JA Saare - The Renfield Syndrome

Rhiannon thought facing off against a deranged child vampire was the most dangerous task she would ever have to undertake, but she’s about to discover making a deal with a demon is far, far worse. Sent forward into another reality, one in which vampires are now dominating nearly extinct humans, she realizes the sooner she returns to her vampire lover, Disco, the better.
Unfortunately, time changes a lot of things; including those most trusted around her. When she’s faced with a loss and betrayal unlike any she has ever known, her focus shifts from severing the debt between the demon that wants to kill her, to exacting a revenge that will bring forth consequences she never could have fathomed. By reaching out to the darkness lingering within her, she’ll find the strength to push forward despite the circumstances that would see her dead and buried.
After all, when it’s all said and done, all that she has left to lose is her soul.

Comment (with spoilers included): Although I have previously written a too short comment on this author's first book in the Rhiannon' Law series, I still gave the idea it was a great one, and the following one was promising and I couldn't wait to get it.
Well, I finally did and it took me so long because first the author still had to write it and when it was out (already this year) I couldn't get to it right away.
Still, I hoped it would give a certain idea of what happened because my memories of that 1st book were very few after all this time. When it started I remembered immediately how it ended and I was once again curious to see what would happen. You see, in the end of the other book Rhiannon, the main character, was faced with a demon's trick and after saying a random number the demon sent her to the future, exactly the years she said...and she had picked 101. Of course this was bad and the readers were left with the cliffhanger of how would this be solved.
Now we found out.
In the future, vampires control the population because humans have weak minds and serve as food and amusement. This happened because of the Renfield syndrome, after vampires came out many people took a vaccine produced by this Renfield scientist but the components of the vaccine accelerated death and many key humans died like leaders until there were only left people who hadn't the power to rule. Oh and in the future there are werewolves too and so on... anyway, the world is a very bad place and Rhiannon's plan is to find her vampire friends to try to make out some solution. Most of the book is Rhiannon trying to dodge a pack of werewolves set on protecting her and reaching her friend Ethan and finding out how the actual person in control is a half demon and her bother, someone Rhiannon knew about in the past.

This is all very good, except I didn't like how humans and beings with no defense against vampire and demon control were treated. I know it's part of the image the author wanted to portray, to emphasize the awfulness of things but we didn't have to see it so often, in my opinion. Specially the games where werewolves chained were forced to fight each other or to rape young female werewolves in heat or something. I get it that it made possible for us to see Rhiannon make decisions and that, but I didn't enjoy it.
But this wasn't what bothered me the most.

While in the future, Rhiannon is confronted with the fact her lover Disco was killed in the past, in a very close date to when she was sent away to the future. (Of course in the past no one knew about where she went). Anyway, Disco died and that was when all the changes in the world started. So, in the future, many things happen before Rhiannon finds the solution to go back in time to save her friends and Disco. Which means she does some things that, although understandable I found sad that she did it. Ok I'll say it, spoilers ahead......................she has sex with Disco's best friend, Paine. Apparently he always has had a crush on her for a long time, never did anything because he respected Disco, blah blah, and together with the notion - at the time - that Disco was dead and had crossed to the other side, they have sex, more because of pity on her side, but still. She regrets it, feels guilty, knows Paine is hurt by her attitude, but it still happened.
Plot moves along....suddenly she has the solution and after some more demon deals - didn't someone ever tell her this wouldn't work the way people think? oh well - she goes back in time, does a great kick-a** scene which I found amazing and stops the bad demon of killing Disco.
Then, as many time has passed, he is very happy to see her, she finally admits she loves him and they go home where she plans to tell him everything that happened in the future because it's the right thing to do.

Now for the really worst thing I hated in the book. Disco is a randy vampire after so long without his mate/beloved/whatever and they go for sex as soon as they can, and Rhiannon doesn't try that had because...well, she missed him too. Short side of the story, he smells someone else on her during oral sex (sexy....not). She starts to apologize and explain and somehow he thinks she cheated on him on purpose and rapes her mind. It's one of his powers to read minds, but he doesn't read only her mind, he violates her with force and she screams and he sees everything in her life not just the sex part. In the end he kind of understands but feels bad and she goes away.
What to say..? I think this was awful. Where is the dedicated, devoted, cherished love between them? It's like these two didn't have a good relationship before, what a disappointment. That she cheated fine, but it was due to very special and unexpected conditions, but the way he behaves...I'd have accepted hurt and disdain from him, but rape? I think it was too much and it's like the personalities we cared about in the other book are no longer the same.

Then, the end of the book is Rhiannon avoiding Paine and Disco, we get why, but once again it ends in a way that's supposed to grab you and we get the notion it's important to Rhiannon to pretend she's fine with Disco because of some vampire stuff and we get the feeling she will give in - after he raped her mind. Arghhhhhhhh.
I don't know what annoys me more, that we have to see her give in - she loves him still after all - or we have to wait and then suffer some more.

All this said, it's no surprise I didn't like the book. So many things I didn't enjoy at all. I've read some sentences in her website stating how inspiring the twists in the story were, how juicy the romance was.
Huh?
Have we read the same book?
Well, taste aren't for discussion, and I respect who thinks so, but I can't agree. I don't think I'll read the next one...I'm afraid of what should come out of it.

Constance O'Day-Flannery - A Time for Love

Elizabeth Mackenzie had decided long ago that happily-ever-after was just an illusion. Her career was what mattered, and the ambition that had carried her through many a lonely Saturday night brought her out west to land a new account for her firm. Then a force greater than anything she'd ever imagined took her even further... back in time to 1876... and into the life of Jordan McCabe. Mistaken for the proxy bride of the handsome Texas rancher, Elizabeth found a passion powerful enough to make her believe in love. But could she sacrifice all she had known for a fragile dream? As she struggled to understand the choices that lay ahead, Elizabeth came face to face with her own destiny... and the desires that tempted her to surrender her very soul!

Comment: This is another book by the author with the time travel plot line.
In this story, Elizabeth is a young woman who's had a bad experience with a dentist as a child. Now, she has a bad tooth and the only option is to remove it but considering her fear, her dentist uses a bigger dose of anesthesia to ease her. When she wakes up, groggy and without a tooth, she thinks it's strange that nobody is there and when she opens up the door, she's in 1867.
In that year, Jordan is a man waiting for his mail order bride but as he couldn't be there to receive her, two of his men are and after the expected misunderstand, they meet and Elizabeth, still thinking she's in a dream, goes with them to Jordan's house. However, the journey takes weeks and during that time they start falling in love and perhaps it was fate all along that got them together.

I liked this story. I think it had an interesting plot and although some things are predictable, it was entertaining enough to seduce me. I can't help but compare it to the previous books I've read by the author, and this one is much better. The story is more interesting and the characters are also more easy to sympathize with. the story feels more objective, it's like all the characters and the way things happen has more purpose, more closure than in the other novels.

Elizabeth is a strong protagonist. She's afraid of dentists but she looks foe one because she need to and when in 1867 she tries her best in such different circumstances. She keeps being the nice person, defending those who can't because she was a weak person once and she still suffers because of her father's alcohol abuse and neglect and so she takes care of two children along the way to Jordan's ranch. Actually, she does a lot during the trip, she gets herself into many situations that could be a problem if it were for real, but considering the fictional part of it, it was also funny. One thing I liked, she didn't become afraid or submissive just because she found herself in a different place and era. She always had an answer for everything, she didn't give up on her personality and she treated others like she was still on the 20th century. I know, a bit illogical if we think about that whole "when in Rome..." thing, but I loved it, she was funny and intelligent while using her knowledge and position and it provided great scenes.
Elizabeth also gives us her mother's POV and the abuse she suffered from Elizabeth's father. This subject also has a positive conclusion.

Jordan is a man with dreams and hopes and he thought having a sweet lady as a bride would help him after the disaster of his first wedding, but instead there came Elizabeth. He felt attracted to her right away and from then on he couldn't help it. I liked how easy it was for him to like her, to start loving her too. Their scenes together were good to read and it was believable. Somewhere along the way they have to marry and Jordan ends up realizing Elizabeth is so much more than what he thought.

I think this is a great romance. The situations fit the time and the place and the feel of the story. Now that I think more about it, I believe this is one of the best by her that I've read.
I still have one to read, and I hope it's as addictive and special as this one.

Stephen King - The Green Mile

Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk the Green Mile, keeping a date with "Old Sparky," Cold Mountain's electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities in his years working the Mile. But he's never seen anyone like John Coffey, a man with the body of a giant and the mind of a child, condemned for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity. In this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about Coffey, a truth that will challenge his most cherished beliefs...and yours.

Comment: When I decided to do the book challenge of this year and saw that June was the month to read a book made film or adapted or whatever I immediately thought about this one.
Why? Because in this particular case I did watch the movie before and it was stunning. I've watched it many years ago and still today I remember it, it was so great, touching, moving and poignant.
I decided I must try the book to see if, once again, filmmakers had gone to exaggeration and not fidelity.
And it actually is. So I have to say yes, the movie was a good adaptation of the book.
The facts: The book is divided in 5 sections, because at the time the author published them independently and only later they were all published together. In each section we have several chapters described from Paul's POV and the first chapter is always about Paul's current days and his memories of those times and the friends and the people that were part of his life in the year 1932, where the main action took place.
The scenes have a continuous development but the narrator - Paul - makes references and allusions to things that will happen or to feelings some things might evoke in the future like when they imagines something might happen and it did but we only see it when it does happen.
The story...well, I won't tell. I have to keep the mystery here because the story is so moving and emotional it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. There were times I actually felt like jumping into those pages and do something, specially to help avoid certain things that I felt were too much, too hard to bear, emotionally speaking.
If you can't read the book, fine. Just watch the movie because...I just don't know how anyone can't help but enjoy it, by being touched by it, death penalty opinions notwithstanding.
This is truly a beautiful story. The movie has images and strong acting to help us feel, but the book has the talent of a writer most known by his horror stories. In this case, it's simply magical what he accomplished. I just don't know how a writer can hold writing certain scenes and in Mr King's case even more so.
This is a story about believing in miracles, about helping others, about injustice and unfairness. It's about drama yes, but also beauty in the simple things. I hope someone might feel the will to try it in the future because it is, indeed, beautiful.

Julia Quinn - A Night Like This

Anne Wynter might not be who she says she is . . .
But she's managing quite well as a governess to three highborn young ladies. Her job can be a challenge -- in a single week she finds herself hiding in a closet full of tubas, playing an evil queen in a play that might be a tragedy (or might be a comedy -- no one is sure), and tending to the wounds of the oh-so-dashing Earl of Winstead. After years of dodging unwanted advances, he's the first man who has truly tempted her, and it's getting harder and harder to remind herself that a governess has no business flirting with a nobleman.
Daniel Smythe-Smith Might be in mortal danger . . .
But that's not going to stop the young earl from falling in love. And when he spies a mysterious woman at his family's annual musicale, he vows to pursue her, even if that means spending his days with a ten-year-old who thinks she's a unicorn. But Daniel has an enemy, one who has vowed to see him dead. And when Anne is thrown into peril, he will stop at nothing to ensure their happy ending . . .

Comment: The second book of the Smythe-Smith quartet brings us the story of Daniel. He has been in exile for three years due to an misunderstood between him and his friend Hugh over a game of cards while they were drunk.
After all this time Daniel was finally able to return home and it happened exactly during the musicale, where he met Anne for the first time.
Anne Wynter is a young governess just trying to make a living. She obviously hides things from her past and we get the feeling she's hiding herself as well.
These two are the protagonists in a very good story, very interesting and easy to read. It's like a candy we can't get enough of.

Daniel pursues Anne quite intensely because she seemed appealing and mysterious but he also felt she could end up meaning so much more to him. Contrary to some people's idea, Daniel is a honored men, he tries his best to help his friends and trusts people, his years of exile didn't change his nature or moods and when he realizes Anne is for him, he tries to woo her and make her see she's the one for him. Of course it's not that easy but we know he will succeed not only because its expected but also due to his sense of protection, he does try to protect the ones around him, the ones he loves and whether it happens in mad drive to save his beloved or in being playfully mocked by his young cousins, there's love there to make the reader want to see him reaching what we feel he deserves.

Anne has secrets, and we start seeing little tidbits of them as the story moves along. She is also fierce in her protection of others, trying to spare them bad feelings but she can't help trying to protect her too because she was badly treated in the past and people she thought were her allies were exactly the opposite.
Then, there's her beauty, that created some tough times for her during her jobs as governess, but she never gave in and tried her best to not cause trouble even when it meant she had to leave.
I liked how practical she was, but when she fell in love with Daniel she wanted to believe it could be better, but when an old threat showed up she let her practical side win and tried to avoid intimacy because it would mean the end for her but like in all fairy tales, love conquers all and I liked seeing her happy.

This author always delivers sweet, tender stories with several streaks of drama that are just enough to bring more feeling to the book without overpowering the story itself. I think there's always a good balance in the emotions in her books.
I like how she writes, easy and fluid and it's a writing I'll always feel compelled to came back to.

Alison Sinclair - Darkborn

For the Darkborn, sunlight kills. For the Lightborn, darkness is fatal. Living under a centuries-old curse, the Darkborn and the Lightborn share the city of Minhorne, coexisting in an uneasy equilibrium but never interacting. When Darkborn physician Balthasar Hearne finds a pregnant fugitive on his doorstep just before sunrise, he has no choice but to take her in. Tercelle Amberley's betrothed is a powerful Darkborn nobleman, but her illicit lover came to her through the daytime. When she gives birth to twin boys, they can see, something unheard of among the Darkborn. When men come for the boys, Balthasar is saved by the intervention of his Lightborn neighbor--and healed by the hands of his wife, Telmaine. Soon he finds himself drawn deeper into political intrigue and magical attacks, while Telmaine must confront a power she can no longer keep sheathed in gloves, a power she neither wants nor can control.

Comment: I've had this book for quite some time and it seemed it was never a good day to start it, but this month I said to myself I had to get on with it.
This is a fantasy novel, the first of a trilogy, where a curse 800 years ago divided people into races: the Darkborn that can't abide light and only leave their houses after sunset and the Lightborn, who can't leave the light even inside their homes.
There are more differences between them, specially on their views of how a woman should act in society and about the need and meaning of magic. Of course, there's more to it than this, but in a simplistic way, this is it. However, some Darkborns have magic, but most of them hide it because it's not socially acceptable.
In this book we learn more about the Darkborn, obviously, but the following books present more information about the other races, I'm sure.

The story begins with a Darkborn aristocratic lady asking for help in Balthazar's door because she is about to give birth and she fears for her life because the father is someone who came to her during the day and when she is engaged to be married to a powerful man and she thinks if he finds out she will be disgraced.
From here, we start meeting new characters that seem to have a very important role int he developing story. Some of them don't seem to matter that much, but everyone will play a key role in something or other during the curse of the plot. I liked most characters because although we get to see them act and thus getting used to their thoughts and behavior, there's always a sense of mystery surrounding them which makes them interesting and alive.
Balthazar is a sweet man, caring and always wanting to help others. He doesn't have magic but he is a doctor and tries to help that way, not caring about social status although he is married to a woman in high society.
Telmaine is his wife, at first she looked like a silly bimbo, but looks can be deceiving.
Then there's Baron Ishamael, he isn't liked by the society because he has magic and lives close to the shadowlands, a place where there's too much darkness, the bad kind at that.
These three are the main characters and we see things from all of their POV's. This allowed us to see different things happening in the plot and also made possible for us to sympathize with all of them.

To be very honest, the beginning is a bit boring but I think it's natural, new world and all that. But from a certain point in the story - not very late - I got very curious and eager to read more not only about character development but also the story, which becomes very interesting as long as it moves along. I'm actually very surprised by how much I liked it, considering the time it took me to get to it.
There's a mystery, like I said, and the solution was a surprise. I think the author has done a great job in the world's built up and in the character's descriptions. I'm going to get the rest of the trilogy soon.

Angelia Sparrow/Naomi Brooks - Shell Shocked

Sean Dempsey came home from Iraq with artificial knees, scorched retinas and a lot of baggage. He supplements his disability checks with money made writing romance novels under a female pseudonym, ironic as he has grown very nervous around women since a certain suicide bomber. When he meets Gabriel Herne, legless phone psychic, the sparks startle him. It's everything he's written about and never believed.
Swept into a whirlwind romance, Sean has to learn about his newfound bisexuality and his lover's pagan faith at the same time. And when he has a religious experience of his own, he discovers everything changes in its time, just like the Wheel of the Year.

Comment: This is the story of two men with serious physical and psychological problems.
Sean is a war veteran with PTSD and he suffers both agoraphobia and claustrophobia. He is an amputee from the knees down but has prosthetic legs. He writes to gain extra money but he has nightmares everyday about the explosion that killed his team and destroyed his body, so he takes pills and can't spend a day without them.
Gabriel is an amputee of both legs. The reason why is explained further in the story so I won't spoil it. He works as psychic and has a phone line from where he gains ore money. He also needs pills to bear the pain. Gabriel is a beautiful man but no one looks at him twice because of his disability.
The two guys meet in the clinic where they are given their pills and the story starts when Sean takes the step to invite Gabriel to a cup of coffee. In that first conversation Gabriel tells Sean how long it's been since someone teated as a human being and how that simple action can make his day.

This story is labeled a romance and it does have one and it has an HEA, but to me, personally, this isn't to be read as a romance. It's a lesson to learn about people who are different and that deserve the romance yes, but the way it's written...
What I mean to say is, we see their lives, see them falling in love and even the trials to live together - some days better than others - but always, always with the reality of how it is in front of us. They're poor, they have to do extra work because their money isn't enough. They live in awful conditions, but they can't afford better. They need pills to survive each day. Gabriel is bullied by some kids because they think it's fun to mock someone without legs. Sean has panic attacks when going to the supermarket. They're verbally and physically abused at the clinic by one of the nurses because they can't defend themselves. Almost anything in their lives is worth the trouble, but they still try and start developing a relationship.
I think part of the beauty of the tale is how they try. Sometimes just trying helps. But it's a hard story to read because who knows how many people are in same conditions of poverty and feeling unworthy and we don't even know? It's another wake up to a reality that's around us and we don't even care.
During the story we see how Gabriel's attempts to help Sean are good because Sean can finally walk further each day and even gets on a bus too. Never alone, but still. And Sean loves Gabriel like a man and tells him he never thinks of him as legless. I loved the small, but at the same time huge demonstrations of love between them. Even when things were horrible to them, they still looked after each other.

In the end, this is a gritty story, a hard lesson like I said. No one is perfect but sometimes it's easier to ignore the physical ones because it's more obvious. Some scenes in the book were very hard to read about. It made me feel bad and ashamed to think I might ignore people too because it's too much work to think of someone with disabilities having the same right to happiness. It's a very shocking lesson, but I think it certainly helps to open one's eyes.
Despite all the themes in the book, even the paganism Gabriel's stands for, it's out perception of what others might be going through that makes this story worth reading.

CE Murphy - Walking Dead

For once, Joanne Walker's not out to save the world. She's come to terms with the host of shamanic powers she's been given, her job as a police detective has been relatively calm, and she's got a love life for the first time in memory. Not bad for a woman who started out the year mostly dead.
But it's Halloween, and the undead have just crashed Joanne's party.
Now, with her mentor Coyote still missing, she has to figure out how to break the spell that has let the ghosts, zombies and even the Wild Hunt come back. Unfortunately, there's no shamanic handbook explaining how to deal with the walking dead. And if they have anything to say about it -- which they do -- no one's getting out of there alive.

Comment: The 4th book in the Walker Paper series.
In this book Joanne has to fight evil ghosts and strange zombies, all because of Halloween. It all starts after she organizes a party and suddenly dancers are screaming inside a giant cauldron. Apparently the cause is the ghosts that tried to steal the dancers' bodies and occupy them. But things aren't that simple and the ghosts are children that just want a chance to live, but the reason they're dead proves hard to explain.
Joanne also has to deal with her feelings for Thor, her new boyfriend and what it means to have someone she cares about but who she doesn't trust yet.

Well, another great book by this author. I enjoy this series more and more with each book because the stories are interesting and all the loose ends are pretty tidied int he end. And while Joanne is dealing with all we also see a little bit more of her past choices, her thoughts and her continuous developing feelings for her boss. I was a bit worried at the beginning of this novel about Joanne's personal life in the matters of the heart because she seemed so desperate about her love in the previous book and if she had a boyfriend in this one, no matter how friendly..well, I knew it had to be one of two things, or she totally and unbelievable changed her mind or she was still in love with the other guy and this one was yet just a friend while she was trying to picture him in another position and failing. Ha. I knew it.
In terms of plot, I was convinced about all her struggles to try to solve the problems and I liked seeing Cernunnos and Suzanne (from book #1) showing up again and even helping in solving the mystery of who was the true guilty..yes because we suspect someone and after all it can't be that one. I think the end was sweet and I was also a bit sad over something because in the end the real hero was someone we didn't imagine and it allowed some heartfelt scenes between Joanne and other characters.
I think the author has managed to keep up with the interest and the desire to see Joanne triumph. She also mixes up the plot and Joanne's life in a very balanced way, which makes the book addictive and not boring. There's always something happening, and there's always the hope to know more about Joanne so, it's like we have to see what happens next while waiting to read the next scene and it's this over and over, very well done.
I'm very happy to be reading this series, much more than what I expected and trust me, it does get better wit each book.

Madeleine Urban/Abigail Roux - Divide and Conquer

Baltimore, Maryland, is a city in alarming distress. Rising violence is fanning the flames of public outrage, and all law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are catching blame. Thus the FBI’s latest ideas to improve public relations: a municipal softball league and workshops for community leaders. But the new commitments just mean more time Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have to spend apart when they’re happily exploring how to be more than by-the-book partners.
Then the latest spate of crime explodes in their faces—literally—throwing the city, the Bureau, and Ty and Zane’s volatile partnership both in and out of the office into chaos. They’re hip-deep in trouble, trying to track down bombers and bank robbers in the dark with very few clues, and the only way to reach the light at the end of the tunnel together requires Ty and Zane to close their eyes and trust each other to the fiery end.

Comment: The 4th book in the Cut and Run series is another adventure in the lives of Ty and Zane.
In this book the boys are dealing with a group of bombers that uses the explosions as a distraction to rob banks. But the group is much more aggressive than simple explosions, their leader escalates to premeditated murder and wants to kill as many people as possible, especially those in government places.
This book starts with the news of how the police force is being accused of doing noting to stop the wave of explosions and crime in the city. Then Ty and Zane somehow get themselves into one of the attempts and save the day, making them targets. At the same time, they're still coming to terms with Ty's declaration in the previous book.
Then something happens and Zane is wounded in one of the attacks and because of that we see another side of the guys and how their relationship is much stronger than what even they think. I loved how we could see so many emotions and feelings both of them admitted to themselves and to the other.
One interesting, although strange, plot line is Ty's Recon team coming to spend some time with Ty and he had forgotten because of Zane's health problem. Among them is Nick, Ty's best friend since the military days and in this book Ty tells them he's in love with Zane and one of his friends is to shocked and doesn't speak to him again while he's there..I get the feeling he was just too surprised but might change his mind. However, Nick has an interesting reaction to this news and I wasn't expecting it exactly, and it provided a bit of angst in there...
In the end, the bad guy was taken down but Zane and Ty rick their lives - again - to protect others and while they're surrounded by the result of yet another explosion, we finally see Zane saying the words we've been expecting to and it was good.
the end of the book was a bit of a cliffhanger but I already know the guys will be in a mission together in the next book, so I'm sure everything will work out.
I'm so happy with this series, it's very coherent and well planed. The authors have created a good cast and interesting plots that allow the characters to still have center stage. It's amazing to see their story develop. I hope it keeps going for a long time.

Sandra Hill - The Viking Takes a Knight

All Ingrith wants is refuge for herself and a group of orphans from a vicious Saxon commander who would harm the children and destroy her honor. At her age, she no longer expects to find a husband, or even a lover, especially not the arrogant Lord of the Bees!
John of Hawk's Lair longs for peace and quiet, not a nagging wife and noisy children. As a knight in the king's service, he spends his cherished time at home working on his beekeeping experiments. So when an irksome Viking princess comes barging into his castle with a horde of orphans, he does everything he can to get rid of her. But then a sexual attraction sparks between them, despite their differences, one that soon has them making honey, rather than war . . .

Comment: This is another installment in the viking series by the author. In this case, the historical ones, because the author writes viking stories both in historical and contemporary settings.

In this book, we keep following the stories of the many viking princesses sisters. Ingrith is 31 years old, she thinks she isn't that attractive and what she does best is cooking. John is the son of the heroine from the third book in the historical viking series, The Tarnished Lady. We've seen him since he was a boy and now he's the hero on his own book. These two never thought they might fall in love and have a family but apparently it's what's in their path, along with many funny moments and some interesting takes on the meaning of true love.

When I discovered this author I've read most of her work in a row. I loved her voice and her stories and how funny and light they were even when treating more serious themes. All those books still have a special place in one of my shelves.


However, the last books have become too superficial. I no longer have the same feeling of balance I used to in the older ones. I guess part of it is my own taste, it changed, but I can't help feeling the stories no long have that special taste of magic like I saw in the other books. The last two books in particular have a little bit too much sex, I mean they always did, but there was lots of sexual tension before, to make the sex not only hotter, ah ah, but more meaningful because all that sexual tension isn't there just to make the sex more intense, it's also to help build up situations where the characters would meet and argue and see the other through different eyes, it was like foreplay and dating at the same time, so by the time they actually had sex, it would have more meaning. In these last books I found that they would jump to sex too soon and in this one Ingrith is a virgin but too eager after a faked reluctance. I think it would be more suitable to create a certain resistance before she decided to have sex, I don't know...it's just the feeing I have.
Apart from this, I think the stories have the same fun and the same plot interest, it's just...nowadays I need more.
I don't know what else to say, both main characters were quite focused once they went though their obvious "ah this isn't what I want", but like I said, the way they went about it didn't convince me. I expected more from this book, considering it was John's, a character the reader cared about since he was a child in his mother's book.

The author started a vampire angels series..with vikings. Besides the obvious reason market related, I wonder why she did it...somehow the idea doesn't seem that good and I'll wait to see someone else's opinion before getting that one. I just hope she will return to the contemporary books soon.

Top PNR worlds

Books are like worlds inside a world, it's like there's a whole new dimension in there we can only dream about but somehow, to readers, it's real.
There's nothing we compare to the feeling of reading a book and enjoying it and even though so many other people are reading it too, to us, at that moment, it's our special place, our little secret in such a way we sometimes walk around on the street, up in the clouds thinking about it and others might think we're thinking about a lover but in true there's many types of love.
I'm so glad to be a book lover....

The beauty of books it's there are many. We can choose and we can like many different things.

Paranormal romance is a special genre but the main thing is really the fact it has romance and feelings in a world different from reality.
I've read many paranormal books, with many themes and purposes and so far, currently these are in my top 5 PNR worlds, these are the worlds I wish I could live in:

5. Dragon world of GA Aiken.
The dragons in this world are bloodthirsty but they're also funny and loyal to their family. For me it's always a pleasure to read a book with them because I know no matter how many times they fight or they say they are done with each other, there's real feeling there and I love the sense of family I get from them. The adventures in the books are full of great moments, special scenes I treasure after each read and it's so good to read a series that keeps the pace steady. Plus they are dragon shape shifters. Amazing.


4. The theatrical world of Barbara Ashford.
This author's debut was my favorite book of last year. I loved the interactions between the characters, the storyline, the Fae magic in the air. I know I'd love to live in that Vermont place, with all those characters, being part of a family that's more than co workers or neighbors. The story had some secrets and I was more than eager to find them and to see if my ideas would be close to the truth. I loved being dazzled, I loved the magic, I really did. I can't wait for the next book, currently on the way to me. Yay!


3. Any world by Ilona Andrews.
Now that I've read books in both her series, there's no doubt in my mind I'd love to be a part of either. Whether Kate Daniel's and perhaps a Curran of my own or the Edge where I could hope for a gorgeous Weird guy (ha, only way this sentence makes sense!!), it doesn't matter because the authors have a way with words and their books are beautifully written. All of them. I always feel amazed at how well the authors work the emotion in their books, things aren't black and white and they deal with the emotional side of things wonderfully.


2. The psy/changeling world of Nalini Singh.
The more books I read in this series the more I love the world the author imagined. It's not a perfect world but none ever is. I love the idea of changeling packs, of feelings found in the psy individuals, of humans that are the middle between all and nothing. There's this sense of family I absolutely love in my books, everyone cares for the others around them. Besides all the characters matter and that is great because no one is the only focus, all have air time even in other books, I love it.


1. The BDB by JR Ward.
I know, I know, many people got tired and disappointed but this is my first paranormal love and I'm faithful. It's still magic to me because it marked the beginning and after all this time, even when I don't care much for certain things, those characters still matter to me, I still worry and still care. Besides it's a world that gains more and more focus on the family feel and I love it. For me it still works and I'm always eager to read the next one. It's still special and it still makes me dream about it, so it's still my #1.

Linnea Sinclair - Games of Command

The universe isn't what it used to be. With the new Alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition, Captain Tasha "Sass" Sebastian finds herself serving under her former nemesis, biocybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten -- and doing her best to hide a deadly past. But when an injured mercenary winds up in their ship's sick bay -- and in the hands of her best friend, Dr. Eden Fynn -- Sass's efforts may be wasted.
Wanted rebel Jace Serafino has information that could expose all of Sass's secrets, tear the fragile Alliance apart -- and end Sass's career if Kel-Paten discovers them. But the biocybe has something to hide as well, something once thought impossible for his kind to possess: feelings . . . for Sass. Soon it's clear that their prisoner could bring down everything they once believed was worth dying for -- and everything they now have to live for.

Comment: I've had this book to read since October 2010. I purchased it after reading a comment by Hilcia in a now extinct forum (RIP The Phade). Then I read Hilcia's review about it and I was even more eager to try it, but oh well, most books spend years in my TBR lists...still, it's interesting how a simple comment sometimes can make you try things you wouldn't otherwise.
So, it was finally its turn and I was very anxious to try it because I've never read anything in the genre..I've read sci-fi books in the past but never with focus on the romance so I was a bit worried I might not like it, more so because of the scientific parts and the spaceships and so on. But I loved watching Star Trek Voyager on TV so many years ago, so I hoped my opinion of the book wouldn't be that bad.
I have to admit I had a little bit of difficulty to understand all the factions in the book. Alliance, Triad, Psy Serv and so many others but once it got clear the bad guys were the Psy Serv I decided to just enjoy the story instead of trying to keep up with every entity. Then the space references, the galaxies, all that scientific talk was hard at first but it's strangely easy how we start to absorb things as we read. I think part of this is due to the author's talent, she makes it normal, a common occurrence and the reader can go along without getting confused all the time...although this or that still made me frown.
Then there's the romance...ok, I get it. I mean, it's obvious why the story has got to be good to be enjoyable but the romance is awesome so I get it why the author is so popular to romance readers. I really liked the interactions between Tasha and Kel-Paten, I loved knowing about their feelings, their thoughts...I liked how they always thought the other would be unattainable but love is more surprising than anything. And yes, loved the detail of Kel-Paten's logs...it was so cute.
Also cute was Kel-Paten himself. He's my favorite character and I loved watching think about his behavior and what Tasha might be wondering and his lack of confidence only endeared him more to me. It was so sweet and beautiful to see him in love, he's really a great hero.
The story is also very intriguing and I was reading page after page with real will to find out what would happen and how could they solve the problems they were in..the villains in the book are truly disturbing. I liked how clever our heroes became and how they had to work hard to overcome their fears and be successful.
In the end, Tasha is feeling lost but I was so glad, so happy to see her smile again and have her HEA with Kel-Paten!
Oh and a small note about the furzels, very cute and they also had a key role in this, how amazing.
All in all, a great book, great story...I'll read more for sure!

What would you recommend, I know Gabriel's Ghost is liked by many people and the first of a series so I'll get that one fir sure, what about the others? Thanks in advance.

Nalini Singh - Tangle of Need

Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past--one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.
For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.
Their coming together is an inferno...and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

Comment: The Psy/Changeling series is currently one of my favorites and it's a gorgeous world where I truly wouldn't mind living in. Each new book in this series is pre-ordered with months of anticipation in the way. I regularly visit the author's site, blog and facebook. I'm really addicted to this series and I think she not only has done the perfect job in imagining this world but she manages to keep the pace and the allure in her books, and she stays in the perfection realm, in a way many other author with life long series can't.
Of course it's inevitable some books feel better for everyone than others. In the 11 books so far in this series, I have my preferences, just like everybody else. After the last one, which was one of the most beautifully written books ever, with one of the mosts perfect heroes ever, with the most amazing HEA in the history (lolol no holding back now) of paranormal literature, it would be hard to make this one better. So, it's no surprise my favorite parts in this new book were about the couple featured in the previous one. Psy/changeling lovers would know ;)

This brings me to the main couple. Riaz and Adria. Each one of them is in a bad place at the beginning of the book due to failed relationships, kind of. Riaz has a mate but she's happy with someone else. Adria is recovering from the breakup where she ended up with someone who abused her emotionally for a long time. Neither is prepared to love again, much less embark in a demanding relationship. However, once they admit they're attracted to each other, they start being together and it's inevitable for them to also start having feelings for each other, but Riaz is always pretty much aware of the fact he has a mate, so he knows he can't give Adria the relationship she deserves and part of the conflict happens for this reason. Still, besides being changelings, they have a human side that won't be denied so they start their relationship knowing they won't be mates. This saddened me and is why I don't consider this one of the best romances in the series. Part of the magic, the special things that are key to this world's beauty is that connection between couples, every time a changeling is involved. I accept and welcome the fact Riaz and Adria tried their best and are together in the end and that they got their HEA..I'm also anxious and hopeful to think they might evolve to mates one day because the hint it's there in the book, but right now...I just feel it's not fair lol, even though I have faith in the author's skill to make this work. All the others have had the best and these two can't because of one simple detail that is paramount in the series. I know they're in love and happy and that's important, but that special things is missing and I can't help feeling a bit sad because of that.
Still, I have hope we might see them even more solid in a future book.

The book presents many sub plots and I have to be honest: I want Alexei's, Kaleb's, Aden's and Vasic's stories soon!! The author also perfected the art of torturing us with the wait for stories with heroes we want to see happy. I hope some of the upcoming stories feature one (or more) of these characters.
Then, also important is the fact all subplots merge in a way that connects everything and I can't wait to read more. The author doesn't write only beautiful romances, she also provides interesting facts about the world and develops her ideas in a very dazzling way.

All in all, I liked it, I don't think I disliked any book in this series (duh) and apart from that feeling of incomplete business I think this is a great book. I've already re-read my favorite scenes countless times since finishing the book!
I'm already curious about who might be next (Nalini knows who's coming but she won't say yet) and how and why it will play out.
I recommend this series to everyone who enjoys the paranormal romance genre and great plots and great romances.

Julie Klassen - The Girl in the Gatehouse

Mariah Aubrey lives in seclusion with her secrets. Will an ambitious captain uncover her identity...and her hidden past?
Banished from the only home she's ever known, Mariah Aubrey hides herself away in an abandoned gatehouse on a distant relative's estate. There she supports herself and her loyal servant the only way she knows how by writing novels in secret.
When Captain Matthew Bryant leases the estate, he is intrigued by the beautiful girl in the gatehouse. But there are many things he doesn't know about this beguiling outcast. Will he risk his plans and his heart for a woman shadowed by scandal?
Intriguing, mysterious, and romantic, The Girl in the Gatehouse takes readers inside the life of a secret authoress at a time when novel-writing was considered improper for ladies and the smallest hint of impropriety could change a woman's life forever.

Comment: I've had this book in my TBR list since last year. I don't even want to know how long many others have been there...
Hum, so this is an historical story labeled Christian fiction, which means it's all about the romance and the character's personalities and not the physical part of things.
I loved the blurb the minute I read it. But I confess I thought it would be much more emotional, I mean, it has emotion, but I wish it would be more passionate too..we can have passionate books without sex, this was what I hoped for.
The story is about Mariah, we first meet her when she's leaving her home, for some unknown reason at the time, to go live alone with a companion because her family doesn't want her there. We get the feeling she's done something bad. Mariah goes to live in a gatehouse in her aunt's estate, near the poorhouse, where many people live, including some that are key to the plot. Then, a man leases the estate in hopes to win another woman's affection, but there's a relationship happening and developing between Mariah and him, but Mariah is still afraid her past might ruin their friendship.
Captain Bryant wants public recognition of his value so he can be worthy of the lady he wants to marry and for his father to be proud of him. What he didn't count on was the mysterious girl in the gatehouse and how, with time, she would mean so much to him.
Well, in terms of plot, the story is very appealing. We want to see what happens next, there's a certain eagerness to find out some secrets and to see if some characters found out about Mariah or about other mysteries in the story. But considering the type of story, I think it's very obvious what happened to Mariah and how the book will end. The beauty of it it's in the descriptions, the way the author has written the story in such a way it becomes beautiful.
But like I mentioned, I feel it lacks some passion..it's all so...tidy, so organized. Beautiful and sweet, but too sweet. I would like to see the main couple express a bit more of feeling, of passion and not only in their inner thoughts. I get why is so, but it would make tis book more intense, which I think would benefit it.
Some scenes in the book are memorable for me, tough. Like when a group of people make fun of Mariah, I felt for her and having been mocked myself, the way she reacted felt real and emotional, for once. Also when young Maggie asks old Jeremiah why he has a hook instead of a hand, his answer touched me. So, in the small things many details bring life to the story, it's just the overall feeling that feels lacking.
In the end of the book more than one subplot is solved. To be honest, some things were a little bit exaggerated, I don't think coincidences happen like that although the explanations are very well presented. But everything together feels a bit over the top.
There's a HEA of course and I was glad to see it, to see the protagonists talk and defend themselves and even ask for forgiveness. It was a sweet touch to the story.

I'm not sure I'll read another book by the author so soon. There's another one, very well reviewed by some blogers and I'm curious, but my idea of lack of passion might not be the same as anyone else's so...thoughts to consider...

Author's sites: a small rant

Why is that when I'm looking for some specific information on some author's sites, like..I don't know, something I think any author with a site should have, like...a detailed list of titles list, that thing isn't there?
I get that many authors can't or aren't able to update their sites or maybe there's some reason that doesn't let them manage their site...well, I can't guess and I can't actually help them, but if there's a thing an author should have in a site is a full list of books published! I don't really care if you separate them by publishers! What I really want is a list, a small list of books you've written and published! That is the information I'm looking for. It's so bothersome to go there and not find a complete and ordered list of titles, including older things.
It's obvious this relates more to author's who write for more than one publisher and sometimes have their work published only in ebook format. But still. How can I know what you've wrote and what your stories are about if you don't provide that information? Sure I could dig up that in other places, but if I go to each publisher I only get what you wrote for them, if I go to an independent bookseller like AAr sometimes they don't have everything you wrote. By now I'm bored with trying and I give up.
Please, if you can't find the time to blog, to post, to organize a site, I accept that. But please, a small, ordered list is the minimal.
I think.

Larissa Ione - Lethal Rider

Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, Regan Cooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he's about to become a father. Demon-slayer Regan Cooper never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he's ever wanted-a family.

Comment: Another adventure by mrs Ione. I think this author is currently one of the best in paranormal romances not only because she writes interesting stories but also because she is consistent in her books. With this I mean she manages to surprise the reader with the content of each book but she doesn't make up strange or unnecessary subplots to give life to the books. Her stories work as they are and this is fine.
In Lethal Rider we have the story of Thanatos, another of the horsemen of the Apocalypse. It's important to mention that this series feels so much better if people have read the Demonica series first because there are so many things related to those books, several characters and issues in this book have a special meaning because of the previous books, that I guess those who haven't read anything else and start by this book (or whichever in this series) might feel not only lost in action but also missing out some references.
But back to Thanatos. He always believed something about his Seal and what it would mean to Humanity if the seal broke but after all what he imagined wasn't so, and it was proved in the previous book, therefore in this one he will try to solve things for himself and for Regan, the woman who showed him the wrongness of his idea for so long. Regan is part of the Aegis and did what she dis because she believed it was her duty to help the Organization that always accepted her, but in the end her feelings change because she didn't see how affected she would end up by her choices.
I liked the romance between these two, it was more sweet than fast. There are some sex scenes but I feel they weren't as many or as long as in other books, which was a good by two reasons: first, it allowed more focus to be given to the plot and two, because sometimes too much gets too boring. This was something I welcomed well in the book. Sex just for sex gets repetitive in romances and doesn't ring true.
There are many plots happening at the same time. We get to see what happens to Pestilence, to Reaver, to Kynan, to the main couple, some new scenes with the Seminus brothers and even a couple of more characters that might become (or not) key in future stories. So, many things happening and I get that some people don't like too much stuff in their books, but I'm all for it and didn't mind the populated world.
In the end, Regan and Thanatos both admitted the reasons why the relationship between them wasn't something they thought might work but recognizing you love someone and that true affection doesn't make you do things you don't want or feel right was a huge step both had to make.
I liked the book a lot and now can't wait for Reseph's story, I sure hope he will properly redeemed.