Kristie J

• Rated 4 stars

“This was another book that I was quite pleased that I took a chance on. I've really been enjoying this line by Harlequin and this is another reason why.

Kate owns a business in Vegas that's in trouble. Desperate for money, she decides to blackmail the man who fathered her, but refused to acknowledge her. She figures he owes her something, if only child alimony from when she was dirt poor, living in a trailer park and being raised by her grandmother. But her plan backfires when her father demands that in exchange for the money she needs, she spend at least two weeks with he and his wife. He's had a narrow brush with death and he wants to make amends to those he has hurt and number one is his illegitimate daughter. He sends Rick Mendez after her. Rick was a good friend of Kate's legitimate brother, a young man who died to early. Rick is also depending on Kate's father Justus Mitchell to help him with a program he is setting up to help former gang members start a new life. Rick himself is a former gang member who changed his life around and wants to help others do the same.

The attraction between Rick and Kate is flammable, but one of the ways Rick has changed in no more one night stands and that's all it would be with Kate as she has every intention of returning to her old life once she does her penance.

Kate is a somewhat bitter heroine. I didn't mind that for the most part though as she's certainly had a rough go of it. She did get a tiny bit tiresome in her bitterness as she seems to have quite a few friends and supporters in Oak Stand. But I know as adults things are often different than they way they seemed as children and sometimes we still see things through our inner childs eyes so all in all I understood why Kate acted as she did.

And whatever I may have found frustrating in Kate is balanced out by Rick our hero. He's a yummers, that's for sure. It's different reading a story where the heroine is the one in pursuit and the hero is the one holding off for a more meaningful relationship so I found it rather refreshing *g*. I'm not sure how realistic it was, but it was atypical of most romances. This one is actually the third book in a series and after finishing this one, I went and purchased the first two as ebooks I enjoyed it that much.”

Kristie J wrote this review Tuesday, February 22, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“As I went into this one one a whim really, I didn't have the same kind of expectations that I would have if it was an author I'd read and enjoyed before, or if there had been a lot of on line buzz. I went into it blind - readingly speaking. So it was a delightful surprise to discover how much I was enjoying this book as it went along.

Miranda Grey, our heroine, was a mess. As the blurb says, she was barely coping and was on the verge of total collapse at the beginning of the book due to her ability to read the thoughts and feelings of those around her with no way to turn it off. She was defeated and the only thing keeping her going was her music and her gig as a singer at a small bar. Her life changes though, when one night on her way home she is viciously attacked and raped. This event acts a kind of a catalyst and she releases her rage, along with some pretty powerful abilities she wasn't aware she had. But she's still left in pieces at the end until she is rescued by our hero David Solomon.

Now I've gone on the record as not being too fond on the whole of vampire heroes, but there have been exceptions and David Solomon is certainly a wonderful example of those exceptions. Although he is the Prime - the leader - and ruthless when it comes to enforcing the rules he set in place when he took over as Prime; rules that include making sure humans aren't killed and butchered like the way they were under the old regime, he has a tenderness in him. He does what he has to do, but it hurts him that he does. And this tender side is really brought out when he rescues Miranda and works on showing her how she can shield and ground herself. Through their interactions with each other, David and Miranda slowly begin to have deep feelings for each other. But he's a vampire and, well, she isn't.

Both characters are standouts in this book. I love that Miranda grew in strength throughout the story. She starts out as this broken character and slowly emerges as a strong, forceful woman who makes a good mate for David. And David is an equally fascinating character. Although he's a vampire, he's also a computer geek and are a number of times I smiled at this geeky, tender, alpha vampire.

All in all, I was more than pleased with this book and if you're a fan of vampire series, readers who are, should check out this books with it's strong and compelling hero and heroine
”

Kristie J wrote this review Tuesday, February 22, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“If someone had told me I would really enjoy an ongoing series where, although labeled romance, that aspect kind of takes a back seat, and the setting in years in the future after an apocalyptic ‘end of the world’ scenario, I would have said ‘right, and pink pigs fly. But I would have been forced to find those flying pink pigs because I do love this series and Night Betrayed is no exception. Though the hero, Theo Waxnicki is in his 80’s, he stopped aging when the catastrophe happened fifty years earlier. I had to smile to myself as I was kind of guilty of age discrimination. Theo has quite the libido cause he still looks young, but he’s in his 80’s and I thought ‘wouldn’t he need Viagara or something?’ I have to say that in the middle of this tense story, I was distracted by something rather silly.

In the previous books, I hadn’t really warmed up to the character of Theo, so when I heard this was ‘his’ story I couldn’t help wishing it might have been someone else’s. But once I started reading this book, that was a non issue. Once more this world that Joss Ware has created is so compelling, so interesting yet so bleak at the same time, and just so damn well written, that I found myself on the edge of my seat as I read along.

In this one, Theo has been brought back to life by the heroine, Selena in a small community far from his home in Envy. Theo is smitten with Selena but just getting over a broken heart when the woman he loved chose another. Selena for her part, is leery of getting involved with Theo as she has many secrets and has been burned in the past because of them.

As with previous books though, the romantic relationship isn’t really in the forefront. Instead it’s the mystery of the events that resulted in the end of the world as it was known and what has been happening since then. And it’s utterly and completely fascinating. It’s edge of your seat exciting. People who you hope make it don’t.. This isn’t a happy and sunshine series, that’s for sure. But it’s such a compelling read that I highly recommend it. I can’t say too much so as not to give too much away – that’s the way it is with this kind of series I think.

Now – should you read the first three books in order to read this book? I’m not sure – probably. But the first ones are so good you will want to anyway.”

Kristie J wrote this review Tuesday, February 22, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“I have an odd relationship with Ms. Feehan. Either I adore her stories or I can't stand them. I don't like the Carpathian books at all, at all. And I read Lair of the Lion and HUGE yuckers. But still I didn't totally abandon her and tried Wild Rain and loved it and then read the first couple of the Ghostwalker series and really enjoyed them. But for some reason she kind of dropped off my radar and I hadn't read any other of her books for a while.

I'll be honest and say what intrigued me about this book was reading that the heroine had a form of high functioning autism. I thought this worked very well in the hero in Jennifer Ashley's The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie so I was curious as to how it would work in the heroine in a contemporary. And I'm quite pleased to say for me it worked very well. There is no question that Rikki Sitmore has her share of 'quirks'. She had a terribly sad childhood, losing her parents at an early age due to fire and having the nightmare of fires follow and destroy after that. She has finally found a home in Sea Haven, the same town setting as the Drake Sister series. She has found a family of sisters now; not sisters by blood, but sisters of the heart. She also has a successful job as a sea urchin hunter. She is drawn to water in many mysterious ways. For example, when having nightmares about the fires that have destroyed her life, all faucets in her home mysteriously turn on. She can manipulate rain and she is never completely at home unless she is diving in the ocean. Her life is going along as well as it can considering her quirks until she rescues a strange man in the middle of a ocean disruption. I know some of this sounds odd - it's odd to write it, but trust me, when reading this book, it made perfect sense. The man she rescues, Lev Prakenskii, is peculiar in his own right. He has no memory for quite some time, but he does know he is a dangerous man and one who should stay far, far away from Rikki. But he quickly becomes one of my favourite kinds of heroes, the kind that is wrecked for the heroine. He realizes that he is no good for Rikki, yet he can't leave her. Because of the fires that have dogged her all her life, Rikki is afraid she's been the one setting them, but Lev knows she couldn't possibly be the one and he is determined to keep her safe and take care of her. For example, she is very sensitive to different textures of food and exists almost exclusively on peanut butter. She refuses to allow others into her 'space' whether it's her boat, her house or even to the use of her dishes. But Lev 'gets' her and is determined to both protect her and expand her narrow live. He is constantly challenging her to move outside her narrow comfort zone but always there for her in case she stumbles. This is an odd book due to the nature of the heroine, but I adored it. Rikki is a heroine I really enjoyed; one who has had to adjust to the world because of her differences, but has done so very well. She's a tad to prickly at times for me to keep this book from being a five, but she is a very strong heroine and I really liked her. And Lev makes for a mighty fine hero. He has done some very violent things in his past. He's been pretty ruthless, but then again because of his history he has had to be. But he is totally redeemed by his acceptance and respect and protectiveness of Rikki. The reader knows he will die to protect her and as already mentioned, he is totally wrecked for her. This book was a real treat!
”

Kristie J wrote this review Sunday, October 24, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Ms Andersen is one of a group of a very few authors that I can say hasn't written a book I haven't enjoyed to one extent or another. Just about every author except for her has a dud or two for my me. So it goes without saying when she has a new book come out, I read it.

I really, really liked the character of Macy. Sometimes it's the hero who is more the standout of the two and sometimes it's the heroine and in Burning Up, I found it to be the heroine. The book can be a tougher sell if the heroine is the stand out and I have issues with her, but in the case of Burning Up it was all good since Macy was great.

Macy O'James had come back to the small town of Sugarville to help out her cousin who had suffered a broken leg (gee - what a coincidence) in a hit and run. Although she didn't hesitate for a moment when Janna, her cousin needed her, it wasn't that easy for Macy to come back home. Years ago in high school, one of the popular boys spread all kinds of nasty rumours about her and that combined with one particular incident had made Macy a most unpopular girl. And while it's been many years since then and she has had quite a successful career, first off as a star of music videos and later behind the camera of them, nothing brings out her insecurities like coming back to such unhappy memories - mixed with some good ones too.

Gabriel Donovan, fairly new to town, is the local fire chief of the volunteer fire department that makes up the Sugarville fire department. He has heard the rumours about Macy and kind of sort of believed them for the most part. He isn't too impressed with the series of 'outfits's' Macy wears as a shield for her insecurities and he is rather tough on her at times. It would be rather easy to dislike him, but as a guy who had a rough go of it himself, I went a bit easy on him. And he does straighten up and sees Macy for who she really is and not who rumour says she is fairly quickly.

There was also a cute secondary romance between the shy, quiet local former girlfriend schoolteacher of Gabriel's and the tatooted rocker dude musician friend of Macy's.

This wasn't my favourite of Susan Andersen's book, but it does keep her streak going of books of hers that I've quite enjoyed. It helped while away some hours and helped pass away time here in the hospital and that was quite fine with me.”

Kristie J wrote this review Monday, September 27, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Have you ever read a book that affected you so deeply, when another book by the same author comes out you are afraid to read it? You’re afraid that the book couldn’t possibly come close to the previous book?

This was the case with Judith James’s Libertine’s Kiss. I was so blown away when I read Broken Wing, I was almost afraid to read Libertine’s Kiss. After just holding it for a number of days though I figured I’d better start reading
Word – I loved it, absolutely loved it. The book starts out with our hero, William, on the run from Cromwell’s troops when he comes across a cottage where Elizabeth saves him. After a night spent in each others arms, William leaves the next morning with the promise to help Elizabeth should she ever need it, though he doesn’t give her his name so the thinks she will never be able to take him up on it. But that act of kindness costs Elizabeth dearly as everything is taken away from her when it’s discovered she helped this friend of King Charles. And something else William doesn’t know. Elizabeth is in reality the only friend he had as a very young man when they were on opposite sides of the pending civil war. Elizabeth has loved him all these years.
Fast forward now and Cromwell’s son has given up his power and Charles is now King of England and the Restoration is in full gear. For those who don’t know their history that well, this was a time of decadence, debauchery and licentiousness and William is a major player. When Elizabeth comes to court to try and gain her land back, William recognizes her as the young woman who saved his life and is determined to help her gain entry into the King’s inner circle.
When you read a Judith James book, you don’t just get a romance. You get a wonderful, intriguing lesson in history. A number of times while reading this book, I took the time to look deeper into the times, the King and the Earl of Rochester, who the author based the character of William on, with a few differences since Rochester’s life ended sadly and much too soon and this is a romance. And what a romance it is too. Young William had such a tragic childhood that he really needed the optimism and naïveté that Elizabeth offered him. Their previous relationship is told in flashbacks as they deal with their growing love for each other as adults. William has led such a life of wantonness that he doesn’t think he can commit to a life with just Elizabeth and she demands nothing less. He does help her attract the attention of the king and the king is attracted to Elizabeth. Add in a jealous mistress of both men and it seems there is no way these two lovers can find their way to each other.
Ms. James writing is lush and rich and she fully draws you into the heartache of her characters. The reader ‘feel’s’ what her characters feel. And I can’t express how much I love the setting of this book. In a genre that feels so much the same, a love story set in Restoration England is just so damn refreshing and Ms James makes the time come alive as much as the characters.
In some ways this is a better written book than Broken Wing. She keeps improving with each book. While I didn’t have the immediate need to right away reread Libertine’s Kiss the way I did with Broken Wing, there is no question that I will read it again and again and again.
”

Kristie J wrote this review Saturday, August 14, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“Have you ever read a book that you know drives you batty, that you know you shouldn’t like, but you can’t help but read it nevertheless? I believe we call these guilty pleasures. Such is the case with Risk Everything.

Meghan of Blackthorn is not your typical medieval miss. Instead she’s quite the warrior type. She is out hunting when she is captured by Rolph MacDaidh. He was a friend of her childhood, but now he holds her brother responsible for the death of his wife and child and plans on using Meghan to gain his revenge.

At first Meghan frustrated me with her warrior ways. I kept wishing these two would just sit down and talk things over, but they didn’t. By the time I either got used to Meghan or she mellowed somewhat, I’m not sure which, I was really starting to enjoy this book. And then Rolph did something so very unforgiveable. I hated what he did to the heroine and never really did forgive him it by the end of the book.

But still, the story kept me reading so I consider that a good sign. Although the grade isn’t that high for this one, oddly enough it doesn’t really reflect how compelling I found it. And I do want to read the others in this series so I’m thinking that’s a good thing!”

Kristie J wrote this review Saturday, August 14, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“I know this is not the first time this has been said, not by me and not by others, but Anne Stuart writes some of the darkest, most twisted heroes and I love that about her writing. She takes a hero, takes him almost to the edge of us readers hating him and then manages to pull him back from the brink to the point where we just love their twistedness. And Francis, Viscount Rohan is no exception. He's the leader of the Heavenly Host, a group of depraved, bored aristocrats living in France to whom nothing is forbidden. He first meets Elinor, our heroine, when she breaks into one of his wild parties determined to find her mother who is dying of the pox. Francis is bored, bored of his 'friends' with the exception of one, bored of his decadent lifestyle, just bored of everything. So when he meets Elinor, a rather plain, prickly young woman who so obviously has fallen on very bad times, he is intrigued and can't quite seem to get her out of his head. Much to his dismay he finds himself thinking of her, even to the point of becoming her benefactor, much to her dismay. You see Elinor is horrified by him and even more so, afraid he will set his depraved sights on her younger sister Lydia. But her family is in such reduced circumstances, that she is forced to accept his contributions.

Francis is confused. At first he's determined not to have anything to do with her, then he figures he'll marry her off. Then he figures he'll marry her off, but have her for himself later. It would be so easy to dislike this vain, hedonistic man, but as I said, Ms. Stuart can find a way to make us route for such a hero and I found myself smiling at his self-delusion since we know what's really happening is he's falling in love with her, though he would be appalled to think such a thing himself. He's wonderfully and deliciously wicked.

Now Eleanor Harriman I found a bit problematic for me. At times she was more than a match for Francis. In fact most of the time she was. But I also found her too self-sacrificing and I would get annoyed with her. She gives up EVERYTHING for the sake of her sister's welfare, even to the point of forgoing milk in her tea so her sister could have it. I'm not to fond of martyr heroines and/or heroes and she crosses that line a few times to much and too many for me. Lydia, her sister, is a lot more savvy than Eleanor gives her credit for and I found it too much at times. And I really didn't understand her loyalty to her mother. Her mother pulled some real nasty sh#t on Eleanor, yet at one point in the story, she was ready to die herself to save her mother. I didn't get that.

There's also a lovely secondary romance between Lydia and Francis's only real friend, Robert. It's a touching romance between two people who fall in love, but feel their love cannot flourish due to circumstances.

Overall I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I adored Francis, but thought Eleanor could have been a little less selfless. But I'm glad her next one comes out so soon. I'll be getting it for sure!
”

Kristie J wrote this review Saturday, August 14, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“I wasn't exactly sure what I was in for when I started reading this one. There may be reviews for it, but they've passed me by. By reading the back cover blurb, it sounded like it could have been a paranormal and probably was, and yes, it is.

There is a whole lot I love about this book. But what really makes it a standout is one of the most shocking heroes I've ever read. He just about breaks your heart with his vulnerability towards the heroine.

This series could be compared to the In Death series in some ways I think. So far there are three books with Charlotte and Max and I really hope there will be more.

Charlotte, or CeCe is a cop in New Orleans. Years earlier she, along with her best friend, were held captive as a means to keep her father, a dedicated cop, from going after the leader of crime syndicate. They were finally rescued but only after unspeakable horrors were done to them. Her friend Mary Kate became a nun and CeCe became a cop who lives and breathes the job. After a particularly gruesome murder in which the name of the man she holds responsible for her father's death comes up, she goes to question him - again - as he seems to have his fingers in many of the crimes she investigates. His right hand man and enforcer Max is standing behind him as always. She has long had unwelcome feelings for Max, him being and enforcer for a crime syndicate and her being a cop. But they've only exchanged few words in the intervening years. But things are about to change.

What is so delicious about this book is Max is what he is - and then some. Yes, he's killed for Jimmy, his boss whom he also sees as a very strong father figure. He's a loner who has never had friends or lovers. And he's been in love with CeCe for years. And now that CeCe is starting to admit to her feelings for Max, he is torn between his love for Jimmy and his love for CeCe.

But Max is not really human. He's a shapeshifter with uncanny abilities as far as his senses go. But because of what he is, he is also such a lost soul. He is both good and while I wouldn't say evil exactly, he has done evil things. And he is so gone for the heroine. I love it when the hero is wrecked for the heroine.

CeCe is a great heroine. Once she opens up to her feelings for Max, she will do anything for him including putting her job at risk. Although human, she's more than a match for Max and she is just as wrecked for him as he is for her. The chemistry between these two is off the charts and I'm more than excited to keep reading this very unusual series. All I can say about this one is Wow. ”

Kristie J wrote this review Monday, July 5, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“This book was a very unusual read. I can't say too much about it, as to give any kind of summary would mean giving out spoilers. So I think this review will be shorter than many and concentrate more on my feelings of the book.

First off, it's not really a romance book as I define one in my head. I don't know how to express that in words, except to say I know romance when I read it. But this was definitely romantic, very very romantic. And just because it's not your 'traditional' romance, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. I did, very much so. What I did find it to be was haunting and very poignant.

I may have got a bit impatient at times with Danni, the heroine, with her insistence that Sean tell her everything yet at the same time keeping many of her secrets from him. But Sean is the kind of hero that breaks your heart. I found myself very emotionally involved in his tragic history.

Ms. Quinn has an amazing talent for bringing you into the story and feeling what the characters themselves undergo and suffer. As a 'emotional' type reader, the story really drew me in and made me 'feel' the emotions the hero and heroine felt.

It's hard to classify this book. It could be considered a time travel. It could be considered a ghost story or it could be considered a paranormal. It has elements of all this in it.

But what it is is a book that will stay with you long after you read the last page. And don't let me scare anyone thinking about reading this book. It does have a HEA, not a traditional one mind you, but you will have to read it yourself to see what I mean.

Grading this one is very difficult. For it's originality it gets quite a high grade. For Sean, the hero it gets the highest. But my issues with Danni downgrade it a bit. And there were aspects of the book I found a bit confusing. I can't say what for fear of giving away too much.

Now I'm very much looking forward to the next book in this series. I'm glad I read Haunting Beauty first and as soon as I'm ready to be put through an emotional wringer again, I'll return to Haunting Warrior.
”

Kristie J wrote this review Friday, June 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )