Georgette Heyer - The Convenient Marriage

When the most eligible Earl of Rule offers for the hand of the Beauty of the Winwood Family, he has no notion of the distress he causes his intended. Miss Lizzie Winwood is promised to the impoverished Edward Heron but the Earl of Rule wants her as his wife. Lizzie's sister Horatia conceives a dazzling plan to avert a nuptial disaster, and offers herself instead.

When dazzling Horatia married the powerful Earl of Rule, she was only saving her sister from a loveless match, rescuing her family fortune, and providing herself with a life of ease. Hers was a marriage made not in heaven but in the coolly logical mind of a very self-possessed young. Everyone knows she's no beauty, but she'll do her best to keep out of the Earl's way and make him a good wife.

Not until Horatia was deep in dangerous intrigue with her husband's vengeful rival, the dashing and arrogant Lord Lethbridge, did she suddenly find -- to her own tremulous surprise -- she had fallen deeply in love with the man she had married for money. But was it too late, now that she was but a heartbeat away from betraying both him and herself? And then, Sir Robert, sets out to ruin her reputation... 

The Earl of Rule has found just the wife he wants, unbeknownst to Horatia, the Earl is enchanted by her. There's simply no way he's going to let her get into trouble. Overcoming some misguided help from Horatia's harebrained brother and a hired highwayman, the Earl routs his old enemy, and wins over his young wife, gifting her with a love that she never thought she could expect.

 Comment: I'm trying to finish the books I have by some authors and Georgette is one of them. Also, this book suited the theme for this month in the book challenge I've joined.

This is the story of Horatia and the earl Rule. Rule proposed to Lizzie, Horatia's older sister, but Lizzie is in love with someone else, someone poor but she's accepted the proposal because she feels it's her duty to her family. Horatia knows this and decides to attempt to save her sister's happiness by approaching Rule and saying that if he marries her, he'll be doing her sister a favor and he would still marry someone from her traditional and dignified family.

Rule accepts and they get married but there's an age difference between them and Horatia thinks he's to old to concern himself with her, so she tries to stay away from his life and does what she pleases. However, some people don't seem to accept the couple could be together happily and they set to show how such a difference proves Rule and Horatia should be apart. Besides, Horatia is only 17 and she lives a carefree life, which provokes a certain reckless side of her. In the end, Rule has to find a way to show Horatia how to be more steady on her behavior and to see there's a real relationship between them.

As always, the author wrote a great story, full of details and proper language to best feel the time of the story. The reader can easily understand the rules of the time and how society would react and behave in those days because everything has a sense of propriety and rightness. My favorite thing in her books is how the characters can do some adventurous thing and everything is told in a funny but disciplined way. It's like the reader can see the characters and how they dealt with the paradox of behaving badly but always with grace. At least, it feels like it.

The story was funny, specially the end offered some scenes I couldn't stop laughing at. I enjoyed seeing Rule trying to control Horatia and teaching her the lesson she needed. She acted without care but her husband was there to catch her and help. It was very subtle how they fell in love and despite the fact part of me wishes they could be more passionate about it, it wouldn't be the same thing, so...

One thing bothered me, how mistresses were portrayed in the book, I know they existed and how they would accept a married man and how a man would consider having one as normal and expected but to my modern eyes it still feels like a rock in my shoe.

In the end I was happy to have read the book and spent a great time with it. Despite this, I still think Sylvester to be a much better one.

The last one I have to read is Cottillion, I hope it's a good one too.

Rant

It seems the new blogger interface is here to stay, no?

Oh how annoying this is...truly.

Sherrilyn Kenyon - Time Untime

The Mayans aren’t the only ones with a 2012 prophecy…
Long before recorded history, there was a Keetoowah warrior so feared that everyone trembled before his wrath. Only a brutal betrayal by the one closest to him could defeat him. But not even death was the end of a man so strong.
The Time Untime approaches…
Kateri Avani has been plagued her entire life with dreams she doesn’t understand. Images of places she’s never been and of a man she’s never seen. Her quest for answers has driven her to Las Vegas where she hopes to finally silence the demons in her mind.
What she never anticipates is coming face to face with the warrior who has haunted her her entire life. One who belongs to a world the scientist in her refuses to believe is real.
Ren Waya came back from the dead to keep the prophecy he began from coming true and ending the world. For thousands of years, he has fought the same evil that once possessed him. But now that evil has found the one person he can’t fight. The one person who, against his will, holds the most sacred part of him.
His heart.
But if he doesn’t kill Kateri, the deadliest of evils will reemerge and destroy everyone else on the planet. It was a sacrifice he made once.
Will he be able to make it again?

Comment: This is one the series I have updated. Since I've read the first book I was in love with the characters and the world the author created because she has imagination to write a compelling story and to present an end that makes the reader believe in the happy-ever-after.
However, a good author also has to come up with some sort of closure to a story and if it's a series even if allowing things to keep developing, thus providing a long life to it, there are things that should be solved at some point, because otherwise everything would just drag around and always be...murky. This is my issue with the series like I've said before. I think several subplots aren't being solved soon enough and then others are inserted in there and I feel very confused, as I'm sure many other fans do.
Still, I don't give up because those characters are there and I want to know what happened to them. A friend said about this that, at some point a reader should just consider seriously if the books are being read by enjoyment or duty and if it's the second, why should we? I have to confess this subject isn't completely black and white for me and in the meantime I'll keep reading these. But it's a thoughtful issue, the lifelong continuation of a series...

So about the book. I liked it and it provided an entertaining tale but to be honest it doesn't have the same sense as the first ones did. Actually the last 4 or 5 books didn't feel the same in terms of story development and writing skills. It's like the author keeps saying the same things...I don't know. But I was curious and was happy for the characters when they accomplished something. the storyline follows the same plot we've got used to before and it did show some older characters that I loved seeing.
The best thing about these long series is to see beloved characters and sometimes we only get a scene here and there or a tidbit but it's enough for the reader to know everything is till the best for them it it's great. The same thing happens here, a small scene with a character form one of the first books showed me his happy and it was one of my favorite parts in the whole book.
The romance was too fast, but this happens all the time, or at least now it feels like it to me, despite being the same in all books...but I feel the writing changed so, it's like it shows more in this part. Still, I was glad for their happiness.
Another scene in there made my day because it makes me hopeful about two characters that didn't stand each other lately and it makes me curious to see when they will be fine again but obviously it would take very long, but just the idea of it is a good clue to eager fans.
Overall, it wasn't the best or the worst for me. But it's definitely not the way things were when the series begun and part of me feels a bit sad over it even though it's natural at this point, being this the 23rd book.
Let's hope the next one rocks!

SA Payne - Visions and Shadows

Teagan Walsh's health has always been fragile so he's turned his life and world to one more solitary, more within his reach. It's the ideal of an Ireland free of English rule and the harsh penal laws that spurs him onward, plotting rebellion has become something of a family hobby. Until he meets Daniel O'Raian, a man of few words and many thoughts. The stubborn man's very presence forces Teagan to see the world about him as it really is, not just how he wishes to dream it into being! For Daniel, the ill man offers him something he hasn't found in far too long, acceptance and maybe even love.

Comment: This was the second story I've read by the author. I've had it for a long time but, as usual, I always take some time before getting to many of my books.

Anyway, this is a story set in Ireland with an historical flavor. It's the story of Taegan, a young man whose health hasn't been good since he was a boy and doctors even told him he wouldn't live long. Since he wasn't able to have stressful activities with fear of tiring himself too much, he dedicated his life to help his uncle in writing panflets about the idea of a free Ireland. However, after his father died he's lived alone and now his uncle arranged for another man to go to Taegan's farm and help him with the more difficult chores.
Daniel O' Raian is that man, younger than Taegen, but with a much more harsh life, his family died and he works as a farm hand and an enforcer for Taegan's uncle because he's a wealthy man in the region and also because he's involved in the liberalization struggles.
The two man will slowly going to know each other better and in the middle of attraction and feelings, both will see their value is so much worthy than what each one imagines and what one needs the other is there to offer without a price.

This is a gay themed novel, so most of the story is centered in the guys' relationship and how they start seeing each other for what they really are. I found that part both sweet and strong because it was obvious each one were more focused on what they perceived were their flaws. With the other, the better parts of them would be highlighted and that was great to watch.
I think the book didn't have to be so long, but it wasn't a hardship to keep reading. Everything would be logical and easy to read. It was so cute to watch the guys fall in love and to work out their issues with a certain sense of logic. I mean, it wasn't too sudden or too stupid, their reasons were valid and human and it takes time for people to work out their thoughts and decisions, so in that part it was done well.
As a matter of fact I was enjoying the book a lot until a choice had to be made. Right away I imagined one of them would have to give up their side to be happy with the other, but I wasn't to concerned because at this point it was clear they loved each other, so any of the two choices would be easily accepted and they could have an HEA like they deserved.
Then something happened. I won't tell, but I guess it's not very hard to guess if I say this book has a bittersweet end. Actually it made me sad because I didn't see it coming. I really thought their decision would be how the book would end. It still makes thoughtful when I remember how it ended because it felt like everything would work out in a certain way...

I still enjoyed the story because it has several elements, mostly in the romance aspects, that were wonderful to read, but the end...kind of puts a stop to it. It's still worth reading but be prepared.

New face

Today is my birthday. I've had this blog for almost two years (next month) and in all this time I didn't change anything but as a bit of a celebration induced moment I've decided to give this present to myself and changed the blog a bit...
Still, what an endeavor...believe it or not, it took me the whole afternoon because stupid Internet connection kept ruining everything.
Oh well, I hope who visits enjoys. Kisses :)

Julie Garwood - Murder List

Hotel heiress Regan Hamilton Madison is flirting with danger. She agrees to help a journalist friend expose Dr. Lawrence Shields, a shady self-help guru who may have been responsible for the death of one of his vulnerable devotees. Hoping to find some damning evidence, Regan attends a Shields seminar, where the doctor has his guests make a list of the people who hays hurt or angered them over the years and asks: Would your world be a better place if these people ceased to exist? Treating the exercise as a game, Regan plays along.
The experience is all but forgotten--until the first person on Regan's list turns up dead. Shock turns to horror when another name from her list surfaces as a corpse. While brutal murders seem to stalk Regan's every move, her attraction to the detective assigned to protect her grows. As the menace intensifies and a serial killer circles, Regan must discover who has turned her private revenge fantasies into grisly reality.

Comment: This is another story closer to my completion of the books I have by the author. This time it was the story of Alec Buchanan and Regan. Alec is another sibling in the family getting his tale and romance told, after his older brothers.
Alec is finishing his job in the police to start working as an FBI agent. He also wants to get closer to home and his family. It helps that he's getting tired of his job because some people in the force are lazy and don't do the right thing. As a last assignment, he has to act like a body guard to Regan because she's been threatened by some guy and he wants to kill her.
Regan is the youngest of 4 and with three older brothers she feels her position is always being challenged because they are overprotective. One day she attends a conference with two friends to help unmask a con man who deceives women and gets their money. In an exercise they have to write down a murder list with all the people they would erase from their lives in order to make them less important and Regan writes down real names. When the villain gets that list he kills the people in there for her...

I'm reading these books because I have them and I'd feel like wasting the time I put before when I got them, otherwise I'd have given up already. The books are entertaining, but...bland. Tasteless. Neither the romance or the thriller parts are good enough on their own, much less together.
The characters seem fine and have several traits that are appealing and interesting to focus on, but in this book I have to confess I was more interested in the (few) tidbits I'd read about secondary ones. It's just that the main couple was so...boring. Alec had his life planned and then met Regan, he felt attracted to her but I wasn't convinced o his feelings for her. Yeah, he loves her but the author didn't write in a way that I felt passion between them, even when she said so. I just didn't feel it. Regan was more interesting but not enough for me to really care for her. I was more curious to know if her older brother would ever notice her best friend... so no, the romance didn't swept me off my feet.
Then the thriller part was just so...so...boring. I didn't feel curious or even eager to know more about the bad guy or why he acted like that....why? Because it become pretty obvious very soon and after that it was just waiting to see if anything happened. I think the author missed to pinpoint the really main points in the story and gave more focus on things I really wasn't interesting in. Oh well.
I don't even know what else to say about the book, just that although it allowed some entertainment, it surely didn't fulfill my romance needs or even my mystery ones. Let's hope the next one isn't like this.

Deeanne Gist - A Bride in the Bargain

In 1860s Seattle, a man with a wife could secure himself 640 acres of timberland. But because of his wife's untimely death, Joe Denton finds himself about to lose half of his claim. Still in mourning, his best solution is to buy one of those Mercer girls arriving from the East. A woman he'll marry in name but keep around mostly as a cook. Anna Ivey's journey west with Asa Mercer's girls is an escape from the griefs of her past. She's not supposed to be a bride, though, just a cook for the girls. But when they land, she's handed to Joe Denton and the two find themselves in a knotty situation. She refuses to wed him and he's about to lose his land. With only a few months left, can Joe convince this provoking--but beguiling--easterner to be his bride?

Comment: Like a raindrop in the ocean, step by step I'm reading things in my TBR list. Obviously putting aside the fact I still buy books, thus adding up to same list, I'm pretty happy to be able to finish up things, namely loose books I have by several authors.
This was the case with Deeanne Gist for this was the last book by her I had to read.

This is the story of Joe, he has been working in his land for years but now everything is in danger and he might lose part of it if he doesn't present a wife, because this is one of the conditions to have the amount of land he has. When he applied he had a wife but, unfortunately, she died and now time is up to present one of loose the land.
In comes Mr Mercer, he has promised to bring widows from east to marry the men in order to increase the population and settle a city for sure. There's just a little problem, he's been telling the women they are going to be working as maids, nurses, governesses...most of them don't even imagine marriage in their future.
This is the case of Anna, a cook who's desperate to run from her daring boss, fearing for her life due to his threats. When she embarks she thinks she's going to be the cook for a group of working men but at her arrival, she realizes she was duped and meets Joe, the man she's supposed to marry. She refuses the marriage but he accepts her in his house to cook for his crew and soon they're falling in love and creating a life for them.

I liked this story a lot, it was so sweet and easy to read. Sometimes this is exactly what I need to decompress from harsher reads. This story isn't complicated and emotionally hard, it's a romantic story of finding love and taking care of it.
Joe is a good protagonist, he never forces Anne to do anything and is very proper to her, although he's desperate to secure his land. When faces with the choice between her and the land, we realize just how much in love Joe is and although that part made me a bit sad, after all it's always hard to give up on a dream, I was happy because he would gain a woman who'd be on his side forever. The book didn't end there and the final twist was a balsam in their troubles.
Anna was very sure of her ideas and beliefs and she didn't want to fall in love but she did and I liked how she also learned her lesson, that she can depend on someone she cares about.
This is a pure romance, there isn't anything explicit or rehearsed to make the book something it is not. I liked it especially for its innocence, which I knew I'd get.
This is labeled inspirational but like in her other novels it doesn't make the reader distracted or anything, it's all very subtle. I recommend it to anyone wishing for a sweet, easy, uncomplicated read.

Stacia Kane - Chasing Magic

Magic-wielding Churchwitch and secret addict Chess Putnam knows better than anyone just how high a price people are willing to pay for a chemical rush. But when someone with money to burn and a penchant for black magic starts tampering with Downside’s drug supply, Chess realizes that the unlucky customers are paying with their souls -- and taking the innocent with them, as the magic-infused speed compels them to kill in the most gruesome ways possible.
As if the streets weren’t scary enough, the looming war between the two men in her life explodes, taking even more casualties and putting Chess squarely in the middle. Downside could become a literal ghost town if Chess doesn’t find a way to stop both the war and the dark wave of death-magic, and the only way to do that is to use both her addiction and her power to enter the spell and chase the magic all the way back to its malevolent source. Too bad that doing so will probably kill Chess -- if the war doesn’t first destroy the man who’s become her reason for living.

Comment: Another installment in this gritty series by Stacia Kane.
This time Chess is facing the deadly end of one of her issues, the drug addiction. It's because of that problem that many people are being found dead and Chess has to find a way to help before too many people get killed because of that.
Chess also has a personal choice to make. Things she did before come to the surface and in the end of the book she faces a challenge she thought she couldn't have ever, but the world isn't always such an awful place, after all.

Several things happen in this book, emotionally speaking. At least, in my point of view. A secret about what she's done in the past because of Terrible is discovered by Elder Griffin and after that, another punch in Chess's self esteem is dealt because she always took pride in her job for the Church and on how Elder Griffin would think her worthy and considered her one of the best and wanted her involved in his private life and how he would respect her and now things changed and Chess feels even dirtier because she sees his loss of confidence in her as another proof she is trash. I don't foresee her seeing not everything is her fault anytime soon.

Dealing with drugs and how they have such an impact and role in her life is another issue in this novel. Being a junkie makes Chess see everything connected to drugs as a kind of constant reminder of what she's doing and why she needs the drugs. She helps the ones being targeted as people with feelings like everybody else and she defends the because just because people have things they need or want to forget doesn't make them any less human than any other person. Obviously, she takes it personal and I can't help it but being worried that if by any chance she gets rid of drugs in the future, how will she deal with the fact of working in Downside where they are so easily obtained and how that would affect her temptation levels and even her relationship with terrible..I know, I know, nothing I'm saying is happening, this is me speculating but considering I believe Chess has had a growth as a character and the author has said perhaps that evolution might mean a rehab in her life someday, I can't help but putting together that and the fact the series will end someday and my hopes of rehab for her and imagine a world where she would have to deal with so many changes...would it be worse for her to never get over her awful past and drug abuse or to do it but relapse and suffer the process of thinking of herself as a failure again no matter how human that is? Questions, questions...

Chess growing up as a character is the most obvious thing foe the reader after 5 books. In this novel we see how she relies in so many people and how she actually matters for so many too. Elder Griffin feels disappointed but don't we all about people we care about and who do things we didn't expect them to do? Even Terrible demands something and although he doesn't forbid her of using drugs he also doesn't urge her to do so...
Their relationship is getting stronger, actually. Because of that, Chess is feeling better too and has someone who not only loves her, but trusts her too. I think it's great for them and they do perform a great scene in the book, reminding me of those movies where the hero and heroine save the day and then defy logic by surviving the odds.

I think this book had many interesting issues being dealt with but there was also a certain sense of darkness in the air, like trouble is coming and I can't help but watch it and I know it might not be like I imagine but I'll certainly won't miss it. I hope the next book won't take too long to come out.

Lora Leigh - Stygian's Honor

Window Rock, Arizona, is the last known location of Honor Roberts, who vanished when she was just thirteen. It was her only sanctuary from the Breed research that would surely have ended in her death -- one such insidious experiment should, indeed, have killed her. That she lived is both a miracle -- and a great mystery.
Stygian’s mission is to find Honor Roberts, no matter the cost. Now, with the help of Liza Johnson, assistant to the chief of the Navajo Nation, he is closer than ever to his goal. But will the discovery of Honor Roberts mean the destruction of the mating heat that has developed between Stygian and Liza?

Comment: This is the most recent installment in the breed series by the author. In this series she portrays a group of men and women whose genetics are mixed with those of wild animals and after they managed to run from the laboratories where their existence begun they spoke of it to the world. The same world now facing the truth and the need to adjust for these new beings, although many don't want that to happen and cross everything to control the breeds. Of course, romance still happens and often saves the breeds from their own destruction.

In this book we have the story of Stygian, he's a wolf breed, and Liza Johnson. Liza is rumored to have information about two young women the breeds are looking for because of some secrets the father of one of them might have had about a cure for a syndrome that is currently afflicting Jonas's daughter. But the cure will also help any other breed who might need it and if they can get the information before the evil Council the better. However, Liza swears she doesn't know anything about the two girls much less any secrets. Throughout the book we get the relationship between Liza and Stygian developing and her loyalties changing even more after she finds out some deep, strange secrets about herself and her cousin that their parents never told them. By the end of the book we're left with the same amount of questions although one or two are answered.

This book did offer some new things about the path the breeds are going through to secure their well being. It's all still very slow, it takes ages for anything to actually happen, I suppose all that sex gets in the way, but I knew from the start these books are more erotic than romantic, but after a while it kind of gets boring. Still, this isn't the worst one in that aspect because the relationship between them takes a while to get to the mindless sex stage, which I found helped me keeping focused in the story. Nevertheless, I'd love for the author to speed up in fixing and presenting solutions to the problems in motion. There are many breeds who need a mat, but surely we don't have to wait a dozen more books just to finish the ones in hand...do we?
I read these books more for the fun and the curiosity to find out about certain things I care about many of the characters, but the truth is, although they all live in a community, we rarely see much of the mated couples unless it suits the plot. I'd like to see them in another register, you know, tis is why I'd like for them to solve their issues soon, so the author could step up to another stage of their lives, like....I don't know...how to deal with happiness! Lol wishful thinking.
This book did offer many interesting things to consider, especially about a couple of characters and I'm eager to know more. There were many pages dedicated to plot development and for that I'm thankful. But they could have been more.
Overall, this wasn't the best book in the series I've read, after all the main couple didn't have any kind of central stage before so it's more difficult to feel as much empathy towards them as I did with other couples in the series, but it's certainly not the worst because it did make the plot move along.
I'm conflicted but tending towards the positive with this one. I hope the next one doesn't take too long because something is going to happen and I can't wait.

Elizabeth Chadwick - Shadows and Strongholds

England, 1148 -- ten-year-old Brunin FitzWarin is an awkward misfit in his own family. A quiet child, he is tormented by his brothers and loathed by his powerful and autocratic grandmother. In an attempt to encourage Brunin's development, his father sends him to be fostered in the household of Joscelin de Dinan, Lord of Ludlow. Here Brunin will be educated in knightly arts.
Hawise, the youngest daughter of Lord Joscelin, soon forms a strong friendship with Brunin and they grow up together against a tumultuous background. Family loyalties mean that her father, with the young Brunin as his squire, must aid Prince Henry of Anjou in his battle with King Stephen for the English crown. Meanwhile Ludlow itself comes under threat from Joscelin's rival, Gilbert de Lacy. As the war for the crown rages, and de Lacy becomes ever more assertive in his claims for Ludlow, the relationship between Brunin and Hawise is irrevocably changed as their parents arrange a marriage between them.
As the pressure on Ludlow intensifies and a new Welsh threat emerges, Brunin must confront the future head on -- or fail on all counts ...

Comment: This was the third book by the author I've tried. Like always, she writes a great story, st in the medieval times and with a strong components of history and the ways of the time.

This is the story of Brunin, a young boy not very well treated in his house so when his father decides to ask his best friend to train Brunin in the arts of how to be a squire, Brunin goes with them but is fearful that in the new place things will be the same. As time gets by, he realizes it's nothing like his house and soon starts to be more friendly, although never losing his distrust. He meets there Hawise, the younger daughter of Joscelin, his father's best friend. During the time with Hawise's family he will learn all about honor and duty and how to protect the ones who can do it for themselves. At the same time he will get himself in the middle of the Henry's fights as he's the prince they swore allegiance to.
The book starts when Brunin is ten years old and moves forward until he's a grown up and married to Hawise, as a strategic political move made by their parents. Of course during all that time, many things happen both in their personal lives as in the world around them and nothing is as easy or uncomplicated as it looked like when they were children.

I liked the story a lot. Of course, many bad things happen, namely people we cared about dying, but in those times that happened often, because that's just how things were. I regretted seeing some of them dying because although it didn't change any plot moves, it made the main characters react and to grow up some more...but it was still sad to watch.
The political and historical things were easy enough to understand even for those who don't have a deep knowledge of that period's time of English History, but the fact it's inserted in a romance, where it isn't the main focus, helps the reader because it doesn't get too boring.
The romance was sweet, not romantic per se, but with romantic notions and hopes. What I mean is, I don't think there was that much romance to find, but they fell in love and as long as their relationship changed, so did their way of seeing things. In the end, I think it's safe to say there's a good balance among all the little parts that make this, book, the political, the romance, the fiction, the ways...
One thing bothered me, and it's not a characteristic of this book alone, much less the genre. It's really a personal pet peeve...why must the villains have so much air time, why? It really annoys me when I read a certain scene and after that there's a chapter, or a part of a chapter where we have to watch the bad guys talking or doing their nasty business? To me, it throws me of the book by making me want to avoid it or just get by it without paying much attention( my usual tactic). I know eventually the bad guys will do something, do I have to watch it? Why won't I just know about it later or why doesn't the author write a small paragraph in the end of a chapter or something saying what they're planning without giving them a voice? I know, wishful thinking but it works because I've seen it in some novels and although it might not suit the author's work or plans or whatever, to me it's dispensable.
However, the book had several emotional moments and scenes and they are worth all the parts one might dislike in there.

I liked most characters and enjoyed reading the book, although there were too many sad parts. It's the only thing, generally speaking, that puts me off more historical books set in medieval times, it's too easy to make them focus on the worse parts of those times (all the fighting, the deaths, the misery). This author actually does a great job because she doesn't delve too much on those things but they do happen and this is why I don't read the genre more often. Still, this was a great book, perfect to keep you company for as long as it takes you to read it.

Sherry Thomas - Private Arrangements

To all of London society, Lord and Lady Tremaine had the ideal arrangement: a marriage based on civility, courteousness, and freedom--by all accounts, a perfect marriage. The reason? For the last ten years, husband and wife have resided on separate continents.
But once upon a time, things were quite different for the Tremaines....When Gigi Rowland first laid eyes on Camden Saybrook, the attraction was immediate and overwhelming. But what began in a spark of passion ended in betrayal the morning after their wedding--and now Gigi wants to be free to marry again. When Camden returns from America with an outrageous demand in exchange for her freedom, Gigi's decision will have consequences she never imagined, as secrets are exposed, desire is rekindled--and one of London's most admired couples must either fall in love all over again...or let each other go forever.

Comment: Since I've read Delicious by the author I was very curious to see if I'd like her other books as much as that one, which I loved.
However, I didn't such high expectations over this book because I've read a comment here and there about something having bothered the person for this or that. I didn't pay any attention to the why of it because I intended to read the book someday and didn't want to ruin myself the surprises. Still, part of me dreaded starting the book, while the rest of me was bent on doing it anyway.

This is the story of the couple Camden and Gigi. They've been married for a long time, ten years actually, but all that time was spent living separately. Why? Because they wanted it and because it proved to society a couple could do it and have the perfect marriage, so they've been living in different continents. However, when Gigi wanted a divorce, Camden returned to England and imposed a rule of his own in order to sign the papers later. Gigi was shocked by Camden's ideas but she said yes because she wanted to get it over it, although..part of her was very hurt he didn't want to fight for her. During the book we get often alternate chapters between the current time of action and ten years before when they met and married. It's with all the clues from both time frames that we start to understand what really happened to them, what forced them to live apart and what reasons were so unmanageable for them to do it.
At the same time, we get a second love story - author's trademark, I suppose at this point, only having read two books by her and both with it - between Gigi's mother and a neighbor duke, a more mature but sweet developing romance.

When I first started the book, the first chapters made me as angry as I could imagine because of a book. I was intensely mad at the female protagonist....I still am because she is one of the most awful main female characters ever in a romance I've read. I don't like her, at all. I don't care for her reasons, I don't care she suffered too, I don't care she had her feelings hurt at some point, I don't care for her fears and position, I. DON'T. LIKE. HER. Why? Because all the couple's problems started because of her, because she was selfish and cold and spoiled and what she thought she had to have, she got. She was a scheming person to the bone and I disliked her immensely. But at some point in the past she knew she was behaving wrong, she knew what she was doing was wrong but she believed herself to be in love so I kind of understood why she decided to do the awful thing she did. But when her relationship with her husband seemed doomed and she lost hope of them ever being together, she took lovers. She committed adultery. Well, so did he, but only after she did. And they were apart because of her. So I hated her character, not his. Now all this shouldn't bother me, after all if one can't be happy with someone and like at the time divorces being so hard to gain for a woman, it should be understandable she would find someone else, but...this is romance, this is fiction, this is the 19th century, this is fantasy, she should have waited. I know reality isn't like this, I'm sure is wasn't like this back in 1890, but this is a book, it's romance, I don't want to hate my heroines, I want them to be superior, to be more than somebody else. I really hated the fact she took lovers although it suited her personality. But I did hate even more so because she claimed to still love her husband. And everything was mostly her fault and she loved him and she didn't wait, it really annoys me!
This sort of ruined most of the book for me. I was still curious to see how she would be redeemable and in the end she went after her husband, in a bold way I liked, but she was already too much of a disappointment for me to like her.
Camden wasn't perfect either, but he was hurt in a way I found too awful because when it happened he was so happy and because of that his personality changed too and it was a pity...his attempt to delay the divorce was a bit stupid but he tried and sometimes stupidity is a mask for fear, so...I kind of excused him, although nothing he did was forced on Gigi, she always had a choice. (And no, no one was raped in the book).
The secondary love story was funny and to be honest, the moments I looked for the most.

There's nothing wrong with the writing or the way the author has made the story move along. I just can't stand the heroine and her stupid choices (stupid here meaning stupidity for real) or what she made others go through because of that.
I'm still reading her other books because I believe she wouldn't come with such an awful heroine again...at least not like this. Taste can make people like different things and that's fine, and the same way someone else might like Gigi for her independence and strong personality, I see her failures too much to like her, but this is life. I recommend the book, but with extreme caution..those romantic souls will suffer a bit, I think.

Erin Hoffman - Sword of Fire and Sea

Three generations ago Captain Vidarian Rulorat's great-grandfather gave up an imperial commission to commit social catastrophe by marrying a fire priestess. For love, he unwittingly doomed his family to generations of a rare genetic disease that follows families who cross elemental boundaries. Now Vidarian, the last surviving member of the Rulorat family, struggles to uphold his family legacy, and finds himself chained to a task as a result of the bride price his great-grandfather paid: the Breakwater Agreement, a seventy-year-old alliance between his family and the High Temple of Kara'zul, domain of the fire priestesses.
The priestess Endera has called upon Vidarian to fulfill his family's obligation by transporting a young fire priestess named Ariadel to a water temple far to the south, through dangerous pirate-controlled territory. A journey perilous in the best of conditions is made more so by their pursuers: rogue telepathic magic-users called the Vkortha who will stop at nothing to recover Ariadel, who has witnessed their forbidden rites.
Together, Vidarian and Ariadel will navigate more than treacherous waters: Imperial intrigue, a world that has been slowly losing its magic for generations, secrets that the priestesshoods have kept for longer, the indifference of their elemental goddesses, gryphons—once thought mythical—now returning to the world, and their own labyrinthine family legacies. Vidarian finds himself at the intersection not only of the world's most volatile elements, but of colliding universes, and the ancient and alien powers that lurk between them.

Comment: I think I've decided to read this book because it hinted at a romance in the middle of an interesting fantasy world. I was convinced I should try it when I saw the suggestive cover. It's truly beautiful.
This book follows the adventures of Vidarian, a sea captain, and how he was asked by a fire priestess to take another priestess to another place where she's needed. During the voyage, the two of them have to fight enemies and deal with changes to not only their lives but to their beliefs. Vidarian also has to deal with the fact gryphons exist, something he didn't think was real.

I have to admit I was a bit disappointed with the story. in terms of fantasy it was rich and intriguing and amazing. But I thought things moved along too soon for me to follow...I mean, I'd like to have some more time for the characters to talk and explain, a certain more balance so I could follow the story better. I think the book was easy to read but it wasn't very fluid, at least not enough for me.
The story itself was intriguing and I was actually amazed at the author's imagination in developing things, in making new things show up to increase the intensity of the story. I didn't put the book down except when I had to and I was reluctant to do so. I confess many things were interesting and innovative. I just think some things happened to fast for me, I need a bit more explanations about things or at least I'd have liked to see more dialogue, more empathy in the characters, perhaps a little more characterization of them, of what they thought, what they liked, their lives..I think the society part could be a bit more...romanticized. Not that it should have more romance (although it could have) but that it could have a bigger focus on the mundane things, the society tidbits and nuances. I think it would enrich the novel more.

In the end, I liked it but all the good things didn't make me forget the ones that could be better..I'm not going back to world so soon, but perhaps one day I'll get back to it just so I could know what happened to the characters, especially the gryphons, my favorites.

Sandy Williams - The Shadow Reader

A Houston college student, McKenzie Lewis can track fae by reading the shadows they leave behind. For years she has been working for the fae King, tracking rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn't her only secret. She's in love with Kyol, the King's sword-master-but human and fae relationships are forbidden. When McKenzie is captured by Aren, the fierce rebel leader, she learns that not everything is as she thought. And McKenzie must decide who to trust and where she stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

Comment: I've had this book in my TBR list for a long time. I don't even know why I put it aside for so long but the point is, it was finally its time.
This book was very well liked when it was released. I remember reading two or three reviews about it and in all of them people would say it was a fresh view of Fae and adventures within their world. I think it might be why I wanted to read it to, to see if a new world would appeal to me. Yes, because from the blurb I imagined a love triangle and that is one of the things I dislike the most in romance books.

So, this is the story of McKenzie, she's a student at the university but it is taking her years to graduate because she also works for the Fae king and he wants her help in the most inconvenient times, even when she's in the middle of her exams - which she eventually fails. She's been working for the king for ten years and all that time she's been in love with Kyol, the king's sword master but it's forbidden for Fae to have a relationship with humans, so she's still waiting because she knows there are feelings between them.
One day she's kidnapped by the Fae rebels and she learns there are two sides of everything and although she fights it at first, with time she starts to understand everything she's been told by the king might not be completely true. Besides she's very attracted to Aren, the rebel leader and he is not afraid to tell her he likes her too...

My first impression of this book was that too many good people died in it. At least two did and I didn't like it. I think there is no reason for it unless the enhancement of drama.
Overall, it was an intriguing story but I wish we could have more details of the world, of the people in there instead of all the fighting. Well, the fighting parts weren't that extensive, they just looked like it to me. I think the good parts overshadowed the bad ones in my opinion so I can't really complain, but it was something that kept buzzing in my head even after finishing the book.
About the overall storyline, I liked to know McKenzie and how she lived her life for so long and how her perception of things had to change, after all nothing is totally just black or white. I was hoping she might see Aren through different eyes because after all that time Kyol still didn't say what he felt for her and in this aspect I liked how the book ended. The author did a good job putting everyone's feelings in the open but like I said, I dislike love triangle because someone always ends up feeling bad and I hate to think someone has to be hurt. It was inevitable but that's life. I also hope the author manages to find a real love interest for the one who stayed out.
I enjoyed the book because the writing also appealed to me. There were times I had to put the book down but I always felt I had to read just one more chapter.
Like I said some things happen in the story didn't particularly like or felt it was needed but now that it did, I'm very eager to know what happens next, I'm very curious to know more about the world of the Fae and their rules and way of life.
I'll try to get the next book when it comes out or if I can't, I'll try to read it as soon as I can.

Christina Dodd - My Fair Temptress

Miss Caroline Ritter, accomplished flirt, acknowledged beauty, and ruined gentlewoman, offers lessons to any rich, noble lord too inept to attract a wife. Discard your silly affectations and your garish clothing! Learn the art of witty conversation, elegant dancing, equestrian feats and irresistible seduction at the opera! With Miss Ritter's help, you can become the most sought-after aristocrat at the ball!
Send your request to the Distinguished Academy of Governesses.
Please, absolutely no devastatingly attractive men with hidden agendas, such as secret missions or vengeful plots against evil villains--specifically not Jude Durant, the earl of Huntington, the most handsome, the most covert, the most dangerous of all the aristocrats in Regency London.

Comment: Another book by this author.
Just a little note... Who comes here must bear in mind I read very randomly and try to not read the same author continuously...first because it suits the way I write in the blog and second, it doesn't bore me...unless an author writes something so amazing I just can't help myself I usually read a book a month by a certain author. I also have so many older books in my TBR list, don't always read recent books so I guess for some it might be boring to come here, but I think all books are worthy mentioning and I love to see how eclectic I am.

Ok, back to this book.This is the story of Caroline, she is a young lady who liked to flirt. That put her in an awful position when she was seduced and put aside by a married man. With her innocence intact but her reputation ruined, her father threw her out and she has been working since then, something no respectable lady should get into, but she does in order to support her and to get money to take her sister with her to France, where their maternal grandparents live. Then comes the offer from a duke to help his son become a flirt to find a wife and the promise of a huge amount of money if she can do it. Caroline jumps into action with the hope this might be the solution to her problems.
Jude is the duke's son and he is a spy. He's disguising as a silly man, only worried about fashion since his stay in France in order to catch the men who murdered his older brother. Since the two bad guys got themselves among the ton, it's Jude's job to deceive them but to do so, he must deceive everyone else. He didn't count on Caroline and her beauty to distract him and even knowing it's not the best time he decides to ruin his father's plans and make Caroline a respected lady once more..but didn't imagine he might fall in love with her too.

I really liked the story, like I said once, the author writes good historicals, in my opinion a much better job than in any paranormal she attempted, but still.
I like watching Caroline and Judd fall in love, I liked the game they played and how it came the time it was too late to ignore how they felt for each other. I liked how each one stood for the other even when others would cast a stone at the other for whatever reason, it was sweet.
In the end the story takes some predictable turns but it didn't ruin me the delight of reading about them and their love. I also liked some secondary characters because they were much more interesting and good than what I thought. I was surprised and liked it.
The book was very easy to read and it was a pleasure to turn each page. I can't wait to read the next one, which I know has a connection to this one in terms of plot.

Alexandra Ivy - Darkness Revealed

The One Man She Can't Trust
Two hundred years have passed since Anna Randal gave herself to Conde Cezar in a night of relentless passion. Since then, Anna has become filled with unearthly power she can't begin to comprehend. And the sexy, charming vampire responsible has eluded all of her efforts to track him down, until now...
Is The Only One
Cezar's blissful encounter with Anna cost him two centuries of penance. But one thing hasn't changed--his body's response to her is as urgent as ever. Now, commanded by the Oracles to keep watch over Anna, Cezar finds himself torn between his need to protect her--and to possess her...
Who Can Keep Her Safe
Someone wants Anna dead. And as an ancient enemy prepares to wage a terrifying battle, Anna must decide whether to succumb to a dark, burning desire--and accept a destiny that could change the world forever...

Comment: Sometimes what we think we'll find isn't exactly what we get and once again I was proven exactly that.
I've read the first three books in this series a long time ago and when I finished them the 4th one was still due to be released. At the time I thought the author's writing, although with interesting plots, wasn't seductive enough, at least compared with other authors I preferred. At the time, the blurb for the 4th book didn't appeal to me (in a way it still doesn't) because, generally, I don't like stories when the protagonists have met before, or were in a relationship before. As it seemed the case with this 4th book, I didn't buy the book when it was out, and neither the ones after.
After all this time (more than 3 years, without a doubt), I've decided to get back to it and see if my opinion might be different after I actually read the book.

Well, one shouldn't rally judge something before knowing it because I ended up enjoying the book. It wasn't the best thing I've ever read but it was good enough for me to not give up on the series and to regret all the time in between.
This 4th book is the story of Cezar and Anna. They met two hundred years before the action takes place and they were intimate then. However, Cezar had to leave and didn't have chance to explain things to Anna and after all this time she thinks he had done something to her because she doesn't age. The truth is, Anna is meant to be a powerful being and destiny put Cezar in her path to help her, but he was called before they could really talk. Now, two hundred years later she is ready to confront him and know what is happening to her.
During the book, Anna learns several things from her past and why is suddenly being chased and why so many attempts on her life are threatening her new found love.

Ok, so I ended up enjoying the book much more than what I thought I would. I had forgotten how intense the story could be, how many interesting things were happening in that world, although I'm happy to notice there were many things I hadn't forget from the previous stories.
The writing didn't become the best ever, but it was engaging and it allowed me to easily read the book without getting bored. Actually it only took me one day to finish it.
The two main characters suit each other. Their relationship wasn't as obvious as I imagined and it surprised me, I was captivated by how they feel in love with each other for real. Anna's past is more profound than what I thought and it provided interesting plot details because it made the story move along and it gave some mystery to what she is or what could become.
I liked it and now I'm curious to see if the next one is as good as this one. I hope it is, because I hate to give up on a series it took me so long to get to know.