Just Kiss Me by Kathleen O'Reilly

This hero-centric story is a little darker than O’Reilly’s previous novels, but with enough room to display the sexy humour I so love in her work.

The set-up of this novel is a little convoluted. Amanda Sedgewick is desperate to discourage the attentions of Avery Barrington, so she turns to his brother, Joe, to act as a decoy. When it becomes clear that Avery just won’t get the hint, Joe reluctantly agrees to help. Little does he know that Amanda’s always been, well, interested in him—but it doesn’t take him long to figure it out.

Meanwhile, Joe has feelings of inadequacy, having lived in his brother’s shadow all his life, and he can’t quite convince himself that he can give Amanda everything she needs.

The story is a little darker than O’Reilly’s previous novels, but there’s enough room to display the sexy humour I so love in her work.

Read the rest of this post.

Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman by Lorraine Heath (London's Greatest Lovers, Book 2)

A dramatic, heartbreaking Victorian romance between two slightly damaged people whose secrets are an obstacle to the kind of love they want and need.

Injured in body as well as in mind, Stephen Lyons is no longer the cheerful, skirt-chasing charmer he had been before the Crimean War. When Mercy Dawson, one of Florence Nightingale’s nurses at Scutari, shows up with an angry father and Stephen’s son, he has no choice but to marry her even though he can’t remember a single moment of their time together.

This is the second book of a series, but references to the previous book are fairly easy to follow. The story starts with a prologue to show Stephen pre-war; it’s a little slow but serves its purpose. I do wonder how Stephen managed to avoid getting sexually transmitted diseases with the repeated emphasis that Heath gives to his promiscuous ways.

Lorraine Heath’s Victorian romance paints a very bleak picture of war, and it’s to Heath’s credit that she doesn’t gloss over the suffering of soldiers. Interestingly, nurses were also frowned upon—I didn’t understand this at first, but apparently the fact that nurses are comfortable with undressing and bathing men was seen, at least by some in the Victorian era, as disreputable—-and Mercy pays a huge price for her desire to help in the battlefield.

Read the rest of this post.

A Snowball's Chance by Nikki Rivers/A Christmas Carol by Kathleen O'Reilly

This humorous, sexy friends-to-lovers romantic comedy is an excellent debut in category romance.

I love the friends-to-lovers theme in romance, especially in category novels. During my deepest Mills & Boon addiction, this was my absolute favourite type of couple. Probably it was because I was in high school at the time.

Unlike your typical friends-to-lovers pairing, the couple in Kathleen O’Reilly’s first category romance don’t suffer from a lust imbalance (where one person has always harboured a secret crush on the other). Carol Martin has been best friends with Mike Fitzgerald since they were kids. Strictly platonic. She’s looking for someone more sophisticated; he’s not willing to risk the wrath of her mother by so much as thinking inappropriate thoughts.

But all it takes are some suggestive comments from Carol’s Aunt Eleanor to get those thoughts going. And once lust gets in the way of their friendship, Carol and Mike have to sort out what they’re willing to live with … and whom they can live without.

Read the rest of this post.

I swore I wouldn’t pick up another open-ended series, but I was completely sucked into the Soul Screamers series. This month’s mixed bag looks at the books so far.

Thanks to a free novella at Books on Board, I’m now addicted to the Soul Screamers books, a teen urban fantasy series—with a bit of romance thrown into the mix—by Rachel Vincent.

Vincent uses Irish mythology as a basis for her alternate world. Sixteen-year old Kaylee Cavanaugh is a bean sidhe (banshee), whose piercing screams call to dying souls. The series begins with Kaylee’s discovery of her heritage and introduces the secondary characters that will form part of her core team, if you will, in tackling the otherworldly challenges she’ll face.

Read the rest of this post.

Touched by Fire by Kathleen O'Reilly

I’m determined to review every Kathleen O’Reilly book in my shelf, starting with her debut into historical romance.* The writing shows promise, but lacks the subtlety of her later work.

* Update: Although O’Reilly wrote this novel first, based on publication dates this is actually her second novel. Her first published work of fiction is A Christmas Carol.

When I discovered Kathleen O’Reilly’s books, I went on a mission to track down her backlist. O’Reilly’s first work of fiction, Touched by Fire, is a Regency romance—the only historical romance she’s published so far—featuring a hero with a deep, dark secret, and a heroine who just won’t take no for an answer.

I know; it sounds a bit absurd. It kind of is a bit absurd.

Colin, Earl of Haverwood grew up with the shameful secret that his birth was a result of his mother’s rape in the hands of a convicted murderer. The circumstances of his birth, and his adoptive father’s certainty that Colin is afflicted with the same murderous lust, has driven him to avoid any real relationships with women.

Read the rest of this post.

Torment by Lauren Kate (Fallen, Book 2)

A page turner that raises more questions that it answers—just the kind of torment to reel Decadence right into another series.

Lauren Kate’s Fallen series is about a girl who falls in love with a fallen angel before she dies at the age of 17 and is reborn. In every incarnation, Luce Price’s life draws her to the immortal Daniel Grigori, but the ending has always been the same. Until now.

In this incarnation, Luce is plagued by the sinister-looking shadows (I picture them resembling the Dementors from Harry Potter) that no one outside the supernatural world seems to be able to see. Also, she has not been baptised, so this is her last life. She will not be coming back after she dies,

Read the rest of this post.

Spontaneous by Brenda Jackson/Long Summer Nights by Kathleen O'Reilly

It’s a labour of love to hunt down the local Blaze release by my favourite contemporary romance author, but it was definitely worth the wait.

I love Kathleen O’Reilly’s writing voice. Love. So if you’re looking for a non-fangirly review of her latest Blaze release, you’re reading the wrong blog.

But stay with me. I wouldn’t recommend the book if it wasn’t good.

Times journalist Jenn Dale is facing the sack—her biggest rival is sleeping with the boss—and she’s on the hunt for a big story to save her dream job. Except she’s stuck in possibly the worst cabin accommodation, to cover a festival that has no hope in hell of making headlines.

Meanwhile, she meets the tortured writer—‘Mr Habitual Scowler’—staying at cabin number three. And discovers that he has great finger technique. Must be all that frantic typing.

Read the rest of this post.

In keeping with Halloween, this month’s Mixed Bag is a mix of (mostly) otherworldly books by (mostly) Australian authors.

Fallen by Lauren Kate (Fallen #1)

Fallen by Lauren Kate (Fallen, Book 1)

When Luce starts senior year (year 12 for us) at a boarding school for troubled teens, she discovers that her classmates aren’t, well, normal, and that the reason the school hottie is avoiding her at all costs has something to do with her destiny—until for some reason her destiny doesn’t happen on schedule.

I might have enjoyed this story more if I hadn’t already read the many—oh, so many—teen urban fantasy books with similar characters and conflicts. The brooding, I’m-no-good-for-you-so-I’ll-turn-down-your-advances-by-being-rude-and-offensive hero just doesn’t work for me anymore. At least, not unless the heroine calls him out on it—and Luce doesn’t do it enough. It got interesting towards the end, but the main characters didn’t have enough shades of grey for me.

Read the rest of this post.

Slice: Juicy Moments From My Impossible Life by Steven Herrick

In short: I loved this book.

Let me start by saying that Slice isn’t a book I would’ve picked up on a whim. The reasons I picked up my review copy had nothing to do with interest: it was skinny enough not to weigh down my bag; I love watermelons. Seriously, there’s something delightful about that cover.

This novel doesn’t have much of a plot, but Steven Herrick is such a fabulous craftsman that he manages to connect tenuously related vignettes about teenage life into a story I couldn’t put down.

Sixteen-year old Darcy admits he suffers from chronic ‘premature enunciation’. It’s not that he talks without thinking: ‘I mean what I say, I just shouldn’t say it aloud.’

Read the rest of this post.

Comrades by Dominic Knight

Dominic Knight’s second book has everything I love about his writing, but the subject matter—student politics—may limit its appeal for many readers.

Knight’s debut novel, Disco Boy, made it to my keeper list, so I was excited to get my hands on his next book. Comrades is a semester in the life of Eddie Flanagan, outgoing Student Representative Council (SRC) president, as he tries to reconcile his ideals with the reality of the political system.

Comrades was an interesting read but a bugger to review. Knight’s wit doesn’t disappoint, and there’s a gentle romance in the story that I found irresistible, but there are aspects of the book that other readers may struggle with.

Read the rest of this post.