Her Name is Rose by Christine Breen

June 8, 2015 By 1 Comment

ROSE
Her Name is Rose by Christine Breen
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: Full Length (290 pgs)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

People used to say Iris Bowen was beautiful, what with the wild weave of her red hair, the high cheekbones, and the way she carried herself like a barefoot dancer through the streets of Ranelagh on the outskirts of Dublin city. But that was a lifetime ago.

In a cottage in the west of Ireland, Iris–gardener and mother to an adopted daughter, Rose–is doing her best to carry on after the death of her husband two years before. At the back of her mind is a promise she never intended to keep, until the day she gets a phone call from her doctor.

Meanwhile, nineteen-year-old Rose is a brilliant violinist at the Royal Academy in London, still grieving for her father but relishing her music and life in the city. Excited but nervous, she hums on the way to an important master class, and then suddenly finds herself missing both of her parents when the class ends in disaster.
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After the doctor’s call, Iris is haunted by the promise she made to her husband–to find Rose’s birth mother, so that their daughter might still have family if anything happened to Iris. Armed only with a twenty-year-old envelope, Iris impulsively begins a journey into the past that takes her to Boston and back, with unexpected results for herself and for Rose and for both friends and strangers.

Her Name Is Rose has so many wonderful things in between its pages. Colorful characters, a story that has you turning the pages, and settings like London, Ireland and Boston that add just another layer.

My favorite character was Iris Bowen. I always enjoy reading about characters who are at some sort of crossroads in their life and Iris was one of them. She’s lost her husband, needs to keep her promise to him to find their adopted daughter, Rose’s, birth mother, and she might also have breast cancer.

All these factors seemed to blend together and set the plot in motion. She’s strong yet weak which made her all the more real. You cheer for her when she sets off to Boston to try and track down Rose’s real mother. Along the way she meets Grace and Hector who were also wonderful secondary characters.

And then there’s Rose who lives in London and attends the Royal Academy. It’s her scenes that I actually didn’t connect with as much as Iris’ and I think that’s because the author used present tense for Rose’s story which for me seemed somewhat jarring.

I was hoping there would be a happy ending and there was but not in the way I assumed. I won’t give anything away and spoil the book for you. However, I like the way Ms. Breen threw in some plot twists that put some doubt in your mind. Let’s just say you’ll be more than happy for all the characters by the time you reach the final page.

If you love stories with more than one setting, strong yet vulnerable characters and enjoy a feel good ending then I think this might be one you’d like to read.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Idea of Love by Patti Callahan Henry

May 20, 2015 By Leave a Comment

IDEA
The Idea of Love by Patti Callahan Henry
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre- Women’s fiction
Length: Full Length (239 pgs)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

As we like to say in the south: “Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

Ella’s life has been completely upended. She’s young, beautiful, and deeply in love—until her husband dies in a tragic sailing accident while trying save her. Or so she’ll have everyone believe. Screenwriter Hunter needs a hit, but crippling writers’ block and a serious lack of motivation are getting him nowhere. He’s on the look-out for a love story. It doesn’t matter who it belongs to.
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When Hunter and Ella meet in Watersend, South Carolina it feels like the perfect match, something close to fate. In Ella, Hunter finds the perfect love story, full of longing and sacrifice. It’s the stuff of epic films. In Hunter, Ella finds possibility. It’s an opportunity to live out a fantasy – the life she wishes she had because hers is too painful. And more real. Besides. what’s a little white lie between strangers?
But one lie leads to another, and soon Hunter and Ella find themselves caught in a web of deceit. As they try to untangle their lies and reclaim their own lives, they feel something stronger is keeping them together. And so they wonder: can two people come together for all the wrong reasons and still make it right?

I’m not from the South but I have a weakness for books set there. Maybe it’s the sometimes quirky characters or the strong sense of place and The Idea of Love had both.

It’s the story of two people, neither of them in a good place in their lives. Both fall into the trap of lying to each other. It was fun, sometimes funny, and I loved both Ella and Hunter. They were well-rounded characters who you cheered for. I thought they were perfect for one another but sometimes I wondered what was going to happen when they found out about the other one’s secret. It was fun getting to that part in the story and gave the book their must turn the page quality.

I also enjoyed the setting with its colorful characters and yes, there were a few quirky ones thrown in there. I thought the ending was great, loose ends tied up and everyone got either what they deserved or a very happy ending.

If you like books set in the south, and love a good splash of romance thrown into the mix then I think this is one to add to your summer reading list.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Hard as a Rock by Christine Warren

April 2, 2015 By Leave a Comment

ROCK
Hard as a Rock by Christine Warren
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (227 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Her name is Wynn Powe. A woman of great instinct and inner resources—and insatiable beauty—Wynn has returned to Chicago to do what she does best: Locate Guardian statues. But the Order of Eternal Darkness has beat her to the punch, and the statue she’s come to investigate has been blown to smithereens. An elusive enemy is on her trail…and this time, she’s on her own. Until a mysterious package falls into Wynn’s hands—one that contains contain a chunk of old stone, along with instructions for the spell required to summon a new Guardian.

HARD AS A ROCK

Enter Knox. He’s a Guardian magically embued with the skills and memories of his race…and drop-dead, expertly-chiseled good looks. Bound to Wynn as his Warden, Knox vows to learn the truth about the destroyed Guardian—and protect Wynn at all costs. But he never could have imagined the fierce attraction that has taken hold of him, body and soul. Is his desire for Wynn worth the risk of being destroyed by the Order? The only thing he knows for sure is that he won’t go down without a fight. Nor will he pass up a night of pure blind passion…

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Wynn is not a typical heroine. She likes her life just the way it is and she’s in control. But in the previous book in the series she helped a friend out only to find that her comfy, staid and organized world is about to go BOOM. She’s a bit out of shape, she’s a tad argumentative but she’s got a loyal streak a mile wide. What the heroine has to deal with is the discovery that her brother is not only missing, he may have known his abductors, she discovers that she’s the very thing she always wanted to be but now hates, and that she doesn’t want a fated love but a chosen love. Wynn is a stubborn lady who has to reconcile her wants with reality. It’s a bit bumpy but the hero, while not driving her bonkers, is able to smooth the way as only a Guardian can.

Knox is a typical Alpha Guardian whose sole purpose it to protect mankind from the ultimate evil. The author describes him in great yummy detail and he’s growly, assertive, assured and a bit paranoid with protecting Wynn. As much as I liked Knox, his characterization was a bit flat for me. He seemed too perfect and shallow in self-actualization. Kees and Spar from the first two books have stronger personalities with greater depth. Still, Knox does have a certain appeal and charm so I went with the flow. And what a flow it is.

The romance isn’t as strong as the first two books either. This had a ton more action, plot development, investigation and revelations. Finally someone with knowledge has been found but every time this person left the safety of a Guardian’s protection I got worried and a bit paranoid myself. I adored his character, I believe there is a lot more about him that the author has yet to share and I don’t want anything to happen to him. Hard as a Rock is a very busy novel and the story moved at a fast clip. Because so much went on, I suspect the romance suffered for it. But that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t romance or that I didn’t like the book. Au contraire. I could not read fast enough because the conflict is one that grips and took ahold of my imagination and all my attention. When Wynn gets over herself and succumbs to the wonder that is Knox, the scenes sizzle and a reader is not left in any doubt as to their physical and emotional attachment for each other. There is one scene where Wynn finally realizes the depths of Knox’s love for her and it’s a powerful moment.

As for the bad guys, they earn the title of bad to the bone. There are creepy entities to deal with and I was treated to some gross and icky descriptions of their demise. It was effective writing.

I liked Wynn’s family, especially her mom. Actually, the scene with the food and its interpretation made me laugh. Now that’s a family I could relate to.

Hard as a Rock is a fine addition to the series and a worthy read. From the discoveries, the research, the planning and ultimate confrontation, this novel is meaty, rich in detail and full of suspense, mystery and quite a bit of action. Wynn and Knox are sweet together as a couple and after what they went through during this story, I truly believe they’ll have a wonderful happy ever after – once all the bad guys are finally trounced and defeated. I can’t wait for the next book and I definitely recommend Hard as a Rock for paranormal romantic suspense fans, even new ones because for the most part, this is a standalone read.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Fireproof Home for the Bride by Amy Scheibe

March 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment

BRIDE
A Fireproof Home for the Bride by Amy Scheibe
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (384 pgs)
Rated: 3 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon
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Emmaline Nelson and her sister Birdie grow up in the hard, cold rural Lutheran world of strict parents, strict milking times, and strict morals. Marriage is preordained, the groom practically predestined. Though it’s 1958, southern Minnesota did not see changing roles for women on the horizon. Caught in a time bubble between a world war and the ferment of the 1960’s, Emmy doesn’t see that she has any say in her life, any choices at all. Only when Emmy’s fiancé shows his true colors and forces himself on her does she find the courage to act—falling instead for a forbidden Catholic boy, a boy whose family seems warm and encouraging after the sere Nelson farm life. Not only moving to town and breaking free from her engagement but getting a job on the local newspaper begins to open Emmy’s eyes. She discovers that the KKK is not only active in the Midwest but that her family is involved, and her sense of the firm rules she grew up under—and their effect—changes completely.

Set in Minnesota mid twentieth century, A Fireproof Home for the Bride is a dark, reflective novel of one woman’s struggle to … evolve, I guess… past her upbringing. This isn’t so much coming of age as it is the escape from a lifestyle. The worst of it isn’t that there is rife racism and sexism, it is that it is so much the norm. Although hate-driven action is there, the everyday hate, seeing it simply as ‘the way it was,’ seems somehow very much worse.

Emmaline Nelson grows up in this world that makes the modern reader cringe, then very nearly squirm. We wonder if it could have been true, and how any person could even hope become a ‘someone else,’ a person with a different outlook, coming from such origins. The story does provoke thought, along with the unease. However, the writing is rather wordy, and if literary equals boring, then many a whole passage is very, very literary. However, characters are well-developed and incredibly diverse. There is hatred, expectations; a whole life planned and caged and the people around Emmy are all part of it. Yet, some of those people have a surprising side: a secret, or are simply more sympathetic side than we first suspect. The quality of characters, or of our main character’s development, is certainly excellent. The overall style of writing is top-notch as well.

A Fireproof Home for the Bride is certainly more reflective than gripping. Sadness pervades the story, and ultimately, it is disturbing. It is a valuable read, but I cannot say it was entirely enjoyable.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

January 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment

GALE
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
Genre: Historical, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (438 pages)
Heat Level: sweet
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Camellia

In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another.

When muscles or fascia are irritated by external factors, the natural reaction is inflammation. cialis tablets for sale The drug will make the blood supply discover this page cheap discount levitra in the male organ and thus causing super hard erections that are long lasting and are maintained until climax. Steady, trustworthy water supply will be ready to answer questions on your orders. it’s your cash and it’s your right to raise questions on your orders. it’s your cash and it’s your right to raise questions on your purchase.- verify the manufacturer’s web site if potential, it ought to additionally exist and contain some data concerning their product, otherwise you’ll have a risk no prescription levitra of obtaining. Blurred vision, headaches, back pain, headaches and runny noses are common among users of these prescriptions. lowest price sildenafil Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real–and deadly–consequences.

Kristin Hannah eases the reader into THE NIGHTINGALE with a present time, gentle, loving beginning before she changes time back to World War II in France. She weaves a spellbinding story that seems so real one feels as if it is an absolutely true story of two sisters plus all the events and people that impact their lives.

World War I that changed Viann and Isabelle Rossignol’s father, also did its part in making the sisters feel unloved and abandoned. Their need to feel loved colors much of their action. Each of the girls copes in her own way with low self-esteem and that unrelenting desire for love. As the horrors of World War II move into France and settles in like an insatiable monster, the truth of Ms. Hannah’s statement that “In love we find out who we want to be, in war we find out who we are” become very real.

The impetuous Isabelle seems to “rush in where angels fear to tread,” while the older Viann sees herself as weak and unable to cope alone. Yet, both rise above their flaws to survive in the desperate time of war when deprivation is almost unbearable, racial hatred runs amok, and unspeakable atrocities occur. Trust vanishes and the German occupation forces move in, seeking to totally dominate the French people.

Viann and Isabelle, one operating underground and the other operating in plain sight, go quietly about their secret doings. At times, the reader’s senses are reeling with descriptions of atrocities in the villages and towns, but a near sensory overload comes when conditions in the concentrations camps roars to life with the remarkable descriptions Ms. Hannah writes.

However, the daily living is also beautifully revealed that makes the reader smile at the happy times and cry when the devastation comes. How the people survive as the months and years bring more and more deprivation and persecution makes one aware of both the strength and the fragility in each human being.

THE NIGHTINGALE has a multitude of characters (so many that need special recognition), along with clandestine operations that all play important roles in how the French never really give up, but held on until the Allies arrived.

The story ends back in present time with a twist that made me cry, even though it reveals a love so precious.

This is a novel I highly recommend. It is rich with descriptions like: “Roses tumbled like laughter along the ancient stone wall.” “She wanted to bottle how safe she felt in this moment, so she could drink of it later when loneliness and fear left her parched.” “The street was a living breathing dragon of humanity.” It immerses the reader in the horrors of war and how ordinary people, even with their many flaws, become extraordinary. It is beautifully written and memorable!

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson

November 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment

WINTER
The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (357 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Imogen Robertson’s break-out novel – a deep, dark and opulent tale of Belle epoque Paris, and the secrets and dangers hidden beneath its luxurious facade. Maud Heighton came to Lafond’s famous Academie to paint, and to flee the constraints of her small English town. It took all her courage to escape, but Paris eats money. While her fellow students enjoy the dazzling joys of the Belle epoque, Maud slips into poverty. Quietly starving, and dreading another cold Paris winter, Maud takes a job as companion to young, beautiful Sylvie Morel. But Sylvie has a secret: an addiction to opium. As Maud is drawn into the Morels’ world of elegant luxury, their secrets become hers. Before the New Year arrives, a greater deception will plunge her into the darkness that waits beneath this glittering city of light.

The Belle epoque–what a great time to be alive!
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I love books set at the turn of the century. This was my favorite time to study art… and the clothes! Oh my. Imogen Robertson conveys the opulence and the decadence of the period well. Her writing is exciting and drew me in right away.

I have to admit, the book isn’t exceedingly complex, but for me that was okay. I liked immersing myself in the worlds of Yvette, Maud and Tanya. All three show different parts of society at the time. I rooted for all of them. Yvette was my favorite because she was the most realistic. She held her own and managed to keep her true background hidden. That took a lot of guts.

The scenes and characters are written beautifully. I felt like I was there with them, looking at the art and learning about the artists. I loved my time in Paris via this book.

There is a little bit of mystery to the story, but I wouldn’t classify the book as a mystery. It’s more of an air of mystery that adds to the story.

If you want to meet interesting characters, visit a lush Paris, and lose yourself for a few hours, then this might be the book you’ve been looking for.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas

November 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment

QUILT
A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (256 pgs)
Heat: Sensual
Rated: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

It is 1864 and Eliza Spooner’s husband Will has joined the Kansas volunteers to fight the Conferedates, leaving her with their two children and in charge of their home and land. Eliza is confident that he will return home, and she helps pass the months making a special quilt to keep Will warm during his winter in the army. When the unthinkable happens, she takes in a a woman and child who have been left alone and made vulnerable by the war, and she finds solace and camaraderie amongst the women of her quilting group. And when she is asked to help hide an escaped slave, she must decide for herself what is right, and who can she can count on to help her.

A Quilt for Christmas surpasses expectations in every way imaginable. Heartfelt and charming: yes. Meaningful: Yes. However, the depth of characters, the strength of their beliefs, and their reliance on one another, as well as the warm undercurrent of faith, make this a book to remember.
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Eliza Spooner is the main character. Her husband away at war, she has to manage home, children and a good deal of the unexpected, without him. This story might have turned into her own personal journey story for just the one main character, however, it’s honestly more of a ‘community’ journey story. Many people’s lives are interwoven here.

It is the time of the Civil War, a time when many menfolk are away from home, some families are suffering terrible loss, a time when women in the community learn to lean on one another. Sometimes, their political beliefs don’t coincide, yet trusting in ‘doing right’ helps them stand by one another.

Everyday life, from the corn-silk haired doll to some old time turns-of-phrase in conversations help create a sense of the time and the setting. Descriptions are straightforward and never slow the pace. Some characters are unexpectedly important: like little Luzena who manages to be quite clever, and Missouri Ann, who is both a victim and a heroine, in her own right.

Not only is this an epic tale of women’s struggles through this difficult time, but there are unexpected and surprising events, and we see that indeed evil does exist, and people can band together against it.

A Quilt for Christmas if dramatic and heartfelt, surprising and also warm: It will make a wonderful Christmas present…but don’t wait for Christmas to read it!

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof

September 15, 2014 By Leave a Comment

SMALL
Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (310 pgs)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

Tom Putnam has resigned himself to a quiet and half-fulfilled life. An English professor in a sleepy college town, he spends his days browsing the Shakespeare shelves at the campus bookstore, managing the oddball faculty in his department and caring, alongside his formidable mother-in-law, for his wife Marjory, a fragile shut-in with unrelenting neuroses, a condition exacerbated by her discovery of Tom’s brief and misguided affair with a visiting poetess a decade earlier.

Some have levitra 30mg even speculated that Pioli sabotaged the roster so that he could justifiably fire Haley. In many cases, ED has viagra for women emerged up as the reason behind a person facing erectile dysfunction. The issue is so common and effects 50% free viagra consultation of the world’s population after all! Advances are hugely effective and work over 90% of the time. It affects the health of cipla cialis online the person physically and psychologically. Then, one evening at the bookstore, Tom and Marjory meet Rose Callahan, the shop’s charming new hire, and Marjory invites Rose to their home for dinner, out of the blue, her first social interaction since her breakdown. Tom wonders if it’s a sign that change is on the horizon, a feeling confirmed upon his return home, where he opens a letter from his former paramour, informing him he’d fathered a son who is heading Tom’s way on a train. His mind races at the possibility of having a family after so many years of loneliness. And it becomes clear change is coming whether Tom’s ready or not.

It’s always a plus when you’re reading a book and the story puts a smile on your face. That’s exactly what happened while I made my way through Small Blessings. Its plot sometimes had things conveniently falling into place for the characters but if you overlook that, it’s a fun read filled with feelings all of us deal with at one time or another.

What I enjoyed most about this book was its setting. A small college town inhabited by what appeared to be a cast of quirky characters. I had mixed feelings about the main character Tom. You almost have to forgive him for his past sin that has produced a surprise son because in the opening pages he seems to be a sweet guy who is caring for this very fragile woman, Marjory. I won’t give the plot away but I hoped we’d see more of her in the story.

Rose, the other lead character, is also flawed but it seems that Marjory has seen something within her that others haven’t and that’s the reason I hoped Marjory would be in the story more so I could see how their relationship progressed and if, as Tom suspected, it was a turning point for his wife.

Small Blessings has its humor too. Its pacing is not too fast and not too slow and the sort of story that’s perfect for settling down to an hour of reading here and there.

If you like stories with small town settings, lots of characters, and one that leaves you with a positive feeling that there’s a reason certain things happen to us, then you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Stone Cold Lover by Christine Warren

August 22, 2014 By 5 Comments

LOVER
Stone Cold Lover by Christine Warren
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (224 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

A prominent art restorer, Felicity is more than game to help a friend track down an obscure statue in Montreal. But when “Fil” finds it, she’s taken by surprise at how drawn she is to this statue. Attracted to it in a way a girl shouldn’t lust for a stone gargoyle, she revists it at night, longing to feel its embrace. Little does Fil know, her desire for this stone cold beast is about to heat up a notch.

Locked in stone for centuries, Spar has slept, waiting for when a human would need him. When he is awoken, Spar is taken aback to find that a human female needs his help. A very sexy woman who’s about to be the victim of a cultist attack. Saving and leaving her should be no problem. But as more questions arise, Spar knows that he cannot rest until Fil is safe in his arms

Shiver me timbers! This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the very first zap from the bad guy all the way until the very dramatic conclusion. Every time a new chapter started a new revelation or crisis hit the hero and heroine and kept them scrambling to make sense of the chaos that was unfolding around them. How they had time to fall in love in the midst of it is a credit to the author because it was a definite highlight and made it all worth it.
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Felicity, or as she prefers to call herself, Fil, is a heroine who does a pretty good job of rolling with the punches. She has a typical modern independent streak that drives the hero, Spar, a bit nuts. She’s got a wicked sense of humor and Ms. Warren also gave her heroine some very clever internal dialogue that made me smile many times throughout the tale. Yes, Fil does some stupid things, but then the story goes on to show why she did or said what she did and it basically makes sense and keeps everything in character. There was one part where I knew something bad was going to happen because it was a typical storytelling tactic yet the author used it as a dramatic segue into the next climactic part of the book. Sometimes Fil’s rash behavior worked out, and sometimes it didn’t. The heroine isn’t a passive female character, that’s for sure.

I enjoyed getting to know Spar. Of course he’s sexy, eventually. He’s a typical male in spite of his magical uniqueness. I adored his protectiveness and liked how the author had him navigate his experience of feeling emotions for the first time. In some scenes he was so discombobulated that he made mistakes, and that made his character endearing, interesting and more relatable.

There was of course the external conflict and the bad guys are nasty. What they do to people is heinous and one character really got hurt bad to the point it almost reminded me of a scene in The Mummy, and I remember being freaked the first time I saw it. So that will give a reader an idea as to how villainous and evil the antagonists are.

This is totally a standalone read but Kees and Ella appear from the previous book to help out when the suspense, drama and action reach a critical flashpoint. I knew from the previous book how Fil was prompted to get messed up in this conflict in the first place but the author touched on the basics enough that a reader won’t feel out of the loop by starting with this book. However, since the first book Heart of Stone sets up the world building and Kees was such a big sexy hunk anyway, his story is one not to be missed just on that fact alone.

There is a secondary character that not only is helpful in this novel but as it turns out, she’s the perfect hook for the next story. Just as Ella finagled a way to get Fil involved, it sounds like Wynn is next. The interesting twist for Wynn is that she’s not completely ignorant of the power shift that’s going on and I find that fascinating. Ms. Warren picked the perfect scenario to guarantee my eager anticipation for the next book in the series. It’s so exciting!

Stone Cold Lover is an intense, wild ride that should not be missed. This novel should appeal to paranormal romance fans, suspense fans and definitely fans of Ms. Warren. I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed with the quality of writing, the intensity of the story or the sheer yummy hotness of the romance between Spar and Fil that culminates in a satisfactory HEA. I love the idea of gargoyles being heroes because they embody strength and focus of purpose. They scare the bad guys but they sure know how to love their mates. I’m so happy I discovered this series. Not only is it filled with drama and adventure, it’s been one of the most fun, fascinating and entertaining new series I’ve been privileged to find in a long time and I couldn’t be happier. Stone Cold Lover rocks!

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

That Night by Chevy Stevens

June 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment

THAT
That Night by Chevy Stevens
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (372 pgs)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

As a teenager, Toni Murphy had a life full of typical adolescent  complications: a boyfriend she adored, a younger sister she couldn’t relate to, a strained relationship with her parents, and classmates who seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Things weren’t easy, but Toni could never have predicted how horrific they would become until her younger sister was brutally murdered one summer night.

Toni and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison.

Now thirty-four, Toni is out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Prison changed her, hardened her, and she’s doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back. This means having absolutely no contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in all its forms. But nothing is making that easy—not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who doubts Toni’s innocence; and certainly not the group of women who made Toni’s life hell in high school and may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. No matter how hard she tries, ignoring her old life to start a new one is impossible. Before Toni can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out what really happened that night.
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But the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.

The premise of That Night drew me in. A young girl and her boyfriend are accused of murdering her sister, they are convicted; serve twelve years in prison, but the problem is they didn’t do it.

The story is told in the first person through Toni, one of the accused, and sister of the victim, Nicole. I have to admit, first person is one of my favorite points of view, especially for the mystery genre. It begins with Toni’s release from prison and flashes backward and forward to the time before the murder and then back to present day and Toni’s reintroduction into society.

I really tried to like the character of Toni but have to say I just couldn’t and I think that’s maybe one of the reasons this story didn’t work for me. She came across as her own worst enemy. Yes, she’s the victim of school bullies, parents that seemed to favor her younger sister, but somehow I couldn’t cheer her on her journey to put back her life and maybe find out who did really kill her sibling.

One other thing that I felt weakened the story was most of it was told to us rather than showed. I did like the suspense that was added that maybe Nicole was seeing a man, and that perhaps he had something to do with her death. I was hoping to see more of the mystery unfold once Toni and Ryan met up again, but it seemed like there were coincidences and people finally cracking up under the pressure of their secrets, and I guessed the outcome before it arrived.

What I did like was the dialogue and the pacing was spot on. I also liked the structure of the story, present day, past, and then back to what was happening with Toni. The setting was also a strong point.

One thing that did cross my mind while I was reading That Night was that younger adults, maybe those in the 14-21 age range, would find this a great read and maybe connect with Toni more than I did.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,
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