Monday, August 13, 2007

Jen Holling - My Devilish Scotsman


“If you marry me you do so understanding that you are mine.”
His hands tightened on her arme and he stared down at her, eyes hard. “I will not share you.”
Gillian tried to twist away from him. He was a fool if he thought he could be rid of her so easily and since he would not release her, she stopped struggling and met his gaze. “You’re not getting rid of me.”
His mouth covered hers in a hard kiss of posession that sent her senses reeling. She surrendered immediately, her body softening, melting into his.
“I won’t share either,” Gillian finally said. “Do you understand me?”


Gillian MacDonnel is the middle one of three sisters and the only one with no magical powers, or so she claims, she is no witch like her sisters Isobel and Rose. Her father is mortally ill and has arranged marriages for her and her sisters so they will be well taken care of after his death. Isobel in the meantime has married the man she loves en Rose can also marry someone her own age, young and handsome. But Gillian is promised to an old Frenchman. Gillian does not like this at all. The only other solution is to marry that darkhaired sexy man who makes her heart race, the duke of Kincreag. This is Isobel’s former fiancĂ©.

The duke of Kincreag, Nicholas, has had it with women! His first wife was unfaithful, lied and cheated. He promised his good friend Alan to marry his eldest daughter, Isobel, who then just went and married someone else. And now they want to marry him off to the middle sister Gillian so she won’t have to marry an old Frenchman. To prevent this from happening he refuses to take another step into Alan’s home. However when he receives word that his friend will not live to see the morning he races to him...in vain...Alan is very ill but is most certainly not dying yet. Alan asks him again to marry Gillian and not able to refuse his friend anything he agrees reluctantly.

Gillian has already fallen in love with Nicholas and wants him to fall in love with her to. During a dinner to get to know each other better, Gillian slips a love-potion in his wine, he sees this and without her noticing gives the wine to the dog. He is very suspicious, afraid she is trying to poison him. But the dog is unharmed...only very unwilling to leave Gillian’s side. So what did she slip in his wine?

When Gillian moves into her new home strange and inexplicable things happen and Gillian discovers that she does have magical powers. She can communicate with the dead. She also finds out she is cursed...Nicholas won’t have it and forbids her to to something with it. The witch-hunt is still in full force, every day some woman ends up on the stake. When there are some attempts on her life Gillian gets fed up and calls in her sisters. Her sisters accuse Nicholas because his first wife also died under strange circumstances and he was the suspect. She fell of the cliffs right after she and Nicholas had had a fight and her body was never found. But Nicholas claims he would never hurt Gillian.

This is book 2 of the MacDonnel Brides Trilogy and it gets better and better. Gillian is beautiful, sweet but also feisty and has a ready tongue. Nicholas is tall, dark, handsome and silent. He reminds me a little of Sin (Kinley MacGregor), so he’s totally okay! Once again nice humor and dialogues, a sensation-packed story and just when at the end of the first book you think you know exactly what the outcome of the other two books will be, you’re wrong!!

4 stars

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Jen Holling - My Wicked Highlander


“So, I’m your prisoner now?” Isobel snapped. “I wonder what my father will think of this?”

“He’ll take a strap to yer arse when I tell him about yer behavior.”

Her face flushed and her mouth flattened. Phillip was afraid she might explode. He stared back at her, brows raised.

“Perhaps you should save him the trouble,” she said. A wicked grin pulled at his lips as he imagined it. “All you have to do is ask, lass – I’d be happy to oblige.”


Scotland, 1597

Times are dangerous for women in Scotland. The scottish king has determined that every village, every town can administer justice on alleged witches and everyone who associates with them. The country is consumed by the persecution of witches. One only has to point at a woman, the word witch merely needs to be mentioned and said woman is a dead woman walking. Women are massively thrown on the stake and dying a gruesome death.

After her mother Lilian died on the stake, 12-year old Isobel MacDonell is sent to friends in England by her father for her own safety. Her two sisters Gillian and Rose are sent away too. Isobel can not contact them. She grows up in England, becomes an adult, but she is always considered a misfit. For Isobel has the same gift her mother had. She can see people’s past and future by holding an object of theirs. She knows she has to be very careful with it because it can land her on the stake. But she is headstrong, stubborn, enchanting, helpful and she thinks she is being careful enough. She thinks her father has forgotten about her until Sir Philip Kilpatrick appears on her doorstep. He is to escort her home, her father has married her and her sisters off. Isobel has to marry the duke of Kincreag.

Sir Philip Kilpatrick doesn’t believe in witches, he’s escorting a girl home because of his friendship with her father Alan. Alan is very ill and dying but Isobel is not to know of this. He has enough problems of his own, his younger halfsister is missing and his stephmother blames him for it. He is weighed down by feelings of guilt. He has been searching in vain for his sister for years. His father wants him to show more interest for the estate he will one day inherit and then there is his evil illegal brother who is more than willing to take his inheritance away and will stop at nothing to do so.

On the way home besides all the troubles they already have they are also having problems with each other. He changes his minds about witches en because of her gift starts believing in their existence. Unfortunately her gift causes danger to them several times. They are attracted to each other, Isobel and Philip fall in love, Isobel wants to help him find his sister. Philip wants to marry her but Isobel feels obliged to honor her father’s dying wish, after all she’s already engaged to the duke. Philip goes away to look for his sister en doesn’t want to see her marrying the duke. Isobel wants to make the best of it with the duke and is convinced she will succeed. Until she meets the duke. He is very handsome....and cold as ice. She doesn’t want to marry him. When she finds out dat Philip’s life is in danger because of her, her choice is soon made en she ends up in trouble.

This is the first book of The MacDonell Brides Trilogy, a fun read, especially the hero in this book is to die for! There are many great and temperamentful dialogues between Philip and Isobel in this book en the secondary characters are nice.

4 stars

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Alyssa Day - Wild Hearts (anthology) - Warriors of Poseidon 1.5

Bastien is a warrior of Poseidon, he protects Conlan, the High Prince of Atlantis, and mankind against vampires. He was forced to commit unspeakable acts in the name of protecting humanity, but hides his troubled mind from his fellow warriors. Now the old alliances are changing and the battle against the vampires is getting worse, he is asked to be an official Atlantean liaison and form an alliance with a group of shape-shifters that has gone rogue. His way in with this group is a woman he met briefly two years ago, the only woman that ever got under his skin ...

Kat Fiero, official National Park Service ranger, is half human, half shape-shifter. She recognises Bastien immediately as the handsome warrior who has saved her on the beach two years ago from vampires. Together they try to convince the alpha of her pride, Ethan, not to form an alliance with the vampires. They fear that the vampires have alternative motives and will use the pact against her pride, Ethan wants proof of this before he makes his decision. Both Bastien as Kat feel this intense attraction between them, but a relationship between an Atlantean and a shape-shifter is not allowed ...

So this is the second part in the Warriors of Poseidon series. I was looking forward to read it after Atlantis Rising and was not disappointed. I like it! Miss Day has a way with words, the dialogues sparkle and she has a tremendous humour.

Bastien to himself about Kat:

“I offer my sword, my heart, and my life to protect your own. From now until the last drop of ocean has vanished from the earth. You are my soul.”

“Oh boy. Next I’ll be taking out the garbage and shopping for curtains.”


Ven to Bastien and vice versa:

“You remember that hot ranger you saved from that gang of bikers a couple of years ago? Kat Fiero? Yeah. Vague recollection.”

Bastien to himself:

“Vague recollection of that day, twenty-one months and three weeks ago.”

This story is an easy read, well written but is lacking depth as most anthologies are. It would have been nice if the relationship between Bastien and Kat was explored in depth. The story is just too short and told with too much haste. I did not like the end, it felt like the story wasn’t finished ... What saves it from being just an average tale is Miss Day’s humour and talent for writing sparkling dialogues.

3 stars

Friday, August 10, 2007

Alyssa Day - Atlantis Rising - Warriors of Poseidon 1


“Eleven thousand years ago, before the seas swallowed the Atlanteans, Poseidon assigned a few chosen warriors to act as sentinels for humans in the new world. There was only one rule – desiring them was forbidden. But rules were made to be broken....”

Conlan is the High Prince of Atlantis. He has sworn to safeguard mankind against the vampires. After seven years of imprisonment and torture by Anubisa, the goddess of the night, he returns home to Atlantis only to find out that an very important artefact, the Trident, has been stolen from the temple of Poseidon. Now he and his warriors have surfaced on a mission to retrieve Poseidon's stolen Trident and declare war on all vampires.

Riley is a dedicated social worker in Virginia Beach, she is also an empath with a special connection to the sea. She is courageous, pretty, smart, witty and always blurts out whatever comes up in her head. After a tough day at work she goes to the beach to relax, there she is attacked by three men and Conlan safes her. Since she is an empath Conlan can’t let her go, he needs to protect her against the vampires because she could be very valuable to Atlantis. From the moment they met there is an intense attraction between them, he wants to claim her and make her his, but Conlan has a war to fight and there is still the matter of the missing Trident....

The warriors of Poseidon are Conlan, his brother Ven, the high priest to Poseidon Alaric, Justice, Brennan, Bastien, Denal, Alexios and Christophe.

What a great debut of Miss Day in the paranormal genre! She has created a whole new world full of hot sexy alpha males... okay so there are some similarities between Day and other writers, but that didn’t bother me at all. I just got pulled into the book and could not stop reading, as I got to the last page all I could think of was I want more!

The way Miss Day describes the warriors, all I can say is OMG!! She has make them so divine, you just have to love them.... They all are so different, they all have been hurt one way or another, that’s what makes them so interesting and you want to know more about them. And the women in this story, Riley and her sister Quinn, they don’t take crap from anyone. They are very independent and nobody tells them what to do. Girlpower! I just love Conlan and Riley, their interactions are so intense and sensual. The interactions between the warriors are sometimes just hilarious!

What I liked most in this book, besides a great plot, is Miss Day’s tremendous humour, it’s great! So here are some quotes.

Conlan to Riley:

“Yes it is definitely me. If I am only a figment of your imagination, can the figment say that I’d really appreciate it if you’d ...rethink... your clothing before you show up in front of my men? Not that I don’t appreciate your choice of nightwear.”

Conlan and Ven are having an argument and Alaric says to them:

”Lovely. Very impressive. We have Reisen on the loose with the Trident and some unknown threat who has drained our prince’s power, and yet we have time to play ‘whose d*ck is bigger?’ between the brothers Grimace.”

Conlan to Riley and vice versa:

“Sitting and waiting sucks... You think? And yet that is what you want me to do? That’s different. You’re ..... A woman? Oh, you so do not want to go there, mister. Riley, you are the heart that beats within my body. If you were to die, my existence would end with yours. Conlan, you’re gooood. Yes I know.”

So in short, I like this story and I am looking forward to read the next volume in this series. Personally I like Alaric and Christophe, I can’t wait to read their story.... Atlantis Rising is an easy read, romantic, sexy and compelling. If you are going to read this book, make sure you have all the time in the world because you won’t be able to put it down.

4 stars

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Allyson James - Rees: tales of the Shareem


“The Shareem. Males are created to be tall, muscled, sexy and ... enhanced. They come in one of three levels – pure sensual pleasure, games and wicked fun, or the ultimate barbarian – complete with whip. They know how to bring a woman to ecstasy and exactly how to keep her there.”

Lady Talan d’Urvey is an high-born lady who follows the Way of the Star, that means separating mind and body so that the mind can function at its highest level possible. After she read the wicked adventures of a high-born lady with a Shareem she decides that she wants to experience this herself before she dedicates herself totally to the Way of the Star and gives up all carnal pleasures. She goes in search for a Shareem and finds Rees.

Rees is an experiment among the Shareem, he is all the Shareem levels combined and more. No one really knows what he is capable of. He has long blond hair, is tall, muscled and is of course very handsome. When he meets Talan he is intrigued, he wants her in a way he himself doesn’t even understand. He teaches her how it is to be with a man, how to love. But he is afraid to lose his restraint with her, a Shareem is always in control with a woman....

Talan falls in love with Rees, she wants him to stay. But high-born ladies do not associate with the Shareem. Rees doesn’t understand where his fascination with her comes from, according to all books a Shareem can’t fall in love, they were only made to please women. Could they be in love and have a happy ending, he dare not risk it, he already lost control once....

This book is classified as E (E-rotic). That means that the love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination and are high in volume per the overall word account. If you don’t like male male female love scenes, you should not read this book, if you don’t mind these kind of scenes this is a fun story to read.

This tale is an easy read. Yes, there are a lot of love scenes but it did not bother me at all. They were not annoying to read, I like them! There is still a story to read, it is not as if the love scenes take over the story completely. Miss James writes passionate, sensual and humorous dialogues and I like her style. Her characters Talan and Rees are very likeable and so is Rio as secondary character. I really like to read his tale as well. So I enjoyed this book very much and will definitely read other stories by Miss James.

3,5 stars

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Jean Johnson - The Sword

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The Eldest Son shall bear this weight;
If ever true love he should feel
Disaster shall come at her heel
And Katan will fail to aid
When Sword in sheath is claimed by Maid


Their fate was sealed the minute the last set of twins of the Corvis family were born, from now on the eight mage-brothers who were born in four sets of twins, all on the same day two years apart each time, would be known as the Sons of Destiny. They fulfil the Curse of the Eight Prophecies, written by the seer Draganna over a thousand years ago. Women will be their downfall, so they were exciled by the Council of Mages of Katan to Nightfall Isle where women are forbidden. But the most powerful mage of the eight brothers believes that they cannot outrun their destiny and takes matters into his own magical hands......

Trapped in a blazing inferno that was once her house, Kelly Doyle was most definitely knocking on heaven’s door, but in a split second everything changed and now she finds herself in another magical realm with only eight other people. Eight hot sexy well muscled good-looking males to be precise and seven of them are not happy to see her....

Saber, the eldest of the eight, cannot believe that his youngest brother has brought a woman from another non-magical realm to their isle. He is convinced that she brings nothing but trouble and disaster and he wants her gone, but she is also hurt from the fire that trapped her, so he takes care of her, of course only until she is well again. But love works in mysterious ways and before he knows it he is consumed by desire and lust for this feisty redhead and she for him, he cannot outrun his destiny and she is his downfall, the first of eight to come ...

This is Jean Johnson’s first novel in a new intriguing paranormal romance series, the Sons of Destiny. This novel pleasantly surprised me, it was different, original, passionate and enchanting to read. Once you start reading you can’t stop. In the first part of the book you are introduced to the eight brothers, their magical world and Kelly of course. In the second part of the book the story takes an unexpected turn when Kelly, Saber and his brothers have to face the threat of the coming prophecy.

It is moving to read how the eight brothers look after one another and how they come to respect and accept Kelly in their midst after she makes them eat dirt first. Their interactions are sometimes hilarious, Jean Johnson certainly knows how to write witty, funny or sensual dialogues that make the characters in this book come to live.

Saber to himself:

“I will not fall in love with her. She isn’t even my type. She’s sharp-tongued, screams too much, and doesn’t even dress properly – no, don’t think of how she’s not dressed!”Saber to Kelly and vice versa:

“Do not fall in love with me. Do not make me fall in love with you. Do you understand?” “All right.” “No falling in love.” “Want to have hot sex instead?”
This story is addictive, it is like a box of chocolate, once you get started you can’t stop! It will only make you crave for more and it is a good thing for us that there are seven more prophecies to be fulfilled. With her boundless imagination Jean Johnson has created a thrilling, exciting and sensual new world. The exquisite combination of time travelling, romance, magic, a curse, a touch of history and eight very hot alpha males make this story a passionate, original, compelling and sexy read. It is definitely worthy of your time!

4 stars