Blameless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, Book 3)

After the cliffhanger that was Changeless, the latest instalment in the Parasol Protectorate series brings us back to romance territory.

After Changeless, I was very frustrated. It was a total cliffhanger, and I went as far as DMing Gail Carriger on Twitter to ask what was going to happen next. She very nicely replied, I’m very sorry but I can’t tell you. Fortunately, Kat got a review copy of Blameless last Friday, which coincided with Carriger’s visit to Galaxy to randomly sign things. She assured us that, as a believer of happy endings, she always makes sure everything ends with a HEA. (more)

A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire (October Daye #2)

A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire (October Daye, Book 2)

Toby Daye is sent by her liege, the Duke of Shadowed Hills, to the County of Tamed Lightning to check on his niece, the reigning countess. Toby thinks that this will be an easy job, but once she and her assistant Connor arrive, she finds it more complicated than that—people are dying and their souls aren’t being carried away by shades, the traditional soul bearers of the fae.

Toby has grown from the previous book, and it shows—I liked how her character didn’t remain static and bitter. She has become more stable, has found herself on more solid footing. She even has girlfriends and goes on night outs. Her situation (explained in the previous book, Rosemary and Rue) sucks but she’s learnt to deal with it better. She’s still a strong character and you can’t help but barrack for her. (more)

The Prince of Midnight by Laura Kinsale

Wandergurl gives everybody’s favourite author a second chance, in an attempt to fulfil Kat’s dream of finding the perfect Laura Kinsale novel for her. No such luck.

Lady Leigh Stachan’s family was killed by a crazy cult leader, driving her to travel all the way to France dressed as a boy to find the legendary S.T. Maitland, once known as the Prince of Midnight, to train her so she can avenge her family. S.T. Maitland has spent the past few years keeping to his eccentric self in backwater country France, with his pet wolf, hiding a few ailments of his own. He falls in love with Leigh and decides to help her in her quest.

Second chance challenge

This is a second chance romance for me. Second chance in the sense that Laura Kinsale never worked for me before, but I promised I would give her another try. AnimeJune (Gossamer Obsessions) and I made a deal: I would give Kinsale a second try if she did the same for Nalini Singh. (more)

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

A charming story of misguided love that goes the right way in the end.

Lucy Waltham has been in love with her brother’s friend Toby for ages, or so she thinks. He is about to be engaged to Sophie, who has been invited to their estate for their annual autumn hunting party. Lucy decides that she must take action and attempts to elicit the help of Jeremy, Earl of Kendall, another close family friend, with unexpected results.

At first, I did not like Lucy, the heroine. The first few chapters had me wanting to tear out her hair. Slowly though, as she grew as a character, I began to warm up to her. She wasn’t really a silly chit, just sheltered with the naivety of youth, the kind that in this day and age would write ILU 4EVER TOBY in a high school notebook. (God, I feel old.) Tessa Dare did an excellent job of developing the character throughout the book, and while Lucy may start out a bit silly, by the end of the book she has grown into a more mature, likeable person in a natural fashion. I think Dare does a great job of showing and not telling with the characters and how events shape them (more)

Take Me by Lucy Monroe (Langley Family, Book 3)

A well-paced drama from Wandergurl’s new favourite I-will- buy-everything-you-have-ever-written author.

When Jared, Viscount Ravenswood’s, housekeeper and childhood friend, Mary, dies she leaves him her daughter, Hannah. She makes him promise to introduce Hannah to Calantha, Duchess of Clairborne, whom she once served. Jared is reluctant to do so, as she is the widow of the evil man who raped Mary and sired the child. He has no way of knowing if she was aware of this act and has his doubts about this reclusive widow.

Calantha suffered an abusive past at the hands of her husband and generally keeps to herself, indulging her passion for roses. When she meets Jared and Hannah, though, things begin to change and she slowly comes out of her shell, just in time for romance to blossom.

Lucy Monroe is my new favourite I-will- buy-everything-you-have-ever-written author. (Thanks, @EloisaJames!) This book had excellent characterisation, from the back story to the use of dialogue, to reflect their personalities. My favourite (more)

Skykeepers by Jessica Andersen (Final Prophecy, Book 3)

This clearer, more streamlined instalment in the Final Prophecy series features a gutsy heroine and an angsty but decent hero.

Sasha always thought the prophesies that her dad, Mayanist Ambrose Ledbetter, talked about were a little bit nuts and nothing more than figments of his imagination, but when he suddenly disappears in the jungles of Central America she rushes off to find him.

In the process, she is kidnapped by the Order of Xibalba, who believe that she holds the key to finding an ancient library. She thinks they’re insane but when she is rescued by the Nightkeepers, a group descended from the original order created to prevent the end of the world, she is forced to think twice.

Michael Stone is a Nightkeeper with issues, issues, issues. He’s spent the last year trying to get away from his past, manage his growing Nightkeeper talents and keep control of his sort of psychotic dark side, which he calls The Other. Charged with finding Sacha (more)

Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

For lovers of zombies and urban fantasy.

Victory ‘Vicky’ Vaughn is the only professional demon slayer in Deadtown, the section of Boston reserved for its inhuman and undead residents. Years and years ago a plague hit the city, turning a large number of its residents into zombies—walking, talking, thinking, eating undead. Deadtown was primarily created to regulate their residence and that of the other supernatural creatures that made their presence known after the plague.

Vicky is Cerrdorion, descended from the Welsh goddess Cerridwen, and can shapeshift. Ten years ago, when she was learning to be a demon slayer, her father was killed by an evil Hellion who has somehow made its way to Deadtown. Vicky has to find a way to kill it before it takes over the city.

Vicky was a kick-arse heroine. I couldn’t help but picture Milla Jovovich from Resident Evil, guns blazing over a wasteland, as I read about her (except Vicky has a sword). Heltzer did a good job of depicting the scenario—Deadtown is what happens a few years after the apocalypse (more)

Ravishing in Red by Madeline Hunter (The Rarest Blooms, Book 1)

A sweet love story based on a marriage of convenience, Ravishing in Red is a strong start to Madeline Hunter’s new historical romance series.

Audrianna Kelmsleigh’s father was accused of treason, resulting in disastrous consequences. Her family shunned by society, she goes to live with her cousin in a boarding house of sorts called ‘The Rarest Blooms’. She sees an ad in a newspaper relating to information in her father’s case, and wishing to clear her name she rushes off to meet the would be informant. Instead of meeting him, however, she meets Lord Sebastian Summerhays, who is investigating the same issue. He is shot accidentally, leading to a scandal and eventually their marriage. Their marriage is further complicated by the fact that it was Sebastian who led the case against her father, leading her to distrust him.

The good, the bad and the rec

At first look, this appears to be another marriage of convenience story, but Madeline Hunter’s craftsmanship reveals the story beautifully, (more)

Moon Craving (Children of the Moon, Book 2)

A paranormal Scottish historical featuring a werewolf laird and a deaf English heroine that won’t leave you wanting to hit the characters on the head.

Talorc, laird of the Sinclair clan, is a Chrechte, part of an ancient tribe of werewolves that integrated itself into the clans of the Picts in Scotland to preserve their heritage. As the laird, he’s a subject of the King of Scotland, who orders him to marry an Englishwoman. Abigail became deaf through a childhood affliction. As a survival mechanism, she has learnt to speak clearly and to read lips. Her relationship with her family has led her to believe that she will be shunned because of this affliction, and as a result she has learnt to hide it well, and continues to do so with her new husband.

This is a beautiful love story of two people coming together. Talorc is tough and gruff, like the typical Highlander in most novels but he has a gentleness about him, despite his wolf nature that is well interpreted. Monroe also does a good job of showing Abigail’s vulnerability and how she holds herself together and tries to be strong. (more)

Too Good To Be True by Kristan Higgins

(Otherwise known as OMG, Wandergurl is reading a contemporary that is not also a paranormal and is not written by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.)

Grace Emerson is history teacher and civil war buff whose ex-fiancé is now dating her baby sister whom she loves and adores. Tired of the pitying looks and parental nagging, she invents a hot boyfriend to appease her family. In the meantime, Callahan O’Shea, a rugged bad boy with Irish heritage, moves in next door. Now … should she or shouldn’t she?

We all know what happens next, but Kristan Higgins does a good job of reinventing the (bad) boy next door and making the whole story appealing. Too Good To Be True is a hilarious mix of well thought out characters—including a cute West Highland terrier—in an easy to read page turner that kept me grinning.

The upside

Grace is a very relatable character. As a history nerd with an equally nagging family. (Mum asks me if I’ve met Anyone Interesting no matter where I go. (more)