HEARTSTRINGS AND DIAMOND RINGS by Jane Graves

Contemporary

Grand Central

448 pages

After a string of crappy relationships, Alison Carter still isn't ready to give up trying to find Mister Right, she just figures that it's time to let someone else do the looking. Seeing how her past choices have all tanked, she decides to hire a matchmaker to find her perfect someone.

Brandon Scott has inherited his grandmother's extremely successful matchmaking enterprise. He thinks that it's the perfect set up for him to make some quick money. How hard could it be getting paid to match up a few lonely people?

While Alison wants Brandon to be successful, she can't help but be skeptical. They find themselves drawn closer together as she helps him build his business, yet the closer they get, the more Brandon fears she will learn his secret, knowing it will drive her away.

 

*****

Jane Graves knows how to write a fun, witty story without making it too fluffy. While HEARTSTRINGS AND DIAMOND RINGS was primarily a light amusing read, Brandon's deception kept the focus from getting silly, also Alison's friends and father kept more range of emotions than just love, lust and happiness. There were some great laughs in this book, especially with the first dates that Brandon set Alison up on. She had the worst luck with men, which lead to some great smiles and laughter as I read this.

The romance between Brandon and Alison was slow moving, as the focus wasn't on them as a couple at first, but on Brandon finding someone special for Alison. I liked how it moved, as it gave them a chance to really get to know each other, and not just a bam-bam kind of love. It seemed more realistic and I felt that it was more believable, as it gave them time to get to know the good and the bad about each other, and if they wanted to learn to live with it. There was some bad that didn't come out until towards the end, with Brandon's secret finally coming to light, but there was enough history to help Alison see the sincerity in his apology.

Rating: 4.5

Author's Website 

Shiloh Walker's The Hunters: DELCAN AND TORI reissued

I love Shiloh Walker's The Hunters  series and am thrilled that she is reissuing the books, starting with the first one, DELCAN AND TORI.  One thing I love with this entire series is that it's not limited to just vampires, but as the series goes on it expands to include shape-shifters, witches and those with some extra-special abilities.

Reissued at a new, lower price...available at ARe  Nook & Kindle

Book 1

Tori McAdams was a sensible woman. She didn't believe in hocus-pocus, she didn’t believe in ghosts, and she definitely didn’t believe in vampires…not until the night she was attacked by one. Alone, starving and afraid, she doesn’t know what’s happening but at least she had somebody to turn to…

Declan Reilly was normally the last person she’d go to for help, but now he was the first on her list. He can help; she knows he can. She never could have planned on what happens next, though…the sexy detective is so much more than he appears.

Read an excerpt

 

Warning: This book contains violence, sex, more violence, a maniacal murderer, sex, more violence, and a menage or two thrown in for good measure. There are also sighs, happy endings, a romance, a hero, a heroine, and a little bit of falling in love.

**Please note this work has been previously published. While it's been edited, no new material has been added.

New Review: SEDUCED BY THE HIGHLANDER by Julianne MacLean

Highlanders #3

Historical Romance (Scottish 1721)

St. Martins

Cursed by the oracle, Raonaid, Lachlan MacDonald is determined to find the witch and make her remove the hex or suffer his revenge.

Lady Catherine has no recollection of her past. She knows only what her grandmother and cousin have told her, with 5 years of her life missing. When the dangerous highlander accuses her of being Raonaid, she is open to the possibility, and requests that he take her to the one person who knows Raonaid better than anyone else, before he takes his revenge.

*****

Julianne MacLean's highlanders keep getting better and better. SEDUCED BY THE HIGLANDER brought us the dashing Lord of War, Lachlan MacDonlad, a man well used to having any woman he wants. But since the curse he has kept to himself to keep any woman he may touch safe. When he first meets Catherine he is angry and ready to do anything to remove the curse. What he didn't plan on was the deep attraction he suddenly felt for the witch. 

 

Lachlan and Catherine reached out to grasp my imagination, as I was quickly swept into their tale. They didn't fall into an easy relationship, as they first had to learn how to trust one another. It was refreshing that Catherine didn't fight the possibility that she could be Raonaid, but she knew that it didn't feel like her. She just wanted to discover the truth.

Lachland had lots of anger to deal with, and while he nearly stepped across the line, he was able to hold himself in check. Their desire was a tingly all consuming fire that reached out through them to sizzle and zing along, as they sorted their lives out, not sure where the future was going to take them.

I loved how the twist of how Raonaid played out, and how I could see Raonaid's motivations and find sympathy for some of her actions. Of course some of her actions were just despicable, but I could concede to learn to brush them to the past. I also liked that we got to see Angus and Gwendolen again, and had a brief glimpse of how their relationship was going on.

I can't wait to see what Ms. MacLean has in store for us in her next book, as she is an author that rarely disappoints me.

Rating: 4.5

Author's website

New Review: NO PROPER LADY by Isabel Cooper

Time-Travel / Paranormal / Historical (Victorian England 1888)

Sourcebooks Casablanca

 

Determined to keep demons from destroying her world, Joan travels back in time to Victorian England, where it all began.  She plans to seek out and destroy the magician, Alex Reynell, responsible for their release.

When the strange woman appears before Simon Grenville, he is startled by her peculiar garb and weapons, though he quickly learns they share a common enemy. The man who was once his best friend, until he let power get to his head and nearly killed his sister with a demon possession. 

Can Joan and Simon defeat Alex and save the world?

*****

Isabel Cooper's debut release NO PROPER LADY, consisted of very strong and solidly constructed characters in a vivid backdrop. I liked and felt we got to know Joan, Simon and his sister Eleanor very well, we also got an excellent picture of Victorian England. Unfortunately though, there was such limited interaction with Alex and what was shown of him I felt fell very flat.  I was more apathetic about his character than any other feeling like the hate or dislike that I should have felt for his despicable actions.

I anticipated more action and fighting throughout this book, but the story just moved soooooo slowly. There was so much time spent on Joan learning to integrate into society and her amazement with day to day life that I became bored.  I could have been reading any historical romance, with a few little twists of magic and demons sprinkled in.

I could feel the spark between Joan and Simon, but things just seemed to fizzle more than burst into flame. There was no real passion in the pages of this book other than between those two. I know that Joan, Simon and Eleanor had strong feelings about the situation with Alex and the future, but it never really came through where I felt an emotional grip of the characters and situations. There was no great anticipation for the turn of events.  Something would happen, but the build up was weak and it would just seem to happen.  Except during the last battle, I was on the edge of my seat as I read through the final fight, as it seemed like the worst could happen.

Because of the solid characters and strong portrayal of the surroundings, I will read Ms. Cooper's next book, mainly because Joan, Eleanor and Simon were engaging, and I think that there is great potential for her to improve her storytelling.

Rating: 3

Where were you...

I couldn't tell you anything significant about September 10, 2001, but like may others I can tell you exactly where I was on September 11.   

I was working in an office in Livonia, MI, when a co-worker came into my office to tell me that his wife just called to say a plane had hit one of the twin towers. Not long after we had the news of the second tower being hit.  

I remember the crazy range of emotions that I went through on that day.  I was living far from my family, having transplanted with my husband and son to Michigan from Wisconsin.  I was pregnant with our second child, working as a title examiner.  My oldest son was at school that day, and my husband was away going to school...he had to stay there and was only home on weekends.  I felt alone during the chaos, though I talked to my parents and husband.  It was difficult to comprehend what was going on.  As an Army veteran I could feel my patriotism rally. 

My heart went out to the heros that day. The firemen, police officers, EMTs, anyone who thought of more than just themselves.  The horror of that day brought many of us together.

My heart still goes out to those same people, their families and the families of anyone who perished that day,  and especially to the soldiers still fighting for our freedom.