I have wanted to read this book for a while. I can't tell you how happy I am that I finally did read this book! As I closed the book, I was gushing. There were so many aspects of this story that I liked, it's hard to find any to point out as negatives, but there are two side plot arcs that could have been left well enough alone and the story would have been tighter focused and undiminished.

As both arcs together make the bigger blackmail arc in the story, I'll just detail them really quickly. One was the woman who slept with Anna's late husband, and wanted that information hidden. The other was the lover of the woman who wanted his pockets lined. Of the two, the male lover blackmail arc was completely superfluous and unnecessary.

What I liked:

• Anna working as Edward's secretary.
• Edward's internal monologues.
• Anna masquerading herself and claiming Edward at a "luxury" brothel.
• Edward's proposals.
• The sex. Hot stuff, I tell you.

Anna is a respectable widow. Her late husband a complete scoundrel and adulterer. She can't have kids, or so she thinks (as is the way with most romance novels - the heroes just have mightier seed - it's a fact!).

Edward's late wife died in childbirth. He found out after he married her just how much he disgusted her. He won't make that mistake twice. He's currently wooing a baron of an old family line for his daughter, and reassuring himself more than once that the daughter wants to be wed to him. This side arc makes sense for the time period, but it was just another unneeded obstacle in the story.

Meanwhile, Anna has gone to work for him. From the moment he meets her officially, he can't take his mind off of Anna. She's invaded his senses so much, he runs to London to seek release in a high end brothel so he won't ruin her respectability. Little does he know... evil grin.

In parting I want to add just how much I loved the wren and raven symbolism and it's correlation to the fairytale posted at the beginning of every chapter.

Review: 4 Stars

Buy: The Raven Prince

Originally posted 2009-06-08 03:05:05. 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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I got this novel from the library when MagdalenB recommended it for a hero who bumbles his first declaration of love/marriage proposal:

Balogh's A Precious Jewel. Gerald tries to explain why marriage is good idea; forgets to mention "love." Twice!

Read it in a day because it was so different than any courtesan romance I have read to date. While reading it I simply couldn’t put it down and I liked it a lot. Writing the review pointed out to me all the things I didn’t like about the novel so you’ll have to excuse the overly negative approach. This novel was not without flaws, but if you’re like me you’ll enjoy it anyway.

Priscilla Wentworth lost her father and brother within a very short span of time and became a ward of her uncle. Her uncle is a lecherous creep and to avoid his advances she runs away to London to meet up with her former governess. She had planned to get a job at her finishing school. In actuality it was a high end whorehouse. Prissy tried for two months to get a job as a maid, a servant, or a governess and could not because she had zero references. Too prideful to take a made up position by her old governess she chose instead to become an honest whore. No virgin prostitute novel here.

After two months working, Sir Gerald Stapleton, becomes her client. One night he comes to her and finds her beaten by her previous costumer and decides to set her up as his mistress. Gerald has very simple tastes in bed – he likes his partner to be unmoving and receptive. He has never made love to a woman, just used them. The love scenes are very detached because of this, even when he comes to Prissy and tries to learn.

Gerald is not really romance hero material. He has zero redeeming traits. He is not bright, or adventurous, or particularly good at anything. He is not handsome. He is not good in bed. He makes no grand gestures (except screwing up his marriage proposal twice) and his idea of romance is buying her pieces of jewelry (something most men did for their mistresses anyway). He tells Prissy she’s a “good girl” and “you have pleased me” more often than he should. In bed he takes and does not give. He doesn’t know how or care really to learn. He believes (and it’s true) that he’s inadequate.

However, he cannot help but love Prissy. She’s the backbone of the novel. Her warmth, unfailing kindness, and presence in his life draw him in and won’t let him go. Gerald must overcome his anger at the betrayals by his mother and stepmother in order to truly acknowledge his need for Prissy. Until then he treats her like a mistress and like their time together is strictly business.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Buy: A Precious Jewel

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It’s Complicated is bust your gut funny. I laughed the whole way through. Of all the older couple romantic comedies (Last Chance Harvey, Something's Gotta Give, and As Good As It Gets) this was my definite favorite. It’s a fast upbeat comedy about post-divorce.

It’s been ten years since Jane (Meryl Streep) divorced two-timing Jake (Alec Baldwin), who is now married to his mistress Agness. One weekend, while celebrating their son’s graduation, Jane and Jake share an evening together and hook up. Suddenly, Jane is the other woman and it’s good. She’s not trying to figure life out anymore. Instead she’s living it and it makes her happier, more vibrant, and risk-taking. One of those risks she takes is Adam (Steve Martin), the architect designing her kitchen. It’s as things come together and start to unravel she realizes that the whole situation is complicated. Very complicated.

Streep, Baldwin, and Martin are the core to this movie and play off each other with the deftness and ease that could only come with experience. The comedic timing is so perfect you will find yourself obnoxiously laughing in the middle of the theater. Luckily, everyone is laughing together with you so it won't matter. It’s really very cute.

Streep made Jane relatable (even to the 20 something crowd). She was neurotic, natural, and charming. You will root for her. Baldwin played Jake flawlessly. Truly a great performance. You loved him even when he was so bad (it’s good.) I had reservations about Steve Martin (never been a fan of his work) but I was happily surprised and enchanted. Martin plays his part with empathy and sensitivity.

John Krasinski, who plays Harley, the fiancé of one of the daughters, is a riot and a half. Oh my gosh was he fabulous. Krasinski stole every scenes he was in.

The supporting friendships for Jane played by Rita Wilson, Mary Kay Place, and Alexandra Wentworth were lovely. I want friends like them. Definitely a perk of the film is watching the three of them and Streep interact and act together.

If you’re looking to feel good, laugh until you hurt, and get a happy ending watch this film!

Rating: 4 Stars

Buy: It's Complicated

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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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Kate Wells marries at the tender age of 16 immediately upon her mother’s death to the charming Luke Wells. He was wealthy, worldly, wise. He was also a sham. The face he showed the world was not the real Luke Wells. Kate suffered emotional and sexual abuse at his hands. He kept her sister “locked away” to ensure her “cooperation” both in bed and while he was swindling men from their money. His death frees her and 17 year old Kate vows never to enter marriage again.

Kernan does a pretty darn good job of bringing Kate through the emotional hell of trusting and loving again. It’s pretty much the only reason I kept going. I’m not a fan of the damaged heroine especially when it comes to rape—matrimonial or not. I skimmed over the passages when Kate was reflecting on her late husband.

Sam Pickett nearly gets murdered at the beginning of the novel. He’s saved from death by Kate’s good aim and fearless behavior. A shared kiss knocks the rest of Sam’s marbles out of his head and the next day he’s determined to find Kate and win her… as his mistress. Kate is forced to accept to keep the roof over her sister and her aunt’s head. It’s only as the two come together that their wounds begin to heal. Their reactions to each other really make the novel for me.

The end had a weird flip-flop in facts. I had to read it three times just to be sure I read it right. First I certain it was a typo as I thought Cole, Sam’s friend was mostly neutral/positive when it came to Kate. I was certain the name in the paragraphs was supposed to be Crawford the detective, who has been fairly nasty about Kate’s probable involvement in setting Sam up in the alley. Then a few pages later Cole is raking Kate over the coals. In the end I had to figure I missed something when it came to Cole and left it alone.

The happy ending was everything I could hope for and then some. Kernan even wraps up Sam’s childhood loose end. Why? I’m not certain, unless it was assumed readers would think she forgot. The childhood loose end didn’t really play a role in the novel except be a catalyst to send Sam out West in the first place. The HEA would have been fine without it and read a little less cutesy-perfect with baby, reunions, new home, new school, etc.

Overall, this was a pleasant and satisfying Western romance.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Buy: Sierra Bride

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This is about another plain Jane like yesterday’s book. Her name however is Jessica and she’s the cleaning lady at the hero’s office. She works on his floor and makes his office ready for the next day. Since he works late hours they run into each other often.

Later in the novel we learn that before the novel started the hero would use Jessica as a sounding board and sometimes he even took her advice. Jessica finds these moments the most intimate of her time spent with him – and this is after they’ve slept together!

The hero comes up with a crazy insane idea that if he arrives to parties already spoken for, perhaps his friends won’t attempt to hook him up. He gets Jessica to be his fake girlfriend and then his real mistress. She agrees figuring she’ll never have another chance with a man like him or Salvatore himself. Overtime she realizes being a mistress is very cheapening especially as she’s falling in love with him.

When he tells her he can’t possibly marry her because she wasn’t a maid as she had sexually relations with at least one other guy. He then proceeds to tell her that the woman will marry will be a virgin and Sicilian. It really just confirms what she already knew but it was very unromantic to say the least.

This novel wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t very good. There were a lot of plot elements that cold have been exploited. I felt like the author dropped them in and then decided to forget about them. For instance, Jessica’s roommate was very jealous about Jessica’s new position as Salvatore’s mistress. Then there was the selling of the diamond bracelet he gave her, the blowup was big but read very inauthentic.

Rating: 2 Stars

Buy: Bought For The Sicilian Billionaire's Bed

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When I was in the middle of Wild Oats by Pamela Morsi I had no strong feelings on it. It was neither good nor bad and looked to be shaping up to a solid two stars.

I did dislike all the words devoted to talk on disease. The hero was a mortician, but not inclined to it. He wanted to pass the business on to his partner. It was his partner that always talked about it – what happens to the ground with unsealed coffins, figuring out how people died based on his observations during the care of the body, etc. There was also a plague going through the territory and landed in the town. In the end it was entirely too much spent on sickness and death. Bah.

Then I began to notice after all the disease talk half of the pages were devoted to bringing together the hero’s horrible undeserving mother with his business partner. I began skipping those parts. She was completely irredeemable. The woman wanted nothing but to be crowned the biggest gossip in town. She started false rumors about the morality of the heroine until everyone in town thought her a common slut/whore. On top of that she was a smothering mother who whined and needled into getting more attention from her son and was not above guilt tripping the hero with the fact that she gave birth to him. Seriously, this lady was going to get a HEA? Double bah.

The hero and heroine when they got together were cute, but they can’t overcome the other aspects of the novel.

I finally gave up and put the book down when the preacher started to spread rumors about what he thought he saw at the heroine's house after a church service where he intended to and was on the verge of forcing heroine into a public confession of all her sinful immoral ways until more disease talk took over (both the novel and his sermon). Last and final bah + humbug!

Rating: 0.5-1 Star

Find and Buy More Pamela Morsi Books.

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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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Cross-dressing and false identities comprise Jacobin de Chastelux life since her uncle tried to use her as his marker in a bet with Lord Storrington. Now she’s a cook in the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and is quite happy. She is saving her money to open her own pastry shop as soon as she can. But then the unthinkable happens! Her dish is accused of poisoning a man the next day when leftovers were purchased. And not just any man—oh no, the man is her hated uncle.

Lord Storrington does not know who Jacob Leon is, but knows that this chef could be the very thing he needs to lure Lord Candover back to the tables. Anthony is determined to ruin Candover for having an affair with his mother that led to her death. He thought he had the man three months ago when his niece eloped with the man’s pastry chef but somehow the bastard managed to get a hold of twenty thousand pounds.

This story was deliciously fun. When Anthony first feels attraction to the heroine she is disguised as a man and his mental Olympics is hilarious. I really enjoyed the mystery to the tale behind Candover’s poisoning and watching Anthony and ‘Jane’ figure it out. I also loved Jane’s lesson of French pet names. How weird they were! Also I had fun reading her reaction to the verbal slip Anthony says right after ‘finding out’ she was a virgin. She starts throwing things and cursing him in French.

Rating: 4 Stars

Buy: Never Resist Temptation

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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FYI: This is basically a rant review with spoilers.

Freya Addison once loved Zac Deverell with all her heart, but Zac was a billionaire playboy used to getting what he wanted when he wanted. After pursuing Freya, enticing her to first work as a stewardess on his yacht then seducing her into his bedroom he is both amused and bemused by how innocent she turned out to be. He persuades her to become his mistress and the little fool agrees. He breaks her heart three months later when she tells him that she's pregnant, by hotly denying it, calling her a two-timing gold digging whore and throwing her out of his penthouse.

Two years later Freya gets into a car wreck and her daughter Aimee is supposed to be in the care of Freya's grandmother. The grandmother is a heartless woman who only tolerated Freya in her life because of what the neighbors and little old bitties she hung out with would think. Freya's mother ran off years ago and hasn't been seen since and doesn't make an appearance in the book. The grandmother decides she's going on her world cruise, manages to find Zac Deverell at his London offices in the midst of a press conference and passes the baby along causing a scandal.

Zac is furious with Freya and the grandmother thinking they cooked this up on purpose. He doesn't blame the two year old baby and tries to temper his voice when he storms Freya's hospital room. He frogmarches Freya to do what he wants; which is to take her and Aimee to Monaco and getting a paternity test done so he can once and for all prove Freya the tramp that she is. Zac is highhanded, arrogant to the extreme, belligerent, and mean spirited. He takes great pleasure pursuing Freya for his pleasure while calling her names. Freya has no pride or self confidence and can't seem to ignore the passion he stirs in her blood. They have several intimate encounters, many leading to full blown sex.

When the child ends up being his he gives a two second apology and gets Freya to agree to marry him. We're about two thirds of the way through by now. This book is not that long... but of course he changes in the last like 3 pages, while appearing to exhibit no real changes.

From his side that we never see:

Doctors told him long ago he had 50% chance of holding the same gene. The disease wiped out his twin sisters before they were a year old. He vows never to have kids and gets a vasectomy.  Then he finds out he's a daddy - is terrified but happy because his daughter hasn't shown signs of the disease his parents carried genes for. Goes to doctors and finds out there's a reliable test now to see if he carries the gene.

Meanwhile he wants to have sex with Freya all the time because he can't formulate his feelings and decides to show her by aggressively pursuing sex off and on (which she interprets as he wants me and now he doesn't all the while thinking in abject despair  how is this ever going to work? and he's always intentionally hurtful and terse in his comments.)

Now we're at the end and he still hasn't got the results yet, but he suddenly can't go through with the wedding he insisted on. She thinks its because he doesn't want her and wants the woman who came up to her at a party and claimed to be his lover. Woman also said that whenever Zac told Freya he was working he was really with her playing.

When he hotly denies that Freya is all heartbroken AGAIN and tells him if he can't go through with until he tells her something she says she knows what it is and understands that he doesn't love her.

To which he then asks if she's an idiot (ok not really but still) and proceeds to finally open up and explain about the gene that he potentially was carrying and why he had a vasectomy in the first place yadda yadda and that he on some level knew he loved her which is why he was so furious when he thought she'd cheated on him two years ago with the street artist.

Kiss. Sex. Wedding. Epilogue. HEA.

I mean really what is this garbage? Don't read this.

Rating: 1 Star and only because sometimes the sex was decent.

Originally posted 2009-01-14 05:21:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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A more accurate title would be Unclaimed Mistress, as the heroine has certainly been touched before the hero gets to her and throughout the book by the hero.

Helena McGregor runs away from her abuser Stephen Tayburn. She can’t stay with him another moment and takes her first opportunity to escape, fleeing across the water and into a storm. She washes up on the beach Guy Tregallas, Viscount Varington, is meandering down. Her first impression is that he’s an angel and just before delirium sets in she reveals her name.

When she wakes three days later, Helena knows to protect those who’ve helped her and herself she must concoct a story. Living under Stephen’s thumb for five years has taught her that lying is the least of man’s sins. She tells everyone she is the widow Mary McLelland, never knowing Guy is aware of her true identity.

Determined to dig into her past and figure out who the beautiful young woman is, Guy whisks her off to London with plans to seduce her along the way. His plans crumble into dust with every break in her façade, but not before he secures her promise to be his mistress in exchange for his help… when he learns the truth about Helena, he is more determined than ever to make the woman his!

The story despite the ugly background for the heroine (see Stephen Tayburn, villain) is very chaste. There’s no sex until the very end of the story. One of my favorite scenes is the carriage wreck. I won’t spoil it, other than to say it’s in the middle. It was very good.

Rating 3 stars

Buy: Untouched Mistress

PS - Great cover - both models fit the character descriptions and so did the scenery!

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It is just Hoyt's terrible bad luck that I read the The Raven Prince for the very first time just two days before I got this book from the library. I know it's in bad form to judge a book based on another book, but as both are by the same author, I figure this could be the exception to the rule. To Beguile a Beast read like a poor man's version of the Raven Prince. There were so many similarities between the too, it was astonishing.

Some of the similarities include: the fairytale story at the beginning of each chapter, the conditions of the poor heroes, and the positions of the women in the hero's life. They are all the same or at least very, very similar. Proof (spoilery):

TBAB = To Beguile a Beast
TRP = The Raven Prince

Fairytale:

Truth Teller soldier fairytale in TBAB.
The raven prince fairytale in TRP.

Heroes:

Hero is scarred in TBAB: Missing eye, missing fingers, facial scars.
Hero is scarred in TRP: Pox marks all over face and body.
Both heroes are gruesome looking.

Hero in TBAB writes on flora and fauna of New England.
Hero in TRP writes on agriculture.

Heroines:

Heroine works as housekeeper in TBAB.
Heroine works as a secretary in TRP.

Similar Hero Character backgrounds:

Hero in TBAB lost his fiancé to fever.
Hero in TRP first wife died in child birth.

The only big difference that I saw was:

Heroine in TBAB has two children.
Heroine in TRP has no children.

I was bored with To Beguile a Beast. It may be because I read Raven Prince so soon before reading this book. I believe, however, that I would have disliked it even without reading Raven Prince. The magic in the tale simply wasn't as enthralling as the Raven Prince. I closed Raven Prince feeling satisfied and happy. I struggled to make it through each chapter of To Beguile a Beast. I was glad to finish TBAB, simply so I could move on to another story. If you read it, do you feel the same way?

Rating: 1.5-2 Stars

Buy: To Beguile A Beast

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Victoria (Tori) reminds me of Anita Blake. Here's why:

1. She's known for always wearing a gun.
2. Not to mention she's a police officer with connections to the vampire scene (not widely know to humans to exist).
3. She visits vampire clubs.
4. Tori brings her gun into the bathroom with her when she showers.
5. 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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