The Wedding Trap by Tracy Anne Warren

From ugly duckling to beautiful swan

Eliza Hammond has always been quiet and reserved- hardly the best qualities for finding the man of her dreams and living happily ever after. A new heiress, Eliza is financially secure, courtesy of her aunt's fortune, but even great wealth has its drawbacks since every greedy, fortune-hunting bachelor suddenly finds Eliza irresistible.

To help her best friend, Violet takes Eliza's romantic dilemma into her own hands, enlisting the social skills of her brother-in-law, Lord Christopher "Kit" Winter. Kit helps transform Eliza into a stunning belle, certain to attract a worthy beau. There's just one problem: Eliza has always been head over heels in love with Kit, the very man who is trying to find her a husband! But during Eliza's sometimes-comic extreme makeover, and with a few secret love lessons from Kit on the side, sparks- and passionate kisses- begin to fly. Kit soon finds himself completely overcome by an all-consuming desire for Eliza. But if he fails to realize his true love for her, he may lose this fair lady forever.

The culmination of the Trap trilogy, this book features the younger brother and the best friend of the hero and heroine from The Husband Trap.

Eliza is a perennial wallflower, but now she is a rich wallflower and Violet Wyndham has taken it upon herself to find the best match that she can for her friend. Kit becomes involved after he offers his opinion on the unsuitability of a couple of the potential husbands, and suddenly he finds that he has volunteered himself to become the tutor to Eliza. Eliza is extremely uncomfortable, for no one realises that she has been secretly in love with Kit for years. He had been overseas and she had finally convinced herself that she had no more feelings for him, so to have to be in such close proximity to Kit now shouldn't be a problem right?

First things are a change of appearance and wardrobe, then a brush up on dancing and social skills. Inevitably, the attraction between Kit and Eliza starts growing and when Eliza asks for a lesson on kissing no one is more surprised than Kit to feel the sparks between them.

Meanwhile, Eliza's cousin has designs on her fortune and comes to ask Eliza to marry him, an offer that she does not hesitate to turn down. His brooding presence is never far away, and he plays a big part in the final part of the book.

There were many examples of humour running through this book, not least the hairdresser that gave Eliza a makeover who would have given many of today's most flamboyant stylists a run for their money. Eliza's emergence from wallflower to femme fatale was a relatively slow but charming emergence. Before long though, Eliza is attracting all sorts of attention, including offers of marriage from an eminently suitable candidate. Chances are we will see more of Lance Brevard in a future book.

Kit is perfect hero material - definitely not an alpha hero, but he was funny, handsome and charming. He was also a bit slow in realising how he felt, but it all came good in the end. I did like the very ending.

Oh, and a note about Jeanette! Yes, she was still haughty, but she certainly seems to have calmed down and we saw more of her playful side in this book.

I am glad that this author was recommended as Author of the Month for December, and I will definitely be looking for her next books! The three books in the series have been very consistent in quality and tone. Oh, and once again, the cover of this one is much nicer in real life than it is in the pictures that are available on the net.

Rating 4/5

Finished reading 27 December 2006

So that's how it happened!!

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that all of my library books had mysteriously had all of their due dates extended and I hadn't done it! Same thing happened today, but today I know that it is because I asked the librarian about a book that is on my list that I had never heard of before let alone borrowed, and she very helpfully extended everything, even those books that I couldn't have extended again even if I wanted to! So now, I have a load of books that are due back on 14 February - in fact all of them except for a couple where there are requests on them. Means I might have to rethink my reading order!

The Wife Trap by Tracy Anne Warren

Your presence is requested at a wedding deception.

After orchestrating a scandalous high-society ruse, Lady Jeannette Brantford is banished from her family’s estate in England and sent to live with boring elderly cousins in the Irish countryside. But Jeannette’s exile is surprisingly eventful. En route to her dreaded destination, she encounters Darragh O’Brien, a devilishly handsome architect who transforms Jeannette’s punishment into a delicious whirlwind of wits, words, and undeniable passion.

Although no less than a duke could satisfy a lady of her status, Jeannette is unable to extinguish the burning desire she has for Darragh’s smoldering looks and sizzling kisses. Little does she know, her dashing Irishman is no commoner. He’s the eleventh Earl of Mulholland–and he’s thoroughly enjoying the irresistible game of hard-to-get. But before he reveals his true identity, a little temptation and trickery are in order to teach his fair lady a lesson or two about love.

I mentioned in my review for the first book in this trilogy, The Husband Trap, that Jeanette Brantford was one of the most selfish and horrible female characters that I had read, and that the author would have to do a fantastic job to redeem her in my eyes.

Jeanette was the Incomparable of her year - the one that all the other girls making their debuts wanted to be like, the one that all the men wanted - and quite frankly a shallow girl for whom the only thing that mattered was being popular, even if achieving those aims meant hurting those around her, including her sister.

After being packed off in disgrace, the only possible thing that can make matter worse is to meet a common architect who is completely insensitive of her need to sleep past 10am each morning. What ensues is a war of wills that gets very, very dirty with practical jokes included, and a growing attraction that they cannot seem to fight.

Darragh realises quite early on that he is quite attracted to her, and attempts to tell her who he is, but she is unwilling to listen and so he decides to keep his identity to himself. Darragh is a really good hero - smart, funny and sexy. I would have been happy to read Darragh in any book - very nice indeed, and the grading that I have given this book is marked up as a result. This book once again proves that I can live with a heroine that I have issues with as long as the hero is really, really good! The only issue I have is that I am not sure that teaching someone a lesson is really a great foundation for a relationship!

Jeanette...well...I guess the author came close to redeeming her, but it wasn't a total redemption. From being a completely unlikeable character in The Husband Trap, Jeanette for me got to the point of being bearable. She will always be attracted to society and all that means, but she is also beginning to realise that maybe a bit of balance won't go astray. A few more years of lessons with Darragh and I am sure that eventually she will get sorted out!!

One interesting thing about Jeanette is her past. It was quite interesting

I commented on the cover of The Husband Trap, and said that it wasn't quite so garish as it looks in all the pictures, and that is true of the green in this cover as well. The green stripes are actually much more muted than they appear to be above!

Rating 4/5

(Finished reading on 26 December)

Darn it!

If I had of looked at the Reading Victoria website earlier I could have gone and listened to Kerry Greenwood talk about the Phryne Fisher books last night!

Oh well...

20 Novels Set Close to Home

The State Library of Victoria have a program going at the moment called Reading Victoria: 20 Novels Set Close to Home.

Reading Victoria is a summer reading program that will take you on a journey around the state. We have selected 20 contemporary and classic novels set in Victoria for you to read, discuss and enjoy this summer.

20 Novels about Victoria
A sense of place is one of the most important elements in many works of fiction, and Victoria has inspired great stories over the years. Interesting places in the state have been written about in some of our most loved books, many of which are on the 20 novels set close to home list.

It's an interesting list of books - many of them are books I had never heard of before, so I have added more books to my ever growing TBR list! As a bonus, if I ever get to reading any of them then I will at least be meeting my "read more Australian authors" reading resolution!

The twenty books chosen are:

Shadowboxing by Tony Birch - never heard of it.

Monkey Grip by Helen Garner - I have read another book by Helen Garner, called Joe Cinque's Consolation, which was quite an interesting look at a real life murder of a young man by his girlfriend.

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey - probably should have read Peter Carey by now, but I haven't! Just call me a bad Australian...I don't like Vegemite either!

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood - read this not too long ago!

The Art of the Engine Driver by Steven Carroll - never heard of it!

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham - haven't heard of this one before either!

The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson - now this is supposed to be something of an Australian classic. I was supposed to read it with an online club a couple of years ago, but I was a bit unwise and didn't do so! Get it...unwise...oh, never mind!

My Brother Jack by George Johnston - I remember watching the mini series that was made of this book years ago and loving it, but never read the book!

Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy - apparently this bloke is an important Australian literary figure...apparently!

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsey - now this is an Australian classic, and a very good book. Also made into a very creepy movie. Hanging Rock isn't actually all that far away from where I live. One of these days I will go and visit it.

Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett - I haven't read this book, but I did read Thursdays Child and thought that it was a very good read.

Stiff by Shane Maloney - I had heard of this book at least!

Sunnyside by Joanna Murray-Smith - another one I had never heard of before.

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple - or this one!

Three Dollars by Elliot Perlman - or this.

Everyman's Rules for Scientific Thinking by Carrie Tiffany - this book was nominated for the 2006 Miles Franklin Award, which is one of the more prestigious Australian literary prizes. It was up in competition against The Secret River by Kate Grenville and the eventual winner, The Ballad of Desmond Kale by Roger McDonald.

On the Beach by Nevil Shute - I have read A Town Like Alice by this author.

Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas - another one that I had never heard of before.

Players by Tony Wilson - and again

Cafe Scheherazade by Arnold Zable - I have vague recollections of hearing of this author before.

Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts

As the circle of six prepares for its final clash with the dark army of the vampire Lilith, the battleground shifts. In Ireland, a stone circle serves as the portal to another land and an ancient time. To complete preparations and round up forces to fight, the circle travels through time to Larkin's world, where Blair Murphy must choose between battling her overwhelming attraction to him - or risking everything for a love that can never be.

It's interesting to me how you can read a book, finish it and grade it, but then later think "why did I give it that grade". For me, this is one of those books. I finished reading it on Christmas Day, and graded it as 4 out of 5, which is a pretty good grade really. And that is fair enough because it was a pretty good read. Can you hear the but coming??

But here's the thing - the events of this book are completely fuzzy in my mind after less than three weeks, which normally doesn't happen. If I apply myself I can remember what happened but it does take a little bit of effort on my part. So if I was going to be grading this book now, I would probably rate it about a 3.5 as opposed to a 4.

To start with the romance - whilst it was obvious that the romance was coming the onset of the relationship between Blair and Larkin seemed really, really quick to me. There didn't seem to be enough build up between the two of them. I did enjoy some of the humour, like Larkin's addiction to Coke....know that feeling well!!

As individuals I didn't really empathise with Blair's daddy issues, so found her a little difficult to understand. Loved Larkin though. The idea of him being able to shape shift at will into creatures like dragons was very cool.

I thought that some of the ideas that were presented in respect of the enemy Lilith were quite interesting, and I am keen to see where some of them lead.

I did enjoy the tension that is building up between Cian and Moira. After all this time I am number 3 on the hold list at the library for Valley of Silence, and I am looking to see how this series gets resolved.

Overall, this was an entertaining enough read, with a good lead in to the third and final book in the trilogy, but it hasn't left a terribly strong lasting impression.

Rating 4/5

Fforde ffans?

I just found out today that the next Thursday Next book that is due to be released in July has undergone a title change. Instead of War of the Words it is going to be called First Amongst Sequels.

I cannot wait for it to come out....whatever it is called!!

The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis

Rome, AD 70. The city melts under a scorching August sun. For Marcus Didius Falco, hard-bitten private investigator the summer holds few prospects other than spying on the faithless wives of the Empire's senators - and his broom-wielding mother sweeping out the latest rope dancer with the dust from his seedy sixth floor aparetment.

One day in the Forum, Falco comes across the very young, and very beautiful, Sosia Camillina. Saving her from the unwelcome attention of two jelly-brained thugs with kidnapping in mind, the chance encounter seems to open new horizons. But Rome is going through a critical and turbulent period. And somehow working on Sosia's behalf proves to be less straightforward that Falco could possibly guess. The appearance of a stolen silver pig (a silver-bearing ingot of lead) leads Falco to a plot to overthrow the new Emperor, Vespasian. Not that Falco cares over much for those who run the state, but th eprospects of Sosia and incoming funds proves irresistible.

Then a murder which dents even Falco's well-worn cynicism makes discovery of the conspirators his only reason to live - even if it does mean the dismal prospects of a country he had hoped to never see again. Britain in winter, the Mendips lead mines. Disguised as a slave, Falco is treated with harsh contempt and cruelty, putting his life in danger as he discovers how, and by whom, the ingots are smuggled. Add to that the firy pride of Helena Justina, the disdainful daughter of Sosia's senator uncle, and Falco's hardships double.

The discoveries Falco makes in this bleak land draw him inexorably into the heart of treachery and conspiracy at the highest levels. His return to Rome leads him further into the labyrinth of political greed - and love.

Written with the same dry humour as an American gumshoe novel and with an unerring eye for historical detail, The Silver Pigs introduces a serial hero in Marcus Didius Falco who could be Ancient Rome's answer to Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade.

And you thought that those books that I have listed for the From the Stacks challenge were just there to look pretty. Nope. It really IS my intention to read them.

Having said that, I am going to cheat big time and link to Rosario's review of this book. It is soooo darn hot here I can't think, and it is going to stay this way for at least another day. No sleep here tonight unfortunately!

I will say that one of the criticisms that I have heard from a couple of people about this series in general is that the main characters sounds too much like a modern American gumshoe detective, and he does, but that is completely part of the charm for me! He's so self deprecating and funny that you can't help but fall a bit in love with Marcus Didius Falco!

My rating: 4/5

This is a true story....

It happened to a friend of a friend of mine.

Well, actually it didn't! It happened to a work colleague earlier this week and it still makes me laugh just thinking about it.

On Monday, my colleague (we'll call her Poppy for want of a better name) came into work and was very proudly showing us her new shoes. They were very nice - quite high but with a wedge heel type thing (I am so not a shoe person, but you'll get the idea!).

Just after lunch she said, "look at that my shoe's sole is coming off of the heel already and these are practically new shoes."

She was not happy. So she trots off to the convenience store and comes back with not one tube, but 8 tubes of super glue, and proceeds to take her shoe off, and glue the sole back on.

No problem with this whatsoever until about 5 minutes later when she frantically starts waving me over to her desk and tells me that she has accidentally stuck herself to the carpet!!

She had glued the sole back on the shoe and then put her foot down on the floor to help it bond. It had bonded alright....straight onto the carpet!! We were laughing so hard as we tried to pull the shoe up off the floor.

Of course, when she got home her husband told her that after all that she hadn't fixed the sole properly anyway, so he was going to have to do it again!! Funny thing is, she lives about a five minute walk away from work, so she could have just gone home and changed her shoes. We wouldn't even have really noticed she was missing before she got back again!!

Poppy is such great value!!

Note to self

Never try to write a post when you are so tired that you are just about falling asleep! It never works!!

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

With her New York Times bestseller Spell of the Highlander, Karen Marie Moning brought a world of ancient magic and timeless love to life. Now, Moning embarks on a fantastic new series about a woman drawn into a seductive other-worldly realm-only to be caught up in a universe-altering battle. A sizzling spin-off from the popular "Highlander" series, Darkfever is filled with captivating characters, paranormal elements, and unparalleled sensuality and heat.

Darkfever opens approximately three and a half years after Spell of the Highlander ends. MacKayla O'Connor's life is good. Or so she thinks until something extraordinary happens... When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone - Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister's killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She soon is faced with an even greater challenge - staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae. As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, the ruthless Vlane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book... because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands.

This is going to be a very short post because I finished this book on 20 December and as I sit here trying to think what to write I realise that it hasn't really left a lasting impression on me. I guess I enjoyed it well enough, but I wonder if there possibly wasn't too much world defining in the form of info dump through out the book for me to really enjoy the story - even if there was quite a lot of action throughout the book.

There were some interesting ideas in the book with all the different types of fae who have all different ways of behaving and appearing - with some of the ways to die seeming truly horrific!

What there isn't in this book is romance, and whilst the author has been quite open about this I suspect that there might be some people who are somewhat disappointed by this.

Overall, this was a solid start to a series that I am still interested in reading but I am glad that I borrowed this book from the library and that I didn't spend my hard earned cash on it.

Rating 3.5/5

Sizzle by Jennifer Cruse

Emily Tate is something of a marketing whizz kid, with her last campaign being wildly successful. One thing she is not good at is keeping to her budgets and so the company brings in Richard Parker whose job it will be to keep tight reins on the money side of things. Of course Emily and Richard clash immediately, but it isn't long before their attraction to each other can't be denied, and something will definitely begin to sizzle!

Whilst Jennifer Crusie doesn't deny that this book is in existence, she doesn't exactly proudly claim it as the following quote for the FAQ page of her website shows when asked if there will be reprints of some of her older books:

DO NOT ASK FOR A SIZZLE REPRINT. That damn book is following me around the way early porn films follow actresses.

Whilst I can see where she is coming from, because there are definitely some major flaws in the book (or more precisely novella given that it is less than 100 pages long), I am glad that I tracked it down. The heroine is smart, attractive and funny, a Jennifer Crusie prototype for some of her later heroines if you like.

One of the major problems in the book is that Richard is never given his voice - the whole story is told from Emily's point of view and therefore Richard comes across as somewhat two dimension, or almost like a characiture of a hero in some ways. He was also a bit of a one joke heroine - that being that he never seems to really listen to Emily's point of view. Having said that the picture I have in my mind is of a really sexy bloke....so he wasn't a complete failure character wise.

One of the differences between this book and many of her others is that this one is a whole lot hotter and sexier. The sex in this one was a lot more explicit than I remember many of the others I have read being, although that could be a case of selective memory in my case. There are a couple of desk scenes in particular that are very steamy!

I am not sure that I completely like the idea of a perfume that heats up on your skin either, which is where the title of the story comes from, but overall it was a fun, very short read, that is worth going to the trouble of tracking down if you are a fan. I'm glad I didn't pay 20 or 30 dollars for it though!!

Oh, and just in case you think that I have lost the plot completely, I am aware that I have put a picture of the cover for Anyone But You in this post, but there is a reason I promise you! A while ago Harlequin Australia rereleased Anyone But You with this horrible green cover, but they also included Sizzle in with the book. There is however no mention of this on the front cover, so if you are looking for Sizzle and see this horrible cover on Ebay and it's going for cheap it might be worth getting hold of it just to read Sizzle. That's what I did and it definitely wasn't a waste of the $5 it cost me! Who knows, one of these days I might even reread Anyone But You now that I own it!!

Rating 3.5/5

The Husband Trap by Tracy Ann Warren

Here comes the substitute bride. . . .

Violet Brantford has always longed for the passionate embrace of Adrian Winter, the wealthy Duke of Raeburn. Problem is, he's set to marry Violet's vivacious, more socially polished look-alike twin sister, Jeannette. But when Jeannette refuses to go through with the ceremony mere minutes before it is to begin, soft-spoken Violet finds herself walking down the aisle and taking vows in her sister's place. Soon shy Violet is a high-society wife, trying to keep her real identity a secret while living out the fantasies of her wildest dreams.

Adrian thinks he knows exactly what he's gotten himself into: Jeannette may be flighty and, well, a bit self-involved, but she's the picture-perfect wife to carry on the Winter name. Yet this marriage of convenience brings the groom more than he bargained for when he finds his sweet, innocent wife surprising him at every turn. And though he never planned on true love, Adrian is definitely in danger of losing his heart.

Tracy Anne Warren was chosen as the Author of the Month for December over in the Historical Romance Chat group on Yahoo, and for once I managed to read the book in the month that I was meant to, having finished this book on 19 December! I have to admit that this wasn't an author name that I had never really taken much notice of before - I won't say that I had never heard of her before, but I certainly couldn't remember reading much about her or her books.

Normally I am pretty strict on myself in terms of what I will or won't buy as opposed to borrowing from the library, but I was out at the shops one day and wanted to have something to read while I ate my lunch, and for some reason I didn't have a book in my bag so I went in and bought this one. After reading this one I very quickly ordered the next two in the series!

This books starts out at the wedding of Adrian Winter to Jeanette Rose Brantford, or at least that is who he thinks he married at least! In reality he has married Janette Violet Brantford, called Violet by everyone who knows her, and Jeanette's twin sister. Violet has been in love with Adrian for as long as she can remember and therefore agrees to swapping with Jeanette. Luckily she only has to remove her glasses to be almost identical to her sister.

With the wedding out of the way, Jeanette (masquerading as Violet) is packed off to Italy as a companion to her aunt, and has to behave like Violet, whilst Adrian and Violet go off on their honeymoon, and start to get to know each other. Adrian is somewhat surprised by the almost complete change of personality his bride has had but he attributes it to the fact that she is putting on a performance when in society to be ultimate society Miss, and that this is her real personality - in a way I guess he wasn't too far off.

In the end it is Adrian's brother Kit who sees through the facade and realises that things are not quite as they seem. Adrian realises soon enough that there is something amiss and it is only a matter of time before the truth comes out.

Violet was an extremely likable character - she has been the quiet, bookish younger sister of ultra popular Jeanette, but as she grows more confidence she shows herself to be intelligent, witty and poised and more than good enough to be Adrian's duchess. The only thing about Violet is the ease with which her sister can manipulate her into doing things that she doesn't want to do. There is one too many episodes of swapping places within the book for my liking!

As for Jeanette, she is one of the most selfish and manipulative characters I have read in a long time. She is the heroine of the second book in the trilogy, and to say that the author will have had to work hard to redeem her is probably an understatement. At one point after Adrian and Violet have been happily married for months, Jeanette decides that she actually does want to be married to Adrian and tries to swap places back again - what a bitch!!

Adrian was a good hero, if not exceptional. It took him a while to actually catch on to what was happening around him, and having fallen exceptionally hard for his lovely new while, it took him a long time to come to his senses, but overall he was a very drool worthy hero! As for his younger brother Kit, having already finished the third book in the trilogy I can tell you that he pretty much fulfils the promise shown in this book!

Just a comment on the cover - all of the cover pictures I could find, including the one above show the book with almost candy pink stripes - in reality the pink was a lot more subdued, and was almost metallic in finish. Nowhere near as gaudy as the pictures look!

Whilst there probably wasn't anything truly earth shatteringly original in this book, it was a well written historical romance with strong characters and an engaging storyline!

Rating 4/5

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, swindlers and misfits in a second-rate struggling to survive.

A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that Jacob meets Marlena, the beautiful equestrienne who is married to August, a charismatic but violently unpredictable animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, and elephant who seems unmanageable until he discovers an unusual way to reach her.

Water for Elephants is a story that has it all - warmth, humour, poignancy and passion. It has an energy and spirit like the feeling under a big top when the show is about to begin. It is a novel that will win your heart.

Recently, in one of the groups I am in, we have been having a discussion about the nature of reviewing, and a comment was made that it is much easier to write reviews for books that you either loved or hated, as opposed to those kind of books where your reaction was just somewhat meh! In theory, I agree...but that doesn't explain why I had so much trouble getting motivated to write the review for this book that I finished on 18 December and absolutely loved!

Whilst this book is the story as explained in the blurb above, it is also something much more than that as well. It is a book that explores the dark side of circus life in the late 1920's, when money was tight all round, and a solution to having too many circus staff could well be to have some of them disappear off of a moving train in the middle of the night. From egotistical circus masters who wants to be Ringling, to delicate horse riders, maniacal animal trainers to dwarfs and fat ladies, the cast of characters is interesting and varied. Whilst the glamour of the circus is portrayed, it isn't over the top, and the reality of a tough life spent travelling from one town to the next, not knowing if you were going to be run out of town or not, is not backed away from at all.

Another aspect of the story is about the experience of getting old. When we meet Jacob he is an old man who lives in a nursing home, and the book relates his experiences of losing his independence and his dignity. The arrival of a modern circus near the nursing home triggers memories for Jacob of his arrival into the circus, and the subsequent events. At first he seems disinterested in the circus, but in the end he decides that he does want to go, and then scenes as he waits anxiously for his family to arrive so he doesn't miss the opening act are quite heart wrenching.

From another point of view this is also a love story - between humans, and between humans and animals. The interactions between the animals and humans provide many of the funniest and many of the more gruesome incidents in the book, from the elephant who appears not to understand any commands to the little performing dog that is strongly connected to his owner trainer.

This book is richly layered and complex story that is held together by strong characters and fascinating history. In the author's note, she tells that some of the stories that may have seemed a little outlandish were in fact based on events that really happened. Just thinking about it is almost enough to prompt me to go and see whether there are any circuses in town. An extremely enjoyable read.

There really was only one small thing that prevented me from giving this book the perfect 5/5 score, and that was the ending, which seemed completely improbable. Then again, I'm not really sure how else the book could really have ended without having Jacob die or the book just fizzle to the end!

Rating 4.5/5


Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Random Field Notes
3R's: Reading, 'Riting and Randomness
So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
Maw Books
The Inside Cover
Some Reads
Passion for the Page
An Adventure in Reading
Blue Stocking Society
So Many Books, So Little Time
Subliminal Intervention

Slave to series!

One of the recent release books that I want to buy as opposed to get from the library is the School for Heiresses anthology that features novellas by Sabrina Jeffries, Liz Carlyle, Julia London and Renee Bernard, but I do have a bit of a dilemma, and it is one that will come up more and more I think as I read more and more series.

The stories in the anthology are part of series (actually I don't know about the Renee Barnard one, but the others are). The Sabrina Jeffries follows on from the two books in her current School for Heiresses series, which I haven't read. I have only read one of her books and have another one out from the library at the moment, but they are part of the Royal Brotherhood series not her current series.

Next up, the Liz Carlyle is like an introduction to her upcoming trilogy so there is no issue about reading that.

With the Julia London, her novella features characters that are introduced in The Hazards of Hunting a Duke, which I own but haven't read yet.

So my dilemma is how to read this anthology without buggering up reading the series - if I only read the two stories that aren't part of series how do I count that on my reading stats, and can I cope with only reading half a book now and then another bit later, and then another bit later than that!

What?..............................Anal you say? Well, they're important issues to me!!

Holiday in Death by J D Robb

No one likes to be alone during the holidays. For New York's most posh dating service, Personally Yours, it is the season to bring lonely hearts together. But Lt. Eve Dallas, on the trail of a ritualistic serial killer, has made a disturbing discovery: all of the victims have been traced to Personally Yours. Eve soon enters an elite world of people searching for their one true love - and one killer searching for his next victim. A world where the power of love leads men and women into the ultimate act of betrayal...

Kailana and I are continuing our series of joint reviews for the In Death books. My comments are in black and Kailana's are in blue. I actually finished this book on 10 December.

The next instalment in the In Death series after Vengeance in Death finds Eve just returning to work after recovering from injuries sustained in the line of duty just in time for the holidays. The thing preying on her mind most though is what to get all of her friends for Christmas, especially Roarke in their first Christmas together. It is rather funny, every time she runs into people she knows, she has to ask them if she should buy them a Christmas present. Christmas is a new thing for her, she has never had people to buy for before, so it is an experience reading her thoughts on the holiday gift giving

Before she can even think about that, she has to deal with a serial killer who has decided to visit his victim dressed up as Santa Claus and who is planning to make each of his victims have some connection to the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. This means that before he is done, there will be twelve victims, one for each day of the song. The killer leaves behind his trademark on each victim, a holiday ornament pertaining to the days of Christmas.

Soon the connection between the victims becomes clear - they have all been clients of an exclusive dating agency. Now it is a case of trying to infiltrate the agency and work out who the perpetrator might be as well as who his next victim will be - even if that means putting one of their own on the line. This book has Peabody's first undercover mission, which is interesting to watch. She does not appear to do blind dates very often, because she leaves one guy out of the running for quite some time. Have to read the book to see exactly what happened, though, of course.

I really enjoyed the way that the author managed to infuse some humour into this book. The scenes where Eve had banned Peabody from going shopping and yet kept on finding things to buy for herself were laugh out loud funny. It certainly helped balance out what could have been a very dark book indeed. This book did have more humour than the others, and I also enjoyed reading it. Robb seems to be adding more comical characters at this point in the series, anyways, which is making for interesting reading.

For me, this was the best book in the series so far. Same here! I really enjoyed this installment. I think that Robb has gotten more confident in the series at this point. I also read the other holiday story, Midnight in Death, which carries on the interest. I think I will enjoy the series even more if all the future ones are like this one.

Marg's Rating 4.5/5
Kailana's Rating 4/5

And have you ever wondered......

....how one person can have such incongruous thought patterns in one night!

From erotic romances to Bible smuggling.

Not my most normal night of blogging! LOL!!

Do you ever wonder...

...how people who grew up in a very similar environment to you end up in a completely different life situation?

I grew up in a relatively conservative Christian environment...wait, that's not exactly true...I spent a lot of time involved with church activities including leadership. Home was a different matter, and now I work for a church but I don't go to church and I certainly don't live that lifestyle at all.

Anyway, my point is - here I am in my average, average life when there are others who come from a similar background to me who are busy smuggling Bibles into China! The contrast is immense!

Maybe it is just the time of year, or the fact that it is nearly 1.30 in the morning and I have to get up and go to work in just over 4 and a half hours, but this is what I have been thinking about for the last couple of hours or so.

Free Erotic Romance E Book

One sub-genre of romance that I haven't got into all that much is erotic romance - I don't think I have ever read any. Another thing that I don't often do is e-books. Always willing to try new things, I think I am going to take advantage of the free e-book of erotic romance that is available from here. I figure it is also a good way to try 10 completely new to me authors as well.

Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Dear Reader,

Life is great for me. I have my chicory coffee, my warm beignets, and my best friend on the cell phone. Once the sun goes down, I am the baddest thing prowling the night: I command the elements, and I know no fear. For centuries, I've protected the innocent and watched over the mankind, making sure they are safe in a world where nothing is ever certain. All I want in return is a hot babe in a red dress, who wants nothing more from me then one night.

Instead, I get a runaway Mardi Gras float that tries to turn me into roadkill and a beautiful woman who saves my life but can't remember where she put my pants. Flamboyant and extravagant, Sunshine Runningwolf should be the perfect woman for me. She wants nothing past tonight, no ties, no long-term commitments.

But every time I look at her, I start yearning for dreams that I buried centuries ago. With her unconventional ways and ability to baffle me, Sunshine is the one person I find myself needing. But for me to love her would mean her death. I am cursed never to know peace or happiness-not so long as my enemy waits in the night to destroy us both.

--Talon of the Morrigantes

Mmmmm...Talon. Kenyon does such a great job of creating drool worthy heroes, whether they be blonde or dark. (Big sigh)...just taking a moment there! One thing that is interesting to me is that most of the heroes so far in this series have a past where theyhave been in love or married. Yes, that happiness has probably been taken away in tragic circumstances, but they have known that happiness once.

As for her heroines, well Sunshine Runningwolf is another heroine of hers that I just want to slap. She's not the first, not only in this series, but also in the Brotherhood series written under the name of Kinley MacGregor, but her ditziness was a little too overwhelming for me. I was a little surprised at the little twist at the end in relation to Sunshine's family heritage, but I guess it keeps the rest of the Runningwolfs in the series for a bit longer as well!

I love the way that the Dark Hunter world is building up with each book including the cameo appearances from heroes from the earlier books, and the introduction of more and more prospective heroes! Looking forward to reading more!

Rating 4/5 (Finished on 16 December 2006)