Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison (Elder Races, Book 1)
The perfect antidote for a paranormal romance slump. I have been sucked into another series!
Pia Giovanni has been blackmailed into stealing something from a dragon’s horde. After becoming the only being in the world to get away with it, she finds herself targeted by Dragos Culebre, a powerful member of the Elder Races. (Yes, he is a dragon. Yes, he lives in a big tower in New York.)
Dragos can’t believe someone has managed to steal from him, but instead of dismembering the thief he finds himself, well, feeling. At the same time, he knows that there’s more to this theft than meets the eye, and before long he and Pia are on the run, trying to unravel the plot against him.
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Death's Sweet Embrace by Tracey O'Hara (Dark Brethren, Book 2)
Ends with an excellent twist—one that I didn’t guess until the very end—but let down by the execution.
I’ll be honest. I thought I’d like this book much more than I did. Although the first book in the series, Night’s Cold Kiss, had its flaws, I generally enjoyed the story and was looking forward to more.
Snow leopard shifter Kitt Jordan’s dream is to be reunited with her estranged daughters and to make peace with her pack. It seems to be within her reach, until she’s called to be part of a task force hunting down a brutal serial killer. Kitt has to work alongside Raven, with whom she has a rather tragic history, and it seems that there’s still something between them. Despite the attraction, Kitt knows that getting involved with Raven again will pretty much scuttle her chances of a reunion with her pack and her daughters.
Meanwhile, the serial killer’s MO is to find young Bestiabeo (shapeshifters), paralyse them and rip out their hearts. There’s a lot of gore in this book.
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Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee (Tanner Siblings, Book 1)
A friends to lovers story that doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights—or depths—that I prefer in my romances.
I love me a good friends-to-lovers story—it’s one of my favourite pairings. In theory, Jess Dee’s story in which the hero, Daniel, decides he’s had enough of being platonic friends with childhood friend, Amy, and executes a plan to change their relationship status…well, in theory it ticks the right boxes for me. Bonus for being an erotic romance, even though, as I may have mentioned a few times before, I’m so very picky with erotica.
Well…it kind of work and it didn’t. The fact that I’m a sucker for friends to lovers probably kept my interest longer than the book should have. Unfortunately, it just didn’t have enough emotional depth for me to care much about the characters.
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Home Is Where The Bark Is by Kandy Shepherd
For anyone looking for a sweet, lovely, light-hearted read. Especially if you love dogs.
Serena Oakley is an ex-model who now runs a doggy day care (with a spa!) in San Francisco. Nick Whalen is a private investigator assigned to figure out if Serena is behind an identity theft scheme. When he shows up at her shop with a Yorki-poo, she’s a bit suspicious—after all, what is this hunk of a man doing with a handbag dog? This doesn’t stop her from being attracted to him and vice versa. Will Nick be able to find out who the real thief is before super hot attraction gets in the way?
I love dogs. I’m the kind of person who says, ‘Hello, doggy!’ every time I pass one on the street. I used to volunteer at a dog shelter. Hence, there was pretty much a kind of guarantee I would like this book. All the dogs in this book were realistic and adorable and were more than just a means to further the plot along—they were pretty much secondary characters.
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Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn (Smythe-Smith Quartet, Book 1)
No one does comedy, wit and light-hearted romance like Julia Quinn.
In which wandergurl and @katydidinoz band together to win a coveted ARC at ARRC2011′s silent auction.
Honoria Smythe-Smith plays the violin in the infamous Smythe-Smith quartet’s annual musicale. (If you’ve read the Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, you’ll know they sound horrible.) It’s her secondish season out, and this time, she’s determined to find a husband, as the last few have cried off.
Marcus Holyroyd, Earl of Chatteris, is Honoria’s brother’s BFF. Since his hurried departure for the continent, he’s been looking out for Honoria (discreetly) and warning away any inappropriate suitors. He’s also secretly in love with her, but he hasn’t figured that out yet, which is all right, because she hasn’t figured out that she’s in love with him.
Will they figure it out in time for the next Smythe-Smith musicale?
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Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 9) - Australian/UK edition
A book for those already invested in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Prepare for more darkness than usual and don’t expect all your questions to be answered up front.
It’s not going to surprise anyone to read that I approach a new Black Dagger Brotherhood book differently to any other book. I scribble notes as I go along and I started reading Lover Unleashed with a mental checklist:
Is there anything written on the inside cover in the Old Language?
No, but there are crossed daggers, one black hilt, one white. Symbolism?
Are there any new words in the glossary?
Lhenihan – ‘A mythic beast renowned for its sexual prowess. In modern slang, it refers to a male of preternatural size and sexual stamina.’ Hmm, interesting.
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Border Watch by Helene Young (formerly called Border Watch)
In which we discover that an Aussie book by a real Aussie does not include the words ‘fair dinkum’.
You can probably tell that I haven’t read many Aussie authored novels. Or, if I have, I didn’t really know they were. Or they weren’t set here (or in this era!). Most of my Australian based romances came in category form, where characters lived in the outback, were written by Americans, said ‘ass’ instead of ‘arse’ (Kat’s mega pet peeve) and said ‘fair dinkum’ a hell of a lot. Now, there’s nothing wrong with ‘fair dinkum,’ but honestly I think I have heard it fewer times than the number of years I have been in this country.
Wings of Fear was nothing like the stereotypical category romance I read growing up, proving that if you want to write about Australia, you really do need an Aussie to get it right.
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Border Watch by Helene Young (retitled as Wings of Fear)
Intelligently written and down to earth without being boring, this is a book to refresh your romantic palate without completely departing from the genre.
This review was previously posted on the Australian Romance Readers Association blog.
The first in a trilogy based on Australia’s aviation industry, Border Watch by Helene Young is the story of Captain Morgan Pentland, who has overcome a childhood of violence to become a border patrol pilot, and Commander Rafe Daniels, a former SAS officer who suspects Morgan of leaking information to terrorists.
Sparks flew between Morgan and Rafe from the moment they met and when Rafe joins Morgan’s team, they share a combative banter, unwilling to admit to their attraction. A terrorist attack brings them closer and they develop a mutual admiration and respect for the other’s strength, but remain unwilling to get involved.
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In keeping with Aussie Author Appreciation Month, this Mixed Bag features local authors whose work we haven’t previously reviewed on Book Thingo.
Their Newborn Gift by Nikki Logan
Their Newborn Gift by Nikki Logan (Australian edition)
Lea Curran’s one-night stand with rodeo star Reilly Martin resulted in a baby he never knew about. But four-year old Molly’s only chance to live a normal life may rest with cord blood from a close genetic match. Lea will do anything to save her daughter, including sleep with Reilly again to conceive another child. But first she has to tell him about his daughter.
The complications in this story make for dramatic conflicts, and the first twist totally threw me. Nikki Logan doesn’t let up on the angst, and with a terminally ill child involved, this book is guaranteed to be a tear-jerker. Luckily, it’s a romance. With an epilogue!
Reilly starts off acting like ye olde heartless hero bent on revenge for Lea leaving him after one night—‘as cheap as a motel television’—and not telling him about the baby.
…in all her planning and visualisation it had never occurred to her he would care about the baby that would result, let alone want it. The paradigm she was working from was five years out of date: Reilly Martin, king of the circuit; lover of women; drinker of beer.
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My Reckless Surrender by Anna Campbell
Dramatic, thrilling and, yes, a little over the top—vintage Anna Campbell.
This is a modified version of the winning review in the ARRC2011 Reader Challenge. (Here’s a photo of Kat receiving the award.)
‘I want to be your lover.’
Diana Carrick presents the Earl of Ashcroft with an offer too good for a notorious rake to refuse. So when he declines, she doesn’t know whether to feel relief or despair. She’s made a bargain with the devil: a child in exchange for marriage to the man who controls the estate in which Diana grew up and which she loves.
Tarquin Vale, Earl of Ashcroft, is intrigued by the mysterious proposition but senses a bit of, well, dodginess about the entire affair. But this is a romance, after all, and his willpower is no match for Diana’s allure. Ashcroft embodies that favourite of all historical romance heroes—the rake who’s not really a rake—with an added bonus of being powerful enough to vanquish villains.
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