Hope’s Folly by Linnea Sinclair – “Gabriel’s Ghost” series Book #3

Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages - Publisher: Bantam (February 24, 2009) - Language: English - ISBN-10: 0553592181 - ISBN-13: 978-0553592184

 

Hope’s Folly

by Linnea Sinclair

“Gabriel’s Ghost” series Book #3

Admiral Philip Guthrie is in an unprecedented position: on the wrong end of the law, leading a ragtag band of rebels against the oppressive Imperial forces. Or would be if he could get his command ship – the derelict cruiser called Hope’s Folly – functioning. Not much can rattle Philip’s legendary cool – but the woman who helps him foil an assassination attempt on Kirro Station will. She’s the daughter of his best friend and first commander – a man who died while under Philip’s command and whose death is on Philip’s conscience.

Rya Bennton has been in love with Philip Guthrie since she was a girl. But can her childhood fantasies survive an encounter with the hardened man, and newly minted rebel leader, once she learns the truth about her father’s death? Or will her pasion for revenge put not only their hearts but their lives at risk? It’s an impossible mission: A man who feels he can’t love. A woman who believes she’s unlovable. And an enemy who will stop at nothing to crush them both.

Review: A great read, even if a little predictable.

(Bookaholic’s Review Note: Make sure to read Gabriel’s Ghost and Shades of Dark before reading this one. That’s a must!)

Admiral Philip Guthrie finds himself now aboard Hope’s Folly, what was once part of the Imperial fleet. Converted to a fruit carrier, the ship was sold to the Alliance under a few conditions: that the ship retain its name, and the cat, Captain Folly, is to remain onboard.  Now Philip is in command of the ship, and they are trying desperately to get it in working order to fight against the Imperial fleet. Philip, still recuperating from a shattered hip and leg (Shades of Dark), was attacked before getting onboard. It seems the ‘law’ wants him alive. Philip can well imagine why, but he’ll do whatever it takes not to end up in the enemies’ hands.

Rya Bennton had been an Imperial Assassin before her father had been killed. Seeing what is happening to the Empire, she is now on the other side of the law, wanting revenge. Now aboard the Folly, she wants in on the action to bring the Empire down. Philip asks her, if she was ever in the same room with the man who took her father’s life and handed a gun, would she kill him? She answers she would, without a doubt or hesitation. But when Philip hands her his gun, Rya the Rebel is confused. While Philip didn’t actually kill her father, he puts the responsibility on his own shoulders, and Rya won’t shoot him, for she’s been in love with the man since she was a kid, when her father brought Philip home to meet the family.

After the attack on Kirro Station, Rya has put herself in the position of guarding Admiral Guthrie against any more attacks. It seems that, at every turn, their efforts to get the Folly functioning, something happens to set them back. The more Rya looks into it, the more she’s convinced their have a saboteur on their ship. And now she’s determined, not only to keep the man she loves alive, but to find the person who doesn’t want the ship to fly.

**While I liked the book, I sort of found it predictable. Philip believes himself a man who can’t love, and yet, even though he refuses to, his feelings for Rya grow. A strong man, he’s determined to thwart the enemy. It’s his knowledge and determination, his personality and inner struggles that readers will love.

Rya – I loved her. She’s just as strong and determined as Philip. I liked her ‘action first, think later’ attitude, and how she’ll do whatever is necessary.

What bugged me a little was how predictable the romance part of the story was. Woman is in love with the man – man falls in love with the woman – believes it’s his responsability to protect her and is determined to put her out of harms way. Once, just once, I’d love to read the romance part of any book where the male keeps the female with him, no matter what. For once, I want the man to hold her there without the female having to fight to stay there. Just once, I want the male’s chauvinistic pride and arrogant attitude to either take a backseat or not appear at all in a love story. Will I ever get my wish? *eyeroll* I’ll let you know if and when it happens. But then again, I guess most lead male characters have to have a little alpha male attitude. *shrug*

However, besides my romance rant, I loved the action and mystery in the story. The author writes it all so well that it’s as if you’re aboard the ship, watching it all unfold in front of you. Her descriptions put you in the thick of it. I loved the characters’ inner battles. I loved the tension you feel between characters, primary and secondary. Way to go, Ms. Sinclair! Can’t wait for the next installment in the Gabriel’s Ghost universe.

Rating:

Warlord by Angela Knight contains “Jane’s Warlord,” “Warfem,” “The Warlord and the Fem,” and “Baby, You’ve Changed”

Paperback: 410 pages - Publisher: Berkley Trade (September 4, 2007) - Language: English - ISBN-10: 0425217841 - ISBN-13: 978-0425217849

 

Warlord

by Angela Knight

contains “Jane’s Warlord,” “Warfem,” “The Warlord and the Fem,” and “Baby, You’ve Changed”

Together for the first time – the acclaimed novel and novella that turned Knight into “a rising star in the paranormal pantheon” (Midwest Book Review) – plus two never-before-published stories set in an erotically charged workd that “will set your blood on fire and have you begging for mre…” (In The Library Reviews)

In Jane’s Warlord reporter Jane Colby has made a startling discovery about a recent murder. The killer has struck before – hundreds of years in the past. Now’s he’s jumped through time to find his next victim … Jane. Her only hope lies with Baran Arvid – a genetically engineered warrior from hundreds of years in the future sent to capture the predatory time traveler – even if it means using jane as bait. But can they survive the galaxies that come between them – and a madman bent on destroying them?

In Warfem a strange destiny has reunited the seductive Warfem Alina and Baird, the sexually dynamic Warlord who shared his lover’s young fantasies twenty years ago. But in this time apart, a dangerous new spark has been ignited between them. One that has held Alina captive in another’s plot of death and betrayal…

Review: Erotically charged, action, mystery, suspense, together with paranormal sci-fi elements – Knight is one heck of an author!

Jane’s Warlord

As the newspaper reporter at a crime scene, Jane Colby can only imagine how horrible the crime scene must be if the lead detective comes out and “tosses his cookies”. Upon arriving home, she faces a rather large man and what looks like a rather large wolf who broke into her home. But Baran and his partner, Freika, convince her that their there to save her, to protect her, from the murderer. Traveled back in time, Baran and his partner sent to stop the murderer and he needs Jane. Only, Jane isn’t meek. Strong, self-reliant, with a past that haunts her, she wants to fight and to use herself as bait, regardless of her fear. But not only does she accept that he’s from three hundred years into the future, she’s afraid she’s losing her heart to him, and worried about how much she’ll have changed once he goes back, for she’s losing her heart to him..

**Incredible as only Angela Knight can make it. With believable details, you really like Baran and Freika right from the start. What I liked was how Jane stood up to him even knowing that he could overpower her. I loved their banter, especially with Freika. Action was great, love scenes superb that make you squirm in your seat. Excellent plot well carried out. A truly fine story.

Warfem

Warfem Alina is carrying a file for the one she serves. She is to deliver the file, on the promise that her mistress, Rajin, would finally release her from duty and give her back her son. Baird is investigating a case of treason, afraid that his ex-lover, the woman he loved, is knee-deep in it. And while he doesn’t want to believe it, extenuating circumstances forced her to do as her mistress bid. But no more. Alina is tired of the threat Rajin holds over her son and will do whatever is necessary to get her son out of harms way. What Baird doesn’t know is that, even after twenty years, Alina still loves him, had been forced to leave him. Question is, will he understand and believe when the truth stands in front of him in the form of a ten-year-old boy?

**I liked this one. The action was great, the plot well done, even if it was small. I think Ms. Knight could have actually made this one into a novel instead of a novella, adding more to the story. I think my fave part is of the boy taking down the one person who could destroy them all. Perfect ending!

The Warlord and the Fem

Apparently, these last two first appeared on a yahoo group and added them to the book. Truthfully, I think they could have stayed out of the book. I won’t go really into deal, cause there isn’t much to begin with. Baird, a Warlord (not to be confused with Baird from Warfem – this Baird is a different character,) fights to become part of a mercenary group because of Kyna. Kyna is a Warfem, and Baird wasn’t her as his mate. But Kyna refuses, for she remembers spying on an “episode” with her sister and her Warlord, and it freaked her out. She swore to herself she would never be with a Warlord, would never play the submissive to their dominant ways in the bedroom. But Baird is determined. What I liked was that he did his damndest to “court” her, playing chess, talking, taking walks, all in the name of having her as his mate. I think, though, that Kyna could have fought him a little harder in the last scene, and while their lovemaking was great, it was short of spectacular. Could have been better – the whole story could have been.

Baby, You’ve Changed

Did not like – not one bit. There was nothing to it. Warfem Tamir and her ship, the Xe’vit, fight and lose the battle to Captain Gage Deauxville and his ship, the Intrepid. But he’s not after her ship – he’s after her. Years ago, as teens, Tamir had humiliated him, for humans aren’t strong enough to play the dominant, as Warfems need. But now Gage isn’t just merely human anymore, but a vampire, strong enough if not stronger, than Tamir. He intends to take his revenge on her in the way of how Warlord do. What I didn’t like was how. Until she submitted to him, what he was going to do was rape, and that left a sour taste in my mouth. Yes, I know that some have that fantasy, of being taken against their will. This was so not for me. Period. ‘Nough said.

Overall, I really liked the book and recommend it to any sci-fi, paranormal fan.

Rating:

Innocent In Death by J.D. Robb (‘In Death’ series Book #24)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: August 9, 2007 - 400 Pages - ISBN: 042521754X - Published By: Berkley Mass Market

 

Innocent In Death

by J.D. Robb (pseudonym of Nora Roberts)

‘In Death’ series Book #24

Once again, Lt. Eve Dallas shows why she’s “New York City’s top murder cop” in Roberts’s 24th thriller under her Robb pseudonym set half a century into the future (after 2006′s Born in Death). Dallas tries to close a case at the exclusive Sarah Child Academy, where two bright 10-year-old girls discover the body of Craig Foster, a popular history teacher who proves to have been poisoned by ricin-laced cocoa.

Dallas wonders if another staff member or a parent might be involved, but after the prime suspect, a promiscuous teacher who’s been harassing another employee, turns up dead, the investigation takes a shocking turn. Besides a provocative puzzler, Robb provides an intense relationship update on Dallas and Roarke, her Irish power broker hubby, whose dark past – in the form of a crooked ex-girlfriend – returns to cause trouble. This prolific author, a recent Quills romance winner, is still at the top of her game.

Review: Another excellent book in the series!

The plot was well written, and I found it just as difficult to swallow as the characters in the book. I really liked that.

The side plot was excellent as well. A couple needs a fight every now and again, and I’m glad it turned out the way it did, I think, for both, Eve and Roarke.

Peabody and McNabb are their usual selves, and the, um, “struggles” I guess you could say, between Even and Summerset – in this book, Fantastic!

This is definitely a series you need to read from the beginning, or you’ll never understand why Eve and Roarke are the way they are. Trust me – I made that mistake. I started with Book #17, Immitation In Death, not knowing that it was part of a series. You best believe I corrected that right quick and in a hurry. It took 2 months, but I caught up with the entire series and am constantly on pins and needles waiting for the next book.

Yes, this series is set in the future, but the way Robb writes it, you’re not overwhelmed, and everything is believable. The mysteries/cases are intriguing, this novel as well, and the everyday interaction is no different than if it were in the present time.

Another excellent book! Stupid me, I did what I swore I won’t do – I read the excerpt of the next novel at the back of the book. Darnit! The Hardcover is out in November ’07, which means I gotta wait another six months on top of that for the paperback. Aargh, this is gonna drive me crazy, LOL!

Rating:

Born In Death by J.D. Robb (‘In Death’ series Book #23)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: April 4, 2007 - 368 Pages - ISBN: 0425215687 - Published By: Berkley Mass Market

 

Born In Death

by J.D. Robb (pseudonym of Nora Roberts)

‘In Death’ series Book #23

Lt. Eve Dallas struggles with the end-and the beginning of – life, in the #1 New York Times bestselling series set in 2060 New York City.

Eve Dallas has a grisly double homicide to solve when two young lovers – both employees of the same prestigious accounting firm – are brutally killed on the same night. It doesn’t leave Eve a lot of leftover time to put together a baby shower for her buddy Mavis, but that’s supposedly what friends are for.

Now Mavis needs another favor. Tandy Willowby, one of the moms-to-be in Mavis’s birthing class, didn’t show up for the shower. A recent emigrant from London, Tandy has few friends in New York, and no family – and she was really looking forward to the party. And when Eve enters Tandy’s apartment and finds a gift for Mavis’s shower wrapped and ready on the table – and a packed bag for the hospital still on the floor next to it – tingling runs up and down her spine.

Normally, such a case would be turned over to Missing Persons. But Mavis wants no one else on the job but Eve – and Eve can’t say no. She’ll have to track Tandy down while simultaneously unearthing the deals and double-crosses hidden in the files of some of the city’s richest and most secretive citizens, in a race against this particularly vicious killer. Luckily, her multimillionaire husband Roarke’s expertise comes in handy with the number crunching. But as he mines the crucial data that will break the case wide open, Eve faces an all too real danger in the world of flesh and blood.

Review: Finished April 30th, 2007. I sort of agree with some of the reviews I’ve read elsewhere. Sure, the book wasn’t as exciting, the plot not as thick as previous books, but I think Eve and Roarke needed to work some things out more personally than the usual norm that we’ve read. I really liked the ending, how Eve’s past still manages to catch up with her – and how she can push it back, push it away. She was there for the best friend that needed her there, wanted her there, and I think with both, Even and Roarke in that room with Mavis, I’m glad it helped them. To understand them as each other, and as a couple, you have to read the rest of the series to completely get them. Otherwise, you don’t get the big picture, you don’t understand why Even and Roarke react and feel as they do. You might think you do, but you don’t, not by a long shot. Sure, the plot didn’t seem as thick as usual,  but I truly don’t think this one was supposed to be like the first 22 books of the series. An excellent book, and I can’t wait for Innocent In Death to come out in MMP!!!

Rating: .75

Memory in Death by J.D. Robb (‘In Death’ series Book # 22)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: June 9, 2006 - 384 Pages - ISBN: 0425210731 - Published By: Berkley Mass Market

 

Memory in Death

by J.D. Robb (pseudonym of Nora Roberts)

‘In Death’ series Book #22

Eve Dallas is one tough cop. She’s got no problem dealing with a holida reveler in a red suit who plunges thirty-seven stories and gives new meaning to the term “sidewalk Santa.” But when she gets back to the station and Trudy Lombard shows up, it’s all Even can do to hold it together. Instantly, she’s thrown back into the past, to the days when she was a vulnerable, traumatized girl – trapped in foster care with the twisted woman who now sits in front of her, smiling.

Trudy claims she just wanted to see how Eve was doing. But Eve’s husband, Roarke, suspects otherwise – and his suspicions prove correct when Trudy arrives at his office, demanding money in exchange for keeping the ugly details of his wife’s childhood a secret. Barely restraining himself, Roarke shows her the door – and makes it clear that she’d be wise to get out of New York and never bother him or his wife again. But just a few days later, Trudy’s found on the floor of her hotel room, a mess of bruises and blood. A cop to the core, Eve is determined to solve the case, if only for the sake of Trudy’s bereaved son. Unfortunately, Eve is not the only one to have suffered at this woman’s hands, and she and Roarke will follow a circuitous, dangerous path to find out who turned this victimizer into a victim.

Review: J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) does it again! The same characters are just as awesome as usual. I always burst out laughing when Mavis reminds Even about the birthing coach classes. I found the story to be fast-paced enough, but it seemed to lack a bit of the usual action; the bad-guy-after-Eve action. But that was okay. between the injuries that Eve and Roarke are still healing from on the last case, I could see how this fits, and it was fine. I kind of figured out who the perp was, but I couldn’t tie it up until near the end. Great book, just like always. It’s hard to do a review ona book that’s so far in the series, as the most of the usual ‘cast’ is the same. Just as colourful, just as wild with individual personalities… One thing I did find strange. When Eve asks Nadine for help on putting a twist on-air about the current case, it was discussed over lunch, but the interview never took place. That was weird, and I actually didn’t think about it until now, but it’s minor. Hunh! 

I can say that, when I read the excerpt on her website (remember, I don’t usually pick up hardcover,) I was floored when I read those words: “Why, don’t you remember me? I’m your mama!”, I almost fell off my chair! Anyone who reads the series would understand why. If you haven’t read this series, I urge you… Go Pick Up Book #1 (Naked in Death) TODAY!!!

Rating: .75

Killing Time by Linda Howard

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: June 27, 2006 - 400 Pages - ISBN: 0345453468 - Published By: Ballantine Books

 

Killing Time

by Linda Howard

Returning to the entrancing supernatural territory of her popular novels Dream Man and Son of the Morning, New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard has written a sizzling new novel that is her most daring, exciting, and original yet.

In 1985, with much fanfare, a time capsule was buried under the front lawn of a small-town county courthouse, to be reopened in 2085. But just twenty years later, in the dead of night, the capsule is dug up, its contents stolen. That same night, one of the contributors to the capsule is brutally slain in his home – with no sign of forced entry or indication of a strugle. One by one, others who had placed items in the time capsule are murdered.

Besides his suspicions about the sudden, mysterious appearance of Nikita Stover, the chief investigator, Knox Davis, has absolutely no leads. And while Nikita’s no murderer, she seems to be hiding plenty of secrets. With more at stake than anyone else realizes, the smart-talking Nikita is determined to catch this cunning killer – while at the same time battling her own deepening feelings for a man and for a world in which she doesn’t belong.

When readers crave a seductive novel of unrelenting suspense with a paranormal twist, Linda Howard delivers time and again … make that Killing Time – a captivating, character-rich story that races along on a breathless plot full of action and intimicy, romance and danger, thrills and intrigue.

Review: Finished Tuesday, March 27th, 2007. Um… Not sure what to say about this one. It’s not the first futuristic novel I’ve read, and it didn’t start that way, either. The synopsis made the novel sound much more exciting that it was, ie: more suspense, mystery… There wasn’t really much of that. You pretty much find the reason for it all without getting that far into it, it dragged in places, and the ending… so not impressed. One of those endings that are over way too fast and too simple. I thought the main characters were good. I certainly felt a spark of some sort between Nikita and Knox, but sparks… not exactly as intense as it should have been. The synopsis didn’t mention the futuristic angle, so it was a surprise. Reading up on Howard, she writes different genres, so I won’t let this book put me off. I’ll try some of her other stuff. Oh, and btw… on the cover, the guy has a tattoo on his shoulder – who you would assume to be Knox. Well, in the book, not one mention of a tattoo… on anyone. Not that I read, anyway.

Rating:  (wasn’t good enough for higher, not bad enough to rate lower.)

Shades of Dark by Linnea Sinclair (‘Gabriel’s Ghost’, Book #2)

Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages - Publisher: Bantam (July 29, 2008) - Language: English - ISBN-10: 0553589652 - ISBN-13: 978-0553589658

 

Shades of Dark

by Linnea Sinclair

‘Gabriel’s Ghost’, Book #2

Award-winning author Linnea Sinclair returns with a vibrant interstellar thriller of romance and adventure.

For two fugitive lovers, space has no haven, no mercy, no light – only…

SHADES OF DARK

Before her court-martial, Captain Chasidah “Chas” Bergren was the pride of the Sixth Fleet. Now she’s a fugitive from the “justice” of corrupt Empire. Along with her lover, the former monk, mercenary, and telepath Gabriel Ross Sullivan, Chaz hoped to leave the past light-years behind – until the news of her brother Thad’s arrest and upcoming execution for treason. It’s a ploy by Sully’s cousin Hayden Burke to force them out of hiding, and it works.

With a killer targeting human females and a renegade gen lab breeding jukor war machines, Chaz and Sully already had their hands full of treachery, betrayal – not to mention each other. Throw in Chaz’s Imperial ex-husband, Admiral Philip Guthrie, and a Kyi-Ragkiril mentor out to seduce Sully, and not just loyalties but lives are at stake. For when Sully makes a fateful choice, changing their relationship forever, Chaz must also choose – between what duty demands and what her heart tells her she must do.

Review: Perfect blend of sci-fi, romance, action, suspicion and suspense – don’t miss this one!

**Spoiler Warning – This review will contain spoilers**

Not long after Chaz and Sully escaped Marker with the help of her brother and her ex-husband, Chaz receives news that her brother, Thad, had been arrested for treason. From there, things quickly escalate from bad to worse. Hayden Burke and First Barrister Darius Tage are in cahoots together, wanting the Empire for themselves, and are planning on taking it any way they know how. They’re sure that Burke is behind the jukor gen labs, and Chaz and Sully intend to shut them down, no matter the cost. With the help of an informant, Del, they find the lab, but the cost is greater than anyone would even begin to believe, for Del is Stolorth, and a Kyi-Radkiril, and has taken Sully on as a student, helping him harness and use his power. But Del is hiding something from both Sully and Chaz, and it’s not good.

And now a war is starting, and no one is sure how it will turn out. Those who don’t swear allegiance to Tage are hunted, some killed. Being hunted is her ex-husband, Admiral Philip Guthrie, and Chaz and Sully save him just in time. And just when we think that everything will finally work out – the gen lab found, the crew out of the way, and Hayden Burke walking aboard to deal with the lab – more betrayal hits too close to home.

The story begins right at the start, when Chaz finds out her brother has been arrested. She he be questioned by a Radkiril, their enemies will learn what Sully truly is, and nothing could be worse for them right now.

I didn’t like Del right from the start, and I was right not to like him. Just when you want a good guy to help, the bad comes along with dark intentions, and that pissed me off. Yes, the story needed him, but I think I’d have liked to see this come about in a different fashion. I’m glad that we got to see more of Philip Guthrie – we needed more between him, Chaz and Sully. Finally, you really understand where Philip and Chaz stand with each other, and while is makes the reader sad that their relationship turned the way it had, it’s understandable, and not unlike those in higher social standing that we’re used to reading.

And now, the ending. Oh, was I mad! With all the action, you’re adrenaline pumps up as you’re following the story. You want so badly that Sully wins against Del, that Chaz and Philip manage to help him, but I felt let down. Sure, Del is beaten, but the price that Chaz and Sully pay is over the top, leaving several questions unanswered; questions that need answers. We understand how it happens and why (from earlier explanations about cultures, customs and such), but it wasn’t fair for that to happen. And what was between Sully and Chaz will never be the same. Then I’m told that there will be a Book #3, Hope’s Folly, but after reading the description, the book is about Philip, not Chaz and Sully. Please, Ms. Sinclair, we need more on Chaz and Sully. It’s not just because I like them very much, but to leave them hanging like that, as well as the reader, isn’t fair.

Rating:

Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair (‘Gabriel’s Ghost’ series Book #1)

Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages - Publisher: Bantam (October 25, 2005) - Language: English - ISBN-10: 0553587978 - ISBN-13: 978-0553587975

 

Gabriel’s Ghost

by Linnea Sinclair

‘Gabriel’s Ghost’ series Book #1

This RITA Award-winning novel of romance and adventure tells the electrifying tale of an intrepid pilot who falls from grace – and the otherworldly rogue who is all too ready to catch her.

Captain Chasidah Bergren, a onetime pride of the interstellar Sixth Fleet, is framed for a crime and exiled to a prison planet from which no one escapes – until a seductive ghost from her past shows up to rescue her. Gabriel Sullivan, alpha mercenary and scoundrel, is supposed to be dead. Now he offers her a ticket to freedom – for a price. Someone in the Empire is breeding uncontrollable killing machines, and Gabriel needs Chaz’s hellp before hundreds of innocents die. Their own lives are on the line – but the long-held attraction that heats up betweent hem may be the riskiest part of all…

Review: Incredible Sci-Fi that’ll take you for a ride!

Stripped of her post as Captain for the interstellar Sixth Fleet after being convicted of a crime she didn’t commit, Chasidah “Chaz’ Bergren is sent to Moabar prison planet, with only her Grizni dagger to protect and defend herself.

Just when she defends herself and kills a Taka, she comes face-to-face with Gabriel “Sully” Ross Sullivan, the legendary mercenary and scoundrel, whom she’d met several times before. Chaz is sure Sully loved the chases then. But meeting up with him now is a surprise, considering he’s supposed to be dead. Mind you, the dead man still looks as good as he did then.

Sully has a proposal for Chaz; in return for her help and services for his mission, he’ll get her off of Moabar and help clear her name.

She accepts and wonders if she’ll regret it.

Racing from one station to the next, Chaz learns that someone is breeding “jukors”; uncontrollable monsters. However, Sully has learned of a new gen-lab breeding these monsters, and using Takan females as incubators. Sully is determined to put a stop to it.

The question is: who can they trust? Who’s behind the gen-labs? How high up the chain of command does it go? For recent reports gleamed by inside informants say the lab is on Marker, where the Empire is based.

And all the while trying to determine answers to those questions, Chaz is falling for Sully more and more, even when she refuses to be on that “long list of confused women” that Sully is purported to have left behind in his wake. And despite not wanting to be on that “long list”, Chaz is falling in love with him.

But Sully isn’t everything he plays himself to be. Sully is an Empath, a Telephath, and then Chaz finds out he’s something more. Can she push past those barriers she was taught to put up against someone, something like Sully, or will her decision be lead by her heart?

Oh, did I so enjoy this story!

At first, I worried. I’m not usually one who likes a story narrated in first-person. While I sometimes have a hard time reading stories told that way, this in no way hampered this book. In fact, I think the story being told by Chaz herself adds to the book – I can’t see it as a third-person story.

The action starts immediately and pretty much doesn’t let up, no matter which kind of action, defending one’s self and others or heating up the sheets. As the story grows, so do the characters, coming full circle from start to finish, and is more than satisfying to this reader. Add in mystery with amazing characters, primary and secondary, and you have the makings of an amazing book.

Chaz is a strong woman, more than capable in defending herself, and like Sully, believes the gen-labs needs to be stopped, is willing to do what is necessary to see them stopped. She knows she’d been framed, doesn’t want to believe that someone close to her helped put her there, but she needs to get to the bottom of it, even if she doesn’t like the truth.

Sully is Alpha through and through; strong, brave, forceful, incorrigible, and protects those he loves and cares about with a fierceness that will steal a reader’s breath. But Sully also hurts more than most, for he hides a deep, dark secret, one that he knows very few will accept. Only one person truly knows what he is, and he’s hoping Chaz will be the second, for he truly loves her deeply, and to be rejected by her would surely put an end to the Sully we grow to love.

Incredible from start to finish, the story will suck you in and leave you with a sigh of contentment when finished. I can’t wait to get my hands on Shades of Dark, book #2 in this series. Awesome job, Ms. Sinclair!

Rating:

Suite 606 (anthology) by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, Mary Kay McComas

Paperback: 352 pages - Publisher: Berkley (November 4, 2008) - Language: English - ISBN-10: 0425224449 - ISBN-13: 978-0425224441

Suite 606 (anthology)

by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan and Mary Kay McComas

FOUR NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORS UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF DESIRE…

J.D. ROBB plunges Lieutenant Eve Dallas into the violent aftermath of a ritualistic murder – and into the mind of an alleged witness who can’t remember a thing to save his life.

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Love endures for MARY BLAYNEY, who investigates the connection between a ghost, a magic coin, and a deliberate deception that has kept two lovers apart for years.

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RUTH RYAN LANGAN brings a lost man out of a pounding storm and into the arms of a welcoming woman for a breathtaking twist of fate.

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And MARY KAY McCOMAS follows a mother and son lost in the threads of history and an impaired wizard who must return them to their own world to fullfill his own destiny – in time.

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15-Nov-08 to 17-Nov-08

Review: A great anthology!

Ritual in Death by J.D. Robb ~ While attending a fancy party, Eve and Roarke are thrown into another mystery when a stranger, naked and covered in blood head to toe, holding a knife in his hand, stumbles into the room from down the hall. But Jackson Pike doesn’t remember what happened, and the more he tries, the more the pain in his head becomes intolerable. Other witnesses are like Pike: unable to remember and too much pain. But that doesn’t stop the team from bringing down the murderers.

Another incredible story in the series, even if it is shorter than usual. I really like how Eve follows her instincts, and no matter the argument between her and Roarke, they still manage to come to the same conclusion. What I liked in this one was how Eve was forced, once again, to think outside the conventional box. Excellent mystery and decisive detective work along with colourful, believable and incredible characters make for one hell of a story.

Love Endures by Mary Blayney ~ A man is robbed and murdered after winning a large some at betting. Grieving, his widow and daughter take off for the country for a few months, only to return to find his ghost is haunting his room, and the one way he can leave, at least by way of Heaven, he needs to right his past wrongs. But can trusts and broken hearts be mended?

Oh, you bet! I loved how this story came about. I truly adored Summer’s ‘I’ll be damned – come hell or high water’ attitude when she finds the ghost of her husband talking to her daughter. She’s known that he’s lied, even worse with the dire enough situations he’s left her in. Having lied to even his own brother, now he won’t trust Summer either. But the worst was finding out that he lied to both, Summer, and his best friend, Lord Stephen Bradley. Summer and Stephen had fallen in love right before her wedding to Reggie, but he wanted the money their marriage could bring him, and lied to them both. To him, it was a bet and nothing more – he liked to win. I was truly glad that, although they butted heads, Summer and Stephen finally found the truth and sent Reggie on his way.

Cold Case by Ruth Ryan Langan ~ When his partner is shot and killed by a bullet meant for him, Sam Hunter quits the force and decides to revisit a small a town in Vermont where he spent a long-ago college semester. But it seems his hotel room was given to someone else and he’s forced out into a storm, in search of a bed & breakfast he remembered. A flash of something looking like a woman forces him to slam on his brakes and straight into a ditch. Slightly wounded, he gets out of the car in search of the woman he saw when he stumbles onto a house named Storm Hill. He’s invited in by Mary Catherine McGivern and her younger sister, Anna. While her stepfather has allowed him to stay until the storm passes, he becomes more and more agitated – seems that their mother, his wife, had supposedly run off with a hired hand, and he’s refused to keep a stranger in his house for long since then. But unexpectedly, Sam and Mary Catherine fall in love, with a sad, and happy, ending?

I have to say it even if it hurts me to: I wasn’t impressed with this one. And I have never, ever, said that about a Ruth Langan story in my life! While I really felt Sam and his pain, I felt nothing for Mary Catherine or her sister. None, nada, zip, zilch. I didn’t feel them falling in love whatsoever, and the ending infuriated me. Why she would push him out of the way of a blow meant for him, ending her own life, the same as his partner did, had me upset and angry in disbelief. To give a man who endured so much a second blow was enough to make me livid. And while he learns the truth about their mother and what Hoag has done, not once now but twice, he’s thrown out into the ice storm by Hoag who intends for him to disappear and die in it. But then Sam comes to, a woman helps him out of the car, onto a snowmobile and into the bed and breakfast, Storm Hill. It seems that Kate is related to the family who has owned the land for centuries. Seems Anna had managed to escape Hoag, and once Hoag died, the land was returned to the McGiverns. But then we’re left with speculation as to what Sam is going to do next. Seems that Kate is just as beautiful as Mary Catherine. But I got the willies when it’s suggested that he may fall in love with Kate and stay – when shortly before, he had been in love with her great-great-aunt. Only one word came to mind with that: Ewe! Sorry, Ms. Langan, but I just didn’t feel it this time, and that almost makes me want to cry! I’ve never disliked any of your stories, but this one just didn’t cut it for me.

Wayward Wizard by Mary Kay McComas ~ On an unsupervised visit with her son, Marie Barnett takes her son Hugh to a baseball exhibit at a museum. Once done there, they vist another exhibit when lightening from a storm raging outside plays havoc with the lights and security system. Hugh touches, fiddles with one of the exhibits and disappears. Having seen what he son had done, Marie does the same, and ends up where he is, several centuries before their time, in the home of Nester Baraka of Viator, a wizard who supposedly can displace time with the help of two stone, Petroleon and Sellithos. But Sellithos had been stolen from him long ago. He wants to get it back, and he’s hoping he can jump with them through time and find it, returning them to their rightful place. Meanwhile, Marie and Hugh grow closer, his anger at his mother slowly ebbing. And Marie and Nester seem to be falling in love, dispite how badly they fight it, for he needs to return to his time, while she must stay in hers.

Oh, I loved this story! We hear the explanation from Marie about why her son is angry with her. Now only do we feel that anger towards her as well, but we feel a great deal of empathy for Marie as well. For Marie has gone to hell and back, not once, but twice. An accident that causes her to lose her unborn baby, an addiction to prescription meds, rehab, a relapse, and a longer time in rehab. While her now ex-husband is understanding enough to help her with rehab the second time around, her son is resentful, for Marie was supposed to get better the first time around and come back for him. But this time, she’s kicked her habit and has promised herself and her son that she’ll never go back to who she was. But it’s taking more time than she’d like. It was great to see them jumping to different time periods, the details are spectacular. And I loved watching Nester become aquainted with they way we speak, our phrases and sayings. Watching the banter back and forth between the three is excellent. 

What I thought was great: how Nester, Marie and Hugh are tied into all four stories. We get a glimpse of them in the first three, and it’s fun watching them pop up into the stories while McComas is telling hers. I got a kick out of that. Ladies, I hope you collaborate again – this was fun!

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Shifter (anthology) by Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day, Virginia Kantra

  Shifter  by Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day and Virginia Kantra

Anthology

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages – Publisher: Berkley (March 4, 2008 ) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0425220354 – ISBN-13: 978-0425220351

Back of the Book reads:

In this seductive anthology, four masters of paranormal romance explore the boundaries of erotic shape-shifting fantasy – and shatter them.

Something happens when the beast within is teased and tempted. Something dangerous. Something inescapable. Something so irresistible no woman would want to run from it.

Whether transforming beneath a cool blue moon, prowling the night streets with feline grace and bloodred talons, or panting with pleasure, the shifters come alive to fulfill your wildest fantasies…

Shifter at Amazon.com

Shifter at Chapters.ca

Shifter at Amazon.ca

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30-Oct-08 to 31-Oct-08

Review: Will keep you XXXtra hot on a cold, dark night!

Four awesome novellas from awesome authors!

~ Mad Dog Love by Angela Knight ~

Princess Zarifa Lorezo is on the run, afraid for her life, afraid and knowing that her fiance and her uncle would do anything to keep her in their grasp, to rule the empire she will inherit. In disguise, she’s looking for a bodyguard to keep her alive so that she can bring very important information to her half-brother, the rightful ruler of the Empire.

Enter Rance “Mad Dog” Conlan, a Freeworlds werewolf, has been betrayed, the traitor seeing fit that he become a slave. The collar that the slaver, Casus, had put around his neck has reprogrammed his nanobot system, and is now able to inflict pain on Rance whenever he sees fit. Casus has found a potential ‘buyer’… Zarifa.

Rance discovers who Zarifa really is and isn’t happy, but she intrigues him. She’s not at all like she’s portrayed to be in video clips he’s seen. Convinced she’d been controlled, he’s vowed to keep her alive until she can turn the reins over to her brother.

**No matter if Knight is writing a novel or novella, she certainly knows how to grap and hold a reader’s attention.  The hero and heroine seem real enough for the reader to wish this was happening in real life. Quickly, Zarifa and Rance learn to trust each other, despite the shaky circumstances. With a twist in the plot near the end, Knight brings another great story to a close with a happy ending.

~ A Jaguar’s Kiss by Lora Leigh ~

Natalie Ricci is a human no-nonsense woman who stands up for herself and fights for what she wants. She desperately wanted the teaching position to the Breeds in Buffalo Gap, but what she wasn’t counting on was this fierce wanting she feels for Saban Broussard.

Saban Broussard, of the Breed Enforcer and a Jaguar, has wanted Natalie since before he approached her to relay the good news. He is to be her bodyguard, close to her at all times. He recognized her instantly as his mate and tries desperately to court her like a human male would.

But her ex-husband doesn’t like the idea. He wants a woman who he can control, to see to his every whim, and he wants Natalie to be that woman, no matter what she wants. He plans to kidnap her with the help of the Council doctors, scientists who are looking to capture a member of a mated pair to study and dissect them, for mated pairs age considerably slowly, and the Council wants the secret.

**I liked Natalie right away. A divorced, no-nonsense teacher who fights back and stands up for herself. And I truly felt for Saban; the Jaguar tried so hard to court Natalie, easing her into what he’s feeling, all the while trying to protect a very stubborn woman. And while Mike, Natalie’s ex-husband, tries to prove that she’s being held against her will, Saban is trying to convince her to stay away from him. He feels the danger, even if she doesn’t believe that Mike would truly hurt her. However, she’s wrong. Slipping away from Saban for one final confrontation with Mike, she realizes too late that Saban was right and fears she’ll never be able to explain or apologize. Meanwhile, Saban feels betrayed, believing that Natalie wants to return to Mike after she continuously defended him. Lora Leigh knows how to write gripping characters, awesome love scenes and action scenes, all the while focusing on the characters, their feelings. I have a feeling I’ll be picking up more Lora Leigh really, really soon!

~ Shifter’s Lady by Alyssa Day ~

Ethan, alpha male of the were-panthers is having trouble; seems someone is killing the endangered panthers in his territory. A prideful man, he’ll do anything to put a stop to it. Lady Marie, First Maiden of the Nereids in Atlantis, travels through a portal to this world to visit her brother Bastien and his lady, Kat. She’s never left Atlantis in 4 centuries, and the promise of her first vacation is exciting to her.

While Marie has had lovers, nothing has prepared her for Ethan. Irresistible, startingly so, he sends her senses swimming, and he is more than happy to use it as his advantage. For with his first glimpse of her, of her smile, the bottom dropped out of his world, and he wants her all to himself.

While Ethan has promised to protect Marie through the danger surrounding his territory and the animals in it, they grow closer and closer. Marie has never met a male who wants her so desperately as Ethan does.

**At the beginning of the story, it seemed to me like I was missing something. Okay, so it’s part of the series, and I got the feeling that I should have known the characters. But other than that, I enjoyed it. The plot was good, action scenes superb, fighting well done. Love scenes are hot as well, LOL! I liked how Ethan tried to rein in his feelings, to be the perfect gentleman for Marie. That inner fight with himself drew Marie to him even more. Excellent!

~ Sea Crossing by Virginia Kantra ~

Emma March was betrayed and hurt. She was convinced that he loved her, that he would marry her. Alas, it wasn’t what he had in mind. Removed from her teaching post, she left, deciding to board a ship to Canada and in lieu of payment, she is to go into service. During the crossing, the storm sinks the ship and Emma comes close to drowning after falling overboard.

Surprised she isn’t dead, she’s even more surprised to awaken in a soft bed, completely nude, on a remote but populated island. Griff, a quiet, handsome, caring man, pushes past her moral to capture her heart. But he’s holding a secret from her … they all are.

They are Selkie, people who can shape-shift into seals. The island is shared by them all, and the little ones need a teacher. Griff convinces her she doesn’t not need to make her way to Canada, when she can do what she loves to do right there, on the island. But will Emma understand their world?

She does, and falls in love with the patient, caring Griff. While fighting with her morals, her heart still heavy after being used, Griff shows her what it means to love. I thought Emma was sweet and strong, a woman who tries to do the right thing, even after being led astray. She doesn’t see herself as worthy now that she’s been used. But Griff teaches her that it doesn’t matter; to the Selkie, what happened to her is not her fault, and they don’t believe in the same morals as her. He loves her, and that should be enough. It was great to watch Emma fight an inner struggle until she can no longer fight it. Griff, to me, was a man any woman would want in a husband; patient, kind, caring, handsome. The entire romance was perfect.

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