Love Romance Passion » Headaches http://www.loveromancepassion.com Because Books Don't Fall Asleep Afterwards! Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Review: Possession by Devyn Quinn http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-possession-by-devyn-quinn/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-possession-by-devyn-quinn/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:00:01 +0000 Susan S. http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=4097

guestreview-2

Guest reviewer: Susan Sigler

Quinn’s books never disappoint me and Possession is no exception. Her writing is fluid, while her plots are mesmerizing, dark, and delicious. You’ll be addicted from the very first page!

While reading Possession, I immediately empathized with the heroine (Kendra Carter). Kendra’s life choices have never been her own. She was always governed by the men in her life. Her now deceased father Nathaniel, ex-boyfriend Michael, and step-brother Gerald.

Kendra returns home from rehab, to find there’s a new addition to her father’s estate. Her stepbrother has purchased a rare book, a book said to have been written by the devil himself. This unholy bible titled Delomelanicon is now in the library, to co-exist with them; under their very roof.

I must say I disliked Gerald early on; it always appeared to me that he was maintaining some sort of façade.
Unknowingly, Kendra unleashes a powerful demon called Remi. He’s a demon of revelation that showers her with sinful pleasures. Soon after, she begins to worry she’ll have to sacrifice her eternal soul to this demon. Is the pleasure worth the price?

The issues addressed are issues many of us will relate to. Issues of guilt and grief over a loved one’s death. Kendra also struggles with low self-esteem, anger, betrayal, and the search for love and acceptance.

possessionsmallThere were a myriad of fundamental themes, so many in fact; I’m calling it an erotic fable. These lessons are to forget one’s past blunders, to follow your own path, that it’s o.k. to break free from repressed sexual urges, to accept oneself, and that beauty lies within.

It was a treat to read along as Kendra’s character is transformed and reinvented. It’s this reason I chose her as my favorite character.

Quinn included lots of plot twists that I consider OMG (Oh! My God) moments. Aside from the dark plot, there were comic elements thrown in like confetti. The author also wrote a bathroom scene that’s downright wicked. In this scene Remi uses telekinetic abilities, and it’s in this scene Kendra has a precognition that is absolutely bone chilling.
Quinn’s plots never take a back seat to the erotica. She blends all the essential elements with exact doses. Not to mention, the ending was so devilishly appropriate, I had an evil grin when I read it.

Rating: 5 Pitchforks or Rather 5 Stars

Buy: Possession

Aphrodisia, Erotic Romance, Kensington Books, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Copyright 2009, Print Pages 266. ISBN-13: 978-0-7582-2852-9, ISBN-10: 0-7582-2852-X

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by Susan S., guest reviewer

Summary: Heroine, Tess Kincaid, is a NY Times bestselling author; who’s inherited her late father’s New England estate. Tess is looking forward to leaving all her worries behind. Especially those involving a threatening letter. It was written by someone claiming to be “her biggest fan.” But enough of the past, on to the future. A New England future! One which seems a whole lot brighter with Sheriff Mike Andretti next door. Mike (hero) has country charm, a stallion tattoo (not saying where), and a great ass! Told you! Whole…lot…brighter!

That is, until everyone begins to question Kincaid’s sanity. She sees fires which don’t exist, claims the movie projector turns itself on, and that someone planted anti-psychotic pills in her purse. Could the death of her father have caused her to snap? Or is it the obsessed fan wanting her to lose her head? (Figuratively and literally)!

Review: If you’re not familiar with Donovan’s writing, let me say this, “They have a very Hitchcock-y feel to them.” For readers who enjoy suspense, thrillers, and romantic suspense, that’s a plus. Sharon also has impending doom down to an art form. In the scene where Tess is hospitalized for a mental evaluation, you can feel the heroine’s distress and desperation. Extremely well written.

Preferences: Mike uses the endearment darlin’ in his conversations with Tess. I’d`ve preferred the hero mix it up a bit; adding angel or sweetheart sporadically.

Favorite Scenes:

Number 1: I loved when Tess’s grieving dam breaks, and she’s screaming to her late father. All her pent-up anger, confusion, and utter pain just burst forth.

Number 2: When Tess and Mike make breakfast together. It shows how wonderfully they relate to one another.

Comedic Touch: Sir Galahad (Mike’s talking bird). Loved him!

Disclosure: I won Her Biggest Fan in an online contest. Didn’t have to review it/ wasn’t asked to review it/simply wanted to.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: Her Biggest Fan (Men in Uniform), Her Biggest Fan (UK)

The Wild Rose Press, First Crimson Rose Edition, Copyright 2010, Suspense, Print Pages 268. ISBN# 1-60154-813-3.

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The Prince of Midnight was recommended to me by Anime June while guest blogging about My (Not-So-Secret) Favorite Romance Character Types because the hero was damaged and delicious.

I believe this romance also fulfills my lust of big age differences. I can’t remember how old the heroine was (17 maybe?) but the hero’s retired at 33, painting and sculpting in an old castle in France with Nemo a tamed wolf for company by the time Leigh Strachen tracks him down to help her avenge her family’s brutal destruction and murder.

Sophocles Trafalgar (poor guy, luckily he goes by the initials S.T. most of the time) Maitland is a partially deaf ex-highwayman who couldn’t walk a straight line if his life depended on it. When caught in an explosion he lost not only part of his hearing but also his balance. He’s prone to headaches, dizziness, and nausea.

S.T. is a completely charming, dashing, tripping all over himself hunk of a hero. He’s the romantic in the relationship as the heroine is an emotionally walled-off ice princess. With Leigh constantly sneering at him, holding him in contempt, mocking his efforts, and telling him he’s useless I’m surprised S.T. stuck with her, but he does because he knows she’s been hurt and needs a champion.

In fact the more she puts him down and humiliates him the more S.T. is determined he is to go with her, protect her, and prove her wrong. He wants to be her hero and against all odds he manages to steal her ice cold heart and warm it with his own.

There’s some religious cultism in the novel, which one should be aware of before starting. The bad guy, the Right Reverend James Chilton, sets himself up as some great religious man with a direct line to God. He has convinced through trickery, showmanship, and charisma the rest of the town—which consists mostly of TSTL females and a dozen or so men—to follow him and do all that he says. It reminds me Jonestown Massacre where everybody was following Jim Jones blindly and drinking the Kool-Aid. Lucky for Chilton’s followers, the Prince of Midnight was there to protect them from their own stupidity.

The Prince of Midnight is an emotionally intense read as both the hero and heroine have transformations. I almost cried reading S.T.’s pleading to not pour acid in his remaining good ear. When Leigh found out and beat the crap out of the Dove of Peace for following this order I cheered her on… it was so sad thinking that Leigh finally admit to herself and to S.T. that she loved him only for him not to be able to hear the words.

Another intense scene which comes earlier in the novel is his taming two badly mistreated horses. He does it once on his own and then instructs Leigh on how to do it with the more hurt of the horses. When the abused horse begins to trust her, she cracks and falls to pieces realizing she loves the horse… and possibly though she won’t admit it yet, S.T. too.

It’s too good to miss. Thanks AJ!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Buy: The Prince of Midnight

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Prepare yourself to be dazzled. One Dance with a Duke is one of those exceptional romances that immediately found its way to my top favorites (ten of which I sent to Jane at Dear Author… if I had finished this book before sending off the list you would most assuredly have found it with the rest.)

The sexual tension is through the roof. The foreplay is salivating. The sex is piping hot.

The hero is scrumptious. The heroine plucky. With dialogue to die sigh for.

In short: fabulous.

Lady Amelia d’Orsay is a plump spinster and a bit of a wallflower with a fondness for embroidery, planning meals, and her stupid foolish halfwit brother Jack. When she discovers Jack owes the Duke of Midnight 400 pounds she confronts the man, stealing his hand with an impetuousness that surprises even her and leads him out on the dance floor.

Spencer Dumarque, 4th Duke of Morland, notoriously known as the Duke of Midnight, is socially inept on many fronts. He gets disoriented and dizzy at inopportune moments, is impossibly rude, and has a fondness for horses so deep he’ll go to any lengths; pay any price to own one retired champion horse, including bankrupting idiotic boys.

This book is the first in the Stud Club trilogy.

The Trilogy Arc: Discover who murdered the leader and founder of the Stud Club: Leopold Chatwick.

Loved the change of pace: A quick marriage – but not marriage of convenience.

The Slightly Illogical: Amelia accepting Spencer’s proposal, signing the register with defiance and surety when he’s accused of murder, and then recanting her trust by bedtime. This strange turn of events allows for some very hot flirting and petting so I was more than okay with it. Of course, she wasn’t really afraid of him and didn’t truly believe him capable of murder; though that’s the excuse she gave him. She was afraid she couldn’t protect her heart from certain heartbreak.

Rating: 5 Stars

Buy: One Dance with a Duke

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bookreview

Do you like paranormal romance? Did you at one point enjoy Anita Blake? Well, My Wicked Enemy just pwned Anita Blake, but don’t take my word for it see for yourself! I read this in a day, I couldn’t put it down!

Our heroine is a terrified (rightly so) woman who experiences intense migraines. She’s seen something she shouldn’t (a ritual sacrifice) and it on the run from her guardian (the bad guy). Carson took nothing with her, and that includes her medicine, in hopes to escape. Being in a hurry might seem like a disadvantage now, with a pulsing multi-colored migraine rearing its ugly head and a man who’s stalking her through the streets, but it will in fact be a blessing in disguise.

Nikodemus is a warlord, a fiend with natural leadership, and he is the one stalking the pretty and petite Carson Philips through the streets. Killing her is on his to-do list, just below mage Magellan. He can’t believe how easy it is to track the witch. Her magic is fluctuating all over the place. One minute it’s there and the next it’s almost as if she were a human. When he corners her, Nikodemus asks just one question, “Why shouldn’t I kill you?”

The answer leads them through a dangerous adventure that spins out of control as they face mageheld fiends, evil mages, skitterish warlords, blood twins and more! The book starts out like it ends, by taking your breath away.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Marked interracial because the heroine is a witch and the hero is a fiend.

Buy: My Wicked Enemy

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bookreview

Book three of the Pleasures Trilogy staring plump little Gabrielle from India and Erskine (Quill) Dewland soon to be Viscount Dewland. Right off the bat, this was my kind of book and I loved reading every word. I’ll tell you why:

First, the alpha male is one of those wounded and brooding alphas. Quill was hurt from a horse riding accident that left him scarred. He walks with a slight limp most of the time but when tired it is more pronounced. He can’t dance. Repetitive motions cause him intense migraines and this includes riding horses but more importantly intercourse. As alpha males go, Quill is decidedly masculine. He likes women – he just doesn’t know if they’re worth the three day recuperation.

Second, this story also involves one male character basically stealing the bride out from another man’s nose. This doesn’t always go well for me, but in this case it was just icing. Upon learning that his son was practically incapable of siring progeny, the elder Viscount Dewland orders his second son Peter to take the heiress sight unseen as his bride. Peter doesn’t want to marry, positively shrinks back from the idea, but eventually agrees under pressure. To his dismay, Gabrielle is the antitheses of beauty, grace, and lacks the instinct to navigate smoothly with society’s haut ton.

Third, Gabrielle is a completely charming heroine. She is as gabby as her nickname implies and loves to talk. Gabby is protective, open, loving, kind, and sharp. She is smart enough to keep her half-brother safe from harm. She also knows that Peter finds her a great disappointment. Despite knowing from experience with her father in India, is determined to do her best to please Peter so that he will fall in love with her. This makes her equally stubborn.

She makes friends early with the Duchess of Gisle who has just returned from her honeymoon on the continent. They meet at the dressmakers. Peter has brought her there to clothe her properly so she won’t shame him in public and prays the Madam will be able to transform his ugly duckling of a future wife.

Quill of course, thinks his younger brother is nuts. In fact most of the men in the ton that have seen luscious Gabby agree with Quill. They congratulate (quite crudely) Peter on his good fortune to snare such a well endowed beauty who will surely be a hellcat in bed. They think it’s doubly clever of Peter that she is an heiress.

When Gabby laughs her way into one social scandal, Peter is determined to throw her over but doesn’t know how. Quill gladly informs his brother that he will marry Gabby and happily. Of course, he’s worried about what she’ll think of him later, but Quill can hardly bring himself to care about his own problems. He burns for her and is happy around her. This is enough for him. His only true concern is will it be enough for Gabby?

Rating: ★★★★★

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Mary Margret Daughtridge comes out with another fantastic SEAL story. It’s got everything! A smart savvy heiress heroine to a car empire in desperate need of a name-only husband and a hero with partial amnesia, headaches, scarring, charisma, good looks, and skilled in bed! Yum. Yum. Yum. See, I told you it had everything. Wow!

Davy Graziano is a Navy Seal corpsman. The quote at the beginning of the novel gives real insight to Davy as a hero. He figures he will die in service for the Teams and when he doesn’t he’s adrift. It doesn’t help that his mother passed away shortly after visiting him in the hospital. The situation makes him feel that his mother traded her life for his with God and he doesn’t know what to do with his second chance at life. He wants to continue being a Navy Seal but a head wound resulted in brain trauma. He’s forgetful of things he knows he knows and it’s frustrating to no end.

One thing he forgets is JJ Caruthers. Twice. Poor schmuck. Jane Jessup however is very relieved. The more she learns about Navy Seals and Davy in particular the more she sees them and him as the perfect solution to her husbandless problem. JJ contracts Davy into being her husband in an effort to get one over her grandfather who is trying to manipulate her to his liking. Davy won’t take her original offer and renegotiates the terms to his liking but as the marriage unfolds Davy just wants his life back! What’s JJ to do? I’ll tell you… she’s going to save her hero.

Rating: ★★★★½

Buy: SEALed with a Ring

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bookreview

Wolf at the Door is one of those stories that starts with a pebble falling off the side of a mountain and ends in an avalanche. The pebble is the little white lie Millicent Hyde tells her stepsister about being engaged. The snow drift starts when Sherry asks Captain Alec Wolferton if it is true, that he is engaged to Millicent. The avalanche is when Alec agrees in warm rich tones, that yes, he is Millicent’s fiancé.

Poor Millicent Hyde is in a pickle now. Always impulsive, she has been known to make one bad decision after the next – from running off with a poof who leaves her at the altar to telling the truth and creating scandal. Disowned by her father at her stepmother’s whim, it’s all she can do to watch the perfect Miss Sherry flutter her lashes and glide across the ballroom. Her own mouth gets her in trouble again and the noble Captain Alec Wolferton was just trying to help. Now his reputation is tangled with hers and Millicent is terrified the truth will come out and she’ll never reconcile with her father because of it.

For his part, Captain Alec Wolferton is quite pleased with this fake engagement. He’s on a mission for the London War Office to expose Sherry Hyde’s fiancé a corrupt and evil man. Colin Rafferty is also the man responsible for wounding Alec during the Crimean War leaving him scarred for life and doomed to endure forever constant throbbing headaches. It’s a personal vendetta for Alec to ruin Colin Rafferty as he had been ruined and not even the pretty, delectable Miss Millicent Hyde will get in his way.

The bedroom scenes are very steamy and enjoyable.

Rating: ★★★½☆

Buy: Wolf At The Door (Dublin Dreams)

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bookreview

I managed to sneak another romance novel in time for Halloween that has a spooky overtone. Wild Sight by Loucinda McGary takes place in a fictional town in Ireland with a lot of real cities and sights thrown in for good measure. This little mystery romance has a paranormal edge with the hero having what the Irish call, “The Sight.” So we get the spectral ghosties in Wild Sight to complement the passing of the Samhain, which actually falls within the books timeframe.

Samhain, if you don’t know, is an Irish holiday or at least a word derived from the ancient Celtic month bearing a similar name. On this day the veil between the spirit world and the human world is thinned and can be breached – kind of like the witching hour superstitions but allocated to a date instead of a time. The corresponding days to our calendar is Halloween or All Saints Day, October 31st and November 1st. It also marks the end of summer.

The Sight, which Donovan O’Shea possesses, manifests itself in different ways for everyone. For Donovan he comes near or in contact with an object or place of an event and he receives a vision. These visions leave him with buzzing, headaches and take place with a swirl and bright flash of colors. His mother possessed it too, but it’s not elaborated how the Sight is different from her to him. We do get to see a little bit of another version of the Sight by a character in Donovan’s past.

Donovan at age seventeen left Ireland behind as fast as he could. He’s now a naturalized American citizen, a CPA to be exact on the east coast. The start of the novel has us meet him a month or so after he’s arrived back in Ireland. He’s here to visit his ailing father, who has suffered a massive stroke, that’s left him partially immobilized and without the ability to properly speak. Donovan is hurriedly trying to sell off the old family land, has started the process to sell the pub his father owned to a third partner, all in his attempts to get the hell out of Ireland before the Sight takes him.

Too bad for Donovan, he’s a little too late.

Rylie Powell is in Ireland trying to track down her MIA father; the very same father she has never met, the one who abandoned her and her mother a very long time ago. She had once promised her mother never to track him down as sometimes the reasons people leave are reasons you don’t want to know. But now that her mother is dead, Rylie doesn’t feel obliged to keep that secret. She feels guilty about her step-dad’s acceptance of her need to come face to face with her real father, but not guilty enough to not go. She takes the directions her hired PI gave her and tracks down her father’s pub. When asking to meet with Dermot O’Shea a tall hunky guy unfurls himself from a corner booth.

She never imagined step-brothers… Older, seriously gorgeous half-brothers.

For Rylie and Donovan it’s instant lust that they fight as they search out the truth of her parentage. Donovan is dead certain his father is not her father (he’s right of course or there wouldn’t be a novel). Rylie wants to believe him, because she doesn’t want to feel sexual desire toward a half-brother. But she fears he’s wrong as she has a history of being attracted to the wrong men and who could be more wrong than Donovan?

As Rylie unravels the mystery of her parentage, a murder twenty years old is exposed on Donovan’s land as archeologists try to uncover ancient Celtic history. Dermot is implicated and Donovan must find out the truth – even if it means evoking the Sight on purpose. He really must be crazy.

Rating: ★★★½☆

Buy: Wild Sight

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bookreview

This book read a little slow for me and the storytelling didn't capture me particularly. I read through perseverance more than any real desire to finish.

I like the Medieval period but I would never go back to that time period. As Lynn points out, it's not safe for a woman outside of the walls of a palace or castle or keep. Sometimes, even then it's not a guarantee as Lady Sarah of Remy learned.

At a young age, Sarah's father left her under Queen Eleanor's care. He left her without any wealth to call her own and more importantly without lands. Completely at the Queen's mercy, Sarah grew up thinking she was quite blessed... until the Queen began her demands in return for all she'd done for Sarah.

Branded as the Queen's whore, Sarah is used to the way the other women treat her at court. She spies for the Queen without complaint, hoping one day the Queen will fulfill her promise and marry her off to a titled nobleman. That hoped is crushed when the Queen commands Sarah to wed William of Bronwyn.

William looks like a fierce and unloving man. His muscles bulge and his scowl is harsh, not to mention his reputation... why he is everything Sarah fears. But reputations can be deceiving as both William and Sarah both will learn.

Rating: 2 Stars

Buy: Bedded by the Warrior

Buy on eHarlequin: Bedded by the Warrior

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