Genre: Historical Romance
Book 3 in the MacAllisters series
ISBN: 9780380817900
Releasedate: April 30, 2003
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishing Inc.
Format owned: HC Rhapsody
For sale at: The Book Depository Store

Synopsis
Though few can equal her skill with the sword, Caledonia MacNeely fights an unfamiliar shiver when she is offered in marriage to the infamous "Lord Sin." Though Callie fears this mysterious, unreachable stranger -- less for the dark whispers that damn him than for the heat of his touch -- she is under the order of the English king. And with the fate of her troubled clan hanging in the balance, she has little recourse.


Banished as a child, "Sin" MacAllister learned to despise his Scottish heritage. Yet now, to unmask King Henry's foes, he must return to the hated Highlands -- wedded to a bewitching lass whose flaming red hair matches the fire of her spirit. A cold, hard heart has always been the key to Sin's survival, but this beauty awakens in him a perilous need he's never known.

 
REVIEW
This is Sin MacAllister’s story. He’s the English-Scotsman out of the lot. Given to the Englishmen when he was still a child. With them he went to a cruelty beyon comprehension so he grew up to be the cold-hearted soldier and protector of the king today. Untill he comes across the task to wed ‘Callie’ a Scottish lass on English ground. Could she be the one to open him up?


What makes this novel standing out and rising above others in this genre is Kinley’s ability to write stories which reflect her unique sense of humor. She has a way to put the brotherly connection to words that make you instantly fall for them.

Kinley MacGregor had me highly entertained with this story. She has a brilliance to weave humor into the heavy set harsh reality of Sin’s traumatic past, but sometimes I found it got me out of connecting to Sin and I had the feeling I didn’t get to know enough of him to fully grasp why he was so closed off...

Callie is a fierce, proud and emphatic Scottish lass. She would putt herself at the frintline in a war to protect the one’s she loves. She’s all I would love to see back in a true Scottish heroine from way back then!

I do realize that Kinley’s MacAllister’s are written to entertain her readers, so in that way she definitely delivered again! She sets her characters – main, as well as secundary – down very well.

Though I enjoyed reading this story a lot, the one character who stuck in my mind was Ewan MacAllister. His story is next in line, and I would really love to see what she has in store for him.

With all the humor and funny situations, an underlying plotline also shows, which brings excitement and action in the mis. The easy way she uses humor in her writing – as both Kinley MacGregor and Sherrilyn Kenyon – shows that this is a major part of her personality. It brings a certain flair to her writing that I really love, it makes her novels all the more appealing to read and re-read.

There are two specific scenes in this novel that I kept with me for while after reading this novel. Both ofcourse with Sin and Callie at centre and are just heartwarming and hilarious at the same time. In my opinion they are a great example of this authors writing capability. I’ll give you two small hints; 1st – ‘Blood’ and 2nd – ‘Bull’. Are you intrigued? Best to pick up the book and read for yourself. You will be highly entertained and touched.

4 stars

Genre: Fantasy
A Stand-Alone Novel
ISBN: 9780505523839
Releasedate: June 13, 2000
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing
Format owned: MPB
For sale at: The Book Depository Store

Synopsis
King Richard had had it with frivolous females filling his ears with their foolishness. Yet for all his castles and dragon-slaying, he still needed a wife. Preferably one who wouldn't plague him with womanly whining. One who knew when to shut up. So why not lay claim to the sweetly saucy silent A MAN WHO REALLY LISTENS!

Princess Arianne had had it with meddling males making her life miserable. When her twelve brothers angered an ogre, she was the one stuck spinning nettles into shirts to save them from eternal servitude as swans. And she had to complete the task in total silence! To make matters worse, along came chatty King Richard, wanting to bed her, wanting to wed her. Rugged Richard made her virginal knees weak. But could even a king know a woman's mind--without her speaking it?

REVIEW
King of Avalon etc. etc. etc. – Richard – knows he has to marry, and as a king it should be a princess, but after months of meeting princesses, his ears nearly fell of from all the chatting about useless subjects they’ve been doing, he vows that he would marry the first person who know’s just how to shut up!


THY WILL BE DONE....

I was browsing my shelves for something to read, but it had to be different from what I’ve been reading lately. It was then that my eye fell on this novel. I bought it over a year-and-a-half ago becuase it appealed to me then, but never got around to reading it.

On the cover it says ‘A Faerie Tale Romance’ and it’s exactly that. Kate Holmes took a very well-known children’s faery tale and turned it into a humerous and wickedly fun to read adult faery tale. It totally brings flair on my bookshelves!

The Faerie Tale she uses in this novel is the one where 12 brothers are turned into swans by an old hag in the forrest after they broke into her home and ate her food. Their sister can turn them back by knitting each of them a sweater of nettles, gathered by the light of the full moon – but she has to do it without uttering a word; no singing and no one must know.....

When this event has occured, king Richard arrives at Ariane’s doorstep in the evening, all soaking wet and muddy footed. In that first meeting alone my heart took the leaps it did when my mum read me a bed-time faerie-tale story when I was younger.

Kate Holmes uses the ‘men are from Mars; women are from Venus’ in such a superb way, blends it into this fairytale, giving me the time of my life reading it. As it’s a faery tale historical facts might not be accurate and eventhough the writing sometimes is somewhat rough around the edges, its’all forgiven and forgotten when I turned the last page and let out a long sigh with the Happily Ever After! I was a bit sorry to see it ending where it did though. It would have been more satisfying to read on about the return of the boys at their father’s home.

King Richard etc. etc. etc. captured my heart straight away. Regal with a boyish charm and a typical male outlook on things, which comes perfectly to light with his thoughts being blended into this story. What else can a girl do but fall head over heals? Though he has many friends his relationship with John Paul is exquisite! (for those who are wondering – yes it is his uhm.... manhood...).

Princess Arianne is a young woman who took over her mother’s role in the keep when her mother passed away. Her absent minded father is not able to run the keep, leaves it all up to her. Beneath the weighing responsibility I sensed a girly girl who loves to sing and enjoy life, which came to surface again towards the end of the novel.

Arianne cannot say a word till she finishes knitting the sweaters. That fact, combined with the ‘men are from Mars; women are from Venus’ concept gives this story the oh so recognisable miscommunications between men and women. And as Arianne has difficulty explaining herself Richard has to dig deep and beyond his manly ways to try and understand her.

If you want something ‘dreamy’ to read, this is definitely a novel I would recommend. It gave me such a springtime, butterfly feel good feeling that I just know I will re-read it sometimes and therewith Kate Holmes achieves something not a lot of authors achieve with me as a reader.

Alinea Quote
‘My horse threw me,’ he said. That was close to the truth anyway.
Her equally perfect left brow quirked upward to join the right. Her more that perfect lips twitched with amusement as she let go of his chin and silently stepped back, eyeing him with exactly the same expression Nurse had used whenever he’d told a fib.
Richard blushed ‘.... all right then, I fell off.’
She smiled with an irritating trace of smugness. ‘It was right after everyone else got lost, you see, and – Well, they did!” he said defensively when her smile widened. ‘I’m the king, you know. They’re supposed to follow ME, not some damned bug hart, with as nice a rack as – What? What?!’
She was laughing at him. Outright laughim at him!!!

4,5 stars

Genre: Paranormal
Book 1 in the Paladins of Darkness series
ISBN: 9781416520368
Releasedate: April 7, 2008
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format owned: MPB
For sale at: The Book Depository Store

Synopsis
Devlin Bane will die for his cause -and die again if he must. A Paladin in a centuries-old war against the Others, dark creatures that prey on mankind, Devlin is destined to fall in battle and reawaken again and again in his ceaseless fight. And with each death, the Paladin loses another piece of his humanity, slowly becoming one of the monsters he was born to kill.

At his side is Dr. Laurel Young, charged with watching over her Paladin and reviving him each time he meets his death. And as Devlin edges ever closer to darkness, she readies herself for her ultimate task: to destroy the Paladin should he ever become one of the Others. But as the war rages on, Devlin and Laurel are irresistibly drawn together in forbidden passion, and soon find themselves pitting desire against duty. Having sacrificed his life to the cause, will the Paladin also sacrifice his heart?

REVIEW
Alexis Morgan takes us on a journey into the world of Paladins. She created a band of brothers who captured my heart and made it thumb with a warm longing to be the savior of one of these men.


These are not hard balls, but men on the brink of losing themselves into something which takes away their humanity, giving their handlers the power to kill them as soon as this happens. That fact gives these men a certain masculine vulnerability which is implemented in this first story in this series very well, opening the reader up to a new world.

I, for one, was happily surprised with this story. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect such a hidden treasure on my shelves, addicting me to the world where Paladins and Others fight for existance.

It’s written with a certain flair, easing you into a story. From the first page on you get to know the world and built up straight away and Alexis Morgan does it really well-structured. She combines rules and storylines very good, but leaving enough details out in the open that you instantly want to grab and read the next novel in line.

Laurel Young is a handler at the research centre where they care for the wounded and dying/dead Paladins. She could keep distance from them, but she’s the kind of docter that takes a personal interest and cares deeply for her patients. She’s emotional, strong, willfull and stubborn as well, making her a lovely person you would want to get to know.

Devlin Bane is the Paladin this story is all about. On the outside he’s acting all tough and built such a wall around his heart to protect himself, not easy to penetrate, but for some reason Laurel see’s right through him. He finds himself on the brink of crossing to the other side which makes him scared and vulnerable. One of the many reasons he doesn’t want to let Laurel come close, but for some reason he’s powerless against it and before he realizes it, he’s standing outside her door....

These two together work out really well, showing passionate but sweet blooming love with a jolt of suspense – a man hired to do some damage in their world – lingering above their heads.

The band of brothers that we get to meet is greatly described and the one’s that came to play small parts immediatly held my attention. Trahern grabbed my heart instantly (though I have to admit when Baraq came to scene – OH...MY...GOD!).

I read this story in a time when I was a bit averse to the whole ‘warrior-like-men stuck together’-series, because lately we’ve been overflown with the concept, but Alexis Morgan took the concept, gave it her unique twist introducing Paladins with their new set of rules and reminded me why I loved it in the first place.

Needless to say that the Paladins of Darkness swooned me off my feet!

4 Stars

Genre: Suspense
Stand-alone Novel
ISBN: 978-0-77832-483-6
Releasedate: May 2008
Publisher: MIRA Books
Format owned: HC - Rhapsody
For sale at: The Book Depository Store

Synopsis

On a remote stretch of the rugged coast of Ireland, folklorist and illustrator Keira Sullivan pursues the mysterious Irish legend of an ancient Celtic stone angel. As she searches an isolated ruin, she's certain she's discovered the mythic angel, but before she can examine her find, she senses a malevolent presence…. Is someone in there with her? Then the ruin collapses, trapping her.

Keira's uncle, a Boston homicide detective, enlists the help of Simon Cahill to find his missing niece. Simon, an expert with Fast Rescue, a rapid-response search-and-rescue organization, is trying to keep a low profile after secretly assisting in the takedown of a major criminal network, but he rushes to Ireland, pulling Keira out of the rubble just as she's about to free herself.

Simon isn't interested in myths or magic, nor is he surprised when Keira can't find a trace of her stone angel. He doesn't believe it exists. But the gruesome evidence of a startling act of violence convinces him that whatever she found in the ruin, the danger she faces is real.

When the violence follows them to Boston-and escalates-Simon and Keira realize that the long-forgotten story that has captivated her has also aroused a killer…a calculating predator who will certainly kill again.

REVIEW

Patsy, an Irish woman living in Boston with a great story-telling ability,- tells about a legend from Ireland concerning a Stone Angel, three brothers and a place called Beara Peninsula. This inspires Keira, a folklorist and artist to go to this place and illustrate what the story entails. However she gets more than just the normal fairies, myths and folklore – and soon she finds herself in a bizarre swirl of circumstances that on their own seem like accidents but all together might be something more.

I started off reading this novel as a Romantic Suspense because that’s the genre what it’s published in. When I finished reading though, I thought to myself - ‘If I was the judge of it, I’d say it’s more a Contemporary Romance.’ - as the suspense left things to be desired.

I had a bit of trouble getting into the story. The chapter’s each begin in a Law & Order sort of style, starting with date, time, location and as a big fan of the series whenever I started reading a new chapter I heard that tone you hear in the series :S. It should get you eased into the story but instead it slowed me down and made it feel a bit chaotic to me.

The story re-located from Boston to Ireland and I just love to read about the Irish setting. Carla touched a certain vibe that for those who’ve been to Ireland know what she means however some things are a bit cliché as well as making me find it funny. Having been there myself the Irish Knitted jumpers aren’t worn so much anymore ;-) these days. However the time spend in Ireland was way too short for me.

Carla has her own way in writing and you need to keep a straight head making sure not be distracted too much when you read. A lot of characters are main characters in The Angel and sometimes that left me hanging and wondering what happened to the Hero and Heroine – Keira and Simon. I really loved them as characters and feel more pages should have been used to deepen their connection and getting to know them. At some point the storyline of Abigail and Bob took over the story completely.

Keira is this amazing character, extravagant, an artist with a passion for folklore, fairies and myths. I found things of myself back in her that made me instantly understand her and her quirks. Simon is a bit of a mystery, but kind, caring and a balanced person. With his dark hair, green eyes, incredible voice and lean body it made the package of a hunk-a-liscious hero complete for me.

Because I really like these main characters and they are great together, I’m all the more a bit disappointed that they didn’t get as much writing space as they did in this novel. I could easily see this book turning into a trilogy because the other characters really appeal to me and have potential to more. I found out that Abigail Brown has a novel dedicated to her story as well in The Widow but I didn’t miss the fact I hadn’t read that novel beforehand. In this novel events around Abigails past are well-explained and that was great to read, however it took attention away from Keira and Simon and I would have loved to seen the time spend on that storyline to have been spend to her mother, Eileens, past. It suited more in this novel and would have made me connect more to the current Hero & Heroines story.

In the end I think all the different plotlines – past and present – and characters make this story one with not too much depth and too little time spend with each character to fully grasp where Carla wanted this novel to head to and what she wanted to achieve. When I finished I had a major question about the plotline of the stone angel that still leaves me hanging and wondering what was what.

Having said that it was a great read and it did grab me at some level. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the hours I spend reading this novel. It’s easy to read in terms of that there’s not a lot of use of technical terms in the police business. It’s a mixture of humor, drama, a bit of legend and an faint attempt to make things a bit thrilling as suspense but wasn’t able to achieve that last.

My advice is to not read this as Suspense (because then I would have to admit I won’t get any further than a 2,5 star novel) and read it as Contemporary Romance. So herewith I would like to emphasize that the 3,5 stars would be when you leave out the suspense part as a main factor in this novel. What made it a 3,5 star in the end instead of a 3 star book is because Carla Neggers was able to stir my inner emotions and touch my feelings with her characters. There is something about her story telling that does something to me, she paints clear pictures so that I felt as though I was captured in the scenes, looking in on it through a window.

It’s one of those books you can pick up on a dark rainy day, read it and when you finish you know you had a few hours nicely spend. It was an interesting read and makes me wonder how her other novels are so I am trying to get my hands on at least The Widow and some other books by Carla Neggers – most are out of print so hence my hunt begins…

3,5 stars

Genre: Historical Romance / Fantasy
Book 1 in the Nvengaria series
ISBN: 9780843956061
Releasedate: June 30, 2006
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing
Format owned: MPB
For sale at: The Book Depository Store

Synopsis
His blue eyes beguiled. His muscular form could have satisfied any fantasy. He had a delicious foreign accent—and to top it off, he was royalty! What woman would dare refuse the most sought-after lover in Europe?


Miss Twice-a-Jilt Penelope Trask, that’s who. And, unfortunately for Damien, marrying Penelope is the only way to inherit his kingdom. Good thing this enchantingly infuriating woman doesn't seem completely immune to his many charms. The passionate way she returns his kisses tells Damien he isn’t the only one head over heels. But wooing is difficult amid assassination attempts, wild magic, and desire so strong it threatens to overwhelm him every time they touch. Why had no one mentioned the road to happily-ever-after could be so difficult?

REVIEW
According to a Folklore of his country Nvengaria he was bound to find the long lost Princess of Nvengaria. They would fall in love instantly and she would save his country. When his father died and the ring was enherited by him, this folklore also was brought back to live.



He travelled to Little Marching, England where he would be destined to meet the woman to save his country, he never in his wildest dreams figured she would save him as well!

Where to start off. This book has two sides for me. Jennifer Ashley writes a story that reads with such ease that no matter which mood you’re in, if you either have a stressful time or a busy life it’s still enjoyable and easy to follow. She weaves words into sentences which complete indeed a fairytale- like story as the title would imply. Though that being said, it is a fairytale spiced up with romance and moreso a lot of HOT love-making courtship.

Damien is a loveable hearththrob outcast by a father who didn’t want him to rule Nvengaria. He made his way through Europe in beds of lushious ladies, and captured the liking of many rulers of various countries. With them, he built up a good relationship with a solid foundation, which would come in hand now that his father died, leaving him as only heir to the throne and to rule Nvengaria.

Penelope is the old-spinster of Little Marching who said “no” to two previous marriage proposals making her an outcast in society. She’s frownend upon by the ton and not in line for a bethrothal soon. She has her own values and standards that she wants to live by. And has such a kind caring heart for those she holds close. She has a toughness in her but not too much and knows what is right and what is wrong. She is able to know when to say no and when to fight for what she believes is right. When she loses her control it mostly turns her into a passionate woman who comes across things she never in her wildest dreams would know she would accept or do.

This story, has a solid baseline with the prophesy/folklore that has to be fulfilled. Most of this book is focussed on the courtship between Damien and Penelope, the people directly involved with that, and introduces a nice list of secundary characters, some in favor and some in dislike of Damien, but nonetheless all very likable and I’m pleased to know Alexander and Egan are the main hero’s in the follow-up stories. The suspense factor that I thought would come to closure in the end was a bit disappointing and I was left with a slight feeling of missing something throughout it all, like something was not completed for some reason.

The storyline of whether Penelope is or isn’t the true Princess is not really clear but left more open to interpretation as there are more ways to look at things in the end.

Eventhough I loved the thrill and passion of lovemaking between Damien and Penelope, I felt in the end I had read one too many love making-scenes for a none-erotica and I noticed myself skipping the last two or three of these scenes with the feeling of been there done that. In my opinion it took a bit away from the quality of the story.

Nonetheless it was a great read overall, I enjoyed the time I spend reading it and was highly entertained. It had me interested enough to read on in this series but 3/4th through, it didn’t baffle me as it did in the beginning of the story. It didn’t make it to a 4+ star rating. I had hoped for the story to be more deepened and worked out, despite the fact it’s quality writing. It kept a bit too much to the surface for me.

3,5 Stars