Sinjin

Sinjin by Julia Templeton

Publisher: Aphrodisia

October 2009

ISBN: 978-0-7582-3815-3

Pages: 247


London, England 1800’s


Sinjin Rayborne is the oldest of three brothers and the one that has an insatiable appetite for sex that has managed to give him the nickname Sin. He also does everything possible to live up to that name. Now he has been given an ultimatum to find a bride or lose his inheritance. Now Sinjin is going to have to give all the pleasure houses and all the women he has known in the past and settle down with just one woman. For a man that has known so much pleasure he is not sure that is going to be possible but to hang on to his inheritance he will do what he must.

Katelyn Davenport is engaged to an older man to pay off her father’s gambling debts. She dreads the day the wedding will take place and looks forward to the wedding night even less. When she first meets Sinjin at a soiree that is being held in order for Sinjin to find the bride he needs she is instantly attracted to him. Now she thinks that she just might have a chance to enjoy the passion she knows she will never get in her marriage bed. She also knows that the woman that ultimately becomes his bride will be one very lucky woman.

Once Sinjin sets eyes on Katelyn he knows that he has found the one woman that will be able to match his passion and that he will never be able to have enough of. Now he just has to find a way to end her engagement to another man so that he has a chance to have the happiness he never thought would be possible for a man like him. Katelyn knows that she is fast falling for Sinjin and that would be the biggest mistake she can make as she is not free. Katelyn is now finding herself trying to find a way out of her engagement so that she might have a chance at a future with Sinjin.


This is a story that has more twist that will keep the reader engrossed just to see what will happen next and if Sinjin and Katelyn will find the happiness that they are both hoping to find for themselves. This is first story of the brothers’ stories and is a wonderful start that is sure to have the reader wanting to read the next book in this trilogy. This is one historical not to miss.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

The Virgin Widow

The Virgin Widow by Anne O’Brien

Publisher: New American Library

November 2010

ISBN: 978-0-451-23129-1

Pages: 409



The War of the Roses England 1462 – 1472

Anne Neville is the daughter of the power Earl of Warwick. As a girl she meets Richard of Gloucester, when he is sent to her father for training as a knight. Anne is youngest daughter of the Earl’s and while she doesn’t always get along with her sister her life has been easy and happy. When she first meets Richard she isn’t sure what to make of him and even if she truly likes him. As they get to know each other she finds that her feelings for him transform into something a lot stronger than friendship.

Richard Plantagenet is the third son of the House of York. With his oldest brother on the throne of England that makes him a very powerful man. Richard has always been quiet and thoughtful and that has given him the chance to find out more about people around him which gives him more insight into people. This helps to him develop into the man that he later becomes.

When a betrothal is agreed upon between Richard and Anne it is a political alliance that makes them both happy as it also happens to match their hearts desires. That all changes when the tides of the royal favor changes and pits Anne’s father against the King of England. Now the family is branded as traitors and the only way they have a chance at survival is to go to France and throw themselves on the mercy of the deposed queen Margaret of Anjou. This ultimately places Anne at the mercy of her father’s ambitions and in the middle between her father and Margaret. As Anne grows she uses her intelligence to navigate the intrigues of court so that she has a chance to survive. It also puts her on the opposite side of the now very powerful Richard which makes her put her secret yearnings for him deep in her heart. Now with the lovers on opposite sides only time will tell if they will ever have a chance to be together again.


This story brings to vivid life the War of the Roses. It also shows those that were the major players in this war to life and give the reader an insight and shows how those involved were truly human and not just names in history and legends in their own time. This is one story that helps make history interesting and makes you wish that the story won’t end.



I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

In The Neon

In the Neon by Danielle Smith

Publisher: Solstice Publishing

2011

Pages: 167



Faust is a soul collector demon that is one of the best soul collectors around. He has always taken pride in his work. As a demon he stays in the worst parts of town and sees the worst side of humanity. His job is to go after those that prey on the weak and encourage them in their evil deeds. Then one night he goes into the club The Neon. Faust has been around The Neon before and has earned the nickname Shadow Man from all the dancers around there.

Annie is a dancer at the club The Neon who is very popular with the clientele. Annie knows she is good at her job and while most would look down on her for what she does she is happy the way her life is. Her life hasn’t been easy but she has made a life for herself that makes her happy.

Now Faust and Annie’s paths have crossed and their lives will never be the same. Annie is bringing out feelings in Faust that he has never felt before. Annie is also finding happiness with Faust that she never expected. Faust’s outlook is changing and he is not sure if that is a good thing or not. Time will tell just what is going on between them, but first there are those that would do anything to make sure that Faust and Annie are not together. If Faust and Annie want to see if they have a future together they are going to have to stop those that would tear them apart first.


This story takes your usual demon story and gives it a great twist. This is one story that is unexpected in the fact that once you start reading it you won’t want to put it down until the very last page. You are never really sure what path this one will take until you get there. The illustrations in this book also helps the reader visualize the story’s characters and brings them to life.


I give this one 4 red roses

Secrets of the Tudor Court

Secrets of the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan

Publisher: Kensington

May 2010

ISBN: 978-0-7582-4199-3

Pages: 336



England 1519 - 1555

Mary Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk one of the most powerful men in King Henry VIII’s court. Mary is thrilled when her father tells her she is to go to court and will attend Henry VIII’s mistress, Anne Boleyn. Mary has been looking forward to being able to go to court and to find out she will finally have the opportunity is a dream come true. She knows that Anne Boleyn is going to be very important as no matter what Anne touches seems to turn to gold.

What Mary never expects is to find that is that she is just a pawn of her father’s and that he is carefully orchestrating a plot that because of who and what he is Mary dares not disobey him. Yet it seems that no matter how much she tries to please her father she just can’t seem to do so. While at court Mary finds the love and approval in the one person she never expected to find it, the Duke of Richmond and King Henry VIII’s son. Mary sees this as a chance to finally be free of her father’s plotting. Now for Mary to find the happiness she craves she is going to have to find a way to play her part in the dangerous tides of court life. It just might be the only way that she will be able to change her life and possibly the course of history.

This is a wonderful story in the look that it gives in the time of King Henry VIII”s court from a completely different perspective than most stories of that time give the reader. This a peek into what the court was like behind the scenes of all the different plots that were going on for different people to get the power that they wanted and craved and those that got caught up in the plotting and paid the ultimate price. This one covers a time period of years and yet it is written in such a way that it covers the highlights and yet the reader gets the important facts in a very short amount of time.


I give this one 4 red roses

Snatched

Snatched by Vijaya Schartz

Publisher: Books We Love Publishing

2010

ISBN: 978-1-926965-58-1

Pages: 164



Futuristic, Parallel world

Zania Nolev awakens suddenly to find herself somewhere were she doesn’t recognize anything. The last thing she remembers is her military unit and herself fighting for their lives when suddenly everything goes black. Now she has to figure out what is going on and where exactly she is. Being the fighter that she is when she is first taken to an arena and told that she is to perform a show for the audience there she defies those in charge when she refuses to perform for those present. As punishment she is sent to what is now a completely different earth where she can perform as the fighter that she is. In this new arena she finds even more challenges that if she can’t find a way to overcome them it will end up meaning her death.

Svend is brought to perform yet again for the masses only this time he finds a partner that is much more than she seems and is a fighter that he finds is very rare in this world. He decides that he will do anything he can to help her survive even if that means he must pay a price. One look at Zania and he knows that he will be willing to do anything to help her survive this world and see if he just might be able to have something more with her.

First for Zania and Svend to have a chance at being together they will have to overcome those that would see Zania dead so that she will never have a chance to be with Svend. For just catching the attention of Svend there are those that would see her dead for that offence alone but she shows what a good fighter she truly is and that makes her enemies ever more determined to kill her. Now she is going to have to find a way out or she just might not survive. There are others that are fighting to escape and if they can work together they just might have a chance to survive the outside world and a chance at freedom and life.



This story show very well what happens when society becomes too dependant on technology. It also shows how when people become too dependant on technology how they can become complacent in their lives. Zania finds herself in a world that is controlled by computers and everyone has forgotten how to do the most simple of tasks. This is a good story in the insight it gives on what can happen when people depend too much on machines and not enough on each other and themselves.


I give this one 4 red roses

First Grave on the Right

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

February 2011

ISBN: 978-0-312-66275-2

Pages: 310




Modern Day, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Charlotte “Charley” Davidson is the grim reaper. Being the Grim Reaper means that Charley comes in contact with a lot of dead people it also makes her life very complicated. Most of them are happy to cross over but sometimes the dead want Charley to solve what they have left behind and most of the time that means solving their deaths when they have been murdered. That is where Charley’s second job as a private investigator comes in handy. It helps her work on solving the deaths and making sure that the guilty do not get away with what they have done and that the dead get justice too. Most of the time things are fine for Charley but lately she has been having some very sensual dreams and now she has to figure out who and what is invading her dreams.

Charley is pretty sure the hot guy in her dreams is not dead but if he isn’t dead just what is he and who he is. Between trying to figure that out and solve her latest case Charley has her hands full and suddenly a lot is coming and Charley and if she isn’t careful she will be lucky to come out of this latest case intact.


This is new author that has really found her niche. This story is very different from most paranormals but it is one that is a lot of fun to read. This one takes off from the very beginning and doesn’t stop until the very last page. Charley is a great character that has a lot of sarcastic wit that will have you laughing out loud and turning the page just to see what she does next. Charley is one character that always seems to do the unexpected and you are never disappointed with what she does at any given time. The story will also have you eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series. If all grim reapers were like Charley the grim reaper would be a very popular character in books and written about a lot more.


I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

Patton's Way

Patton’s Way by Jenny Penn

Publisher: Siren Publishing

November 2008

ISBN: 978-1-60601-159-1



Patton Jones has been showing the Davis brothers what they thought she was: innocent, sweet and the little sister that they never had. Now Patton is tired of playing by the rules they set as they were all growing up. She has grown up and it is now time for them to see just what she really is. She also knows what she wants and she has set her eyes on the brothers and is determined to prove to them that she knows what she wants and what she wants is them. Patton has been living a life that she has kept a secret from the brothers. A life that they had no idea she has been living. Now they are about to find out exactly what she has been up too. Let the fun begin.

Brothers Chase, Slade and Devin Davis have their own secrets that they have been keeping from Patton because they don’t think she would be able to handle the darker side of their desires. What the brother don’t know is that Patton is completely aware of what the brothers have been up to for years and isn’t about to let them hide behind what they think she can and cannot handle.

Patton is about to shake up the brothers’ world and only time will tell if the four of them are going to get what they truly want. The brothers have always wanted Patton but they were afraid that she wouldn’t be able to handle their desires. Patton is about to show them that she can handle anything they can dish out and that they only way they all will be able to have the happiness that has eluded them is for them to give into what they want and accept that everyone will be able to handle it. Otherwise if they can’t face what they want everyone will end up hurt and they just might not be able to recover from it.


This is one story that shows just what can happen when you have one strong willed woman that is determined to take on three hardheaded men. The antics that ensue in this story will make for one very wild read that will have the reader turning the pages just to see what is going to happen next. Watching Patton plot against the brothers will have the reader snickering as to what she comes up with and watching the brother try to deal with the fall out of what she comes up with.


I give this one 4 red roses

The Perfect Play

The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton

Publisher: Heat

February 2011

ISBN: 978-0-425-23881-3

Pages: 299


Contemporary San Francisco

Tara Lincoln is an event planner that just got the opportunity of a lifetime. She has just been hired to plan an event for the local NFL team, the Sabers. She knows that if she does this right it can really help both her business and career take off. Between her career and being a single mother to a teenage son there is little time for a personal life. When she meets Mick she thinks a one-night stand just might be the thing to help relieve a little stress. What she doesn’t need is the type of lifestyle that Mick leads. She isn’t looking to be in the spotlight as Mick’s latest conquest. She just wants her business to succeed and to raise her son.

Mick Riley is a pro football player that is known for his plays both on and off the field. He has been fine with the way his life is going with a different woman to take to what ever event he has going at any given time. When he first sets eyes on Tara he is not sure what to think other than he suddenly wants more than just his usual one night stand. Mick knows that there is something very special about Tara and the more he learns the more he likes what he sees. Mick never lets anything get in his way when he sets his sights on something he wants. Tara is about to learn that first hand.

Mick knows he has found something that he never realized was missing in his life with Tara and her son, Nathan. Now he has to show Tara that there is a lot more to him than the jet-setting lifestyle he has lead up until now. Mick wants to show Tara that if she gives them a chance they can build something together that will lasting and real, unlike with all the women in his life prior to meeting Tara. Tara isn’t sure she can take a chance on Mick since she has tried love before and lost big.



This is a wonderful story that will tug on the reader’s heartstrings. The characters are believable in the sense that the reader can truly relate to them and the obstacles that are in their way and in their lives. Watching the characters try to find a way to get what they want even with the fears that they are facing makes for a really great story. This one will leave you eagerly waiting for the next book in this series.


I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

For the Love of Anna

For the Love of Anna by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

Publisher: Siren

December 2010

ISBN: 1-61034-241-0



Anna Parker made a promise to her mother when her mother was dying that she would look after her father. Anna has kept her word even though her father is extremely abusive. All that is about to change because now Anna’s father owns money to some loan sharks that are determined to get their money one way or anther and after the beating they give to Anna she is on the run and the only place she has to go is to her best friend’s Stacey and Stacey’s two men. Anna is also hoping that she managed to leave the trouble following her back home rather than bringing it with her to Stacey’s doorsteps.

Brothers Charlie, Wyatt and Ben Cantrell take one look at Anna and the only thing they want to do is protect, love and take care of her. Now the hard part is going to be to convince Anna that she has nothing to fear from them and that no matter what they will always protect her. With Wyatt being the town sheriff and Charlie being an ex-marine Anna couldn’t be in safer hands but after the abuse she has suffered Charlie, Wyatt and Ben are going to have to show her that men can also love and care for the woman that they love.

Anna is about to learn that all she thought she knew isn’t anywhere close to the truth and that she is now in the one place that she can call home and if the loan sharks come after her she has three men that will stand between her and any danger coming her way. Now she just has to learn to trust again and know that she will be safe from now on.


This is one story that will have you cheering for Anna as she finds the strength to stand on her own and overcome her past. The story is well written and the characters are well developed. This one is worth reading and will be hard to put down once the reader starts reading it.


I give this one 4-1/2 red roses