Beautiful Darkness

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Publisher: Little, Brown

September 2011

ISBN: 978-0-316-07704-0

Pages: 503

Contemporary, Gatlin, South Carolina & Savannah, Georgia

Ethan Wate has always seen his small town as a place where everything is the same and nothing changes.  Then Ethan meets newcomer Lena Duchannes and everything in his life and town changes.  Lena has shown Ethan a secret world that has always been in his town but he never knew about until Lena came along. 

Then Lena Duchannes starts pulling away from Ethan and everything in her life after a tragic loss. 

Now Ethan is being haunted by dreams and visions and he has to make sense of them if he wants to help Lena.  Ethan is now caught in the dangerous network of underground passages that cross endlessly in the South.  It is also the place where nothing is as it seems.

Since Ethan has seen the darker side of his town of Gatlin nothing will ever be the same again.

This is the next installment of the series, Beautiful Creatures and it picks up where the first book left off.  It also continues a wonderfully told story that is sure to please all readers.  The mix of magic and non-magic worlds and how they affect each other is balanced perfectly.  This story is a wonderful mix of adventure and romance that will make it very hard to put down.  The way the characters have grown even in the short time between the first book and this one keeps the reader from ever wanting to leave this world. There is just enough humor to keep the story from getting bogged down in the darkness of loss and tragedy.  It will also have the reader eagerly reaching for the next book in the series just to see what Ethan and Lena will have to deal with next.  This is one series that shouldn’t be missed.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses  

Repost - 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

This is also on sale right now at Amazon

Immortal City

Immortal City by Scott Speer

Publisher: RazorBill

March 2013

ISBN: 978-1-59514-601-4

Pages: 368

Contemporary, California

In a city that idolizes immortals like Jackson Godspeed he is the hottest angel around.  He has always been in the spotlight and in a week he will be the youngest Guardian ever.  Everyone in the world is lining up to pay so that he will keep them safe.  Now that he is so close to his dream he has to be sure not to be distracted by the parties, paparazzi or the red carpets.  What he never planned on was Maddy.

Maddy is seventeen-years-old and she is proving to be the distraction that Jackson doesn’t need right now.  Maddy is everything Jackson is not used to, down-to-earth and not really into the angels.  She sees Jackson for the person he is and not the angel everyone else sees and certainly not as a celebrity.  Even with their vastly different backgrounds they have a connection that defies explanation.  A connection that is threatened when something deadly tries to destroy their chance at love.

There are those that don’t worship the Angels and would love to see them brought down.  Out there is a killer that is murdering Guardians one at a time.  Now Maddy is going to have to find a way to save Jackson because he is now in the killer’s sights. 

This story has a very different take on angels.  It will also suck the reader in and won’t let them go until the very last page.  The story line is very engrossing and the mystery in it will have readers wondering who is behind everything and just what will happen next.  With several different suspects to choose from this one will leave the reader guessing until the very end.  This story has some great twists and turns and the reader never knows where they will end up next.  While it seems like a sizable book the pace is so fast that the reader will be at the end before they know it and will be dying to have the next book in this series.  This is a young adult book that even adults will love.

I give this one 5 red roses

Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Publisher: Little Brown

September 2010

ISBN: 978-0-316-07703-3

Pages: 563

Gatlin, South Carolina, Contemporary

Lena Duchannes is completely unlike anyone else in the small Southern town of Gatlin.  She is struggling to hide her power and deal with a curse that has haunted her family for generations.  Though when living in a small town secrets never stay hidden.

Ethan Wate has been counting the time until he can leave the small town of Gatlin.  He is haunted by dreams of a girl he has never met.  When Lena moves to town Ethan is drawn to her.  Now he is determined to uncover the connection between them even if it means going to the infamous and oldest plantation in town.  Ethan and Lena have a connection between them that is beyond explanation.

In a town where everything is the same all the time there is one secret that could change everything.

This is a wonderfully written story that draws the reader in.  The reader gets lost in a story that comes to life with every word that is read.  In a story of curses and secrets it will keep readers guessing as to just what will happen next.  This one will have readers wondering just how many secrets one small town can have.  This story also shows just how towns in the South don’t forget their histories.  The story paints a very vivid picture of this small town that will have the reader believing that are actually there.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

Another Love

Another Home, Another Love


By Gwen Kirkwood

Publisher: Robert Hale

ISBN: 978-0-7090-9630-6





Rosemary Palmer-Farr is a horticultural student, approaching her 18th birthday. She is invited to celebrate the occasion with her friend, Tania Caraford, who is almost 21 years, at the Caraford’s family home. When she was younger, Rosie spent much of her time with the Caraford family, who still treat her as one of their own. Rosie’s own parents, Catherine and Douglas, were rather detached, but her mother, who had recently restored Douglas’s ancestral home, Langton Tower, was now taking an interest in her daughter and encouraging her to associate with (in her opinion) a better class of person than the Carrafords, who were tenant farmers.



Rosemary plans to manage the extensive gardens at Langton Tower once she graduates from college and when her father collects her for the celebratory weekend, he tells her how pleased he is with her decision.



The evening of the joint birthday dinner, Rosie, having visited a hairdresser with Tania, is looking particularly glamorous in a dress sent for by her mother from London. When Rosie arrives at the Caraford’s home, her stunning appearance does not go unnoticed by one of Tania’s brothers, Sam. Unfortunately, Sam’s girlfriend, Lidia, is not impressed with her boyfriend’s interest in his childhood friend, but the family find Lidia demanding and over-bearing and so do not allow her to dominate the evening.



Some weeks later, Rosie sails through her final exams and returns home to take over management of the gardens at Langton Tower. She is helped by Paul and Rodney and soon settles into her new life. It is not long, however, before Sam begins to show an interest in Rosie, realising how shallow his girlfriend, Lidia, actually is. Unfortunately, Lidia is very jealous of Sam’s relationship with Rosie and this leads to disaster for all concerned.



Read on to find out if there can ever be anything more than friendship between Rosie and Sam or will Catherine Palmer-Farr get her way and secure her daughter what she considers to be a suitable marriage.



This is a beautifully written novel with believable characters, who are regularly challenged because of the nature of their lives making a living from the land. A deep sense of community is apparent, however and this makes the novel both heart-warming and charming.



I award Another Home, Another Love four red roses.

Midnight Secrets

Midnight Secrets by Ella Grace

Publisher: Ballantine

April 2013

ISBN: 978-0-3458-53836-9

Pages: 448

Contemporary

Midnight, Alabama

Savannah Wilde is one of three sisters that have had to live with the murder-suicide of their parents.  Savannah, Samantha and Sabrina were completely changed the night they lost their parents and have moved on with their lives.  They have stayed away from their home town of Midnight until they need to go back and the first one back is Savannah.  As a prosecutor in Nashville after her last case which was grueling she decides to take some time and head home to Midnight for some peace and quiet.  What she never expects is to find some letters that make her question all she has known about her family’s dark and shameful past. They make her realize that the town she has always thought she has known is not what is real and that there are some very dangerous secrets in the town of Midnight. 

Zach Tanner was the town’s bad boy until he went off and joined the military.  Now he is back in Midnight as the new police chief.  Zach also feels that now he can show Savannah that the boy she used to love and the one that hurt is not the same as the man he is today.  Zach can sense the secrets of the town too.  Zach knows part of his job is to keep the town and Savannah safe but that might be easier said than done.  There is a lot more going on in Midnight than what is on the surface.  If he wants to keep the woman he never stopped loving safe he is going to need to figure out who are Savannah’s enemies and which ones are his. 

This one is a great thriller that will keep the reader on the very edge of their seats guessing just what will happen next.  It has some great twists and turns that will have to reader trying to figure out which was is up.  It will also have readers never looking at small towns the same again and they will always be wondering just what is under the surface of any town.  The characters are very well written and readers will be able to completely relate to them.  This story will draw the reader in so completely that they will be rushing to finish it just to see what will happen next only to mourn when they reach the end of it.  It will also have them eagerly and impatiently waiting for the next book in the series.  This is one romantic suspense that romance readers should not miss. 

I give this one 5 red roses   

Lush

Lush a Delicious Novel by Lauren Dane

Publisher: Heat

April 2013

ISBN: 978-0-425-25608-4

Pages: 320

Contemporary

Washington & Oregon

Mary Whaley is so busy running her catering company and her supper club the last thing she is looking for is a relationship.  She has everything she wants or thought she did until she met rock star Damien Hurley.  Mary thinks it is just going to be some fun with Damien and then they will go their own ways and live their lives they way they always have.

Damien Hurley has lived a hard and fast life and it is the one he is used to living.  He started a band with his brothers and they have hit the big time and have managed to stay there.  He also has a reputation as being a madman on the stage and in the bedroom. When Damien meets Mary though things start changing for him. 

What starts out a fling for both of them suddenly gets more complicated especially when Damien wants more with Mary.  Damien is not sure what to think when the tables turn and he is the one wanting more and the woman he wants that with doesn’t seem to want it at all.  Mary knows all about celebrity news and what they say about Damien.  Now Damien is going to have to prove to Mary that what is in the news isn’t always what the truth is.

This story shows the other side of being a celebrity and those that are involved with them and what they have to go through at times.  The characters are so well written the reader can really relate to them and will end up emotionally invested in the characters.  This one will pull on the readers heartstrings and they will be right there with the character through all the ups and downs.  This is another great book in this series from an author no one should miss.  This story also brings back some character favorites from some other great books and the reader will enjoy going back and visiting the character and to see what they are up to now. 

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses