one kiss, one year ago, and after that, he can’t seem to stand to be in the same room with her. Not even when they have to work together on a case for the OWEA.

Still, when Astrid’s current case goes totally pear-shaped, she has nowhere else to turn. Her vampire partner Claude is away for one of his mysterious disappearances. A vampire is killed in a particularly nasty way (even for vamps) just to send a message to the Magister of the City. And then a critical piece of evidence goes missing while she is handling it.

Astrid is taken off the case and put on administrative leave. Of course she is. Cops do what cops do, even when they’re otherworlder cops.

To save her badge, and to redeem her name, Astrid needs to stay on the case. For that, she goes to Mason. And once they are back in each other’s close orbit again, she discovers that his regret over their one kiss last year wasn’t because he was sorry that he kissed her.

It was because he was sorry that he didn’t think it was a good idea to keep right on kissing her, and a whole lot more. Forever.

It’s just too bad that they’re trying to resolve their misunderstanding while people, and others, are trying to kill them.

Verdict: I like the world that Allee has created in this series. The more of it I learn, the more I want to know. In general, the books are too short.

In specific, this one was definitely too short.

Both Mason and Astrid are not on speaking terms with their birth families. Clearly, something terrible happened in both their pasts that is messing with their heads. It’s a factor in why Mason pushed Astrid away the previous year. But we don’t find out nearly enough details about what the heck happened with either of their families. We get some info, but it’s not enough.

The lack of closure or healing left me feeling a bit shortchanged regarding the love story. On the one hand, it wasn’t insta-love. On the other hand, I wasn’t quite sure why Mason finally gave in to his emotions. He didn’t really resolve any of his issues. He just stopped resisting.

There’s a lot in this story that’s about family. The crime that’s being investigated is a family crime. For those details, you need to read the story.

I enjoyed this particular “File” from the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency, but it didn’t quite live up to the previous entries. Banshee Charmer (review here) did a better job with the cop shop aspects of the story and Succubus Lost (review at Reading Reality) hit the high points of the romance higher. But the series as a whole is pure paranormal romance/urban fantasy fun and I’m looking forward to the next installment.

And Astrid’s partner Claude definitely needs his own story. Where does that vamp keep disappearing to?

I give Lycan Unleashed by Tiffany Allee 3 and 1/2 wolfish stars.

Dual ARC Review: Hot Ticket by Olivia Cunning

Posted on January 24, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> Dual Review> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Danger Lover> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ARC provided by Publisher courtesy of Netgalley for Review
Length: 400 Pages
Series: Sinners On Tour, Book 4
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Formats Available: eBook, Kindle, Nook, Trade Paperback
Purchasing Info: Publisher, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Powell’s, The Book Depository, Kindle, Nook

Book Blurb:

He needs her to mask his pain…

When Jace walked through the doors of Aggie’s dungeon, the last thing he expected was to find self-forgiveness and the love of a remarkable woman. But when a terrible accident sidelines Jace during the band’s tour, the burdensome chains of his past wrap ferociously around his heart.

She needs him to forgive himself…

Determined to crack through Jace’s armored shell, Aggie must go beyond her usual methods to mend his heart to love again.

Our Thoughts:

Marlene: If you have been following Olivia Cunning’s Sinners on Tour, when you read the opening of Hot Ticket, you might have the feeling that you’ve been here before.

And you’d be right.

Lea: The timeline of this one was a deja vu situation and I liked it in some ways because it refreshed my memory after such a long break since the release of Rock Hard. On the other hand there were times when it all seemed “more of the same” from a different character’s perspective. Also with reading Double Time late last year, we knew a lot of what was coming.

Marlene: The opening of Hot Ticket is the same scene as the opening of Rock Hard, just from a different perspective. Instead of Jessica going on stage at the strip club and being hauled off by Sed, we have Aggie going on stage and being mentally stripped by Jace.

At least Jace has a bit more self-control. He doesn’t start the barroom brawl. He only finishes it.

But then, control is one of Jace’s issues. And Aggie’s. Because Aggie uses her dancing at the club to find clients for her real business, being dominatrix Madame V. It’s Madame V. that Jace needs. Jace thinks that he needs to be hurt, that he deserves it. He’s long past the point where he’s mixed up pleasure and pain.

Being a domme is Aggie’s business. Helping Jace, finding a way for Jace to work through his real pain, becomes her mission.

Lea: Well put Marlene. Initially at least, I found Aggie challenged to the point of mental derangement because she cannot get Jace to submit to her domination. And, it isn’t for lack of trying, she beats him with every implement imaginable and he asks for more. Maybe it’s my nurturing instincts, but I found Jace’s heartrending emotional pain enticing. I just wanted to hug the poor guy and sooth his tortured soul.

When I first started this book and Aggie was wielding her bullwhip in the club, playing her tough dominatrix role, I nearly dropped my Kindle on the floor, I’m not good at all with brutal sadism. I was glad I persevered and thought Cunning did a good job of making Aggie’s sadistic tendencies palatable to readers by characterizing this tormented man who needed physical pain to lessen the emotional. Aggie gives him what he needs and eventually helps him to work through his insecurities and very low self esteem which was actually quite moving, to a point.

Marlene: Jace needs the release that Aggie gives him to keep the demons at bay. But Aggie sees that sweet, tortured Jace is deserving of all the love, and all the respect, in the world. If only he would ever let himself believe it.

Verdict:

I’ll admit that I had a lot of mixed feelings about this story. Surprisingly not about the BDSM aspects. While they exist, they did not seem to be as huge an element of the plot as the blurb makes you expect.

Jace has confused pleasure and pain because he is hurt on the inside. That’s the part that is really painful. And because he can’t admit to himself that he enjoys the pain. He’s decided he deserves it for reasons that are part of the story. He’s a walled up emotional mess.

He can’t believe he deserves anything good in his life. His need for pain is just part of that. And we do find out why in the story.

Lea: I agree regarding your analysis of what the author was trying to relate to readers regarding Jace and his inner turmoil. He certainly learned to suppress his pain as a defense mechanism. Jace also doesn’t believe he is worthy of love, which was heart breaking.

I too had great difficulty rating this story, I loved Jace to the point of swooning (and I never swoon) but I was also conflicted with regard to Aggie. It wasn’t the pleasure/pain part of their relationship, it was her whole amateur psychologist gig. I just didn’t buy that she would be so insightful and able to heal all of this guy’s horrific emotional wounds. I got there was a great love developing between them, and they both fed each others fetishes but thought was rather unrealistic. While I know, it’s to be expected (it is the Sinners’ modus operandi after all) but there was so much exhibitionism, voyeurism and sexual excess going on, on that tour bus I became desensitized at times. Which brings me to Eric, this guy is the ultimate voyeur, and the scenes with him, Jace and Aggie made my eyes bug.

I did like that once Aggie and Jace were together they stayed together, there was plenty of conflict but it was satisfying to see them work through their mega issues without the ultimate relationship break-up, then getting back together. I felt there was an overabundance of sentimentality with Aggie, she is supposed to be this bad-ass dominatrix but turns over the top mushy with Jace. As well, her meddling bothered me.

Marlene: What we don’t find out, and it does bug me, is why Aggie is so unwilling to commit. We do find out why she became a dominatrix, but I didn’t get enough of why she spends so much of the book completely unwilling to commit. Not just to Jace, but to anyone. It’s a pattern that’s not explored.

She also has a terrible relationship with her mother, who comes off as a stereotypical bad mother. This entire series has a parade of bad parents, and absent parents. Did no one have a good childhood?

Lea: Yep Marlene, there is that. lol Not one of them seems to have any sort of foundation of parental normalcy which is why they are such a bizarre, dysfunctional bunch. There has been a strong sense of loyalty established within the Sinners ‘family’, and it’s good to see how they support each other. I liked seeing more of Sed’s leadership strengths and despite his arrogance, he lends support to his fellow band-mates.

Marlene: Another big issue for me was that the out of order release impacts the story. A chunk of the beginning of this story is Rock Hard re-hashed from Aggie and Jace’s perspective. We know what’s going to happen because we know how that story ended. On top of that, we know how this story ends because Double Time was released out of sequence. We already know about the bus crash and its aftermath because that’s in the past in Double Time. And we know that Aggie and Jace are together in the future.

That’s not the author’s fault, but it makes reading Hot Ticket, well, not as hot as it might have been.

Lea: Again, I agree.

The thing I’ve so enjoyed about this series is the humor, Cunning always makes me hoot with laughter! The Sinners are so irreverent and crazy and you never know what is going to come out of these guys mouths. I am curious to see what will happen with Eric, we met the woman he is matched with in Double Time but it will be interesting to see how Cunning will manage his voyeuristic tendencies and I will give his book tentatively entitled Snared a try when it’s released this fall. I’m wondering if there will be a spin off series featuring the Exodus End band?

Marlene gives Hot Ticket 3 1/2 roped and tied Stars

Lee gives Hot Ticket 3 1/2 Stars

Review: The Impetuous Amazon by Sandy James + Giveaway

Posted on January 23, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> book reviews> Giveaways> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Number of Pages: 261 pages
Release Date: January 14, 2013
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Alliance of the Amazons #2
Genre: Fantasy Romance, Paranormal Romance
Formats Available: ebook, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

Megan Feurer is strong and impetuous, like the Fire element she represents. She is an Amazon, sworn to protect humanity from demons, demigods and all manner of supernatural beings who wish ill upon the world. But her fire burns hot and fast, and her unpredictable control of the element brings into question her fitness as an Amazon.

Johann Herrmann chose the life of a Sentinel—a trainer of the four Amazons—to save his sister’s life. Now bound to the patron goddess Rhiannon, he knows his duty demands a solitary existence. But when he’s assigned to evaluate the Fire Amazon, his sacrifice becomes much more difficult.

Megan’s passions ignite a flame that neither she nor Johann can control, and the goddess Freya has reason to fan those flames. A mysterious force is gaining power, and Megan and Johann must join together to fight. And once a passionate fire has started, it’s nearly impossible to stop…

My Thoughts:
First of all, the patron goddesses seem to run through their sentinels awfully fast. So far two sentinels down, and still two amazons left to go. I’ll bet that we find out what the recruitment process is for sentinels in the next book.

Megan Feurer’s Fire Amazon is the opposite of Rebecca Massee’s Earth Amazon from Sandy James’ first book in this series, The Reluctant Amazon (see BLI review). And it’s totally appropriate. Earth is supposed to be, well, grounded. And fire is so, not.

The problem the story has to solve is that Megan seems to have zero control over her fire. Normals aren’t supposed to know that there is supernatural evil out there. Megan took out a demon in a mall. With a sword. Seriously. The number of memories that had to be wiped was astronomical.

Torchwood wouldn’t have enough ret-con to deal with this girl. No matter how many righteous hits she laid down. She’s just too public about it.

The patron goddesses send the second sentinel to teach her some control. And to keep an eye on her. Because the alternative is to send her back to the mundane world minus two years’ worth of memories. Talk about sucky alternatives!

Sending the sentinel to train an Amazon is normally the best way to go about this sort of thing. Not that it happens often. But then again, this situation is so far from normal it’s not even in the same universe as Amazon normal, and that’s saying quite a lot.

The goddesses send Johann Herrmann to teach Megan some control, while the two of them investigate the case of a missing young woman with ties to the Megan’s patron goddess Freya. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

Johann is one of the causes of Megan’s loss of control. Amazons are not supposed to fall for their sentinels. And very definitely vice-versa. But since Earth Goddess Rhiannon let the last sentinel have his own happily ever after with the new Earth Amazon Rebecca, no one is quite sure where that stands anymore. Except that Rhiannon is a jealous witch and probably won’t let anyone else have any fun. She’s still a bit mad about Artair.

Not to mention she and Freya are not exactly best buds. Goddesses have eternity to score off against one another, and do they ever!

The missing girl that Megan is supposed to find? It’s not one missing girl, it’s lots. And lots. There’s a new badass in town. Except he’s a very, very old badass, with hypnotic powers. And he’s aiming for Megan.

He’ll get her, too. If Megan and Johann don’t break all the goddesses’ rules. With a little help from Freya.

Verdict: Where The Reluctant Amazon was the worldbuilding story, The Impetuous Amazon is fortunate that the scaffolding is already in place, and is able to just tell its story without having to create its world. We already know how things work here. That helps things get rolling, because Impetuous starts pretty darn impetuously, directly after the events in Reluctant. And I think you need to have read the first book for the second one to make sense. YMMV.

Megan’s problems with control relate to her lack of training, because the previous Fire was killed in the first book. Freya’s is honked off at Rhiannon because Rhiannon seriously bent the rules in book one. She feels like she can bend them too. And the villainy of the villain is definitely related to book 1.

I was so, so glad to NOT see the insta-love come out to play again. This story takes place two years after the beginning of book 1, so Megan and Johann have known each other that long. They both say that they’ve been interested in each other that long, in spite of rules against any relationship. They both talk about acting extra cold and extra-snippy to each other because that was the only way to deal with the attraction. Then Freya threw a monkey wrench into the works.

On the other hand, if all four of this generation of Amazons turn out to be goddess-daughters, that’s going to constitute serious buzz-kill. Once could be written in, twice started to stretch the old willing suspension of disbelief. Four is going to be well past over the top. That’s my personal opinion.

On my third and final hand, the scene where Johann asks Artair how he manages to let Rebecca fight, and Artair’s response, was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of that fantastic saying that “men of quality are not threatened by women of equality”, but it was much, much better than that. Awesome stuff.

Freyr, Freya’s brother, lends a helping hand in this one, and makes everyone nervous when he does. He reminds me of Morden on Babylon 5. As Vir said, “Some gifts come at just too high a price.” In Freyr’s case, we haven’t seen the price yet. But I don’t think the good guys, including Freya, are going to like it when the bill is presented.

Can somebody please give me a chorus of “hunka hunka burnin’ love”? You’ll get it when you read the book.

I give The Impetuous Amazon by Sandy James 3 and 1/2 fiery stars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**~~Giveaway~~**

Sandy James has generously offered an ebook copy of The Impetuous Amazon to one lucky commenter!

All you have to do is answer her question:

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

(You can read our full giveaway policy here)

Please be sure to include a valid email address in the comment form (need not be in the actual body of the comment).

This giveaway is open to all!

Giveaway ends on Saturday February 2, 2013 and we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good Luck!

Review: A Galactic Holiday by Anna Hackett, Stacy Gail and Sasha Summers

Posted on December 19, 2012December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> 4 Stars> 5 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read:ebook provided by the authors
Number of Pages: 247 pages
Release Date: December 3, 2012
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Science Fiction Romance, Holiday Romance
Formats Available: ebook, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Anna Hackett’s Website | Stacy Gail’s Website | Sasha Summers’ Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

Do androids dream of electric sugar plums?

A detective who refuses to modify her body teams up with her cyborg rival to track down a burglar who is putting toys into homes. A solitary ice miner finds love and friendship while stranded on the surface of Galileo. And two hardheaded negotiators put their differences aside to evade an assassin and save their planets. Enjoy these visions of Christmases yet to come with three science-fiction novellas from Carina Press.

Edited by Angela James, this anthology includes:

How the Glitch Saved Christmas, by Stacy Gail
Galileo’s Holiday, by Sasha Summers
Winter Fusion, by Anna Hackett

My Thoughts:

A Galactic Holiday is one of Carina Press’ annual holiday trifecta collections, along with Red Hot Holiday (reviewed at Reading Reality) and Romancing the Holiday (reviewed here at BLI). Maybe I should have called them holiday confections, because they’re usually pretty yummy overall.

But the annual sci-fi collection (last year’s was the all-steampunk A Clockwork Christmas and yeah, I reviewed it too.) always has a slightly more heavy lifting to take care of than the contemporary anthologies. Because each story has to build its sci-fi world, justify its winter solstice holiday and tell its romance in the length of a novella. That’s a LOT of scaffolding to build and sometimes one element or another doesn’t quite hold up.

Let’s take a look at what we have for this year’s out of this world holiday collection!

How the Glitch Saved Christmas by Stacy Gail was my favorite story in the collection. It not only embodied the spirit of Christmas in a hearwarming way, it also made the most sense as a science fiction story that extended the world we know. And the romance was both hot and sweet.

First of all, I dare anyone not to be reminded of Steven Spielberg’s movie A.I. by the end of this story. And, I double-dare you not to get a little misty-eyed. But that’s at the end. Returning to the beginning.

Chicago, although it is an utterly marvelous city, gets damnably cold in the winter. And it is entirely possible that it was named the Windy City, at least in part, for the windbags in city government, and not just the wind off Lake Michigan. Which, by the way, is brutal in the winter. The weather prediction of “cooler by the Lake” also applies in the winter, and it isn’t near as nice as it is is August.

In the background to the story, it’s pretty clear that the inventor of body modification should have made them work better in sub-zero temperatures. He also should have figured out that just because it was illegal to force someone to accept body-mods, that didn’t mean that someone couldn’t be pressured beyond all reason to accept them. And yes, I could easily see it happening.

Reina Vallette was a damn good cop. A fine detective. She just refused to accept body modification. She’d been dependent on machines once, when she was hospitalized under life-threatening conditions, and she couldn’t bear it psychologically. Also, her thought processes were too quirky to work any way except from her “gut”. (Gibbs on NCIS comes to mind). So the CPD made her the poster girl for insubordination.

Edison Wicke, on the other hand, is the golden boy. He’s a walking toaster, in Reina’s eyes. But still a damn fine detective. (Also a damn fine looking man!) So when someone breaks into an apartment in the Projects and delivers presents, Edison requests Reina as his partner.

He had his eye on her when his eyes were just human, and now, he wants her even more. She’s unique.

Better still, their styles complement each other. He’s data driven, and she’s pure instinct. New school plus old school.

But it takes a glitch in the system to show them that underneath their differences, they are both the same people they were before he got body mods, and before the system started busting her down the ladder.

They’re the best detectives that CPD has. And they’re the best for each other. But can they save the little glitch that brought them together?

I give How the Glitch Saved Christmas 5 frozen stars with the sun glinting off them for sparkle.

Winter Fusion by Anna Hackett comes in a close second for me in this collection. The thing about science fiction short stories, at least for me, is that there is so little time for the world-building, the author needs to have something familiar to use as a short cut.

Ms. Hackett tells a Prime Directive-type story, with a merchant empire Federation instead of the slightly more militaristic one we’re used to. And the traders Savan Bardan and Brinn Fjord are part of the very recent dropping of the embargo on high-tech goods between Bardan’s Trade Guild and Fjord’s more primitive ice planet of Perma. Her father died of a disease that was eradicated on Guild worlds, but membership came one year too late to save his life.

Bardan’s decision was the one that kept Perma out of the Guild. Because high-tech too soon leads to very bad decisions. Sort of like lottery winners on spending sprees, only with planetary-wide ecological disaster-type consequences. All Bjorn knows is that her father is dead and that it’s Bardan’s fault.

Now he’s back on Perma, because the ice miners have found an unsynthesizable high-yielding energy resource that his planet needs. And Brinn is the Perman trader he has to negotiate with to get it.

However, someone is willing to kill both of them to make sure that Rendar doesn’t get the energy crystals.

While they are running and fighting together for their lives, Savan Bardan and Brinn Fjord are forced to strip off the masks they wear in public. They have to rely on each other to survive.

Bardan learns the personal cost of his decision to keep Perma out of the guild. The reason behind Brinn’s bitter rivalry. And Brinn learns the reason behind Savan’s judgment–the last time he gave a planet early admission, they ruined their world.

And the reason there’s always been such heat in their negotiations? Just another way to conceal how they’ve really felt about each other all along.

But first they have to survive whoever is stalking them. In the middle of a Perman winter. Without gear or shelter.

Winter Fusion is a very good take on the “enemies into lovers” trope. Very, very good. With a slice of “poor little rich boy” thrown into the mix.

I give Winter Fusion 4 dark stars.

Galileo’s Holiday by Sasha Summers was a cute story, but it was also the shortest story in the collection and I kept wishing there were more of it! I just didn’t have enough of the world-building to quite get the reasoning behind the hero’s actions, but the love story and the settlement definitely worked.

Riley is a tugger. A lone ice miner with a tiny, one-woman ship, like her mother and her grandmother before her. Raiders destroy her ship, lucky for her while she’s planetside mining ice. Even luckier for her, a mysterious man leads her to a settlement.

That mysterious man, Leo, introduces her into the life of Galileo, just before their winter Holiday, and what a life it is! Riley has lost both her home and her livelihood in one fell swoop, but the settlers take her in and make her welcome.

Her ability to fix every bit of electronics tech they have doesn’t hurt her cause one little bit. Especially since their security grid is about to go down. That grid keeps the cryptids out. (Yes, I did say cryptids.) Big ugly carnivorous bug-eyed monsters.

The settlers can use her skills, but it’s Leo who fascinates her. In a jumble of new experiences (eating real food, wearing cloth instead of space gear) Riley’s never felt anything like what she feels for Leo. And it seems to be mutual. But she knows it can’t be permanent. He’ll go back to his ship as soon as the snow clears, and she’ll have to find a new place for herself.

Until the Raiders come to take Leo, and steal the cargo of medicines he’s been hiding. Leo sacrifices himself to save her. Then the Raiders want to take her. And Riley has to decide what sacrifice she’s willing to make.

As I said, the story of Riley’s discovery of a life outside her tugger, and the life of the settlement, worked. The parts that drove me a bit nutty were the lack of background about the raiders and the outside galaxy. There were hints of a bigger picture that I wanted, that would have made Leo’s reason for being with the settlers make more sense, that I just didn’t have. I want the rest of this story!

I give Galileo’s Holiday 3 1/2 icy stars.

Dual Review: Tundra 37 by Aubrie Dionne

Posted on October 25, 2012December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> 3 Stars> book reviews> Dual Review> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover> The Smutty Lover

Format Read: ebook provided by Publisher
Number of Pages: 288 pages
Release Date: 7th of February 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Series: A New Dawn #2 Genre: Sci Fi Romance
Purchase links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Blurb:

Gemme is a hi-tech matchmaker who pairs the next generation of Lifers aboard the Expedition, a deep space transport vessel destined for Paradise 18. When the identity of her lifemate pops up on her screen, she’s shocked that he’s the achingly gorgeous and highly sought after Lieutenant Miles Brentwood—a man oblivious to her existence. Believing everyone will think she contrived the match, she erases it from the computer’s memory.

Just as comets pummel the ship and destroy the pairing system forever.

With the Expedition disabled, the colonists must crash land on the barren ice world of Tundra 37 where Gemme is reassigned to an exploratory mission, led by Lieutenant Brentwood. Only in the frozen tundra does she understand the shape of his heart and why the computer has entwined their destinies.

Our Thoughts:

Has: I have mixed feelings with this series, I adore the world-building and the premise of a future where humans are forced to flee the Earth due war, famine and disease. And to survive people travel in generational star ships to find new planets to colonise and to restart civilisation. Tundra 37 is the 2nd book of the series and follows the ship, the Expedition which is forced to crash land in a frozen planet after an accident.

Gemme, the heroine is a tech who match-makes pairings on the ship and to ensure that they are compatible genetically and psychologically. However she is shocked to see that she is paired with Miles Brentwood who is being groomed to take over the leader on The Expedition. She is afraid to be partnered with him because he is popular and very desirable and because of her position as the person who matches up couples. But the ship crash lands, and the remaining survivors have to find a way to safeguard the ship and to find new supplies to ensure their survival.

I have to say, I loved the main plot for the mission to survive and the search for supplies, but the romance subplot, wasn’t that strong and the weakest part of the story for me. I felt, that Gemme’s actions especially with her position as a matchmaking tech and to dismiss the original results of her pairing with Miles wasn’t that strong an obstacle for them. I also disliked the character of Luna who I felt was one dimensional and despite the ship’s edict of ensuring human matches have to be genetically compatible was very focused on pairing with Miles despite the fact he was reluctant to be in her company. This aspect of the plot was forced and very weak and detracted from the main story of the ship’s mission and survival

Marlene: The New Dawn series seems to have more of a “space opera” feel to it than truly science fiction romance. The plot that drives all of the stories is the human diaspora plot–humankind’s need to distribute itself among the stars because we have totally frakked up planet Earth. This is a well-used and well-loved trope in science fiction, and the author has done some neat things with the generational ships and the base human drives that managed the people who initially populated them.

The romance subplots have taken a “back seat” in the stories (that has a tendency to be true in space opera in general).

Gemme’s job was to check over the computer’s genetic matches to make sure that the computer hadn’t missed any nuances that a human would catch. With such a relatively small gene pool, this cross-checking was required. Computers don’t do nuance terribly well. Gemme didn’t “make” matches, but she could prevent them if she saw something the computers didn’t. Of course, that gave her an enormous amount of very subtle power.

Miles has the overt power, but he doesn’t see it as power. He sees it as taking care of the crew. This is what makes him a good leader. And that’s why he’s been made a leader. What gets lost in the romance is why Gemme and Miles are attracted to each other at the beginning. Not why the computer matched them, that could just be genetics, but why they get lost in each other. Insta-connection, OMG.

And don’t get me started on Luna. She was so one-dimensional that she was flat. Except her boobs, which seem to have been positively ginormous. A factor which otherwise adds to her one-dimensionality. So to speak. Luna exists in the plot simply to be self-serving, to point out how self-sacrificing Miles and Gemme are. Luna in Tundra 37 is the equivalent of Astor Barliss in Paradise 21. She’s the bully.

Has:Yep! I totally agree although I did find Astor’s character more developed and fleshed out. But I found that the fact they were on a dangerous mission, and outside on an alien world, it was verging on ridiculousness about the romantic sub-plot. I wished there was some real build-up especially for the tension and for the feelings between Miles and Gemme because there was no explanation on how and why they should feel like this and I hate insta-love trope, it never really works for me as a trope and it never makes me believe in the romance.

I did like the subplot, involving the Twin navigators, Mestasis and Abysme who were melded to the pilot computer of the ship, introduced an interesting dynamic and I found their relationship much more interesting. It also had more depth, especially with the introduction of alien artifact on Tundra 37 which draws the ship’s attention like a moth to a flame and is the cause of the crash. Although I do wished there was more background on why this artifact was buried there and if there were any links to aliens in the first book in some way because it was a bit random.

Marlene: I’m so with you, Has, when it comes to insta-love. The only insta-anything that feels real is insta-lust. That one, I think can be pretty darn instantaneous. Anything that requires emotions takes a bit of time. And at least a few conversations!

Something about Tundra 37’s emotional chords that struck me was that all the depth comes from the backstory, and mostly occurs in flashback. Whatever happened between Luna and Gemme that made Gemme kowtow to that witch happened when they were kids. It’s supposed to make the reader understand, but we don’t get enough. Gemme’s and Miles insta-connection is fueled by past lives, which they relive through the alien tech. The Twins’ shared experience, and the sadness of Mestasis’ lost love back on Earth, are experienced in their dead memories through the artifact.

The emotional present gets shorted. And you’re right again about the past of the artifact. Where did it come from and does it have any bearing on anything else whatsoever?

Has: I thought it was interesting about the flashbacks adding the depth and it did help with the buildup and contrast that with the insta-love it just highlighted the lack of development of the romance especially. I also wanted to know about the future of the survivors, because it ended abruptly, although there was hope they would be able to survive despite not them reaching their goal planet. The fact they end up on a desolate cold world was sad, and it also felt the story just got going for me. I hope we do get to revisit them and to see if there is more to come for this crew and if there is more developments with the alien artifact and its origins.

Marlene: I wonder how all the survivors turn out. The point of a diaspora story is usually to spread the survivors as far apart as possible so that there are as many chances of human survival as possible. Being a science fiction reader, I can think of a bunch of ways that we could legitimately check back on the surviving groups. I wonder if the author will pick one.

The alien artifact is interesting because it showed past lives, not just memories. How did it know? Were they true? It opens up a world (no pun intended ) of story-telling possibilities. Who were those aliens? Will they be back?

The ending, with that rousing speech, reminded me a lot of the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, and some of Adama’s speeches. But then, the Seers hooked into the ship reminded me a lot of Helva from Anne McCaffrey’s The Ship Who Sang. Science fiction recycles a LOT of tropes.

Verdict:

Has: Tundra 37 had a fantastic premise but the romantic subplot, for me was the weakest element of the story. However the flashbacks involving Mestasis own tragic romance who is the featured hero in the prequel, A HERO RISING, had depth and was much more engrossing, and heart-wrenching and I was drawn to her character and that of her sister which really made the book and story alive for me. Although I wished the ending didn’t end abruptly, the world-building and the story threads which link and tie in with the other books in the series, is engaging and keeps me interested in the story. I just wished the romance subplot was developed and didn’t fall into trope pitfalls.

I give Tundra 37 3 stars.

Marlene: I also thought that the premise behind Tundra 37 was terrific. The human diaspora story is excellent, and the survival adventure part of the story was well-done. But the romantic elements felt slightly underdone. The romance between Mestasis and James, centuries ago, held more passion than the current living love between Miles and Gemme. Flashbacks are a great story-telling device, but they shouldn’t bear the entire burden of holding up the romance. The ending was upbeat and in a pretty good place, hope and inspiration for the future, before the hard work begins. But that particular ending is a common science fiction trope.

I give Tundra 37 3 stars for too many trips to troperville.

Dual Review: West of Want by Laura Kaye

Posted on September 27, 2012December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> book reviews> Dual Review> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Latin Lover> The Rocket Lover

Format read: e-ARC provided by publisher
Release Date: 10 July 2012
Series: Book #2 in the Hearts of the Anemoi series
Number of pages: 222 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Read an excerpt

Blurb:

Betrayal is all he’s ever known, but in her, he’ll find a love strong enough to be trusted…

When Marcella Raines’ twin brother dies, she honors his request to be buried at sea, never expecting the violent storm that swamps her boat. Though she’s gravely injured–and still emotionally damaged from her recent divorce–Ella fights to survive.

Zephyros Martius is the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring, but being the strongest Anemoi hasn’t protected him from betrayal and loss. Worse, he’s sure his brother Eurus is behind it. When Zeph’s heartbreak whips up a storm that shipwrecks a human, his guilt forces him to save her.

Ella is drawn to the vulnerability Zeph hides beneath his otherworldly masculinity and ancient blue eyes. And her honesty, empathy, and unique, calming influence leave Zeph wanting…everything. When Eurus threatens Ella, she and Zeph struggle to let go of the past, defend their future, and embrace what they most want–a love that can be trusted.

Our Thoughts:

Marlene: North of Need was one of those utterly marvelous stories that comes along once in a “blue moon”, a story that was absolutely magical. When West of Want came out, I was hoping for another fantastic experience, but unfortunately the lightning wasn’t captured in the bottle the second time around. West of Want is pretty good, but it just isn’t up to the high bar set by North of Need.

Stella: *sighs* Yes, I pretty much agree Marlene. For the past couple of years I haven’t been a big PNR fan as I find it way too clichéd nowadays, but North of Need was such a breath of fresh air, I loved how unique Owen was, his innocent discovery of the world (and ice creams!), I just loved their story! So naturally I started West of Want with high expectations: I wanted the same original and entertaining story with memorable and unique characters I got used to in North of Need, but West of Want fell short on both accounts.

Marlene: One of the issues that I had with the story from the very beginning was “what the hell was wrong with Zeph?” We never do get complete clarity on why he caused the storm that starts off the story. I often found myself floundering in the backstory of this book. All of Zeph’s and Ella’s problems with trusting each other have to do with their past bad relationships, but we don’t get a whole lot of info on what happened. Ella’s backstory is fairly clear, but Zeph, not so much. And his family feud with Eurus, OMG. There’s a whole other novel’s worth of stuff in what’s wrong with Eurus.

Stella: Yes, sadly I felt that the plot of West of Want was all over the place. While I enjoy mythological references (hello, history/mythology junkie here!), I felt that there was too much crammed into West of Want. We got the whole run down on Zeph’s every paramour, family dysfunctions among many other things, one of them namely the main storyline…

While I was fairly engrossed in Zeph and Ella’s story they weren’t the memorable and unique characters that made me wonder and ponder things long after I have turned the page. I had problems understanding (and accepting) their insta-love connection (especially on Zeph’s side, he is a god after all, has been around for millenia and I didn’t get a clear answer to why this woman, what does he see in her?).

Marlene: The ending of the story, and the convenient explanation for Zeph’s and Ella’s insta-love at the beginning, smacked way too much of deus ex machina. Although Stella, my Latin scholar friend will probably correct that to dei, since there are multiple gods involved in cleaning up the mess that Eurus causes, and more gods than just the Anemoi. Was it truly necessary to bring both the Greek and Roman pantheons in on this? Really? Either/or would have been reasonable, since the Anemoi are the Greek wind gods after all. But both? Mars and Ares?

Stella: Lol Marlene, thanks first for including a bit of Latin, it’s really a pity we don’t use this language more 😉 And second of all thanks for mentioning the combination of BOTH mythological worlds. Ares is the Greek counterpart of Mars, they are one and the same god just either perceived by the Greeks (Ares) or the Romans (Mars), so I was stumped why a Roman god (Mars) was introduced in a story which featured Greek gods (the Anemoi). I thought it was a shallow, typo-kind of mistake that an editor should have corrected. I get that they needed the names to rhyme (Mars – Marcella – March), but it still screwed with the rules of the world-building.

Marlene: That was an “off the rails” moment for me. Zeph actually refers to “Mars and his brother Ares” late in the story as sharing a “legendary masculine aggression”, but while Ares directs his towards literal war-making, Mars focuses on peace-making. However you slice and dice this, both pantheons seem to co-exist simultanously. That’s just too many gods at one time. The only author who can successfully put this many gods in one story is Neil Gaiman, and that’s not the kind of story we’re talking about here.

Stella: I’m all for re-interpreting legends and stuff, but messing with the main characteristics of gods this way is just not something I can take in stride. Mars as the peacemaker, oh yeah… *snorts*

Marlene: I’ll see your snort and raise you an eyebrow.

Stella: You’re on 😉 So anyway I found the ending, the resolution of everything way too easy and convenient, too neatly tied off.

Marlene: Exactly! Deus (or dei) ex machina. Except in this case there’s no machina, just lots and lots of dei.

Stella: Lol, perfectly said! 😀

Verdict:

Marlene: The insta-connection and insta-love was highly improbable, but I really liked Ella as a character. She may have accepted Zeph a bit (a lot) too easily, but who wouldn’t accept someone that gorgeous who could heal that much damage?

Eurus came across as much too “Bwahaha” evil, and there wasn’t enough backstory to explain why Zeph was so incredibly down on himself. He was, after all, a god. Even though the author’s writing made the story entertaining enough to carry me along, it was still a disappointment after the astonishment and wonder of North of Need.

I give West of Want 3.5 stars.

Stella: After having North of Need give back my love and hope for PNR I was very excited and looking forward to West of Want, which sadly didn’t live up to the first story 🙁 I found it too clichéd, too generic, the typical paranormal romance. Don’t misunderstand me, West of Want wasn’t bad, but it was just ‘nice’, which after the wonder and great surprise that North of Need was, felt like a let down. Laura Kaye’s writing is still amazingly captivating, but the characters felt flat and cardboard-like. If you are a fan of paranormal romances and/or Laura Kaye you’ll enjoy West of Want, but if you are looking for something a bit different and more original (and fun) than the “six of one, half a dozen of the other” PNR stories, try North of Need instead.

I give West of Want 3.5 stars.

Dual Review: A Vengeful Affair by Carmen Falcone

Posted on September 20, 2012December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> 4 1/2 Stars> book reviews> Dual Review> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Latin Lover> The Rocket Lover

Format read: e-ARC provided by publisher
Release Date: 14 July 2012
Number of pages: 230 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Read an excerpt

Blurb:

Rich people get away with murder every day, but Vivian Foster intends to make billionaire Javier Rivera pay for what he did to her best friend—and how better to destroy a money-grubbing bastard than to sabotage the merger that means everything to him.

Javier Rivera would never hurt a woman much less kill one. But when he catches a gorgeous corporate spy in his office, he knows he can’t let her go—not when even a hint of scandal could ruin his career. Until the merger is signed, he’ll keep her close, even if he has to shackle her to his wrist. Literally.

But the closer Javier gets to Vivian, the more he wants her, and the more time she spends with him, the less she believes he could ever be a killer. Now Vivian and Javier have to discover the truth…and Vivian has to win the trust of her worst enemy.

Our Thoughts:

Stella: I’d like to start by saying that it seems that Entangled’s Indulgence imprint is a sure guarantee: whenever I pick one up I expect a delightful heartwarming sensual romance and A Vengeful Affair not only did not disappoint but completely won me over, I loved every minute of it!

Marlene: I’ve seen too many improbable billionaires and tycoons in the Indulgence imprint to tickle my fancy. My ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ only suspends but so far in a contemporary romance and no farther. Speaking of which, the situation in A Vengeful Affair struck me as beyond belief. I’m not sure which I found more unbelievable, that Javier didn’t call the police when he found Vivan snooping, or that Vivian actually left the country with the man she suspecting of being her best friend’s murderer, no matter how hot he was.

Stella: I had no problem believing that Javier would rather take care of the problem of Vivian snooping in his office than calling the cops and handing her to them. I mean he is curious, he wants to know what she’s up to, and as a typical successful businessman I guess he doesn’t relinquish control of any situation, mystery easily. The part I had a bit more problem accepting was how the murder of Vivian’s best friend was resolved. It felt like an afterthought and maybe it would have been better to leave out that part and find another justification for Vivian’s investigation and vendetta. But I got over that as soon as Vivian and Javier got into one of their sparring matches which kept me well entertained. 😀 Both Vivian and Javier were well developed, colourful and interesting characters and they were very well matched to each other’s temperament 😉 I LOVED their nonstop banter and their constant battle of wills was the highlight of the novel for me! 😀

Marlene: Having been crazy enough to go to Paris with Javier, I will say that once she got there, Vivian and Javier were very well matched. They are very strong characters and both equally fixed in their view of the events that led them to their initial confrontation. The fact that they are both totally wrong about each other only leads to more explosive chemistry and a bigger build-up of sexual tension. And you’re absolutely right, Stella, the constant battle of wills, and the oh-so-intelligent banter that the author uses to express it is fantastic!

Stella: I know, I kept devouring their dialogues which at turns made me chuckle or shiver (in delight)! Carmen Falcone packed more than enough heat to make the story sizzle, the chemistry between Vivian and Javier was palpable and all those delicious sexual innuendos gave me frissons of delight:

“I just thought I needed my things—”
“For the next few days, I will take care of whatever you need.”

I just loved Javier’s intensity which made even the most common scene appear sensual and steamy 😉

“She had barely finished speaking when he slammed her against a thick tree trunk and closed the gap between them. Vivian gasped.
“You are what’s wrong with me, Vivian,” he said. There was an unveiled intensity in his dark eyes. “I can’t stop wanting you.” Swiftly, Javier leaned in and kissed her hard, almost as if in punishment. She fought to breathe, raising trembling fingers to his chest. His heartbeat matched hers. He looked down at her, his eyes blazing with desire, his deep gaze a promise and a challenge. He wanted her surrender.”

Marlene: Javier and Vivian had enough chemistry to scorch every room (and every stick of furniture in it) that they occupied. OMG did they ever! (I kept imagining Raul Julia as Javier, and let’s just say that worked for me). The part of the story that kept me coming back for more was the development of the relationship between Javier and Vivian. They know that they shouldn’t get involved, and they can’t manage to keep their hands off each other. It steams off the pages just how much they can’t.

Stella: Perfectly said Marlene, I loved how both of them had to struggle with their inner voice making them choose between duty and their attraction towards each other. (And though I would rather picture Monsieur Edouard B. the older business partner of Javier as Raul Julia, I also think that the cover sorely misrepresented Javier! I mean he is a Spanish young and very handsome and sexy man, not this blond teenager on the cover :-/ )

Verdict:

Stella: A Vengeful Affair was a captivating story keeping me up until I finished reading it (at 3am!). The characters were vivid, their interaction sparkling and intelligent. There might be times when you’ll ahve to suspend your disbelief but Carmen Falcone will take you on an engrossing and very entertaining journey. I loved A Vengeful Affair, and seeing how Carmen Falcone bowled me over with her debut novel I can’t wait to read more from her. Take notes readers: if you love your contemporary romances sizzling with sexy banter then Carmen Falcone is an author to watch!

I give A Vengeful Affair 4.5 stars!

Marlene: I have very mixed feelings about A Vengeful Affair. On the one hand, I found the initial set-up beyond belief. On that other hand, once the story got started, I lost total track of where I was, sitting in a crowded airport waiting for a plane for 3 hours. The terrific banter between Javier and Vivian, and the deliciously sizzling sexual tension swept me away. I would love to read a full-length novel by Falcone that doesn’t have quite such a contrived start.

I give A Vengeful Affair 3.5 stars.

Review: On One Condition by Diane Alberts

Posted on May 2, 2012December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 3 1/2 Stars> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook from author
Genre: contemporary romance
Number of Pages: 112
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Publisher’s Website, Amazon , Barnes & Noble, Author’s Website

Book Blurb:

Kindergarten teacher Johanna hates Valentine’s Day. She hates romance, hates commercialism, and definitely hates her school’s annual charity date auction. She never expects her pre-auction night of drinking to land a sexy Brit in her bed. Or for that Brit to show up at the auction, bid thousands just to talk to her again, and get down on one knee in front of everyone and ask her to marry him.

Viscount Damon Haymes has never met anyone like Johanna. She’s neurotic, fascinating, and fun. She also doesn’t care about his title and doesn’t want his money, which makes Johanna perfect to fulfill a surprise clause in his father’s will: marry within three months and remain married for a year, or lose his fortune. A relationship is out of the question, but when passions ignite and the two fall in love, their marriage of convenience becomes anything but.

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

I’ll admit it; I was expecting this one to be short, sweet and sexy. And it was all of the above.

The “marriage of convenience” trope isn’t one that you often see in contemporary romance, so I was kind of intrigued. I wondered how the author was going to make the whole thing work in 21st century. I didn’t think it would be believable. And it nearly wasn’t.

The first scene is hilarious. It’s one of those classic “morning after the night before” things. Johanna tosses Damon out on his rich and titled ass. Which she has no clue is either rich or titled. Because when they met the night before, they were both way too drunk for introductions, if they even bothered. What they both remember is the really hot sex.

Damon wants to see Johanna again. He’s interested in any woman who isn’t interested in his title and fortune. Johanna just wants to forget the whole embarrassing incident ever happened. Damon is reluctantly willing to honor her wishes.

Fate intervenes, of course. The school where Johanna teaches is holding a charity auction that evening. It’s Valentine’s Day. It’s one of those auctions for an evening with a lovely lady event, where the ladies in question are the teachers. Of course, Damon comes to the auction and he purchases an evening of Johanna’s time.

This is typical romance fare.

What’s not typical happens in Damon’s office during the day. A lawyer informs Damon that his recently deceased father left one of those lovely little codicils in his will forcing Damon to marry within three months and stay married for at least a year, otherwise he’d lose his entire fortune.

Instead of deciding to marry a society chit, someone of his own class, some rich witch he’s known forever and already rejected, Damon sees Johanna at that charity auction and decides to offer her a marriage of convenience. He gets to keep his fortune, and she gets a whole lot of charity money for her school.

Johanna thinks she’ll protect her heart, and at the end of the year, she’ll walk away. The school will be set for years with Damon’s money. She can’t believe Damon could possibly want her. He certainly can’t love her. She’s just a school teacher, and he’s practically a prince.

Damon may be rich, but he really needs to learn a lesson about running his own business. He’s a smart guy, but not when it comes to reading over documents and making sure that he’s the one taking care of his responsibilities, and not trusting people who shouldn’t be trusted. He gets his happy ending almost by accident.

I enjoyed On One Condition a lot. It was a fun, albeit slightly implausible, light romance to read late at night.

I enjoyed it enough to give it 3 and a half stars.

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