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.
Flung back in time, Adrienne de Simon got thrust into medieval Scotland from modern day Seattle.
A captive twice over in a century foreign to her, Adrienne became faced with the challenge of dealing with the Scottish laird they called ‘Hawk.’
Described as irresistible, seductive and passionate – Adrienne swore to keep him as far from her as possible.
But how possible, is the impossible, when she’s been forced to marry him via a thick plot to destroy him.
Brought to the sixteenth century by the mighty Black Fae himself, of the mythical Tuatha Dé Danaan race, Adam Black, Adrienne is determined not only to go back to her own time, but to swear off men…that’s how she got into the mess to begin with; she swore off men.
Sounds easy enough? Well no.
While, Beyond the Highland Mist is filled with alluring mysticism, betrayal, mystery and action, it bleeds hyper-masculine eroticisms that are anything but enchanting from the very beginning.
From Adam, to the Fae Queen, Aoibheal, and even Adrienne’s keen sense of humor, nothing quite makes up for Hawk’s soft-abuse of Adrienne that is supposed to be sexy.
Like his name, Hawk, decides to train Adrienne to make her love him, in his eyes, he’s bringing out her love of him. Hawk blind folds her, strips her naked and leaves her in a dark bedroom for unaccounted periods of time. He talks to her as if she is one of his falcons that he’s training to be obedient.
While, Adrienne never suffers physical abuse from Hawk, the mental tauntings are not only freakishly haunting, but disturbing:
She stopped screaming only when her voice gave out.
Stupid, she told herself. What did that accomplish? Not a thing. You’re trussed up like a chicken about to be plucked and now you can’t even peep a protest.
“Just take the hood off, Hawk,” she begged in a gravelly whisper. “Please?”
“Rule number nine. My name from this moment forward is Sidneach. Sidneach, not Hawk. When you use it, you will be rewarded. When you don’t, I’ll permit no quarter.”
No woman in her right mind would choose willingly to stay with a man who treats her that way. Especially, if said woman, has been previously abused by men, has sworn them off and is supposed to be a feisty chick from the 21st century.
It makes no sense.
While, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of this introduction into the world of Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series, its opening title falls short of hooking.
The novel’s only true saving grace is the literary universe created and expanded upon by Moning; it is what will have you coming back for more…time and time again.
Miranda’s Big Mistake is a contemporary romance set in London. Our lead female, Miranda, goes through a series of what turn out to be unfortunate relationships all while “the one” sits quietly on the sidelines attempting to be supportive.
Our supporting female, Bev, is a very interesting character as well with entirely different standards, wishes, and dreams for her perfect man. Miranda leads a fairly average life as a junior hairstylists in a fancy salon and rents a room with a fantastic “old bird” of a woman, Florence.
We follow Miranda, Bev, Flo and a few other characters through a complicated web of relationships. But, by the end everyone ends up with the right man and it is a happily ever after.
I loved the style of narration and Jill Mansell’s attention to certain details. I never felt lost or bored. I enjoyed reading the book immensely. It was rather long at 450+ pages but I didn’t notice at all.
As with other romance novels, I can’t forget to inform you that this is not a smutty sexually erotic story. It’s about her life and the situations she finds herself in. Lots of situational humor, tragedy, and foresight that you wish the characters could see. Mansell does a wonderful job of keeping me reading the book.
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!
Frederica is a stylish and witty Regency novel by Georgette Heyer.
The novel centers around a young girl named Frederica who brings her younger sister and the rest of their siblings to London. She is determined to secure a fabulous marriage for her astoundingly beautiful, cherub-faced sister named Charis.
If you are looking for a Jane Austen fix, and are not interested in reading any ‘remakes’ or pseudo-Austen novels, you want to read Frederica.
But be warned, like Austen, Heyer enlists the use of old English to convey the feel of her stories. So prepare yourself with the mindset of Regency dialogue.
Enlisting the help of her cousin, the Marquis of Alverstoke, Frederica embarks on a journey quite distant from the one she initially imagined.
Refreshing, lovely, smart and straight forward, Frederica more than makes a lasting impression on the dashing Marquis.
Quote from chapter 1:
But Alverstoke’s besetting sin was a tendency to become rapidly bored. It had vanquished his sisters; for although neither of them could suppose, reviewing the numerous dazzling barques of frailty who had lived under his protection, that he was impervious to feminine charms, neither was so muttonheaded as to indulge optimism very far when he seemed to be developing a tendre for some diamond of birth, beauty, and fortune, thrust under his nose by one or other of his sisters. He was perfectly capable of making the lady the object of his gallantry for a few weeks, and then of veering off at a tangent, forgetting her very existence.
Agreeing to launch Charis and Frederica into London’s high society, Lord Alverstoke who is normally cautious of his family, finds himself entertained and entranced.
Some of the best scenes in the novel are the interactions between Lord Alverstoke and his two overbearing sisters: two overbearing, shallow women whose sole purpose in life is to manipulate others, especially him, in order to get what they want.
The novel is humorous, light-hearted and smut-free.
It’s really that type of novel, ideally read, on a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea and a scone on the side.
While, Frederica is not Pride and Prejudice, it is a nice, comfortable way to get your Austen-fix.
I give props to Holly’s Inbox for being constructed using a very unique style of writing; however as a read the whole going through email thing… well there’s a lot of narrative I missed. I wanted more when I had less. That last statement is kind of cryptic so I’ll explain a bit further. It would sometimes take 3-6 days before a new email showed up to share the background behind something that was mentioned.
You really feel like an outsider, because Holly clearly knows what all is being said and what it refers to but as a voyeur to her story, I felt pretty clueless at times. I wish that as a reader I was enlightened sooner. Overall I must say I was not a fan of reading through email.
The romance part was sketchy at best because they weren’t writing romantic love letters to each other. No poetic prose for me to sigh over. Instead of wildly romantic notes it was just the barest, the most vague of details. As a reader, we only know what she tells the other secretary in email so a lot was not very clear it bothered me…
The story came together eventually and it’s definitely a Happily Ever After. It was nice, but the email format not so much. That sentiment is probably redundant at this point, but clearly the formatting wasn’t for me. I hear there’s a book that’s all done with instant messaging style, ttfn (Internet Girls), and I certainly won’t go looking for that. The idea of that is just excruciating.
Grace Eversleigh has a problem. She is in love with a highwayman and a Duke. Neither is marriage material since socially the highwayman with beneath her and the Duke is well above her. The fact that they are both the same man does not help her situation at all.
Grace is a woman from a good but undistinguished family who was thrown out her home after her parent’s death. Her only possessions are her self-respect and good name. Never one to miss a good opportunity, the dowager Duchess of Wyndham hired Grace as a companion. Late one night while returning home from a local dance in the dowager’s elegant coach, she and Grace are held at gunpoint and robbed by a masked but charming highwayman. The dowager insists that she knows his voice and is convinced that he is her grandson. She gives him the ring off her finger as proof. The next morning the Dowager, accompanied by several servants, kidnap the highwayman for the purpose of returning the dukedom to him. Never mind that there is a current Duke of Wyndham who has been fulfilling these duties well for many years.
The ring is familiar to Jack Audley. He has one just like it left to him by his father who drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Ireland. His mother survived the same shipwreck, but only lived long enough to give birth to him. Having been raised with love and laughter by his maternal aunt and uncle, Jack was told only that his father was from a good English family.
The underlying theme of this book is about being worthy…worthy of position and love. For some readers today, this may seem a little farfetched. After all, today we believe that an individual should go after what they want. But in England, during the early 19th century, this was not the case. Duty to one’s family and county were foremost, as well as, knowing one’s place. This social structure was supported by the prevailing religious belief that God did not intend for man to be happy. It will take tremendous courage for Jack and Grace to take a chance on their personal happiness.
Julia Quinn’s first novel about the Cavendish family is a winner, told with humor and wit. This is a ‘feel good’ novel where all the characters, including the dowager, are sympathetic and their motivations are clear. The story moves along smoothly with a tightly constructed plot. It is a great book to read in summer on a sunny beach or wrapped in a blanket on a cold winter’s day.
Four Stars
Originally posted 2009-01-12 05:25:18. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Dean Robillard, quarterback of the Chicago Stars, is trying to get his head straight after recovering from a serious game injury. Driving into a small Colorado town in his Aston Martin Vanquish wearing his Dolce Gabbana boots and his gorgeous killer smile, he spots a woman inhabited beaver suit with a large flapping tail, walking down the road. The beaver has no head; the woman has a very cute and dainty one. So begins book number seven in the Chicago Stars series and although it mentions characters from earlier in the series, it serves well as a stand-alone book.
As it turns out, the beaver is Blue Bailey who has been supporting herself with odd jobs and sketching portraits since dropping out of art school. She has large ‘grape lollipop’ eyes and fragile features along with a bad haircut and clothes from Wal-Mart. She is stranded in Colorado after coming to join her lover, Monty. Monty did not tell her he had acquired a younger, bustier girlfriend. He has also taken all but eighteen dollars of her cash. Blue’s bank account has also been cleaned out and her car is broken. There is a confrontation between Monty and Blue and Blue is thrown out of her rooming house for lack of funds. For the entertainment value alone, Dean offers her a ride out of town.
The journey they eventually embark on is different than they expect. On the way to love, they both have to confront the mutual abandonment issues that have been long ignored. Parental neglect, drug and substance abuse, abandonment, insecurity, anger and resentment are treated with sensitivity and humor. This book is very funny with a smooth, fast moving engaging plot and snappy dialog. Unfortunately, Phillips’ deft writing breaks down at the conclusion, which seems cliché and sloppy. Otherwise Natural Born Charmer would give any work by Nora Roberts or LaVyrle Spencer a run for their money.
The Traitor’s Wife is very much a crossroads between genres book. There are a ton of romantic elements, but on the whole I would not label this strictly as a romance. It’s very long and often difficult to read because everybody’s name is one of six names. This can’t be helped because it’s historically accurate. Like how everybody is named Jason and Brittany everybody was named Edward and Isabella etc. This book is very well researched with only a few things fibbed. On the whole it is a very convoluted story, but one if you can get into one you will enjoy. The following includes lots of spoilers:
It’s about King Edward the Second, his lifetime mostly with some overlap of his father and his son. His cousin, Eleanor, is his heroine. She marries Hugh, who is under her rank. It is supposedly a good match. They’re 12 and have many kids. During her marriage to Hugh she ends up being one of Queen Isabella’s ladies in waiting.
The king and Eleanor’s husband become very good friends (as in a sexual relationship). When it reaches the Queen’s ear she takes it out on Eleanor. The king and Hugh petty much run the country. During this time good things happen to Eleanor’s family and bad things happen to everyone else not her family. There are lots of traitors, rebellions, and beheadings. Then Hugh and the king and the other’s die as traitors…
Mortimer, the guy leading the rebellion, somehow managed to start a sexual affair with Isabella. The queen loves him and gives him whatever he wants and he manipulates her. She thinks it’s love but it is not. Edward’s son the new king, but Isabella and Mortimer are acting regents. They run everything and at first Edward the Third doesn’t care. Eventually he does care and there’s another uprising and in it they kill Mortimer.
Meanwhile now that Hugh is dead Eleanor falls in love and gets married to someone else… After Edward the Third is on the throne some random guy tries to claim Eleanor as his own and files a petition with the king for her to be his wife. Apparently, they had sex five years ago when she was drunk and he comes forward because in the new regime all her lands have come back to her. That makes her very very rich… and explains his sudden interest.
As you can see lots of things are going on in Traitor’s Wife, you’ll be kept on your toes.
The great thing about a series is that the writer has the freedom to explore themes and develop characters in greater detail than in a single average sized novel. This is true of Lora Leigh’s ‘Tempting Seals Series’. Durango Team, of the Navy Seals, is working for Homeland Security trying to shut down a drug cartel and capture a mysterious terrorist. Each novel in the series follows the members of Durango Team as they meet and fall in love with their soul mates. Of course, love never runs smooth. Killer Secrets is the third novel in the series.
Ian Fuentes is the illegitimate son of Diego Fuentes, the leader of a very successful drug cartel. He is also a sadist and murderer. Ian hates him and has vowed to kill him for not protecting him as a child and for kidnapping and torturing a fellow Seal, Nathan. He is working, alone and undercover posing as traitor to the U.S., in his father’s drug cartel. In return his father has agreed to help him trap and kill the terrorist known only as Sorrell.
Kira Porter is an independent undercover operative for DHS known as the Chameleon. Her disguises are so good than no one has ever recognized her as the very wealthy socialite and niece of a very powerful Washington politician. She and Ian have crossed paths on occasion and he always recognizes her by the way her body moves and the shape of her ears. They have long ignored the attraction they feel for one another since the job always comes first.
This time they meet in Aruba at a weapons deal gone wrong. Kira has infiltrated a terrorist group with ties to Sorrell and has accompanied them to what is supposed to be a weapons deal. Unknown to her, the real objective is to kill Ian. In the mist of the action she recognizes Ian and quickly changes sides, helping him turn the tables on the terrorist group. Afterward, instead of disappearing, she rents a villa under her real identity with the intent of joining Ian’s operation. DHS has agreed and asked that she keep Ian from killing his father or Sorrell since both are wanted for the information they can provide. Ian is an admitted chauvinist and does not want a woman in his operation, especially Kira.
The themes of betrayal, trust, fear of intimacy and commitment unfold in a highly erotic, sexual arena. Leigh’s dialog is bold and her bedroom scenes leave nothing to the imagination. Romantic Times BOOKreviews is quoted on the cover as saying, “Leigh’s books can scorch the ink off the page.” This is certainly true. This book is HOT, HOT, HOT!
Four Stars
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Originally posted 2008-09-04 05:35:04. Republished by Old Post Promoter
This is a book I really enjoyed. Chantal Thibaudet is a princess, but leading an unhappy life. Her marriage was loveless (and included physical abuse, so be warned) but she is now widowed with a four year old daughter. Her in-laws are power hungry, including a pre-nup that basically holds her daughter captive while forbidding her to remarry. The world sees her as glamorous, which she is, and doesn’t see the negatives.
But life is about to change. Returning home by airplane in very rough turbulence she is befriended by Demetrius Mantheakis, who has been hired, unbeknownst to her, to be her bodyguard because her life has been threatened. The plane goes down; they begin an affair; she finds out he was hired — and her life is in danger.
How are they going to protect her from a crazy person — who might even be one of the inlaws?
He takes her to his private island where the villagers are completely loyal to him, and he is able to ensure her safety until they get a better handle on the enemy.
How is she going to keep her love for Demetrius, who also loves her, without losing her daughter in light of the pre-nup.
All’s well that ends well. Love finds a way.
I rate it 3.5 stars.
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Originally posted 2008-09-01 05:16:42. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Anthony Hamilton had always been scandalous. Even his parentage was questionable though his mother’s husband accepted him as his son. Anthony had been thrown out of school several times for gambling although he did finish Oxford in record time. His debts are sometimes rumored to be very high and at other times he seems flush with cash. He keeps company with married women and it is rumored that he also talks them out of their funds. Anthony Hamilton is scandalous; too scandalous for marriageable young ladies. One evening at a ball he sees Celia Reece, the sister of an old school friend, trying to discourage an ardent admirer. He steps in to help. Suddenly he realizes that Celia, who is eight years younger, is no longer the child that used to follow Anthony and her brother, begging to join in their summer pastimes. Her beauty stuns him. The more that he watches her and remembers how much he always enjoyed her company, the more that he thinks that maybe this is a woman he could marry. Given his reputation, he does not think that her family would accept him, but after several weeks he finally gets up the nerve to ask for her hand. Unfortunately…. Celia marries someone else.
A Rake’s Guide to Seduction has a straightforward plot with almost all of the action centered on Celia and Anthony, but the unique approach and Linden’s fluid writing style sweeps the reader away into another time and place and presents us with a timeless romance. The main antagonist is doubt. Anthony and Celia doubt their own judgment, and must struggle to trust their own hearts. This wonderfully presented story makes for very enjoyable reading.
Four Stars
Originally posted 2008-12-29 05:33:01. Republished by Old Post Promoter
This one had a few twists and turns I didn’t see coming, and it was more believable. The background of the leading characters unfolds throughout the book, and some of it you don’t find out until mid-point.
Samantha van Bergen is in a disastrous marriage, mothering a step-daughter that she dearly loves. This little girl is bright and precocious, and knows more than anyone realizes she does. Her mother died, and Samantha had been her nanny.
The book begins with a bang. Samantha’s husband, Johann, is a compulsive gambler, who has gambled away a family fortune. He loses it all to Cristiano. And come to find out, he has tossed in Samantha to sweeten the pot, but only after he offers his daughter first (nice guy, right?!) but Cristiano rejects this.
Of course, Cristiano has fallen in love with Samantha at first sight. He knows that the little girl will come with her stepmother.
The question is why is he going to this trouble? And what other unfoldments might we find along the way that unlock the puzzle?
Sam takes Gabriella and goes to England from Monte Carlo. When she is there, we learn more about her early life. She is definitely worthy of the best.
Lucky for her, Cristiano agrees with this. He wants to settle a fortune on her in a pre-nup, but she isn’t interested in his money. They marry without a pre-nup, and when a divorce seems imminent, he wants her to use an attorney to guarantee her rights.
Instead, she decides to fight her fears, and she is successful.
She is a plucky heroine and you root for her when she comes out on top. There’s very little fighting or whining; there is a strong, wealthy and scarred hero.
It is always a treat to read one of Madeline Hunter’s books. They are very well written with compelling plots and historical subplots as well as wonderful characters. Secrets of Surrender is the third book in the Rothwell Series about a family that is declining socially.
Roselyn Longworth has come down almost as far as possible. Her respectable family has been impoverished for sometime but after her parents’ death, her brothers became bankers. Adding to her distress, her older brother has been killed as a freedom fighter in Greece her younger brother fled to Paris, after his embezzlement of bank funds was discovered, absconding with roughly 100,000 pounds (about $10,000,000 today). Her cousin’s husband, Lord Hayden, has tried to repay all those affected but there is still a great deal of resentment, most notably from Lord Norbury. Unaware of his connection with her brother, Roselyn has agreed to be Lord Norbury’s mistress thinking that he cared for her, but his attentions are anything but romantic.
In the opening scene we find her at a house party hosted by Lord Norbury. This is not a respectable affair. The only attendees from society are men, the women they are escorting are not their wives or mistresses but common prostitutes. She tells Lord Norbury that she will not continue with this affair, but he is unwilling to let her go and indicates that he will hold her by force.
Kyle Bradwell is a local boy who has risen up in the world thanks to the patronage of Lord Norbury’s father. He is an architect and arrives thinking to discuss some business with Lord Norbury. When he discovers that there is a house party in progress, he intends to leave as soon as his business is competed. Lord Norbury invites him to stay long enough to have dinner with the rest of the guests whom Kyle has not yet met.
Entering the dinning room Kyle is offended by the company, but he is dazzled by a beautiful, graceful woman across the room and soon realizes that she is here with Lord Norbury. During dinner Lord Norbury rises and addresses the company. He tells his guests that Roselyn no longer chooses to be his mistress and that he is glad to be rid of her because she is so cold and unskilled, although he does list some favorable and intimate physical attributes. He wants to be compensated for the money he has spent on her so far and he offers to auction her to the highest bidder. Kyle is horrified by these proceedings and realizes, when looking over the men that are bidding, that Roselyn is in grave danger. They are not nice men regardless of their standing in society. The bidding starts at 50 pounds and proceeds with several gentlemen in the running. Kyle wastes no time and bids 950 pounds. The room is silenced and Kyle leaves quickly with an ungrateful Roselyn who is unaware of his honorable motives.
What follows is a beautifully written story of two kindred spirits on the outskirts of society who find love, completeness, home, security and acceptance with each other. Adding depth and interest is an historical backdrop dealing with the English justice system during the Regency period and the inequities of justice for titled gentlemen vs. the common man and men vs. women.
4 Stars
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Originally posted 2008-08-12 05:42:06. Republished by Old Post Promoter
The Marriage Game by Fern Michaels is a light summer read.
I figured by the description it would have some humor, and it does.
Samantha Rainford returns from her honeymoon to find she has been served divorce papers. She is both shocked and heart broken. She is going to be paid off with a check for $5000. When she visits the attorney, she learns there are three other wives before her who have all been treated the same way. She determines that she will not get mad, she will get even. She enlists the aid of the other wives to extract their revenge.
Meantime, she and a girlfriend attend an FBI training school — seriously, how remotely possible is that! where they both flunk out. But they’ve learned a thing or two.
Then they are recruited for a secret ops camp deep in the mountains of NC. How Samantha gets the better of her recruiter is one of the funnier portions of the book. The only way the two of them will join is if the other wives come along too.
The cast of characters in the mountain includes the head trainer who is endangered by his past if he comes off the mountain (Pappy), and the cook (who turns out to be his father), a dog that is part wolf (Alpha), and the other teams that are being trained.
This section of the book is interesting as the characters are developed. The better part of a year is spent on the mountain. Samantha passes with flying colors, but Pappy doesn’t want her to have the life that he has had. He is in love with her, though she doesn’t know it. And he doesn’t know she was ever Mrs. Rainford.
How she and the other women — they find he has a number of other ex-wives that they find out about, and that might not be all, who are also included in this — exact their revenge is a cute part of the story. And how it interweaves with Pappy’s story is believable.
I give it a 3.
I’ve never read any of her books before, but judging from this, I will see if I enjoy the others as much.
With all that FBI and special agent secret op going on The Marriage Game sounds like a cross with Miss Congeniality. What do you think?
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Originally posted 2008-08-11 05:26:24. Republished by Old Post Promoter
and 
in the sense that the author takes multiple facets of mythology and history combining them to make her own margarita concoction.
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.
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.
.
, it is a nice, comfortable way to get your Austen-fix.
and smile.
for being constructed using a very unique style of writing; however as a read the whole going through email thing… well there’s a lot of narrative I missed. I wanted more when I had less. That last statement is kind of cryptic so I’ll explain a bit further. It would sometimes take 3-6 days before a new email showed up to share the background behind something that was mentioned. 
, and I certainly won’t go looking for that. The idea of that is just excruciating. 
is very much a crossroads between genres book. There are a ton of romantic elements, but on the whole I would not label this strictly as a romance. It’s very long and often difficult to read because everybody’s name is one of six names. This can’t be helped because it’s historically accurate. Like how everybody is named Jason and Brittany everybody was named Edward and Isabella etc. This book is very well researched with only a few things fibbed. On the whole it is a very convoluted story, but one if you can get into one you will enjoy. The following includes lots of spoilers:
