The New Death and Others

The New Death and Others
     ~ James Hutchings
Publisher ~ James Hutchings
Published ~ 27 September 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

The New Death and Others is a collection of 44 stories and 19 poems. Some of the stories are so short they could be a vignette…if they’d been drawn instead of written.

Irreverent, cheeky, sarcastic and very amusing is how I’d describe this collection. I skipped only three items: Under the Pyramids, The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune and The Garden of Adompha because I couldn’t get into them. The rest were pretty funny, at least to me they were. I’ve been told I have a strange sense of humor sometimes though, so what amused me in this collection may not be quite so amusing to others.

A fast easy read and an enjoyable way to pass the time. I groaned, snickered, giggled and even LOL’d my way thru this hodgepodge collection. A great way to pass the time.

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Father Christmas

Father Christmas ~ Barbara Metzger
Publisher ~ Ballantine (print)
                ~ Untreed Reads (ebook)
Published ~ 1995
                ~ 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Mrs. Graceanne Warrington is a widow with three-yr-old rambunctious identical twins. Her husband, Major Anthony Warrington, was killed by an infection after being injured in battle on the Pennisula. Unfortunately, Tony was the Duke of Ware’s cousin and heir since, even after having been married twice, he had no sons to pass the title to. Now, with no heir, the Duke, Leland Warrington, at age 31, had to brave the matchmaking mamas and their simpering misses and find himself another wife.

His friend, The Honorable Crosby Fanshaw, suggested a different idea. Leland’s cousin had died leaving two sons behind. The proverbial heir and a spare. Why not simply claim the eldest and name him heir? Tosh, said the Duke. What a ridiculous idea! Except, after a night of enduring Almack’s and getting quite sloshed, he penned a letter to his cousin’s widow stating his intention to take the eldest boy as his heir. When his very efficient staff sent the letter before he could function properly the next day he realized he had to go to the country and apologize. Thus begins a journey of miscommunication, misconceptions, working at cross purposes, hilarity and general upheaval for the libertine Duke and the widow who was raised a vicar’s daughter.

I quite enjoyed this story. Graceanne was no simpering miss. She had backbone to spare and wasn’t afraid to wield it. Of her sister, Prudence, the cause of a lot of her troubles, can I say how much I wanted to take a paddle and beat her behind raw? And her father? I’d have strangled him if I could’ve done it without getting caught.

The Duke was a decent guy who sometimes did stupid things, but then he was a guy who was used to people doing what he expected. Graceanne didn’t do anything he expected, but it all works out in the end when he finally pulls his head out of his butt. And I mean that in a good way since I actually liked him. LOL All-in-all a great read and I’m looking forward to reading more by Barbara Metzger.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book for me to review. Please see disclaimer page.

Sugar Rush

Sugar Rush (Cupcake Club Romance, #1)
    ~ Donna Kauffman
Publisher ~ Brava
Published ~ 27 December 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Leilani Trusdale left the Big Apple to be with her father when he suffered a heart attack. But after he was on the mend she realized she didn’t want to go back to her hugely successful yet highly stressful career as head pastry chef at the hot spot Gateau. It was everything she had worked so hard for yet…she was miserable. Pining for her boss, Baxter Dunne, didn’t help either, so she stayed in Sugarberry, GA and opened her own pastry shop called Cakes by the Cup and was finally happy. Until Baxter, AKA Chef Hot Cakes, blew into town with his wildly popular cooking show and turned her new life upside down.

This story was a bit slow off the block and when Baxter showed up at Lani’s shop I got a bit tired of his ‘not understanding’ her decision to leave New York. For an intelligent man it seemed as if he was being pretty stupid or worse condescending as if Lani was the stupid one who didn’t know her own mind. Also, I thought Lani was a bit too quick in forgiving him for riding into town with his grand idea which he didn’t have the decency to even talk to her about beforehand. I would’ve been angry at him a lot longer, but then that’s just me.

Overall, this was a great story with an interesting smooth-flowing plot, nice location, fun yet not over-the-top characters and cupcakes, lots of yummy sounding cupcakes. Not to mention the relationship between Lani and Baxter that you just hope would turn out to be a lasting one.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Entangled

Entangled ~ Paranormal Anthology
    ~Edie Ramer
Publisher ~ Authors4theCure
Published ~ 9 September 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Entangled is a paranormal anthology containing 11 stories by authors: Jennifer Estep, Edie Ramer, Nancy Haddock, Misty Evans, Dale Mayer, Cynthia Eden, Michelle Miles, Lori Brighton, Liz Kreger, Michelle Diener and Allison Brennan. Of these authors I’ve only read Cynthia Eden’s work before, so 10 of these authors are completely new to me though I have heard of Jennifer Estep and have her book Spider’s Bite coming up soon in my TBR List.

As far as I can tell the only stories in this anthology that are connected to other series by the authors are:

Halloween Frost by Jennifer Estep is #1.5 in the Mythos Academy series.

A Bit of Bite by Cynthia Eden appears to be in the world of the Night Watch and The Fallen series though I haven’t read the Bound series yet, so it could be connected to that series. I’m not clear if it does actually belong to a series or is independent of them all.

Ghostly Justice by Allison Brennan is #2.5 in the Seven Deadly Sins series.

Since these are short stories and I don’t like writing an individual review for each story I’ll just say this about Entangled…I really, really enjoyed each and every story. Some more than others, but they were all good. The only exception is Allison Brennan’s Ghostly Justice. I did not read that story because I would like to read the others in the series first, so I’ll have to revisit it when I do. And though I really hate reading a series out of order I didn’t think I would be reading the Mythos Academy series anytime soon, so I went ahead and read Halloween Frost anyway.

I would love to read some more stories connected to the short stories in this anthology by Nancy Raddock, Michelle Miles, Lori Brighton, Liz Kreger and Michelle Diener. I hope there are more to come!

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

The Anatomist's Apprentice

The Anatomist's Apprentice ~ Tessa Harris
Publisher ~ Kensington
Published ~ 27 December 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Lady Lydia Farrell watched her brother, Edward, die an agonizing death, but as horrible as that was, the worst is yet to come when rumors abound that it was her husband that killed Edward in order to gain his inheritance.

Lady Lydia is beside herself to find the truth. Did her brother die of natural causes or was he murdered? And if he was murdered was it her husband who did it or someone else? She turns to a well-respected anatomist to get to the bottom of these rumors once and for all.

The year is 1780 and Philadelphia native turned London local Dr. Thomas Silkstone is a much respected physician, a premier anatomist and a man of science. He agrees to help Lady Lydia and using his years of experience and vast knowledge of anatomy as well as all the available resources at his fingertips he negotiates a twisty turny maze of deceit, plots,  lies and decomposing bodies to uncover the truth and, in the process, a forensic scientist is born.

I have to admit I am fascinated by forensic science. I love shows such as CSI and I even have an AAS in Criminal Justice, the required Forensics class being the one that was most interesting to me. To read a story set in 1780 and how this important field of science was born was very interesting to me. Add in mystery, intrigue, interesting characters and a plot with more twists than the small intestine that keeps you guessing until the end and you get an excellent story. I look forward to reading more of Dr. Silkstone’s cases.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

His Mistress by Christmas

His Mistress by Christmas
      (Sinful Family Secrets, #1)
   ~ Victoria Alexander
Publisher ~ Kensington
Published ~ 27 September 2011

My Rating ~ 3 out of 5

Lady Veronica Smithson is a widow, independent and outspoken. While never courting scandal outright or deliberately throwing conventions to the wind, she does like to do her own thing and isn’t afraid to pursue her ambitions. After being widowed for three years she’s tired of being alone and, with no desire to remarry and give up her independence, decides to be a mistress to a suitable man.

Enter Sir Sebastian Hadley-Attwater, single gentleman, rogue and explorer who seems perfect for her purpose. The key word there is ‘seems’ when Sebastian surprises everyone, including himself, when he falls instantly in love with Veronica and wants to marry her. Veronica doesn’t want to get married and Sebastian wants her as his wife. Both are stubborn. What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? Read and find out.

This was an entertaining read. Witty, flowing, with likeable characters. While I did enjoy it I didn’t click with the characters or story as I would have liked and I have no idea why. It puzzles me, but it will not stop me from moving on to the next story in the series.

Color My Horse

Color My Horse ~ Bev Pettersen
Publisher ~ Bev Pettersen
Published ~ 13 August 2011

My Rating ~ 3.5 out of 5

Jessica Boone is the rich granddaughter of a tyrant in charge of a large corporation. Her competitive skiing career goes down the drain when she has an accident that wrecks her knee. Now, her grandfather is pressuring her to join the family business, but Jessica just wants out from under his thumb. A deal is struck. If Jessica can last 8 weeks at Belmont where he has two race horses without quitting or being fired then he will finance her dog daycare business. If she quits or is fired before the 8 weeks is up she has to work at Boone.

Mark Russell is a horse trainer with a good reputation for wins. With Boone’s two horses looking good enough to win in 8 weeks he’s left no option but to hire Jessica at her grandfather’s demand. Boone tells Mark she won’t last a week, but Jessica surprises them all.

This is a great story. The plot was decent, the writing good, the characters believable. My only problem was that Jessica and Mark were occasionally childish in their actions. There were times they acted as hormonal and moody as teenagers even though Mark was 31 and Jessica in her 20s. I was especially irritated with Mark since he was supposed to be a mature adult and an excellent horse trainer and businessman. I understand they both had emotional baggage they were carrying around, but it still irritated me.

I loved learning more about horse racing. I grew up on a farm and when my parents stopped raising beef cattle and started renting the farmland out they raised a few race horses. By that time I had grown and moved out, so I never really paid attention to the details of the horses and where they raced. Learning about what goes into racing a horse was very interesting to me even after all these years.

I am definitely going to read more of Bev Pettersen’s books and I can’t wait to pick up the next one.

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

No Limits

No Limits ~ Jenna McCormick
Publisher ~ Aphrodisia
Published ~ 27 December 2011

My Rating ~ 3 out of 5

Genevieve Luzon is going nowhere fast. She just lost her job, her account is dwindling and her sister has disappeared. Rhys is an empath, not of Earth and in an impossible situation. When Gen’s friend Gia orders her a man whore, I mean, pleasure companion named Franco from Illustra for the night, Rhys ends up along for the ride. And what a ride it turns out to be.

I didn’t realize when I picked this book that it was set in the future as well as being sci-fi. That’s not a bad thing because it’s sort of a futuristic, sci-fi, erotica hybrid story. Space traveling is as common as hopping on a plane is today. Cool technologies exist and prostitution has been legalized with the invention of the personal germ shield. However, the company Illustra is up to no good, really bad, evil no good and it’s up to Rhys and Gen to stop them.

I really enjoyed this book even though the constant ping ponging between Gen and Rhys wore on my nerves after awhile. Gen is a bit of a wimp and whiny, too, and Rhys is clueless, but since he’s not human I cut him some slack. Overall, I really enjoyed the whole setting and the story. I also like how the author left an opening for a Book 2 featuring Gia and the space pirate Zan (also not human).

Writing is smooth, characters are ok, setting is cool, story is good and the sex is…*stares off into space replaying the scenes in head*…what? Oh, yeah. *ahem* The sex scenes are yummy! An entertaining read which means I’ll read more by Jenna McCormick.

*The publisher provided a copy of this story for me to review. Please see disclaimer page.

Never Cry Wolf

Never Cry Wolf (Night Watch, #4)
    ~ Cynthia Eden
Publisher ~ Kensington
Published ~ 28 June 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Sarah King is a little more than human, has a bounty on her head and needs protection. Protection she hopes will be provided by the big bad wolf. Lucas Simone is the big bad wolf. Alpha of the LA pack he’s had a rough life, but he’s a survivor and, more important to Sarah, he protects the weak. As a human in a supernatural world, she’s as weak as they get. Mystery, action and hot yummy sexiness abounds as Sarah fights for her life and Lucas fights to protect her.

Cynthia Eden hits another home run in the Night Watch series. There’s lots of action, sneakiness, betrayal, loyalty, fighting, hot yumminess and steamy sex in Never Cry Wolf. From the way things looked at the end there are at least two or three more Night Watch stories coming up. More would be nice. *hint, hint* Whether they might be books, novellas or parallel stories I’ll just have to wait and see. But I am watching. And waiting. I’m not known for waiting patiently. *fidgets* Is the next book out yet? *fidgets some more* How ‘bout now? *sigh*

Heaven is for Heroes

Heaven is for Heroes ~ PJ Sharon
Publisher ~  PJ Sharon
Published ~ 17 September 2011

My Rating ~ 3 out of 5

Jordan ‘Jordie’ Dunn is seventeen and trying to cope with the sudden loss of her Marine brother, Levi (Lee) and the wounded but alive childhood friend Alex ‘Coop’ Cooper. Lee and Coop got caught setting the new and still under construction high school on fire and they had a choice. Spend a year in juvie or join the Marines. They chose to join the Marines and when a special ops mission in Iraq goes south Levi is killed and Alex loses his right leg from the knee down and his memory of the event. Alex is blamed, but Jordie believes it was her brother who disobeyed the order to stand down. She wants the truth and she wants to help Coop heal. In the process she falls in love.

While this wasn’t my typical read it is a decent YA story of coping with tragedy and moving on. Jordie is mostly strong and wise beyond her years though she has moments of teen angst. Coop is easy to like and it’s not hard to root for his recovery. I also liked Brig, Jordie’s grandfather, but her mom, not so much.

I would have given this a review of 4 except for one thing that really bothered me…Marines are not soldiers. Soldiers are Army and Marines are Marines. Marines get very irritated when they are called soldiers. They don’t like it. At all. How do I know this? My husband and my oldest son are Marines (now out). Never call them soldiers and never call them ex-Marines. Unless you’re insulting them and that’s never a very good idea. o.O

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see my disclaimer page.

Kill Switch

Kill Switch ~ Neal Baer, Jonathan Greene
Publisher ~ Kensington
Published ~ 13 December 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Claire Waters is a forensic psychiatrist. Todd Quimby is a dysfunctional screw up. Nick Lawler is a good detective going blind. Throw them together and you get a twisty turny mystery that needs to be solved.

This book is authored by two guys associated with Law & Order: SVU. I’ve never watched that particular show, but I do love Law & Order: CI and shows like CSI, Bones, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Monk, NCIS, etc. etc. So though I usually would watch something like this story on television I do like to read a good mystery every now and again.

This was a great story. The characters were believable, the plot twisty, the writing smooth. It started off a bit slow with some background info interspersed with the mystery, but I like info, so it didn’t bother me. Then when I thought the case was put to rest yet had half a book left to read I was wondering where this story was going. The case didn’t seem to fit together very well, as if we were missing something. Something important. The middle lagged a bit, but picked right back up when the trail got hot again.

I have to say the ending surprised me. I love not figuring out how a story is going to end. It drives me crazy…in a good way. I’d read more stories by Baer and Greene and hope they collaborate again.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Aisling Grey, Guardian series

 

 

Aisling Grey, Guardian series (Books 1, 2, 3 & 4)
 ~ Katie MacAlister
Publisher ~ Penguin Group
 ~ Large Print editions by Thorndike Press
Published ~ 7 September 2004 ~ You Slay Me
                    3 May 2005 ~ Fire Me Up
                    7 November 2006 ~ Light My Fire
                    6 November 2007 ~ Holy Smokes

My Rating for the series ~ 3 out of 5

I've written a review for You Slay Me on 11/19/2011, but somehow I didn't get around to writing reviews for the other three books. I decided to do a series review instead of posting  three back-to-back-to-back reviews.

My opinion in my review of You Slay Me stands for the rest of the series. I enjoyed it enough to keep reading. It had mystery, humor, slapstick, hotness, dragons, demons, magic and flying-by-the-seat-of-her-pantsness. Wait...is that even a word? Well, it is now. It was entertaining and light with smooth writing and I did mention the hotness, right? Yummy Drake!

Aisling reminds me of Lucille Ball yet not nearly as annoying as I always found ol' Lucy. I hate that show, btw. If you enjoy MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series or Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series then you'll enjoy Aisling Grey, Guardian and her trusty sidekicks. Not to mention yummy Drake.

Jacob

Jacob (Nightwalkers, #1)
    ~ Jacquelyn Frank
Publisher ~ Zebra
Published ~ 1 January 2006

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Jacob is a Nightwalker, a Demon Nightwalker to be precise since there are Others who walk the night among the humans. Jacob is the Enforcer and has been for 400 of his almost 700 yrs. It’s his job to find and punish those bad little Demons who intend to interact in an, um, intimate way with humans. That type of interaction is forbidden because it doesn’t take much to harm a human, but Demons have a hard time resisting twice a year around Beltane in the spring and Samhain in the autumn when the full moon makes them crazy with lust and sexual desires. But never Jacob the Enforcer. Until the night he meets Isabella.

Isabella is a librarian, human, restless and intelligent with a hunger for knowledge. One night as she’s leaning out her fifth story window looking up into the night sky she falls out and is caught by Jacob who is out hunting a Summoned One. She senses what he cannot and leads him where he needs to go much quicker than he could’ve done on his own. Not only does she lead him to the Summoned One and the nasty necromancer who did the Summoning, but after Jacob gets his butt handed to him, she saves him and herself by killing the Summoned One (now the Transformed One) with a lucky move. How could a human do what she had done? Such a thing had not been heard of yet she did it. So many questions and the answers are forthcoming if you read the book.

I love this new (to me) series. The characters are real to me, the writing smooth, the world fascinating. Likeable characters, mystery, action and yummy hot sex along with humor and butt kicking. What’s not to love? I’m ready for Book 2, Gideon.

The Darkest Passion

The Darkest Passion
     (Lords of the Underworld, #5)
     ~ Gena Showalter
Publisher ~ HQN
Published ~ 25 May 2010

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Aeron is an Immortal Lord who houses the demon Wrath. Olivia is an angel who refused to kill him when ordered to by the Heavenly High Council. Her punishment is to become a fallen angel, so they give her the boot and she descends to the bowels of Hell. However, she digs her way to the surface in order to get to Aeron. She gave up everything for him and, by golly, she’s going to get to him, fighting demons and digging with her hands to do just that.

This 5^th installment of the Lords of the Underworld is just as twisty and turny as the previous ones as the Lords and the Hunters fight to be the first to find Pandora’s Box. In order to do that they need all four of the magical artifacts, two of which are in the possession of the Lords. Another is found in this book. Which one and who gets it, you ask? I’m not telling. LOL

Another demon-possessed immortal is found and captured by the Lords, her name is Scarlet and she has a surprising connection to Gideon, Keeper of Lies. Something happens to Legion, Lysander makes several appearances, we learn a bit about Ashlyn’s pregnancy, more facts about the power struggles involving the Titans, the Unspoken Ones (whom I’ve dubbed the Ugly Ones) show themselves, fighting, humor and yummy hot sex are all packed into this story.

The ending is a bit of a shocker and I can’t wait to get to the next book, Gideon’s story, to see how it continues. I love this series!

Go Team Lords! Die, Hunters, Die!

Mia's Cop Craving

Mia's Cop Craving

      (Police Officer Sex Fantasy, #1)

   ~ Malia Mallory

Publisher ~ Malia Mallory

Published ~ 5 December 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Mia has a recurring fantasy involving a cop and decides, for the sake of her sanity, to do something about it. She gets dolled up (not too slutty, not too nice) and goes to the local cop bar to pick up a cop. She lucks out when she spies Rogan at the bar nursing a beer after being stood up by a buddy. Mia takes a leap (metaphorically speaking) and, after asking if he’s available (no wife or girlfriend), takes the plunge and tells him a bit about her fantasy. Things get hot from there.

This is one of the shortest short stories I think I’ve read. I call it a mini story since it’s only about 18 pages long. However, don’t let the lack of length put you off. Like penis size, length has very little to do with enjoyment when it’s wielded with expertise and there is a lot of punch in such a short space of text. Well-written and hot, I was right there with the characters. So much so that I felt like a voyeur. *fans self*

An opening was left at the end for a second installment and I’m very much looking forward to reading it.

*The author provided a copy of this story to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Review for Night Reigns

Night Reigns (Immortal Guardians, #2)
    ~ Dianne Duvall
Publisher ~ Zebra
Published ~ 6 December 2011

My Rating ~ 5 out of 5

Marcus Grayden has lived as an Immortal Guardian for 800 years and in all that time he has loved one woman, the one woman he couldn’t have without betraying his best friend. When she is gone he mourns her loss for eight years, living life on the edge and ignoring the concern of his friends.

Then he meets Amiriska. Ami has some amazing abilities yet she is an enigma to everyone. Protected by Seth, the leader of the Immortal Guardians, she has a secret that puts her in extreme danger. Seth, sneaky wise man that he is, appoints her as Second to Marcus, but the attraction between his Guardian and the woman Seth has vowed to protect surprises him. Will Marcus accept Ami as his Second? Will Ami trust Marcus with her secret? Will the Immortal Guardians stop the self-named vampire king and his army before humans figure out there is other intelligent life on Earth than just themselves? Who are the people that held Ami captive? And will the Guardians be able to stop them? Let the excitement begin!

Oh, boy! I loved this story! I had a hard time putting it down when it was necessary for me to do so. I both wanted to read it fast and read it slow. Fast because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next and slow because the third book isn’t out until October! Gah!! *pouting face*

I love the characters, the world is awesome, the story smooth, the action just right and the hotness…*fans self*. My final word on this book is…More! Now! Ok, that’s two words. lol

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Review for Lost Souls: Resurrection: Episode 1

Lost Souls: Resurrection: Episode 1
Author ~ Laurel O'Donnell
Publisher ~ Laurel O'Donnell
Published ~ 15 October 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Christian Thompson has just won a long struggle with his evil ex and gained custody of his precious daughter. While out for a walk with her he is struck by a car and killed. Refusing to move on and leave his daughter to the mercy of his ex-wife he stays earthbound. That’s when the really weird stuff begins.

I really enjoyed this story. I’ve read stories that had ghosts or spirits in them, but usually they were adjuncts or side kicks not as main characters. Writing is smooth, characters are interesting and the world is fascinating.

I’m looking forward to Episode 2. I can’t wait to see where this is heading.

*The author provided a copy of this story to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.