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A Stormy Greek Marriage by Lynne Graham

Kat — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

A Stormy Greek Marriage by Lynne Graham (The Drakos Baby, Book 2)

Books like this are the reason I stopped reading category romance in my mid-20s. I hope I don’t come across too many more of them in the near future. DNF.

I have five more titles in my Lynne Graham glom pile, but I’m not sure I can bear to go on. On one hand, I knew getting into this book that Graham writes domineering heroes of the 80s alpha kind. I thought I could cope with it, but this book is such a trainwreck I gave up halfway through.

Surprisingly for a category romance, this is part two of a series. (Perhaps Graham should have just written a full length book, did anyone think of that?) The back story is explained well enough to get the gist—I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t be prepared to slog through an entire book to basically learn that Alexei finally slept with his personal assistant, Billie, taking her virginity. She’s pined for him in secret but felt she was no match for the dazzling beauties that naturally flock to her rich, handsome boss.

Unfortunately, Alexei tripped and hit his head and managed to conveniently forget the two nights they were together. More unfortunately for Billie, the oblivious Alexei tried to rekindle a childhood romance as Billie coped with the consequences of their nights together—yes, the old secret baby.

Anyway, back to this book. Billie and Alexei ended up together at the end of book one, but on their wedding night at the start of book two, Alexei magically divines that Billie is no virgin. He’s enraged and walks out on her. Or so she thinks. He doesn’t think it was walking out. More like having a tantrum because she lied. Except she tells him the truth about their child, Nicky, and he thinks it’s a lie. DNA is taken, Alexei realises she was telling the truth, but even then Graham refuses to bestow any sort of power on the heroine.

When Billie threatens to divorce Alexei, he whisks Nicky off to a different country, deliberately making Billie think he’d been kidnapped. Way to go to convince a woman to spend the rest of her life with you and her son. There’s nothing redeeming about a man who lets his wife think he’s kidnapping their son to convince her not to get a divorce.

At that point I put the book down. In many ways, I can see the appeal of Graham’s story to an older generation of women and in women today who are products of different cultures, who may have had to endure marriages rife with infidelity, lies and an enormous imbalance of power. I feel sorry for them, and a book like A Stormy Greek Marriage may be a way to express their frustrations while providing a glimmer of hope that love and dedication and faith might result in a happy ending.

But I’m not from that generation, and Alexei’s actions are abhorrent to me. A man who refuses to listen to someone he purports to love, who puts the principle of honesty before compassion by refusing to listen to her explanations, is not a hero in my mind. He’s an immature bully undeserving of the wealth and power and good looks with which fate—or the author—has gifted him.

Yay or nay?

Books like this are the reason I stopped reading category romance in my mid-20s. I hope I don’t come across too many more of them in the near future. DNF.

Who might enjoy it: Martyrs

Who might not enjoy it: Potential paperweight targets

This book is no longer in print.

Title: A Stormy Greek Marriage
Series: Drakos Baby (Book 2)
Author: Lynne Graham
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon
Australia (Sexy): 9781742787879 (10/2010)
UK (Modern) 9780263878332 (20/4/2010)
US (Presents): 9780373129577 (16/11/2010)

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Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife by Lynne Graham

Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife by Lynne Graham

Kat — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife by Lynne Graham (Pregnant Brides, Book 2)

There’s nothing earth-shattering about this story. I didn’t hate the hero or the heroine, but that might be damning with faint praise.

Back in my 20s, I would have loved this book. This may be spoilery to some readers—although if you regularly read in this Mills & Boon line it would amaze me if any of this surprises you—but Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife features a tycoon hero who borders on misogyny, a contract marriage, a virgin heroine, an accidental pregnancy and a Small Misunderstanding.

But as far as these things go, Lynne Graham does a decent enough job with the plot. Sergei Antonovich was saved from a troubled childhood by his grandmother, and as she gets older he wants to give her what he knows would make her happy—a grandchild.

As you do when you’re insanely rich but scarred by a money-grubbing first wife and young hotties forever flashing their cleavage in exchange for your wad (of cash, people!), Sergei sets up a business arrangement to acquire a wife and child.

Alissa Bartlett discovers that her identical twin, Alexa, entered an agreement to marry a rich Russian guy—in Alissa’s name. Their mother desperately needs the money, and when Alexa can’t go through with the bargain, Alissa reluctantly agrees to fulfil the obligations of the contract.

Graham tries to give Alissa a little more backbone that your typical mistress-but-for-the-marriage-contract heroine. Despite her attraction to Sergei, she’s indignant when he assumes she’ll just make out—and eventually have sex—with him as he pleases. Unfortunately, Alissa tips into TSTL (too stupid to live) territory when she fails to read the contract that her sister signed. Wouldn’t that be the first thing you do before agreeing to go through with a contract marriage? Heaven help her if she ever decides to take out a mortgage.

Anyway, she’s in for a very rude shock when she learns that pregnancy is part of the deal. Sergei is equally shocked and angry at being duped, and his only capitulation is to hold off on the baby-making while emphasising the mistress part of the bargain.

It all comes to a head in a big dramatic scene where Alexa goes completely loopy—seriously, I couldn’t believe she and Alissa were related, let alone twins—the Small Misunderstanding is resolved and the epilogue gives everyone what they so clearly deserve, with the possible exception of Alissa’s dad.

All this while I was sitting in a bus, stuck in peak-hour traffic. That’s what category romance is for.

Yay or nay?

There’s nothing earth-shattering about this story. I didn’t hate the hero or the heroine, but that might be damning with faint praise.

Who might enjoy it: Readers who also enjoy daytime soapies

Who might not enjoy it: Family Court solicitors

This book is no longer in print.

Title: Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife (excerpt)
Series: Pregnant Brides (Book 2)
Author: Lynne Graham
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon
Australia (Sexy): 9780733598654 (2/2010)
UK (Modern) 9780263877533 (12/2009)
US (Presents): 9780373128921 (2/2010)

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With This Fling… by Kelly Hunter

Kat — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

With This Fling... by Kelly Hunter

This book proves that finely tuned character development and emotional honesty can turn even the most maligned clichés in romance fiction not just into an enjoyable read, but a story worth savouring.

The more I read Kelly Hunter’s work, the more I admire how well she’s able to make each couple and each story fresh, interesting and fun.

With This Fling… features what seems to be Hunter’s favourite type of heroine—a rich one. Charlotte Greenstone invents a fiancé to reassure her dying godmother that she won’t be alone. When said fiancé fails to turn up at the funeral, Charlotte concocts a story in which he’s killed in the wilds of Papua New Guinea.

But in series of spectacular coincidences, she finds herself in possession of Grey Tyler’s, well, office. Her fictional fiancé is not only not dead, he’s back from PNG, he’s hot and it seems he may just have need of a fictional girlfriend of his own.

If you’re looking for an elaborate external plot, you’re in for disappointment. With This Fling… is romance distilled. The conflicts in this story are all from within. Even secondary characters only serve to get Charlotte and Grey questioning what it is they truly want and hold dear.

Grey is a biologist whose life is all about pursuing research opportunities all over the world. Charlotte is an archaeologist who grew up travelling all over the world, and she’s determined to put down roots. Knowing their plans for the future are diametrically opposed, Charlotte and Grey agree to a short-term affair. Of course, it gets very complicated very quickly.

Hunter excels in this kind of setup—intense, passionate and with an increasing sense of desperation as the hero and heroine begin to realise what it’ll cost them to let the other go. But even as they go through heartache, their interactions include a certain playfulness that underscores their growing affection for each other.

‘There are benefits to having a man around the house that you haven’t even dreamed of yet,’ he said.

‘Oh, really?’

‘Oh, yes.’

‘We’ll see.’ She leaned against the door, more relaxed than he’d seen her all evening. ‘Do you cook?’

‘Not often, but I hunt and I can gather.’

‘Do you clean?’

‘No, but I do appreciate a tidy house.’

‘Do you iron?’

‘That’s what laundry services are for.’

‘Do you mow?’ she asked silkily.

‘What? And do a groundsman out of his job?’

‘Greyson, you’ve spent the last dozen or so years living out of a suitcase, eating hotel food and answering to no one. You’re not even housebroken. I’d go easy on the promises of domestic bliss if I were you.’

‘If you say so, dear,’ he murmured. ‘Little phrase I picked up picked up from my father. Like it?’

‘Yes, but it’s a little early in the relationship for weary resignation, don’t you think? You need to keep that in reserve.’

There are certain plot points that are, admittedly, a tad contrived, but there’s so much delicious angst in this story that even the most eyeroll-inducing Mills & Boon cliché—hello, accidental pregnancy!—surprised me. (This can’t possibly be a spoiler because it’s right there on the cover.) To Hunter’s credit, she refrains from dragging out the oh-look-she’s-feeling-nauseated-maybe-she-has-a-tummy-bug moment and just forces her characters to face the issue.

I do wonder what the UK Riva cover is about. This book has nothing to do with diamonds and there’s no way a field scientist would ever need to wear as much make-up as that cover model does.

Yay or nay?

This book proves that finely tuned character development and emotional honesty can turn even the most maligned clichés in romance fiction not just into an enjoyable read, but a story worth savouring.

Who might enjoy it: Scientists and heiresses

Who might not enjoy it: Readers who like heroes in suits

Title: With This Fling… (excerpt)
Author: Kelly Hunter
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon
Australia (Sexy): 9781742907154 (2/2011)
UK (Riva): 9780263883619 (1/2011)
USA (Presents): 9780373528196 (6/2011)

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Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

Kat — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison (Elder Races, Book 1)

The Elder Races series has become my BDB replacement. It’s totally cracktastic.

After reading Wandergurl’s review and at the urging of Decadence and Kate, I finally picked up the first book in Thea Harrison’s Elder Races series.

I’m hooked.

Pia Giovanni is blackmailed into stealing from Dragos, Wyr (shapeshifter) leader and one of the most powerful creatures in the world. She’s on the run, but he’s determined to find out who stole his…penny.

Dragon Bound gets off to a snappy start, with Dragos’s pursuit of Pia and her attempts to elude him. Dragos’s enemies are determined to bring him down, and Pia is inadvertently swept up in their conflict. Her life has been based on the need to protect herself, but with Dragos refusing to let her go, it seems her secrets may put her in even greater danger than either of them could have anticipated.

Dragos is your typical alpha male, leader of a savage community, whose ruthlessness is suddenly tempered by his fascination with—and later love for—the heroine. Pia is not exactly weak—she has her own skills and resources—but her greatest strength in the relationship is her ability to understand Dragos’s nature and help him be a better person. Species. Wyr. Whatever.

“I am jealous, selfish, acquisitive, territorial and possessive. I have a terrible temper, and I know I can be a cruel son of a bitch.” He cocked his head. “I used to eat people, you know.”

If he meant to shock her out of crying, he succeeded. A snort burst out of her. “That’s awful,” she said. Her nose was clogged. “I mean it, that’s awful. It’s not funny. I’m not laughing.”

He sighed. “It was a long time ago. Thousands of years. Once I really was the beast the Elves call me.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep, shuddering breath and rubbed her fingers along the seam of his T-shirt. “What made you stop?”

“I had a conversation with somebody. It was an epiphany.” His voice was rueful. He rocked her. “From that point on, I swore I would never eat something that could talk.”

If you like sassy heroines, there’s plenty of it in Dragon Bound. One of my favourite scenes is when Pia gets drunk with the PR representative for Dragos’s corporation and they indulge in a bit of girl bonding.

Yes, the writing is sometimes mired in purple prose (‘broad mushroom head’—yes, it’s exactly what you think it is) and the kind of awkward language (‘I’ll pursue that comment later.’ Really? Do people talk like this?) that fans of paranormal romance readers regularly endure—perhaps even enjoy, because who am I to judge?— but Dragon Bound also embodies all that we love about the genre.

Yay or nay?

The Elder Races series has become my BDB replacement. It’s totally cracktastic.

Who might enjoy it: Paranormal romance series fanatics

Who might not enjoy it: People who expect paranormal romance characters to act like normal people

Title: Dragon Bound (excerpts: one, two, three)
Series: Elder Races (Book 1)
Author: Thea Harrison
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
A format: 9780425241509 (9/6/2011)

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Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Kat — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

A satisfying romantic suspense with a capable heroine. The romance lacks intensity, but a decent mystery plot keeps the pages turning.

The thing about Nora Roberts is that I almost always enjoy her books—just never enough to want to buy her next one and let’s not even contemplate her backlist. Chasing Fire is no exception.

Rowan Tripp is an experienced firefighter with the US equivalent of the rural fire service, but it’s a little different this time. She lost a jump partner in a freak accident the previous season, and it seems someone has put the blame squarely at her feet.

There are a pool potential suspects, even though Rowan isn’t comfortable thinking that any of them could be capable of sabotage and murder. Aside from staff at the base station, there’s her fellow fire fighters, who rely on each other’s trust for survival. There’s also the newest batch of smoke-jumping recruits—firefighters who get flown into a middle of a bush fire.

One of these recruits is Gull Curry—perhaps one of the least romantic names I’ve seen in the genre—who is immediately attracted to Tripp’s ‘package’ and ‘attitude’. Curry’s a nice guy…and remains so throughout the entire book. The romance develops gradually, but it’s not quite central to the story. It’s nice to have, but not essential.

More interesting are the secondary characters, even though there are so many of them it’s sometimes tricky to get them straight. Roberts likes to play around with stereotypes, and this is refreshing to read—the hot blonde who loves shoes but can complete an obstacle course, the sexist redneck who concedes he’s wrong about women smoke-jumpers. There’s a lot of camaraderie in the team, which Roberts captures very well.

After several attempts at reading Roberts’s contemporary novels—including her Chesapeake Bay saga, which seems to be universally recommended by everyone who recommends her work—I think we’ll have to chalk it down to a matter of style and personal taste. She writes gutsy, empowered heroines and heroes who support rather than dominate. I love this; I do. But for some reason, Roberts still fails to move me.

In Chasing Fire I can understand why. Much of the book focuses on Rowan’s development and in solving the murder mystery. These are interesting parts of the plot and Roberts doesn’t make it easy to guess the culprit—she throws enough seeds of doubt that you’re kind of almost sure you know who it is, but you kind of maybe think you’re wrong.

So perhaps it’s the romantic suspense subgenre I struggle with. The more I consider this idea, the more it makes sense. But that would require a post of its own.

Yay or nay?

Chasing Fire is a satisfying romantic suspense with a capable heroine. The romance lacks intensity, but a decent mystery plot keeps the pages turning.

Who might enjoy it: Romantic suspense fans who enjoy a strong heroine and a non-domineering hero

Who might not enjoy it: Romance readers who are all about the angst

A review copy of this book was generously provided by Hachette Australia.

Title: Chasing Fire (excerpt — PDF)
Author: Nora Roberts
Publisher: Hachette Australia
C format: 9780749952181 (4/2011)
Hardback: 9780749952976 (4/2011)

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Red-Hot Renegade by Kelly Hunter

Kat — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:00:30 +0000

Red-Hot Renegade by Kelly Hunter (The Bennetts, Book 5)

This RITA-nominated book is sexy, angsty and deeply moving—everything we love about modern category romance. Oh, and the heroine? She’s the tycoon. This one’s a keeper.

You may have noticed that I’m in the middle of a Kelly Hunter glom. How I missed this awesome Aussie author boggles my mind, but Red-Hot Renegade (published in the US as Her Singapore Fling) is the book that made me first try Hunter’s work. Nominated for this year’s RITA awards, the book also features an Asian heroine with an Australian hero.

The back story for this novel is set up in the previous books of the series, which features the romances of Jacob Bennett’s siblings. Jacob’s estranged wife Jianne is being stalked and, having run out of options, she reluctantly comes to him for help.

Jacob is a martial arts champion who runs his dojo in Singapore. For reasons neither he nor Jianne want to acknowledge, they’re still officially married even though Jianne walked out on the marriage twelve years ago. What makes this reunion story different is that neither of them blame the other—instead, they remind each other of the guilt they feel about not having fought hard enough to save their relationship.

Jianne practically begs Jacob to let her stay at the dojo—where he also lives—until Zhi Fu, her unwanted suitor, gives up. Jacob practically begs her not to even suggest it, but they both know that it’s the best solution. They’ll pretend to rekindle the relationship, and if Zhi Fu becomes desperate Jacob is more than capable of physically protecting Jianne.

This is the perfect setup for some delicious angst, as Jianne takes over Jacob’s bedroom and both torture themselves with thoughts of what’s keeping the other awake at night. Jianne starts off as an almost helpless heroine, but in Jacob’s presence she’s transformed into a sensual, wicked and deeply emotional partner.

She turned and smiled at him politely, every inch the poised and perfect house guest. No trouble, no trouble at all. Until something flickered in her eyes, something stolen and sensual and altogether familiar. If Jacob wasn’t mistaken, here stood a woman who’d sought sexual satisfaction in the dark of the night. And found it.

What the hell had she been doing in his bed?

Hunter does beautiful things with this couple. Their bedroom scenes are hot and rough and tinged with desperation, and I found them utterly moving. The way Jacob and Jianne work through their guilt and find the courage to claim what they need from the relationship is so subtle it’s bordering on not enough information. I love this.

I haven’t read all the preceding books in the series, but as a standalone read, Red-Hot Renegade focuses almost entirely on Jacob and Jianne’s reunion rather than their first encounter. Even the reason for their estrangement is only hinted at for most of the book. Those who need to understand Jacob and Jianne’s entire back story will be disappointed.

In my review of the book prior to this one, I made much of Hunter’s references to warriors, tigers and Kung Fu Panda. Red-Hot Renegade uses similar references, but for the most part they’re toned down, with the exception of the antagonist’s name. Zhi Fu is close enough to Shifu that I had to suppress a giggle every time his name was mentioned.

Singapore also comes alive a lot more in this book. The non-Western characters feel less clichéd. However, the dialogue has a distinctly non-Asian feel to it. It’s not that I want it to sound Asian, it’s that there are some turns of phrases that just don’t feel suited to the characters. Jianne was born into wealth, so it’s possible she was the product of a Western education or received top-notch language instruction, but the same probably can’t be said for the homeware salesman.

But by far the biggest weakness in the story is the anticlimactic resolution to the stalker plot. Hunter tries to be too clever and it’s more puzzling than satisfying when all the loose ends are tied up in the epilogue.

But…who cares? Any imperfections in the writing or the plot are easily ignored because the emotional layer of the story is just so, so good.

To top it off, this book is really funny. Hunter knows what tickles a romance reader’s sense of humour—the hero trying to distract himself from the sexual tension, the alpha hero’s manly prejudices, the hero’s brothers needling him while he’s suffering from, well, trying to repress the sexual tension. Oh, and the heroine torturing him with yet more sexual tension.

We love a tortured hero.

Yay or nay?

Sexy, angsty and deeply moving, this story is everything we love about category romance. Oh, and the heroine? She’s the tycoon. This one’s a keeper.

Who might enjoy it: Readers who like to read between the lines

Who might not enjoy it: Readers who need a fully fledged backstory

This book was published in the US as Her Singapore Fling.

Title: Red-Hot Renegade (excerpt)
Series: The Bennetts (Book 5)
Author: Kelly Hunter
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon
Australia (Sexy): 9781742787947 (10/2010)
UK (Modern Heat): 9780263877434 (8/2010)
USA (Presents): 9780373528073 (3/2011)

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The Man She Loves To Hate by Kelly Hunter

Kat — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

The Man She Loves To Hate by Kelly Hunter

Mills & Boon conventions aside—yes, he’s a tycoon, she’s totally hot and they don’t use a condom—the heroine and hero of this book are rarely predictable. I only wish it could have been longer.

I don’t know why I didn’t discover Australian author Kelly Hunter sooner because she writes bloody good books.

Jolie Tanner has just removed all of her mother’s possessions from her mother’s recently deceased lover’s hideaway, when she’s caught in an avalanche with the dead lover’s son, Cole. Cole and Jolie used to be friends, but when news of his father’s dalliance with her mother became public ten years ago, Jolie was shunned and she’s borne the stigma of being a mistress’s daughter ever since.

As you do in a blizzard, Jolie and Cole share quite a bit of body heat, and what’s supposed to be a we’re-half-asleep-and-aroused-so-let’s-just-take-the-edge-off kiss ends up in unprotected sex that’s only partially mitigated by the fact that Cole isn’t a shirker and Jolie isn’t stupid enough to have sex without any form of birth control.

Before I go on, let me say that it puzzles—nay, pains—me to read that ‘hot seed spilled deep inside’ the heroine at the climax of a sex scene, and then two pages later, when she’s having second thoughts, to learn that ‘her panties [were] wet with [the hero's] semen’. I’m uncertain of the rules for when one ought to expect euphemisms in a Mills & Boon novel. Is ‘semen’ considered more sordid than ‘seed’?

Anyway. Moving on.

Cole and Jolie aren’t complete idiots, and despite the hash their parents made of their relationships, they continue to see and enjoy each other in secret. Eventually, though, they have to see if they can be together in the real world. Cole’s family is incensed and his mother takes drastic measures to manipulate Cole into ending the affair.

What makes Hunter a fabulous Mills & Boon author is that she refuses to let Jolie play the martyr. Jolie’s shyness is the reason she can’t cope with her mother’s—and by extension her—notoriety, but she does well enough to stand up for herself in front of one or two people.

Hunter also avoids the Big Misunderstanding cliché. Cole and Jolie know in their hearts that their relationship is special, and even when they’re derailed by a judgemental housekeeper or a needy sister, they fight for their right to that relationship. It’s really quite wonderful.

I wish this had been a full-length novel, because many of the secondary characters’ conflicts and relationships are interesting, too; instead, Hunter compromises by making the secondary characters less nuanced than they could have been.

And is it just me, or does Hunter loves the warrior hero? Cole’s not a martial arts expert and the story is set in New Zealand’s South Island, but somehow Hunter manages to evoke the fierce warrior without it sounding too uncool or out of place. Much.

Hunter’s prose isn’t always smooth, but at times I was moved so deeply by this book. There’s a particular moment when, for a few seconds, I was reminded of my favourite author. I was a little stunned.

‘Ask me what I dream of, Jolie. Ask me where I go when I close my eyes at night.’

‘I’m not sure I want to know.’

Wary, and so she should be, given the chaos she caused in him. Cole stepped in close and bent his head so that his lips brushed the hair at her temple. ‘…just for the record, when I close my eyes at night I think of greedy lips and silken skin and blinding passion the likes of which I’ve never felt before. Ask me where I go each night, Red.’

Grey eyes, wide and startled. A mouth made for kisses; not one kiss but more.

‘Where?’ she whispered and it was a supplicant’s murmur and it magnified the heat deep inside him a hundredfold.

‘I come to you.’

Delish.

One last thing. I love the look and feel of the Riva line (check out the cover below). The actual book feels lovely, too.

Yay or nay?

Who might enjoy it: Readers who expect their heroes and heroines to act like adults

Who might not enjoy it: Sticklers for safe sex

Title: The Man She Loves To Hate (excerpt)
Author: Kelly Hunter
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Australia (Sexy): 9781742907444 (5/2011)
UK (Riva): 9780263883732 (4/2011)
US (Presents): 9780373881918 (8/2011)

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Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook

Kat — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook (Iron Seas, Book 2)

It’s rare in romance to find an uncompromisingly strong heroine and even rarer to find a hero who understands how to love such a woman. This book gets it just right.

Although Meljean Brook is one of my autobuy authors, I was hugely disappointed by her first Iron Seas novel, The Iron Duke. I found Rhys Trahaearn unheroic, rapish and generally irritating. I hadn’t planned to read any more of this series, except I forgot to tell the bookshop, and they put aside a copy of Heart of Steel for me.

This is fortunate, because Heart of Steel is everything I love about Brook’s writing. Adventurer Archimedes Fox and Captain Yasmeen, who appeared in the first book, remind me of Hugh and Lilith from Brook’s The Guardians series. Their romance is cheeky but filled with subtext and things left unsaid that make it just that much more thrilling.

Archimedes Fox is presumed dead and Yasmeen makes a bargain with his sister to sell off a valuable Da Vinci sketch in exchange for a portion of the proceeds. But there are complications. Word seems to have got out, and some people are not above a bit of murder to get their hands on it. The sketch is stolen. Oh, and Fox isn’t actually dead.

Soon, Yasmeen has her own very personal reasons for wanting to find who is after the sketch. Fox, for reasons of his own, has decided to fall deeply, tragically, romantically in love with Yasmeen as they pursue treasures, mercenaries and assassins.

It’s a testament to Brook that she can create a character like Archimedes Fox, who treads a precarious line between roguish charm and utter ridiculousness, and find the perfect heroine for him—one who is unbowed and unyielding. Fox is the heart of this story, but Yasmeen is its strength.

There’s a lot of world building in this book, some of which follows on from The Iron Duke. It’s possible to read this as a stand alone novel, but it may be more satisfying to read the series in order. It does gets a bit dense in parts, so if you’re an impatient romance reader like me, you might find yourself skimming through the political and historical background, even though they’re crucial to understanding how the plot comes together.

The romance in Heart of Steel is relatively understated. Fox is determined to prolong his romantic agony. Yasmeen, of course, tells him he’s being ridiculous, but Fox has his reasons. Brook could have developed this aspect of his character more, but Fox is so much fun that it hardly matters.

Yay or nay?

It’s rare in romance to find an uncompromisingly strong heroine and even rarer to find a hero who understands how to love such a woman. Heart of Steel gets it just right.

Who might enjoy it: Steampunk romance enthusiasts

Who might not enjoy it: Acrophobics

Title: Heart of Steel (excerpt)
Series: Iron Seas (Book 2)
Author: Meljean Brook
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
B format: 9780425243305 (1/11/2011)
PDF: 9781101542798 (1/11/2011)
ePub: 9781101545676 (1/11/2011)

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Untameable Rogue by Kelly Hunter

Kat — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Untameable Rogue by Kelly Hunter (The Bennetts, Book 4)

If you can overlook the daggy warrior references and underutilised Asian setting, there’s enough depth in the central relationship to make this book a pleasure to read. If you enjoy the daggy stuff…well, that just makes it even better.

This was my first Kelly Hunter book, but it won’t be my last. I don’t care what anyone says about the super daggy Karate Kid-style set up at the beginning of the novel, or the constant references to Chinese zodiac signs (I am the warrior tiger, hear me roar!), this book was thrilling!

From the outside, Madeline Delacourte seems a bit…suss. Her late husband plucks a much younger wife off the streets of Jakarta, and she later inherits and now runs his multi-million-dollar business. But like all Mills and Boon trophy wives, Maddy has a heart of gold. She rescues stray kids from the streets and brings them to her friend Jacob’s dojo to become his apprentice.

As she drops off her latest street kid, she meets Jacob’s brother Luke, who’s in between missions. Luke is a bomb disposal expert and he’s quick to judge Maddy, who doesn’t rise to the bait because, frankly, she’s heard it all before.

Still, the pheromones are simmering and it all gets a bit much in the lift, and once they’ve worked off their lust—no condoms, if that bothers you—they realise that, well, it might be a longer work out than they’d first thought.

Luke won’t make promises about the future. He doesn’t want to have to choose between Maddy and his job. His job is extremely important to him, and to Hunter’s credit, she doesn’t water down Luke’s dedication to his job and belief in what he’s doing. Meanwhile, Maddy accepts his terms, but has enough self-respect to insist that she be treated as more than just a booty call.

It’s inevitable that Luke and Maddy have to compromise a little. To do so means they both have to believe in themselves a little more, which was a pleasant surprise. Let’s be honest—self-enlightenment is a bit hit and miss in category romance.

Also hit and miss is the warrior theme running through the book. Luke has ‘a warrior’s honour, soul deep and absolute. Duty-bound, forsaking all else.’ Over the top heaven! But isn’t that why we read category romance? Still, some readers might find constant references to warriors and tigers and honour and duty wearisome. There’s more to Asia than Kung Fu Panda, people!

Did I mention that the street kid’s name is Po?

I have mixed feelings about Singapore as a backdrop to this story. Neither protagonist is Asian, and there really isn’t enough space to capture any subtleties about the setting, resulting in a bunch of characters and situations that feel clichéd. I could be wrong, but Luke’s martial arts studio felt like a mishmash of Chinese and Japanese styles and terminology.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t put the book down. Yes, despite the fact that my library copy had a great big unidentified stain running through pages 13–59. I know. Ew.

Yay or nay?

Who might enjoy it: Anyone who ever had a crush on Daniel LaRusso

Who might not enjoy it: Elevator janitors

This book is no longer in print in Australia.

Title: Untameable Rogue (excerpt)
Series: The Bennetts (Book 4)
Author: Kelly Hunter
Publisher: Harlequin Mills and Boon
Australian line: Mills & Boon Sexy Sensation (6/2010)
UK line: Mills & Boon Heat (4/2010)
US line: Harlequin Presents (11/2010)

More at Book Thingo:

New York to Dallas by J. D. Robb

Kat — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:30:00 +0000

New York to Dallas by J. D. Robb (In Death, Book 33)

The plot brings nothing new to crime fiction. Nevertheless, this is a reasonably good thriller that should allow In Death series fans to finally get some closure on Eve Dallas’s traumatic past.

I almost didn’t finish this book. In fact, it was almost DNF before it even really began. I’ve read the first few J. D. Robb novels, and I read Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta series until the plot and characters went a bit WTF. So I’m not a stranger to crime fiction and the serial criminals that authors like to foist on readers.

But, for some reason, the beginning of New York to Dallas had my tummy churning. Serial child rapist Isaac McQueen was Eve Dallas’s first major arrest, and now he’s escaped prison. He’s determined to make Eve pay for putting him in prison, and forces her to return to Dallas.

Readers of the series will know that Dallas is where, as a child, Eve finally escaped from her abusive father by stabbing him as he tried to rape her. Eve thinks she’s dealt with her past, but we—and husband Roarke—know this isn’t entirely true.

McQueen’s actions are calculated to discompose Eve. Because series fans know so much about Eve’s past by now, it’s not too difficult to anticipate some of the twists in the plot. Still, Robb uses these to provide Eve—and Roarke—with enough emotional conflict to keep them off-kilter.

This isn’t so much a mystery as a police chase. We know who the criminal is, and to some extent Eve tells us what his next move will be. The thrill is in how Eve will eventually bring him to justice. The way Robb arranges their final confrontation is almost a disappointment—I could see it coming from about the time Eve arrives in Dallas.

The investigation involves a task force that includes Eve, her team in New York, the Dallas police, the FBI and Roarke’s one-man IT forensic expertise. I love Roarke as a romance hero, but his ability to buy everything and hack into everything in, like, two minutes was off-putting. I know it has to be this way so Eve won’t constantly be vulnerable outside of her job, but it’s still kind of annoying.

Robb also spends some time dealing with Eve’s fragile emotional state. Series fans will probably find that this provides some closure on Eve’s past, but I admit to skipping most of the session with Mira, her therapist and surrogate mum.

Yay or nay?

The plot brings nothing new to crime fiction. Nevertheless, this is a reasonably good thriller that should allow In Death series fans to finally get some closure on Eve Dallas’s traumatic past.

Who might enjoy it: Crime fiction readers who prefer that innocent victims survive

Who might not enjoy it: The squeamish and the paranoid

A review copy of this book was generously provided by Hachette Australia.

Title: New York to Dallas (excerpt — PDF)
Series: In Death (Book 33)
Author: J. D. Robb
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Hardback: 9780749955762 (9/2011)
C format: 9780749955816 (9/2011)

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Salvation in Death by J. D. Robb