Pulse by Anisa Damien is like falling into a James Bond movie or something directed byMichael Bay which isn’t a bad thing. Its a Tryst so the story is short so the plot moves very quickly. Though there is a big silly misunderstanding, I don’t mind since in the heroines’ shoes, I would have scurried about like a chicken with its head cut off. Except I would have already jammed a hand into my purse, looking for my phone so I could call myMama. Pulse is a solid C+ book.

Gabe and Cassidy Sabastien nee Raleigh are divorced, but even with the papers filed they still have a strong attraction to each other. They divorced because Gabe couldn’t providethe stability that Cassidy needed. So, when Gabe disappears for a while, Cassidy says ciao. Little does she know that Gabe is a secret agent with the US government.

Maybe, I’m biased because I’m recovering from having my tonsils removed, but Pulse was just what I needed. Its sort of cheesy, it doesn’t push any boundaries, and the HEA never reallyseems too out of reach, but its a good light read to pick you up. The dialogue is pretty slick and gives the characters a little more depth than they would have with another author. Its the sort of read that you want on a sick day.

This is my first AA romance, but, shock and gasp and surprise, it wasn’t different from anything with a white couple. I may not check out more of Anisa Damien, but I’m sure to check out more AA romance. Hopefully, with a paranormal twist. No offense to Anisa Damien, but she seems to write more suspense than I am into.

Pulse is a respectable triller. Its not rocking the romance boat, but it doesn’t insult the reader’s intelligence. Cassidy and Gabe are a fun couple that you know are going to get back together and they don’t annoy you while they’re doing it

What do you think of this book? You can buy Pulse by Anisa Damien at Cobblestone Press

Dark Desires by Eve Silver was one of those great old fashioned sort of books with prose that you can sink into. A historical with a good suspenseful element to it, it could satisfy readers of both subgenres. Dark Desires is a Gothic tale that doesn’t pull the punches. I give it an A.

Darcie Finch is on her last leg. She is homeless, family-less, and penniless as she wanders the streets of Whitechapel to find refuge in a brothel. The madam kicks her out and tells her to find employment with a one Dr. Damien Cole. Damien isn’t an ordinary doctor… He practically a mad scientist. Thats what made me love the characters because Eve Silver took chances with them both. Damien seems almost a monster while Darcie still loves him because she takes the time to communicate with him and find out stuff on her own that show him to be a great guy. In the hands of a lesser writer, these characters would have been annoying because, while there were misunderstandings, Silver doesn’t have the characters overreact. Darcie doesn’t flee into the night, almost getting killed, because she sees blood on shirt. She asks about the blood, keeps her suspicions to herself, and remembers it.

The plot and the romance are woven together very well so that neither seems to stick out. There is a murderer on the streets of Whitechapel and Darcie begins to suspect that it could be Damien. She investigates, but not in the usual too-stupid-to-live-way though she does have a few stupid moments which keep her from being a Mary-Sue. Darcie and Damien have flaws and weakness which work with the plot. The story is taut and there seemed not to be an ounce of fat on the book. Every scene and character had a purpose.

One thing that annoyed me was that everything had such a pat ending. Its a happily ever after for everyone, but Silver doesn’t rub it into our faces too much. Dark Desires takes a chapter or so to warm up though after that it grabs you by nose and doesn’t let go.

Dark Desires is a great book. It has great description, prose, and I couldn’t find a historical inaccuracy. Eve Silver is a wonderful storyteller in the Gothic tradition. Dark Desires is published by Kensington for Zebra books. You can find her at evesilver.net.

Do you love Mysteries? I like mysteries, but I love historical mysteries. Have any of you heard of Steven Saylor? He has a mystery series that features a detective-like man named Gordianus the Finder who helps solve crimes and mysteries for the Roman elite in the time of Julius Caesar. I’ve only read one book of his — The Judgement of Caesar — and I can’t wait to read another. The speech and the attitude of the character doesn’t seem anachronistic which is such a plus. Nothing jumped out at me as wrong in the historical facts department. And for romance lovers, the feelings that Gordianus has for his wife in The Judgement of Caesar is tear jerking. Check out Steven Saylor, you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve read my first JD Ward book. It is Lover Eternal in the Brotherhood of the Black Dagger series. I liked it. It was fun, good read. The names of the guys in the Brotherhood made me laugh like I was on LOLlerskates though. Rhage? Tohrment? Zsadist? I really want to see the romance when the hero is a “utter masculine” guy named Glenn Finkleberg. Seriously though, JD Ward is just like Steven Saylor in the list of authors to read again. Her book didn’t rock the boat in paranormal romance or get on my keeper shelf, but it might be on the shelf next to the keepers.

Neptune Rising by H.A. Fowler was like a constant homage to other books or even
television shows. I say homage to be polite. Let me explain: the hero, Hart Campbell,
is describe as having cheekbones like David Boreanaz’s and sounding like a Scotsman
because he sounded like Jamie from a Diana Gabaldon’s book. He is a incubus and, like a Christina Feehan or Kresley Cole book, has a soulmate with a cutesy name — an
Intimate. Its not a good sign when a reader is like, “wow, that seems like something in so-n-so’s book so why am I not reading them?” It took me two tries to finish this
story. Neptune Rising (the title seems to have nothing to do with the book) earns a D.

I’m a poor college student, and I could be spending what little money I have on beer
and weed, but I decided to spend it on books. I could have gotten five used books for
the price of this 10k-20k story. And, as a poor college student who is neither drunk
nor high and has just finished a really really disappointing book, I will not be
pulling any punches.

Kimber Andrews, a ‘quirky’ girl, is looking for love and with the help of her witchy
friend, tries to summon the perfect man. Too bad she summons the perfect rapist in the form of a incubus. Hart Campbell looks like David Boreanaz and happens to be a very bland, Scottish Guardian. He’s also a reformed incubus. He has to rescue her from being raped. She’s enough of a wet blanket that right after almost being raped (which honestly, don’t start necking with a dude who appears out of thin air wearing bondage gear) she hops into bed with Hart. Who later has a thought bubble about Kimber’s spirit. What?!? Maybe H.A. Fowler should have showed some of this spirit before. Of course, they fall in love after five seconds because Kimber is a desperate woman (Hart falls out of the sky and without any questioning Kimber is fine to be with him FOREVER) and Hart’s has that whole mystically Intimate thing going on.

H.A. Fowler takes way too long (with too many cliches) to describe how great looking
Hart is. We get it — He’s fucking pretty. Her skill with description is again used
with such lovely terms as aching channel, womanly juices, velvet steel, and throbbing
womb. Maybe its just because I’m a big lo’ lesbo, but those words just threw me right
out of every sex scene. You know what else threw me out of the sex scene — Kimber’s
screaming orgasms of cliche. Wow, I would not want to live next to that broad. Hart
doesn’t sound like a heterosexual dude. In fact when he is around his partner, Nasim,
he sounds like he’d rather be with Nasim than Kimber. The dialogue is so cheesy; its I
-want-some-tortilla-chips-to-go-with-this cheesy; my eyes almost popped out of my
sockets because I kept rolling them. There is not plot. There are some info dumps
between Kimber and Hart having boring sex, but no plot.

Good things, because even I am tired of my rant, are the lovely cover, Nasim, and the
editing. The plot really could have been cool which sort of counts as a good thing.

Neptune Rising was every cliche and overly used plot point of recent paranormals rolled into one. Kimber and Hart are uninteresting characters. The whole book seems like author wish fulfillment, as a fanfic reader, I know how to spot that. This is a best seller at Cobblestone so some people must like it; I really did not. See for yourself at href=”http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/neptunerising.htm”>Cobblestone
Press.

Dirty Shame by Selah March from Amber Quill press is a contemporary romance that breaks the rules. First of all the hero, Dare Daniels, is the star of a hit television show called Vegas Knight. Second of all the ‘dirty shame’ in his past is actually something that would make a person tortured. Third of all, Dare is a complete womanizer. Selah March doesn’t play halfsies with this tale. And, boy, does it pay off. Dirty Shame gets an A from this reviewer and I don’t particularly like contemporaries.

The heroine is Joey Fiorello, a struggling actress who applies for a personal assistant gig to pay the bills. Dare is tabloid fodder of Britney Spears proportions; His manager hires Joey in hopes that she can make the oversexed actor tame his libido or at least keep it from the public eye. That becomes difficult when, of course, sparks fly between the pair.

The editing was good which sometimes with Amber Quill books can be iffy. The dialogue is fantastic. I never rolled my eyes once during their verbal sparring, and I usually find romance ‘banter’ to be mockable at best, Dare sounded like a real guy! Its like Selah March had observed them in their natural habitat. Joey was a tough cookie without being stupid. Feisty and not lobotomized: a mix so rare its like a white tiger in the wild. She did have some quirks that seemed a little unrealistic to sort of crazy. And the fact that Dare was willing to hire even after she explains her behavior is odd, but given his own history, understandable. Joey and Dare were interesting, fleshed-out characters that gave extra spice to their romance and more enjoyment for me as a reader. And, the sex scenes mention condoms. Sorry if that is a spoiler, but it was that realism that grounded the book and made believing that a hunky TV star would fall for a short, buxom assistant that much easier. This is also a suspenseful story, and the mystery part of the story isn’t tacked on. As the plot twists and turns, its always surprising, but doesn’t come out of left field. I had a few ‘Ah ha’ moments I pieced together the story. This book is just all around fun!

Selah March has a great voice and her story had its feet on the ground with touches of realism. This book feels like it takes place on Earth instead of Romancelandia. Watching Joey and Dare fall in love is a treat, and the fall is natural, I never felt like the author was writing down to fit romance conventions. This is a ‘A’ tale, and I can’t wait to read more from Selah March.

Okay, finals are a week and a half away, so I will be getting into stressed out mode complete with swelled tonsils. So, I bid everyone adieu until finals are over and I stopped pulling my hair out.

Sela Carsen:

I liked the Virgin Courtesan a lot. There was a good sense of scenery. I couldn’t imagine the story taking place anywhere else. The characters were likable. The villain was pretty 2-D, and the ending felt like a cop out. It was lacking in depth, but it was a fun read. It was a pleasant romp 1500s Venice. I would think that it would be a C+ or B+ depending on if you thought the ending was great or lame.

Peace Out!

Vegas Magic: Stacking the Deck by Sara Dennis is sweet. I would give it a B+. Now, I am a lesbian, but even though this is heterosexual romance, I enjoyed it a lot.
Sam is witch ready to hit the town with her girlfriends when she sees Alec perform a magic show. That chance meeting leads to a few drinks which get complicated very fast because anything can happen in Las Vegas with supernatural creatures about. Kick ass witches, hunky warlocks, adorable fairies, and angry werewolves populate this tale of romance and action in Las Vegas.

Sara Dennis’ has created some vivid characters here. Sam and Alec have fleshed out personalities, and Dennis is able to make secondary characters like Twyla stand out. Sam and Alec are just fun to read about. They are such a cute couple that it made sense that they liked each other. I’ve read a few romances where I wonder why in the hell didn’t the couple get restraining orders on each other. Not with this couple. They made me wish the story was longer. Sara Dennis is good at creating interesting characters.

For those like me who get thrown out of a story if there is bad editing — never fear! Stacking the Deck looks like an editor did get a hold of it.

There were some things that I didn’t like. The romance between Sam and Alec seems like it went from ‘hey hottie’ to ’soulmates’ a little fast, but the story was well-written enough that I didn’t mind. Another issue was the character Duff. I found him to be a tad unrealistic, but like with the fast romance, I was convinced to get over it. Both issues did bug me when I was reading it though. The ending was sort of unrealistic in its HEA, but you are so happy that there is a HEA that it doesn’t really matter. Sara Dennis does seem to be able to make any flaws in her story seem minicule or charming by strength of the story as a whole.

The story is very fast paced, and the plot is like a roller coaster. This does seem like the characters are the real focus of the story, so though who want a real plot driven romance will be disappointed. I want to read more of Sara Dennis’ work. This is a real treat of a paranormal romance. You can buy this story here at Cobblestone Press.

The Mists of Avalon:
Squeeeeee! This book was great. The view of King Arthur and his knights from the view of the women around them was an inspired idea. The prose was lush, and I didn’t feel like a word on any of the 876 pages was wasted. Everyone had flaws so that neither Mograine or Gwenhwyfar seemed like perfect people. In fact, Gwenhwyfar got on my nerves a little bit. Mograine’s plans sort of had me wanting to smack her upside the head. It seemed very well researched, and that is always a good sign. If you haven’t read it, do so.

Nylon Magazine (March issue):
Scrunchies are back… I’m just going to be too hipster for that trend. Also, Pete Wentz, not that cool. Sorry.

Party Monster:
This book was so much darker than the movie. There was so much interesting stuff in the book that didn’t make it too the movie. James St. James had one hell of a voice. I got this book in one day and finished it in four hours because I was sucked into the story so much. Too bad I had a midterm the next day and didn’t study as much as I should have. Well, I had dancing crackheads in chicken costumes running through my head. That makes it a little hard to focus on Latin American trade politics.

Complicated Women - Women in Pre-Code Hollywood:
This book was a love letter to Norma Shearer and, while I could see how some would find that annoying, I thought that was the best anchor to the whole tale. Norma Shearer was an little known innovator who brought the darker, raunchier, and more realistic and sympathetic stories for women into mainstream Hollywood movies… And the public loved it. Its just a great read with a gossip yet historical voice that really makes the early 30s seem like yesterday.

Heidi Klum’s Body of Knowledge: 8 Rules of Model Behavior (to Help You Take Off on the Runway of Life) :
I read this in like an hour and a half in the university bookstore. It was pretty uninteresting. It had the same old-same old self help shit, but Heidi and her ghost writer have a pretty preppy voice that makes the celebrity self help guide seem a little fresher. The pictures of Heidi were nice. If your in the bookstore, I wouldn’t say buy it, but it wouldn’t hurt to look at it.

I read all this and I still haven’t finished Pulse from Cobblestone Press or Nature Rising or Love Me Tender. *le sigh*

Her Black Little Heart by Selah March [het ebook review]

Misfits are the underlying theme of story which isn’t covered enough in romance. The hero and heroine of Her Black Little Heart are misfits. Outcasts. Outsiders. Adam Brewster, a doctor, is a stranger to the little village of Chop Gate. Leda Cavendish is a rich widow living alone with her son in her estate while the village below swirls with gossip about her wicked ways. Leda has summoned Adam to her estate to care for her ill son. I would give this novel a B.

Its refreshing to see a romance where people are truly outsiders. Usually its because a virgin widow is too much of a bluestocking to go outside or a rough, but lovable sea captain can’t face society after the losses he saw at a sea. With the xenophobia and intolerance of the townspeople Adam and Leda can’t actually fully become true citizens of the village. This influences both of their personalities, and is a way that they both can connect.

This is a historical romance, and it is written like one. It has all the earmarks of a historical: old time-y syntax, rustic servants like Mrs. Maggs, and a moor. I swear to God, that I would find a moor in a historical set in Egypt. Though, this romance turns some conventions on its head. Leda was a widow with a child, but she doesn’t hate her first husband. She’s a worldly woman with no qualms about what she wants. Adam is a good doctor. He’s nice to Leda from the start, and even with their verbal sparring, one can tell that they enjoy each other’s company. Another refreshing point, an author who uses banter to up the chemistry, and not replace it.

On the technical/craft note, this was well-written and there is actual effort to make this sound like it is in the 1820s. Its nice to read an ebook where the character’s name doesn’t change midway through and the sentences aren’t awkward jumbles of prose.

There were things that didn’t work. There were times when Leda seemed a little bi-polar. Crying over her son one minute and then pawing at Adam the next. A little more explanation, not an info dump mind you, about the ways and ideas of the 1820s might have shed a little light on Leda’s mindset and her behavior. I think that some people who prefer a traditional historical with a virgin and a rake might be disappointed, but those who want a little variety in their historicals will be pleased with this offering from Selah March.

Her Black Little Heart is a historical tale that takes the reader out of the respectable parlors of London and onto an estate where a strong woman and a good man may just have found love and the will to leave their critics behind in the dust. You can buy the book at Amber Heat.