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By: Marcia, guest reviewer
Taking place in Victorian England, Beyond Innocence is about loyalty to family versus being true to one self.
Edward Burbrooke is horrified to learn that his brother, Freddie, has been discovered, in the bedroom, with a footman, at a house party. He loves his brother and feels responsible for his ‘fall from grace’. When they were both young, their father died and Edward, now being the Earl of Greystowe, sent his sensitive younger brother to Eton, thinking it would be good for him. He assumed that Freddie could protect himself from hazing by older bullies. Marriage to a good woman would cure him and protect him from horrible scandal.
Florence Farleigh is the daughter of a recently deceased country Vicar. She is very short of funds and has come to London to seek a husband. Florence appeals to her father’s attorney, whom she has been told is very clever, to help her; unaware that Mr. Mowbry is also the earl’s attorney.
Edward decides that Florence is perfect for Freddie and, with his Aunt Hyptia’s help, strives to place them in close proximity. He does not plan to fall in love with her himself.
Emma Holly is a skillful writer treating her characters with kindness and sensitivity, but what makes this story really unique, are comic situations and erotic imagery that have a distinctly male point of view.
Rating: 3 Stars
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Originally posted 2008-11-19 16:15:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter
I’ve just watched Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog for my second time. I just love the musical numbers in this little 45 minute show. If you haven’t seen it yet, you must. Trust me on this- I’ve even embedded it below for your viewing pleasure. Dr. Horrible was created by Joss Whedon during the writers’ strike by calling in a lot of favors. Part comedy, part romance, this little show brings all the musts to a comic book setting.
Characters:
This first one isn’t a character per say but it is an organization. The ELE or Evil League of Evil, is the most prestigious organization an evil bad guy could hope to belong. If you’re not in the ELE you’re in the league with the Henchmen.
Bad Horse is the biggest baddie. He’s the thoroughbred of sin.
Dr. Horrible wants desperately to join the ELE and has a strong application this year. He’s not so much evil as crazy scientist with ideas to change the way the world runs. As he says, it’s not about making money but taking it away from others.
Penny is the girl Dr. Horrible has a crush on. He sees her twice a week usually at his local laundromat and fantasizes about saying hello to her. If only he had the courage. Penny is a young woman who cares for the homeless and sees the world through rose-colored glasses.
Captain Hammer is the “good guy.” I put this in quotes because from our point of view Dr. Horrible is the good guy. Captain Hammer is vain, self-centered and reminds me a bit of Gaston in Disney’s Beauty And The Beast.
In typical Joss Whendon fashion the love interest is partially realized before being ripped apart like with Buffy/Angel and Wash/Zoe from Firefly/Serenity. Still, despite this romantic hiccup the show is simply phenomenal. I give it 5 Stars.
Watch Dr. Horrible Now:
Originally posted 2008-11-06 05:33:44. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Welcome readers! Gather round the campfire as Terry Spear is joining us today to illuminate on her Wolf series. Werewolves as you know are not just for scary stories… they’re for loving too!
Keira: How did you come up with the idea for the Wolf series?
Terry: Years ago, I had read Jack London’s White Fang and Call of the Wild and while I was thinking about creating a werewolf series, I remembered the way he had emphasized that not only did man need to survive, but that wolves did, and this was shown also from the wolves’ own point of view. I fell in love with wolves back then. So when I thought of doing werewolves, I wanted to create a world where they were like real wolves when in that form, but with the sensibilities of humans, in that they would still have to be careful in considering the human aspect. And as humans, they still had their wolf enhanced abilities.
Keira: What makes your werewolves different from other renditions? (i.e. What are the rules to shapeshifting, pack structure, history, biology, etc.)
Terry: What makes mine different from some is the fact they’re just like real wolves in the wild. And when they’re in their human form, it’s not like they’ve taken off a wolf coat and leave their wolf world behind. The two parts of them make the whole. As with real wolves, there are red and gray, so I had a lot of fun with showing the werewolves coming from different werewolf species. I enjoyed taking the old standard of the werewolf horror tales and using them to show what is the same and what is different, also.
Keira: I noticed a name popping up in the book a lot and I have to ask… Who is Julia Wildthorn?
Terry: Julia is a red werewolf who writes werewolf romance novels, but to be true to the secretive nature of their kind, she writes a version that is not real. I had a lot of fun with one of her books in the fourth book of my series that is based in the Canadian Arctic where readers will get to read about Arctic werewolves.
Keira: What was the hardest part of writing Destiny of the Wolf?
Terry: It was too short and I had to write it longer. And when I got going, I had so much fun with it, I couldn’t stop and then I had to cut it down.
Keira: That’s too funny. You’re a modern day Goldilocks but with wolves instead of bears. How do you define love?
Terry: The give and take of a relationship where two people care about each other’s needs and are willing to sacrifice their own for their mate.
Keira: What makes a great (written) bedroom scene?
Terry: Unique setting, or something that makes the same old setting memorable, showing the characters’ emotions, not just the physical side of the scene.
Keira: After werewolves and vampires what next?
Terry: More werewolves and vampires? I love to write them, and hunky Highlanders too. Though I have a fun demon story for YAs and a couple of ghost stories also.
Keira: I love me some hunky Highlanders! Could you provide a picture of your workspace? It would be fun to see where you sit down and get creative!
Terry: I don’t have a picture of my workspace, but I’ve included one of me at my Heart of Texas (HOT) RWA chapter meetings, where you can see I’m busily brainstorming with the others in my chapter. And yes, it was cold in the meeting room so I kept my coat on the whole time. Brainstorming doesn’t work up enough heat.
Keira: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Terry: Heart of the Wolf came out first, was named one of Publishers Weeklys Best Books of the Year and NOR Reader Choice Award for Best Paranormal Romance. Destiny of the Wolf has just been released, and To Temp the Wolf will follow in September. Legend of the White Wolf (name may be changed) will be released after that. I’m working on the next two in the series now. They’re all stand alone titles and each has its own special story within the lupus garou world. If you’re looking for a fun tale about wolves and humans combined, I hope you’ll check out my werewolf tales!
If anyone wants to join me, I’m at the following places and could always use a few more friends!
I generally liked this novel. It revolves around how a marriage once destroyed by infidelity can be healed. I have pretty strong views on this subject so I’ll talk about what ruffled my feathers. I’m like Viola, the heroine, at the start of the novel, looking at things in black and white. The author didn’t persuade me to think in gray matter, too bad Viola did. Luckily in the end she got what she deserved – a loving, devoted, adoring husband – but you could have fooled me. I still thought the hero was shy of truly learning how to love at the end of the book. However, you can be the judge.
Viola is the sister of a Duke and at the age of nineteen she knew she was in love with Viscount John Hammond. She also knew that despite the circumstances of his situation, he loved her, not the money she brought with her. How naïve she had been. John knew nothing of love; he was all empty words and passion.
“When unaccompanied by his love, a man’s desire was like the wind. It had no substance, and it was impossible to hold onto.” – pg 186
Now eight going on nine years after their vows, John has come to the decision to get himself an heir. For that, he will need to woo his way back into his wife’s bed. This task would prove impossible until he changed. But can a man like John, change his spots?
In the last ten pages he did. Until then the brute refused to take blame for more than half the novel and managed to in nearly every conversation lay the whole troubled affair at Viola’s feet. This is much like what happens in the movie Something to Talk About starring Julia Roberts. This made me really mad and when it wasn’t John telling Viola how she made him break his marriage vows and slip into other women, it was the Duke’s wife that was telling her how she wasn’t looking at things from John’s point of view.
John broke his vows. Period. The end. Case closed. What kind of man has to hide his dirty deeds behind his innocent wife? In today’s world with all the diseases that can be caught, a man who cheats ought to be charged with attempted murder if he slips back into his wife’s bed (undetected or not) without first having himself checked out thoroughly.
Viola first turns John away from their marriage bed when she learns that he kept a mistress during the entire time he was courting her. All his words of love, adoration, devotion were lies. She might have forgiven him those if the other woman wasn’t involved. After all impoverished lords needed funds and heiresses to make them solvent – he could have learned to love her.
John waits a month and leaves Viola to live a separate life. There he has count them, five, mistresses in the space of the years prior to his most devout attempt at reconciling. He only does it because he needs a legitimate heir to the viscountcy. Viola is the only woman who can grant him this. So once again he plans to use false words to get her into bed and if that doesn’t work the law is on his side and he can force her there.
But in his own words the five mistresses were her own fault for being cold to him. Poor baby. Eventually he says he is sorry for his part in breaking their marriage by using his young nephew to be his buffer. I don’t think Viola had any part to breaking the marriage. Distraught as she was she stayed with him (granted making him take separate sleeping quarters and refusing to allow him to use passion against her to win his way back into her good graces) until he left.
Marriage vows are not a one way street. A man and his needs can be resolved with a hand not another woman or any of her body parts. Fidelity goes both ways. If he required it of her then it was not an unreasonable request for Viola to make of him. John said it was and refused to be sexually blackmailed. Well what the hell was he doing when he refused to promise fidelity but sexually blackmailing his wife?
Has anyone read this book? What do you think?
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Originally posted 2008-10-06 15:07:06. Republished by Old Post Promoter
. 
and 
came out first, was named one of Publishers Weeklys Best Books of the Year and NOR Reader Choice Award for Best Paranormal Romance. 
has just been released, and To Temp the Wolf will follow in September. Legend of the White Wolf (name may be changed) will be released after that. I’m working on the next two in the series now. They’re all stand alone titles and each has its own special story within the lupus garou world. If you’re looking for a fun tale about wolves and humans combined, I hope you’ll check out my werewolf tales!
starring Julia Roberts. This made me really mad and when it wasn’t John telling Viola how she made him break his marriage vows and slip into other women, it was the Duke’s wife that was telling her how she wasn’t looking at things from John’s point of view.
