Once upon a time, in a land far far away a beautiful girl by the name of Mariella decides to find herself a husband. Not just any husband mind you – but one that will be rich enough to provide her with a sense of freedom. She would love to wake up in the morning whenever she wanted to get up, spend the day pursuing whatever she felt like pursuing, and live a relatively carefree life that up to now she has not had. To find the husband she desires Mariella attends the balls set out for Prince Teodor’s wife hunt.

Never in all her wild imaginings did Mariella expect to find herself kissing the confused but eager Prince. She wasn’t looking to elevate herself in society to the point where wealth became an obligation – and with all the other girls vying for his attention she hadn’t expected him to gravitate toward her! What’s a girl to do when the devilishly good looking Prince proposes? By switching roles – I mean the rules – of course!

In the Glass Stiletto you will find what I think is light D/S. They play with ribbons and take turns being submissive (Teodor more so than Mariella.) Beyond that there aren’t any kinks that I think could possibly be offensive to anyone. There are a few words used in these scenes I would have switched out – surprisingly one of them is sexy; for the setting and the time period I felt seductive would have been more appropriate. Still, it’s hardly enough to nitpick.

I really, really, enjoyed listening the narration of the Glass Stiletto. It made all the difference. The acting in the bedroom was wonderful and a wicked thrill. Kenley knows how to tell a steamy tale that is for sure! If you’re listening in your car, the story may just fog your windows it’s so delightfully naughty.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Buy the audio here!

Originally posted 2009-04-06 05:33:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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For the most part I truly enjoyed reading Beast. It’s a twist on the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast and has a scarred hero who just happens to be a prince… a prince of nothing as it were because it was a French aristocratic title bestowed after the dissolution of the monarchy. The hero is extremely fond of perfumes and perfume ingredients. He’s a botanist, chemist, and a nose which is to say an expert at smelling things. He’s quite a vain creature who has worked very hard to be charming, well thought of, wealthy, and seen as handsome instead of grotesque. His manners are faultless, his skill as a lover unparalleled, and his person dressed and draped in the finest money can buy.

The heroine is a vain person as well, but hers is a beauty that was bestowed upon her from birth and not anything she ever had to work to achieve. In fact she sneers at anyone who comments upon her beauty. If only they could see the girl beneath whomever that girl may be… She doesn’t want to marry at all and she’s certainly not inclined to marry someone who is not as beautiful as she is because isn’t that something she deserved? Couldn’t the man she married be handsome as well as titled, wealthy, charming, and whole of body?

It was a good set up but about halfway through I thought wouldn’t it be great if the hero to put the heroine in her place. Of course it never happened. In fact the reverse did. Why though? Sadly, I believe it is how the initial key plot points unfolded. So despite the hero perpetrating the whole disaster and the heroine being the cause of the disaster, the hero was forced to grovel.

So what happened? Louise found out her husband wasn’t as magnificent as her parent’s said he was and she was determined to find a lover who could give her everything she was certain her new husband could not. Charles overheard and hatched a scheme to force her to see beyond his face and his original intentions were to reveal himself and make her the butt of the joke. Instead he fell in love and tried to unsuccessfully woo her as himself in daylight. She figures it out eventually because he slips up. He’s tried to tell her who he is/was but Louise is clueless and refuses to see the connection because that would just be too horrible!

So because Louise didn’t grow up and Charles did the only growing I’m going to have to give Beast 3 Stars instead of the 4 Stars I would have if the heroine had owned up all of her faults instead of just a few and try to make amends to her husband.

Buy: Beast

Originally posted 2009-04-08 05:27:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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This love story is one of the most endearing I have ever read. Lisa Kleypas spins a tale worthy of mystical magical world of fairy tales. Based on Russian superstition, a prince who is like the Beast in Beauty and the Beast meets the woman of his dreams and learns to love. The bedroom scenes are exciting and steamy. Prince of Dreams is a novel not to be missed.

Despite his wealth, Prince Nikolas did not lead a charmed life. Taught early on the abuses man could inflict, Nikolas is determined to avoid emotions at all costs. Tortured and exiled from Russia, Nikolas makes a new home in England where during his recovery he meets Emma Stokehurst. At the tender age of thirteen, Emma is the girl Nikolas is certain he will wed. She is his destiny.

Nikolas remains on the fringes of Emma’s life as she grows and now at the age of twenty, he is more certain than ever that she is the one for him. Emma is tall and lithe, her body he imagines will match his own to perfection. Her red hair, independence, and forthright attitude remind him of the women back in Russia. Though she has a large dowry, Emma is left alone and dismissed by the male of the species. Everything about her is unfashionable in the eyes of polite society.

When he discovers that a man is wooing her under false pretenses, Nikolas strikes swift and sure, cutting her secret beau out of her life with a single conversation. Everything is working according to his plan as Nikolas seduces and marries the bewitching Emma. Now with her by his side as his wife, he is positive that his life is going to turn for the better. He was wrong.

Emma’s gentle nature and guileless giving is more threatening than the memories of those that tortured him in Russia. She can cause more havoc with a single kiss than Nikolas is comfortable with. His life has been dedicated to suppressing his emotions and the feelings Emma brings out are threatening to destroy all that he’s worked for, so Nikolas does the most hateful thing he can think of… he sleeps with another woman.

But despite the wedge he’s driven between them, the bewildering flashes of déjà vu keep happening to him. Snippets of conversation leave him in a cold sweat and a painting once revealed causes him to faint dead away. When Nikolas awakes he is angry and confused. Destiny has taken him back in time to mother Russia, where he lives life through the eyes of his ancestor Prince Nikolai. It is here in the midst of the past, Nikolas learns to become a better man… Emelia, beautiful Emelia, who is in every way his wife Emma, teaches Nikolas how to love. Disaster tears them apart and sends Nikolas to the future.

Realizing what a mess he’s made of his own life, Nikolas is determined to set things right. But Emma won’t have him. She doesn’t trust in the changes Nikolas has under gone. She won’t love him… won’t let herself love him. This new man who is in every way the man she had hoped he would be can't last, because she knows his nature. As soon as she loved him he’d revert and mock her for her love. After all Nikolas is not a man that can change, he is a product of others hatred and fear, whose innate stubbornness rejects all kinds of affection. But he has changed and he will prove it. If it’s the last thing he does, he’ll make her believe in him; love him as she once did in the past.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Buy: Prince of Dreams

Originally posted 2008-12-07 19:34:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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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 Blog Post Promoter

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I love Cinderella. I don’t really know anybody who doesn’t adore this type of character. Her story is one of rags to riches; poor in money but rich in love. Take her story, a timeless classic, and add Rodgers and Hammerstein to the mix and you have a hit musical. I love all versions of this musical but my all time favorite stars quite a cast of famous names including: Brandy Norwood, Bernadette Peters, Veanne Cox, Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Alexander, Whitney Houston, and Natalie Desselle.

In this version three new songs are added to the mix. They’re fun, uplifting, and just exciting to watch on screen. The first to appear is ‘The Deepest Love in all the World,’ sung by Brandy Norwood and Paolo Montalban. This song occurs just before they first meet in the market and it’s completely wonderful. It is probably my favorite song in the whole production. The next addition is ‘Falling in Love with Love,’ sung by the unparalleled Bernadette Peters. You really get to know the Stepmother in this sequence. The last is probably my least favorite, but it occurs at the very end of the movie in all the wrap-up so you can easily ignore it and that is ‘The Music in You’ sung by Whitney Houston.

I love the multi-ethnic casting! An Asian prince, a Caucasian king, a Black queen, and so on. Jason Alexander as the prince’s valet is spectacularly funny. Whoopi plays a wonderfully concerned queenly mother who just happens to always want her own way. Wink. Brandy is charming as Cinderella. She really makes you feel that she is Cinderella; her eyes are very expressive. Everyone was wonderful, so even as you recognize them on screen or try to figure out who they are the acting pulls you back into the movie before you can say Bibbity Bobbity Boo.

The choreography, costumes, singing, dialogue is colorful, spirited, enchanting, and just wow. Honestly, if you’re looking for a gift for your daughter, sister, or friend you can’t go wrong picking this movie out. It’s a feel good, put a spring in your step happy movie that gets you singing and dancing around the room just so you can join in the festivities.

Rating: 5 Stars

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Originally posted 2008-12-12 11:04:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Considering how courtesan romances usually go it’s easy to think Kate Bergeron is not really a courtesan, but she is in fact one. While I very much like that she really is a courtesan, I wasn’t a big fan that Kate was victim of rape and lusty determined privileged men (her first benefactor and the Prince) because while she goes willingly into the profession there is a strong element of force. What else were her choices? Become a common whore or become a rich man’s one?

Kate comes across as worldly and innocent by turn. Part of this is because she remains ever optimistic in the face of harsh realities. She helps women who are working and living where she grew up as best as she can. She plans for the day when a man will no longer desire her. She wants to learn to cook and bake so she can support herself outside of being a kept woman. She’s practical about her place in London society and takes things on the chin for the most part.

The Duke, Grayson Christopher, is arrogant, superior, and morally righteous despite the fact that he is cuckolding another peer of the realm. I wish Kate would have pointed out his and society’s incredible hypocrisy but that doesn’t happen. The book focuses on Grayson’s struggle to love a woman like Kate who is everything he should avoid like the plague. He juggles his feelings and the pressure of his dukedom credibly and in an adorable manner. Reading Grayson overcome his built-in disdain is very pleasing.

Then there is the Prince of Wales. George purchases Kate from her last master, but can’t be with her because he desires a divorce which he can’t get if another scandal is associated to his name. It is his plan to enjoy Kate visually from afar and to steal random meetings in public. To aid in his ruse he coerces Grayson into escorting Kate to social functions.

When the Prince discovers that the ruse is no longer a ruse he puts pressure on both and sows seeds of doubt in Kate. It is social suicide for Grayson when decides to eschew propriety and follow his heart. I was so sure Grayson would give his title to his younger brother and whisk Kate to America to start afresh, but that is not how they finally get together. The wrap up happens quickly and is very brief about the details, focusing more on Kate's reunion with her long lost brother instead about the reprisal from society, Grayson's family, and the Prince. So while it wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been the story is a delightfully different historical romance.

Rating: 3.5 - 4 Stars

Buy: A Courtesan's Scandal

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Points go to Sandra Marton for using a fairly unique way to go about the common pregnant bride plot. A screw up in courier running between two doctors’ offices and a sperm bank results in Madison Whitney receiving the Crown Prince of Dubaac’s safeguard for the future of his country.

Now one month later, Madison finds Turiq on her doorstep, literally barging his way into her apartment and demanding rights to the child – his heir. But Madison wasn’t taking his highhanded attitude or his bribe money to give up the baby a year after birth.

How much of a barbarian was he? Madison was about to find out – because Turiq was going to kidnap her and force her to be his bride. Was there no end to the madness?

I liked the story; it was nicely executed, but was lacking the emotional pull. There was passion and heat but everything was over too fast. I didn’t see or read it develop into the good stuff. There were hints and I’m sure if it was drawn out a little bit more everything would have fell into place with ease.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Buy on eHarlequin: The Sheikh's Defiant Bride

Originally posted 2009-02-11 13:59:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Forced by her father, Mariah has learned to live like a boy. She dresses like one and shoots like one, but it is not enough. Her father can tell she’s too pretty for her own good and too feminine as well. He cuts her hair to ruin her looks and demands her presence at an Indian raid. Helpless to defy the whims of her father, Mariah tags along an unwilling participant in the savage murder of the peaceful Indians. Horrified by what she sees, Mariah stoutly refuses to draw her weapon until an Indian brave threatens her father’s life. She shoots to wound, not kill, but her father follows up and bashes the young warrior over the head. The raiders leave to celebrate a glorious victory and Mariah runs away to seek help for the Indians.

Chief Echohawk, the young warrior Mariah shot and her father fell awakes on the battle field unable to see clearly. His vision is blurry and dark but he won’t let this weakness hurt him or his people. His pride won’t allow him to accept help and as he moves his people to the shelter of a neighboring tribe he succumbs to fever. In his heart stirs a dark thirst for revenge… on three white men, the one from the last raid on his people with yellow eyes, and the man and his son for the latest raid, and on White Wolf. He will ensure the sorrows of his people are avenged.

Meanwhile, Mariah manages to lose her horse and is brought to the Indian village where Echohawk sought sanctuary for himself and his people. First looked upon as an enemy, Mariah earns their respect and a new name for herself. She is now Nodin, woman of the wind. Following the lead of Neekah, Chief Silver Wing’s wife, Mariah learns the ways of the Chippewa and comes to tend and eventually love Chief Echohawk during his days of recovery. She fears the regaining of his eyesight for he will no doubt see her as the young boy he wants to kill and he fears letting go of his hatred for the white men to love a white woman.

Overall it’s not a bad read. Certainly Savage Wrongs is more engaging than the last Edwards novel that I read, but there’s a story telling quality that is lacking. I can’t put my finger on it, but the result is that I’m not drawn into the unfolding of the tale and am found skimming and skipping forward in hopes to find something that will make me stick to the page.

Rating: 3 Stars

Originally posted 2009-02-20 05:36:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Hello Keira – thanks for welcoming me to your Blog!

Keira: How has Gwenhwyfar and Arthur's love evolved from what it was in The Kingmaking to Pendragon's Banner?

Helen Hollick: Things have moved on from the close of The Kingmaking. Gwenhwyfar now has one young son and is expecting another child. Arthur is attempting to consolidate his victories by making peace with the Anglo Saxon English – but not everyone agrees with his ideas, not even Gwenhwyfar. When he insists she goes with him to visit an English settlement she is horrified. Not only is she frightened by not knowing these people, or their customs and traditions, she is about to have her baby.

The relationship between her and Arthur is pushed to the limit – and beyond – in this middle part of the trilogy. Tragedy can either draw a couple together or rip them apart….

Be warned, a box of tissues may be needed!

Keira: What are some challenges that will be put to them to challenge the strength of that love?

Helen Hollick: There are quite a few, some of them tragic, some of them frustrating, some downright infuriating. But sorry I’m not telling you about them as it will spoil the read!

Keira: Arthur is now King – what challenges will he face in Pendragon's Banner? How does he hope to overcome them? How must he change?

Helen Hollick: Arthur’s goal is to unite his Kingdom and bring peace. It is an uphill struggle for him though, as other people seem set on stopping him. Even Gwenhwyfar….

Keira: Arthur’s stubbornness and Gwenhwyfar's temper are sure to cause problems. Outside of their relationship, how do their flaws affect life at court, politics, and situations?

Helen Hollick: There are quite a few exchanges of stubbornness and temper in this one. Arthur is single minded – he knows what he wants and is determined to get it, but members of his Council, especially his uncle, Ambrosius Aurelianus are equally as determined to stop him, which heads disastrously towards what could be an end of the Kingdom and peace.

We find out a lot more about Morgause in Pendragon’s Banner as well – and her daughter, Morgainne, the lady of the Lake. Arthur meets her and the inevitable happens. There are a few scenes where Arthur should have kept his breeches fastened – no doubt Gwenhwyfar feels the same!

Winifred, Arthur’s first wife also has her fingers dabbling in several pies. She wants her son to be the next King.

Gwenhwyfar has her own distractions. Her children, her worry and concern for Arthur – her jealousy of his other women. But then, she has a few male friends too. Friends who spark Arthur’s retaliatory jealousy.

There are several scenes in Pendragon’s Banner that draw from the early Welsh stories of Arthur, you may recognize a few or them. Weaving them into my novel in a plausible and practical way was my own challenge.

Keira: Why do you think people are drawn to King Arthur's story? To Medieval stories?

Helen Hollick: I think people enjoy the familiar Medieval tales of Arthur and the round table, Holy Grail and knights in armour because they conjure up a long-gone era of courtly love, honour, respect and Doing Noble Deeds. The whole chivalric image that brings out our romantic emotions.

But my Arthur is not from those stories. My Arthur is a rough, tough, down-to-earth war lord and soldier. The sort of man who can be an utter b*****d – but will fight to the death to protect you, and will always be there when you need him.

The figure of Arthur, in legend and fiction is one of the most enigmatic and intriguing of all the characters of English history and literature. What is it about him that makes people discuss him, read about him, write about him?

Google for King Arthur, and you will spend weeks going through the links. There are discussion boards, forums, facebook profiles, blog pages, myspace sites. He is there in virtually every genre of fiction, from fantasy to thrillers. There are movies of Arthur, poems about Arthur, plays centred around Arthur – you name it its been done.

People argue about whether he lived in the Iron Age, Roman period, Dark Ages or the 11^th Century, the 12^th, 13^th…..

He was a local warlord in the north of Britain. He fought in Scotland, Wales, Brittany or came from the West Country – Cornwall, Somerset.  He is the King of myth and fantasy. Magic and mystery surround Arthur and his deeds.

Was he from the realm of Magic – or was he a real man, a soldier who led a war band into battle? The sad fact is - there is not a shred of evidence to prove he actually  existed!

For the truth about Arthur there are no answers.

And it is that which makes him so fascinating, why again and again we write about him, read about him.

I fell in love with Arthur while I was writing the Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy. I intimately knew that man for more than 13 years while writing the Trilogy – it took a long, long while to get him out of my system and move on to creating my next main character (Harold Godwineson in Harold the King. –  also to be published soon by Sourcebooks Inc)

But that feeling is not unique to me.

I wrote to the wonderful author Rosemary Sutcliff just before she died. I had completed The Kingmaking, but it was still in the process of being made ready to be published, so I could not send her a copy. I told her all about it though, and my ideas of Arthur. I received back a handwritten letter (complete with her cartoon motif of a dolphin attached to the last ‘f’ of her signature.)  She confided that after she had written her novel about Arthur, Sword At Sunset, she had not been able to get him out of her mind for at least six months.

I know what she meant…. And that is why Arthur is so popular. His spirit, his charisma, his presence goes on, living for ever.

No wonder the legends state that he will come again when he is needed. He never left. He is always here, dwelling in the minds of his loyal subjects, those of us who read and write about him!

Helen Hollick

Main Website: www.helenhollick.net
Blog profiles: www.acorne.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/helen.hollick
Monthly Journal: www.helenhollick.net/journal.html

Follow Publicist Paul on Twitter: @psamuelson01

http://www.helenhollick.net/culpa41.html my own hints and tips for aspiring writers.

Buy: Pendragon's Banner: Book Two

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My only complaint is that this novel isn’t longer! I feel like this was a good start and now the author should flush it out with more details, more scenes, more, more, more. The ending was much too rushed to wrap everything up to my satisfaction. I felt like I read half a book only to get about four paragraphs of the ending. I feel very deprived. Pout.

This story is very chaste, no sex and only a few passionate kisses. The build up was there and could have developed further. I did enjoy the line about her response to him making a mockery of her modesty.

Pollyanna (Polly) has devoted her energies into Shelton, the historic seat and castle of the ducal Missenden family. Polly’s mother, had been the family’s housekeeper for years and married into the Missendens, but Richard’s offspring do not approve. Anthony the heir puts up the most fight and subsequently Polly has never felt she belonged. She does not have any rights on the castle that has always been her home and Anthony would just as soon be rid of her and the castle. (He gambles and the money would help him pay his debts.)

It’s time for a change. Joining her friend Minty’s documentary production crew Polly is off to Amrah, the Arbian kingdom her great-grandmother fell in love with (at a price.) Polly is also instantly drawn to Amrah’s playboy sheik, Rashid.

For his part, Rashid wants to keep a close eye on Polly. He’s determined to find out if she knew and was behind her stepbrother’s plot to swindle him on a thoroughbred horse. Of course his intentions and attentions get muddled as his motivation changes from revenge to lust.

Rating: 3 Stars

Originally posted 2009-01-20 05:21:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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This book was made out of 3 parts awesome.

Maggie’s mother ran off with her younger sister when Maggie was eight leaving Maggie in the care of her father. He was pretty awful and basically treated Maggie like the son he wished he had forcing Maggie to put all of her time and savings into his farm which basically was throwing it away. Now her father’s dead, but her upbringing has left her with some emotional scars. It doesn’t help to find out the man she thought she loved was screwing with the curvier and more feminine wife of another man.

She meets the hero in the midst of a rainstorm where he rescues her from her sad and sorry state. Concerned, Khalid watches as shock and possibly hypothermia takes over her system. He’s also furious thinking that her tragic state is due to a man hurting her sexually/physically. She denies that she was hurt – which is true at least in the ways that Khalid was mentally coming to a boil over. Her scars are far more mental. Now more than ever before Maggie is feeling inadequate. She’s not nearly feminine enough or enticing enough to attract a man, let alone capable of stirring love in the breast of anyone.

That night she seeks comfort in Khalid’s arms. He hesitates, mentally castrating himself over his undeniable need for this fragile female, because he doesn’t want to take advantage of the situation. Maggie notices the hesitation and it confirms her current muddled thoughts about all the ways in which she is lacking. She presses on and Khalid gives in making love to her.

He wakes to find her gone and his half-brother dead, making him Sheik. Unable to track down the elusive Maggie he heads back home to his country. When he finagles things so that Maggie comes to his country, an incident with a terrified horse almost immediately occurs. This of course leads to some medical tests and surprise, surprise, despite preventative measures Maggie is pregnant. Khalid reveals his identity and proposes marriage.

Will Maggie accept and if she does can she handle being a royal wife with a man who wants her body but not her heart? Will Khalid’s frozen heart melt in the heat of their shared passion? Can a marriage last when it was made purely for the convenience of raising a child?

Rating: 4.5 Stars

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Originally posted 2009-01-25 05:47:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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How can I put this lightly? The novel was crap. How terrible? Really terrible. I could break down the awful for you (warning this is the whole plot and is full of spoilers):

Heroine to self: My brother is in prison and only the Sheik can help.

Hero to self: Next time my baby half-brother is getting his own wife.

Heroine and Hero lock eyes – every sane thought drops from head.

Heroine to self: I’m so hot and bothered.
Heroine aloud: You can’t do this to Andy!

Hero to self: I’m so hot and bothered. That apron is hot. She must be maid and lover to Andrew – so jealous.
Hero aloud: I can do what I want!

Insert massive make-out scene that gets interrupted by father.

Hero aloud: Meet me at my hotel at eight.

Later at hotel Hero and Heroine getting it on and right before anything good happens…

Heroine aloud: More!

Hero aloud: We have all night!

Heroine aloud: And for the rest of our married lives.

Hero freezes. All action stops.

Hero aloud: WTF?

Heroine aloud: But- but you told my father you wanted to marry me – that by marrying you, my brother would go free.
Heroine to self: Marrying you would be no hardship… meow.

Hero aloud: No I didn’t. My stupid moronic half-brother who’s going to be dumb enough to fly his helicopter into the sea in three chapters is going to marry you. I am the Sheik of the neighboring country and you’re a gold digging witch.

Which boils down to the Hero kidnapping Heroine upon arrival into his brother’s country for her ‘protection’ that then leads to the half-brother is dead news and of course this leads to the Hero saying, ‘Same deal. Marry me instead.’ Poor Heroine is confused but the sex clears her head and they decide to get married until she can’t go through with it unless he loves her (I totally thought it was going to be the whole I can’t have babies, because another neighboring sheik/wife couple showed up and the wife was pregnant). Hero tells Heroine he loves her. Heroine is happy, repeats the same sentiments. The end.

Honestly? Why are stories with Harlequin such a crap-shoot? Most times they’re just meh… average. Sometimes you get lucky and they’re great. However you’ll stumble upon one of these and are like WTF? Why am I still reading this BS? How did this get published?

Rating: 1 Star

Originally posted 2009-01-26 05:12:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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This was a pretty decent read. One of those books you read once and don't plan to revisit. There were some obvious contrite plot mechanisms and I felt the hero wasn't really a flesh and blood character, but one pulled out from a standard issue mold. I did enjoy the heroine for the most part. I solved the so-called mysterious aspect to the story the moment the 'bad guy' character was introduced so I didn't really have anything to pull me through the story.

Prince Vereham al a'Karim bin Hakar is a mouthful, but that is the hero's name. Vere (as it is mercifully reduced to) lost his mother and father very young, not at the same time, but fairly soon after one another. The death that caused his young teenage psyche the most harm was the lost of his mother. He saw how his father behaved and knew how he personally felt and swore never to love or open his heart again because it hurt too much.

A chance encounter with a beautiful brunette (not Vere's preferred type) and passion sparks. Vere keeps putting barriers up and as many as possible. Most can't withstand a single drafty breeze before toppling over. The one that sticks the longest is his desire to see Samantha McLellan as the 'bad guy' in league with a nearby ruler to try to discredit the validity of his country's claim on a water source. He blackmail's Sam to be his public mistress in order to undermine any claims she could possibly make. Will Sam hold with such nonsense or will she allow passion to burn out all her qualms?

Rating: 3

Originally posted 2009-01-29 05:07:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Sheikh Zageo bin Sultan Al Farrahn is an honest man. He knows it's time to leave behind his fascination with other cultures and their women; especially as he is disenchanted with his latest mistress, Veronique, the very unique supermodel. He wants to be with someone who wants to be with him and not what he can provide. As an honest man, he despises criminals, crooks, and trespassers, which is why he's sneering down at the spineless Frenchman offering up a woman on his boat to be his sex slave in exchange for freedom. Zageo bets that there isn't a girl at all, but much to his surprise there is and she's every bit as beautiful as the Frenchman said.

Emily Ross was making her escape. She was going to get away from Jacques and his dirty drug-running business. She had no idea what she was signing up for when she traded her skills as a sailor for free passage to Zanzibar. Just as she escapes the mango swamp she is caught by some burly guards and dragged in front of a dangerous and powerful looking man. Is he a Sheikh or a Sultan? His title claims both, but Emily has more pressing worries. How will she get out of this mess so she can meet up with her sister Hannah? Truth is, she can't, not unless Zageo says she can.

When she finds out that her sister didn't make the destination point, Emily goes a little crazy. The only help she can think of is Zageo, but how to get him to agree? Emily decides she must play the part he thought she was and proposes a trade. She will be his lover if he will help get her sister and nieces to safety. Zageo is tremendously annoyed and offended by the proposal she offers him and decides to punish her by accepting it. What Emily doesn't know was that Zageo had made arrangements to help her sister and her sister's family the moment they came back from the meeting place. Her trade was for naught and by accepting Zageo has found out to his bitterness that he would have rather won her than have a bed slave.

My favorite part in the novel is at the end so be prepared for a spoiler if you keep reading.

Zageo takes Emily to Cape Point which offers a view of Cape Hope which is where two oceans meet. Emily makes a point of how there's no sign of the meeting, no crashing of waves, no turbulence. Zageo affirms this and tells her they are like two oceans that meld together, their cultures may be different but harmony is natural and finishes with "Are you brave enough to merge your life with mine, Emily?"

Sigh... so sweet. Perfect ending!

Rating: 4.5 I wish it had been longer.

Originally posted 2009-01-16 05:06:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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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.

Buy: In Over Her Head

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