Rises the Night, Review for Romance Divas
RISES THE NIGHT
By::Colleen Gleason
Signet Eclipse, 2007
A Historical Paranormal
Lady Victoria Gardella is a vampire slayer who is dealing with her own heartbreak and tragedy. When she takes her anger and despair a little too far one night, she decides to take a step back and re-focus on better learning her skills and control. It's a good thing she does because there is a new evil rising up as a very powerful vampire gains control over the ultimate weapon to control the souls of the dead. It could mean the end of the Venators and thousands, if not millions, of people.
With the not so trustworthy, but still attractive, Sebastian Vioget, by her side, she heads across Europe for the final showdown in Italy. Unfortunately, it is there that she witnesses the ultimate deceit by a former ally
Having not read The Rest Falls Away but hearing good things about it, I decided to give this book a chance. Honestly, I would not have normally picked up a historical but the description was just too interesting to pass by. I'm so glad that I made that decision. Rises the Night is a fantastic account of this lady, vampire slayer and her family. I love the way Ms. Gleason gives us history, along with action, humour along with angst.
The women of Rises the Night intrigued me. Even though Lady Victoria can obviously kick some major vampire butt, she is still tender and unsure of herself. Her losses, her loves, all come in to play in her reactions. I wouldn't have pegged her for as young as she was because she seemed so mature, but she had already seen so much in her short life. Aunt Eustacia was marvelously written. I could picture her clearly in my mind and I really liked her. She's someone I wouldn't mind having in my family, that's for sure. I wonder if we will learn more about the mysterious Wayren
I found Rises the Night to be an easy read that has many levels of complexity and information. I didn't need to read The Rest Falls Away as it stood alone fine on its own. I will, however, be buying it since I now want to collect this series. Congratulations Ms. Gleason you turned this non-historical romance lover into a believer! I look forward to more of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles.
5 KissesLabels: Rating 5
Wild, Wicked & Wanton, Review for Romance Divas
WILD, WICKED AND WANTON
By::Jaci Burton
Berkley Heat, 2007
A Contemporary Erotic-Romance
Blair, Abby and Callie are three best friends who have been making bets and sharing secrets for a long time. Over drinks, where they decide they have each been lacking in the sexual gratification department, they make the bet to end all bets. They each must sleep with a person, to be decided by the other two. One weekend of wild sex for each of them. Three completely different friends. Each with their own needs.
Abby was married to a cheater. He was a schmuck and he left her wanting while he went and fulfilled his needs elsewhere. Little did he know that he left a wild, sexy, kitten behind who wanted more than he could ever imagine. Good thing her friends know a couple of veterinarians that have a little wild thing going on for Abby.
Blair is a career woman who isn't going to let anyone tell her what to do or how to feel. She likes to be in charge in all areas of her life except one. But in that case, she's not willing to give it up to the one man who stole her heart fifteen years earlier. She's too afraid to let go and so her wicked desire have gone unmatched. That is, until her friends decide she doesn't have a choice anymore.
Callie has worked hard to get where she is. After her husband passed away five years ago, she set about taking care of and making a solid life for herself. However, she's lonely and her dreams are more than a little scandalous to a sensible girl like her. Even her husband had never known her wildest fantasies. When her friends hook her up with a man who just might be her match in all ways, will she be able to handle it?
This is a warning – this story is hot! I mean, if I wasn't reading this in PDF format I would expect the ends of the paper to start curling from the flicks of the flame. That hot! My warning would also have you keep a “friend” on stand-by but that's up to you!
Ms. Burton has a way of making all sorts of fantasies come to life on paper and be realistic and true. It's erotic, wild and romantic. Sometimes when stories are this filled with sexual desires, it reads like porn and the plot is just filler. In this case it is always about the romance, even when you can't figure out how she gets there, she does. Even with the ménage scenes.
My one problem with this book is that not once, anywhere, are condoms used. Now granted, that may have pulled the reader out of the story, but in my case I had a hard time believing that these very smart women would have done without. In Abby and Callie's stories, specifically, as Abby was in a ménage with men who admit they get around, and Callie is with a virtual stranger (getting coffee at her shop every day for a year does not mean he has been safe sexually). The only reason I'm willing to give Blair a break is that she's known the guy for fifteen years but even then, it sounds like she was a busy girl, doesn't he want to protect himself?
If you want a read that will recharge your sex life and give you that happy-ever-after as well, then this is the book for you. It is well written and full of hot, sexy fun that will leave you Wild, Wicked and Wanton.
4 ½ Kisses Labels: Rating 4.5
On the Edge, for BE Reviews
On the Edge by Shannon Stacey Samhain Publishing
Tony Casavetti is due for some extended time off. He has just finished an assignment where he was ousted by the bad guys a little sooner than he expected where his trusty assistant over the com port, Charlotte Rhames, helped him get through it all in one piece. Before getting his time off, however, he needs to attend an important meeting of the Devlin Group, the privately owned rogue-agency that he works for. He is looking forward to the getting together with the Devlin Group if only to finally meet Charlotte whose voice he has dreamed of for over eight years. While his mental picture of Charlotte is not very flattering he thinks her voice is sexy as hell. Meeting Charlotte and attending the Devlin Group function sets of all sorts of explosions.
Charlotte Rhames has been the Executive Administrator for the Devlin Group for a lot of years. She’s met many of the agents but none of them pulled her like Tony Casavetti. She is hoping that the two of them could turn their vocal parry into something more physical after the tête a tête but unfortunately, when their world is rocked in more ways than one she has to make things right. As she heads back into a world she thought she’d never turn to again she does it with Tony by her side. Charlotte isn’t a trained field agent but this assignment is more personal and she’s the only one who can get close to the man who set off the attack on the Devlin Group. When all the tremors stop, will there be any chance for Tony and Charlotte?
I have been waiting for this book for a very long time. I loved 72 Hours, which was the first book in this series. I couldn’t wait to see the next book. In fact I had it in my mind that it would be Gallagher’s story. I wasn’t expecting this one. My disappointment did not last long, however, because this book kicked butt. From the very start the pacing was on and didn’t let you out of its grip.
I loved the build up to the meet between Tony and Charlotte. I mean, yeah, I knew she was obviously not going to be a grandma but, whoa, she was hotter than anyone would expect, least of all Tony and I loved that he was surprised like that. He seemed a bit cocky and that threw him for a loop. Both Tony and Charlotte’s backgrounds were built into the story so that you were able to understand their actions and reactions. The sparks between the two were evident from the beginning but it was easy to understand how they couldn’t just be together immediately.
There are some truly shocking moments in this story and my heart was thumping as I wondered how far it would go. I was right there with Tony in thinking this couldn’t be happening. I was right there with a heavy heart, hurting for both of them. It was powerful. I don’t really want to get into what this was because it is something the reader must experience to understand but it was very well done and very awkward to get around. Ms. Stacey handled it brilliantly, in my opinion.
Some books are easier to write a synopsis of than others. There are things that happen in this book that made me cringe and things I can’t disclose in the review without giving away more than I want to. I just truly believe you need to read this book. Then re-read it. It is good and if I tell you more than that, it will spoil it.
I will now start my letter writing campaign to Ms. Stacey about the third installment in this series. Surely she must have them all written and is just torturing us with the wait for the next one?
I give this a 5
Labels: Rating 5
Sunset Key, Review for Gotta Write Network
Title: Sunset Key Author: Cassidy Kent
Publisher: Phaze
ISBN: 1-59426-563-1
Genre: Erotic Romance
Length: 44 pages
Publishing Date: 2006
Cost: $2.00
Freesia Daniels comes home to her free-spirited parents after being fired from her corporate job in Boston. Freesia has never forgotten her childhood sweetheart, Zachary Gray, or the way he just let her go when she walked away. She wanted to make something with her life and had tried to convince him to do the same. Little does she know that he has done exactly that, without ever having left home. When Freesia and Zach get trapped together in his house, while a storm rages outside, they rediscover each other and start their own storm inside. As the dust settles and the corporate world comes calling again will Freesia go back to her carefully planned life, or will she throw caution to the wind and choose heart over matter?
This quick tale from Cassidy Kent is a good look at what happens when we walk away from love to be what we think is right, rather than following our instinct. Sometimes we spend so much time running towards a goal we “think” we should have, rather than realising we are actually running away from what we already have. The author does a great job of showing the emotion and tension between Freesia and Zach and their night of love is well depicted and sensual.
I would have liked to get a better feeling for Freesia’s hurt over Zachary because in my opinion it was she who walked away and it seemed clear to me he wanted her to stay. I couldn’t quite figure out what she expected from him but in a story this short it isn’t always easy to convey all of the back story. I was, however, easily convinced of Zach’s feelings for Freesia and I also loved the way Freesia’s parents were written as I could picture them clearly in my head. It sort of reminded me of how Dharma’s parents were in that sitcom, Dharma & Greg, although maybe a little more hip!
If you are looking for a good, solid read with a wonderful, feel-good ending then I suggest Sunset Key. This is my second time reading a book by Cassidy Kent and I believe she is an author to be watched.
I give this 4.5 Lightning strikes out of 5
Labels: Rating 4.5
Kiss Me Deadly, Review for RD
Kiss Me Deadly by Susan Kearney Tor Romantic Suspense, July 2007
While driving home from work Mandy Newman, a lawyer dealing in divorces, is run off the road by someone she assumes is an angry ex of one of her clients.
While shaken she tries to move past the ordeal and concentrate on taking care of her baby daughter with the help of her mother.
When she and her co-workers discover they have won the lottery and millions of dollars she is on cloud nine.
Not even a face to face with her daughter’s father can bring her down, especially since he doesn’t know he’s a dad.
As one of her co-workers is murdered and the rest are being targeted by a killer Mandy has no choice but to accept help from the one man she is trying to avoid – Zack Taylor.
Zack is a DEA agent who on leave after a rough assignment turns sour. When he comes face to face with Mandy Newman again after almost two years all he can think about is how she made him feel when they were together, and the night of passion they shared. He has no idea that one night created a child he never knew he wanted. But when Mandy is threatened and his family is jeopardized he starts to understand that he can deny his feeling all he wants but he would do anything to protect those he loves. He must now catch a killer before the killer catches them and destroys any hope he has of starting over.
Kiss Me Deadly gripped me from the first page, all the way through to the end of the book. I love how Ms. Kearney has made Mandy both tough and vulnerable, showing first one side and then the other. When faced with possible impending death her thoughts were only of getting home to her daughter, which, as a mother, I found completely heart-wrenching and believable. Zack Taylor is an Alpha male but he comes flawed and we see tenderness creep through that makes him not so Alpha that you want to smack him. He was still the hot hero, but without the “me Tarzan, you Jane” mentality that so many Alpha males have.
The suspense in this book builds as you are taken back and forth between various scenarios and trying to get a feel for who the villain is. While I started to suspect fairly early on who it might be, I did change my mind a number of times, and even expected that I would be wrong. Layered in with the suspense and main love story we get to know the supporting characters and feel their lives are integral to the story – you find they are much more than people thrown in to add red-herrings or pad the story; they are living breathing beings who made Kiss Me Deadly rich and textured.
If you are looking for a romantic suspense that alternates between sizzling, tense and nice sweet “aww” moments then I suggest you pick up this book.
I give this 5 kisses.
Labels: Rating 5
In Another Man's Bed, Review for RD
In Another Man’s Bed by Francis Ray St. Martin’s Griffin, February 2007
Justine Crandall walked in on her husband with another woman. Everything she had ever dreamed about was dashed in that instant. A short time later, while in pursuit of her and trying to explain, his car goes off a cliff.
In the months that follow Justine is faced with the decision about whether to take him off life support. How do you make that decision when your heart is broken? How do you know why you’re making it?
In the meantime Justine’s high school sweet, Dalton, comes back to town and they fall in love all over again. Once again Justine is faced with a choice – be with the man she loves and loves her back or honour her marriage vows and stay true to the man who cheated on her and now lies in coma.
I thought the concept for this story was a good one. What a difficult decision this must be for anyone. The choices Justine made were steered by everything she had grown up to believe in and by that age old feeling that we should never let anyone down. She was trying to make everyone happy while drowning herself. I thought Ms. Ray portrayed Justine’s character very well for the most part, although sometimes I did think she needed more back bone and was thrilled to see it arrive at the end of the book. I loved Dalton’s character and thought he was the perfect accompaniment to Justine.
Unfortunately, I found the side love story of Brianna and Patrick to be distracting from the main plot. On one hand I though Brianna’s immediate resistance to Patrick, bordering on rudeness, a little over the top. On the other hand I found Patrick’s character to be pushy and arrogant and frankly if a man stalked me (he watched her every move noting when she left for work and arrived home, showed up to her work, and on her runs, just to name a few things) that way I certainly don’t think I’d be romantically interested in him.
The blurb on the back of the book focused on Justine but the actual story seemed split between the two love stories – that of Justine and Dalton and that of Brianna and Patrick. While I liked that Justine and Brianna were best friends going through stuff together I just did not like the Patrick/Brianna thing and it pulled me out of the story too often for me to focus on the rest of it. However, I think the storyline of how Justine handled this touchy situation was very well done.
I give this 3.5 kisses.
Labels: Rating 3.5
