When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

Everything was so much simpler…
When he was wicked.

In every life there is a turning point.

A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton.

After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer — the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin.

But that was then…Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but still she thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his love…until one dangerous night, when she steps innocently into his arms, and passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets…

After being somewhat disappointed with To Sir Phillip With Love, I have to admit to being slightly apprehensive about reading this one. Could it be that 8 books really is too many to have in a series. Fortunately this book (number 6) was a return to the strong romances that Quinn writes so well...thank goodness!

This book was basically written in two parts. The first part of the book focused on the friendship between Michael and Francesca in the context of her marriage to his cousin John. When he dies unexpectedly, instead of being bought together in grief, they are torn apart, and Michael finds himself leaving the country instead of facing his new responsibilities as Earl of Kilmartin.

Whilst he is away, Francesca assumes the responsibility for the stewardship of the lands connected to the title, but after 4 years of looking after things, Francesca has decided that it is time - time for her to remarry. Just as she reemerges from mourning, Michael returns to London, ready to take on his responsibilities, and he too has decided that it is time to marry, however, he is suffering from malaria, and needs Francesca's assistance to keep that secret from both his family and society.

Gradually as they spend more time together, Francesca gradually starts feeling an attraction towards Michael, and they both need to come to terms with what that means in terms of their previous friendship, and also with how that fits in with their feelings about Francesca's previous husband.

I cannot tell you how many times I cried whilst reading this story. Yes prior to going away, Michael was a notorious rake, but really his heart had been true to Francesca for such a long time, that he had decided that the only way to keep his love for her from overwhelming him and his relationship with his cousin was to play the field. Upon his return, and once his feelings for her were revealed, we see that the love that

And Francesca was not the virgin widow that is so common in romances. She and John had had a loving and healthy relationship which was lovely to see, although she was a inexperienced in comparison to Michael. I loved that he bought her to new levels of sexual fulfilment without there being any sense of ignoring the experiences that she had had previously. The new sexual experiences that she had were built on the satisfactory, if not spectacular, life she had had with John instead of the more common "I hated sex with my previous husband" that we normally see in romance novels.

The fact that we got to see Francesca with John, and then in her grief, and then finally finding happiness again was really nicely done, and the way that their doubts were portrayed over John were beautiful.

One interesting thing about this entry in the Bridgerton series is that this novel was very much about Francesca and Michael and John. There were some mentions of parents, and aunts and the like, but there were hardly any appearances by her brothers and sisters, or their myriad children! I'm sure that they will be back, particularly in the last book in the series, but in this book, with it's much more serious tone and issues, it would have been too much to have all of the Bridgerton's stomping through the book all the time!

Another fantastic read in the Bridgerton series! Now I am looking forward to the next one!

Rating 4.5/5

Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Stacy's Place on Earth

Awaken to Pleasure by Nalini Singh

The proposal was as unexpected as her feelings for the man whose dark good looks rivaled an even darker past. Painful experience screamed that Taylor Reid should run far and fast from Jackson Santorini. But keeping custody of her brother meant becoming her former boss's bride. And giving Jackson a baby.

Despite his powerful size and presence, Jackson had been wounded…deeply… by a woman. Yet he'd protected her at a personal cost, if his restrained ardor in deference to her virginal apprehension was one indication. Suddenly, for Jackson's sake, Taylor wanted to replace pain with pleasure. Only, she'd never imagined what sensations—and secrets—she would awaken…

Remember a month or so ago, I won a book on Nalini Singh's blog? It was actually to win a copy of Bound by Marriage, but because I had already ordered it on the strength of having loved Slave to Sensation, I suggested to Nalini that she surprise me with whichever book she wanted to send me, and this was the one I got. Funny thing is that Bound by Marriage still hasn't arrived......although I think it might be in the post now...finally!

Confession time.

I haven't read a category romance for at least a couple of years. I had read some a while ago when my mother left some behind one day, and I buy the Christmas pack for her every year, but I just don't read them myself. Or perhaps I should say I didn't read them myself, because I have actually read three in the last month or so. Two were really good, including this one, and the other wasn't bad either.

Taylor Reid was Jackson Santorini's temporary secretary a couple of years before this book opens, and he knows that she was the best secretary that he ever had. He also knows that he felt a strong attraction to her, but he was married at the time and therefore never took it any further. Taylor was also attracted to Jackson, but for reasons of her own she would never take it any further either.

When they meet up again after a couple of years, things are different. Jackson is no longer married, but Taylor is still reluctant to get involved. After all, she has enough on her plate at the moment. Her father is trying to remove her brother from her custody and it is a fight that promises to be very dirty and drawn out. Over the course of a couple of days, Jackson convinces Taylor that there is one way that he can help her current situation, by giving her the security of his name. After a series of negotiation it is agreed that this is the best course of action, but due mainly to Taylor's own insecurity, there are a number of out clauses built in - including that Taylor will do nothing to stop conceiving a child. But first they need to get through sleeping with each other - not an easy thing for Taylor at least due to something in her background.

As they learn to trust each other, and yes, Awaken to Pleasure, their attraction and love gets stronger, and they fight as a united team. The relationship and concerns that Taylor felt for her younger brother were very well written, and he didn't feel like a contrived plot element despite the fact that he was offstage for a lot of the novel.

Given the post over at Dear Author recently where Nalini talked about writing for a US dominant market, I found it quite interesting to try whilst writing this review tonight to see whether or not I felt the location was intrinsic to the novel or whether or not it was a setting that could be substituted to another location easily. Whilst the story is set in New Zealand, I did feel that it was quite generic, especially seeing as Jackson was a hot shot film producer.

For another entertaining review of this book, head over and read Rosario's review.

Overall, this was an entertaining read and I am looking forward to finally getting hold of Bound by Marriage when it finally gets here!

Rating 4/5

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

The year is 1946 and all over the world young women are crossing the seas in their thousands en route to the men they married in wartime, and an unknown future.

In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other brides on an extraordinary voyage to England - aboard the Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers and men.

Rules of honour, duty and separation are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier's captain down to the lowliest young stoker. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined in ways the Navy could never have imagined.

And Frances Mackenzie - the enigmatic young bride whose past comes back to haunt her thousands of miles from home - will find that sometimes the journey is more
important than the destination.

Based on the true voyage undertaken by HMS Victorious, The Ship of Brides is a novel about love, blind faith, and an age when the collision between duty and love could leave you with more than a broken heart.

Four young Australian girls are thrown together on a journey that will last six weeks, but it might as well be a lifetime for some of them. Jean is a very young bride who basically wants to have a laugh, Avice is a society girl, Maggie has just come off of the farm where she has been looking after her dad and brothers and Frances is the former Army nurse who is distant and very quiet about her personal life.

Sharing a small cabin on the journey to their new life, they gradually have to learn to get to know each other. For heavily pregnant Maggie, living with other females is something completely new, but she knows that at the end her husband Joe will be waiting. All she has to do now is to keep the little dog alive that she smuggled aboard secret. Given that she is much more comfortable with men, it is probably inevitable that she will strike up friendships with some of the crew despite the fact that this is frowned upon, but those same friendships could lead to unforeseen circumstances for one of the girls.

Jean is always game for anything, for a laugh, for fun. She really clashes with Avice, but seems to manage to bond with others on the ship.

Avice is basically a snob, and is horrified to learn that not only will she not be making the journey to her loving husband's arms on a cruise liner, but a ship on it's last legs, and she has to share with three other women who are all well below her normal standards of acquaintances. Avice is also into appearances, and is up for the prize of Lady of the ship. Along the way, she finds that things aren't exactly as she thought they were. I was glad though to see that the author didn't fall into the most obvious trap of suddenly making her one of the girls.

Frances is the quiet girl, whose past holds more than one shocking secret, and who in effect has the most difficult transition to make. She enjoys spending time by herself, appreciating the tranquility of the sea, and the journey. A nurse during the not so distant World War II, she soon finds herself being called upon to use her skills in ways that are somewhat surprising. Can she move onto her new life, leaving behind the past that seems to keep catching up with her, no matter how far away she goes from it.

Another character in the book is the Victoria herself. The book opens with one of the characters finding the Victoria gradually rusting away on a beach in India - a graveyard for ships. She is shocked to see the old ship, and it brings to mind her journey, that she then shares with her granddaughter. We learn during the book that this is the last journey for the ship. The captain is determined that whilst this may be the last journey, he is not going to let his standards slip, especially seeing as he knows that it is likely that this is his last command as well. Of course, that is easy to say until you have a boat full of women, who need to be entertained, who's idea of a nightmare is to run out of water for washing and setting their hair, and where, despite the best laid plans, there are the inevitable liaisons between the men and women.

Along the way, we have the inevitable nerves as the women step into the unknown, a couple of heartbreaks when the young wives received the dreaded "Not wanted, don't come" telegram, a love story, drama, danger, and just a little bit of fun. I felt that Moyes did a fantastic job of capturing what it must have been like, during those days at the end of WWII, and quite an unusual story. The characters were certainly distinct, and she didn't go to all the obvious places with the plot. There was a significant but low key romance that was very well written and built up beautifully without overwhelming any of the other parts of the story.

I haven't read any books by Jojo Moyes before, but after this I will definitely be looking out for more from her.

Rating 4/5

What to do

I had actually planned to go to work for a whole week this week - an unusual concept I am sure, but what with visitors from interstate, days off and training courses I haven't actually done a full week for quite some time.

Note the past tense - *had planned*. My boy is sick and I have just got a certificate for him to have the whole week off. Now I need to figure out what to do with all this extra time at home.

I could read a few books. I could give the house a bit of a spring clean (I know it's autumn here but I am sure the concept is the same). I could catch up on all of my reviews. I could sort out my bookshelves.

Actually I could do a lot of things. So why is it that the only thing I actually feel like doing is going and having an afternoon nap!

Does anyone know....

...when the next Brotherhood of the Sword book is due out by Kinley MacGregor. It feels like forever since there has been a new one, and I can't see any dates or anything on her website.



On Amazon there is a book called The Warrior out in October, but I am not sure which series that is part of.

Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Zarek is the most dangerous of all the Dark-Hunters. He endured a lifetime as a roman slave and centuries as a Dark-Hunter in exile. Zarek trusts no one. Because of his steadfast denial to follow any orders, he is kept in isolation in Alaska where his activity is seriously limited and closely monitored. There are many who fear he will one day unleash his powers against humans as well as vampires.

Have nine hundred years of exile made Zarek too vicious to be redeemed? The gods want Zarek dead but reluctantly agree to allow justice goddess Astrid to judge him.

Astrid has never yet judged a man innocent, and yet there is something about Zarek that tugs at her heart. He views even the smallest act of kindness with shock and suspicion. But while Astrid struggles to maintain her impartiality in the face of her growing attraction to Zarek, an executioner has already been dispatched...

Not too long ago, when I reviewed Lover Awakened, I mentioned that I am rather partial to the tortured hero. There are many that I love - Sin from Born in Sin, Zsadist from Lover Awakened, and yes, Zarek from this book amongst others!

Zarek has been exiled in the wilds of Alaska for many hundreds of years as punishment for going on a terrible rampage and killing many people in his town. He has little if no interaction with the other members of the Dark Hunter world, and very little with the humans in the nearby town in Alaska. The bare minimum of contact with anyone.

In the previous book in the series, Night Embrace, Zarek was called out of exile to go to New Orleans, but whilst he was there he was caught on camera killing two people, in full view of mortals. Now, it has been decided that it is time to get rid of this problem Hunter once and for all. It takes all of Acheron's persuasiveness to convince Artemis that he should be judged before she has him killed, and in the end she reluctantly agrees.

Astrid is a judge, who is dissatisfied with her immortal life, who has never, ever found anyone innocent in the thousands of years she has been judging. The only time she came close she was betrayed by a man she thought she loved, and she is therefore incredibly wary of falling in love again. Zarek is led to her, in her set up situation where she is a blind woman living alone in a home, with only her pet wolf as company. In reality, the pet wolf is her eyes and ears, and is much more than just a wolf.

Snowed in by an incredibly bad blizzard, as Astrid spends time with Zarek she gradually comes to understand that whilst he is dark and brooding and violent, he also has a heart of gold. He hates himself more than he hates anyone else, and through spending time in his dreams she begins to understand exactly where his self esteem issues come from - a terrible existence that you would not even consider calling a childhood - slavery at the hands of his own father, torment and torture from his half brothers being just the beginning.

They fall in love with each other against a background of Zarek being hunted by Artemis' executioner. She has called him off, but he has a score to settle with Zarek from many hundreds of years ago, and he has decided that he will kill Zarek no matter what!

This book moved me in so many ways. As I said previously, Zarek was right up there with my all time favourite tortured heroes. There wasn't much more that was left to be done to the poor guy, and he deserved his HEA. It was interesting to hear the revelations of what happened all those years before to cause him to be exiled in the first place, and the implication of those revelations. There is also something quite unusual about Zarek, meaning that he is different from every other Dark Hunter in a crucial way.

Yet, amongst all the darkness there was also real humour. The fact that Astrid's sisters were the Three Fates caused several laugh out loud moments for me, particularly with them being so anti Zarek at times throughout the book.

This book also saw the introduction of Simi, who I had heard so much about from other DH fans, but couldn't ever figure out, so now I know what that is about, as well as a couple of new Dark Hunters who I am sure will get their turns at happiness in due course!

An enjoyable read, in a very entertaining series. Onto the next one!

Rating 4/5

The School for Heiresses Anthology

Inspired by New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries's School for Heiresses series, this delightful anthology features four young women who learn that there's nothing textbook about love. .

"It is better not to marry at all than to marry badly."

-- Mrs. Charlotte Harris, headmistress

At the School for Heiresses, the lessons go far beyond etiquette and needlepoint. In addition to teaching her students how to avoid fortune hunters, headmistress and founder Charlotte Harris proposes the radical notion that women of means need not shackle themselves to men at all -- unless they find a suitable, desirable mate. So lessons in the fine art of acquiring a loving and passionate husband are part of the curriculum at this highly unusual school. And as the holidays approach, Mrs. Harris sends her young ladies home with personally tailored lessons to work on. Will they return any closer to finding the perfect husband?

Join this dazzling roster of authors as they put their own spin on the School for Heiresses in four spirited tales of passion!

My dilemma about reading this anthology was one that I mentioned in this post, mainly, how do reading anthologies fitting in with reading series in order!

Four lessons on love from four extraordinary authors!

From Sabrina Jeffries...Look before you leap

When Eliza flees her evil guardian, she unwittingly steals (oops!) a horse from Colin Hunt, a newly minted earl who wants nothing more than to send her home....or to keep her forever.

This novella, Ten Reasons to Stay, fits into the School for Heiresses series after the second book. Now I haven't read the other two books, and I gather that we would learn more about Colin Hunt in particular in at least one of the other books. I didn't feel like I was missing out, although I am sure that that opinion will change once I do actually get to the other books.

I liked the fact that Colin wasn't a cookie-cutter standard romanceland Earl. He had an Indian heritage, something that I don't think I have seen previously. Eliza is caught stealing his horse when she is trying to flee from her uncle who is trying to marry her off in order to pay off a debt, which is something that I have seen before, but it was still well written and entertaining.

From Liz Carlyle...At least pretend to be innocent

After a passionate encounter between Martinique - the daughter of a French courtesan - and the notorious rake Lord St Vrain, there is talk of a proper courtship...though there's nothing proper about either of them!

This novella, called After Midnight, is the introduction for the new series by Liz Carlyle. The first full sized book comes out in July, and I for one cannot wait.

Once again we have a character that is not the norm in historical romances. Martinique is the daughter of a French courtesan. She was adopted into the Neville family when her mother married into the family, and she is now very much treated as one of the family by them, despite the fact that she doesn't always feel as though she is. She is spending the holidays with distant relatives, when she meets Lord St Vrain - a man who is the subject of many rumours!

They are caught in a compromising position when he sneaks into her room, thinking that it belongs to another woman. Martinique is determined to not marry just because of this, as is St Vrain, for reasons that become clear once we find out what it was exactly that he did to deserve his reputation!

Great story from Liz Carlyle, and I cannot wait to read more about the Neville family, in particular the seemingly grim Rothewell.

From Julia London...Don't be naive

Sent to London to attract a match among the ton, Grace finds herself drawn to rugged Barrett Adlaine - an entirely inappropriate mate who will never meet with her father's approval.

I think that this story fits within the Desperate Debutantes series. This novella is called The Merchant's Gift and features Grace Holcomb, daughter of a successful wool merchant, who has been sent to London by her father to find a match amongst the gentlemen of the ton. Unfortunately that is harder than it would seem given the ton's lack of acceptance towards people who's money comes from trade, no matter how rich they are. The other problem is that Grace is extremely attracted to Barrett Adlaine, a well off merchant from Leeds - plenty of money, but definitely not good ton.

I really, really liked Barrett - he was an ordinary man, who had worked hard to get what he had, and knew what it was that he wanted out of life, and that was Grace. Grace, on the other hand, I wasn't quite so keen on. She seemed to be very changeable in terms of what she wanted, but she did almost redeem herself with the end of the story!

Whenever I read Julia London's historicals, it always puzzles me that I don't like them more. I guess I just really prefer her voice in her contemporary novels, which I always really enjoy.

From Renee Bernard....Break free of the gods of mischief.

With her constant mishaps and chaotic ways, Alyssa is no match for Mr Leland Yates, who is ruled by logic and reason - or is she?

Renee Bernard is a new to me author, and this novella titled Mischief's Holiday features Alyssa Martin, a young lady with a penchant for getting herself into sticky situations, going home for the holidays to her family. After getting stuck in the open window of her overturned carriage, she meets her rescuer Leland Yates, a young man who is to Alyssa's great embarrassment a guest of her father for the holidays. She had hoped that she would never have to again see the man who found her with her legs sticking out of the window of the carriage. From there Alyssa struggles from one disaster to another, along the way charming the rather somber Leland.

For the most part, I liked this story, although there was too much slapstick involved for me to actually really enjoy it. Leland was another self made man, and I liked him very much.

I haven't figured out my dilemma about reading anthologies and how that impacts on reading stories in order, but I still enjoyed this. Overall, this was an entertaining anthology, with two really good stories and the other two weren't stinkers, so that has to be a pretty good return on an anthology...right?

I have used the descriptions that are given in the book itself, but I think that the descriptions found on Julia London's website are actually better!


Rating: 4/5

Just a few more....

I actually went to a friend's house a few weeks ago and the theory was that we were going to do some crafting. By the time we chatted, and then went to three different scrapping related shops and then messed around I didn't get too many cards made, but these are what I did get done.

The first one is similar to the 50th birthday card that I made last month but just in a different colour. Only problem with this one is that I don't really like the Happy Birthday stamp that I have, and it doesn't always stamp cleanly, and it didn't this time. Given that this was the last thing that I did on this card, it will have to do. Oh well, I could always say that I did it deliberately....




For some reason I had a large amount of punched out purple flowers of all different sizes. Whilst my friend was chat, chat, chatting away, I was just playing around putting all of them on a piece of paper. In the end, I thought "why not" and went ahead and stuck them down. Some were stuck down using magic mount to give an additional bit of dimension.




This one was another, just messing around with pieces of paper card that didn't take very long to put together. Another friend has just had a baby girl so I bought this into work. One of my colleagues at work was really impressed with it, which kind of surprised me because this literally took minutes to put together. She is even talking about starting to make some of her own cards, but we'll see whether she really does or not. The tiny ribbon was stuck on using a sticker maker. I have seen the refills in the shops, but can't seem to find the actually maker in any of those same shops. It will turn up eventually I suppose, when I am not really looking for it. The other thing my friend had was this cool tool for making holes for brads, but I haven't been able to find those where she said she got it from either!

Card Making Workshop - February 2007

This month's workshop was on Kid's celebrations, and featured a focus on using watercolour pencils. Found them a bit frustrating at first, but once I got the hang of it, I liked it...and may even use them more!

First up, a birthday card for a girl.





Next up is a card for a new born baby boy. One of the girls I work with had a baby boy not too long ago, so we have ended up sending this card to her. Have to admit that it secretly gives me a little thrill to know that people are actually receiving the cards that I am now making.




The final thing that we made was a birthday party invitation, presumably for a younger child. I have to say that given the intricacies involved in this (stamping, embossing, colouring etc) I would only be doing this if there were only a couple of families that were coming or someone else was assisting...otherwise it is far to time consuming to have to make 20 or so! It does look good though!



I did place a big order this month as well - well it was really only one thing, but it's a bigger expense than I would normally order! More on that when I actually get it!

Still making cards

I have been making some cards, mainly on demand. You know the type...."Oh my goodness it is *insert name here*s birthday tomorrow/in a couple of days.

Here's some of the cards that I have made this month. The first one is for my sister's birthday. I went to the craft store and saw the circular stickers and thought I could do something with them, and then made the rest of the card around them. Of course, I got in trouble at the craft store because they are bottle cap stickers and that isn't what they were going to be used for, but never mind. I'm sure she recovered by the next time I went there! I'm not 100 percent happy with it. Think it probably needed black underneath the chinese lettering paper, and then a smaller black square beneath the stickers, but it isn't too bad I guess. It's also the first time that I have done anything other than the standard shaped card really.

The next one is one I made for a family friend. Of course, being the super critical of myself kind of person that I am I am not overly happy with this one either. It's for a man, which seems to always be difficult but hopefully it looks okay (especially seeing as the silver and green pieces are just scraps that I had in amongst all my bits and pieces)




My son is 8 and as a result most of the birthday parties that he goes to are for boys, so I need to try and figure out how to make some boy cards. One of the things that we do have lots of are Yugioh and Pokemon cards lying around, so I thought I would try to use a couple in cards. Once again, it's not quite there but he took it to a birthday party on Saturday and they seemed happy enough! I might work on this some more for some future birthday parties.

Welcome to my index of reads

This is the index of the books I have read and reviewed on my reading blog, which can be found at http://readingadventures.blogspot.com/.

Because I have now joined in a group blog called Historical Tapestry some of the links may take you to that blog, or to my individual blog, but either way, they will take you directly to the reviews!

In order to find the link, click on the first letter of the surname of the author in the list below.



Thanks for visiting

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Anthologies

On a roll

Another win in a contest for me. This time for a goody bag from Romance: By the Blog.

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

From National Book Award finalist Jennifer Egan, author of Look at Me (“Brilliantly unnerving . . . A haunting, sharp, splendidly articulate novel” —The New York Times), a spellbinding work of literary suspense enacted in a chilling psychological landscape—a dazzling tour de force.

Two cousins, irreversibly damaged by a childhood prank whose devastating consequences changed both their lives, reunite twenty years later to renovate a medieval castle in Eastern Europe, a castle steeped in blood lore and family pride. Built over a secret system of caves and tunnels, the castle and its violent history invoke and subvert all the elements of a gothic past: twins, a pool, an old baroness, a fearsome tower. In an environment of extreme paranoia, cut off from the outside world, the men reenact the signal event of their youth, with even more catastrophic results. And as the full horror of their predicament unfolds, a prisoner, in jail for an unnamed crime, recounts an unforgettable story—a story about two cousins who unite to renovate a castle—that brings the crimes of the past and present into piercing relation.

Egan’s relentlessly gripping page-turner plays with rich forms—ghost story, love story, gothic—and transfixing themes: the undertow of history, the fate of imagination in the cacophony of modern life, the uncanny likeness between communications technology and the supernatural. In a narrative that shifts seamlessly from an ancient European castle to a maximum security prison, Egan conjures a world from which escape is impossible and where the keep—the last stand, the final holdout, the place you run to when the walls are breached—is both everything worth protecting and the very thing that must be surrendered in order to survive.

A novel of fierce intelligence and velocity; a bravura performance from a writer of
consummate skill and style.

I first saw this book on Amazon and was drawn to the cover. It's taken me a while but I finally got around to reading it last month.

There are two threads of storyline in this book, and at first they seem completely unrelated. The first is the story of two cousins who have just been reunited after many years apart. The reason for the separation is quite horrific. Basically one of the cousins (Danny) deliberately left the other in a deep cave and left him for dead. Howard recovered to be quite wealthy, and has recently bought a castle in Eastern Europe with the intention of creating a hotel where there is no entertainment, no outside contact, only serene surroundings where the guests will be expected to rely on themselves for entertainment...their own imagination.
Danny is quite wary of Howard - not really sure if he has ever been forgiven for the childhood prank that could have been fatal. Howard has given Danny vague reasons as to why he has invited him here and after a nasty incident with the pool, Danny is convinced that maybe Howard is out to get him.

Gradually though, we get to meet Ray who is in prison and he is writing a story for his creative writing course that he is undertaking whilst incarcerated. He is attracted to the teacher, and eventually we find that the story that we have been reading about Danny and Howard is just that...a story. Or is it? The novel within a novel is certainly not a unique idea, but sometimes it doesn't work. This one did, for me at least.

At times the story was humourous - Danny's encounter with the Countess who lives in the Keep and refuses to leave - made me laugh out loud on the train, as did the episode where technology reliant Danny loses his satellite phone. At other times, an intense dissection of human relationships including betrayal, both spousal and familial, the novel is also quite creepy and atmospheric.

The only discordant note for me was the introduction of the point of view of the writing teacher towards the end of the book. I understand why she was injected into the story more at the point where she was, but it felt like an unnecessary story to tack onto the end of the other two story lines that were already completely intertwined!

Rating: 4.5/5

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier

Will Cooper's search for identity and home begins at the age of twelve, when he is given a horse, a key and a map, and sent to the edge of the Cherokee Nation to run a trading post as a bound boy. With a Cherokee chief named Bear and the mysterious and beautiful Claire Featherstone, Will finds the passionate connections and the complications of manhood that will forge his character and shape his life. As his fate becomes intertwined with the destiny of the Cherokee, Will travels to Washington City to fight against the Removal of the Indians from their land to protect Bear's people, their culture, and way of life.

In a voice filled with insight, humour and regret, Will tells of a long life's journey, from the beautiful forests and mountains of the Nation across the South and up and down the Mississippi River, and on into the twentieth century. Thirteen Moons is a novel of breathtaking power and beauty, by an American master.

I like to read the back cover copy sometimes just for the spin they try to put on things. Can Charles Frazier be an American master after only one previous book? Did they read the same book that I did?

I have owned Charles Frazier's first book, Cold Mountain, for at least two years. If I recall correctly I got it off of the 3 for 2 table at Borders because (a) I had heard of it, (b) I didn't own it yet, and (c) there were two other books that I really wanted to get so I might as well get a third one for free right? I have never even picked it up off the shelf, and yet, it's setting is certainly one that I should love.

Our main character is Will Cooper, a young boy who is cast out into the wilderness to serve as a bound boy at a trading post. Before he even gets to his destination, he meets some shifty characters, and also a young girl named Claire Featherstone, who all end up playing pivotal roles in his life. Once at the outpost he is taken under the wing of a Cherokee chief by the name of Bear, and between them over the years they fight to keep Bear's people on their land, and not be sent to the new reserves in the west. The story then continues through telling us of the events of his life until his current age of about 90.

If I had to choose only a couple of words to describe this book they would probably be slow and ponderous. Now that isn't always a bad thing, but it isn't necessarily a good thing either.

Even though lots of things happened in this book including madly passionate love affairs, fortunes won and lost, duels, the Civil War, the coming of the rail road, the Trail of Tears and even though many well known historical figures make appearances including Davy Crockett and President Andrew Jackson, the book feels inordinately slow and, well, slow.

There were certainly beautifully written sections, with the author labouring over the descriptions of the beauty of the land and the passing of time but they weren't enough to make this a beautiful read. Given the adventures of Will Cooper, this book could have been amazing, but to me personally, it just wasn't!

By reading this book I certainly haven't been inspired to pick up Cold Mountain any time soon. Maybe one day I will, but in the meantime I have plenty of other books on my TBR list to get to.

To quote the Washington Post review (quite an entertaining read in itself) that is up on Amazon for this book: "Thirteen Moons is going to be putting a whole bunch of people to sleep".

Rating 3/5

Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine

Please note that there is a Spoiler for the first book in this series (Ill Wind) in the synopsis and throughout the review

Accused of murder, Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin was chased across the country - and killed - by a team charged with hunting down rogue Wardens.

Five days later, Joanne had a lovely funeral and was posthumously cleared of all charges. Her human life was over, but she had been reborn into Dijinnhood. Now, until she masters her enhanced powers, Joanne must try to avoid being claimed by a human. But when a hazard that only a Dijinn could sense infiltrates Earth's atmosphere, Joanne must somehow convince someone to do something about it or the forecast will be deadly.

So who said being all-powerful was going to be easy?

This is the second book in the Weather Warden series after Ill Wind, and the story takes up practically where it left off at the end of that book.

Joanne has been reborn as a Dijinn - kind of. It turns out that the really lovely David has made her into a Dijinn by drawing off some of his own power. What a guy! That now means that they are able to have a look at all the strange stuff that is going on in the atmosphere. What is it? Where does it come from? And is there anyway to stop it?

Then there is also the matter of Dijinn training and not getting claimed by a different Warden and therefore losing her freedom and autonomy. Joanne has only a short time to learn enough to keep her alive, which isn't going to be easy in itself seeing as it seems as though a couple of the big men in dijinnhood aren't exactly fond of her.

Whilst this book was still entertaining,including some very funny moments, and the author does a great job of setting up the story for the next book, I struggled with this a bit compared to Ill Wind....amazing how hard it is to read properly when you had no sleep the night before! And now I can't remember what it is that kept me up all night. Oh wait...yes I can. Hmmm.

Overall I am giving this one a slightly lower grade - not sure if it is because I was too overtired to comprehend, or if it was the book. Either way, I will be continuing to read this series going forward.

Rating 3.5/5

Silent Night Anthology

In J.D. Robb's "Midnight in Death," Lieutenant Eve Dallas must postpone her first Christmas with her new husband, Roarke, to hunt for an escaped serial killer -- but she and Roarke still manage to find ways to celebrate...Susan Plunkett's "Christmas Promises" brings a woman and her ex-fiance together after four long years as they search for a missing child -- and make up for broken promises of Christmases past...In Dee Holmes' "The Unexpected Gift," Sabrina McKay and her five-year-old son are coping with the first Christmas since her divorce when her son finds a "body" in the yard -- and unexpectedly they rediscover the true spirit of the holidays...In Claire Cross's "A Berry Merry Christmas," a mysterious nanny has a special message to deliver to a young orphan and her uncle who long to feel the joy of Christmas in their hearts once again...

Wow...another one that I finished ages ago. I think I can remember what I thought of it! For the most part it was one of the better anthologies that I have read.

The four stories are actually pretty different in tone and in some ways you could probably argue that they don't fit together all that well, but perhaps that is why they do go together.

With Midnight In Death you get what you expect - death, darkness, humour, sexiness, all mixed in with Eve feeling uncomfortable about Christmas. A man that Eve helped put behind bars three years ago escapes, Eve is on the case to try and figure out where he could have got to. David Palmer is murdering everyone who helped put him away, and Eve is on his list. She needs to try and keep the others on the list safe, including one of her closest friends, and without getting injured, or worse, herself. Lucky Roarke is around to assist as much as he can...even when it really annoys Eve.

Christmas Promises by Susan Plunkett is another suspense type story, with Jake Rimsa reunited with his ex fiancee Marne York, just before Christmas. The high society girl that Jake left behind is gone, and in her place is a tough women and children's advocates - fighting for the rights of battered women and children in one of the toughest areas of the city, and Jake's old stomping ground. When one of her client's is nearly killed by her husband, his next target is Marne, and the suspense is built up as you try and figure out which of the police assigned to the case is on the good side, and who isn't. How have the events of four years ago changed Marne, and why didn't she share the secrets with Jake all that time ago, and do they have a future. This was a really well developed story, and it was therefore surprising to find that there was really very little else written by this author in recent times. It does seem like there was a new hardcover out last year co written with another author, so I might add that to my list.

The other two stories, starting with Claire Cross' A Berry, Merry Christmas, feel more like straight romance than romantic suspense, but in the case of this story, this works fine. It is a rather delightful, fanciful story of a Christmas Elf named Holly Berry. She just doesn't quite fit in at the North Pole, so Santa sends her on special assignment. A little orphan girl named Natalie has been living with her Uncle Drew since the night when she was nearly killed, and her parents did die, in a fire that started because of faulty Christmas lights. Drew is doing everything he can to protect her from the memories, including not celebrating Christmas, but Holly soon starts to shake things up a bit after she is hired as Natalie's nanny. Natalie has secretly sent a letter to Santa asking for a wife for Uncle Drew, and Holly is there to make sure that that happens. when she meets the lucky lady though, Holly realises that she is attracted to Drew and despite her every effort, she can't help but fall in love with him. A really nice, fun read, full of Christmas magic.

The other story in the book was An Unexpected Gift by Dee Holmes, and for me, it was the weakest of the book. It is the first Christmas after her divorce for Sabrina, and she is planning to spend it quietly with her son. Everything is going according to plan until her son finds a body in the front yard. Turns out it is her high school sweetheart, Zach, and whilst he isn't dead, he is passed out. And from there, we basically have instant attraction, nearly instant love. Whilst the story is nice enough, it is all very sudden, and the plot isn't helped at all by the reappearance of her ex husband wanting Sabrina back. In the end, there is a lot of discussion about the meaning of Christmas and a HEA, but for the most part this story was missing something that was definitely present in the other stories.

Three good stories out of four is pretty good in an anthology, so I am happy, especially seeing as I only got it because it had the In Death story in it!

Rating: 4/5

In My Heart by Melody Thomas

A Breathless Passion

After a whirlwind courtship and elopement, Lady Alexandra Marshall watched helplessly as her husband was shipped off by her irate father. An annulment followed, and though Alexandra waited with packed bags, Christopher never returned for her. She has tried desperately to forget the only love she's ever known and now devotes herself to the British Museum…until she discovers that someone has pilfered a fortune in jewels.

His scandalous marriage to Alex had hardened Sir Christopher Donally against the aristocracy that labeled a man's worth by the titles he carried rather than by his deeds. Now with a new bride in his future and a sister who is about to enter Society, Christopher is determined to put the past behind him. But when Alex asks for his help in finding a thief, he agrees, in exchange for her support in launching his sister. Though running into Alex was not planned, nor his emotional reaction welcomed, he can't help but be undone by one single, soul-stirring kiss…

When Melody Thomas was chosen as Author of the Month for a group that I am in a while ago (maybe November...yes, late again), I had to confess that I had never heard of her before. After finishing her book I am wondering....why not?

I must confess that it did take me quite a while to get into the story. The heroine, Alex, works at the British Museum, and discovers that many priceless exhibits appear to be missing, having been replaced with paste copies. As soon as she brings it to management's attention it becomes clear that she has either been involved in the swindle, or at the very least is about to be framed for it. After trying unsuccessfully to get assistance from the other members of the Museum board, there is only one person left to ask - Sir Christopher Donally - the man to whom she was married many years previously, only to have had her marriage annulled.

At first I found Alex quite difficult to get to know and like, but gradually the author built the relationship between Alex and Christopher, as well as with his family, to the point where it rang true. At the same time the disintegrating relationship with many of the people around her forced her to become something more than just a high born lady with a job. As the secrets of the past are revealed, the chemistry between Alex and Christopher builds nicely and leads to a satisfying conclusion, after a heart wrenching confession.

I normally focus a lot on the heroes of the romance novels I read, and Christopher was certainly a good hero, but quite unusually for me, it was the heroine of this novel that made it for me, once I got past the brisk, academic exterior.

I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Rating: 4.5/5

Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

From #1 blockbuster bestselling author Janet Evanovich comes a Stephanie Plum novel that takes adventure, action, suspense (and maybe even true love?) to new heights.

Watch your back…
Look both ways…
Because love is in the air…
And that means big trouble!

Mysterious men have a way of showing up in Stephanie Plum's apartment. When the shadowy Diesel appears, he has a task for Stephanie -- and he's not taking no for an answer. Annie Hart is a "relationship expert" who is wanted for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Stephanie needs to find her, fast. Diesel knows where she is. So they make a deal: He'll help her get Annie if Stephanie plays matchmaker to several of Annie's most difficult clients. But someone wants to find Annie even more than Diesel and Stephanie. Someone with a nasty temper. And someone with "unmentionable" skills. Does Diesel know more that he's saying about Annie Hart? Does Diesel have secrets he's keeping from Stephanie and the two men in her life -- Ranger and Morelli? With Stephanie Plum in over her head, things are sure to get a little dicey and a little explosive, Jersey style!

Given that I actually finished this book I am going to keep this brief.

This was billed as a between-the-numbers Plum book with a holiday theme (this time Valentine's Day), somewhat similar to the abysmal Visions of Sugar Plums (Christmas), and features one of the characters from that book, Diesel. Fortunately, I have to say that this second book featuring this character was a much better read.

First things first though.....where were Joe and Ranger? Both of them received a minimum of mentions throughout this book. I think Stephanie spoke to Joe on the phone once and received a message or something from Ranger if I remember correctly. Never fear though, Diesel lusts after Stephanie as well. It must be tough being irresistible.

This was more Stephanie Plum, with all that that means - Grandma Mazur, Lulu, and Stephanie's sister Valerie, her fiance Albert Kloughn and the kids were all there. I have to admit to getting a bit panicked when Valerie and Albert started getting involved because the last time they played a major part in one of the books I found them really annoying. This time though, they were in there, but they were there for a reason, and there was at least some resolution around their storyline!

The idea of Stephanie as a relationship consultant was a fun one as well. All in all, I am glad that I picked this one up. I thought about not doing so after the last holiday novella debacle, but this time around it wasn't too bad at all.

Rating 4/5

Lover Awakened by J R Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Of these, Zsadist is the most terrifying member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her…

I bought this book in November last year, straight after reading Lover Eternal, with the intention that I would read it sooner rather than later. Of course, we all know about intentions! Anyway, given that the release date for Lover Revealed is rapidly approaching I thought I should probably hurry up and get to it...and I am glad that I did! I think that this ended up being my favourite Brotherhood book so far.

I'm sure I have mentioned before how much I love a tortured hero, and Zsadist is right up there with the most tortured heroes I have ever read - scarred, former sex slave who has never willingly made love to anyone, who hates himself and practically everyone around him, illiterate....the list is endless!

The opening events in the book follow closely on from the final events in Lover Eternal. Bella has been kidnapped by a lesser, who is convinced that she is the love of his life. He has managed to create a prison where even vampires cannot escape. Zsadist felt a connection (that he wanted to ignore) when he first met Bella, and when she is kidnapped he is determined, to the point of self destruction, that he will be the one to find her and rescue her! Bella too felt the connection and when she is rescued all she wants it to be close to him - difficult for a man like Zsadist to deal with at the best of times, and even more difficult for him to accept, to the point that he keeps on trying to pass Bella on to a better guy, even though he knows that his bonding to her may have begun.

What about Bella? I don't think that one of JR Ward's strengths is her heroines. She writes fantastic heroes, but her heroines are less stellar. I really struggled with Mary in the last book, but Beth and Bella were both just okay in my opinion.

Without give too much away, (for the few people out there who haven't read this book!), I did love the ending as far as Zsadist was concerned. His determination to accept and improve himself was beautiful, and reflected in the quote below:

I was dead until you found me, though I breathed. I was sightless, though I could see. And then you came....and I was awakened.

There was a lot going on in this story, and after reading this I want to follow John stories, I want to read Phury's story, and Vishous' story, and I want to know what happened to poor, poor Tohrment, and...well, you get the idea. I'm hooked to this series. And that is despite the fact that there are some flaws, included the constant brand name dropping, the constant reference to shit kickers, and numerous other things. Doesn't matter to me - I can accept those things because I am so heavily invested in the main characters and the series as a whole. You might notice that Butch wasn't in my list of characters I want to read about? Well....I do want to read his story, just not as much as I want the others.

I have been pimping this series to one of the girls from work and had to take this book in for her to read a few weeks ago. As I sat on the train I flicked through this book, taking a few choice sections and reading them instead of the book that I was already reading. I ended up crying my eyes out on the train....just picking it up and reading some of the sections were so moving and emotional. A little embarrassing really!

It is my intention to order the next book and read it relatively soon after it is arrived. Of course, it could then take me a month to finish the review like it did for this one!

Rating 4.5/5

Dreams Made Flesh by Anne Bishop

Now return to the realm of the Blood in Dreams Made Flesh - featuring four revelatory all-new adventures of Jaenelle and her kindred...

Jaenelle is the most powerful Witch ever known, centuries of hopes and dreams made flesh at last. She has forged ties with three of the realm's mightiest Blood warriors; Saetan, the High Lord of Hell, who trains Jaenelle in magic and adopts her as his daughter; Lucivar, the winged Eyrien warlord who becomes her protector; and Daemon, born to be Witch's lover. Jaenelle has assumed her rightful place as Queen of the Darkness and restored order and peace to the realms...but at a terrible cost.

In Dreams Made Flesh, discover the origin of the mystical Jewels, and experience the forbidden passion between Lucivar and a simple hearth witch. Witness the clash between Saetan and a Priestess that may forever change reality. And learn whether the sacrifice of Jaenelle's magic has destroyed any hope of happiness between her and Daemon.

Weaver of Dreams

The magic of the Darkness is passed from one race to another as new caretakers for the Realms are chosen in this tale of the origin of the Jewels of power...

Weaver of Dreams is a short story, coming in at only 10 pages. It tells the story of how the Blood comes into being. I have to admit that I read this story twice and was still a little lost. However, having said that, we do get some understanding of who Draca is, who is one of the significant secondary characters that appear in the first three novels.

The Prince of Ebon Rih

Under the cold eye of his aristocratic mother, Eyrien Warlord Prince Lucivar Yaslana struggles with his feelings for his housekeeper, the hearth witch Marian...

The Prince of Ebon Rih is a novella length story that is set between Heir to the Shadows and Queen of the Darkness. It tells the story of Lucivar and Marian - her background, her skills, how they fall in love. It was a really romantic tale, showing us again how strong the family bond is between Saetan, Lucivar and Jaenelle, as well as exposing Jaenelle's sense of fun and perceptive nature. We are also introduced us to a character who plays a significant role in the fourth story in this book.

Zuulaman

The Queen of Zuulaman believe they can coerce Saetan into doing their bidding by threatening the life of his child - only to unleash the High Lord of Hell's incalculable fury.

Another short story, this time about 30 pages long, that shows just how powerful The High Lord of Hell is when he loses control of his power when a couple of Queens who should know better cause him unspeakable pain. Frightening. Even more frightening is the fact that Daemon seems to have even less self control. This story also explains some background information regarding the relationship between Saetan and Hekatah. All through the trilogy, Hekatah is one of the thorns in Saetan's side, but their original source of hate has not been explained until now - and boy does she deserve it!

Kaeleer's Heart

Daemon fears Jaenelle will never recover from sacrificing her Black Jewels to purge the Realm of the corrupt Queens. He desires nothing more than to heal her, body and soul - and help her unravel the secret of Twilight's Dawn, the Jewel Jaenelle now
possesses.

Another novella length story, this time focusing on the relationship between Daemon and Jaenelle. As Jaenelle is recovering from the incredible strain and toll that was placed on her to stop all out war between the territories, Daemon is anxious to ensure that he does nothing to hurt her or harm her in any way. As he treats her as an invalid, she is looking for confirmation that he still wants her, the way she is now, as opposed to her previous all powerful Queen status.

It doesn't help that a lady has decided that Daemon is hers and that she must free him, any way she can and at any cost, so that he can be with her.

Does Daemon actually possess the self control required to be a fair and just leader. This is where he is put to the test.

Another romantic tale, also featuring Saetan, Surreal and Lucivar, and several other secondary characters.

Overall this was an entertaining return to the world of the Black Jewels trilogy. There is apparently going to be another Black Jewels book sometime in the next year or so, and I will definitely be getting it as soon as I possible can after it comes out. Now I am going to try her other trilogy and see if I find it as enjoyable as I did this one!

Rating 4/5


By the way...it's always interesting doing spell check on a post like this....so many spelling errors...according to blogger anyway! LOL!


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