Review: A WEEK TO BE WICKED by Tessa Dare

Minerva Highwood is quite happy being one of the spinsters of Spindle Cove. Not just because of the lack of suitors, BUT also because of the wondrous discovery she has unearthed. Now she would like to reveal her find, only to do it right, she must travel to the Royal Geological Society's symposium being held in Edinburgh, Scotland. She needs to find an escort, and she thinks she has the perfect candidate.

Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne (oh and what a PAIN he is in Minerva's eyes) is a notorious rake, the spinsters of Spindle Cove don't hinder his escapades—some even help him along. *wink wink* When Minerva approaches him with her scheme, he at first balks...but Minerva has a persuasive way, and soon they find themselves on the road to adventure...uhm, I mean on the road to SCOTLAND, with maybe a wee bit of adventure. ;<)

*****

Tessa Dare has written a delightfully fun tale of adventure and passion in A WEEK TO BE WICKED. I really enjoyed following Colin and Minerva around the English countryside, and up through Scotland, where they met some interesting challenges and characters. There was a bit of danger thrown in to keep them from getting to lax in their travels, along with Colin's wicked sense of humor.

There were places in this book that had me giggling, and sometimes snorting with laughter, as mostly Colin's antics would rile Minerva or would backfire in an unexpected twist. Then I'd find myself sighing with pleasure as they began to learn what made each of them into the person they'd become, and as they delved into the passion that they could no longer resist.

I also enjoyed how Francine, Minerva's specimen, played into the story, who'd a thought that rock could be so interesting and entertaining. :)

I really enjoy Ms. Dare's writing and am looking forward to reading more about the citizens of Spindle's Cove.

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

Tessa Dare ... a great New To Me Author...

I just discovered historical romance author Tessa Dare.  Now to be fair, she's only been published for a year, so I'm not that far behind. She's one of the authors that I heard many many blogs praise, so I was a wee bit leery to pick up.


I received a ARC of her up coming ONE DANCE WITH A DUKE (review to be posted closer to the release date -May 25, 2010- @NightOwlReviews.com) Needless to say, I loved the book and proceed to glom onto her first three books and really enjoyed them.
Lucy was my favorite of the heroines and Gray was my favorite hero, though there were all great. Sophia was a bit on the selfish side and Bel was a bit too idealistic, but they were all still great reads.  I can't wait for more!

It's the weekend again...this is what I'm Reading

 Well, we're getting ready for the weekend again, and I really don't know how much reading time I will have...I'm going Stampin' and Scrappin' at a good friend's house on Saturday.  I don't usually get much accomplished at these events, but I always have a great time catching up with friends and getting new ideas, and Tina is an excellent hostess, so I know there'll be great food, and she even goes as far as having door prizes for her friends (a great way to clean out her stash!!!)

SO anyway, I've got my hands on this awesome looking urban fantasy.  Straight  from www.sff.net/people/lucy-snyder/spellbent.html

SPELLBENT

by

Lucy A. Snyder

Jessie Shimmer's roguish lover, Cooper, has been teaching her ubiquemancy, the art of finding the magic in everyday things. But things go terribly wrong when the couple try to call a rainstorm in downtown Columbus. A hellish portal opens, and Cooper is ripped from the world. Worse yet, a vicious demon invades the city. Jessie barely manages to slay it, but she's gravely wounded and the capital's center is destroyed. As if losing an eye and a hand isn't bad enough, the city's ruling mage, Benedict Jordan, brands her an outlaw. With only her ferret familiar to help her, Jessie must find the dimension Cooper's trapped in and bring him back alive before sinister machinations make both of them vanish for good.

I'll be posting my thoughts and opinion on http://www.nightowlreviews.com/ when I finish.