~REVIEW of Jacquelyn Frank's JACOB~

Jacob (Nightwalkers, #1)

Opening Line: "How ridiculously simple it would be to cause them harm."

Jacob is the Demon enforcer for his people. His responsibility for the past 700 years has been to protect the human population from fellow Nightwalkers who fall victim to the maddening Moonlust. He takes his duties as enforcer seriously and over the years has even had to punish close friends and family members when they stray too close to humans. Because of this Jacob has become feared within Demon society, now an involuntary loner. One night while hunting a rogue Demon, Jacob inadvertently rescues a woman after she falls from her apartment window, landing safely in his strong arms. The attraction between the two is immediate, he cannot let her go. Has Jacob himself fallen victim to Moonlust?

There's something strange about this raven haired nymph. Isabella's not just your average human, for within minutes of being rescued she senses something and runs into a warehouse. Jacob follows and is rendered helpless as she proceeds to kill a Necromancer (bad guy) while it practices the black arts. Jacob, unable to believe what he's seen puts Bella into a deep sleep and takes her back to his castle where he'll try to figure out what she really is. When Bella awakes she isn't at all scared, just excepting and curious about this new world she finds herself in. She's apparently really horny too despite the fact that she's a virgin (why are they always virgins?) The couple can't seem to keep their hands off each other, even though this little collaboration will mean certain death for Jacob. Just as the intense make-out session reaches a precipice it is rudely interrupted by the demon king Noah. He also assumes that Jacob has gone mad with lust. Now who will enforce the enforcer?

 After some explanations, Bella proceeds to hang out in the Demon library learning about their rich culture as her psychic connection with Jacob and strange new powers inexplicably grow. Eventually Bella locates some ancient papers that will change the course of human and Demon destiny forever, and thankfully explain what she is becoming.

Jacquelyn Frank has created a very detailed and complex world with this first book in her Nightwalkers Series. And although I really enjoyed the initial chapters as well as the exciting and romantic final chapters, the middle section seemed to stall. As the author filled in pages and pages of Demon history, rules and culture while Jacob and Bella just hung out in the castle having telepathic phone sex in each others minds. I just wanted to get on with it, for SOMETHING to happen.

I also found Bella's character to be particularly annoying with her rolling eyes and silly quips. There were parts however that I loved and this is a good book, maybe just not great. It was nice to read a paranormal without Vampires and I appreciated the tightness and detail of Ms Frank's well written first novel. The secondary characters have also been well developed and left elusive enough for you to want to come back for another instalment. Cheers!

~REVIEW of Catherine Mann's THE CAPTIVES RETURN~

Captive's Return (Wingmen Warriors, #10)

Opening Line: “Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Quade refused to allow himself hope he would see his dead wife again.”

Lt Colonel Lucas Quade’s wife died moments after saying their vows, leaving him in charge of getting her younger brother out of the war torn South American country. Forced to leave his wife’s body behind Lucas has never gotten over the guilt. Now five years later a mission has brought him back to the very place his heart was shattered. He's to rescue a woman that somehow resembles his wife, it couldn’t be could it?

Sarafina Quade’s death had of course been faked and she’s been living under the 'protection' of her uncle. Unable to leave his compound or apparently contact the outside world Sara has only stayed for the sake of her and Lucas’ baby. However that baby is now five years old and the day has finally come. Sara and her daughter are busting out.

As Sara makes her way through the jungle foliage towards freedom she comes face-to-face with the man of her dreams, and then stabs him. What are the chances that Lucas would be coming to rescue her on the very day she escapes? The time for figuring out fate will have to wait because first they’ve got to face a dangerous trek through the jungle, “bad guys” chasing them, poisonous spiders, and Sara’s medical condition which for whatever reason she chooses to keep to herself. At some point she’s also going to have to tell him that he’s a daddy and if she can break through his tough-guy veneer they might actually have a chance at becoming a real family.

This was a struggle to get through, which was surprising and unfortunate. I usually really like Catherine Mann and I have a definite thing for the dark, tortured, standoffish hero (I’ve given up trying to figure out what that says about me) I also love a good reunited lovers story. So, in theory this had it all and started out with some serious action and heartache. Regrettably it then fell into utter ridiculousness interspaced with blah. I just couldn’t get into it and after a while couldn’t over look the many faults either

Our hero was mean not sexy-alpha as I think was intended and the heroine (oh jeez) what with her bubble blowing (really?!) and secrets she personified TSTL. And their child was, lets just say beyond annoying. Even the bumble through the jungle which should have been exciting and filled with sexual tension came across as silly. And then there’s the bad guy. I never did figure out his motives, he just seemed to want Sara back and was, well… ”bad.”

I have heard that this is the weakest in the series through so I will be giving the Wingman Warriors another shot, one day. Cheers

~REVIEW of Jessica Bird (J.R Ward's) AN IRRESISTIBLE BACHELOR~

An Irresistible Bachelor (An Unforgettable Lady #2)

Opening Line: "The woman came to him from the shadows and he knew her by the red of her hair."

Written in 2004 An Irresistible Bachelor is the companion book to Jessica Bird (JR Ward’s) An Unforgettable Lady Each can easily be read as stand-alones however you’ll get much more out of this one if you read them in order. Having said that I should also tell you that while I loved Grace and particularly John from the first book, Jack and Callie’s romance here was a major disappointment and has turned out to be my least favourite Bird/Ward book to date. Unfortunately I just couldn’t ever get a feel for them as a couple, and without the suspense factor from the last book or any real notable sexual tension this time, the dreary storyline involving art restoration, family secrets and multi-billionaire businessmen running for governor just wasn’t enough to hold my interest.

However this is still Ward writing, so while the plot never grabbed me it does of course have its moments, they’re just few and far between. For example I learned everything I ever (didn’t) want to know about restoring art. Thankfully there are some great secondary characters; like Jack’s bitchy meddling mother, a one armed chef and Artie the dog. My wannabe boyfriend John Smith shows up again although he doesn’t get to speak and we meet Gray, who had me wondering if he was the same Grayson Bennett from The Moorehouse Legacy book His Comfort and Joy? Speaking of which we also get a brief cameo from Spike A Man In A Million In the end though when you care more about a little dog and cameo spotting then the heroes you know you’re in trouble and it was with a lot of eye rolling that I finished this book.

Callie Burke is a struggling art conservationist so when she’s given the chance to restore a world famous painting she of course jumps at the offer. This job could make her whole career however she probably should have also considered that’s she’d be working with its owner too; multi-billionaire (really!? MULTI billionaire?? Is that much money really necessary? What’s wrong with just a plain ole millionaire??) Anyways Callie’s going to be working alongside the notorious womanizer Jack Walker. She’s determined to keep things strictly professional, after all he is engaged but he’s also just so damn sexy. Now she just has to make sure he doesn’t learn her secret. Dun dun dah…

Jack Walker is a practical man (who BTW was way more interesting in An Unforgettable Lady) He runs his life and fortune effortlessly and except for the occasional fight with his interfering, live in mother and some bad driving skills doesn’t foresee anything changing. That is until the moment he sets eyes on Callie. He wants her like he’s never wanted anything before and the more he gets to know her the more he also realizes what his life is missing. This isn't just infatuation and to prove it he’s willing to end his engagement even if that damages his chances of becoming a mayoral candidate. Will he ever be able to overcome his former reputation and convince Callie that he really loves her? And what the hell has she done to his painting; she was supposed to be a professional? Cheers!

~REVIEW of Linda Howard's MACKENZIES MOUNTAIN~

Mackenzie's Mountain (Mackenzie Family, #1)

Opening Line: "He needed a woman bad."

I had a ton of problems with this book and I’m finding it really difficult to review because as much as this story confused me, annoyed me and downright offended me, in the end as much as I wanted to I just didn’t hate it. I did however breathe a sigh of relief when I finished.

Written in 1989 Mackenzie’s Mountain is a contemporary romance however it reads, and for the first 100 pages I thought it was a historical, taking place around 1890-1910. It takes place in small town Wyoming and has a Little House On the Prairie feel to it along with lots of prejudice and small minded gossip.

The heroine is a schoolteacher who has just moved to teach in their school house. She is plain in appearance with her hair in a bun, horn rimmed glasses, a shapeless dress, sensible shoes and zero life experience having been raised by her old fashioned Aunt (presumably in a cave). Mary in fact has never worn a pair of jeans and has definitely never been kissed. She is however clichéd with thoughts like this one;

"Only shameless hussies would wear a skirt without a proper petticoat underneath"

Yes she also speaks like she’s from the 1900’s and her character seemed stranger to me still when I realized it was meant to be 1989 (don’t know many people that wore petticoats then)

Anyways Mary is concerned that one of her better students has quit school and goes to his home to find out why where she meets Wolf Mackenzie and this is when I started to get offended and these are the authors words Not mine. Wolf is an Indian and an angry Indian because he spent time in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and everyone in town hates and distrusts him. To make matters worse (in the authors mind) Wolf is also a half breed and Howard drills this into the readers head every couple of pages in case we forget our hero’s heritage. Now honestly… its 1989, do people really use words like half-breed anymore? Could the average person tell the difference? Have I just been living in happy land my entire life? This is uncomfortable.

Wolf feels his son doesn’t need schooling because he’s an Indian (cringe) Now after all the racist remarks which I somewhat forgave because I thought it was a historical this is when Joe, the heroes son suddenly declares that he wants to join the Air Force academy and fly jets. What?! Damn this really is a contemporary.

Mary then decides to tutor Joe and feels that even though (cringe) he’s a half breed he still has a pretty good chance of getting into the Air Force. Remember its 1989 in this backwards little town. For some weird reason Wolf is attracted to the mousy Mary and the meat of this story revolves around their growing relationship, him giving her savage looks and bedding her and the hunt for the man responsible for attacking women in town which Wolf is initially blamed for.

Now I could go on and on about all my issues with this silly/strange/offensive story but because its also such a reader favourite (I’m assuming with historical romance fans) I will also say that Wolf is a fantastic, sexy alpha hero and as annoying and clichéd as Mary is they still manage to share some steamy love scenes together. I also really liked Joe the wanna-be pilot son and it’s my understanding that his story is up next in (MACKENZIE'S MISSION).

As this was my first Linda Howard book I don’t know if writing historical characters in modern times is a trait of hers and as offensive as some of her writing was I did still enjoy her love scenes and easy flowing writing style. Howard just needs to pick one time genre and stick with it.

~REVIEW of Gena Showalter's THE DARKEST NIGHT~

 ~YUMMY, LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD~

The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1) 

Opening line: "Every night death came, slowly, painfully, and every morning Maddox awoke in bed, knowing he'd have to die again later."

 

As a fan of paranormal romance and in particular JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood my searches for what to read next kept taking me to this series. That's not to say the two are comparable, because they aren't but if you like continuing story arcs with multiple character POV's, hot, sexy love scenes, the occasional bloody fight and tortured yet strong alpha males who become kittens once they meet their prospective mates then you might like this too.

The premise for Gena Showalter's world is quite elaborate. Centuries ago a group of immortal warriors released the demons from Pandora's Box. (Yes the Pandora's Box) As punishment the Greek gods cursed the warriors, forcing each to act as host to one of the demons, sort of like a duo personality. Maddox, this books hero is the keeper of violence and because he was unable to control his demon in the beginning and killed Pandora. (Yes the Pandora) Maddox was additionally cursed to die each night at the hands of his fellow warriors, burning in the pits of hell until morning (which can`t be fun) The Lords of the underworld now live in a secluded castle in Budapest, each struggling to coexist with their own personal demon. The other warriors possess things like disease, wrath, death, pain, doubt, promiscuity, lies, and disaster, all of whom getting their own book as the series progresses.

Our heroine here is Ashlyn Darrow. She works for the World institute of Parapsychology and has come to Budapest with her team to investigate the warriors. Poor Ashlyn has a curse of her, born with the ability to hear any conversation that has ever taken place in the location where she is standing. These voices in her head have ruined her life and she'd do anything for a moment's silence. Maddox finds Ashlyn in the woods outside the castle and even though he thinks she's `bait' sent by the `hunters' (bad guys) he is instantly drawn to her. For Ashlyn it's a miracle, because even though she finds this violent and bloody (he's just killed some hunters) man terrifying the voices have stopped. Now she can't bear to be separated from him and Maddox can't help himself either (they never can) carrying her back to the castle and into his chambers. Of course he's going to have to explain himself to the other men, if he can leave Ashlyn's side long enough and what happens at midnight when his friends have to kill him? That's sure to put a damper on the ole love life.

The premise for this series is original and exciting and I will definitely be continuing on, despite the fact at times I was overwhelmed by Greek Mythology and couldn't keep track of who was who and cursed with which demon. I also had trouble with Ashlyn and found her to be written too young and virginal to ever handle a man like Maddox (maybe I was just jealous though?)

~REVIEW of Nina Bruhns' SHOOT TO THRILL~

Shoot to Thrill (Passion For Danger, #1)

Opening Line: “It was their shoes that gave them away”

I liked this, I really did but...

SHOOT TO THRILL is a roller coaster ride in more ways then one. This 1st in a trilogy takes us from Manhattan to the Sahara and starts out with huge potential. A sexy tortured hero on the run, action filled storyline, smoking hot love scenes and some seriously funny dialogue. And except for the H/h’s names (Kick and Raine really!?) I wondered how I’d managed to miss author Nina Bruhns until now? Unfortunately though as the book progressed things kinda fell apart. Granted the whole story requires a huge suspension of reality (in a Romancing the Stone sort of way) but still, there’s a fine line between going along for the ride and the ridiculous.

Kick Jackson is a junkie on the run. This former CIA spec-ops sniper has had enough of being owned by “Zero Unit” and all the bloodshed. In fact if it hadn’t been for his little addiction to painkillers (developed after the last mission went bad) chances are the Unit wouldn’t have been able to find him at all. As it stands though they’ve offered him a deal he can’t refuse; identify and take down a known terrorist and they’ll tear up his contract… one last mission. Yeah right. The problem is he’s going to be going through withdrawal pretty soon and that’s where the kidnapping comes in. Nurse Raine Martin will do nicely, one last affair before he ships out (and more then likely gets killed) and a safe place to detox. The thing Kick hadn’t counted on was Raine getting thrown into the deadly international spy game or that he’d end up caring.

One of my biggest problems here was with the heroine who while remaining TSTL throughout also manages to transform from wimpy, useless and agoraphobic to (in the author’s words) a warrior; able to wield a knife, carry a gun, detonate bombs, kill and generally save the day while still having childish arguments. It was too much -I kinda hated her. Then there was also the issue of our couple having sex at the most inappropriate times, like outside of a terrorist compound in the Sahara sand dunes while trying to rescue a POW.

Anyways I won’t be too harsh because there’s a lot to like and with several of the storylines continuing throughout the trilogy I know I'll be continuing on. I really enjoyed Bruhns’ style of writing, filled with witty dialogue and fantastic sub plots and secondary characters. “Pig’s” sporadic POV was heart wrenching and intriguing as I tried to figure out how he fit into everything. And I absolutely adored Gina and Van Halen. However in saying that, because their storyline was so combustible (jeez the sex on the table scene!) I also found myself disappointed when we returned to the main storyline. Kick and Raine paled in comparison to those two, and when your secondary couple outshines your main it isn’t a good thing. Cheers people!

~REVIEW of Suzanne Brockmann's EVERYDAY, AVERAGE JONES~

TD&D # 4 STARTS WITH SO MUCH POTENTIAL

stars

Opening Line: "It was extremely likely that she was going to die"

Harlan "Cowboy" Jones is the 4th SEAL to get his story told in Suzanne Brockmann's Tall, Dark and Dangerous series. And while as a whole I am loving these well written, addictive stories and their delicious alpha male heroes this one was a letdown. It starts out with a ton of potential; exciting action, suspense, a decent heroine and a larger then life Navy SEAL hero coming to her rescue. Unfortunately Brockmann then pulls out the secret baby card and for the last 3/4's of the book I couldn't stand the heroine, lack of storyline or the ongoing (and going) conflict between them. Luckily we get some great supporting characters and lots of interaction with the rest of Alpha Team 10 to carry us through.

When the American embassy Melody Evans is working in is overtaken by terrorists it doesn't take long for the Navy SEALs to come to their rescue however it does take them 2 days to reach the Middle Eastern border and a flight to freedom. During those tense few days Melody comes to trust her daring and charismatic rescuer with her life. Blaming the extreme circumstances on the ensuing week of passion they share together in Paris. However Melody doesn't want a relationship with a hero who risks his life on a daily basis and is never home, she plans on settling down with an everyday, average man. So when Jones gets called back to duty she thanks him for the laughs and breaks things off.

And this is when things fell apart; 7 months later Jones gets reassigned to the east coast and because he hasn't been able to forget about Melody he looks her up. Shocked to discover that she's pregnant but being an honourable guy Cowboy Jones dons his dress whites and asks her to marry him. The only thing is she doesn't want him, in fact she's got everything worked out so that she doesn't need him either and no amount of coercion on his part will change her mind. This storyline goes on and on with Melody not giving an inch and Jones setting up a tent in her backyard then doing normal suburban type things in the hopes that she will at least put his name on the birth certificate. He's kind of like a dog waiting to be thrown a bone and this got old, fast.

One interesting thing about this story is that (except for one) all of the love scenes are spoken of or thought about in past tense. Now I usually like to be in on the action but this really worked here and I found the memories and sexual tension to be just as sexy as if it were taking place. I just don't know what happened to our heroine because she became very unlikable. Even at the very end I didn't ever and get the feeling that this couple loved each other, I just felt that Jones was going to be in for a lifetime of supplication, diaper changing and begging for sexual favours.

So, my least favourite from the series so far, but still a worthwhile quickie romance and I should mention that the entire Tall, Dark &Dangerous series is in the process of being re-released (with fancy new covers) and this one can be found in Tall, Dark and Fearless along with the excellent tortured hero in Frisco's Kid.