Starting out in 1499, the novel tells the tale of Grimm aka Gavrael McIllioch, the son of a powerful Highland laird and best friend to Hawk, from Beyond the Highland Mist.
Upon finding his mother dead, assuming at the hands of his father, he flees to become one of the most sought after, intelligent and highly capable warriors of his time. However, nothing is ever peaches and daises in a Moning novel, as Grimm carries a deep secret; a secret so important in keeping that he doesn’t quite understand its depth himself.
Loving Grimm since she was a little girl is Jillian St. Clair. Cornered into choosing a husband, preferably Grimm, by her scheming parents, she refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer, no matter how many times Grimm shoos her away.
The beauty of this story, unlike the other six Highlander tales, it that this one solely takes place in the past. There is no time-traveling or shifting so to speak.
Moning finally touches the paranormal side of things, by mixing things up with a Norse legend about a mythical man, an unbeatable beast, with inconceivable power to destroy and rage; a Berserker.
Known to shape shift and become larger, with icy blue eyes and immaculate senses, a Berserker is said to be unstoppable.
The entire first half of the book touches on Grimm’s history, Jillian’s history and their history together. It also illustrates why Grimm doesn’t want to love Jillian, as well as, why Jillian feels the need to stay close to Grimm.
It’s not until the second half of the novel, does the actual adventure start, the mysteries are unwrapped and the impossible becomes rather possible.
To Tame a Highland Warrior is definitely full of surprises; what you think you know about the story may not be the outcome. This is one of the few books in the seven-part series that isn’t predictable and that idea is very refreshing.
Weaving through history and the timeless tale of girl loves boy, boy loves girl but won’t admit it – Moning redeemed herself after the freakish, unhealthy love from Beyond the Highland Mist.
This is really a great read, but only perfect for extended and uninterrupted periods of time because of its nature. I don’t recommend doing what I did and reading it in little spurts whenever you can. Make the time to sit down and enjoy it, it will really keep you on your toes.
Hello ladies, I know we all obsess over Mr. Darcy but what do guys think of that? I was trying to explain myself to a friend of mine and we got into a debate, where admittedly I was losing (at least from his standpoint). What can I say? I was not on the debate team in high school. In the end, I thought his impression of Darcy was really interesting and I asked him to share his view point with us here in hopes some of you could counter his argument. Heated arguments and debates welcome… no flames, please!
The Darcy Syndrome (AKA – you women are nuts)
So, I was asked to supply a man’s take on romance to this website. Here it goes, you women are crazy. Not all of you, just the ones who actually look for guys like this, and you let this be your idea of what romance should be. Well, that’s like me looking at an airbrushed playboy centerfold and expecting women to be D cups and enjoy football – it’s not going to happen. Mr. Darcy doesn’t exist, that’s right Virginia, there’s also no Santa Claus.
The way I’ve had it explained to me, is a “Darcy”, is that guy who’s emotionally closed off, snobbish, and generally a prick. But he “changes” or reveals his “true self” (one second while I wait for my contemptuous snicker to subside), due to the love of a good woman. This is why we know Jane Austin and not Steve Austin wrote this book, guys like that don’t exist. If a guy comes of like a prick, he’s a prick. You think you’re going to be good for him? Help him? Reveal that better man? There’s no man underneath ladies, there isn’t even an underneath, and we have no hidden layers, we simply are who we are. The crazy thing is, many of the girls I know who are like this get turned off by a guy who is just simply nice, and not an asshat. They’d rather change a guy into that, than just pick that guy.
Now it’s gotten so bad that you’ve made paranormal romance the next evolution the Darcy. You have to invent imaginary creatures just to cobble together a man that meets your unrealistic expectations – vampires with souls? Vegetarian vampires? What’s next? Werewolves with French accents, Armani suits, and are ever so gentle?
Well, as a reformed “nice guy” a.k.a. the doormat you always complain about your Darcys to, I’ll step up and say it – men don’t suck. They don’t suck for the same reason I’m not talking about all women, it’s you – you unmitigated bundles of confusion, your decision making skills concerning men suck. And if you think that’s bad, imagine the guys who have to put up with this garbage. You know what this psychosis is going to do to the few good men out there? It’s going to turn them into me.
Just think about that.
The place confusion ends, the unabridged truth, what you should know about men but won’t ask.
As a fan of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight, this was just darn near hysterical. Thanks SBTB for posting it first! I’m reposting it because well, nobody should miss it!
What would happen if Buffy Summers met Edward Cullen instead of Bella Swan?
I was surprised by how good the editing of this spoof film was… weren’t you? Wow! I wonder if they’ll do it again when New Moon is made available.
My Forbidden Desire starts with Harsh (from the first novel) and Alexandrine reconnecting. They are brother and sister. Alexandrine has been certain of Harsh’s death for years, she’s resentful for his sudden presence and insistence she needs protection from an evil mage… who just happens to be her real father.
Xia, a secondary character in My Wicked Enemy, is a newly freed fiend and the one charged with protecting Alexandrine. When Carolyn said she had refashioned bad boy Xia into a hero I knew I had to read his story! His intense hate, eagerness to kill, and desire to give out pain would be hard to overcome for any writer. Even more so when you planned to pair him up with someone who Xia considers his enemy, no matter how harmless. In my opinion, Carolyn has done a phenomenal job revealing the witch hater’s inner good qualities. Xia is very easily worth the price of the book.
Alexandrine Marit as a heroine is very likeable… despite being a witch. She possesses a great amount of unselfishness, though she has to work for it. The talisman she has found is putting a number on her similar to Golem’s reaction around the one ring in The Lord of the Rings. Her self-sacrifices pile up throughout the novel – if I were to list them it would seem ridiculous, but I assure it is not. Simply put it is quite the only way to prove her character to Xia.
It took me a while to get into this book. The first chapter or two was pretty rough. I started and stopped twice before finally overcoming the strangeness of the novel’s set up. As with Carolyn’s other novels, once you are involved in the story you simply can’t put it down!
So far as a romance novel goes, Lucy Burns has the very broad requirements and none of the nuances. It ends happy. There is a guy. She ends up with him. The romance was nonexistent as no emotions or depth came across when I read it. The story primarily focuses on Lucy Burns finding salvation.
As a heroine, I wasn’t particularly enchanted with her. I was unable to sympathize with Lucy past her little girl stage. She came across exactly as she thought of herself: shallow, empty, and not particularly kind or nice beyond the relationship with her neighbor, her neighbor’s child, and Luke Marshall.
I suppose Lucy redeemed herself in the end, but I didn’t really connect to those inner changes. She was obviously disenchanted with herself, her job working for the devil, and with people and life in general. There was no growth to her character.
Luke Marshall was vague as a hero. We learn he teaches creative writing at a university, is writing a manuscript based on his perception of Lucy Burns, and sings off key when drunk… oh and he’s blind, which means he can’t see the gorgeousness that is Lucy at all.
Things in the book that I didn’t like at all:
Lucy getting so wasted she urinated on herself in her hall closet during a Tupperware party. What romance novel could happen without that?
Her pretty blasé attitude over an innocent man accidentally going to hell by walking down into her basement. If there was regret, it was a twinge and nothing more.
Her blasé attitude over the coffee shop goth-girl (admittedly not the friendliest of people) finding herself going to hell by trying to escape the some unrobed KKK members by running down into the basement…
Reading the lyrics/song titles of Teddy Nightingale and random excerpts from Luke’s novel. One or the other happened in every chapter. It was overkill.
The backdrop of two movies duking it out in theaters that also appeared every other chapter or so. The movies were Adoring JC (Jesus Christ) and Absolutely Adolf: What were you thinking?
It’s been awhile since I’ve come across a series of books that I can honestly say I love, especially, from a genre that I do not commonly read. But that’s the beauty of Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series: it defies the ordinary and jumps head on into the extraordinary.
Set, in mostly, throughout the 1500s shifting in between modern times, the seven books center around seven incredible heroes. From twins Daegus and Drustan, to warriors Grimm, Circenn, Cian and Hawk, to the ‘abso-freakin-lutely’ stunning black fairy (fae) Adam, the series is full of intense story lines that cut across history, time and space.
Whether you enjoy fantasy, science-fiction, romance, fiction, action, adventure or mystery, there is a little bit of everything. Most book sellers classify the series as “Paranormal/Time-Travel Romance.” The series really reminds me of Stardust and Harry Potter in the sense that the author takes multiple facets of mythology and history combining them to make her own margarita concoction.
For example, Drustan is a Highlander, yes, but he also has the ability to shift through time, was possessed by the 13 Darkest Druid beings, and is a Druid himself. Sounds more like Joss Whedon’s Angel the more I think about it. Or take for example, Grimm, a Highland warrior with extraordinary powers who has the ability to turn into a Berserk, a raging human beast of exquisitely irreconcilable power bred to destroy.
As a series, the books are mind-blowing, but like everything else in life, there is good and bad. Individually, some of the books are far better than others. Hands-down the best book in the entire series is The Dark Highlander, the worst is Beyond the Highland Mist and the one that disappoints, for the direction it takes, is the The Immortal Highlander which brings back Adam Black (aka Puck aka “the Fool” aka The Black Fairy/Fae).
One of the most interesting characters brought to life is Aoibheal, the Queen of the Fae. She’s sexy, alluring, smart, wicked, spiteful, playful, yet, very firm in her beliefs and way of life. It’s through her and Adam that most of the issues throughout the seven books occur. Well, it’s through Adam most of the issues occur, it’s through Aoibheal that the problems are fixed. Together, these two characters add a stream of sensual humor that is unique and brands Karen Marie Moning’s style as an author.
Each Friday we will be featuring an in-depth review on each of the Highlander books and you can make sure not to miss a single one by keeping tabs on the tag for the author “Karen Marie Moning.”
But make no mistake, if you want an easy read, to keep you on your toes and encase your senses in the unbelievable and extremely wanting - this is the series for you!
In Over Her Head is the ultimate beach read. No, seriously, it is. You have talking fish, Mers (only humans would classify them by gender), sea monsters, underwater cities hidden by the Greek gods, heirs, thrones, adventure, a cache of diamonds… there’s so much going on in this book.
In so many ways this book is a retelling of Little Mermaid, though I prefer to think of it as the reverse of The Little Mermaid. The hero is a prince, but he’s also a Mer. It’s the heroine who is human and is afraid of the water. She is petrified to be in the ocean: sharks, sharks, mysterious voices, sharks, and well sharks. It’s a wonder she ever got certified to dive.
Both characters are driven by the urge to prove themselves. Erica has been labeled incompetent, useless, and a nutcase ever since the Incident. She’s been struggling to prove to her brothers, who’ve teased her mercilessly ever since, that she is capable and smart and well normal.
Reel, being the second son, is the Spare… as in the heir and the… all his life he’s been a part of the Mer world without any of its perks. As the second son he doesn’t have fins, he has legs. Sure he can breath underwater, speak to fish, but he’s never had respect. The most important race in his life and he was four minutes behind. He doesn’t have the power or the immortality the rest of them do and has been struggling for acceptance into a society that looks down on him. If only his father would get to know him instead of considering him the ultimate embarrassment.
It’s a fish of a tale, pun so intended–bad as it undoubtedly is. If you’re looking to kick up your fins and read a good kelp-turner… yeah, okay I’m done with the water jokes. Judi is much better at these than I am. Well, no I do have one more. Have you ever heard that joke about the Merman, the Kraken, and the Female Human?
Rating: 3 Stars
Classified interracial because of Mer/Human relationship.
Here’s the situation succinctly: Avon stuck its foot in its mouth.
Lynn S.: In our 2002 interview, you felt that the online world didn’t have much of an impact on sales. Much has changed in the intervening years, and more and more people - including more women - are online now and use reviews as a helpful guide to the buying process. Has Avon changed its thinking in this area? Avon, also, seems not to include many online reviews in books. Are there any plans to change that policy?
May Chen: In my opinion, the online world still doesn’t have much impact on sales as, anecdotally, I’ve seen books get horrible online reviews but have done well. As far as I know, we still don’t include online reviews on our books, but that can certainly change if we see them start making a difference. Right now, the best endorsements for us still seem to be from NYT bestselling authors and from major traditional print reviewers.
Lucia Macro: Do the consumers recognize the source of the quote? I’m not sure that the vast majority of readers recognize all the online sites. When checking their rankings I’m often surprised at how little traffic they really get. We are all very plugged in, but many casual readers are just picking up a book at their local Walmart and barely have time to watch tv, much less wrestle the computer away from their kids. So an author quote might carry more weight with them.
The whole thing as Jane notes is ironic and is summed up quite nicely by Amy of My Friend Amy in this Twitter message.
Pamela Jafee of Avon responds to the backlash with this comment on Lynn’s post. She responds to the accusations in another comment stating that the quotes are direct without editing.
Right below Pamela’s comment is one by Katie Mack linking to Jennifer Crusie’s thoughts about author quotes on books and if I had any confidence in them before it’s completely gone now.
What gets me most is that they assume because bloggers don’t have corporate search engine ranks that we don’t have power and additionally the assumption that was made about online versus offline. Before I started blogging, I did research online for books that I bought, yes I still made impulse buys, but I often gravitate toward books reviewed around the romance community. I don’t really put faith in newspaper ratings for books or movies because oftentimes the reviewer is somebody who clearly doesn’t share any similar tastes with me. They give it a 2 I give it a 4, they give it a 4, I’d never pick it up/go watch it even if you paid me.
As for the rankings… Alexa is complete bunk as most bloggers who blog about blogging say and they take it with a pinch of salt. Google Page Rank used to be highly sought after and now it’s kind of a “well that’s cool, I guess,” rank. Alexa confuses me, but I do know a bit about Google PR. It’s based on Log Base 10 mathematics. To jump one point you must be ten times more powerful than you were in terms of many things that are hard to quantify like: content relevancy, search relevancy, traffic, bounce rate, internal/external links, backlinks, etc. To jump two numbers you have to be hundred times more powerful; three numbers equals a thousand times more powerful, and so on.
Smart Bitches and Dear Author last I knew were both Google PR 5 (out of 10). Love Romance Passion is a 3 and I’m not quite a year old as a blog.
Think about that… that’s a load of people and community sharing to build those numbers. We might not have the numbers of a corporate giant, and we certainly don’t have the capital to push a book, but we’re innovative and the numbers we do have shows just how big the romance community is online.
Google doesn’t think we’re bottom of the food chain, Avon shouldn’t either.
If you haven’t already heard about it, Harlequin is celebrating 60 years this year! Seriously though, you couldn’t miss it with all the promotion from the news to their site to the 16 FREE ebooks! But there’s still more happening!
In just 10 short days you can go out and celebrate with Harlequin at their upcoming event at Openhouse Gallery in New York, New York. They are exhibiting cover art from 1949-2009.
Yes, I know I said earlier that the clinch covers drive most romance readers batty, they are also a lot of fun! Go with a few friends and see how many mullets and swooning females you can find.
Make it part of a day trip into the city for all those romance readers in the surrounding area. It is open to the public and FREE! (Good date idea!) I hear it’s really an amazing sight to behold so don’t miss it!
Below is all of the pertinent event information you will need:
Who: Harlequin What: Celebrating 60 Years of Cover Art When: May 30 - June 12, 2009 Where: Openhouse Gallery,
201 Mulberry Street, New York NY 10012 For more info: Harlequin Event at Openhouse Gallery
When you go, take pictures and send them into me at reviewromancenovel@yahoo.com so I can share them with other readers!
Do you like paranormal romance? Did you at one point enjoy Anita Blake? Well, My Wicked Enemy just pwned Anita Blake, but don’t take my word for it see for yourself! I read this in a day, I couldn’t put it down!
Our heroine is a terrified (rightly so) woman who experiences intense migraines. She’s seen something she shouldn’t (a ritual sacrifice) and it on the run from her guardian (the bad guy). Carson took nothing with her, and that includes her medicine, in hopes to escape. Being in a hurry might seem like a disadvantage now, with a pulsing multi-colored migraine rearing its ugly head and a man who’s stalking her through the streets, but it will in fact be a blessing in disguise.
Nikodemus is a warlord, a fiend with natural leadership, and he is the one stalking the pretty and petite Carson Philips through the streets. Killing her is on his to-do list, just below mage Magellan. He can’t believe how easy it is to track the witch. Her magic is fluctuating all over the place. One minute it’s there and the next it’s almost as if she were a human. When he corners her, Nikodemus asks just one question, “Why shouldn’t I kill you?”
The answer leads them through a dangerous adventure that spins out of control as they face mageheld fiends, evil mages, skitterish warlords, blood twins and more! The book starts out like it ends, by taking your breath away.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Marked interracial because the heroine is a witch and the hero is a fiend.
Today I am reviewing Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry. This is my first ARC (advance review copy; official book release is September 30, 2008) and I eagerly read the whole novel in two days! Knight’s Fork is just one novel in the futuristic set series about the Great Djinn race. Knight’s Fork contains all the right stuff from a stowaway princess to a knight’s quest and the threat of death licking at their heels. This book and series would be great for any lover of alien paranormal romance or paranormal romance in general.
Watch out for the ‘Dj’ names! There’s quite a few to remember and follow! The romance novel is filled to overflowing with political intrigue and the key players are trying to play everybody else all at the same time to get their way. The main characters have to watch out for who their enemies are and who their allies are.
Cherry titles her novels after chess moves, and yes the characters do play chess and the move in question is used several times throughout the novel. Knight’s Fork in particular is about a choice between two evils – you’re going to lose something and the decision becomes which loss is acceptable?
This choice is ‘Rhett’s, a Saurian Knight, and it is between power and a female. Saurian is another alien race, but don’t let this fool you about this white knight. Back to the point - how can power or a female be a bad choice whichever you choose? A grab for power will set other leaders in a tizzy and the female is another male’s mate that’s how!
The rival male is King of another alien race, the Volnoth, and taking Electra could start a war on par with the ancient Greek war over Helen of Troy. It’s too bad for ‘Rhett that he’s tempted by Electra and not by the power offered. Far more tempting is that she wants him… for his sperm. What’s a knight to do?
This novel and series isn’t for the fainthearted that likes their romances to be mild and sweet. Urban colloquialisms for sex and emissions abound, the Great Djinn even regularly swear by Carnality! However for those who crave the contemporary slang and straightforward nature to the approach of sex Knight’s Fork is deliciously racy and erotic. The whole novel revolves around sex!
You could compare Cherry’s novel to Laurell K. Hamilton’s Meredith Gentry series about fairies because the Princess Electra seeks to get pregnant just like Meredith does. Or you could compare the novel to the Twilight Saga with ‘Rhett being a virgin, sworn to a vow of chastity, similar to Edward’s chase behavior. Whatever parallels you draw, Cherry spins a great story.
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars
Originally posted 2008-09-11 05:56:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Victoria (Tori) reminds me of Anita Blake. Here’s why:
She’s known for always wearing a gun.
Not to mention she’s a police officer with connections to the vampire scene (not widely know to humans to exist).
She visits vampire clubs.
Tori brings her gun into the bathroom with her when she showers.
Tori even resists Michael like Anita resisted Jean-Claude at first.
Michael reminds me of Twilight vampires, because interestingly enough Tori smells to him as Bella does to Edward. He labels the smell of her to something akin to mimosas. Michael can also feel her feelings, like Jasper of Twilight, and project feelings onto her.
Vampire lore:
All have mind reading capabilities.
All are involved to some extent in the D/S scene.
All possess a type of thrall called: affascinare.
All have theability to project feelings/sensations called: trucchi.
All obey or follow the vampire code/law of Alleanza.
Humans can bond with vampires as equals and as slaves.
They can be warm/hot and have heartbeats.
They breathe.
They sleep?
The bad guys are particularly scary. They make the book very dark indeed. Think vampire Mafia with terribly nasty taste in sexual preferences (torture/slave).
Sex: D/S, voyeurism, good kinky fun
Overall it was a pretty enjoyable read but there were some problems in the story telling. For instance terms are not defined. As the first in the series they should have been. That’s not to say that quite a few can be derived from connotation but the nuances are lost. Additionally, while some of the Italian terminology is similar in format to the English translation, not all of them are.
A few inconsistencies and redundancies scattered the pages, ones that should have been picked up by an editor. They stuck out like a sore thumb in an otherwise seamless story. There is some great dialogue scattered throughout the book. One of my favorites was:
“I wish I believed you.”
“So do I.”
If you can get past the small annoyances it wasn’t half a bad read. The bad guy gets caught, the good guys triumph, the couple gets together, and you close the book happy.
Well we can easily define paranormal romance as subgenre of romance. But what is it really? Paranormal romance combines the supernatural world with that of the real, the natural, the plain. One lover is sure to be something special and the other lover is special because they are so plain; something is found in their ordinariness that strikes a cord with the extraordinary lover.
More than not these stories take place in America, especially when dealing with vampires, but it’s not a requirement for the genre. Paranormal romance usually blends mystery, thriller, or suspense as part and parcel of its tale. You could consider these novels to be more than a bit Gothic in theme. Anita Blake Vampire Hunter and the Twilight Saga are two such series that can be found within the category of paranormal romance.
Why do people like it so much?
The sales of paranormal romance have risen over the years. It is not uncommon to find several titles of paranormal fiction in romance aisles. Why is that? As I said when discussing Edward and Bella in the Twilight books, I believe it is because we are all craving that extraordinary romance.
As with time travel romances, paranormal romances that involve vampires have that glorious advantage of a love out of time. One person waits, separate from the time stream of the normal world with all its stresses and hectic schedules just for you. Waters run deep in the one that has been waiting, he (or she) knows just what it is like to live a small eternity in loneliness and now that you’ve been found, you won’t be let go. He (or she) will love you forever.
Besides vampires what fits into this category?
Magic users, lycanthropes (like werewolves), selkies, fairies, ghosts, superhuman capabilities (like flying), gods and goddesses, and angels and demons are all perfectly acceptable.
If you have more on the subject of paranormal romance feel free to add!
Originally posted 2008-07-01 08:32:53. Republished by Old Post Promoter
*This post does not deal with the medical condition; it deals with the literary condition.
The Little Mermaid Syndrome is the desire to be part of another’s world.
A fictional character under the influence of LMS would go any length to become like the one they desire. This coveting is usually driven by love. In other cases the driving emotion is obsession.
Conditions:
The ripest situations for the LMS are in Fantasy and Paranormal genres where partners are more likely to be unmatched. By unmatched I mean a plain/weak human and a beautiful/strong supernatural being.
In these cases it is usually the human who wants become like their partner. Rarer is for the magical being to desire to be become human or have the means to become human. Plainly put it is a simple fact the LMS goes only one way.
Why is this?
I think it is all part of the escapism fantasy. We tire of the normal and are looking beyond our world for something better be it vampires, werewolves, fairies, elves, or selkies. The idea goes that being connected to one or being one makes our world that much more exciting and ripe for adventure.
Human (normal) –> Vampire (supernatural)
Human (normal) –> Lycanthrope (supernatural)
Thumblina (normal, despite being supernaturally tiny) –> Fairy (supernatural)
The exception to the rule is the Little Mermaid.
Mermaid (supernatural) –> Human (normal)
This is because the human in this tale is clueless to the existence of the preternatural world. The mermaid must make herself known because their interaction would never happen otherwise as they do not exist in the same habitat. One lives on land and the other in water. It’s not like with vampires or werewolves which appear completely human and can intermingle in the same locations.
Witches and wizards are to my knowledge the only magical beings that could instill the LMS in their partner and do nothing about it. You’re either born with magic or you’re not. There’s no gray area.
What is Opposite Sex about? The following phrase captures the idea nicely: “It’s like Freaky Friday…with f*&!king!” It takes the fantasy one step further than What Women Want where you can hear what the opposite sex truly think and let’s you experience things from their perspective.
Do you believe body switching is viable? It’s an interesting idea. I picked this book because it explored the concept.
Monica Westwood narrated Opposite Sex smoothly and naturally. I had no trouble following when Taylor and Jasmine switched bodies… it was effortless to pay attention and keep up, which is always a good thing when it comes to audio presentation.
The preternatural events leading up to the body switching involve sex, wish verbalization, and a smidge of role playing. McQueen wrote it believably or as believable as it can be written. I wasn’t required to make a large leap of faith or stretch my imagination beyond the realms of all possibility.
I disliked the Zack/Jasmine friends to lovers theme. It’s personally not my cup of tea, but you like it then you will enjoy the ending tremendously. I would have preferred Taylor staying the hero instead of slowly losing ground as the hero throughout the novel. I’m of the mind if two strangers can create sex magic and literally jump bodies, that it has to be a once in a lifetime sort of deal and the reason it can occur is because they’re meant for each other. Soul mates in other words literally and figuratively.
If you shy from curse words, this is not the book for you.
Favorite scene: Jasmine as Taylor trying to pass off as the author at the (Sci-Fi?) convention. When it got time for her to join the panel on erotica in books it gets even better. I was laughing uproariously at her thoughts on the philosophy of sex in books.
Writing: 4 of 5 Stars
Personal Preference: 2 of 5 Stars
Narration: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Overall: 3 of 5 Stars
? 
. Her self-sacrifices pile up throughout the novel – if I were to list them it would seem ridiculous, but I assure it is not. Simply put it is quite the only way to prove her character to Xia.
and 
in the sense that the author takes multiple facets of mythology and history combining them to make her own margarita concoction.
which brings back Adam Black (aka Puck aka “the Fool” aka The Black Fairy/Fae).
One of the most interesting characters brought to life is Aoibheal, the Queen of the Fae. She’s sexy, alluring, smart, wicked, spiteful, playful, yet, very firm in her beliefs and way of life. It’s through her and Adam that most of the issues throughout the seven books occur. Well, it’s through Adam most of the issues occur, it’s through Aoibheal that the problems are fixed. Together, these two characters add a stream of sensual humor that is unique and brands Karen Marie Moning’s style as an author.
is the ultimate beach read. No, seriously, it is. You have talking fish, Mers (only humans would classify them by gender), sea monsters, underwater cities hidden by the Greek gods, heirs, thrones, adventure, a cache of diamonds… there’s so much going on in this book. 
. The hero is a prince, but he’s also a Mer. It’s the heroine who is human and is afraid of the water. She is petrified to be in the ocean: sharks, sharks, mysterious voices, sharks, and well sharks. It’s a wonder she ever got certified to dive.
Here’s the situation succinctly: Avon stuck its foot in its mouth.
If you haven’t already heard about it, Harlequin is celebrating 60 years this year! Seriously though, you couldn’t miss it with all the promotion from the news to their site to 
just pwned 
, but don’t take my word for it see for yourself! I read this in a day, I couldn’t put it down!
. Here’s why:
vampires, because interestingly enough Tori smells to him as Bella does to Edward. He labels the smell of her to something akin to mimosas. Michael can also feel her feelings, like Jasper of Twilight, and project feelings onto her.
…with f*&!king!” It takes the fantasy one step further than 
where you can hear what the opposite sex truly think and let’s you experience things from their perspective.
