If I Were You

If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones

Publisher: Lisa Renee Jones

August 2012

ISBN: 978-0-985-81700-8

Pages: 320

San Francisco present day

Sara McMillian is a school teacher that has inherited a storage unit from her friend when her friend decided to elope.  Now Sara finds herself with the task of trying to clean out a storage unit before the lease expires.  Sara finds herself uncomfortably going through a woman’s possessions and wondering where she went when she obviously took such care to pack up her items and store them.  Now Sara is left with puzzle that as she digs through this woman’s intimate papers and journals Sara finds she is unable to let the mystery go.  Soon Sara finds herself working in a prestigious gallery and starting to live her own dreams.  Suddenly Sara has met several men that could easily be the man that is written about in the journals she has found and read from the storage unit.  

Chris Merit is an artist that is more than Sara first thought. Not only is he rich, famous and successful but there is a dark side to him that Sara finds calls out to her more and more.  That side draws Sara to him and she finds that although she should probably turn away from him that no matter what she can’t. 

Sara is suddenly in a world where she is not sure exactly who she can trust or if she can trust anyone at all.  Intent on finding out the truth of what really happened to the journal writer she is going to have to find a way to maneuver through the world she finds herself in. And while Sara wants to trust Chris she is not sure if she really can or if he knows more about the writer than it seems.

This is a wonderful story that the reader will find hard to put down once they start reading it.  The plot has some wonderful twists that will keep the reader on edge until the very last page and beyond.  This story needs to come with one caution because this one has a cliffhanger that hopefully will have some answers in the next two books.  This book does not have an ending though it is sure to keep the reader eagerly counting down the time until the next book comes out so that the reader can find out just what will happen next.  This is a great suspense story that is sure to please.

I give this one 5 red roses 

The Claimed

The Claimed by Caridad Pineiro

Publisher: Grand Central

May 2012

ISBN: 978-0-446-58460-9

Pages: 343

Victoria Johnson lives in a small beachside town where she has what she needs in that she is her own boss and has some great friends.  The only problem is that her friends really don’t know who she really is and that is someone with superhuman powers that she has because she is an heiress to an ancient race.  Victoria is a Light Hunter whose sole duty is to restore her people to the glory they once had and to do that she has to find the perfect mate. 

Christopher Sombrosa is a Shadow Hunter that has defied his father for the good of his people so that they can get away from the affliction and violence that has so far ruled their world.  Christopher also knows that the best chance for his people to survive is to find a mate, one that helps him carry on his bloodline. 

Christopher and Victoria find everything they hope to find in their mates though with Christopher being a Shadow Hunter and Victoria being a Light Hunter they should be mortal enemies but they are finding that their attraction is too strong.  There are those on both sides that will stop at nothing to keep Christopher and Victoria apart and make sure that their people never get a chance to unite and possibly find the peace that they have not had for generations.

This is a great paranormal story that continues the storyline from the first book in this series, The Lost.  The characters draw the reader into the story and they don’t release the reader until the very end. The potential of several secondary characters getting their own stories will have the reader eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.  While this one can be read as a stand alone the story is much richer if the reader first reads the first book before reading this one.  This is one series that not be missed.

I give this one 5 red roses   

Lady of Shadows

Lady of Shadows: Sister of the Ring by Anne Ireland

Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing

June 2012

ISBN: 978-1-77127-075-5

Pages: 189

Wales 1393 & 1399

Rhianna is forced into a marriage with a man she is not sure she can trust or if she should.  What she doesn’t expect is for her feelings to change towards him.  Rhianna knows that her husband’s father killed her mother but is her husband like his father or is he a completely different man?  As she gets to know Robert better she finds him to be a man that she can love until what Robert feels is her betrayal threatens the happiness the have found with each other. 

Robert feels that Rhianna and he have had enough bitterness in their lives due to his father killing her mother.  Robert is drawn to Rhianna and he is determined that the past should be just that the past, but he is afraid that his father’s curse now lies on him and that he may never get away from it.  There are those that say Rhianna is a sorceress but can she free him from his curse and more importantly will she be willing to after the past? 

Now Robert and Rhianna are going to have to find their way back to each other if they are going to have the happiness they both want and that was theirs in the beginning.  While working through the obstacles that stand in their way Rhianna is finding out that the power that her mother had is now hers to command if she can just figure out how to control it.

This is the start of a trilogy that will have readers eagerly waiting for the next book.  The story brings the time period to life for the reader and the reader will have a hard time putting down the story as it pulls the reader in and refuses to let go.  While this has a nice ending this story is definitely open at the end so hopefully the reader will find out more about Rhianna and Robert in the next book.  There are scenes in this story that may disturb some readers but it is one book that is worth picking up and reading. 

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses   

The Vampire's Consort

The Vampire’s Consort by Caridad Pineiro

Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne Cravings

April 2012

Pages: 58

Eliza was given a choice to either die of the fatal illness she had or to become the consort to the vampire Adrian.  Eliza would have to attend to his every need.  Eliza chose to live.  What she never expected were for her feelings to grow to the point that she fell in love with Adrian.  Now things are getting complicated. Eliza finds it very erotic to watch Adrian pleasure his many conquests though she just wishes he would see her more than just his consort. 

Eliza is ready to move on and in with her human lover until Adrian changes everything with an encounter between the three of them.

This is a well written story that is fast and engrossing.  The characters are fully developed and sympathic.  This story packs a lot in a few short pages but the story is done so well the reader will believe it is a full length novel instead of the novella it truly is.  If readers enjoy paranormal stories and vampires this is one to check out.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses. 

Bound by the Night

Bound by the Night by Cynthia Eden

Publisher: Cynthia Eden

April 2012

Pages: 114

Jamie O’Connell needs Iona if he is going to have a chance of defeating his enemy.  Jamie is finding that Iona helps make his wolf stronger which gives him a better chance of winning against his enemy.  What he didn’t count on was that he might need Iona to make him stronger but he is finding out that he just needs her period and he will do whatever he has to so that he doesn’t lose her. 

Iona has been dead to the world for fifteen years.  Now that she is awake she is finding out that the world as she knows it has changed quite a bit.  Iona had a dark reputation and because of the reputation she is now known as the Blood Queen.  Being asleep for so long she is hungry and she is finding out that the blood of one man is the only thing that will satisfy her, and Jamie really isn’t a man, he is a werewolf.

Jamie is hiding things from Iona that just might mean she has traded one curse for another.  Jamie and Iona are going to have to find a way to defeat Jamie’s enemy and find a way for the two of them to find a happiness that is fast becoming more important than anything else in their world.

This another great story in this series.  The story is fast paced and the reader will not want to put this one down until the very last page.  The characters are wonderfully written and full of a depth that makes them come alive for the reader.  The plot is engaging and very well written.

I give this one 5 red roses  

Night of the Cougar

Night of the Cougar by Caridad Pineiro

Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne Cravings

May 2012

ISBN: 978-14592-3115-3

Pages: 67

Jamie Morrison is a reporter that managed to get the story of a lifetime when she managed to get an interview with bestselling author Galen Hawke.  What she never expected was the intense attraction between them.  After one night together they made plans to get together again.  That all changed when Galen was in an accident.

Galen Hawke was changed after his accident to the extent he never made his meeting with Jamie.  Now she is back.  Locked together in his mountain lodge because of a snowstorm they find that their attraction is just as strong as ever.  But will Jamie be willing to stay with him after she finds out the changes that have happened to him?

Jamie is determined to find out what happened to Galen and see just where their attraction will lead but first she has to make it past the walls Galen has built around himself during the year they have been apart.  Only time will tell if they will be able to have a future together or if the accident changed too much. 

This is a great story that will pull the reader in and have them mourning when they reach the end of the story.  This is one story not to miss.  While it is a short story it is very much worth the time to read.  The characters are very well written and they pull the reader in and will have them hoping that Galen and Jamie will get the happy ever after they so very much deserve. 

I give this one 5 red roses

For the Love of Catherine by Carole Llewellyn


Published by Robert Hale

ISBN 978-0-7090-9572-9





It is April 1912 and 17 year old Mair Parsons, her 2 year old daughter, Catherine and her future mother-in-law, Ethel Jenkins, are travelling across the Atlantic. The little family has left behind its home in the Welsh mining village of Ponty to sail to New York to visit Mair’s stepsister, the famous music hall star, Rhiannon Hughes. The journey is made even more exciting as Rhiannon has booked the family’s passage on RMS Titanic of the White Star Line, making its maiden voyage from Southampton.



That excitement is short-lived, however, as on Sunday 14th April, the great liner collides with an iceberg and over the course of the next few hours, sinks to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, with the loss of over one thousand lives. Fortunately, Mair, Catherine and Ethel all survive, although Mair becomes separated from her daughter and Ethel just before they board one of the lifeboats. Hours later, Catherine and Ethel are picked up by the Carpathia and some days later are met by Rhiannon at the docks in New York. It is many worrying days later, however, before Mair’s fate is known and it is with much joy and relief on both sides of the Atlantic that she is discovered in a hospital in Manhattan. Fortunately, Mair’s injuries are minor, but her experience has had a huge psychological impact on her and when the time comes for her to be repatriated, Ethel and Catherine already having returned to Wales prior to Mair’s whereabouts being known, she is not at all enthusiastic about the prospect. Mair’s young life has been extremely traumatic and her experience on the Titanic has left her questioning her future as a wife and mother, a future she feels she cannot face until she has discovered more about her estranged mother, Nellie and why she and her lover, Harry, treated her so appallingly, leading her to have a baby at only 15 years of age.



On Mair’s return to Southampton, she is met by her fiancé, Frank. Frank loves Mair very much and cares for Catherine as if she is his own daughter. Mair’s brush with death, however, has changed her and she wants to take charge of her own life. She wants to find her mother and Harry and feels that until she does and discovers why she suffered at their hands, she cannot go back to her old life in Ponty and the role expected of her. Mair therefore makes the monumental decision to leave Frank in Southampton and walk away from her duties as a mother to travel to London in search of Nellie and Harry. Frank is distraught at Mair’s decision, but is unable to change her mind and so the following day, Mair sets off on her journey for answers.



The story continues and the reader is transported to a London prior to the First World War. Mair is plunged into a life very different to the one she led in Wales, but will she be able to find her mother and the answers she is looking for and make a new future for herself, or will she return to the familiarity of life in Wales and to the people who love her dearly.



Read on to discover what adventures are in store for Mair and whether she finally finds peace and the ability to face the future.



This is a wonderful story and can either be viewed as a “stand-alone” book or as a sequel to Carole Llewellyn’s novel, “Rhiannon”. The characters are likeable and the storyline gripping. The reader is invited into Edwardian Britain and the changing role of women within that Society.



I would recommend this book and am happy to award it five red roses.

PS