I have been planning to read an Amber Dane novel for some time now and sincerely wish that I had not waited quite so long! I adore historical romances, especially those set in the medieval period and I am pleased to say that I have now found another great author to fulfil my fantasies of alpha knights in shining (or even tarnished) armour and sensual tales of how they find their heart’s desire in the midst of such violent and turbulent times. This book is the first in her Northern Knights series, of which book 2, Conquering the Dark Axe and book 3, The Beast of Renald, have already been published as well as other works.
In Gem of Gravane, Knight Aric Claydon is honoured by William the Conqueror, his King and lord, who gifts him, amongst other demesnes, Gravane and the hand in marriage of its lady Danielle, a conquered Saxon. However, this fierce and battle hardened warrior, whose heart pays homage to no woman, delays claiming this particular prize and its lady for a year.
Lady Danielle welcomes her new lord and husband to her home with mixed feelings. Held in contempt by the men in her life – first her father and then her odious cousin Thomas, her guardian, she lacks confidence and is highly conscious of a slight affliction she has. She is disappointed when Aric’s initial reaction to her is less than enthusiastic, confirming her fears that he has avoided the union as he has been made aware of her lack of worth. She still harbours a secret hope however, that although Aric is not happy to take her as his bride, his overlordship of Gravane will put many wrongs to right that have been inflicted on her people.
Aric is far from immediately enamoured with Danielle, but will do his duty and will endeavour to beget an heir. He knows that something is badly wrong at Gravane and is determined to bring the perpetrators to justice. As soon as the marriage takes place, Aric finds that he is more and more drawn to Danielle, attracted to her soft curves, her kindness to others and even her quirks and he seeks to protect her from any perceived dangers. It also becomes clear that his bride is stronger than he thinks and that she harbours secrets. The more he finds out about her, the more he realises that there is more to her than he first thought. Unused to and uncomfortable with such feelings Aric strives to keep his distance, except in the bedroom, where he is gentle and attentive.
The presence of Thomas and his sister Rose and the appearance of characters from Aric’s past do little to alleviate Danielle’s fears and she despairs that Alric will ever return her growing love for him. At the same time danger threatens both Aric and his lady. As we find out if Danielle will succeed in persuading this powerful warrior to take a chance on love, the unfolding tale is laid out like a sumptuous medieval feast. It is brimming with treachery and violence, as well as humour, passion and numerous sensual scenes. I found it a compulsive read!
I loved the character of Aric, a proud and powerful warrior. He is protective of Danielle from the off and against his better judgement he cannot keep his emotional distance from her. I also revelled in how Danielle grew in confidence and stature as she was able to assume her rightful role as lady under Aric’s protection, even as she struggled with what she believes is unrequited love.
The author’s portrayal of supporting characters were a delight to behold. Aric’s second-in-command Balwain and Danielle’s maid Edie deserve special mention as do the not so savoury characters of Thomas and Rose. We are also introduced to the knight Rourke, the Dark Axe, the hero of the next novel in the series, Conquering the Dark Axe.
I recommend Gem of Gravane to readers of historical romance, especially medieval romance, who enjoy a romantic and sensual tale, with engaging characters, which does not shy away from depicting the violence and the treachery that was commonplace at the time.
Enter before midnight GMT 9th October 2013 for a chance to win digital books of Eve Rabi’s Amazon bestseller My Brother, My Rival. Contest is open internationally and the books have kindly been made available by the author. The tale, which I reviewed a few days ago, is a super hot read when two brothers fall for the same woman. There are FIVE copies of book 1, All Out of Loveand FIVE copies of book 2, How Can I Not Love You? up for grabs. A digital copy of each book will go to the first 5 lucky readers, picked at random, who leave their name in the comments section of this post by midnight GMT, 9th October 2013.
Good luck to all entrants in the forthcoming draw!
The giveaway is now closed and the winners were Jenny Jerman and Bev Walkling. Many thanks to those who entered and to the author Eve Rabi for donating the e-books for the giveaway.
Fans of Regency Romance are well advised to grab hold of Anne Stenhouse’s recent release, Bella’s Betrothal, an exciting and engrossing read, which gripped me from the first page. It contains murder, attempted kidnap and evil intent, family secrets, malicious gossip and mayhem, plus much wit and humour and engaging characters, not least the hero and heroine, whose sweet romance is at the heart of the plot.
In Regency Britain reputation is everything, no more so than amongst the Ton. So when Lady Isabella Wormsley, finds herself in a situation where she is the focus of gossip and innuendo most foul she is sent in disgrace to her aunt and uncle’s house in Edinburgh. En route her room at an inn is invaded by handsome Scottish Laird, Charles Lindsay, in a deliciously action packed and sexually charged scene. Charles has uncovered a plot to kidnap her by a rogue called Direlton, but Bella starts to wonders if Charles may be a more dangerous threat, at least to her heart.
Charles is a friend and neighbour of her Aunt Hatty Menzies and a regular visitor. Exiled by her unfeeling mama, Bella hopes the delivery of her young cousin’s baby will prove her own innocence. However, Bella’s presence disrupts the lives of everyone connected to her. Direlton makes another kidnap attempt and Charles comes to her rescue and is compromised. Only a betrothal will save his business and Bella’s reputation. Will the growing but unacknowledged love between Bella and her Scottish architect survive the evil machinations of Direlton and the scandal mongers?
I found the characters of Bella and Charles to be believable. Not only are they were well matched as a couple, but they are also interesting characters in their own right. Although Charles is a Laird, he is no lazy aristocrat. His work as an architect, gives him an outlet for his creativity. Bella is outspoken and headstrong, yet responsible and keen to protect those around her from damaging their own reputation by associating with her. Charles, recognising how his own reputation could be harmed initially resolves to have little to do with her. However, his conviction does not last long as he is wildly attracted to her and he cannot stop thinking about her. Moreover his strong sense of fair play and honour, not to mention his friendship with the Menzies, leaves him honour bound to help ease Bella into Edinburgh society. This of course means more contact with Bella, which only feeds their mutual attraction.
I liked the fact that Charles was very willing to protect Bella’s honour at all costs, not just against the gossips but also against those who wish her physical harm. There are many touching scenes between the couple as they grapple with their own feelings, whilst at the same time hiding their growing love from each other. Although a sweet romance the reader can certainly sense the passion the couple have for each other simmering below the surface in a number of heated scenes! Bella fears that Charles has only agreed to marry her to protect his business and Charles has his own insecurities to contend with, not least a meddling mama and a past in which he was betrayed by a woman. The villain Direlton and his cronies are ever present throughout the tale, adding considerable tension and danger to the plot.
The supporting characters were delightfully well drawn. I particularly liked how the author portrayed many of the women in the novel, especially Bella’s aunt and Charles’ mama and how Bella’s appearance and subsequent betrothal affected their friendship. Lackie, Charles’ man, helps keep Charles’ temper in check on numerous occasions and provided additional humour. The villain Direlton was credible and well motivated in his evil intent.
The author’s knowledge of the history, geography and architecture of the city of Edinburgh shines through in this novel. I found myself easily transported Regency Edinburgh and into the scenes that she painted with her words. The dialogue too was well crafted and sparkled throughout and this undoubtedly reflects the author’s experience as a playwright.
I recommend this novel to lovers of historical romance, especially Regency Romance. I enjoyed this book, which was a fast paced, entertaining and often humorous read, with characters I very quickly came to care about. I would definitely read more by this author and have put her previous novel, Mariah’s Marriage, on my reading list.
Reviewed by Tina Williams
A copy of Bella’s Betrothal was provided by the author for the purpose of an honest and fair review.
ANNE STENHOUSE has always loved words. Reading them and using them greedily, she can’t truly remember a time when she couldn’t escape into the pages of a book and certainly can’t remember when she couldn’t talk and ask questions. Anne is a published and performed playwright. She studied both English and History at University in Edinburgh, and finds it a great joy to combine these two disciplines in her first novel, Mariah’s Marriage. Being a playwright means Anne loves dialogue and knows a piece is going well when she ‘begins to hear the characters talking to each other’. She has been a civil servant, full-time Mum and, for a while, a worker in an Addictions’ rehabilitation unit. Anne lives in Scotland with her husband and dancing partner of over thirty years. Their children and a grandchild are close by.
Author’s Other Works:
Love to Death, a one act play, New Theatre Publications
Hi readers, I hope you are all well. Tina and myself would like to thank you all for following A Reader’s Review Blog and we welcome our latest followers. We hope that you enjoy our posts as much as we love writing them. Feel free to comment on our posts and we’ll be sure to get back to you. You can also check us out on Facebook and Twitter at @areadersreviewb. If you are an avid reader and/or know anyone who is we would welcome a ‘like’, share or follow!
So guys, it feels like we have reviewed a great deal since or last update. My recent reviews (scroll down for Tina’s) have been:-
The One Percenters, a psychological, adult horror by John Podgursky. Following Edward Caine, The One Percenters is a disturbing story of ill mental health and the notion to aid ‘natural selection’ for the human race after the brutal rape and murder of his wife. Although beginning in a retaliating state of mind, Edward becomes more complex in his thinking by believing those not completely healthy, physically or mentally, should not have the chance to breed and begins to victimise innocent people he deems are not fit to carry on the human race.
Flick by Keira des Anges,is a beautifully written contemporary, coming-of-age paranormal work of fiction. Following Leanna Matthews, a telekinetic whose ability it is to astral travel, Flick is full of great friendships and romance, and yet it subtley builds up to the horror and action that is to befall upon young Leanna. (Alongside our review you will also find an author bio for Keira des Anges and her book tour info.)
On the Lips of Children by Mark Matthews is another disturbing, adult horror. Tattooist, Macon and his family travel to San Diego ready for a marathon. During a training run, Macon and his family are captured by underground scavengers for money and food. Yes, they are to be the food! An absolutely chilling-to-the-bone read. If this doesn’t scare you enough to hide under your bed covers then I don’t know what will. On the Lips of Children is certainly a marathon like no other!
Last, but certainly not least, is Patriotic Duty (When Riley Met Cara, Book 1)by C.J. Pinard. This short, adult contemporary romance is fun, cheeky, sexy and saucy but not without the drama of a beautiful romance. If you’re looking for a hot, cute soldier who’s looking for more than somewhere to spend the night, then Riley is your man and Patriotic Duty is your kind of book!
My following reviews will be:-
C.J. Pinard’sEnchanted Immortals novella, BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation. This novella does not have to be read in any order to the main series. In this urban fantasy/X-file-ish novella, the reader discovers how the BSI came about and the history of some of its Immortal Agents in different areas of the USA. BSI also explains how the Immortals come about (as does the series itself) and provides some great examples into the lives of shifters, vampires and succubae.
Tim O’Rourke’s Dead Water (Keira Hudson Series Two, Book 6) has definitely been a story I’ve been meaning to read for months. Following Keira and her vampire friends’ adventures, they must now search for Sam and Kayla in this ‘pushed world’ that they are all in. However, as they travel onwards, will there be more trouble ahead? Will they meet their end at the Dead Waters?
And then for a Halloween special horror, Tatterdemon by Steve Vernon!For the synopsis and my full current reading list with all of the book blurbs please click here.
Since the last update Tina has reviewed the following:
My Brother, My Rival: All out of love, book 1 and How can I not love you? book 2, by Eve Rabi (click title for review). What can I say? Yet another addictive read from this author. In this tale, which will have you laughing one minute and crying the next, a young woman is torn between two brothers as the author explores the pull of both romantic and familial love. We have ten copies of My Brother, My Rival to give away on this blog. To enter just click on the following link and leave your name in the comments section by midnight GMT, 9th October 2013. Five lucky winners will be chosen at random to receive books 1 and 2.
To Steal A Highlander’s Heart(click title for review) by Samantha Holt, a sensual medieval paranormal romance set in the Highlands with a spirited heroine and a gorgeous Scot, not to mention a meddling faerie whose mission is to bring them ever closer together. The novel has a friends to lovers theme and also a captor/captive romance theme, which I find hard to resist!
Tina hopes to have her reviews of Amber Dane’s Gem of Gravane and Anne Stenhouse’s Bella’s Betrothal up soon this week.
Tina’s Next Reads
Tina’s next reads include a K-Girls, author Lydia Little’s first novel, which she describes as ‘an Irish boarding school adventure with a spirited twist. It is her first novel which draws on her own experiences as a boarder of the real Kylemore Abbey, Connemara Ireland.’ I’m also looking forward to reading Samantha Holt’sOne Knight Collectionof sensual tales andA Handful of Blossoms, byLara Biyuts, an historical novel with a paranormal twist. Here’s some more info on the books.
K-Girls (Kylemore Abbey School series #1), Lydia Little
Alice Stone, an adventure-seeking twelve year old, convinces her parents to let her go, to Kylemore Abbey Boarding School for Girls in Connemara. Alice gets more than she bargained for when she stumbles upon Ruth, who is delighted to meet Alice. But Ruth isn’t any ordinary student . So begins the mysterious bond between Ruth and Alice, as Alice settles in to boarding school in the bleak yet beautiful heart of Connemara. Alice soon discovers that becoming a true K-Girl is not so easy, even if you have a ghost for a friend.
One Knight Collection (Medieval Romance), Samantha Holt
A collection of sensual medieval short stories – comprises One Knight, Black Knight, White Knight and Highland Knight. If you had one night to prove your love…could you?
A Handful of Blossoms, Lara Biyuts, Historical/Paranormal
This is written in form of a diary, a genre popular in the 18th century and which resonates in our time of blogging, webdiaries and webjournals. The book, set in 1764, a year after the Seven Years War in Europe, tells the story of a young damsel and her weird and unconventional marriage. It also includes some paranormal elements.
That’s all for now, guys, but be sure to keep checking in. Thanks again for all of your support and lovely feedback we have received. We’d also like to thank the authors that have provided us with a copy of their work for the purpose of a review. You have opened our eyes to some amazing books, and in some cases, encouraged us to take a risk with genres that otherwise we may not have explored. Until next time, take care.
Hi readers, I have been settling back into the routine since the summer hols. I hope you all had a fantastic summer and settled back into your routines too :). Autumn and Winter are my favourite times of year as we watch the temperature begin to drop, leaves falling from the trees, with Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year still to come. It’s that time to snuggle up on the sofa in the evening, with a warm cup of cocoa and escape to wherever you’d like with a brilliant book!
And so, what are my new adventures going to be? Well, we have had a great response from new authors to review their work and you will also find some of my favourites on the list too. It really is a mixed bag from paranormal, fantasy to crime, romance and even some comedy! (Please note that all title links will take you to their Goodreads page.) So without further ado, over the next quarter or so I will be reviewing the following titles:-
BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (An Enchanted Immortals novella) – C.J. Pinard (paranormal, urban fantasy)
Supernatural creatures have roamed the Earth since the beginning of time. There was a time when humans would not tolerate having vampires and other creatures in their midst, stealing their young and killing their fellow human beings. These humans took care of business with pitchforks, sharpened stakes, and fires. As the centuries passed, the supernatural creatures learned that they needed to hide in order to survive. As they did, humans evolved, and after a few decades, humans no longer believed the tales from mythology and folklore. Then the creatures became more bold again, showing themselves when they should have stayed hidden.
In 1945, the assistant director of the FBI suffered a horrible tragedy, which he learned later was supernaturally related. He created a small branch of the Department of Justice called the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation – the BSI. Little did he know that there were already men and women policing the world of the supernatural – or the “Fae.” The only difference was that this other group had a huge advantage over the humans running the BSI; they were also immortal, just like the creatures they policed. Should the BSI and the Immortals work together to keep the peace?
Follow agents and Immortals from the four supernaturally busiest places in the country – San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, and Washington D.C. and watch the BSI evolve.
Vampires, shapeshifters, succubae, and Immortals. What is the Justice Department hiding?
BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation is an Enchanted Immortals novella, approximately 36,000 words, with an excerpt of Enchanted Immortals at the end. This novella may be read in any order in the series.
With Sam and Kayla missing, Kiera, Potter and Murphy head for the Dead Waters. Here they hope to find their missing friends and the answers to why their flesh keeps cracking like that of a statue. Knowing Potter has lied to her, Kiera is struggling with her feelings for him. Therefore, Kiera tries to keep Potter at a distance, scared that she might get hurt again.
With Skin-walkers and statues close behind them as they make their journey to the Dead Waters, Kiera can’t help but fear she is being led straight into a dead end.
In 1691 the town of Crossfall taught the witch Thessaly how to die. They beat her, they shot her, they hung her – but nothing worked. When they finally tried to bury her alive Thessaly set the field against them. The first man died as a gust of wind harrowed the meat from his bones. A root,flung like a dirty javelin, cut a second man down. Many more deaths followed. The Preacher Fell impaled the witch upon her very own broom but she dragged him down into the field to wait for three more centuries.
Three hundred years later Maddy Harker will murder her bullying husband Vic. She will bury him in the field as she buried her abusive father years before that. The very same field where the revenant spirit of Thessaly Cross lies waiting.
In three days Vic will rise again – a thing of dirt, bone and hatred.
When it happens to you, you will be surprised. That thing they say about how you knew all the time, but just weren’t facing it? That might be the case, but nevertheless, there you will be.
Molly Ringwald mines the complexities of modern relationships in this gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories. Writing with a deep compassion for human imperfection, Ringwald follows a Los Angeles family and their friends and neighbors while they negotiate the hazardous terrain of everyday life—revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all.
In “The Harvest Moon,” a stay-at-home mom grapples with age, infertility, and an increasingly distant husband. In “Ursa Minor,” a former children’s television star tries to rebuild his life after being hospitalized for “exhaustion.” An elderly woman mourns the loss of her husband and her estranged relationship with her daughter in “The Little One.” In “My Olivia,” a single mother finds untapped reserves of strength to protect her flamboyant six-year-old son who wishes only to wear dresses and be addressed as Olivia. And in the devastating title story, a betrayed wife chronicles her pain and alienation, leading to an eviscerating denouement.
As the lives of these characters converge and diverge in unexpected ways, Ringwald reveals a startling eye for the universality of loss, love, and the search for connection. An unflinching yet poignant examination of the intricacies of the human heart, When It Happens to You is an auspicious literary debut.
Poppy and Jazz have been best friends from the first week of university. Whenever these two get together trouble isn’t far away and things haven’t changed much. When Jazz gets herself into financial trouble Poppy, being a good friend, offers to help. She instead ends up being talked into swapping lives, with Jazz insisting it will be good and help her get over her broken heart.
Poppy is thrown into a new life, full of crazy housemates. There’s fitness freak Izzy, horrendously beautiful bitch Grace and the slightly gorgeous, if not incredibly grumpy Ryan.
Quickly, with the help of Jazz, her life is thrown upside down. Madness ensues and her need to please everyone gets her in more trouble than she could ever imagine.
Before she knows it she’s got a fake boyfriend and is hiding so many secrets she’s scared they’ll spill out any minute. With a bullying boss, a sex crazed colleague, a mental mother and three brothers each with their own dramas, life has gotten pretty difficult for Poppy. And all of this would be much easier, if she could just stop falling over.
Will she get her life back to normal before her brother’s upcoming wedding? And will she want to?
Ten Years ago love slipped through Chance’s lasso. This time “He was going after her and she didn’t stand a chance, just like a calf in a chute, he was going to rope her with his love and ride back into her life.”
Carrie Stewart is a dedicated horsewoman. She runs a successful breeding and training program. She is a good friend, a good sister and a favorite aunt, but she has been burned by love. Carrie has never gotten over her first love, Chance Ryan. After ten years of absence Chance shows back up in her life. Should she risk her heart again, with the man who left it broken at her feet in the past? Chance has some serious work ahead of him to win back the one woman he could never forget.
What if you suddenly discovered you had a sense-and powers-that almost no one else in the world did? When Amanda Lindner Nichols, a 24-year-old graphic artist living with her husband in Queens, New York, is revived from a near-death experience, she discovers she perceives everyone around her as points of light-but not with her eyes. She soon learns she can not only perceive the life energy of others, but she can give and take it. With the help of others like her, she brings her husband Chris to the brink of death and back to bestow on him the same remarkable faculty, and they’re the happiest they’ve been. But not for long. All over the world, people who’ve been revived from their own near-death experience at just the right moment discover themselves with these same unusual powers. They find ways to use them-some for good and some for evil. When Amanda and Chris encounter a ruthless group of gangsters with the same faculty, tragedy follows-and Amanda faces the greatest challenge of her life.
WARNING: Content may not be suitable for people offended by naughty words, honest thoughts about love, and sexual thoughts of sextastic sex with sexy people.
(Edited synopsis due to rude words that may not be suitable for all) From the book…
A lot of girls like a guy who is a bad-ass. That’s why my conversations with women go like this:
GIRL: I like a man of danger.
ME: Come back to my place and we’ll open the .exe attachments in my email!
—
Dear Shirtless Guy in his Profile Picture, you REALLY want to impress girls? Get a job and pose in front of your cubicle.
—
They say you can get a girl to like you, if you can make her jealous. So I make sure the girl sees me with a pretty expensive handbag!
—
Girls like when you tell them about the adorable things that children do. For instance, like when my little nephew asked me, “When babies are in the tummy do they use mommy’s belly button as a window?”
Trish Ackerly never expected to cross paths with Ian Rafferty again, but when she spots the former bully of her childhood years through her bakery window, she thinks she may just have been given the best Christmas gift ever: the opportunity to finally give Ian the comeuppance he deserves.
But clearly she does not have a knack for this whole revenge thing, because before she can make good on her plans, Trish gets inadvertently drawn into Ian’s life in an unexpected way that lets her see just how different the man is from the boy he used to be. In fact, much to her astonishment, she actually starts to like the guy.
A lot.
Trouble is, Ian doesn’t know who she really is, and explaining it to him is going to be a little difficult now—which is bad news, because Trish is starting to realize that all she really wants for Christmas this year…is Ian.
Twelve women, twelve tattoos, and a narrative thread that weaves them all together, Portrait of Woman in Ink: A Tattoo Storybook is a collection of stories that answers that lingering question in the back of your mind when you see an inked woman: what does your tattoo mean (or perhaps – what were you thinking)? From a parent’s suicide to the birth of an unlikely child, the stories behind why women tattoo themselves are literally worn on (and sometimes under) their sleeves, and retold on these pages.
Complete with artwork from the original tattoo artists and a foreword by Dr. Marta Vicente, one of academia’s foremost voices in Women’s Studies, this series of literary vignettes celebrates real, everyday women and their tattoos that, while they may seem insignificant at the time, are a symbol of the larger struggles and triumphs that make them who they are. These stories explore the idea of tattoos bringing together women from different worlds, and teaching them how these worlds might not be as far apart as they think.
She’s a Democrat, he’s a Republican. She spends her days fighting global warming at an environmental non-profit, he makes his living doing PR for Bell Motors and their fleet of SUVs. But as soon as they meet, Emily Crossley and Robert Drake realize they have encountered their intellectual match. You’re never challenged, he tells her. You’ve surrounded yourself in a cocoon of people who think exactly the same way you do. She hurls the same accusation back at him, and the fiery debates begin. Despite both of their attempts to derail it, there is no denying that they are falling in love. But their relationship is threatened by political differences, Robert’s excessive work hours, and Emily’s fear of losing her identity as she falls deeper in love. Can their love survive? The Drake Equation is a tale of modern love and all its complexities.
A family is torn in half when a careless killer evades justice. Jason McDowell’s bad choice to drive to work drunk one morning leaves a father dead, a daughter in a coma and her twin sister and mother to try and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Three years later, while Jason has gone on with his life, ignorant of the struggles of his victims, someone has decided it is time for him to face justice.
What do you do when your magic makes you a target? Run. Fight. Die.
14-year-old Kai Koson had nothing to do with the apocalypse, thank you very much. He was just a baby the day a coven of blood witches ripped a hole in the universe and the demons fell screaming from the sky. Earth and its magic perished. Witchkind was hunted and annihilated.
Now, because he was born a witch, Kai must spend his life running and fighting for survival. Even his own uncle seems determined to abandon him.
With nothing left to lose, Kai runs away and joins a team of galactic bounty hunters. But instead of providing an escape, it sets Kai on a path that will destroy everything he believes about himself and the apocalypse, transforming him into the most wanted teenager in the galaxy.
Written with humour, imagination and darkness, Bounty Hunter and its protagonist Kai Koson stand confidently beside Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowl, Alex Rider, Young Bond, Mortal Engines and Harry Potter.
I also wish to read The Keeping (Law of the Lycans, Book 2) (sequel to The Mating) by Nicky Charles, Dead Push (Keira Hudson Series 2, Book 7) by Tim O’Rourke, plus many, many more.
I hope you have enjoyed looking through my mixed bag! Happy reading, guys 🙂
Patriotic Duty (When Riley Met Cara, Book 1) has everything that I love in this contemporary romance by C.J. Pinard (Enchanted Immortals series). This short novel is fun, cheeky, sexy and saucy but not without the drama of a beautiful romance. If you’re looking for a hot, cute soldier who’s looking for more than somewhere to spend the night, then Riley is your man and Patriotic Duty is your kind of book!
Single mum and recent divorcee, Cara Reid spends most of her weekends with her best friend, Miranda, having fun going to clubs, living it up and meeting hot guys. She is young and not in the least thinking to settling down any time soon, especially after her experience with her ex. However, one night after hooking up with Riley her summer is planned. He is to be in California for the summer before he is due back in Colorado, and so they spend summer together.
Cara naturally opens up to him and accepts his ways far more than she would anyone else. She is falling for him, even though she doesn’t want to admit it. Of course, it is just a summer fling. Or at least that is what she keeps informing Miranda when she stops partying for a while to be with Riley. However, as the summer comes to a close, Riley is given orders to do a tour of nine months in Afghanistan. As they agree to keep in touch, Cara is left feeling a little lost. Still not wanting to admit to her true feelings and yet not wanting to return to her life of partying with Miranda, Cara is left with a decision to make. Will she wait for her cute, hot soldier or does she move on with her life?
During the summer that they are together, Cara and Riley spend day trips together, go to a concert, visit bars, have some hot, fantastic sex, and Riley even gets to meet Cara’s son on some occasions. This shows how well their relationship is going, as usually Cara keeps this side of her life away from her son. Riley is very sweet, although the strong, silent type in some instances. Cara seems to be his world and the reader feels his sincerity to her. It is only his quieter side at times that makes Cara and the reader wonder what he is really thinking. But all will be revealed as the story moves on.
Patriotic Duty is a nice, light romance that becomes a little more serious and dramatic as the novel enters its second half, especially with Riley on tour in Afghanistan and Cara having little contact with him. What is going through Cara’s mind? Can she focus on getting her party life back with Miranda?
When Riley Met Cara has the potential to bceome much more complex and darker as the series moves on. However, for the first book of the series it does have a simple straight forward plot, which I loved after reading some heavy psychological horrors recently!! There were parts early on that made me laugh out loud as the interaction between Cara and Miranda was fun. They certainly knew how to have a laugh and cheer each other up.
I found Miranda to be a great supportive friend for Cara. Miranda, also a single mum, had been left by her ex to bring up their child and therefore, was in the same boat as Cara. Both characters are realistic and so long as the babysitters are available, of course young women would want to go out at weekends and have some fun. They also spend time together with their kids and meet up for lunch during their working week, and so have a tight bond, like sisters.
Although, Miranda’s attitude towards Cara does slightly change as she realises that Cara is becoming quite serious with Riley. She is perhaps worried for Cara that Riley will treat her bad in the end, and she may be a little jealous of the time that Riley spends with Cara when she could be with her. This is what makes Patriotic Duty realistic and easy to connect with. The characters have real feelings and thoughts that the majority of us have, and these lead to similar situations that we have either been in or those that we know have been in.
Brilliantly written by C.J. Pinard, Patriotic Duty is very fluid and there is not a moment that you lose grips with the story. I read this book in one day and so it is a very quick read. Due to the hot love scenes this book is recommended for those above the age of 18 yrs.
If you are a fan of C.J. Pinard’s urban fantasy/paranormal series, Enchanted Immortals, you will see a whole different side of her work in Patriotic Duty. C.J. has shown just how versatile her writing can be, and I for one absolutely love it. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the When Riley Met Cara series.
A Reader’s Review Blog received a copy of Patriotic Duty from the author in return for fair and honest review.
On the Lips of Children by Mark Matthews is absolutely terrifying and chilling to the bone, quite literally within the first few pages of the prologue. Certainly not for the younger reader, On the Lips of Children is an over 18yrs read due to the horror and gore, not to mention the emotional scar it leaves behind. This is definitely a must-read for all horror fans that like a book to leave a profound impact on them.
Macon is a tattoo artist and an avid marathon runner. These two interests of his are his life along with his partner, Erin, and their six year old daughter, Lyric. Erin and Macon have had their fair share of dark ordeals before they met, however nothing could have prepared them for the terrifying horror that they were about to encounter.
After arriving in San Diego to run a marathon in two days time, Macon and his family check into their hotel. When Macon goes out for a pre-dawn training run in preparation for the marathon the following day, he runs along a trail that takes him across a baseball field, and further down into the dark depths of underpasses and bridges, with the highway above and the trail goes on until it reaches the beach.
Along the route, Macon disturbs a homeless camp under a dark bridge, by running into a metal trolley that he couldn’t see in front of him. He tries to apologise but there are definitely some strange vibes coming from these homeless guys. Macon runs on with the thought that there was nothing more that he could do when he notices he’s being followed. Although mostly keeping their distance they do keep him within sight.
Meanwhile, Erin has an awkward moment of her own when it feels that Mex, the hotel clerk, is lingering outside their hotel door, after Lyric escaped to buy a Pop Tart from the machine outside. Erin then takes Lyric out in the stroller to look for Macon along the trail……
……Along the dark, remote trail at dawn, underneath the buzzing highway Erin and Lyric are kidnapped by a family of scavenging humans, dwelling in an old caved-in drug-smuggling tunnel that runs from San Diego, USA to Tijuana, Mexico. These dirty, animalistic scavengers have spent years surviving off the blood and flesh of humans. Although, completely oblivious to all what has happened as he was on the beach at the time, Macon runs back along the trail to the hotel only to be informed by Mex of where Erin and his daughter have gone. Macon returns to the trail in the hunt for his family. Now it’s time for Macon and his family!!!
The prologue itself is torturously horrifying as the mention of eating human flesh is written so early on. Mark Matthews’ writing is so clear, the reader doesn’t miss a thing – even though they may wish they had at times. But the setting is absolutely brilliant, with the time of day, the contrast from the busy, noisy highway to this dark, narrow, remote trail, the homeless guys that are not even visible in the dark of the bridges and lastly, the tunnels and those that live inside.
Whilst reading that Erin and Lyric are being kidnapped I felt cold all over and noticed how tense I was. I could completely connect to this chilling story as my own partner runs marathons and I have a young daughter that uses a stroller, just as Lyric was in hers when she was caught. The experience of reading On the Lips of Children for me has been quite personal and felt quite realistic to the point that, without wanting to, I pictured my own family going through this traumatic ordeal. As a partner, mother and a reader, I had to continue no matter how chilling it was as I simply had to know the outcome.
There are also moments in the book that are quite upsetting as during Lyric’s capture Mark Matthews takes you through what she is seeing and feeling. She questions her safety. Where is her Mommy? This doesn’t feel right but she doesn’t want to scream, instead finding herself holding her breath with just a McDonalds toy of Buzz Lightyear in her pocket that she clings onto. She doesn’t want to pull her toy out of her pocket in case these other children take it from her. (My little one loves her little Smurf toys that came from McDonalds – and it’s these little pieces of information that defines what a ‘normal’ family they are. The reader just places themselves in this family’s shoes and the story completely tears through your mind and insides, just as the scavengers tear the flesh from humans.)
All of the characters were written absolutely brilliantly, and Macon and Erin do have well-written, dark histories that the reader comes to discover. I won’t reveal any more but wanted to give it a mention as the plot of this book is so much more than the main capture of Macon’s family. The reader does feel a little torn (if you excuse the pun!) when reading about the scavenging children as they are so young themselves and from a mother’s point of view, you will do absolutely anything necessary to keep your babies alive!
My favourite character was Mex, the hotel clerk, simply because of the way in which Mark Matthews has written him. He made me feel uncomfortable. Can he be trusted? He suggested the route that Macon should run. I thought he was the evil behind this somehow. Yet he alarmed Macon to his missing family as he told him when they’d left and where he thought they were going. But he was outside the hotel door with Lyric and seemingly awkward? He was aware of something surely? Did he tell Macon where his family was in order for him to get captured too? I had so many questions surrounding this one character.
On the Lips of Children is absolutely horrifying, and at times upsetting. It is very quick-paced, just the right length and it does wrap up at the end, leaving no questions unanswered. It is a novel that will give you the heebie jeebies so if you are looking for a good scare this book is certainly up your street. A marathon like no other!!!
A Reader’s Review Blog received a copy of On the Lips of Children from the author, Mark Matthews, in return for a fair and honest review. We would like to thank Mark Matthews for the copy of his work.
The paperback copy of On the Lips of Children will be released soon this month. If you would like to check it out on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk just click on the relevant one where it will take you direct to the Kindle edition.
Reviewed by Caroline Barker
MARK MATTHEWS Author bio
Mark Matthews is a writer and therapist from Detroit and is the author of 3 novels. On the Lips of Children is his latest piece of dark fiction and has just been released from Books of the Dead Press. His first novel, STRAY, is based on his experiences working at a substance abuse treatment center. He is an avid runner, and has two running based works including The Jade Rabbit and Chasing the Dragon: Running to Get High. He has been in recovery from addiction for over 20 years. Follow his blog at Running, Writing, and Chasing the Dragon at http://markmatthewsauthor.blogspot.com/.
Eve Rabi Giveaway to Readers of this Blog! Enter by 9th October 2013
Author Eve Rabi is offering TEN digital books of her Amazon bestseller My Brother, My Rival, to readers of this blog in an international giveaway.The tale, which I reviewed a few days ago, is an awesome read examining the tensions between romantic and familial love when two brothers fall for the same woman. As usual, this is no straightforward romance and the author will have you laughing one minute and crying the next! Warning – contains sex scenes, violence, racial themes and coarse language.
There are FIVE copies of book 1, All Out of Loveand FIVE copies of book 2, How Can I Not Love You? up for grabs. A digital copy of each book will go to the first 5 lucky readers, picked at random, who leave their name in the comments section of this post by midnight GMT, 9th October 2013.
Many thanks to Eve for making this giveaway possible and good luck to all who enter!
The giveaway is now closed and the winners were Jenny Jerman and Bev Walkling. Many thanks to those who entered and to the author Eve Rabi for donating the e-books for the giveaway.
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Love and Passion amidst Treachery and Betrayal![18405661[1]](https://a-readers-review-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/184056611.jpg)
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Tim O’Rourke’s Dead Water (Keira Hudson Series Two, Book 6) has definitely been a story I’ve been meaning to read for months. Following Keira and her vampire friends’ adventures, they must now search for Sam and Kayla in this ‘pushed world’ that they are all in. However, as they travel onwards, will there be more trouble ahead? Will they meet their end at the Dead Waters?
And then for a Halloween special horror, Tatterdemon by Steve Vernon! For the synopsis and my full current reading list with all of the book blurbs please click ![SamanthaHolt_ToStealAHighlandersHeart_200px.jpg.opt166x249o0,0s166x249[1]](https://a-readers-review-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/samanthaholt_tostealahighlandersheart_200px-opt166x249o00s166x2491.jpg?w=100&h=150)
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Ten Years ago love slipped through Chance’s lasso. This time “He was going after her and she didn’t stand a chance, just like a calf in a chute, he was going to rope her with his love and ride back into her life.” 
What if you suddenly discovered you had a sense-and powers-that almost no one else in the world did? When Amanda Lindner Nichols, a 24-year-old graphic artist living with her husband in Queens, New York, is revived from a near-death experience, she discovers she perceives everyone around her as points of light-but not with her eyes. She soon learns she can not only perceive the life energy of others, but she can give and take it. With the help of others like her, she brings her husband Chris to the brink of death and back to bestow on him the same remarkable faculty, and they’re the happiest they’ve been. But not for long. All over the world, people who’ve been revived from their own near-death experience at just the right moment discover themselves with these same unusual powers. They find ways to use them-some for good and some for evil. When Amanda and Chris encounter a ruthless group of gangsters with the same faculty, tragedy follows-and Amanda faces the greatest challenge of her life.
WARNING: Content may not be suitable for people offended by naughty words, honest thoughts about love, and sexual thoughts of sextastic sex with sexy people.
(Set for publication for November 1st, 2013)
Twelve women, twelve tattoos, and a narrative thread that weaves them all together, Portrait of Woman in Ink: A Tattoo Storybook is a collection of stories that answers that lingering question in the back of your mind when you see an inked woman: what does your tattoo mean (or perhaps – what were you thinking)? From a parent’s suicide to the birth of an unlikely child, the stories behind why women tattoo themselves are literally worn on (and sometimes under) their sleeves, and retold on these pages.
She’s a Democrat, he’s a Republican. She spends her days fighting global warming at an environmental non-profit, he makes his living doing PR for Bell Motors and their fleet of SUVs. But as soon as they meet, Emily Crossley and Robert Drake realize they have encountered their intellectual match. You’re never challenged, he tells her. You’ve surrounded yourself in a cocoon of people who think exactly the same way you do. She hurls the same accusation back at him, and the fiery debates begin. Despite both of their attempts to derail it, there is no denying that they are falling in love. But their relationship is threatened by political differences, Robert’s excessive work hours, and Emily’s fear of losing her identity as she falls deeper in love. Can their love survive? The Drake Equation is a tale of modern love and all its complexities.
A family is torn in half when a careless killer evades justice. Jason McDowell’s bad choice to drive to work drunk one morning leaves a father dead, a daughter in a coma and her twin sister and mother to try and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Three years later, while Jason has gone on with his life, ignorant of the struggles of his victims, someone has decided it is time for him to face justice.
What do you do when your magic makes you a target? Run. Fight. Die.![18323152[1]](https://a-readers-review-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/183231521.jpg)
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