Let me preface this review by saying that there are a few aspects of a romance novel that I require in order to enjoy the book.. first, I want a happy ending where the two main characters end up together. Secondly, I like there to be some “romance”, not just “sex” through most of the story.  This book had neither of these two things.

I have read a few of Ms. MacAlister and enjoyed her humor. I especially liked “Men In Kilts”.  I was hoping that this book would be just as funny.  While it did have some humorous moments and “lines”, it was not as funny as some of her other books.

I started to realize that I was not really enjoying this story when I was half way through and thought to myself.. “They don’t even LIKE each other yet!”.  Sure, the two main characters, Pia Thomason and Kristoff, had sex by then but it was just sex.  No chemistry.  And before they hook up, there is a very odd “sex” scene with Pia and Krisoff’s friend, Alec.  I’m still not sure what was going on there.

Even though I was not liking the story and was starting to get confused by the multitude of characters.. fellow tour group members, vampires, brotherhood members as well as a whole slew of ghosts who followed Pia around.. I still decided to stick it out to atleast see how the hoped for “romance” would come about.  I’ll admit that for the last quarter of the book I skipped some of the details hoping to get to the meat of the romance soon.  Sadly, the romance never happened!  You know that feeling you get when watching a really good television show and it all of a sudden cuts to “to be continued”? Well that’s how I felt at the end of this book. Disappointed and let down.  I enjoy books that are a part of a “series” and I don’t mind if background stories continue from one book to another.  However, in a romance novel, I want the main characters to fall in love in the course of one book.  That was not the case with this book.

I guess that I am forever doomed to not know the fate of Pia and Kristoff because I will NOT be reading the next book in this series.

The Edge of Desire

by Stephanie Laurens

Avon Megaleader
ISBN 978-0-06-124636-4

Bastion Club #7
After reading this book, can say that Stephanie is still definitely on mark with her writing.
As I started reading the book I was thinking about whether or not she is still in my top 5 authors..
I feel like I’ve fallen in love with so many new authors lately, that maybe Stephanie would “slip” in the list.
I was only about 1/4 of the way through and realized.. she hasn’t slipped at all. I just love her books.

I remember when the Bastion Club Series started.. and I thought that there was no way that I’d love it
as much as I did the Cynsters.. well.. that didn’t turn out to be true.

This latest addition to the Bastion Club series.. Christian Allardyce, 6th Marquess of Dearne’s story is exceptional.  There is the normal “mystery” as well as an intense, heart wrenching romance.

Christian and Leticia had been in love before he went off in “His Majesty’s Service”… through a series of misunderstandings and misinformation.. he returns to civilian life thinking she is lost to him forever.

When Christian and Leticia reconnect.. the story intensifies. I like that when he finds out why Leticia married while he was away.. that he doesn’t argue about how his “mistakes” contributed to the events leading to her decision. And while he “decides” early on what their future will hold.. and he does what some might consider manipulation.. to me he took a very respectful path. He wasn’t so much “manipulating” as he was “convincing”.

One of the things that Leticia came to realize was that he respected her feelings.. and her reasons for them.

He didn’t try to write them off.. or try to trivialize them.And let me say.. the methods he uses to “convince” her of his love and trust.. makes for some very steamy love scenes!!

If you are a SL fan.. you’ll love this book. If you haven’t read any of her books. or any other Bastion Club book.. this can be a “stand alone” story.. although it’s better if you’ve read the other Bastion Club books..mostly for the Daziel mystery. Otherwise there really isn’t any background that is lost by not reading the previous books.

As with all of the Bastion Club books..there are some more “clues” as to Daziel’s true identity.. his title specifically. There are some fairly humorous scenes where the rest of the “club” try to get those who know his identity to tell them.. but the “punishment is too high” so they are left frustrated again!! If you read the “preview” of his book.. you find out the exact details of his title and why he has been hiding his identity. The bad part.. the book doesn’t come out for another year!! Fall 2009!! Ackkk

Title: Delicious

Author: Sherry Thomas

Publisher: Bantam Books

Publishing Date: August 2008

I had thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Thomas’ first book, “Private Arrangements”, so I was looking forward to her second effort. “Delicious” not only lived up to my expectations.. it exceeded them.

In this book the author uses food and epicurean delights.. as a backdrop for a complex story of love and longing and sacrifice with a “Cinderalla” theme. The main characters are not your usual ones found in historical romances. Verity Durant is a mature woman in her 30’s who works “below stairs” as a cook, albeit an exceptional cook! Stuart Somerset is the bastard son from a prominent family. He has risen high in the world of law and politics and has an even more promising future.

I love to read a book where the characters have much going on “below the surface”. It adds to the complexity of the story and makes it interesting for the reader to figure out motivations and possible conclusions, without having said conclusions be too obvious as often happens in traditional romances.

Even the secondary characters in this book have complicated backgrounds and personalities that make you just as interested in them as you are in Verity and Stuart.

The book is written with flashbacks to ten years prior in alternate chapters. Sometimes I find this confusing, but in this book it wasn’t that way. The situation was “different” enough that you didn’t lose track of which time frame you were in. It also allowed you to not know the “full” background story until almost the end of the book.

While the final scenes are somewhat expected as the only possibly conclusion that will result in a happy ending for all, there are still interesting twists and turns to how it all comes about. Some characters surprise you right up to the last minute.

If you are looking for a period piece romance with a few different twists, I highly recommend this book!

Christopher Mc Candless has everything going for him. He is handsome, intelligent and born in a well to do family. He graduates and everyone expects him to go to college. Little do they know. Chris decides to literally leave everything and everybody behind even his name. As Alexander Supertramp he goes on a hiking trip through the US. When he needs money he takes lousy jobs. His ultimate goal is living in the wild of Alaska for a while! Finally he makes it to Alaska. Ill prepared but determined he finds a bus where he makes his camp and spends the summer in Alaska’s Wilderness. Sadly he makes the mistake of eating the poisonous roots of a plant thought to be fairly harmless! The consequenses are grave. Slowly but surely he starves! He is too weak to try and get out!  When they find him by accident, he has been dead for a few weeks.  This is a powerfull story in its own right. But the way Krakauer slowly unfolds the story of a boy willing to go it alone is downright exciting. You may nog understand the motives of the boy. You may even call him foolish or stupid. But you gotta admire his spirit. And you can’t help but cry when you read about his last days and see a picture of him. Defiant, but skeleton-like in front of the bus. It’s wonderfully written by Krakauer. There is now a movie out which is great, but don’t miss out on reading this book. A real treat!

I picked this book up because three of my favorite authors, Mary Balough, Jane Feather and Eloisa James, had contributed cover blurbs.  I figured that if they liked it, there was a good chance that I would.  It’s always iffy trying a new author, but this one was not a disappointment.

The story centers on Lord and Lady Tremaine, Camden Saybrook and “Gigi” Rowland Saybrook, who have been married for 10 years, but who have led separate lives, on separate continents since just after the wedding night.  Certain events lead to these two volatile, stubborn people living together again and the chemistry is explosive.

This story is one of human nature, trust, betrayal and love. It is written in an interesting style, where the chapters go back and forth between “present day” in 1893 London and 1882 when the couple first met.   As the book goes along you get the background that resulted in the current marital situation, as that situation is changing itself.   And, to make matters more complicated, there is a side story involving Lady Tremaine’s mother, Veronica.

This is a book that you will not want to put down.  As with all romances, I knew that it would eventually have a happy ending, but it was not obvious as to who would be the one to come to thier senses first.  It’s the kind of story that has you in tears one moment and laughing out loud the next.  There are interesting side characters with thier own problems that directly add to the conflict between Camden and Gigi.  While you don’t like that these characters interfere with Camden and Gigi’s relationship, you can’t help but like and feel for them as well.

There is alot of background information that revolves around a changing world, the industrial revolution, late 19th century New York City etc.. that adds to the depth of the story.

As a debut novel, this book by Ms. Thomas is gem and I look forward to reading more of her books. The next one, “Deception” is due out in August 2008.

This is another book in the “Argeneau series” and in my opinion, one of the best.  In this book, Marguerite Argeneau is involved in her first case as a private investigator. She is on the trail of clues as to the mother of Christian Notte, another immortal.  Marguerite not only finds out the identity of Christian’s mother, but she finds a whole lot more.

In Sands’ vampire books, the immortals are descendents of the residents of Atlantis.  Atlantis is described as an isolated and scientifically advanced culture that had figured out a way to add “nanos” to a person’s bloodstream to help them heal and stay healthy.  Obviously the nanos went alittle overboard, resulting in forever youthful immortals.  A handful of these people escaped when Atlantis fell.. and now have lived on earth, among mortals, for centuries.  The Argeneau clan is a very close knit family with Marguerite being the “matriarch” of the whole bunch.  She has four children and brought up a niece and a nephew ..and she looks out for the welfare of all of them.  Sometimes to the point of meddling, but always with a positive result.  Now in “Vampire Interrupted” it’s Marguerite’s turn to experience love.

The story begins as Marguerite, her partner Tiny arrive in London to begin the search.  They are soon joined by a few members of the Notte family.  When and attempt is made on Marguerite’s life, the group realizes that they have two mysteries to solve.  Christian’s father, Julius Notte, has refused to tell Christian anything about his mother.  After barging in on Marguerite and Tiny in bed.. and hearing about the attack on Marguerite, Julius decides to join the group.  He promises Christian answers if he’s allowed to go along.   In the course of the book, they travel from London, to York and eventually to Italy.

What I like about this book is that there are some real surprising twists in the storyline that you don’t expect.  The characters are mostly people that you already have “met” and liked in the other Argeneau books.  The storylines are all somewhat “connected” and chronological, however, each book can be read as a “stand alone” as well.

Marguerite and Julius, as well as Christian and Tiny, are all characters that you quickly care about and want to see happy.  There are some very touching scenes late in this book that will bring a tear to your eye.

If possible, I suggest reading the other books in this series first, but even if you don’t.. this book is one not to be missed.

Vampire Interrupted
Lynsay Sands
March 2008
Avon Books