Thursday Thoughts - 5 - Book Review - Wanderlust by Shelley Munro

As I've blogged my way through cyberspace these past two years, I've had the pleasure of meeting several people who I now consider to be friends I have yet to meet in person. Shelley Munro is one of them.

1 - Shelley is a fabulous blogger. You can find her at Adventure Into Romance With Shelley Munro. She posts engaging writers'-life commentary without fail, even while she's on a mega trek with her intrepid husband for 6 weeks. Not only is she a prolific author - 32 e-books and counting - not only does she post regularly and unfailingly, but she visits her blog friends faithfully. My heart always brightens when I see her name in my comments page.

2 - Shelley also blogs at Danger Zone with:

Denise Agnew
Lise Fuller
N.D. Hansen-Hill
Marianne LaCroix
and Charlene Leatherman

3 - Wanderlust is written in first person, and when you keep in mind how much of the world Shelley has seen personally, you'll understand why that was a natural fit for this novel.

4 - Part of Cerridwen Press's Romantic Suspense category, Wanderlust gives us a heroine who lives her dreams of travelling the world while keeping a safe distance from her parents, who can't seem to live with or without each other. The hero is a man who gets dangerous jobs done, whatever border needs to be crossed. Even if that border is the line around a woman's heart.

5 - We meet Anna Tietjens, a mid-twenties woman who shepherds tourists across overland routes in less-discovered areas like India. It's her birthday, which would be nice to celebrate - but her co-driver has just come down with malaria, more passengers are about to join the tour, including her dear sister who makes her teeth grind at the best of times, several male passengers are convinced they'd make beautiful music with Anna if they refined their come-ons slightly, not to mention having already lost one of her tourists to a fatal accident in Syria. Happy birthday, indeed.

6 - Sebastian Brady wisely made his reservation with Wanderlust Adventures under a different name. Otherwise Anna would never have agreed to take him aboard. He knew she relished their passionate rendezvous but kept him at arms' length - which fit in with his line of work rather nicely. Accountants' briefcases being such a fine place to stash guns, and New Delhi so perfect to slide through unnoticed in the marketplaces.

7 - Anna's home is always packed with fellow travellers, since she may as well call the modified Mercedes truck she uses for Wanderlust Adventures home.

Or she could call it Alice. Which she does.

8 - Anna's attraction to Sebastian spikes well out of her comfort zone with his unscheduled appearance. Her parents' miserable track record, and her own insatiable desire to see wildebeest migrating and cheetahs loping turns this tour into an emotional pressure cooker. Especially since this is the first time they've spent so much time upright and clothed in each others' company.

9 - One of the passengers suggests a game of murder to play along the route. Which seems like a good idea to a distracted Anna - until the accident victim back in Syria becomes only the first of her passengers to meet with an untimely end. Now murder is far from a movable parlour game. And Anna's mystery lover with the accountants' briefcase might be more than just a surprise booking on her ill-fated overland tour.

10 - Shelley really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

" 'You're good at teasing.'

'You can talk,' Sebastian said. 'Weren’t you the one who tied my hands so I couldn’t touch you?'

Okay, he had me there. I’d done that once in a hotel. 'I didn’t realize this was about payback. Besides, you didn’t stay tied up for long. You freed yourself before I finished.' My knots hadn’t stood up to mercenary training.

'You tie knots like a girl,' he said, shaking his head and chuckling at the memory.

'In case you haven’t noticed, I am a girl.' I ran my fingers across his nipples until they stood out small and tight. The groan I dragged from him was an added reward. I loved to know I could tease him, get him to react. 'You know what I think?'

'Nah, but you’re going to tell me,' he said, his lips quirking in a touch of humor.

I grabbed his ears and tugged lightly. 'Smart-ass.'

Sebastian laughed. 'Maybe I should make love to you more often.'

Yeah, good idea. I thought it, but I didn’t say it. 'Why?'

'Keep you under control,' he said. 'You purr like a kitten after we’ve made love.'

'I do not.' Indignant, I pulled away.

His brows rose but the grin never faded. 'And when we’re not making love, you’re like a wild cat. Unpredictable. I never know how you’re going to react. It makes for an exciting relationship.'

My mouth flapped like a fish but wisely I kept my thoughts to myself. We weren’t in a romantic relationship. I didn’t do relationships at all."

11 - Shelley's personal experience travelling through India gives every moment of this novel an authoritative voice. The noise, the crowds, the colors, the smells, the mannerisms of the locals - everything and everyone is blissfully authentic.

12 - Wanderlust has a large cast of characters and a Miss Marple vibe to further complicate the lovers' relationship. This story is as dense and vibrant as the Indian tour stops, while Shelley keeps Anna's romance with Sebastian simmering in the foreground and the suspense storyline humming to the very end.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt from Wanderlust. Enjoy!

"We arrived late and set up camp up few miles from the World Heritage-listed Ellora cave temples just before dusk. Even though we were in the middle of nowhere, the bush telegraph worked efficiently and locals appeared, silently slipping up to our newly claimed campsite to watch. By the time we’d set up the tents and the cooks had dragged out the tables and started to prepare the evening meal, there was a semicircle of mainly males watching us intently.

'I feel like a goldfish in a bowl,' Elizabeth said. 'Shoo. Shoo! Don’t they have homes to go to?'

'Part of the overseas experience is interacting with the local people,' I said.

'Maybe yours,' Elizabeth snapped.

'Yeah, Elizabeth travels to shop,' Carmichael said, ruffling her hair in an affectionate manner.

'There’s nothing wrong with shopping,' Elizabeth said, her tone defensive.

'Sweetheart, of course there isn’t.' Jack grinned and reached over to snatch a quick kiss. I watched in fascination when all the fight seeped out of her.

'Not when you have two males to carry parcels for you.' Rosa gripped the knife she was using to chop potatoes a little more firmly, her snide tone not carrying past her fellow cooks and me. She used so much force in her chopping that one of pieces shot off the table and hit AJ in the back of the head.

'Ow!' she howled, rubbing the back of her head. 'What did you do that for?'

'Sorry! I didn’t do it on purpose,' Rosa said.

'Oh, oh! She got me.' Elizabeth dropped to the ground in a ladylike swoon. 'I’m dead,' she said before closing her eyes.

'I wish,' Rosa snapped. Another potato shot off the table, this one falling to the ground.

'I heard that,' Elizabeth said, opening her eyes and extending a hand to both Jack and Carmichael to pull her up. 'I don’t think that’s very nice considering what happened to Guy.'

'Oh, and you’d know all about nice,' Rosa sneered.

'That’s enough,' I said hastily. The last thing I wanted to deal with tonight was a catfight. 'Do you think it’s a good idea to continue with the murder game?' I asked, in a feeble attempt to change the subject. Murder wasn’t a good topic either.

'It’s just a game,' Elizabeth said.

'I agree with Anna,' Lloyd said. 'It’s hardly good taste after Guy snuffed it.'

I closed my eyes, my heart pounding. Jeez, did he have to put it quite that way? Snuffed it.

Rosa tossed her head and the silver blade of the knife flashed in the lights we’d set up so the cooks could see what they were doing. 'Two murders if you count Sam. And of course Antonia, but that was a bit different.'

'The trip is cursed,' Suki said. 'That’s obvious.'

'Rubbish,' I said. 'That’s superstitious nonsense.'

'Maybe it’s a clever advertising ploy on behalf of Wanderlust Adventures,' Lloyd dropped into the sudden silence.

'Killing passengers as a publicity stunt?' Stanley asked, his brows shooting upward in disbelief.

'Don’t think it will catch on,' Sebastian drawled, his tanned face a picture of lazy humor."

- Shelley Munro, 2008

Thursday Thoughts - 4 - Book Review - When a Stranger Loves Me by Julianne MacLean

This is my third book review for my cousin's latest release. As I'm nearing my second blogiversary on Feb. 5th, this means she's had three books come out in that time.

I know. She is amazing.


1 - You can check out all three reviews in My Book Reviews archive.

2 - When a Stranger Loves Me is the third book in Julianne's Pembroke Palace series. The hero is part of an English ducal family driven to act by the deranged requirements of the patriarch. The current duke is going mad, and believes a flood will wipe out their ancestral home - unless all four of his sons marry before Christmas. If they fail to find wives in that time, the entire fortune will go to the Horticultural Society.

3 - Part of Avon's Historical Romance category, When a Stranger Loves Me gives us a heroine who tried to follow her own passions as a young woman, was hauled away from her elopement by her prominent father and promptly became the outrageous scandal of London. The hero survives a shipwreck in the English Channel, washing ashore upon the Jersey Island where the heroine has lived in exile.

4 - We meet Lady Chelsea Campion, a woman whose exile from society turned into the kind of freedom that allowed her to blossom. Chelsea lives in the summer home of her family's estate year round, along with her mother, brother and sister-in-law. Chelsea is deeply attached to her island home. She knows how to read the skies, she knows every ridge and hollow of the island, and spends her days crafting stories.

5 - Luckily for the hero, Chelsea takes a walk along the shore after a wild storm, ending up in the sea caves. There she finds an unconscious naked man thrown onto the jagged rocks. When he finally awakes, it is only to discover he can remember nothing of how he got there. Not the circumstances of his discovery, not any circumstances - he has no memory of anything that happened before he was discovered in the cave. Including his own identity.

6 - Chelsea dubs him Jack so he can have a name, at least. Jack's abilities remain intact - his aristocratic manners, his knack of tying a cravat and especially his exceptional talent for drawing. Among other pastimes, Chelsea and Jack spend many fulfilling hours while she writes and Jack sketches.

7 - But at night, Chelsea joins him in his room, giving in to the frightening passion she feels for this complete stranger. For he may not know who he is, but Jack can see inside of Chelsea in a way no one else has ever done - not even the lover she'd tried to marry before her family put a stop to it.

8 - Jack tells Chelsea she is his whole world now - the only person who knows him in a world he can't recall. But the gnawing sensation of letting someone down, of something urgent that needs him to act intrudes upon his Jersey Island idyll. And why can't he remember being stabbed? When Chelsea found him in the cave, he was bleeding from a puncture wound. Was it simply from the shipwreck? Or did someone want him dead?

9 - A thread of rebellion against the weight of duty runs strongly throughout this book. Charged with being the reason for her family's exile, Chelsea feels compelled to bear the burden of her loved ones' future, with her father passed on and a marriage proposal made by a man willing to overlook her ruination. Is it so wrong to allow herself a few days of pleasure with a stranger before shackling herself to Lord Carruthers?

As for Jack - why does his heart sink when he's finally located by his family? Why must he leave Chelsea behind and face the crushing expectations of 'loved ones' for whom he has no feelings?

10 - Julianne really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"Chelsea sat for a long time, listening to the steady ticking of the clock on the mantel and the constant murmur of the sea. The sun had disappeared below the horizon, and outside the window, high in the sky, the stars appeared, one by one.

Rising to her feet, she strolled to the bedside, put a hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn, then leaned over the man. He would no doubt be very weak when he opened his eyes, perhaps too weak to even speak.

Feeling a sudden wave of compassion for his suffering, she laid her open hand upon his forearm. Gently, with the tip of her finger, she traced a path around all the little scrapes and cuts, as if she were following a maze. He was warm to her touch, but so very still and lifeless.

Her eyes traveled down the length of his body. She could see the outline of his firm torso and long legs, and remembered again his naked form in the cave. Her belly swirled with fascination and arousal, which shamed her for a moment, until she remembered that she was a flesh and blood woman - a woman who had once known passion and desire for a brief time before this seven-year exile. There was a time she'd wanted nothing more than to know a man's body, and to be made love to by someone she adored.

Suddenly, without warning, the man's arm snapped up. He grabbed her wrist.

Panic flared in her stomach. She gasped, but before she could even comprehend the pain in her arm, he was scrambling out of the bed like a wild animal, coming at her with raging fury in his eyes.

She screamed as he threw her to the floor. Her head hit the rug and she squeezed her eyes shut. All the air sailed out of her lungs.

The man pinned her down, tossed a leg over her hips and straddled her. When she opened her eyes, he was sitting on top of her, holding a brass candlestick over his head. It gleamed in the firelight, just like the ferocity in his wild blue eyes.

'Aaah!' he yelled as he drew the weapon back and swung."

11 - As always, Julianne excels at the dialogue between her hero and heroine. Julianne never fails to take a scene I think is going in one direction - and then flips it on its ear. She's the master of getting to the deeper emotions between lovers. Their raw feelings create true conflict, twisting the reader's heart into the same knots as the lovers'.

12 - Julianne moves to St. Martin's Press for her next release. Here's her announcement on her website:

"Julianne just accepted a three book deal to write for St. Martins Press. The contract is for a historical romance trilogy set in the Scottish Highlands. Release dates to be announced soon!"

She's wearing her fingers out at the keyboard on the first of the trilogy. My writers' chapter already got a sneak peek at the opening scene. Ladies, this is a hero to die for.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt from When a Stranger Loves Me. Enjoy!

" 'So you've forgiven me, then?' Jack asked as he refastened his trousers.

They had made love standing up against the door of his bedchamber. She had not seemed to mind the base carnality of it, nor suggested they move to a quieter spot on the bed. Perhaps she knew there was no one nearby to hear, for clearly she'd come here with one thing on her mind, and they got down to business without any of the usual genteel preliminaries.

He nuzzled her cheek and stepped back. Chelsea pushed away from the door.

'We already agreed that there is nothing to forgive,' she said. 'You were right when we spoke outside earlier today. You have not kept anything from me. I knew what I was getting myself into when I came to you the other night, and I have indeed been more than satisfied.'

He watched her for a strange moment, as she walked seductively to the window.

'But there is something different about you,' he said, narrowing his eyes. 'You're closed off. You're not acting like yourself.'

'That's ridiculous.'

'Is it? I think you are still angry about what happened in bed this morning.' He hesitated. 'Or perhaps... hurt.'

'I am neither,' she quickly asserted as she pulled the curtain aside with one finger and looked out. 'I am simply trying to be realistic.'

'How so?'

She faced him. He had the distinct impression she was giving a great deal of consideration to her answer, almost as if she were plotting one of her stories, deciding upon the most effective piece of dialogue for her protagonist.

'I don't want to become too attached to you,' she said at last.

He studied her eyes and saw a hint of vulnerability there, mixed possibly with some melancholy.

But it was an honest answer - at least he believed it to be so - and it gave him some reassurance that he had not lost her completely. She was still being open with him.

He approached her. 'And is there a danger of you becoming too attached?'

'There is a danger of anything. You are very pleasant to be around. Most of the time,' she added playfully.

'When I am not calling you by other women's names, I suppose.'

'Precisely.'

'I'll try not to do it again.'

'I would appreciate that.'

For a moment more they stood without talking, merely looking at each other while the waves rolled up onto the shoreline outside the window. Here in the room, the clock ticked steadily on the mantel.

Jack noticed the heavy beat of his heart. He felt restless, filled with a yearning that seemed to have no cure - for he could not close the space between them. How could he, when he did not know who he was, or if he was even free to care for her the way he wanted to?

Then, for some unknown reason, he remembered the urgency he'd felt the night before, and felt again that he was letting someone down. The feeling dropped into his stomach like a stone. Someone needed him. Of that, he was certain. There was a duty he was expected to fulfill.

God, was there a wife?

He looked down at the floor.

'So until we know more about you,' Chelsea said, her voice more forceful now, almost as if she had read his thoughts, 'I will simply keep my heart out of it, as you should do as well.'

'That's probably wise,' he heard himself saying, without looking up, because he was not in a position to offer his heart, or any kind of promise that involved the future. As things stood, he could offer Chelsea nothing, and she knew it."

- Julianne MacLean, 2009


Join me next week when I review Wanderlust by Shelley Munro.

Thursday Thirteen - 85 - 13 Reasons to Read The Dangerous Duke by Christine Wells

As many of you have discovered by now, I seem to have an angel on my shoulder when it comes to winning books. At the book draws held by my RWA chapter, at blog contests - my name comes up and the books come to me. This latest book was won from a contest held at missmakeamovie, a group blog where Christine Wells and I both contribute.

1 - Christine also blogs at Romance Bandits, a 20-member group blog which includes these authors:

Jeanne Adams
Beth Andrews
Anna Campbell
Christie Kelley
Donna MacMeans
Loucinda McGary
Trish Milburn
Tawny Weber

2 - The Dangerous Duke is Christine's second release.

Scandal's Daughter was released in 2007.

3 - Part of Berkley Sensation's Historical Romance category, The Dangerous Duke gives us a heroine whose brother, a stubbornly idealistic vicar, is held prisoner for failing to divulge the names of men who burned down the home of the Duke of Lyle, along with three heirs to that title. The hero is the newest duke, never thinking he'd inherit, being so far down the line.

4 - We meet Lady Kate Fairchild, radiant widow of a man who disapproved of a woman admitting to a sexual appetite. To keep her desires in check, Kate wrote a diary about a phantom lover, and poured all her yearning into a delectable journal meant for her eyes only.

5 - Maxwell Brooke, Duke of Lyle begins his new role by hunting down the men responsible. More equipped for this job than most, Max has been working in secret for the Home Office for years, taking care of the King's business with lethal efficiency.

6 - Lyle procures Kate's diary - written in Italian to safeguard its contents from prying eyes, and hands it to his sister Louisa to translate. It is not the memoirs with which Lady Kate has threatened the government, however. Louisa translates instead a tale from Lady Kate's most erotic imagination.

Christine uses lines from Lady Kate's diary to open each chapter.

7 - Here's the opening to Chapter Ten:

"I could gaze on him for eternity, but where is the joy in only looking? A statue would do as well.

I'd no idea a man's skin could be so soft..."

8 - Christine includes a very charged secondary romance between Lyle's sister, Louisa and his fellow Home Office operative, Jardine. Lyle and Jardine have been rivals as well as working together as spies for the security of the country. Their relationship circles like arena combatants, and the romance between Lyle's sister and Jardine is just as edgy.

9 - Lady Kate's uneasy sexual relationship with her late husband runs a thread of claiming one's own erotic nature into The Dangerous Duke. Her husband Hector had disapproved of Kate displaying any sort of sexual appetite. As she and Lyle's relationship develops, Kate must confront the dichotomy of the expected demeanor of a lady, and the reality of her true desires.

10 - Christine really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"Ordering a duke to fetch and carry for her was perhaps equal in insolence to his own conduct. As a duke, he might be affronted; as a gentlemen, he must accede to her wishes. It was the oldest trick in the book to get rid of a man, but sometimes simple maneuvers proved the most effective.

He took the order without a blink. 'It would be my pleasure, Lady Kate.'

Stupidly, Kate was disappointed. He was going to give in as easily as that? She'd thought him a worthier foe.

But the duke did not take a step towards the supper room. A slight lift of his finger and one of her tiresomely efficient footmen materialized at his elbow.

Without taking his gaze from her face, the duke murmured, 'Fetch your mistress a glass of water, will you, Arnold?'

She started at his use of the footman's name. 'How - ' No. She would not give him the satisfaction of voicing her surprise. A chill skittered down her spine. How did he know so much?

Kate glanced at Sidmouth, who looked a trifle bemused at their byplay. She would not give up. She must find a way to see him alone before he left the ball. There would be no other opportunity to speak with him privately without causing gossip.

The orchestra struck up a waltz. She'd almost forgotten she'd instructed them to do so. She must not let the duke throw her off balance like this.

Doing her utmost to ignore Lyle's disturbing presence, she turned the full brilliance of her smile on the Home Secretary. 'Oh, how fortunate! I do love to dance the waltz. Dear Lord Sid - '

A hard, masculine arm clamped around her waist and swung her into the dance."

11 - I really enjoyed the spy elements in this book. I'm a huge fan of MI-5 and loved the scenes between Lyle, Jardine and the head of operations.

12 - Christine has a sexy new Regency in the wings, Indecent Proposal - a future release from Berkley Sensation.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt from The Dangerous Duke. Enjoy!

"Should she believe him when he said she was in danger? He couldn't be so uncertain of his talents as to think he needed to steal her away to seduce her. An unpleasant fluttering in her stomach made her take a sharp breath. At least she would not be so foolish as to succumb to him again.

She glanced up briefly from her bread and butter and saw him watching her with that curious cold fire in his eyes. It was a struggle to smile at him and appear unconcerned, as if that heated encounter after the ball hadn't occurred.

Lowering her gaze, she took a swift sip of coffee. She gulped and fought the urge to choke. The hot slurry burned its way down her throat; she felt its heat all the way to her uneasy stomach.

'Is the coffee to your taste, Lady Kate?'

Her eyes watered with the effort of suppressing a cough, but she managed it. 'Oh, yes. Very, er...pleasant.'

Kate was renowned for never losing her aplomb, even in the most fraught situations. For some reason, it had become a point of honor with her to remain in complete control of herself when the duke was near.

Defiantly, she took another painful sip of the brew.

'You like George's coffee?' He lifted his mug to scrutinize its contents. 'How extraordinary. I find it almost undrinkable, but unfortunately I've had to make do with his services on this journey. The man's culinary skill scarcely compares with his discretion, but the latter is far more valuable to us at present.'

Kate cleared her throat. 'Where are you taking me?'

'To a hunting box in the shires. An almost forgotten part of my holdings. My great-grandfather was never fond of hunting, so he leased the house each season. This time, it will be leased to us, a Mr. and Mrs. John Wetherby.'

Husband and wife? She ought to have known he would try a trick like that. 'Why not say we are brother and sister?' she said evenly. 'It would make more sense.'

A gleam in his eye told her not to push the matter any further. Swiftly, she changed the subject. 'You don't look at all like plain Mr. Wetherby.'

An inscrutable expression came over his face. 'And yet, a bare fortnight ago I was plain Mr. Brooke.'

She gave a wry smile. 'Somehow, I doubt anyone would describe you as plain, whether you were a commoner or a duke.'

There was an arrested look in his eyes. He glanced away. 'It hardly matters. At this season, we're unlikely to be troubled with neighbors.'

He smiled, returning his gaze to hers. 'In fact, we will be quite alone.'

***

'I can't make out where we are,' she said, peering through the travel-grimed window at the scenery.

'We're in Leicestershire. It's probably best you don't know exactly where,' said the duke indifferently.

How she wanted to hit him! She turned her head to look at his straight-nosed profile. 'Best for whom?'

'For me, of course. Your ignorance will hinder you if you try again to escape.'

'There's plain speaking! I mean to wait before I attempt another mad dash for freedom. So for the moment, we may both rest easy.'

A gleam stole into his eyes. 'Somehow, I doubt I shall rest easy tonight.'

'Oh?' She raised her brows, pretending innocence. 'I would have thought you'd be fatigued from the journey. I know I shall sleep like the dead.'

Before she knew what he was about, he took her chin in hand, tilting her face to the light. 'Almost, I am convinced,' he said. 'And yet, you've behaved like a cat on hot bricks since we left the cottage.' He smiled. 'Tell me - ' He smoothed a stray curl behind her ear. 'Do you think I'm going to ravish you in a moving vehicle?'

Most of the air left her lungs. She forced out, 'On past experience, I should say it's very likely.' Her skin tingled where his fingers brushed it. Why wasn't he wearing gloves?

'But so uncomfortable,' he replied, withdrawing his hand with a faint smile at the reaction she hadn't been able to hide. 'Unnecessary, too, when all the delights of a soft bed and a cozy fire await us. Perhaps even some decent coffee. A hot bath...'

She shivered. Mr. and Mrs. Wetherby. Oh yes, he knew what he was about.

The duke's character couldn't be further from that of the considerate lover who pleasured her so sweetly between the pages of her journal. What Lyle wanted, he took. Would he even care how much pleasure he gave?

No. She would not speculate about how adept a lover Lyle might be. She'd no ambition to become his mistress.

'I beg your pardon?' The duke's deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

She blinked. 'Nothing. I didn't say anything.'

'On the contrary. You snorted.' "

- Christine Wells, 2008

Thursday Thirteen - 84 - 13 Reasons to Read Broken Wing by Judith James

For today's Thursday Thirteen, I'm reviewing an instant favorite/forever keeper written by a new breakout author - and a debut one, at that. Not only did her first book receive 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times, but it got this review from Publisher's Weekly:

"The Napoleonic era comes brilliantly alive in James's debut adventure romance. The pace never falters... The extensive historical detail goes a long way, but Sarah and Gabriel's heart-wrenching struggle to keep their love alive is what will really keep readers entranced throughout this epic read."

1 - Judith James is a fellow Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada chapter mate. Have I mentioned how much I look forward to our monthly lunch-and-meeting combo? And Judith has been someone who makes the lunch absolutely fly by when she sits across from me.

2 - Judith is part of a group blog which will be launching in the very near future. Hoydens and Firebrands will explore the world of the 17th century and features authors:
Anita Davison
Sandra Gulland
Kim Murphy
Mary Sharratt
Alison Stuart and
Holly Tucker as well as Judith.

3 - Having worked as a counselor for 15 years, Judith has a special dedication at the front of her book:

"This book is dedicated to the lost boys. God bless them. May they all find a place to belong, and someone to love them as they deserve." - Judith James

4 - Broken Wing is a Medallion Press release under the Jewel Imprint: Sapphire Historical Romance category. Set at the turn of the 19th century, just after the French Revolution and during Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power, Judith's novel rides the changing tides of the power structure of Europe. Her two main characters echo this sense of tightrope-walking, indefinable and mercurial.

5 - We meet Sarah, Lady Munroe, as unconventional a young widow as ever sailed the seas in men's clothing, alongside her privateering cousin Davey. Back on land and in gowns befitting her station, she travels to Paris with her older brother Ross to claim her younger brother Jamie, long held prisoner in an upscale brothel.

6 - Gabriel St. Croix was dropped off at the doorstep of Madame Etienne's discreet establishment when he was a very small boy. His beauty makes him a favorite of every depraved customer who frequents the brothel he calls home. Grown to manhood, he feels dead inside - until the arrival of another young boy (Sarah's brother Jamie) awakens a desire to spare an innocent from facing his own fate. Jamie keeps a spark alive inside of Gabriel. When news arrives that the boy's family has finally located him, and is coming to take him home, all that's left of Gabriel's heart crushes to pieces inside of him.

7 - Judith's previous career as a counselor gave her a deep understanding of the confusing array of emotions swirling inside survivors of childhood sexual and physical abuse. Her portrayal of Gabriel rings with authenticity and shoots off into unpredictable directions.

What's also refreshing is Judith's portrayal of Sarah. She often surprises Gabriel with her reactions to him and his behavior. Though her actions and words make absolute sense to the reader, they still have a sense of originality that infuses every scene with discovery. We have not been down Judith's road before.

8 - I especially appreciated the darker undertones to Judith's book. When it comes to tortured heroes, I'm rather gothic. I really want him to suffer. I want my heart to be crushed into tiny shards for him.

Gabriel is so perfect for me, it's scary.

9 - Something I rejoice! Rejoice! in are the ways Judith flies in the face of most historical romance convention. As far as romance novels go, I'm historical-romance oriented. And as far as historical romances are concerned, I really only read the unconventional ones. There aren't really that many of them, to be honest. Judith's book takes me to all the places the major romance publishers would never dare to go.

All the things that make Judith's book work are things for which the major houses would have requested rewrites. But do most conventional historicals get a stunning review from Publishers' Weekly?

10 - Judith really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

" 'You're drunk!'

'Completely foxed,' he agreed with a genial grin.

'How did you get in here?'

He crooked a finger toward the balcony. 'Tree.'

'What's wrong?' she asked gently.

'A bad dream,' he said tiredly. 'Nothing more.'

'Well, now that you're here, why don't you tell me about it? It might help you sleep.'

'Christ, woman, I came here for some peace, to escape it, not to wallow in it!' He pulled himself to his feet. This had clearly been a mistake.

'You don't honestly think you can escape it by ignoring it, or running away, do you?'

No, he'd never thought that. Only hoped. He'd hoped he might escape for awhile, by running to her, and hoping was the thing that would destroy him in the end. He knew it. He turned, glaring at her in the dark. 'Shall I tell you then, Sarah? Do you really want to know? Would you like to know what I was doing the night before you and your saintly brother arrived at Madame Etienne's?'

Her silence drove him on.

'I was auctioned off that night, my services for the evening, to the highest bidder. I did my best to appeal, as half the proceeds were mine to keep. I was a very valuable asset there, you know. I'm surprised she released me.'

He stalked toward her, his body tense, vibrating. His voice became cooler, deliberately seductive and compelling. 'It was a husband and wife, or a man and his mistress, a playful pair. I was the wicked footman' - despite his obvious tension, his voice sounded amused - 'burning with lust for my haughty countess. I was...tasting her, pleasuring her, a thing I'm very good at, when her husband arrived, catching us in the act. Naturally he was furious and determined to punish us both. I, the insolent servant, was taught to regret my impertinence by being bound to the bed and whipped by his lordship as his lady knelt between his legs. Fortunately, she was thorough enough that he was not inclined to complete his amorous designs upon my person.'

Silence. It continued unabated, except for their breathing. He knew he'd shocked her, had strangled something delicate that had been growing between them, and he wasn't done yet. 'And do you know what else, my dear?' he asked, his voice mocking. 'I thoroughly enjoyed it.' He wasn't sure what he expected from her - horror, condemnation and disgust, certainly not a reply as cool and detached as his own.

'Well, now, if you'd enjoyed it, it wouldn't be giving you nightmares, would it?'

Rage blasted through him, demolishing years of hard-won control. The bottle flew from his hand, shattering in the corner as a distant part of his brain noted that broken glass was becoming a habit, a different form of comfort. Damn her! Damn her! He took a ragged breath, then another, clenching his fists, refusing to look at her lest she provoke him to further violence. Stiffly he turned toward the balcony and disappeared into the night."

11 - Judith doesn't shy away from the emotional pain of surviving abuse. If that seems too edgy and harsh for a romance novel, to me it makes the healing power of love all the more precious and deeply moving. Though Madame Etienne's most valuable prostitute is undeniably, smoulderingly attractive, and Sarah herself knows how to fill out a pair of men's breeches as well as a frock, the true draw for these characters is their internal thoughts and feelings. Knowing what Gabriel thinks before he acts makes him utterly compelling, and there's no way to resist falling hard for him as a reader.

12 - Though the characters' internal landscapes are vividly drawn and rich with authenticity, Judith doesn't scrimp on serving up a rollicking story. She takes us to locales that dare to exist beyond the confines of the English ton. The plot slices along like a rapier, and the cast of secondary characters is so vivid and solid you'll wonder how she managed to pack so much into one novel.

13 - I leave you with a final excerpt. Enjoy!

"Sarah waited, anxious and eager to have Gabriel to herself. Everything had changed. There was no pretending they were only friends anymore. She longed for, and dreaded, his touch, knowing it would take her past all restraint, to a place from which there was no turning back.

The more she wanted him, the more she feared that if they crossed that tempting border, there would be heartache on the other side. She worried that what he needed was a friend, not a lover, and feared he would come to see her as another in a long line of people who had used him. She feared their friendship would be destroyed, and where there'd been something lovely, there would be only bitterness, disillusionment and regret.

She'd also been struck, seeing him at the docks, tanned and fit, his dark hair streaked with sunlight and his eyes sparkling with excitement, at how beautiful he was. He could have any woman he wanted. If his life had been different, would he have ever chosen someone like her; a disreputable, opinionated, eccentric widow; large boned, far too tall and careless of her appearance? It hardly seemed likely.

Her musings were interrupted by his appearance on her balcony. He stood, framed in the moonlight. An early spring breeze teased his hair, and his eyes sparked with heat and hunger. Her gaze traveled from his eyes to his mouth, to his torso, taut and sleek, his stomach ridged with muscle, his skin alabaster in the moonlight. She groaned in frustration. No woman should be so tempted. He grinned and stepped into the room.

He crossed to her bed without a word, and slid in beside her, gathering her into his arms. He'd meant to tell her he loved her. He'd meant to thank her for the gift, but the moment her arms reached around his neck, he forgot all his carefully planned words and lowered his mouth to hers in a feverish kiss.

Sarah clutched at his hair, pulling him close, deepening her kiss. She shivered in anticipation as his fingertips began to trace her collarbone, sending delicious frissons of pleasure singing along her nerves. She gasped in white-hot pleasure when his lazy tongue rasped wet and hot against her, thrilling her to her core. He looked straight into her eyes, the question clear.

She closed her eyes, trying to gather her tattered wits, stunned by the riotous feelings coursing through her. She'd known no pleasure from her husband, and felt overwhelmed by the wild sensations she was experiencing now. It was too powerful. It was happening too fast. Shifting her weight, she pushed him away. 'Enough, Gabriel, please. We...I...I think we should stop.'

'I'm sorry,' he said, drawing back. 'I thought...clearly, I misunderstood.'

Stricken by the look of hurt in his eyes, she reached out to pull him back, but he was already up, preparing to leave. 'Gabriel, don't!'

'Don't what? Don't kiss you? Don't touch you? I can't help it, Sarah. I think about it all the time. Christ! I can't keep doing this!'

'Please, just listen. Try to understand.'

'I do understand. I've just reminded you of what I am, a jaded, greedy whore. You've been kind to me, indulged me, though I cannot imagine why, but there are limits. The idea of being touched by me that way, knowing what I am, must disgust you.'

'Stop it! I hate when you speak like that! That's not at all what I meant!'

'My apologies,' he said, his voice flat and cold. He turned to go, but she leapt from the bed, blocking his path.

'Gabriel, wait, please! For all the times I've listened to you, will you not hear me out?'

The look he gave her was resentful and cold, but he ceded her the door and went to sprawl ungraciously on the window seat. 'I am listening, mignonne,' he said, his voice remote."

- Judith James, 2008

Please join me next week when I review Christine Wells' The Dangerous Duke

Thursday Thirteen - 70 - 13 Reasons to Read Love Thy Neighbor by Amy Ruttan

I'm thrilled to review this latest Amy Ruttan release. She's now working on an historical/paranormal series for Linden Bay Romance that the phrase 'I'm dying to get my hands on' barely describes.

1 - Amy is also the author of Fox's Bride, an historical set in 1720's Jamaica and Masque of Desire, a contemporary paranormal which takes place on a southern plantation.

2 - She's one of six talented erotic romance writers who blog at 6 Degrees of Sexy. All six women write for Ellora's Cave as well as for Cerridwen Press, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id and Samhain Publishing.

3 - Love Thy Neighbor is part of the Ellora's Cave Oh Yum! series, featuring older women, younger men and lots of yum. The older woman here is a fabulous 40, while the younger man is a smart, ambitious 25-year-old.

4 - Beverly Robins moved into a beautiful home in Deerpark, Illinois two years ago with her husband, a former jock turned corporate suit. The day she saw the house with the real estate agent, she'd caught her first glimpse of the hunky son of the couple next door. The hunky brainiac son who'd just graduated Harvard Law - the type of guy she'd always admired from afar in college while dating jocks like the other girls from her social set.

5 - David Craig moved to Boston and a junior position at a law firm after graduation, but no amount of willing women could ever take his mind off of Ms. Robins. His parents' gorgeous neighbor was the real reason he'd never been home for a visit. But his sister's upcoming wedding was something he couldn't miss. And Ms. Robins was on the invitation list.

6 - Amy fills this quick read with strong secondary characters, including Janie, David's sister and the bride-to-be. She's a good friend to both him and Beverly, and I quite liked her. Her unfortunate choice of bridesmaids gives us Brenda, a rival for Beverly for David's precious time during the week-long wedding preparations. David's mother and Beverly's ex-husband also give lasting impressions.

7 - There is room for occasional hilarity in this otherwise scorchy novella. Like this moment from the pre-wedding luau at David's parents':

"He cocked his eyebrow. 'What do you have against…' he trailed off as he caught sight of his eighty-three-year-old grandfather hobbling by in a garish Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts hiked up and belted under his armpits and black socks to his knees with mesh shoes.

'Hey sonny,' he called out as he walked by.

Ms. Robins was giggling into her hand.

'Point taken, Ms. Robins,' David said."

8 - I really, really love Amy's dialogue. She spins speech like a screenwriter. Every character has his or her own voice, and their dialogue is natural and moves characterization and plot forward. Can anyone ask for more? (A clue - no.) Here are seven lines of dialogue that pack a lot of info as well as convey character:

"She came out of her bedroom and was startled to see him standing in the branches, out of breath.

'The back door was open,' she chuckled.

'I like climbing trees, so much easier than climbing corporate ladders. Less work and less pain,' he said, trying to keep himself from panting and wincing from the pain in his abdomen from pulling himself from branch to branch.

'I see. Are you going to be all right? You’re breathing pretty heavy there,' she asked, cocking a thinly arched brow. He could tell she was trying to control her laughter. He beat his chest and gave a soft Tarzan yell.

'Just the sight of you, it takes my breath away.' "

9 - I admire Beverly's desire to reach for her own brass ring. She's a woman who married when she didn't truly know herself or what she wanted out of life. David's attraction to her gives her a new appreciation for the woman she has become.

There are many women who may have found themselves in Beverly's situation at some point in their lives, and I once again cheer ePublishers' willingness to offer stories that veer away from idealized female characters that continue to populate print romantic fiction.

10 - Amy really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"He wanted to make this last forever. He wanted to bring her such pleasure that she would forget about every other lover she had. 'What’s that smell, that fragrance?'

'Your sister asked me the same thing. Are you two into selling perfume or something?' she teased, cocking a finely arched brow.

'No, but I like to know what my woman wears.'

'Your woman?' she asked, surprised. 'Am I your woman now?'

His answer was to reach down and pick her up in his arms, slinging her over his shoulder and slapping her on the ass. 'After tonight, you will be.' "

11 - The Oh Yum! series is a wonderful concept which I heartily applaud. Modern women hold the reins of their own sexual lives, and they also enjoy relationships with younger men - if that's what life presents them. There's no need to resist an attraction to a younger man because women aren't so hung up on calendar years. If she feels a kinship to a younger man, her healthy and youthful state these days can more than keep up with him.

Just ask:

Lorraine Bracco and former basketball player Jason Cipolla (21-year age difference)
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher (15 yrs)
Mira Sorvino and actor Christopher Backus (14 yrs)
Kathy Najimy and musician/stage actor Dan Finnerty (13 yrs)
Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins (12 yrs)
Julianne Moore and filmmaker Bart Freundlich (10 yrs)
Sigourney Weaver and film & theatre director Jim Simpson (7 yrs)
J.K. Rowling and anaesthetist Neil Murray (5 yrs)
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell (5 yrs)
Eve Mavrakis(production designer) and Ewan McGregor (5 yrs)
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (5 yrs)
Bo Derek and John Corbett (5 yrs)
Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas (3 yrs)

12 - As with all the Ellora's Cave ebooks, the heat level is turned way up. Way up. The language is explicit in all the right ways. Our Amy spins a very sultry tale.

Some of your fantasies might be woven within these pages. I know some of mine were.

...just warnin' ya...

13 - I leave you with an excerpt. Enjoy!

"She cooked him a delicious seafood linguine. One of her specialties. Her grandmother was Sicilian and had taught Beverly all her coveted recipes when she got married. She had tried a few times and wasted her energy on cooking these very all-consuming meals when her ex just either gulped them down in a heartbeat or never showed up for dinner. After a while she had given up trying.

She hadn’t made this recipe in almost eighteen years. She had been quite pleased that David seemed to enjoy it. Of course, they both had ended up naked, sitting at her antique dining room table. She wore only her heels and a string of pearls.

He wore nothing but a smile as they enjoyed the dinner, the wine and good conversation. She couldn’t remember the last time that she actually had a good, intellectual conversation. They talked about everything and nothing.

He talked about his job as a lawyer in Boston. He talked about his time at Harvard. She talked about her brief stint in college before she got married to her ex and became a wife.

She was relieved to know that he loved to read and he liked just about everything except romance, which she was addicted to.

He liked jazz music, so she padded over to her stereo and put on a great jazz album, a mix she had burned with some of her favorite singers like Diana Krall and Lena Horne.

After dinner they headed upstairs where, according to her fantasy, she had a nice luxurious bubble bath with him.

'What is with women and bubble baths?'

'They’re nice, relaxing.'

'And these bath salts like to effervesce up my ass.' He moved slightly as she began to laugh.

'That too.' She was quiet as she rubbed his arms under the suds.

'How come you’re so quiet?' he asked.

'Just wondering, I mean why me? I am so much older than you. I mean I’m not expecting a future with you or anything—'

'Sssh, let’s not talk about that. And as for why you, you’re an extremely attractive woman. Age doesn’t matter to me — there has always just been something about you.' He stood up, the suds sliding off his naked skin. He climbed out of the tub and rubbed himself with a towel.

'What are you doing?' she asked, leaning her head on the tub, admiring his taut, yummy ass.

'I’m going to show you exactly what I think of you,' he said, reaching down and lifting her out of her soaker tub. He set her down on the floor and toweled her off. He picked her up again and carried her to the bedroom.

He laid her down on her silk sheets. He didn’t say anything and she didn’t need him too. She stared up into his dark and serious blue eyes. He leaned down and gave her a tender kiss. She could hear him breathing in her ear.

'Nothing else matters this week but us. This is how much I want you.'

She pulled him tight against her, loved the feeling of him. She broke off the kiss to listen to the rapid beating of his heart beneath his chest. She felt his hands rub her back gently, his fingers trailing down her spine.

They didn’t say any more to each other. There was nothing to really say. But this was turning rapidly from a mere lust, infatuation situation for her. Dammit, I’m falling in love with my neighbor’s son."

- Amy Ruttan, 2008

Thursday Thirteen - 69 - 13 Reasons to Read Invasion Earth by Loribelle Hunt

1 - I discovered Loribelle Hunt through a recommendation by my blog buddy, Jennifer McKenzie, who also writes as Jennifer Leeland.

Loribelle Hunt and Jennifer Leeland both write for Liquid Silver Books, ePublisher of erotic romance.

2 - Invasion Earth is part of Liquid Silver's science fiction category. This is a new direction for Loribelle, who has published eight shapeshifter ebooks and three contemporary ebooks prior to Invasion Earth.

3 - Loribelle's previous titles include:

Paranormal
Special Branch: Kane
Vegas Magic: Gone With the Wolf
Captured Moon
Christmas Moon
Call of the Moon
Chasing the Moon
Bad Moon Rising
Under Cover of the Moon

Contemporary
Rules of Engagement
Bound by Love
Fireworks

Her Shifters paranormal series and two of her contemporary stories are published with Cobblestone Press.

One contemporary story is published with Samhain Publishing.

4 - Invasion Earth introduces us to Sergeant Major Laney Bradford. She's a brilliant strategist fighting for the Earth Alliance army against an alien aggressor known as the Delroi. When she realizes they have gained control of the Doomsayer experimental bomb - something she had protested - Laney is willing to become a diplomatic bargaining chip to save her people from its destruction.

5 - General Alrik Torfa leads the Delroi to its invasion of Earth in search of mates. Their seers have foretold he will find the mate of his heart among these Earth dwellers, but even he is not prepared to discover that the woman fated to be his own is called the Butcher of Roses by his people. Responsible for a bitter victory over the Delroi, this warrior woman will discover the true reason her Alliance had held out so long against superior forces. It was her destiny alone - to become Lady Torfa.

6 - There is a strong diplomatic side to the storyline, which gives the military aspects a broader context. Spys and family loyalties, outmaneuvering hidden agendas and culture clashes between Earth's marriage-bound hostage - Laney - and the Delroi give this futuristic story a Tudors-style backdrop.

7 - I really, really love Loribelle's authoritative military voice. I'm a huge fan of the Richard Sharpe Peninsular War series, the Band of Brothers take on WWII, the battle scenes in the Star Wars saga, the Middle-earth wars of The Lord of The Rings trilogy. I'm not the type of woman who wants to read about a sergeant major heroine as simply a kick-ass kind of gal. I want that sergeant major to know her way around tactical command.

8 - The sexual tension between Laney and Alrik is immediate, because they are of the fated class of lovers. What could be more romantic than the Some Enchanted Evening type of love at first sight? Loribelle's version goes farther than 'across a crowded room'. They lock gazes across a raging battlefield.

9 - Laney and Alrik have given their individual lives to their respective people. What Loribelle does so well is to load their sexual discovery with emotional realization. Can a trained soldier make a marriage work on a planet where women defer to men? Can a royal son of Delroi ignore the historic role of women when he's fallen for a warrior, like the fictional warrior women of his legends?

10 - Loribelle really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"Alrik needed to distract her and thought of the small rose tattoo on her breast. He found it sexy, but it had been a surprise. Women on Delroi did not mark their skin permanently like that, but there was an old, mostly abandoned tradition he wondered if she’d adopt.

In the past bonded females, of warriors in particular, had pierced their nipples. It was a painful procedure, and a show of submission and strength. He hardened again and shared the image with her. He wanted her to do it, needed that sign of her surrender. He crossed his arms over his chest, snaring her with his gaze, watching the blush spread up her neck to her face. Felt her arousal. He watched the emotions play over her face, knew some of what she was thinking. She didn’t think there was a submissive bone in her body, yet she responded to the carnal demands of his shared visions. He wanted to drag her from the room and demonstrate exactly how much mastery he would have over her body. Thankfully, he was spared the embarrassment of dragging a kicking and screaming woman off by the arrival of his brother. It was time to get down to business."

11 - Loribelle's steamy scenes need special mention. Laney's vulnerability issues are worked out in the bedroom with her dominant alpha husband-to-be. This works perfectly in a story that has a strong role-of-women subtext, especially since Laney's desires aren't what you'd expect from a sergeant major.

12 - There are lots of scenes that belong to Laney and Alrik, but Loribelle has built a very lived-in world in Invasion Earth. Government officials, royal family members, soldiers from Laney's unit - everyone walks onstage with a fully-formed backstory.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt. Enjoy!

" Leaning forward, he grabbed her upper arms and pulled her close, not allowing her any freedom of movement.

She’d never liked being ordered around, especially in bed, but it wasn’t protest that rose. He was a man she’d never be able to push around. She couldn’t fight the urge to give him control, didn’t even try.

Eagerly, she straddled his hips and looked him in the eye. He gripped her ribcage, guiding her. She gasped and closed her eyes. He held her there until she met his gaze, saw the stark need stamped across his features. Then he plunged deep, building a slow steady rhythm. She leaned forward, a little wobbly while incapable of bracing her hands on his shoulders or chest, but unable to resist the allure of his skin, the compulsion to taste his lips. She flattened her tongue against his neck, following a leisurely trail up his salty skin, smiling at his grunt when her teeth closed over his ear lobe and nipped.

He didn’t give her the chance to kiss him. After pulling her flat against his chest, she heard him murmuring something in his own language. Struggling to breathe, dragging his masculine scent deep into her lungs, she didn’t have time to consider the words, or the radar-like pinging she felt straight to her marrow. Replete and exhausted, she collapsed against him, barely registering when he freed her arms or stood and carried her into a bedroom.

* * * *

It was done. Alrik hadn’t planned on doing it so soon. The binding prayer had burst forth from him when he felt her tighten. Even if he could take the words back, he wouldn’t. She was his now. She might despise him in the short run, but in the long run, it was the right thing to do for everyone.

Tomorrow they would begin negotiating trade agreements that would put more of the Delroi’s unattached males on Earth. Hopefully, it would be enough to save his people. Until then, he had a warm soft woman in his arms and duty could wait.

Her hair was still up and braided, the length twisted and pinned against her head. He pulled the small pins out and dropped them on the bedside table until finally the length was free. Surprised, he noted it reached the bottom of her back. Removing the band holding the end, he slowly worked the plait loose.

Wavy from the braid, her hair was like heavy silk in his hand. He held it to the light to examine its color, a deep brown shot through with big streaks of red. He brought it to his face and breathed in its sweet scent, which smelled faintly of the flower called gardenia on this world, a plant the Delroi women with them had quickly discovered and adopted. He loved it.

Alrik dropped the strands and they fell around her like a curtain. Grinning, he wondered if it would drape them both when she rode him. He would test that at the earliest opportunity. For now, he was content to explore her without her yammering at him.

He had admired the tactical cunning of this woman for months. Her body was just as impressive. The bulky uniform concealed feminine curves. A small waist accented her flared hips and high breasts. Her skin was smooth and blemish free except for the small rose tattooed on one breast. Laugh lines around her eyes added to the appeal of an already pretty face.

He rested his palm over her flat stomach, wondering how she would look swollen with his child. Nostrils flared in desire when he realized she could even now carry a babe. Would she give him girls? A houseful of females with their mother’s warrior spirit?

She moaned in her sleep and leaned into him. Spooned up behind her, he pulled her leg over his. With a long sigh, she cracked an eye open and looked up at him.

'Not a dream,' she murmured, moving against him.

'Shh,' he answered, hand sliding down to where their bodies joined.

He was content to hold her, drifting between sleep and wakefulness. Some time later, a soft knock came at the outer door. After untangling himself from her limbs and pulling on his pants, he let his brother in. Daggar glanced over at the sleeping chamber.

'It’s done then?'

'It is.' "

- Loribelle Hunt - 2008

Join me next week when I review Amy Ruttan's Love Thy Neighbor.

Thursday Thirteen - 65 - 13 Reasons to Read The Mistress Diaries by Julianne MacLean

I'm very excited to bring you this book review, as the author is none other than my fabulous cousin, Julianne MacLean.

I met Julianne when I was six, when my family moved from Michigan and rejoined the Nova Scotia branch of the clan. It was the start of a beautiful friendship. Julianne and her brother, and myself and my sister, grew up like four siblings, always over at their house or our house. There's a me that only Julianne knows, and she's a bright spot in my world when I'm often wiping away the tears of loved ones, dusting them off and setting them back on their feet again.

Julianne is the person I can relax and laugh with, admire the same sort of writing muses *wink*, and plunge into fascinating creative discussions with. So I'm thrilled to be able to share her 12th book release with all of you. The Mistress Diaries hits store shelves on July 29th.

1 - The Mistress Diaries is a Harper Collins Avon Books release. Second in the Pembroke Palace series, this story follows the second Sinclair brother forced to choose a bride by a father slowly going mad.

2 - Part of Avon's Romance category, Julianne's story is a Victorian historical focusing on the swirling emotions that hide beneath the polished exterior of the nobility. The love scenes are steamy and really take the reader inside the feelings of the hero and heroine.

3 - Here is the book trailer for The Mistress Diaries, made by Julianne's husband, man of many talents. The trailer is best enjoyed with the sound turned up. And it may not be safe for work. Enjoy!



4 - We meet Cassandra Montrose, Lady Colchester, fresh out of mourning for an unfaithful husband. Far from eager to attach herself to another man, Cassandra dallies with a known seducer, determined to have at least one night of passion before embarking on the rest of her ladylike days.

5 - Lord Vincent Sinclair is a jaded rake of the highest order. Second son of the addled Duke of Pembroke, he has every expectation that his upcoming marriage to Lady Letitia will hardly cause a ripple in his quest to take his pleasure whenever desire strikes. And his appetite for that is legendary.

6 - Vincent was the villain of the first Pembroke Palace book, In My Wildest Fantasies. That book introduced Vincent as an angry, brooding brother to Devon Sinclair, with a major grudge against his elder sibling. Being a great fan of the gray character, I stand in awe of my cousin's ability to turn such a dark character like Vincent into someone I can fall in love with.

7 - Sexual tension flares up immediately for Cassandra and Vincent. As with all of Julianne's couples, each offers an emotional release to the other that simmers along with the sexual arousal. Julianne returns her two lovers to a state of courting, which only heightens the tension level to brow-mopping intensity.

8 - Julianne gives us a fascinating look into the fallen woman character with Cassandra. We relate to her completely at the beginning of the story. As she finds herself thrust into a social role for which she never planned, we see inside the complexities of choice, consequence and self-image. It's a perfect balance to Vincent's journey from his brother Devon's villain to this story's hero.

9 - I really, really love Julianne's way with a hottie hero. Here's our first impression of Vincent (from his book, not Devon's!):

"Lord Vincent Sinclair kicked open the door of the sumptuous London hotel room with staggering brute force and carried Cassandra Montrose, Lady Colchester, over the threshold. He had kissed her senseless in the carriage the entire way there. He grinned and kicked the door shut behind him.

Pulling his white cambric bow tie and unbuttoning the top of his shirt, he smiled with devilish intent. 'I quite assure you, Lady Colchester, I have not yet begun to be a bad influence. My best is yet to come.' "

10 - Julianne really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

" 'You are very appealing when you choose to be, Vincent,' she told him, 'and you are a handsome man. That can be blinding for even the most sensible of women. I hope you will consider that when you become a husband.'

He seemed surprised by her sudden desire to steer him in the direction of his conscience, when clearly neither he, nor she, believed he possessed one.

'Indeed I shall,' he replied nevertheless, 'though I don't recommend getting your hopes up. We both know I will be a dismal failure at matrimony. I'm simply not cut out to be faithful.'

She sighed over the fact that he had not changed, and likely never would. His brow furrowed with displeasure. Or was it annoyance? She wasn't sure what to make of it.

'At least my mother will be close at hand to repair the damage when I live up to your meager expectations.' With that, he stood and walked out.

***

Immediately after leaving Cassandra's bedside, Vincent entered his own bedchamber and saw his great-grandmother's necklace - the famous Pembroke Sapphire - sitting in an open velvet box on the bed. He stared at the dark blue stone for a moment, saw in his mind a headstone with Cassandra's name on it, then slammed the door so hard, the vase on the dressing table toppled to the floor and smashed to a thousand pieces."

11 - Julianne switches POV seamlessly between Cassandra and Vincent, often in the midst of a heightened emotional scene. It only serves to further reveal plot and character, a sure touch from a writer at the top of her game.

12 - There are no secondary characters who serve as set dressing in any of Julianne's books. Even Vincent's ducal-approved fiancee, Lady Letitia is three-dimensional. A character revealed only through letters, memory and conversation is especially haunting.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt. Enjoy!

" A short time later he was trotting up to the palace on his horse. He stopped to look up at the brightly lit drawing room window above. Letitia passed in front of it, unaware of his presence below. She stood for a moment with her back to him, chattering on about something to someone, then walked away.

Devon came to look out the window next and looked down at him with a cool stare, as if he knew where he had been all night and greatly disapproved.

Contempt shuddered through Vincent as he imagined going up there and sitting down with the rest of them. They would ask where he had been. Devon might even call him to the study to have a reproachful word with him about his activities and remind him of his duty to the family. His brother would warn him not to become distracted and tell him to spend more time at the palace.

Devon had already fulfilled his duty by marrying Rebecca. They were all depending on each other to safeguard their inheritances. Vincent watched him raise a brandy glass to his lips and turn from the window when his wife slipped her arm through his and drew him away.

Outside, alone in the dark, Vincent remained seated on a restless horse that could not, for some reason, keep still.

He felt restless himself. He did not want to be here. He wanted to be at the dower house, in those small, cozy rooms, sitting by a fire.

He turned and gazed back in that direction. It would be wrong to return. Cassandra would most certainly be angry with him. It could spoil everything. He should not do it.

But he wanted so badly just to kick in his heels and urge his horse to a gallop - to speed across the moonlit hills and feel the wind in his hair, to leap over this particular hurdle in his life.

He looked up at the full moon and watched the wispy clouds float in front of it, thin and transparent, incapable of dimming its illumination.

He breathed deeply, seeking the calmness and dispassion he required to get through his betrothal to Letitia, his usual detachment, but all he felt was an ache of longing deep inside his chest. It was so relentless and severe, it almost made him double over in pain.

In the end he did what he knew he should not do. He kicked in his heels and galloped off.

***

Cassandra looked out the window at the full moon overhead and thought wistfully about the many hours she had spent with Vincent over the past few weeks, strolling leisurely to the river, speaking openly about so many things.

She had not expected it to be so pleasant. Not with him - the man whose heart she had believed was made of stone. This strange arrangement of theirs had been going on for quite some time now without a single hitch. Beneath all the courtesy and manners, she had been fighting against a new kind of desire that simply would not die.

Every time Vincent stepped out of his coach, dressed in his elegant black coat and top hat, smiling up at her with those dark, mesmerizing eyes, she melted. She fell to pieces like a lovesick pup that did not know the meaning of restraint.

But she did know the meaning of it, and she understood the consequences of giving in to temptation. She could never endure the heartache of sharing him with another woman. She was simply not built that way. If she loved someone, it would have to be all or nothing. She could not settle for less, and was still not sure Vincent was capable of such a devoted love, for he was broken inside.

Or was she wrong about that? she wondered as she stared out the window at the darkness beyond. She had been wrong about so many other things, and he'd done nothing but surprise her over the past few weeks.

A moment later she was tipping the crystal decanter over a glass. She took a sip and strolled back to the window. It was a beautiful night. She raised the glass to her lips when a nervous fluttering arose in her belly, for she spotted a man. He was sitting under the tree on the bank of the river at the bottom of the hill. The moonlight was reflecting off the water, and he was silhouetted against the sparkling ripples. His horse was tethered to the tree, its long neck bowed down to the grass.

It was Vincent - that much she knew, even though it was impossible to identify anyone from such a distance in the darkness.

What was he doing there? She had heard him leave almost two hours ago. Had he been sitting there all this time, or had he left and returned?

She set her glass down on the table. If she knew what was good for her, she would go back to bed this instant and forget she ever saw him. But that would require her to guzzle the entire contents of what remained in the brandy decanter, enough to knock her out until dawn, because the fact of the matter was - she cared for him. She cared for him a great deal. And somehow she knew that he needed her."

- Julianne MacLean - 2008