Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I hope that 2011 will bring you many wonderful books and the time to read them.

I have several book related resolutions for the new year. I'd like to cull my print books and get rid of at least one third of them. I'd like to organize my ebooks into genres. I'd like to finish some of the many books I have started before I begin a new one. Finally, I'd like to spend more time letting authors know how much I enjoyed their book when I read a really good one, especially when the author is new or not well known.

Kindle Love

I have been reading ebooks almost exclusively since I bought my Kindle. I am totally in love. I never would have thought that I would prefer ebooks, but now that is my favorite format. It's just so much easier to read on the Kindle because of the font size and how light it is. I can turn pages with one hand. Also, I can switch from one book to another with two clicks and I never lose my place.

I'm actually planning to get rid of most of my print books, not all 16 bookshelves full, but a significant number. I'll keep my cookbooks, reference books, signed books and a few others, but that's all. I never re-read fiction, except for a few classics, which are all available as free ebooks, so there's no need to keep any of it.

Now I have to figure out the best way to get rid of them all without going into business. I've ruled out donating to the library (long story, but I do have a reason) and there aren't any used bookstores that pay cash rather than give credit. Hmmm, looks like I'm going to have to do some research on this.

Books Bought

Ruthless by Anne Stuart
Sureblood by Susan Grant
The Hunted by Anna Leonard
Mistress of the Underground by Lisa Childs
The Tutor by Hope Tarr
Libertine's Kiss by Judith James
Saving Grace by Patricia Rosemoor
Tucker's Claim by Sarah McCarty
Heart Journey by Robin D. Owens
Burning Up (anthology)

Books Bought

Picked up a few books today with a gift card (bookstore gift cards = perfect gift!)

In the Darkest Hour by Patti O'Shea
Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams
Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf
A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare (not on my list but I couldn't resist the title, plus it's a historical werewolf novel and there aren't many of those)
Insatiable by Lauren Dane

Simply Magic by Mary Balogh

I had a few of Balogh’s books in my pile and Simply Magic was the first I finished. It is part of the “Simply” series which centers around four teachers at Miss Martin’s School For Girls in England. You don’t have to read the books in order, although I did read one of the previous volumes in the series.

Most of Balogh’s books have a slow pace which enables her to concentrate in great detail on the relationship between the hero and heroine. Don’t expect any complicated subplots or strong secondary characters, it is all focused on the main couple who we get to know inside out. Her books make a nice change from the fast-paced, action filled romances and although it sometimes takes a little while to get into them, by the end of the book you’ll really care about the pair. Her books remind me a bit of Jo Beverly’s.

Simply Magic features the teacher Susanna Osbourne and Peter Edgeworth, who is Viscount Whitleaf. They are instantly attracted to each other, but there are complications beyond that of their different stations in life. Saying more would give away too much, but it was an interesting and original dilemma.

What makes this book stand out is the two main characters, Susanna in particular. I really felt that I understood her and she was a very believable heroine. Peter, on the other hand, was likable and his actions seemed realistic, but he wasn’t quite as interesting to me. I also thought the historical setting was very well done.

I’d recommend this book if you’re in the mood for a leisurely exploration of a relationship between two appealing characters. I’ll rate it 7.0 out of 10.0.

Let It Be Love by Victoria Alexander

I needed a change from the military science-fiction I’ve been reading lately, so I gathered together all the historical romances in my to-be-read pile. I alphabetized them (I know, I know) and decided to start making a dent in the 100 volumes (yes, I counted—and bought one so I’d have an even hundred.)

I started with the A’s and B’s and the first book I finished was Victoria Alexander’s Let It Be Love, set in England in the 1850’s. I am not sure if I’ve read any other books by Alexander, but I certainly plan on reading more in the future. Her writing style is similar to that of Loretta Chase and Julia Quinn.

The Marquess of Helmsley is surprised when a stranger, Fiona Fairchild, asks him to marry her so she can receive her inheritance and provide her sisters with dowries. He thinks she is an actress put up to it by his friends so he agrees, only to be horrified when he finds out it was no joke. He wants to help her, but does not wish to wed, so comes up with an interesting proposition.

What made this book most enjoyable for me was the humor. It is full of witty banter between Jonathon and Fiona and they are both likable characters, once you get past Jonathon’s reneging on his word. The secondary characters were outstanding and the pace is quick, but not so fast that you can’t enjoy the developing relationship and heightened sexual tension between the hero and heroine.

This is an excellent historical romance, recommended for anyone in the mood for an amusing and well-written read. I’ll rate it 8.0 out of 10.0.

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

Skin Trade is the latest Anita Blake novel, the 17th in the series. You really need to have read at least some of the previous books to be able to understand everything that is going on. I've read all of the books and I still had a little trouble remembering all the characters.

Edward is one of my favorite characters and I was thrilled to see him featured in this installment which takes place in Las Vegas, but he didn't get as much chance to be Edward as I'd like. He almost felt wasted. Olaf is in the book also and he is as chilling as always. Hamilton has created one seriously creepy dude and I have a feeling we'll see him again.

This novel opens with Anita receiving a human head, really starting the story with a bang. Unfortunately it slows down and we're subjected to the usual whining from Anita. I love Anita when she's kicking ass, but she is very annoying when she is analyzing every feeling in great detail. I wish Hamilton had an editor who would tell her to stick to the action and keep the angst to a minimum.

I did enjoy the mystery part of the story and Vittorio is an interesting villain, but we didn't actually get to see much of him. I really liked learning more about the weretigers and Anita's power over them. The interaction between Anita and the local law enforcement was somewhat interesting but I did get tired of the attitude. I missed Jean-Claude and the rest of the St. Louis crowd.

This book kept my interest, but could have been much better. I'll rate it 7.0 out of 10.

Books Bought

Just two today:
A Twist in Time by Susan Squires
Dark Angel & Lord Carew's Bride by Mary Balogh

Books Bought

Dawn Encounter by Jennifer Blake
Body Guard by Suzanne Brockmann
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer and Anne Stuart
Spirited Brides by Amanda McCabe
Four Dukes and a Devil by Cathy Maxwell, Elaine Fox, Jeaniene Frost, Sophia Nash and Tracy Anne Warren
Demonfire by Kate Douglas
Black Jack by Lora Leigh
Master of Fire by Angela Knight
Highland Angel by Hannah Howell

Books Bought

Books bought at Barnes & Noble (very disappointed in their selection, by the way):

Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder
The Dark Storm by Kris Greene
Pride Mates by Jennifer Ashley
Reserved For the Cat by Mercedes Lackey

Currently reading Dauntless by Jack Campbell (science fiction)

More New Books

Books bought with gift cards:

Bone Magic by Yasmine Galenorn
Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton
Must Love Hellhounds (anthology)
Heart Change by Robin D. Owens
Whispered Lies by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
Phantom in the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
Hunters: Heart and Soul by Shiloh Walker
Succubus On Top by Richelle Mead
Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter

New Books

Books I received for the holidays:

Soulless by Gail Carriger (almost done, it's terrific)
Hot for the Holidays (anthology)
Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Midnight Rising by Lara Adrian
The Lost Fleet: Dauntless by Jack Campbell (SF)
Bound to Shadows by Keri Arthur
Unbound (anthology)
Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran

and the new Dan Brown, but don't tell anyone. :)

Highland Beast (Anthology)

Highland Beast is a paranormal anthology featuring stories by Hannah Howell, Heather Grothaus and Victoria Dahl. It is similar in feel to last year's Nature of the Beast anthology which also featured a story by Hannah Howell. I reviewed that last October.

All three stories take place in Scotland in the past, all are in the 80-90 page range and all feature vampires. Given those similarities, it is surprising how different the stories felt. They all shared one important thing, though--they were all excellently written.

It's hard to pick out a favorite this time, which is rare in anthologies where the quality usually varies, but if I had to it would be the first one in the book. In "The Beast Within" by Howell, my one quibble is with the hero's name Gybbon. All I can think of is the ape, not really what I want to picture when I am thinking of a romantic hero. Other than that minor issue, the story is wonderful. Gybbon is searching for the Lost Ones who share his MacNachton bloodline when he comes across Alice Boyd who has been running from hunters for years. Both Gybbon and Alice are very strong characters and there was a lot of action and suspense. I'm rating this 8.5 out of 10.

The second story is "The Vampire Hunter" by Heather Grothaus. Beatrix Levenach is a witch who lives in the Scottish highlands where she runs an inn and protects the village from vampies. The villagers come to suspect her of the deaths the vampires are causing and Alder the White comes to her rescue. He's a vampire who can only regain his humanity if he kills Beatrix. This is a very exciting tale, full of non-stop action and a variety of paranormal activity. I'll rate this 8.0 out of 10.

The last story in the collection is "Laird of Midnight" by Dahl which is set in Scotland in 1595. Finlay Maclain is a vampire who has been hunting those vampires who killed his family and he only has one more to take care of. He finds the widow Kenna Graham working at a tavern and she is threatened by his nemesis, Jean. The sexual tension is delicious and the pace never lets up. I enjoyed watching their relationship develop and watching both of them change. I'll rate this one 8.0 out of 10.

Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh

I've been having computer problems and have a backlog of books to review, so will try to keep these short and to the point.

Seducing an Angel is part of Balogh's Huxtable Family series and tells the story of the youngest Huxtable, Stephen, the Earl of Merton. It is a Regency that takes place in London. The heroine is Cassandra Belmont, an impoverished widow who decides to take a lover to survive and take care of those she loves.

I've read other books by Mary Balogh and thought this one wasn't up to her usual standard. I did enjoy parts of it, such as the brave heroine and the secondary love stories. The other characters such as Cassandra's maid and former governess were all interesting. Even the dog didn't annoy me like so many animals in romances do. I appreciated that the author took on the serious subjects of alcoholism and domestic abuse.

The weakness of the book for me was the hero. There was nothing offensive about Stephen, he was just boring. He seemed to be the perfect man and perfection is just not fascinating to read about. There was no sexual tension, not much action and little suspense. I think with a different hero it might have been a much better book. Seducing an Angel lacked the emotional punch that many of Balogh's books have.

I'll rate this book 6.0 out of 10.

Books Bought

Books bought:

Tempted By His Kiss--Tracy Anne Warren
Seduced By Your Spell--Lois Greiman
Windfall--Rachel Caine
Thirteen Chances--Cindy Miles
Immortal Sins--Amanda Ashley
Seduce Me in Shadow--Shayla Black
What a Dragon Should Know--G.A. Aiken
Unraveled--C.J. Barry
Lucan--Susan Kearney
Ashes of Midnight--Lara Adrian
My Wicked Vampire--Nina Bangs
Unleashed--C.J. Barry
Bewitched--Sandra Schwab
Never Marry a Stranger--Gayle Callen
How To Tame a Lady--Kasey Michaels

Ordered from eHarlequin.com:

The Angel--Carla Neggers
A Wicked Liaison-Christine Merrill
Awakening the Beast (anthology)--Linda O. Johnston & more
Lord of Sin--Susan Krinard
Immortal Wolf--Bonnie Vanak
Moon Kissed--Michele Hauf
More Blazing Bedtime Stories--Leslie Kelly & Julie Leto
Staying Dead--Laura Anne Gilman

Books from library:

Highland Beast (anthology)--Hannah Howell, Heather Grothaus, Victoria Dahl
Seducing An Angel--Mary Balogh
The Memoirs of Mary, Queen of Scots--Carolly Erickson

I have five books I've finished and need to review, which I'll do as soon as I can. Happy Reading!

A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James

A Duke of Her Own is a gem. It's set in 1784 and closely follows This Duchess of Mine (which I reviewed in August.) Although I think you'd still enjoy the book without reading This Duchess of Mine first, I think it added a lot to my understanding of the hero, the Duke of Villiers. He's an important secondary character in Duchess and the book shows the beginning of his search for his illegitimate children.

Leopold, the Duke of Villiers, has decided he needs to find a mother for the children he is gathering, and he wastes no time in searching for an acceptable wife. Lady Eleanor has been nursing a broken heart for years because her beloved married someone else and she has declared she will only marry a Duke to keep other men from bothering her. Eleanor was wonderfully direct and honest, and quite a contrast with Lisette, the other candidate to be Villiers' new Duchess. I loved how James gave Lisette some of the stereotypical traits of a romance heroine, but with a twist.

This book wasn't quite as emotionally intense as This Duchess of Mine, but it's hard to compete with a dying hero. I did think that James handled the serious topics of mental illness and orphans amazingly well. I loved all the characters and found them refreshingly original. I even liked the dog and Villiers' son Tobias and I often find dogs and children poorly done in romances. The ending is a bit unusual but perfect for the characters.

I'll rate it 8.5 out of 10 and highly recommend it for anyone who likes British historicals.

Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian

Kiss of Midnight is the first in Adrian's Midnight Breeds series. I've had the first three books in the series sitting in my TBR pile for ages and now I'm kicking myself for not getting to them earlier.

At first Kiss of Midnight reminded me of Christine Feehan's Dark series but by the end it reminded me much more of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. This is another band of immortal warriors premise, with the Breeds as the good vampires who fight the bad vampires known as Rogues. It takes place in present day Boston and the paranormal world is kept secret from the humans.

Gabrielle Maxwell is a photographer with an unhappy childhood who first encounters the hero when she witnesses a Rogue vampire attack that no one else seems to see. Lucan Thorne is the powerful vampire who finds out she is a Breedmate, one of the rare humans who can mate with vampires and who have unique abilities. Although the focus is very much on Gabrielle and Lucan's romance, there is an exciting plot line featuring the fight between the Breeds and Rogues. I enjoyed finding out about the other warriors, who will no doubt have books about them in the future.

One of my favorite things about the book was all the action. It's very fast paced and full of tension, but I wasn't quite as emotionally affected as I was by the first few J.R. Ward books. It was a very satisfying read, though, and I have already started reading the second in the series, Kiss of Crimson.

I'll rate it 8.5 out of 10.

The Highwayman by Michele Hauf

The Highwayman is in the Silhouette Nocturne line and is the first in the Wicked Games series. The Wicked Games series takes place in the same paranormal world as Hauf's Bewitching the Dark series. I haven't read any of those but have one in my TBR pile and look forward to reading them all.

Max Fitzroy is a French highwayman who is possessed by a demon (actually part of a demon) in 1758. After that he can no longer eat, sleep or have an orgasm. On the other hand, he is immortal and has superhuman strength. He is driven by revenge and goes around the world killing demons and familiars. Familiars are cat shape-shifters who bring demons into this world during a magic sex ritual. Aby is a Familar who has a werewolf protector. Max tracks her down planning to use her to call up the demon whose shadow lives inside him and then kill her.

What I loved about this book was the originality. The Highwayman and his super cool whip are unique and a welcome change from vamps and weres. Although Aby is a shifter, the Familiars are also new and fascinating. I was not too happy with Max having killed so many of them, though. It's a fast paced book with lots of fun action and surprises. Aby was an enchanting heroine, so innocent in many ways in spite of being so sexually experienced. I especially liked the part of the book that took place in Paris. The only complaint I have is that the ending seemed rushed and I would have liked to find out a little more about what happened to them.

I'll rate it 8.0 out of 10 and will look for the next in the series, Moon Kissed, which is the story of Severo, Aby's werewolf friend.

The Darkest Whisper by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Whisper is the fourth in Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series. I reviewed the first three in August 2008 and explained the premise of the series.

I had eagerly awaited the next installment and The Darkest Whisper did not disappoint. Sabin is the keeper of the demon Doubt and he rescues the beautiful Gwen from the Hunters. The Hunters are out to destroy the Lords of the Underworld, thinking them responsible for all the evil in the world, and they are breeding themselves a paranormal army. The Hunters are led by Galen, keeper of the demon Hope, and traitor to the rest of the Lords.

Gwen was a marvelous heroine. It was fun to learn about a new creature (the Harpy) and to watch her grow during the book. She was easy to sympathize with in spite of her powers and when we found out who her father was--wow! What a shock. I really enjoyed her sisters, too, who provided some humor (and muscle.)

Sabin is my least favorite hero so far, which isn't really his fault. He was wonderfully powerful and sexy, but his demon was just not that interesting. I was really touched by the scene where he tells Gwen his weaknesses to gain her trust. We learn a bit more about the other Lords as well, and I can't wait to hear their stories, especially those of Paris (Promiscuity) and Torin (Disease.)

I'll rate it 8.0 out of 10 and look forward to the next book in the series, which I think is Aeron's (Wrath.)

A Highlander for Christmas by Sandy Blair

A Highlander for Christmas is an excellent time travel romance by Sandy Blair, author of the Kilt series of historical romances.

Claire MacGregor is a Boston antiques dealer who is bequeathed a chest that holds a puzzle box. When she opens it, Cameron MacLeod appears. The last thing he remembers is getting ready to fight the English in 1745. I generally like the time travels best when the hero or heroine travels back in time, but this book shows just how good it can be when one of them comes to the present day.

Claire is a wonderful and realistic heroine who is easy to sympathize with. The sexual tension between her and Cameron was sizzling and one of my favorite parts of the book. I really enjoyed seeing Cameron react to the modern world as well and some of his misconceptions were hilarious. The reindeer scene was very funny, even if a little over-the-top.

The book had some serious and emotional points, too, and brought me to tears when Cam found out what happened to his family in the past. The secondary characters were all well written and I loved the setting since Boston is one of my favorite places. The fast pace and many surprises kept me glued to the book until the satisfying end.

I'll rate this book 8.5 out of 10 and hope Sandy Blair will write other time travels because she clearly has a knack for them.