Kate Of Kratos

Kate of Kratos by Robert Appleton
The third book in the Elemental Crossing series
Publisher Eternal Press.
Ebook, 92 pages

This book begins where the second left off. Kate is alone and tracking Jason, who has been carried off by one of the predators of this strange and wonderful world that Robert Appleton has created. Her journey is much advanced by the discovery that she can bounce huge distances on the membrane canopy of the forest.

Catching up with Jason she finds that he has been dumped in a sort of larder for the beasts and with him are three more survivors from the Monique, the crashed space ship that brought them to this planet. They came in search of a powerful element that would provide fuel for their own world and have found it in large amounts. Can they now use it to help them escape from the vicious creatures that see them as food – and can Kate and Jason find happiness after all their adventures?

What makes these three books so appealing is that the author seems to have an endless vision of strange and different monsters and writes vividly of the beautiful strangeness of the planet. I feel this author will one day write a science fiction masterpiece. He is at this moment feeling his way but I believe when he has the courage to strike out for where he belongs – in mainstream print – he will have a promising career.

Once again I can only give this book five red roses. I loved the ending. Linda Sole

A Country Cotillion

A COUNTRY COTILLION

BY

SANDRA HEATH

PUBLISHED BY ROBERT HALE LONDON.

ISBN 978-0-7090-8659-8
£18.99





On a bitterly cold night in January 1814 a beautiful young widow, named Elizabeth French set out from her home, Oakgrove house in Kensington, to attend the Grand Ball given by the Duke of Devonshire. She was to attend with her soon to be betrothed Sir Alexander Norrington.

Elizabeth was the widow of James French a notorious young rake who after only a few years of marriage had broken her heart. At first he had been all a young bride could wish for but when they went to live in Madras he had soon altered, becoming cruel and unfaithful whenever he wanted to. In the end the furious husband of a lady James had been having an affair with, had killed him in a duel. Elizabeth mourned her young husband as he was in the beginning, but was glad to be free of the man he had become.

She knew that Alexander could never thrill her, as James had done at the start of their life together, but he was kind and gentle and she was happy to settle for that...or was she?

One day while driving in the city to visit her Aunt, she decided to look at the house she and James had lived in when first they were married, where they were very happy. While she sat in her carriage the door of the house she was watching, opened and a young man came out. Her heart jolted. Was it James? No it could not be but he looked so similar that it filled her with longing for the young James once more.

Many moments of longing and sadness were to unsettle Elizabeth over the next few weeks. She no longer trusted her own heart for when Alexander kissed her she wished it was the young man who so reminded her of James and although she would probably never know who he was or where he was from, the longing would not go away. Could she go through with her betrothal ball feeling this way and was it fair to Alexander, knowing as she did that he could never capture her whole heart?

The plot in this lovely Regency romance is good with many twists. The description of places and houses they visit is excellent. You could be in the rooms with them; indeed you are with them. I have not given much of the story away as I feel that might spoil the pleasure for future readers. Please read this lovely book and enjoy it, I am sure that you will, I loved it. I award this book 5 RedRoses.

Bronze Lightening

Bronze Lightening by Lindsay Townsend

Siren-BookStrand

March 2009

ISBN: 1-60601-273-8

Pages: 356



Krete, c 1562 BC
Isle of Stones – Kingdom of the Atterians, 1561 BC


Sarmatia is the Bull Rider in the sacred rites. It is her place to help the children go through the rite so that they may become adults. She has always been content with her life but that is about to change with a chance meeting, a meeting that will end up transforming her view of life.

Fearn has always been a healer. It is his ability to heal that has made his name know far and wide. He has come to Krete to heal the king. Traveling to Krete has given Fearn the chance to meet Sarmatia, which has changed his life.

Fearn has found the one woman that he wants to spend his life with. Before he can do that he needs to make sure his people have a healer when he is gone. He goes home with the promise to Sarmatia that he will return for her and that they will be together. Once home he finds opposition to his leaving his family and the people. As he is about to leave having trained a new healer the unthinkable happens and the king dies. Now being part of the royal family Fearn must be tested along with others to see who will be the new king. Wanting no part of ruling the people Fearn nonetheless takes the test to show his good will. The one thing Fearn never saw coming was inheriting the crown. Now the only chance he has at happiness is if Sarmatia is willing to come to him on a several months long journey and giving up the life she has always known.

How strong is Sarmatia? She is about to find out just what she is capable of. She is about to start on a journey that will test her in its own way. One that if she is not careful she just might not survive. Sarmatia is going to find out just how much she loves Fearn as she is tested time and again.

Thinking that once she is reunited with Fearn that all will be well. Now they are going to be able to start their lives together she finds that she is very much mistaken. Some one is trying to hurt them and if they don’t find out who is behind the attacks they just might not be able to have a life together after all. Someone wants what they have and will stop at nothing until they get what they want. There are several people with a motive but which one is conniving enough to get away with the stealthy attacks without being seen. They will have to survive long enough to find the person or persons so that they will finally have the happiness they have tried so hard to enjoy.



This is a remarkable book in that it takes you back in time. It is well written so that you get a glimpse of the world at that time and it gives you a wonderful mystery as to who is behind the attacks and keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. The many twists and turns keeps you engrossed as you try to figure out who is behind all the mishaps that keep happening.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses.

River's Reach

River's Reach by Christina Green
Robert Hale Publishers
Historical Romance
July 2008
224 Pages
ISBN: 978-0709085959

I very much enjoyed reading this excellent Victorian saga by Christina
Green. Exquisitely-told, highly moving and powerfully written, River's Reach
is a terrific romantic tale.

Rose Victoria Adams vows not to be like her parents, scrimping and saving
and living in a hovel. She wants more from life and has applied herself to
able to become a teacher at her local school. But Rose Victoria wants more.
She wants to be elevated to the upper echelons of society and not to be seen
by the people she knows an upstart with ideas above her station.
When artist Lawrence Vane comes to live in the village, he is immediately
drawn to Rose. An attractive red-head with a beautiful figure and a
delectable smile, Lawrence is determined to paint Rose's picture and to make
her his. And when his sister, Elizabeth, asks her whether she'd like to be
her companion, Lawrence is delighted because he thinks that he can finally
achieve his aim. However, Lawrence hasn't counted on Thomas Vane, the new
school master, who has managed to get under Rose's skin.

Thomas is taciturn, impervious to Rose's ideas and absolutely infuriating,
but Rose still cannot stop thinking about him - nor can she stop wishing to
become his wife!

River's Reach is a wonderful historical romance that I couldn't stop
reading. Christina Green imbues her tale with plenty of warmth and emotion,
and once readers begin reading this book, they will soon find themselves
unable to put it down! 4.5 red roses JB

His Reluctant Mistress

His Reluctant Mistress by Joanna Maitland
Harlequin
Historical Romance
April 2009
300 Pages
ISBN: 978-0709085959

A rakish spy finds himself giving his heart to daring opera singer in Joanna
Maitland's fabulous new novel, His Reluctant Mistress!

Sophie Pietre can never forget the cruelty which she had suffered at the
hands of her gambler father. Having been forced to abandon everything that
was familiar to her, Sophie had been compelled to make a living out of
singing opera and although the Ton thought her to be a superb singer, she
knows that the same members of polite society who complimented her voice
would scorn her company in their parlours. But Sophie is determined that
things will change for her. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life
being treated with disdain by society matrons and being pawed by lecherous
men, so she makes plans to escape from the gilded cage which she has lived
in for the past few years.

Sophie distrusts men and vows never to let another man control her life and
shape her destiny. But when she meets Lord Leo Aikenhead, she finds herself
unable to forget the roguish English gentleman who seems most determined to
make her acquaintance. When a stolen kiss leads to something more, Sophie
soon realizes that she is in danger of falling for Lord Leo.

But can there be a future for a Lord and an opera singer? Or will their past
prevent them from moving forward?

His Reluctant Mistress is a spellbinding Regency romance imbued with plenty
of intrigue, passion and adventure. Joanna Maitland writes beautifully and
with great style and confidence, and I am sure that readers who enjoy
reading historicals will not be disappointed with her latest Harlequin
Historical! 4.5 red roses JB
>

Wolf's Revenge and The Stray

The Princess and the Wolf By Linda Sole comes out with Red Rose Publishing next month.

These books are being sold to help a charity set up for a wolf sanctuary. They are short stories so I am putting the two together reviews together.
Wolf's Revenge by Aline de Chevigny/Red Rose Publishing. first Howl

Yvee returns to the man she loves, knowing that he is also a wolf. She did not think she could live with the knowledge but she cannot live without him either and she needs help. She is being pursued by Dekland, who is determined to have her as his mate. What Cain has to decide is whether this other wolf/man is the renegade he has been hunting and what he will do about it.

This is a lovely story and very enjoyable.

The Stray by Cassandra Gold. Red Rose Publishing. Second Howl
J owes Cash money and he can't pay but Cash won't wait. Stumbling away after being victimised, J is lonely and miserable but things get worse when he bumps into a man with long hair and blood stains on his clothes.

Hunter was fleeing from the enemy, his mind confused when he bumped into a young man. Hunter is a wolf/man who has escaped after being captured and used for experiments to discover what he is exactly. Can he make friends with a man who has helped him? Or will his secret prevent that yet again?

This is a different kind of story to the first but also enjoyable and touching.

This series will consist of many types of story about werewolves and there should be at least one for everyone. The Princess and the Wolf is described as a fairy story for grownups. This is a good cause and we hope it will be well supported.

Impoverished Miss

Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife by Michelle Styles
Mills and Boon
Historical Romance
April 2009
300 Pages
ISBN: 9780263867749

Michelle Styles has written a fabulous Regency romance set in the North-East
that is heading straight for my keeper shelf. Highly emotional, immensely
compelling and beautifully written, Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife is
simply another must-read by this wonderful writer.

A tragic accident had turned wealthy landowner Simon Benedict into a bitter
recluse. But Simon's scars are the last things on his mind. His son, Robert,
is ill and none of the servants, governesses or doctors he's employed seem
able to do anything for him. The only person who can help Robert is his Aunt
Diana. But Diana is pregnant and cannot make it to Northumberland from
London, so she sends her husband's cousin, Phoebe Benedict, instead.

Phoebe Benedict had been one of the Ton's most notorious beauties, but her
father's death had forced her to turn her back on the ton and focus all of
her time and energies into taking care of her family. Unfortunately for
Phoebe, her family treat her no better than an unpaid servant. But Phoebe
must bear their indifference for she has never forgiven herself for an event
which happened in the past which is still haunting her.

Phoebe wants to get her brother into the army and she knows that her cousin
is a many with many connections who could open lots of doors for her
brother. Deciding that the best way to impress her cousin is to step into
the breach for his wife, Phoebe decides to help Simon Benedict take care of
his son. But little does Phoebe know that Simon will awaken long-buried
feelings deep within her. Feelings which she won't be able to ignore.

But can there ever be a future for them when they are still haunted by
ghosts of the past?

Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife is simply fantastic! You will adore
Michelle Styles' powerful romantic story of redemption, hope, sacrifice and
love. 4.5 red roses JB