2.5ish stars. So I downloaded this one as a Tor free ebook, with their eBook of the Month club. (https://ebookclub.tor.com/), opened it to check out t2.5ish stars. So I downloaded this one as a Tor free ebook, with their eBook of the Month club. (https://ebookclub.tor.com/), opened it to check out the first chapter or two, and before I knew it I was halfway through and decided to finish it up, though I wasn't particularly impressed with, well, anything going on here: plot, main character, writing, and the sheer level of blood and guts and violence. That's on me for wasting my brain on this, but maybe I can save someone else the trouble.
I've seen a lot of grimdark fantasy but not so much grimdark science fiction. This is pretty bleak and violent SF, with a few rays of hope and light.
Our main character is Mariam ("Mars") Xi, who has incredibly strong telekinetic powers, which she mostly uses to rip people to shreds and kill them. Before the story begins, she was in a lab of a Very Bad Corporation called MEPHISTO, being trained as a psychic soldier and killer. She managed to escape with the help of an older girl, who (view spoiler)[apparently (hide spoiler)]died in the process, and has been on the run from them ever since.
As the story begins, Mars is being rescued from her wrecked spaceship by another small ship with three people in it, not counting the AI of their ship. They don't trust her, and she certainly doesn't trust them. But as MEPHISTO figures out where she is and who she's with, they may need to help each other.
If kickass superpowered heroines are your literary flavor of choice, this might be worth checking out. There's lots of action (mostly of the violent sort) and it's a quick, fast-paced read. But I didn't see anything new or noteworthy here, I couldn’t identify with the main character, and the high level of violence turned me off. There's a slight cliffhanger ending, but I'm not planning on checking out more of Mariam Xi's adventures.
Content note: Strong R rating for language and violence....more
Kindle freebie romance time again! 3.5 stars for this one - I'm rounding up because I'm giving an indie author the benefit of the break here.
Esther FoKindle freebie romance time again! 3.5 stars for this one - I'm rounding up because I'm giving an indie author the benefit of the break here.
Esther Fox is an orphaned young woman living with her well-meaning but fairly indifferent stepbrother and his wife. Her only relative, her brother Isaac, is on the Continent fighting Napoleon's armies. When she ends up in not one, but two, somewhat compromising situations with an old friend of her brother's, Silas Riley, an earl, he decides he needs to protect her reputation and announces to all and sundry that they're betrothed. (Silas was already attracted to Esther so it wasn't too tough of a choice for him).
Esther is already highly sensitive about being a burden and being told what to do by others, so Silas's somewhat high-handed actions rub her the wrong way, and she doesn't feel like she really belongs with him, his friends, or in his world. And so we have a couple in a marriage of convenience who are attracted to each other but having a hard time understanding the other's personality and needs, and aren't doing the best job at communicating with each other. And then another unexpected tragic event makes life for Esther and Silas even more difficult.
Most of the book revolves around their personality conflicts and lack of understanding. It got a little slow and bland for me at times, and I wasn't entirely onboard with Esther's issues relating to interpersonal relationships. But their characters are well-drawn and the book was reasonably interesting and well-written. Recommended if you like the squeaky-clean Regencies (kisses only, and those were pretty chaste)....more
I picked this up as a Kindle freebie ages ago and finally got around to reading it. Jaima Fixsen does some unusual things here with the normal RegencyI picked this up as a Kindle freebie ages ago and finally got around to reading it. Jaima Fixsen does some unusual things here with the normal Regency romance tropes: the heroine, Sophy, is an illegitimate child and the hero, Tom, is the gruff son of a wealthy merchant and his socially clueless wife, who are viewed by the gentry as social upstarts. (Their last name of Bagshot doesn't help matters.)
The story starts with Sophy's childhood, as the daughter of a governess who had an affair with the master of the house, Lord Fairchild (who, to be fair, really did love her). When Sophy's mother dies, Lord and Lady Fairchild take her in. Lady Fairchild feels about this the way you'd expect a betrayed wife to feel, but over the years she and Sophy gradually grow closer. Tom and Sophy meet when she gets caught in a storm and injured, and takes refuge in Tom’s and his mother’s home.
The story is a little slow at first and takes a while to get going, and even then I'd call it "deliberately paced" rather than a fast-paced, exciting read. The romance is fairly understated. At the same time, it's well-written and thoughtful, with interesting characters who often act in surprising ways. I recommend it if you enjoy the more traditional types of Regencies (as opposed to the spicy ones)....more
Another swing and a miss on the Kindle freebie romances. This would be maybe a 3 star book - a pleasant Regency romance, though predictable and not weAnother swing and a miss on the Kindle freebie romances. This would be maybe a 3 star book - a pleasant Regency romance, though predictable and not well written, sorry - but I'm docking it a full star for, seriously, the WORST spelling and punctuation I've seen in a long, long time. Random capitalization in the middle of sentences ("What The Dowager didn't understand"), apostrophes in plural words and other words ending in “s” that don't need them ("The new Countess send's her apologies"), commas sneaking out of sentences they should have been in ("Their lips exploring demanding more") and into sentences where they don't belong ("Now he rolled his eyes, 'I doubt it, besides. It is not just you...' ").
But my FAVORITES were the misspellings! Like these:
"... the man understood his very lively hood depended upon his next statement." Which made me think of this:
[image]
... or maybe this:
[image]
Even better: "the chicken coup." Somewhere there's a gang of chickens plotting to overthrow the government.
[image]
The plot is cute if totally unrealistic: wealthy and handsome (of course) duke, Norwich, goes incognito at his friend's newly inherited estate so he can investigate why the estate isn't making as much money as it should. While roaming the estate he comes across lovely Anne Stafford up in an apple tree, stealing apples because she and her two younger sisters and their aunt ("Aunt Ester," who is apparently a chemical compound in disguise) are so impoverished. They chat, the tree branch breaks and he catches her, and it's love or at least lust at first sight. Norwich doesn't tell her he's actually a duke, but he knows there's no way he can pursue a relationship with a destitute commoner. Too bad fate has other plans ...
Anyway, it's cute if you like super fluffy, rather silly romances (with some steaminess, though it's pretty much all post-marriage) as long as you don't mind that the author apparently used a 5th 3rd grader to do her proofreading.
One of the worst Kindle freebie romances I've had the dubious pleasure of downloading, and that's saying something. Both of the main characters are idOne of the worst Kindle freebie romances I've had the dubious pleasure of downloading, and that's saying something. Both of the main characters are idiots who blow hot and cold, and the writing is so clunky it was painful.
I started squinting at it after a chapter or two and ended up skimming through the rest of the book, just to see how it all played out. When I finished I even went to the trouble of going to Amazon and permanently deleting this book from my Kindle files, so I can forget about it as soon as possible and never ever be reminded of it again. ...more
Four-foot six-inch talA soft 3 stars for this military SF novella, free to download here at this link. Full review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Four-foot six-inch tall, 72 lb. Floribeth (Beth) Dalisay, who makes up in determination what she’s lacking in size, has risen from the underclass on the planet New Cebu to become a pilot for a megacorporation. Flying a tiny, one-person ship called a Hummingbird, she’s on a routine mission to explore new solar systems and planets when she runs into alien spaceships. Unfortunately, they’re hostile aliens who promptly start shooting at her ship. Using some tricky flying that involves nullifying her ship’s AI and taking the controls, Beth manages to escape through the stargate she had set up, blowing it up behind her.
This action, though by the book, runs Beth into deep trouble with her employer, which acts like the typical Evil!Corporation and inexplicably (except that they're eeevvilll) severely punishes her rather than rewarding her. Luckily for Beth, the Directorate Navy hears of her adventure and is now interested in our hotshot pilot, especially since she’s the only human that has ever come in contact with a spacefaring alien race, hostile or otherwise. But can she make the grade as a Navy fighter pilot?
Fire Ant is a quintessential MilSF novella, long on action and intrepid main characters and space battles and rather short on memorable characterization, depth and imagination. It’s readable, and fine if what you’re mostly interested in is space battles and a standard “rising through the military ranks through skill and bravery” type of SF story. It’s the first in a series, so it feels like an origin story, and there are some major hanging plot threads (mostly: what are these aliens and why did they start shooting before taking the time to find out more about humans?).
Fire Ant is a Nebula nominee, but (I think it’s safe to say) only because of some gaming of the Nebula voting system, and I would have given it a pass if I hadn’t found the free copy through File 770. I also think it’s safe to assume that their link to a free copy is temporary during the Nebula voting period, so grab it now if you’re a fan of traditional MilSF and are interested.
Heads up on a Kindle freebie, April 2, 2019, if you like sweet romance novellas. This one has six short contemporary romances, all with a "romance on Heads up on a Kindle freebie, April 2, 2019, if you like sweet romance novellas. This one has six short contemporary romances, all with a "romance on vacation" theme. They're not deep but I like popping these down like candy when I'm in the mood for a little bit of fluff.
If I call them palate cleansers instead of brain candy does that sound more impressive? :D
Update: Finished. These are sweet romances with old-fashioned values (religion never gets mentioned, but socially and morally it seems clear that these characters are religious). Only a couple of them gave me the romance feelz, which, why else am I reading this fluff? so I just wasn't that enthused overall. The best romance feels for me came from Heather Moore's "Picture Perfect."
The stories:
3.75 stars for "Moonlight Kiss" by Josi S. Kilpack. Sarah, the single mom of a 6 year old Downs Syndrome daughter, has been messaging Clint, a guy in different office of her company in another state. They plan to meet up at the company retreat in Cozumel, Mexico. But Sarah hasn't told Clint about her daughter yet, and is the suave Clint the right match for her? Verdict: heartwarming but predictable (view spoiler)[from the moment you meet Clint's co-worker Mark (hide spoiler)]. A nice story about priorities and being yourself.
2 stars for "Chasing Tess" by Annette Lyon, about a newly minted law graduate and his long-suffering girlfriend of 3+ years. James was a tool (thoughtless and taking Tess TOTALLY for granted, and overly influenced by his class-conscious parents) and Tess was a doormat until they both had their respective Come to Jesus moments, which, okay, fine. But (law-related rant here) my head was exploding because, who does an internship after graduating from law school? No one, that's who. At least in my experience, you get an actual job offer, conditioned on your passing the bar. Not just an internship. Plus most firms - especially NYC big law - are VERY unlikely to make such an offer unless you've already spent a summer working for them during law school (which is a "summer associate" job, not an internship. Internships do exist but they're more for pre-law students or for course credit).
3 stars for "Dancing at the Flea Market" by Heather Justesen. Mara meets Carter, a widower who's still having a hard time dealing with the loss of his wife. That's ... pretty much the plot in a nutshell. And that's all I have to say about that.
2.5 stars for "The Best Laid Plans" by Sarah Eden. Madison bails on her vacation with friends to Cancún because her mother has texted her that she's seeing a new man, "Mr. Fabulous." Because her mom's relationships (beginning with Madison's father) are ALWAYS bad news, Madison feels compelled to rush back to her home town and ... try to torpedo the new relationship before it gets off the ground? Whatever, girl. And then she finds out Mr. Fabulous is the uncle of Derek, the ex-boyfriend she can't forget. Minus a star (or more) because Madison is such an idiot and her actions and motives were totally unbelievable to me. I mean that literally: I couldn't believe her as a character.
4 stars for "Picture Perfect" by Heather Moore. Gemma gets dumped by her boyfriend of two years, cuts her hair short and dyes it, and takes off on vacation with two of her old high school friends. Little does she realize that one of these friends, Drew, who's always been in the friend zone, has something more in mind. This is the one that had the best kissing scene so, plus points for that!
3.25 stars for Aubrey Mace’s "The Science of Sentiment." Rose has never forgotten Kevin and his fantastic kisses ... but Kevin broke up with her a year ago. When Rose goes to her grandfather's Park City cabin in the mountains for a weekend getaway, guess who's already there? Kevin's still a tease, but Rose can't figure out what he has in mind. Second best kissing scene! So some plus points, but minus points because it's pretty unclear why they broke up in the first place (and he never really apologizes for that) or why they should expect that issue to be different now....more
Kindle freebie Regency romance, of the sweet and clean variety. If you’re a fan of Edenbrooke and ingenue heroines, give this one a try.
3.5 stars. I Kindle freebie Regency romance, of the sweet and clean variety. If you’re a fan of Edenbrooke and ingenue heroines, give this one a try.
3.5 stars. I do think it borrows too many plot concepts from Edenbrooke (which this author read and rated 5 stars). You have a young, goodhearted heroine whose mother has died, sent off on a lengthy visit to someone else's home, where she meets an attractive man who (it's clear to everyone but the heroine) is very interested in her, but she's determined not to return the interest because a beautiful and more confident relative of hers (a cousin in this case) has prior dibs on him ... you get the idea. The main differences are that the hero here is harder to warm up to than Phillip in Edenbrooke (I think he's intended to have a bit more of the stand-offish Darcy vibe to him) and Abigail, the heroine, is carrying a deep, dark secret that she doesn't want anyone to know. There's also a fun character in the form of the hero's married sister, who connives and jumps through all sorts of hoops to try to get her brother together with Abigail.
Even if it's derivative, it was charming reading for a light, sweet Regency romance. Recommended only to those who love this genre and aren't too hardcore about period accuracy. It's self-published and I caught a few grammatical errors (example: "Though her and Mother were sisters ..." Yes, I am a grammar stickler), but overall the writing quality was pretty good.
And I'm happy to report there was no twirling....more
Kindle freebie romance time! This is a charming, light Regency romance, in the Georgette Heyer style. It’s fairly standard as RR’s go except for one tKindle freebie romance time! This is a charming, light Regency romance, in the Georgette Heyer style. It’s fairly standard as RR’s go except for one truly major difference: the hero, Ethan Brundy, is a lowborn man who’s risen to great wealth. He doesn’t fit in at all in high society, with his common speech and ill-fitting clothes. He's pleasant-looking, but not really handsome.
But when Ethan sets eyes on Lady Helen, the elegant and sharp-tongued daughter of a duke, he falls instantly in love and determines to marry her. She, on the other hand, is absolutely appalled by the idea, but her father the duke has managed to gamble away his entire fortune, and Ethan’s offer looks to the duke like a Godsend.
Recommended (especially if it’s still a freebie) if you like this sort of read.
Content notes: clean. Some use of the Lord's name....more
This is a sentimental, very old-fashioned Christmas story, from 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Fernald are an aging couple whose six children (four of them marrieThis is a sentimental, very old-fashioned Christmas story, from 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Fernald are an aging couple whose six children (four of them married) have all moved away from home. Guy, one of their younger sons, impulsively drops by one Christmas afternoon and realizes his parents have been feeling extremely lonely. None of their grown kids has been home for Christmas in years.
So Guy hatches a plan to have all six children secretly gather at their parents’ home the next Christmas, and surprise them Christmas morning. (No spouses or grandchildren, just the six children.) Will he be able to talk his siblings into it? (Not to mention their spouses!) Will they be able to pull off the surprise? And also, will the elusive girl who Guy has loved for years finally be willing to give him a chance?
It’s sweet but kind of sappy, and I just couldn’t agree with the premise (view spoiler)[that it was a great plan to pull the married kids away from their own spouses and children for at least a couple of days right at Christmas (hide spoiler)]. Was the attitude about the holiday so different back then? Or about what you owe to your parents? That part was a huge needle scratch for me.
ETA: Reread in 2019 in preparation for reading the sequel, On Christmas Day in the Evening. I actually liked it a little better the second time around, but I stand by my initial review.
A little bit of Christmas romance fluff that I picked up as a Kindle freebie and whipped through in an hour or so, as a palate cleanser between heavieA little bit of Christmas romance fluff that I picked up as a Kindle freebie and whipped through in an hour or so, as a palate cleanser between heavier reads. Keira is a young single mother who owns a chocolate shop. She was widowed a year or so ago by a tragic auto accident that killed her husband, which has left her with a major phobia of driving in snow. Her friends are trying to line her up with Pete, a handsome (of course) local veterinarian.
Pete and Keira miss each other on the blind date their friends set up, but they run into each other later and figure it out. Except maybe not: Pete has been burned before by dating a single mother and getting deeply involved in the life of her son, falling in love with the boy as much as the mom. The breakup was so painful that he's made a hard-and-fast rule not to date single mothers ever again.
So despite their mutual attraction, he reluctantly tells her he can't pursue the relationship. Keira takes this way harder than it probably deserves given how little time they've spent together at that point, but I have to admit I've been there myself and it's not as far-fetched as it might seem. Meanwhile, Pete is trying not to second-guess himself, telling himself over and over again that his rule against single moms is a GOOD idea, especially since they keep running into each other. This got old REALLY fast, BTW. I mean, no reader believes for a second that he won't change his mind, and the negative motivation seemed foolish here.
Anyway, Keira decides to get her 4 year old son a dog, and Pete gets involved because, why not? They're just friends! And he knows dogs and can help!!
The son is very cute. The dogs are even cuter. Pete is ... nice but forgettable, except for his being so stubborn about his rule whilst sending ALL KINDS of mixed signals to Keira. Also, the book needed another good proofreading pass; I noticed a few glaring misspellings. (Glaring to me, anyway. Things like "diffused" instead of "defused.")
Some discussion of prayer and faith, and the romance is squeaky clean.
Kindle freebie Regency romance, sweet but a little tepid and forgettable. Ellen is 25 and pretty much considered a spinster, on the shelf. Marcus suddKindle freebie Regency romance, sweet but a little tepid and forgettable. Ellen is 25 and pretty much considered a spinster, on the shelf. Marcus suddenly gets pressure from his mother to marry; until then she won’t give him the estate he’s to inherit. So he decides to marry ASAP, and since he’s been burned in the romance department before, he has no plans to fall in love again, ever. He and Ellen are childhood friends, and she’s been quietly in love with him for years, though he’s unaware of it. So (like a doofus) he blithely announces to her in his proposal that He. Will. Never. Love. Again. (famous last words and all that).
It’s competently written but doesn’t do anything new with these standard tropes, and there’s not enough kissing or sexual tension to make up for it. I guess I like my marriage of convenience stories to have a little more heat to them. :) I mean, even if it’s a marriage of convenience, if it’s supposed to be a real, permanent marriage, why not begin as you mean to go on? I’m not sure what Marcus was waiting for. Ellen and Marcus are painfully polite to each other but have trouble really communicating honestly.
It had its moments, but I probably won’t remember them in a few weeks....more
I picked up this collection of four Jane Austen fan fiction (JAFF) novellas and stories as a Kindle freebie and couldn't resist diving right into it. I picked up this collection of four Jane Austen fan fiction (JAFF) novellas and stories as a Kindle freebie and couldn't resist diving right into it. There are two Pride and Prejudice stories, one Mansfield Park one, and one that's a quirky combination of P&P, MP and Emma. The stories share a Christmas theme.
They're cute and fairly well-written and went down fairly easily, but there's just not a lot of substance to them. And what is this thing JAFF writers have with making Darcy so sappy and whipped over Elizabeth? I'm alarmed at his gooeyness. That is not MY Mr. Darcy.
Anyway, this collection started out fairly strongly but kind of petered off after the first story. Here's the breakdown (spoiler warnings for P&P and MP):
3.75 stars for "Her Christmas Gift" by Robin Helm. In this novella, the longest story in the collection, the plot veers off from the standard P&P when Lady Catherine de Bourgh never shows up at Longbourne, and Elizabeth and Darcy never get the chance to talk and work things out after he helps Lydia and then accompanies Bingley back to Meryton. Elizabeth has realized that she's very attracted to Darcy, but doesn't expect to ever get another chance with them.
Now it's the Christmas season, and Elizabeth has traveled to Rosings (Lady Catherine's estate) to help her friend Charlotte in her late pregnancy). Lady Catherine and Mr Collins both get ill (for different reasons), and Darcy shows up at Rosings with Thomas Jones, a handsome physician who's a childhood friend of Elizabeth's ... and is still carrying a torch for her. An interesting love-triangle-ish kind of story. I enjoyed the unexpected development of Anne de Bourgh's personality.
3 stars for "The Christmas Matchmaker" by Laura Hile. Wow, this one was kind of weirdly fantastical. It's right after Bingley's ball fairly early in P&P, and the morning after the ball Darcy and Bingley's sisters pack Bingley off to London to avoid him getting further involved with Jane Bennet. Before the rest of them can leave, they get some VERY unexpected visitors at Netherfield: it's Emma Woodhouse, accompanied by Miss Bates and Tom Bertram (from Mansfield Park). Apparently "Aunt Jane" sent them to Netherfield, hah.
Elizabeth Bennet also pays a visit to Netherfield to look for her amethyst bracelet that was lost at the dance the evening before, and Emma immediately launches into her matchmaking mode ... except that it's not Darcy who she wants to line Elizabeth up with. To his own surprise, Darcy is unhappy about Emma's meddling. Meanwhile Charles Bingley comes back to Netherfield because the bridge gets washed out, everyone is stranded, and mumps is going around (Caroline Bingley gets it, hah!). There's some really odd meta stuff going on, apparently due to Aunt Jane's meddling in the character's lives, trying to keep everyone on track.
"Aunt Jane," said Darcy in a low voice, "is apparently some sort of guardian to us all."
"That is very nicely said," agreed Miss Woodhouse. "It is most unwise to trifle with Aunt Jane. No good will come of it."
It's quirky (especially this one dream scene from their future that Elizabeth and Darcy share) but it had its moments.
2.5 stars for "No Better Gift" by Wendi Sotis. It's nine days before Christmas, and Darcy drops by the abandoned Netherfield estate to pick up a gift for his sister that he'd left there. He still can't get Elizabeth off his mind, but he's determined to avoid her. But Meryton is oddly abandoned, and when Darcy gets to Netherfield he finds ... Elizabeth mucking out one of the horses' stalls in the stable. Turns out there's YET ANOTHER bout of sickness going around - this time it's chicken pox - and so many people are ill that Elizabeth (who is immune since she had the chicken pox as a child) is helping out the ill servants at Netherfield. Darcy is alarmed at the state of Netherfield ... and about the return of his unwelcome feelings for Elizabeth. This story was weakened by (view spoiler)[ a sudden realization by Darcy that Elizabeth will actually make him a good wife and an even more sudden proposal scene (hide spoiler)], so joltingly sudden that I literally did a double-take. Minus points for sheer improbability (in a non-fantasy setting).
2.75 stars for "Mistletoe at Thornton Lacey" by Barbara Cornthwaite. This Mansfield Park fan fiction, which takes place right at the end of MP, includes a little conniving by Tom Bertram and Susan Price (Fanny's sister) to get Edmund to realize that he should marry Fanny. But an offhand comment by someone else has already led Edmund to that same thought.
On Thursday he wondered if true regard and affection were enough to build a good marriage on, deciding in the affirmative. On Friday he spent his time pondering if perhaps he could, in time, love Fanny in the same way that he had loved - well, at any rate, the way a bridegroom ought to love his bride. By Saturday morning he determined that the answer to that was yes, he certainly could - he was already thinking no other woman would ever do for him. By Monday he was overcome with nerves ...
But it turns out to be a tricky thing for Edmund to propose to Fanny.
It's not bad, but overall kind of lacking in depth and insight. Right after I finished this off I found myself rereading another Mansfield Park JAFF work, Everingham (which is free online, BTW), just to remind myself what really good JAFF is like....more
3.25 stars. Kindle freebie romance time again! (Now back to its 99c price point.) Gladly Beyond is an interesting twist on the paranormal romance genr3.25 stars. Kindle freebie romance time again! (Now back to its 99c price point.) Gladly Beyond is an interesting twist on the paranormal romance genre, involving an ancient gypsy gift/curse that gave the D'Angelo family the Sight, a powerful ability to see and hear both the future and the past, that passes from one first-born son to the next and inevitably drives them to suicide. Now the Gift has splintered between three triplets, easing the burden somewhat. Dante D'Angelo and his brother use their gift in their profession of assessing the authenticity and provenance of antiques. A full-time job being offered by a wealthy man called the Colonel (after Colonel Sanders, because of his KFC initials and appearance) could be just the thing to get the D'Angelo family back on solid financial ground.
Claire Raythorn, in the same profession, comes to Florence, Italy to try to rebuild her reputation after a couple of major setbacks, but finds she is competing for the same lucrative job not only with Dante but also Pierce, her ex-fiance. Pierce and she had a huge blowup a few months ago when she caught him in bed with another woman. Pierce unkindly posted an online video of Claire's meltdown (screaming and throwing everything in reach at him ... including tampons), which went viral, and now the whole world is laughing at Claire's perceived craziness.
So Claire's self-confidence and trust in men have been shattered ... which makes it tough when she and Dante share a mysterious connection, one he's very anxious to explore with her, despite their job competition. Meanwhile, Pierce is competing for the job as well, while being his smarmy jerk self and trying to win Claire back. And there's something odd about the Colonel, who is a little too interested in Claire personally. Not to mention Claire's anonymous stalker ...
Anyway, that's the set-up, and actually there's a lot to like about this book if you enjoy romances with a side of paranormal stuff, including reincarnation and past lives that affect the present. (I have to say I did enjoy the idea of Napoleon being reincarnated as Dante's mother's pet rat.)
Problems: The whole curse/reincarnation thing played out in some intriguing but rather inconsistent ways. And Claire's whole "I'm broken and will never love again" thing went on for way too long and was just a drag on the overall story after a while, not to mention the romance itself. I liked Dante a lot, but he's a Gary Stu character, practically perfect in every way, with no discernible flaws, not to mention smokin' hot (of course).
I'd recommend this to readers who love light romance novels and enjoy paranormal plots. The Italy setting was fun, and after making my mouth water with the descriptions of Italian food, the author was kind enough to include a recipe for roasted lemon-herb chicken at the end which I am FOR REAL going to try one of these days....more
Middle grade magic school type of fantasy. This is a magical adventure for younger middle grade readers, without a lot of depth or complexity. The wriMiddle grade magic school type of fantasy. This is a magical adventure for younger middle grade readers, without a lot of depth or complexity. The writing is pretty amateurish. I dnf’d it after a few chapters....more
3.33 stars for this set of four historical romance novellas, two of them steamy, that I picked it up as a Kindle freebie. They're okay if you like you3.33 stars for this set of four historical romance novellas, two of them steamy, that I picked it up as a Kindle freebie. They're okay if you like your Regency romance novels with some sexytimes, but I have to say that none of them are particularly memorable. A few weeks after reading them, I could barely remember the plots - I had to go back and look at the stories again to be able to write this review.
Here's the breakdown:
His Wicked Embrace by Lauren Smith: Zehra Darzi is a half-English Persian princess, kidnapped by the man who murdered her parents, a gleefully evil guy named Al-Zahrani. He brings her to England and sells her as a slave at some illicit auction at a brothel. Luckily for Zehra, Lawrence Russell, one of the good guys, is at the auction undercover, helping investigate the slave ring. He sees Zehra and can't resist buying her, even though he wasn't supposed to do anything to interfere. Unfortunately this isn't the end of Zehra and Lawrence's problems: Al-Zahrani wants her back, and Lawrence's brother is beyond angry that Lawrence went off-plan. I rolled my eyes a little with virginal Zehra's begging Lawrence to take her to bed. It's so unrealistic, but when you read a book that brags about scoundrels and wicked embraces, I suppose you know what you're going to get.
The Secret Scoundrel by Kristin Gabriel. Twenty-five year old Diana Harwood, too tall and a little too plain to appeal to most guys, escapes from the ball into the garden and runs into a man who introduces himself as Henry Lanford. He gives her a small package, which he begs her to keep safe for him, and then surprises her with a sexy kiss. When they meet up at Marwick Manor for a wedding a week or so later, Diana is disturbed to find out that her Henry is actually Colin Sinclair, the Marquess of Thorne. She's hurt that he was playing with her feelings and lying to her, but Thorne (actually Colin Henry Lanford Sinclair) swears he's serious.
They end up kind of competing and kind of cooperating in an effort to solve a crime. Since part of the plan is that they'll pretend to be attached, more kisses ensue. A fun story, though a bit too much insta-lovey. Kisses only in this one.
One Duke or Another by Ella Quinn. Lady Aglaia Trevor's coldhearted, tyrannical father, the Duke of Somerset, arranges with one of his neighbors, the Duke of Bolton, to marry Aglaia (Laia) off to Bolton in exchange for some property Bolton owns that adjoins Somerset's Bath estate. Bolton has been married four times before - and all four wives have died under rather suspicious circumstances. Laia, bewildered but obedient, is going to go along with the plan. But Laia's brother Damon, who's managed to escape from his father's tyranny, begs Bolton's heir, his nephew Guy Paulet, to Do Something ... preferably that something is to romance Laia away from his uncle. Once Guy meets Laia, he's all into this plan.
This was kind of a weird one for me: the basic plot sounded SO FUN, but the storytelling itself got oddly boring and I started skimming after a while. The sexytimes were so out of character for Laia, and so weirdly abrupt, that they left me completely cold.
A Scoundel at Heart by Laura Landon. Lord Thomas Renfrew's face was disfigured by a fire years ago, and he's never been comfortable in society since. But then he meets the lovely and kindhearted Lady Cleora, who is blind. They hit it off and he finally feels understood and loved ... but he doesn't want Cleora to suffer the social scandal that he thinks would be her lot if she married him. Plus there's reason to believe she might get her sight back. So Thomas decides to be all noble and self-sacrificing, but Cleora doesn't want to go along with that plan.
Umm ... yes, there's also some kind of mystery plot, which was entirely forgettable. It's really all about the relationship drama anyway. Another kisses-only story....more
2.5 stars. Kindle freebie romance time again. I'm sorry to be mean here, but we need to keep things real. I'm an outlier and most of my clean romance-2.5 stars. Kindle freebie romance time again. I'm sorry to be mean here, but we need to keep things real. I'm an outlier and most of my clean romance-lovin' GR friends enjoyed this one, so take this for what it's worth if you're generally a fan of this kind of sweet romance book.
So for a change of pace, we have an ordinary dude, Jordan, who meets up with a (widowed) princess when he lands on her family's private beach. Crown Princess Astrid is inclined to tell him to get lost at first, but he's (a) too tired from windsurfing to leave right away, and (b) a nice sensitive (and cute, of course) guy, so they start talking and hit it off ... though she doesn't tell him she's a princess, and she gives him one of her middle names instead of Astrid. He thinks she's just from an extremely wealthy family, which, to be fair, is also true.
Anyway, they start hanging out, both thinking this is just a fun summer fling (with a few kisses here and there but nothing more intense than that). But when the press gets hold of some pictures with them kissing in the sand, the jig is up. Astrid's country is like Victorian-age strict when it comes to PDA, and it's either a quick marriage or loss of (first) place in the succession and exile for our princess. Yes, for reals. Faced with this choice, both Astrid and Jordan agree to marry.
It's realistic that a marriage like this, despite good intentions from both people involved, is going to run into some serious issues. But it was all just too long and meandering for me. There were some pretty good scenes (I especially liked a particular discussion about not friend-zoning), but it was surrounded by a lot of not-very-interesting fluff. Jordan learns how to behave like a royal, yada yada. I ended up doing a fair amount of skimming.
Other problems: I was over Astrid's personal issues long before she was. And there was a late twist involving her first husband that I didn't think was fair play.
Recommended for not-very-critical critical clean romance fans. I think the freebie part ends today, so grab it while you can if this is your brain candy of choice!...more
Irritating characters and amateurish writing. I don't expect a whole lot from my Kindle freebie romances, but I just couldn't connect with this one.Irritating characters and amateurish writing. I don't expect a whole lot from my Kindle freebie romances, but I just couldn't connect with this one....more
Kindle freebie romance time again! A weak 3 stars for this one, which had a very cute if contrived concept but kind of stumbled in the execution. ThisKindle freebie romance time again! A weak 3 stars for this one, which had a very cute if contrived concept but kind of stumbled in the execution. This one is for non-critical, sweet romance fans only.
Lisette is gorgeous and brilliant (though you wouldn't know it from most of the choices she makes ...) and speaks several different language fluently. After graduating and getting dumped by her idiot boyfriend - from his limited dialogue, it's hard to understand what she saw in him - she comes up with a business plan: language immersion services for business people trying to learn a new language. She shadows them all day long, helping with the language. After too many clients try to pick her up and harass her, Lisette gets herself a "make-under": wearing an awful wig, makeup that ages and uglifies her, and schlumpy clothing.
All works well, until Erik comes along: a hot, Icelandic dude and successful businessman. Suddenly Lisette wants to dump the whole make-under and show Erik her real self. But she's afraid of ruining her business and her friendship with Erik.
Both the characters and the storyline are pretty shallow and improbable, and the plot gets disjointed, giving some subplots short shrift (like the whole thing with Lisette's mother and the guy who wants her, and how that got resolved in the end, which should have been developed a lot more fully or just left out) and skimming over time periods that could have used some more delving into. But it's a cute, very light romance if you want to just put your brain on autopilot and roll with it....more
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽
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