Impromptu Romance Review

Woooo hooooo! Just got the galley for Charlotte Featherstone’s upcoming release, Seduction & Scandal. I have high hopes for this book, y’all. Ms. Featherstone wrote the delicious, decadent, sensual Lust, for HQ’s Spice line, which I adored, and I’m waiting to discuss w/Shelly and Katie. If you like historicals and you’re tired of just plain old boinking in books…and you want to savor a sensual tome, Featherstone’s Lust is definitely your book. I should probably stfu and give it a proper review, but it’s an A read for me. Featherstone is an autobuy for the Sins & Virtues series now.

Sabine…and the Beast has a hot, hunky Scottish werewolf as the hero. Go buy the book.

What? You need to know more than that? All right, all right. The book begins with our hot Scot werewolf, Ciar, looking for his mate. He has finally come home from a war with the Lion shifters, having finally formed a peaceful alliance. Ciar expects Sabine to be waiting for him, but she is not there. Unbeknownst to him, his mother had a witch lay a curse on Sabine, because Ciar is High Lord, and Sabine is only a commoner. His mother wants a political alliance, not a love match. The curse was meant to make him forget her, but the spell backfired and anyone she touches forgets Sabine – even her own mother.  When Ciar finds Sabine, he proposes that they confront his mother and the witch, but even the witch doesn’t remember her or the spell, so undoing the magic will be difficult.

Nevertheless, Ciar is determined to break the spell, and claim Sabine as his mate and High Lady, so they travel back to his home for a final confrontation. During the trip, they find ways to work around the ‘no touching’ problem the spell has created, and despite the short length of the story, there’s a good amount of plot (and steamy love scenes!)  packed into its short length (unlike Ciar’s length…which is lengthier, if you know what I mean, and I think you do).

Sabine….and the Beast is a short story in a series, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one, Kisri, which will deal with the Lion shifters mentioned earlier. It is a solid B+.

Samhain – Kindle – Nook

Stone Kissed is a nice departure from the usual paranormal fare of vamps, were, and other shapeshifters that are all over Romancelandia right now. Oh, I still love all those other groups, but I picked up the book because I was intrigued – witches really aren’t used enough in paranormals as of late, and I don’t understand why.

Even better, her take on the heroine doesn’t make her omnipotent, though her power is an interesting one. Delia can talk to carved stone, and the statues come to life when she is around.  At the beginning of the novel, Delia is estranged from her father, and she gets word that their ancestral home has been burnt down, and that he is gravely injured. She runs home, and finds that his medical care is going to cost a pretty penny.

Enter our broody, hunky hero, Grant. He has a PAST that he won’t talk about, commitment issues, loads of cash and the hots for Delia. He offers to buy the family home and have Delia restore it. After some hesitation, she agrees, and since this is romance land, one thing leads to another, and by that I mean that P goes into V. There are complications, and a couple times I wanted to smack Grant and Delia for their commitment issues. LOL. Also, there is an epic awesome baddie who is just as interesting as Delia, who covets the family estate for her own reasons. I won’t spoil the how and why, but it was refreshing to see a villain who could hold her own as a character – often so many are just one-dimensional baddies.

All in all, I give Stone Kissed a solid B+, and I would definitely pick up another of Ms. Stevens novels.

Carina Press – Kindle – Nook – Kobo

elizabethdeloria:

Inspired by a Something Awful thread about terrible romance novels, a few weeks ago I set out to my local KMart to browse the Mills & Boon section in the hope of finding a new treasure to post.

This was the day I found Zombie Moon.

Zombie Moon, the work of Lori Devati, is… a book with an…

I…I think I must acquire this title, just for the loltasticness. And to torture Katie. It shall be my revenge for Raine. 

I picked this up for the sheer cracktacular descrip of steampunky, gaslighty goodness, a cowboy shifter, and a non-shrinking violet heroine. I am about halfway through and so far I am not at all disappointed. :D

I am also reading What a Dragon Should Know by G.A. Aiken…but I have exhausted my bookbuying budget till payday next week, so I am trying to stall, because I know damn well I’m gonna download the next one as soon as I finish Gwenvael’s book. I can’t do that with Wilder’s Mate, because the next one isn’t out yet.

—Heather

Heads up, this auction has some awesome prizes and benefits a longtime member and friend of the romance community at large. (Disclaimer: I don’t know Fatin, I’ve just read her blog occasionally).

zoearcher:

Many, many romance authors and romance industry professionals are banding together to help someone in our community that has suffered a terrible loss.

From the Operation Auction website:

Fatin has been an integral part of the romance community for years – she owns and runs the RR@H Novel Thoughts and Book Talk blog, is an administrator of the WriteMinded loop, an author assistant and a tireless advocate for romance novels. She is also a friend to many in this community.

On Tuesday, March 8th, she lost her husband in a senseless act of violence, leaving her alone with four children. You can read more about the tragedy here: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9233067/

The romance community would like to rally around her. Therefore, we will be holding auctions on ebay the last week of March.

Day One of the auction is live now, and this is the link to my offering, a complete autographed set of the Blades of the Rose series, including WARRIOR, SCOUNDREL, the RITA Award-nominated REBEL, STRANGER, and the prequel, “The Undying Heart” from the anthology HALF PAST DEAD.  

There are tons of other cool items available at the auction, from signed books, to having a character named for you in an upcoming book, to critiques, gift baskets, and so much more.  Please stop by and take a look!

Read it, loved it, and promptly downloaded the next Dragon Kin book. Annwyl is a badass heroine (I know, I know, you’re rolling your eyes if you read a lot of paranormal, but hear me out). Her nickname is Annwyl the Bloody, and she earns it on the battlefield against her brother, who is a tyrant who wants her dead, and the kingdom under his complete rule.

Our hero, Fearghus, finds her dying on the battlefield, toasts her enemies, takes her to his home and helps her heal. He’s fascinated by the little human who should have run from him in fear. When she asks for his help to defeat her brother, he decides to train her. In the book, it’s an unknown that a dragon may take a human form, so Fearghus tells her that he has a knight who will teach her to control her temper, which is her downfall on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Annwyl is torn by her love for the dragon and her desire for the knight.  There’s also humor in the form of Fearghus’ siblings, one of whom gets a bad case of indigestion from eating too many bad guys. The end of the book is a little choppy compared to the rest of the story, which is the only thing that detracted from it getting an A+. Also, if you’re used to your fantasy titles building slowly, you’ll find that Dragon Actually unfurls at a breakneck pace. This ain’t Lord of the Rings, guys.

Note: I read the nookBook version of this title, and it has two stories in one. I am not certain if the paperback version is the same. The second story is the backstory of Fearghus’ parents and their courtship, which was tumultuous. It’s a bit naughtier than Fearghus and Annwyl’s story – there’s some light bondage, so reader be aware.  All in all, I give Dragon Actually an A…because I don’t want Fearghus to eat me.

-Heather