No Greater Loss Review for RORR
No Greater Loss by Diane Craver
www.samhainpublishing.com Dr. Jennifer Hunt suffered a great loss when she lost both her husband and baby son only months apart. That was fifteen years earlier but she had never got over it and she feels it is too painful to love again.
Luke Brunsman is introduced to Jennifer at a friends store and is immediately attracted to her but she keeps him at arms length. They set up a business relationship and as they spend more and more time together and get to know each other love starts to bloom.
In the midst of this Jennifer’s call in radio show ends up influencing a young girl and sets off a vengeful reaction in her partner. Can Jennifer and Luke over come their past hurts, new obstructions, and lots of memories to build a new life together?
I really wanted to like this inspirational book. The main story subject is heart wrenching and it is interesting to see how the heroine overcomes her past hurts to move on. Unfortunately, there are parts of this book that get decidedly preachy (there is a difference between inspiring and bang you over the head). There is also way too much stuff jammed into this book and I started to get distracted trying to keep track. If the author had stuck to the storyline with Jennifer and Luke I think there would have been enough there to hold the reader’s interest.
Ms. Craver is very good at writing characters and her book is filled with them. I do like them all, especially Uncle Ryan, I just think there were too many in one book. As much as I liked Luke and Jennifer I was completely thrown when Jennifer tells Luke how she found her mother dead - all he does is say sorry and then hands her some paper to write down what she wants for her house. Umm, that was rather dramatic for you to just brush off there! How can you be starting to fall for someone and callously disregard something that major that happened in their life?
As I said, I really wanted to like this book and I did like certain parts but other parts just read way too heavy (and I am a Christian). While trying to keep up with Luke and Jennifer, I got sidetracked by Stevie, Marie and Zach and wondering why it now appeared that there was a new couple when it wasn’t appropriate (I don’t want to give anything away but it was confusing). Also, I don’t think that a thirty-three year old woman would refer to people as a “dear man” or a “dear girl”, it sounds decidedly like something my Nana would say.
In conclusion, this reviewer feels that this story could have been really good if it left out a lot of the side stories and stuck to the main love story. There is some great stuff here, maybe it just needed to be broken into several stories, with less preaching and more love and inspiration.
I give it 3.5
Labels: Rating 3.5
Midnight Whispers Review for Wild Child Publishing
Midnight Whispers
Wild Child Publishing.com © 2006Title: Midnight Whispers
Author: Anisa Damien
Publisher: Cobblestone Press
ISBN: 1-60088-032-0
Genre: Contemporary/Interracial
Rating: Wanton
Length: Tryst
Release Date: July 2006
Author's Website: http://www.anisadamien.com/
When a mysterious caller, the "Lion", to her midnight radio show targets Joie as his prime candidate for seduction, she cannot seem to resist him. After a failed marriage to a cheater, she's not sure she wants any man let alone a stranger who seduces her by voice recording.
Returning home to convince Joie that they should be more than sex friends, Leo is determined to get it right this time. Getting through this past year a special ops agent had only happened because the memories of Joie were burned into his heart and mind.
I found this story to have well written love scenes but honestly felt that there really wasn't much plot to connect the sex scenes of the story. The love scenes were definitely hot and very sensual but I didn't find the backstory that compelling. I have no idea what Leo's background as a special ops agent had to do with the story at all. I realize his partner was killed and he had a near death experience but still don't get why that made him realize that the best lay he ever had was also the love of his life. More to the point I don't believe it did.
Also, Joie is worried about becoming attached to the sensual voice on the cd/tape (it was called one then the other so I have no idea which it was) but that was after listening to only one package from him and based on that she decided to return the second package unopened. The fact that Joie couldn't figure out that Leo was the "Lion" (Leo=Lion??) was a bit absurd.
If you want to read some erotica that sizzles with hot sex scenes and don't really care about the story than this is the read for you. It definitely has juicy, sexy love scenes. I'm all for sizzle, but I need a little more substance, unfortunately here I was just not convinced.
I give it 3 cats.
Labels: Rating 3
The Pirate's Booty Review for Wild Child Publishing
The Pirate's Booty
Wild Child Publishing.com © 2006
Title: The Pirate's Booty
Author: Shelli Stevens
Publisher: Cobblestone Press
ISBN: 1-60088-021-5
Genre: Contemporary/Interracial
Rating: Wicked
Length: Novella
Release Date: July 2006
Author's Website: http://www.shellistevens.com
Renee crashes a very exclusive party in order to retrieve something belonging to her family. What she doesn't know is the party is a bit hotter than she expected. All she had to do was slip in and slip out with the item, and no one would be the wiser.
Devon Murray is the descendant of the pirate who allegedly stole Renee's family heirloom. He is also the man throwing the sexy little party and keeping an eye on the comings and goings, so to speak. Realizing that Renee shouldn't be there, he pegs her for a reporter and figures he'll take care of it on his own rather than letting his bouncers handle it. Something about this party crasher intrigues him, but he's not sure what.
This book definitely started out a la Eyes Wide Shut, which was quite interesting, and I wasn't sure how the author could take that and run in a way that wasn't just bad for the romance part of the book. However, I was very impressed. Shelli Stevens was able to take this very erotic tale and turn it into a romance that I wanted to see continue and was interested in. I found the characters to be fascinating and believable for the most part and I liked them.
Often in erotic romance, I find a lot of filler, added just to connect the sex scenes, but not really adding anything to the plot. This wasn't the case in The Pirate's Booty, which was a welcome change. Although you will find the steamy bits to be absolutely sizzling and daring, you will find the romance to be sweet. It goes back and forth, and, for this reviewer, I find that believable because if you think about who you are in bed and who you are in real life, you will generally find (although not always I'm sure) a bit of a split personality.
The only thing that I thought a bit unbelievable was how quickly they fell in love. While a good many romances have the couple falling in love in a short period of time, in this instance because of the extremes between the erotic and sweet, I would have liked to have seen the couple spending a bit more time getting to know each other outside of the bedroom. I think it's hard to see someone in the image of a sex-party and then as the love of your life three or four days later. The author did do a good job of setting this up as some kind of deja vu from their ancestors, so perhaps she intended that to help suspend disbelief.
All in all a surprisingly enjoyable read!
I give it 4 cats.
Labels: Rating 4
Sorcha's Heart Review for Wild Child Publishing
Sorcha's Heart
Wild Child Publishing.com © 2006Title: Sorcha's Heart
Author: Debbie Mumford
Publisher: Freya's Bower
ISBN: 1-934069-19-1
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Sweet
Length: Novella
Release Date: July 2006
Author's Website: http://www.debbiemumford.com
Sorcha wants to prove that she is a strong enough wizard to retrieve the Hearts of Fire amulet and bring about some kind of peace treaty between the humans and the dragons. She is willing to do whatever it takes to get the amulet, even going against her mother's wishes and advice.
The price exacted against Sorcha is much higher than she expected, but out of it comes a new understanding for dragons, and she believes she will be able to help both the dragons and her people. At her side is the one being she never expected to fall in love with — he is a dragon.
Sorcha's Heart held me captive from the word go. The writing is impeccable, and the story is very unique. In the quest to unite two worlds, a heroine finds herself squarely in the middle, with an amazing hero by her side. I am trying to word this review carefully as there are some surprises in this novella and I'd rather not give them away. I love the way the author made us feel for both the dragons and the humans and how I was able to truly be inside Sorcha's mind. I felt everything Sorcha felt. Debbie Mumford has created a world that you feel could really exist.
The problem with this review is I want to be vague because I want you to read the book. I want you to go out and buy this novella and read it and be taken to another land where you will be at once enchanted and awed. The only flaw I can find, and it is slight, is that the ending may have been just a little too cute for the story. That being said, however, it did make me smile and nod. Sorcha's Heart is a wonderful romantic fantasy by Debbie Mumford.
I give it 5 cats.
Labels: Rating 5
I Did (But I wouldn't Now) Review for Rites of Romance
I Did (But I Wouldn't Now)
by Cara Lockwood
Downtown PressLily Crandell is separated from her crazy rock-star husband only to find herself in trouble for some of things she did in retaliation. She flees to London to avoid seeing photos and hear constant news of her ex and his silicone filled actress/girlfriend. The only problem is she wasn't quite supposed to leave the country.
In London Lily hides in the flat of an ex-boyfriend, now best friend, who has commitment issues of his own. Add to the mix a high-flying soccer stud who thinks he's God's gift to women, a totally deranged stalker girl, a hugely pregnant sister who thinks her husband is cheating and a tiny dog with incontinence and you have a lot of fun packed into one novel.
When I first started reading this book I wasn't quite sure I liked Lily Crandell, as she herself admits, she is a bad person. However, you look beyond some of her deeds and see the reasons and you have to agree that there are times any one of us would love to retaliate the way she does. Most of us don't actually follow through but, like reading any of the tabloids, it's a guilty pleasure we'd love to act on if only just once. So, in the end I was cheering for her because really, even though she'd made bad choices, she did it mostly from love (I think). I also loved the story between Lily and her old flame. Who among us hasn't longed for that friend to become something more?
I Did (But I Wouldn't Now) is a truly delightful read and as I headed towards the home stretch I was actually laughing out loud at some of the antics. If you want an entertaining story that will make you forget about your own problems I highly recommend this one. As far as chick lit goes this is one of the best I've read.
I gave this a Full Moon (the best rating available on Rites of Romance)
Labels: Rating 5
Bound By Blood Review for Rites of Romance
Bound By Blood
by T.C. Lotempio
Whiskey Creek PressTop New York investigative reporter Leigh Hartley is a recently divorced mother who is trying to make the right decisions for her and her teenage daughter, Rory. When she inherits an old manor that's been in her family for centuries, she figures it's a good opportunity for her and Rory to get away from the big city and start fresh. What she doesn't realize is that the estate comes with attachments more pressing than the six months Leigh is required to live there in order to complete the inheritance.
Paul Devlin is a detective on the hunt for a serial killer. Unfortunately for him he lives in a town where they believe that spirits and ghost stories actually do come true. What's worse is he's not so good with ghost stories.
Leigh and Rory Hartley find that Coltonville is a whole lot more interesting than they'd initially anticipated, and not necessarily in a good way. No one in town is who or what they seem to be. Who can they trust? Can they even trust their own intuition? In a race against time they will discover the key to the killer is in their own house and in their ancestry.
I'm not sure my blurb for this story does it justice. Frankly, I didn't know what to include because there is so much going on in this book, and for once it is a good thing. I think my heart rate was kept at an accelerated pace during the entire book, in fact, it probably increased as I read further. The suspense and spine-tingling effect of Bound by Blood is really that good. While I sort-of guessed who the killer was, I changed my mind quite a few times and even then I didn't expect the ending, although I guess I did in a way. Now I'm sure that is a confusing sentence but you will have to read the book to understand.
Honestly, this book was excellent and I don't normally read books about spirits and witches. Frankly, I don't appreciate going to bed completely scared, which I did after reading this book. It wasn't scary in a "boo" kind of way but it was frightening nonetheless. The only bad thing I can say about this is that it head-hopped quite a few times and there was a thread of information between Rory and her father that I would have liked to have seen resolved because stuff like that should not be left undone. Despite this I have to give this story a Full Moon because as a suspense novel it absolutely hits the mark. If you are looking for a suspenseful tale, a battle between good and evil and a romance all wrapped together, then you need look no further than Bound by Blood.
I gave this a Full Moon (highest rating available for Rites of Romance Reviews)
Labels: Rating 5
Deadly Mistakes reviewed for Rites of Romance
Deadly Mistakes by Denise Belinda McDonaldSamhain Publishing (ebook)
Reviewed by: Michelle Puffer
When Charlie Foster discovers a dead man on her living room floor, she becomes entangled in a web of viscious circumstances, which really have nothing to do with her.
Detective Bobby Allen is on leave from the Chicago PD, trying to figure out who killed his brother and trailing a man who ends up dead.
When another murder victim is found the local police are pointing their fingers at Charlie but Bobby is able to clear her by being in the wrong place at the right time. The two of them work together to defeat a madman and discover that there are more than one. Can their growing attraction keep this pair together or will Bobby's past come back to rip them apart?
The author has done a great job of making the reader care about the characters in Deadly Mistakes. The pace certainly never lets up and there are moments where you feel your heart pounding just as loud as you imagine the character's heart is. There are thrills and chills about in this suspense novel and definitely some nail biting moments.
While I truly did enjoy the story, there came a part where I just felt it was too much. Could any more happen to this heroine? Towards the end I felt that perhaps it stretched out a bit too long. However, the author has a great voice for suspense and, I suspect, a great career ahead of her.
I gave this 4 MoonsLabels: Rating 4
