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.
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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.
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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.
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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,
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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.
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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.
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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.’
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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.
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This month’s Mixed Bag has a slightly different format. Decadence has begun yet another series, and this month she reviews the first four books of the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz.
Blue Bloods Boxed Set (Books 1-3) by Melissa de la Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz is a very clever writer. In her Blue Bloods series, De la Cruz has combined the current paranormal romance trends of fallen angels with vampires and set them against the backdrop of New York glamour where she makes her living. The story is mainly told in the third person from the viewpoints of Schuyler Van Alen, an impoverished misfit with an old money ancestry, spoilt It-girl Mimi Force, and Mimi’s friend, fish out of water Texan transplant Bliss Llewellyn.
The story is an intriguing mix of secrets and illusion wrapped up in glamorous privilege and exclusivity. All three girls are students at the prestigious Duchesne college, but have different backgrounds. The only other thing they have in common is that they are becoming vampires.
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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.
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