Entries Tagged '2.5 Stars' ↓
March 14th, 2010 — 2.5 Stars, Blind, Book Review, Business, Category, Children, Contemporary, Divorced, G-I, Housekeeper/Maid, Marriage of Convenience, Older Woman/Younger Man, Secretary, Tycoon, United States of America, Virgin Heroine
Philomena Peabody made a promise to her mother. She took care of her three younger sisters and when the last one got married, her youth had slipped away. Now at 27, Phil has a lot of thinking to do.
Penn Wilderman is in a custody battle with his ex-wife for Robbie, their adopted son, his nephew. In the midst of all this he’s recovering from snow blindness. (Hurray for an original blindness idea!) When he hears Phil for the first time he thinks she sounds like someone’s mother.
This makes him think she’s much older than him. She’s actually about 10 to 12 years younger (something that gets confused later when he asks his family servant what people would think of him marrying her.) Phil tries to correct him a few times, especially when he calls her “sweet little old lady.” Every time though, he always cuts in and ignores her protests.
Penn convinces Phil first to move into his mansion to help him watch over Robbie, then later to a marriage of convenience in order to help him win at the custody hearing. The plan however nearly backfires on him… because it wasn’t for Robbie’s sake Penn wanted Phil. It was for his own.
It was pretty insulting at the end when he sees her (for the second time, because he couldn’t place her the first time) and tells her he thought he was going crazy imagining himself in love with an old woman. Talk about double standards.
The writing is pretty confusing in parts and some things aren’t as well explained as they could be. Which is too bad because another category romance of hers I really really like and doesn’t have this problem.
The ending resolution could have been dragged out a little. Phil was clever when she ran – she went to work first and deleted her employment history so he couldn’t track her down. He was clever and got to her quickly. Phil begs his forgiveness when he shows up and it’s all HEA in two seconds.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: If Love Be Blind
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December 26th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, Australia/New Zealand, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Cooking, Great Britain, Housekeeper/Maid, J-L, Secret Baby, Travel, Tycoon
When Cristo Verón, owner of a vastly successful private plane company, heard that his soon to be brother-in-law might have gotten some maid pregnant in Australia, he hops on the soonest flight out to check the woman and her claim out. He expects to find a pretty face and not much else, instead he finds that Isabelle Brown. She is not what he expects and pretty soon Cristo is determined to have this little housekeeper as his mistress. Will he figure out he wants her all to himself or will he lose the only thing money can’t buy?
Magnate’s Make Believe Mistress is a quick read. There were some inconsistencies that I wondered about as I read. For instance, why did he check out the woman’s claim instead of the potential father? Why not hire a detective to sniff her out? It is an interesting spin on the "secret-baby" plot though, so I give Bronwyn Jameson credit for that.
I was there was more meat to this romance. I kept waiting for something big to happen. There really wasn’t a whole lot of conflict to the story once the hero figured out the heroine wasn’t pregnant, but her sister. No angsty blow-up that either party had to overcome. I was expecting Cristo to fume like most romance novels heroes, but he didn’t. It would have been refreshing if it didn’t seem so odd considering his character.
The story was decent, but not something I’d reread again.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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December 18th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, A-C, ARC, Business, Contemporary, Enemies, Erotica, Foster/Orphan, Gambling, Travel, United States of America
There are quite a few things I admire about this romance. The first is that the characters are dramatically different than most any I have read—especially the hero.
Betting with Lucifer reminded me strongly of LaVyrle Spencer’s Morning Glory not because the setting or plot was the same but because both leads were powerless characters. Now looking at their positions in their careers you wouldn’t expect it but both the hero and heroine are deeply flawed individuals.
The heroine, Lyndsay (Linny, Lynds) Eden is the Director of Marketing at her late mother’s hotel (not to say the mother owned it, but worked at it too). Her goal is to be promoted to General Manager in the same time frame her mother did. How she figured on doing this, is hard to say. Lyndsay is an extremely timid person. It terrifies her to small talk and glad-hand. Thus Lyndsay works herself very hard and pushes herself more to man up; to get in front of people to do her job.
The hero, Lucifer (Luke) Pierse, was technically an orphan growing up. His surviving parent was an alcoholic who never saw him. He on the surface is everything Lyndsay is not. On her business-communications marketing team, Luke unnerves her without trying. His outgoing, wise-cracking, good old boy, routine works well in Luke’s favor on most days but really hides a second nature of himself. Sometimes he is even aware at how he secretly sabotages everything he does.
The two have a very rocky road to travel to find their HEA, especially when Luke is promoted to Director of Public Relations, a stepping stone Lyndsay was hoping to claim for herself.
That said while I enjoyed the risk Tracy took in writing these leads, they just didn't do it for me. I did not really like Luke as a hero and there were times when all I wanted to do was shake some sense into Lyndsay.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Available at Ellora's Cave. Click: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-7571-betting-with-lucifer.aspx
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December 14th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Dukes and Earls, France, Great Britain, Heiress, Racing, Science, Sports, Travel, Victorian, Virgin Heroine
There is a lot going on in this story and it all wraps up neatly but it makes you wonder how on earth Victoria Alexander managed to cram it all in. There are four couples, 2 older and 2 younger, that are navigating their way through love. One is between the hero and heroine, one is between the younger sister of the heroine and the hero’s partner, one is the heroine’s parents (her mother is involved in a love triangle between the father and an old flame), and the last is the old flame and the hero’s widowed mother. It was general craziness all around. I would have been happier with a more condensed romance and less with all the shenanigans.
Quite a few good lines are scattered throughout the pages and the hero's mother's tests for the heroine were pretty good if a little batty. I was disconnected for most of the second half of the novel from the events as they all came to a head. It took me a few days to read through it. The last 30-50 pages was devoted to a weak misunderstanding between the hero and heroine. Where the story should have resolved in drama on a high note with the fire, Alexander continued it far out past it’s expiration date until it dwindled into nothingness as the story exhausted itself.
Cecily White, Cece to friends and family, believes a man should work to make his money not simply marry into wealth. She despises fortune hunters, and no fortune hunter more so than the Earl of Graystone who broke her friend’s heart. Tricking him into falling in love with her and then breaking his heart should be easy and was a perfect excuse to escape a normal life of marriage and kids into one of adventure and freelance writing.
Jared Grayson is a wonderful diversion. Cece meets him and the penniless automobile inventor sweeps her away with his enthusiasm. Changing her plans to follow the unexpected patterings of her heart, Cece follows him to France where he dumps her by the Eiffel Tower. Little does she know that Jared Grayon is really the Earl of Graystone and that when he left her in Paris to return to his search for an heiress that he was leaving his heart in her hands.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: The Princess & the Pea
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November 29th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, A-C, Artist, Book Review, Category, France, Friends, Gentry, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, Spinster, Travel, Virgin Heroine
This was one of those books where I had to slug my way through it. I don’t know why I had to slug but I did. I started and stopped this three times and finally finished it. Woohoo. I feel very accomplished.
One of the parts about this book that bothers me is that it’s first cousin romance. I’m not sure why this had to be the case. They grew up for the most part away from each other – so could they not have been childhood friends or perfect strangers? I suppose it is historically accurate as first cousin marriages took place among royalty of the time so why not the gentry, but it was more than a bit off putting.
Elinor is a dowdy bluestocking spinster. She acts as her mother’s secretary and artist as a way to escape the endless parade of pointless ballroom attendance. On a trip in France to study religious houses Elinor runs into Theo Ravenhurst. At first she doesn’t recognize him as her cousin, but pretty quickly that is sorted out.
As the two fight attraction, Theo is on a mission to recover an artifact that he purchased from a late Duke in the area. Theo manages to get himself, Elinor, and her mother invited to the new Duke’s chateau and conducts midnight searches. A near brush with death and subsequent flight throw the two into a night of wild passion but of course everything between them is so screwed up they only hear the words the other is saying not the meaning.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: The Disgraceful Mr. Ravenhurst
Buy eHarlequin: The Disgraceful Mr. Ravenhurst
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November 28th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, A-C, Australia/New Zealand, Book Review, Crime and Protection, Erotica, Estranged, Kidnapping, Mystery, Paranormal, Rape/Abuse, Supernatural, Survival, Travel, Vampire, Werewolf
The second book in the Riley Jenson series is a continuance of the first. It’s very important to read Full Moon Rising before starting this one because they are extremely tied in and you will be left confused if you don’t.
The urban futuristic world is expanded and more players are introduced. The plot thickens as Misha reveals clues to who is really behind everything. We find out more about the limbs of the organization while the head tries to save itself. The head is a mystery and is not resolved in Kissing Sin.
Keri Arthur is very good at staging fights, which is a good thing as there are a ton of them! The last stand off at the end is extremely creepy as in horror movie creepy. I’d give more details but I’m trying not to spoil anyone.
The things that bothered me in the last novel are back only this time without the excuse of a full moon inciting the werewolf lusties. Again it’s not the amount of sex in the novel, it is who the sex is with and how Riley reflects on her sexuality. Two new guys enter her sex circle: We meet Kade Williams, the horse-shifter (not a lycanthrope – his shifting is not tied to the moon) and Kellen an alpha male werewolf Riley can feel is important to her future. I didn’t mind Kade or Kellen or Quinn, who’s back in this book.
I did mind Riley sleeping with the enemy for information sake. In addition it read very bad when Riley grumbled mentally that she didn't like being forced to fuck a guy (which if she becomes a Guardian is a sure thing) even though she's positive the sex will be good. I guess what’s good for the gander isn’t sauce for the goose in my case. It’s sexy on James Bond and not so much with her. I also minded the raping of Riley which happened again in flashbacks as she’s trying to recall the week that’s missing. She doesn’t really deal with it and it’s excused because sex is practically nothing to a werewolf.
Quinn is back in part because he wants to solve the mystery and in part because he can’t leave Riley alone. She invades his dreams. The two go back and forth and Riley gives him an ultimatum: accept her sexcapades as a part of her werewolf charm or get the hell out of her life. Quinn agrees to a compromise of exclusivity when he’s in town, but makes it very clear he’s possessive and territorial when it comes to her.
I find I am Quinn in this series. I can’t accept Riley’s blasé attitude toward sex. It must be the human in me as Keri Arthur repeatedly says in the books it’s the werewolf way of life and it’s the problem of the humans, who are too prudish and morally uptight to really understand. And I don’t! I don’t understand walking into a club and having sex in public on the dance floor. I don’t understand going to a party with a guy you had sex with on the way there and then slipping off to fuck another guy – even if he’s a werewolf hottie you slept with the night before. It’s seedy and tacky.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: Kissing Sin (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 2)
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September 29th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, ARC, Guest Reviews, Jane Austen, Regency, V-Z
by Isabel G., guest reviewer
The main character, Mary Bennet, is not the most interesting person and the story was slow to develop. With that said, I am not sure this book would have mass appeal. The author does not reveal if she chooses to marry until the last fifty pages. What kept me reading, was how well the author managed to capture that time period. A person can find themselves lost in another era while reading this book. I had a real sense of what it was like for women living in that period. The characters seemed to be very careful as to how they behaved, and what they said to one another; in order to maintain propriety.
Mary Bennet feels the pressures of society, as her mother tries to prepare her to take a husband. She’s an honest woman with good morals and a strong faith in God. She’s searching for an opportunity to live without the need of marrying. This, of course, does not sit well with her mother! As time passes, Mary begins to see the happiness her sister Elizabeth has with her husband, and it changes her negative image of marriage. Although she has no interest in the idea of getting married, she begins to feel she may have no choice. Mary is willing to sacrifice her future to help another sister named Lydia.
It was enjoyable to read how loving her family was with Mary. All, except her mother, were very supportive of her wishes. Mary is also very fortunate to make a good acquaintance who offers her a job and a place where she can live on her own. Despite her wishes not to marry, a suitor approaches her and she’s forced to make a decision; that could alter her life forever. It is also interesting to see how Mary changes throughout the story. It is through Mary’s observations of how others live their daily lives and interact with one another that she begins to grow as a person and becomes less introverted.
If you enjoy historical novels, this is the book for you.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: A Match for Mary Bennet
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN 978-1-4022-2011-1
Copyright 2009
Genre: Historical Romance
Page: 350 pages
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September 18th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, 3 Stars, Barons and Baronets, Book Review, Category, Children, Comedy of Manners, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Entrepreneur, Great Britain, Historical Romance, M-O, Mistaken Identity, United States of America, Victorian
I have to say I’m way impressed by Harlequin’s historical line. The covers on these romances are awesome and singularly stunning. Especially this one [WMSB]. I love how the heroine’s head is tilted back; it’s provocative and slightly defiant. She looks like she is in the middle of a particularly sassy set down. He looks smug, confident, and ready to stop her tongue lashing with one of his own. His hair is a bit weird, but he makes up for it with great posture and his strong jaw.
See my cover below:
This Victorian novel takes place in England at the time when trains are being built and the at the beginning of the times when a man earns fame and respect by his deeds not by who his daddy was. Myles Moorcroft is a third generation nobleman, who started his career as a navvy (short for navigator) and worked his way up to being in charge of contracting new lines and building the rails for his father’s company. On an outing surveying the land for the straightest, easiest route from east to west, Myles has an encounter with Lucinda (Lucy) Vernley, an earl’s daughter.
Lucy is stunned speechless by this man. He has a body to jumpstart a corpse’s pulse. Unlike any man she met during her debut season in London, the navvy stirs her blood and her heart. However there is no way her father would ever let her marry a man like him. Her parents are pushing the heir of a viscount at her. Lucy finds Edward cold, but struggles to find something redeeming about him to latch onto in hopes it’ll be the starting point for love to grow between them. Rank and apparent wealth make Edward the ideal candidate, but is he? Will Lucy follow her heart or her father’s dictates?
It was tough going getting into the novel at first. On top of that I thought they fell in love with each other much to quickly, I didn’t see or feel it happen, but it did. Also there were several cliché plot devices one of which include near rape, getting lost in a blizzard, and attempted murder. Very chaste, no sex.
Rating: 2.5-3 Stars
Originally posted 2009-01-21 05:50:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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September 2nd, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, 3 Stars, ARC, Business, Friends, Gentry, Great Britain, J-L, Pregnant, Regency
Loving Mr. Darcy is the second novel in a trilogy by Sharon Lathan detailing the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy after their marriage vows. As such, I recommend reading the first novel Two Shall Become One before entering into this novel as it follows directly on its heels.
What I liked:
- Sharon really knows how to make Regency come alive. Her descriptions of people, places, and things suck you in and refuse to let you go.
- I loved her Georgiana, Mary Bennet, and Catherine de Bourgh. Their voices were perfect, and Catherine’s futile anger was fun to read.
- Darcy’s 23 gifts to Elizabeth for her birthday. I want a birthday like that.
- Pemberley Summer Festival. I'd spoil a little here but Sharon's done an excellent job teasing about clowns.
What I disliked:
- The over the top cutesy “Do you know how much I really, really, really love you?” dialogues Darcy and Elizabeth entered into at least once every chapter. It is extremely sickly sweet. I liked it in the first novel, but it was excessive in the sequel. Well at least for me anyways.
- If I had a dollar for how many times Darcy asked Elizabeth “Are you well?” or a similar variation of the phrase, I’d be a wealthy woman. Elizabeth’s pregnant, not an invalid! Trust me Darcy; you’ll know when she’s not doing well.
- There was no real direction for a good chunk of the story at the beginning of the novel. I wanted more conflict...
Like the first novel, this novel unfolds slowly taking it’s time to depict their daily lives. For those who've ever wondered how it would look, Lathan's trilogy is definitely something you want to pick up and devour. In this second novel, Elizabeth is pregnant and recovering from her episode in the last book which has the direct result in making Darcy crazy overprotective and hovering.
In the end I think this was the right novel, but wrong time for me to read it as Lathan's writing is very much a leisure read to be done while relaxing in a bubble bath for hours not while getting small patches of time here and there.
Rating: 2.5-3 Stars
Buy: Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley
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August 29th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, 3 Stars, ARC, Cross-Dressing Female, Dukes and Earls, Estranged, Friends, Gentry, Great Britain, Heiress, Ireland, J-L, Runaway, Scarred Hero, Soldier, Stuart, Survival, Virgin Heroine, Warrior, Wartime
Jamie Sinclair is a chameleon hero. He switches loyalties, sides, and professions to suit his needs. He once worked for Charles II. Now he works for his brother James II. Jamie is not enamored with his mercenary life. He does what he does to earn the monies needed to keep his impoverish and indebted estates and their people going.
So when he comes from a raiding party back to the camp and finds the men out to torture the young lad he faced momentarily on the battlefield, Jamie is reluctant to let them do it. When it turns out that the lad is a she, he’s determined to ensure her safety. The men are angry at the loss of their plaything and won’t easily let Jamie take her. The only way salvage the situation is to marry her.
Catherine Drummond is a quasi female laird. She should be in charge of her people, but her cousin rules the roost. Wounded from battle, she does not recognize what the priest is doing on the field. Her only thoughts are of escape or to take out as many of them as possible before her death.
I was really enjoying this Stuart period romance until about page three hundred. There was so much going on that it's hard to summarize. Friendship is a very important part for the hero and heroine's road to love and happiness. I began to loose interest with all the running around, side switching, and back and forth going on between the hero and heroine. The novel takes place over the course of two (and more) years with a lot of down time between meetings. In the end it was too much for me when all I really wanted was for both of them to act on their mutual love and lust for each other. I'm sorry to say that I ended up skimming the rest of the novel to find out what happened.
Rating: 2.5-3 Stars
Buy: Highland Rebel
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August 10th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, 3 Stars, Book Review, Gentry, Great Britain, Jane Austen, P-R, Regency, Virgin Heroine, Working with Land
I love the title of this book. It rolls off the tongue because of the alliteration and reminds me of Sense & Sensibility
by Jane Austen.
This Austen variation however is not about the lovely Misses Dashwoods, it is about Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.
As is the tradition of Reynold’s Pemberley Variations, Impulse and Initiative is seeded from one major difference between Austen’s original and this new telling. For Impulse and Initiative this difference is Mr. Darcy and his decision not to take Elizabeth’s rejection lying down.
He reveals early to Charles Bingley his mistakes regarding Jane Bennet and together they head off to Hertfordshire to win back the affections of their respective Misses Bennets. As is expected, Charles lands immediately back into the good graces of the Bennet family.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth battles her feelings throughout Darcy’s renewed and more obvious courtship. She constantly wavers between falling in love with him and worrying that she’s allowing his attentions for all the wrong reasons: gratitude, pleasure in being desired, and the vanity of winning such a man do not make for a good relationship (to which I agree with completely).
I confess her constant waffling during the first half of the novel grated on my nerves. Abigail Reynolds carefully brings the two together ensuring its relative believability, though I and my grinding teeth would have preferred one or two or ten different tactics throughout the course of the telling.
Truly I must be a glutton for agony because frankly I missed the pain of their separation and surety that both were lost to the other. It was another something that I&I lacked in my opinion. Of course they argued and had mini ‘Big Misunderstandings’ and fretted about and over each but it wasn’t the same.
I end with saying that I closed the book fairly satisfied despite my misgivings and that I&I filled my Jane Austen craving.
Rating: 2.5-3 Stars
Buy: Impulse & Initiative
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July 10th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, 3 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Contemporary, Erotica, Firefighter, Friends, Rape/Abuse, United States of America, Widow or Widower
Grace on Fire grabbed me in the first sentence:
“Grace Muscat’s totally frigid. I’d be scared my dick would freeze off if I put it in that
icebox of hers.”
Firefighter Don Marshall, the man of Grace’s dreams, just compared her vagina to a freezer in the middle of a bar to his friends unsuspecting of her presence. Ouch! That’s quite a blunder for a hero! I immediately wanted to see if Elle Amery could save him from a fate worse than death…
In order to beat Don Marshall in the game of love Grace turns to Wyatt Bennett, the brother of one of her best friends for sex lessons. He would help her overcome her fear of men and erase all the abuse her husband Duane heaped on her (which is extensive) before he died.
Wyatt Bennett has loved Grace for 10 years, ever since he kissed her when she was fourteen. It’s been two years since she was widowed… if he waits any longer for her to heal, he just might end up losing her again. But when she asks for sex lessons in order to be a good bed partner for the likes of Don Marshall, Wyatt sees red. Eventually he decides to help her out in hopes of making her fall in love with him.
Despite the darker undertones to the story, Grace on Fire is a good read. Not as much sex in it as you would think based on the concept, though there is plenty. There was one instance of the dreaded lathed instead of laved as Smart Bitches has discussed in full. It’s interesting how it ends and took me
Grace on Fire is the second of a trilogy by Elle Amery. You do not need to read them in order, but you appreciate characters and their relationships to each other better by doing so. If I’m right, the trilogy matches three brother/sister pairs which also equals two sets of three best friends (6 people in total).
Sophie Huntsman with Jake Muscat in Saving Sophie.
Grace Muscat with Wyatt Bennett in Grace on Fire.
(My guess…) Tally Bennett with Brett Huntsman in Tally’s Gift.
Rating: 2.5-3 Stars
Buy: Grace on Fire
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June 17th, 2009 — 2 Stars, 2.5 Stars, A-C, Acting, Book Review, Contemporary, Erotica, Executive, Flaws, Friends, United States of America
This was a very sweet storyline, but there are some flaws. Amery writes a light humorous story. She's dead funny on BOBs and teenage girl crushes.
Jake is a former Broadway star. He's one of New York's up-and-coming directors. Legions of fan girls inspired that career sidestep, allowing Jake to enjoy the theater but without the scary mob. This weekend, he's back home participating in a egad... bachelor auction all for his best friend's little sister.
When Jake spies his high school ex waving her paddle, he knows he's doomed. A beautiful blond in the back is his only chance. By only chance, I mean, the only option he finds acceptable. Mouthing the words, "Help me," at her, Jake is relieved when she enters the bid war.
Sophie feels her blood shimmer at those words. She can hardly believe it, Jake was her high school crush, getting him to help out at the event was a feat but this... this could be the coup of a lifetime. Now if she could get him to break that no relationship rule...
Overall, I felt it could use more polish as there were several parts where I felt I was observing far above the scene instead of being a part of the scene. Does that make sense? Kind of like watching yourself dream, a bit out of body, not quite grounded in the tale. I wanted more sticky in the writing, something that would grab me and hold me in the moment.
Rating: 2-2.5 Stars
Buy Paperback: Saving Sophie
Buy Kindle: Saving Sophie
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May 11th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, ARC, Children, Estranged, G-I, Guest Reviews, Heiress, Historical Romance, Kings, Princes, Sheiks, Chiefs, Pregnant, Queen or Princess, Widow or Widower
By: Zarabeth, guest reviewer
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.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: The Traitor's Wife
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April 22nd, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Contemporary, Enemies, Erotica, Mistress or Courtesan, Paranormal, Police, Politician, Survival, United States of America, Vampire
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 the ability 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.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: Blood & Sex, Volume 1: Michael
Buy Audio Version.
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