Samantha Moon: All Four Novels (Vampire for Hire #1-4)

 

 

by J.R. Rain
Published (first published August 13th 2011)

 

 

Summary:

All four novels in Nook’s #1 Bestselling Vampire Series by J.R. Rain, including:

MOON DANCE
(Vampire for Hire #1)
Mother, wife, private investigator…vampire. Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire.

Now the world at large thinks Samantha has developed a rare skin disease, a disease which forces her to quit her day job and stay out of the light of the sun. Now working the night shift as a private investigator, Samantha is hired by Kingsley Fulcrum to investigate the murder attempt on his life, a horrific scene captured on TV and seen around the country. But as the case unfolds, Samantha discovers Kingsley isn’t exactly what he appears to be; after all, there is a reason why he survived five shots to the head.

VAMPIRE MOON
(Vampire for Hire #2)
Private investigator Samantha Moon finds herself hunting down a powerful crime lord and protecting an innocent woman from her ruthless ex-husband — all while two very different men vie for her heart. And as the stakes grow higher and her cases turn personal, Samantha Moon will do whatever it takes to protect the innocent and bring two cold-blooded killers to justice — her own brand of justice.

AMERICAN VAMPIRE
(Vampire for Hire #3)
Private investigator Samantha Moon receives a heartbreaking phone call from a very unlikely source: a five-year-old girl who’s been missing for three months. Now on the hunt, Samantha will use her considerable resources — including her growing supernatural abilities — to locate the missing girl before it’s too late. And as she gets closer and closer to the horrible truth, she receives devastating news on the home front. Now with her world turned upside down, Samantha Moon is forced to make the ultimate choice of life and death.

MOON CHILD
(Vampire for Hire #4)
Now in MOON CHILD, sequel to AMERICAN VAMPIRE, private investigator Samantha Moon is faced with an impossible decision — a decision that no mother should ever have to make. A decision that will change her life, and those she loves, forever. And through it all, Sam finds herself in a lethal game of vampire vs. vampire as a powerful — and desperate — enemy will stop at nothing to claim what he most desires.

 

 

Review:

I love vampire books and one of my favorite series of all time is the Dresden files, so a series that is about a vampire private detective sounded amazing, and I was not disappointed. At first I was not sure I was going to enjoy this series since Samantha Moon’s husband was a cheating jerk head and it appeared that she was just going to take his demands lying down, I was thoroughly annoyed, but I continued reading, and I am super glad I did, because Samantha does get a backbone eventually, and that made me love her. This series definitely grew on me as I continued reading; it only got better with each book I read.

There is sex in some of the books, but nothing very descriptive or terrible, I just kept wishing that Sam would meet a great guy, a guy that really deserved her, I am not sure she has found him yet. Sam has to make some terrible hard decisions and it made me feel for her. Sam has made some supernatural friends, but I have a bad feeling some of these “friends” are not really what they seem, I will have to read more of the series and see what happens.

I would highly recommend the Samantha Moon: Vampire for Hire series to anyone 18 or older, mostly because of the few sex scenes, and maybe a bit for the crudeness of Sam’s ex- husband. These are quick books to read, and even though the series starts out slow, it really picks up as the series progresses.

If you are a fan of paranormal mysteries, please do read theses, there is also just enough romance in them to keep you wanting more.

I received this book as an ARC. I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

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Wilde’s Army (Darkness Falls #2)

 

 

by Krystal Wade

Published July 4th 2012 by Curiosity Quills Press

 

 

Summary:

“Hello, Katriona.” Those two words spark fear in Katriona Wilde and give way to an unlikely partnership with Perth, the man she’s been traded to marry for a favor. Saving her true love and protector Arland, her family, and their soldiers keeps her motivated, but the at-odds duo soon realizes trust is something that comes and goes with each breath of Encardia’s rotting, stagnant air. The moment when concern for her missing sister spirals out of control, all thoughts of trust are pushed aside and she finds herself trapped by the daemon tricks Perth warned her of. However, rescuing those she loves is only half the problem. Kate still must get to Willow Falls, unite her clashing people, and form an army prepared to fight in order to defeat Darkness. When so many she’s grown fond of die along the journey, her ability to play by the gods’ rules is tested. How will she make allies when the world appears stacked against her? And will she still be Katriona Wilde, the girl with fire?

 

 

Review:
I loved this second installment of the Darkness Falls series. It was action packed and you learned a lot more about the characters and what their destiny is. Perth actually ended up being rather likable, though not quite as likable as Arland. Kate grew as a character and I loved seeing her magic grow stronger.

What can I say; Kate is a likable character, strong, fierce, and intelligent. She also has a soft side, especially when it comes to her sister and animals. Kate has to grown up quite a bit in this book, as she deals with many different conflicts as she attempts to figure out how to unite her people, form an army of her own, and also keep the peace between two races that are only loosely joined together, all while fulfilling her destiny, first of which involves her connecting and being with Arland, the one person she is both destined to be with, but also poses the biggest threat to the fragile peace between the races. Throughout most of the book she is trying to find a balance that both keeps the peace, but also allows her to continue her relationship with Arland.

OK, for those of you who might want to know, finally, there is a wonderfully awesome sex scene, one that I wholly approve of, but if I told you why, I’d be giving away an awesome part of the story, and I want you to experience it like I got to, so I won’t spoil it for you in this review.

Because of this sex scene, I would recommend this book more for adults, though it is not a super graphic scene. I highly recommend this book, but only after you have read the first one in the series or this one may not make sense. This was one of my top 10 books I have read recently, very good plot and character development. There are characters to love and characters to hate which makes for a great story with lots of suspense; the romance in this one is just an added bonus.
I received this book as an ARC. I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

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Rogue’s Pawn (Covenant of Thorns #1)

 

 

by Jeffe Kennedy

Published July 16th 2012 by Carina Press

 

 

Summary:

This is no fairy tale…

Haunted by nightmares of a black dog, sick to death of my mind-numbing career and heart-numbing fiance, I impulsively walked out of my life–and fell into Faerie. Terrified, fascinated, I discover I possess a power I can’t control: my wishes come true. After an all-too-real attack by the animal from my dreams, I wake to find myself the captive of the seductive and ruthless fae lord Rogue. In return for my rescue, he demands an extravagant price–my firstborn child, which he intends to sire himself…

With no hope of escaping this world, I must learn to harness my magic and build a new life despite the perils–including my own inexplicable and debilitating desire for Rogue. I swear I will never submit to his demands, no matter what erotic torment he subjects me to…

 

 

Review:

I am a bit iffy with this book. Normally I totally LOVE Carina Press books, but this one was more on the ok to not like level. I can’t say it was good, but I can’t say it was bad either. Basically, there was very little development of any of the characters in this story; it was more like a novella, or a short story in an anthology, than a novel. It was very superficial, even the plot was not very developed, or even really believable. I know it is a fantasy/paranormal romance and that it is totally a fiction story, but a well written fiction can make you feel like the events are real, at least while you are reading the story, this book did not do that for me. The events or scenes in this book also felt disconnected, I was really not invested in this story.

As for the characters, I didn’t feel any connection to them either. Gwynne did things that just seemed so out of her character that I couldn’t even believe that she would do the things she did, for example, how she got into fairy. Rogue, well, I am not sure I have ever disliked a male lead that I am supposed to like and fall for so much in my life. He had no redeeming qualities, at least that I could see. He just seemed like a total douche bag, except that he was hot.

I also hated the abuse scenes in this book. They were very disturbing. Ugh, just thinking about a good chunk of the book where she was sexually abused as part of a fair trade/punishment for something she didn’t even know she had done until after it happened (using her powers)- before she was given back to Rogue to be yet again abused by being forced to have a child with him, just disgusts me. The way she was “broken” was just disgusting and totally not needed. It went way beyond S&M. It was the kind of thing that if read about in the papers we would all be calling for the perpetrators to be severely punished, not rewarded, as they were in this book. I wish I had not had to recall those parts to even write this review, but, you, as a potential reader, need to know this. A big part of this book is EXTREMELY disturbing.

If there is a second book in this series, I might read it if I could get it for free, just to see if the author polishes up her writing style for her next book. I probably would not recommend this book, unless it was free, or like a $2.00 or less book. This is an adult only book, I would not allow my teenage child to read this, ever, under any circumstance, they might have nightmares, or think the events in this book sexually were acceptable.

I received this book as an ARC. I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

Please read more of my reviews on my blog: sarahereads(dot)wordpress(dot)com

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Monster in My Closet (Monster Haven #1)

 

 

by R.L. Naquin

Published July 30th 2012 by Carina Press

 

 

Summary:

I stopped believing in monsters long ago. But I knew I wasn’t imagining things when I found one in my kitchen baking muffins. I’d seen him before: lurking in my closet, scaring the crap out of my five-year-old self. Turns out that was a misunderstanding, and now Maurice needs a place to stay. How could I say no?

After all, I’ve always been a magnet for the emotionally needy, and not just in my work as a wedding planner. Being able to sense the feelings of others can be a major pain. Don’t get me wrong, I like helping people—and non-people. But this ability has turned me into a gourmet feast for an incubus, a demon that feeds off emotional energy. Now, brides are dropping dead all over town, and my home has become a safe house for the supernatural. I must learn to focus my powers and defeat the demon before he snacks on another innocent woman and comes looking for the main course…

 

 

Review:

 First, this is most definitely an ADULT ONLY book.  If you were to read just the beginning of the book you would think that this book is perfectly fine for teenagers, especially when you couple that with the title and cover image, but it is most definitely not a kid/teenager book.  The “bad guy” in the book is a demon, a demon who uses sex for fuel, enough said.

Even though there are a few adult scenes, overall this book was not all about sex, it is not a romance novel either, though I kept hoping it would become one.  I would call it more of a supernatural mystery.  Zoey, the main character, has a special ability, one that attracts monsters to her.  Through the interactions that Zoey has you learn that not all monsters are bad, she also gains a good friend and sidekick when Maurice the Closet Monster comes to her for help.  Zoey also makes a bunch of new friends and saves a few lives along the way, though, unfortunately, she is not able to save everyone.

This is a great start to what could be a very promising series.  Just remember, this is a very adult book with a very graphic sex scene near the end, so be aware of this when you recommend this book to anyone.

I received this book as an ARC.  I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

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The Unquiet

 

 

by Jeannine Garsee

Published July 17th 2012 by Bloomsbury

 

 

Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents’ separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn’s bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be “touched” by Annaliese…or if Annaliese even exists.

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about–not to mention her own–she can’t help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

 

 

Review:

I was apprehensive about reading this book since I knew the main character was bipolar and I know a few people who are bipolar.  I have also read quite a few books over the years written by, about, or to help people who know those with the condition.  So, needless to say, I am familiar with the illness but yet I was intrigued by the supernatural aspect of the story and how the author was going to blend the main character being bipolar with the seeing of ghosts, without making it cheesy.

I was quite impressed.  The representation of Rinn and how she acts without medication is spot on and not overly embellished, well except for the part about seeing ghosts.  The supernatural aspect aside, Miss Garsee portrayed the inner workings of the mind of someone who is bipolar and how they can think and act in a realistic way.

Now for the supernatural aspect; this part was, as was expected, farfetched, but yet had enough “reality” or at least the possibility of the situation being real, to make this part of the story acceptable.  I really loved the whole Annaliese portion of the story.

The third element was relationships.  There was a bit of a “like” triangle, but the whole relationship part got weird, kind of small town- only a few people to choose from kind of thing.  There were secret relationships, people dating friends ex’s, ect…  There was also a lot of secret keeping between so called friends.  This part of the story is very sad and I am not sure I really liked how things turned out for all of Rinn’s new friends, even Nate was affected, though she was able to help him.  Rinn’s mother was also confusing on the relationship front.  It seemed relationships started, but really just kind of stopped, abruptly.  Rinn’s mom definitely had some issues she needed to work through; she was not a good example for Rinn in any way.

Even though this book was geared toward YA’s in high school, there was strong violence and attempted sex- explicitly described.  Basically Rinn was trying to seduce Nate, but he said no.  I would not want my middle school kid to read some of these scenes; I am not sure I would want my high school student to read most of them.  I would recommend this book for 18 and up, no younger, but that decision is up to you.

I received this book as an ARC.  I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy and also to assist parents and teachers in recommending appropriate books for your kids to read.

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A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar

 

 

by Suzanne Joinson

Published June 4th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA (first published May 22nd 2012)

 

 

Summary:

 It is 1923. Evangeline (Eva) English and her sister Lizzie are missionaries heading for the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar. Though Lizzie is on fire with her religious calling, Eva’s motives are not quite as noble, but with her green bicycle and a commission from a publisher to write A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar, she is ready for adventure.

In present day London, a young woman, Frieda, returns from a long trip abroad to find a man sleeping outside her front door. She gives him a blanket and a pillow, and in the morning finds the bedding neatly folded and an exquisite drawing of a bird with a long feathery tail, some delicate Arabic writing, and a boat made out of a flock of seagulls on her wall. Tayeb, in flight from his Yemeni homeland, befriends Frieda and, when she learns she has inherited the contents of an apartment belonging to a dead woman she has never heard of, they embark on an unexpected journey together.

A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar explores the fault lines that appear when traditions from different parts of an increasingly globalized world crash into one other. Beautifully written, and peopled by a cast of unforgettable characters, the novel interweaves the stories of Frieda and Eva, gradually revealing the links between them and the ways in which they each challenge and negotiate the restrictions of their societies as they make their hard-won way toward home. A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar marks the debut of a wonderfully talented new writer.

 

 

Review:

Honestly, this was not my favorite book, but it was worth the listen.  I was given this book as an audiobook ARC.  This is the second audiobook ARC I was given to review, but the first one I am going to review.  (The other was so terrible, I felt bad reviewing it, so I declined the review after only listening to about 15 minutes of it, if that.)  Since this is an audiobook, and the written version has been reviewed a number of times, I will focus mainly on the audio part.

I thought the reader, Susan Duerden, had a nice voice to listen too, she has a nice accent.  She didn’t mess up reading at all and left long enough pauses between the different time periods that after you caught on, you were not lost.  FYI- you do need to pay a lot of attention to this book as it is being read to you since sometimes it can be confusing when time periods are switched.  I do not listen to an audiobook straight through, I listen while cleaning, cooking, getting dressed, exercising, so I stop periodically and on a couple of occasions, I had to rewind to figure out what voice was speaking at the time.  It was a very good recording otherwise and I am very well versed in audiobooks having listened to well over 400 over the last several years.

As with all of my reviews, I must inform you that this book has some tough scenes, including but not limited to a death scene and a lesbian scene.  There is quite a bit of talk about and reference to gay sex.  Sex in general is a common theme in this book, the modern day woman having had a long time affair with a married man w/ kids and she doesn’t seem to care about the fact that he has a family at all.

There are quite a few parts of this book that were quite disturbing.  I would not recommend this book for teenagers at all, even though the cover looks fun.  Some adults would enjoy this book, but not all.  It is not a romance and it is not really chick lit either.  It is most definitely not a mindless, fun, beach read.

I received this book as an ARC.  I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

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Some Kind Of Fairy Tale

 

 

by Graham Joyce

Published July 10th 2012 by Doubleday (first published June 21st 2012)

 

 

Summary:

It is Christmas afternoon and Peter Martin gets an unexpected phone call from his parents, asking him to come round. It pulls him away from his wife and children and into a bewildering mystery.

He arrives at his parents’ house and discovers that they have a visitor. His sister Tara. Not so unusual you might think, this is Christmas after all, a time when families get together. But twenty years ago Tara took a walk into the woods and never came back and as the years have gone by with no word from her the family have, unspoken, assumed that she was dead. Now she’s back, tired, dirty, disheveled, but happy and full of stories about twenty years spent travelling the world, an epic odyssey taken on a whim.

But her stories don’t quite hang together and once she has cleaned herself up and got some sleep it becomes apparent that the intervening years have been very kind to Tara. She really does look no different from the young woman who walked out the door twenty years ago. Peter’s parents are just delighted to have their little girl back, but Peter and his best friend Richie, Tara’s one time boyfriend, are not so sure. Tara seems happy enough but there is something about her. A haunted, otherworldly quality. Some would say it’s as if she’s off with the fairies. And as the months go by Peter begins to suspect that the woods around their homes are not finished with Tara and his family…

 

 

Review:

 I wanted to like this story, and for a little while I did, but it didn’t last.  The story was slow, I kept wanting something to happen.  I kept trying to grasp what was going on for most of the story.  There were almost no happy parts; I don’t really enjoy books with no happy parts.

Some Kind Of Fairy Tale has lots of graphically described sex scenes, especially when Tara talks about Fairy.  They added pretty much nothing to the story.

I would not recommend this story.  Even if you like Fairy Tales or books about Fairies, this just wasn’t all that good.  I would not have wasted my time reading this book had I known what would happen in it and how it would end.

I received this book as an ARC.  I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

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Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2)

 

 

by Deborah Harkness

Published July 10th 2012 by Viking Adult

 

 

Summary:

“Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown”—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

 

 

Review:

I was super excited about getting an ARC of this book.  I am a huge fan of A Discovery of Witches and am now a huge fan of Shadow of Night.  Shadow of Night picks up right where Discovery left off, so if you have not read the first book, I highly advise you to do so before reading Shadow of Night, otherwise you may be a bit confused, oh and you will also be missing out on a super awesome story!

I don’t want o give too much away, but in Shadow we learn more about both Matthew and Diana, as they learn more about themselves.  We are introduced to quite a few historically famous people, who just happened to be friends with Matthew in Elizabethan England, unfortunately, even though Diana expects to have intelligent conversations with some of these men, she soon learns that not all of Matthew’s friends are as accepting of her as she would have hoped.  This causes both tension and problems for the new couple.

The longer Diana and Matthew stay in Elizabethan England, the more they change history, causing ripples that run all the way through to modern day, little hiccups that the rest of the family, still in modern times, must strive to clean up in order to cover-up Diana and Matthew’s time jump.  This was a neat way of keeping the reader connected to what was going on in the present time, so that we were not left wondering what was going on with Ysabeau and the rest of the de Clermont family.

Overall, I have nothing but positive things to say about this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who read the first book, if you have not read Discovery, please do so and follow up with this one.  I recommend this book more to adults, this is because there is sex in this book, it is not super graphic but it is described in some detail.  The positive is that this is sex between a married couple in order to consummate the marriage and make it official in both the human and supernatural worlds, and to prove their love for eachother.

I received this book as an ARC.  I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

Please read more of my reviews on my blog: sarahereads(dot)wordpress(dot)com

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The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr

 

 

by Sandra Byrd
Published June 5th 2012 by Howard Books

 

 

Summary:

The author of To Die For returns to the court of Henry VIII, as a young woman is caught between love and honor.

Juliana St. John is the daughter of a prosperous knight in Marlborough. Though her family wants her to marry the son of her father’s business partner, circumstances set her on a course toward the court of Henry VIII and his last wife, Kateryn Parr.

Sir Thomas Seymour, uncle of the current heir, Prince Edward, returns to Wiltshire to tie up his business with Juliana’s father’s estate and sees instantly that she would fit into the household of the woman he loves, Kateryn Parr. Her mother agrees to have her placed in the Parr household for “finishing” and Juliana goes, though perhaps reluctantly. For she knows a secret. She has been given the gift of prophecy, and in one of her visions she has seen Sir Thomas shredding the dress of the king’s daughter, the lady Elizabeth, to perilous consequence.

As Juliana learns the secrets of King Henry VIII’s court, she faces threats and opposition, learning truths about her own life that will upset everything she thought she once held dear.

 

 

Review:

This is a historical fiction book told from the POV of Juliana St. John, the daughter of a knight. She becomes a member of Kateryn Parr, King Henry the VIII’s last wife’s household. There is a bit of the supernatural mixed in with the history, which adds an interesting element to the story.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as other books I have read. I think that was mostly to do with one of the scenes in the book, it left a sour taste in my mouth and influenced my opinion of the rest of the story. There was a vividly described scene in which Juliana is raped. This event influenced Juliana’s life greatly. She forever felt unworthy of any decent gentleman’s affection since she was ruined and tainted by that event. This was even emphasized by a suitor telling her he wanted nothing to do with her after her so called friend betrayed her and told her suitor of the rape in order to gain his affection for herself. How Juliana ever forgave her, I will never know.

Secret Keeper is full of lies, deceit, and intrigue, portraying almost all of the bad things that can happen to one involved in the inner workings of court life. I would never have wanted to be a courtier or even a woman in that time period. I know that it looks fun and that the clothing was beautiful, but women were treated terribly. The double standard of what was acceptable behavior was so much more pronounced then, and women were so cruel, crueler than women are to each other in an average person’s life today.

On a happier note, this is actually more of a romance story than one would think given the title and what you may know about the life of Kateryn Parr, at least it is for Juliana. I am not going to give away anymore of the plot, except to say that it is very good and keeps the reader riveted to the story. This book has so many levels, plots and sub-plots that all mix and intertwine to give the reader a fresh perspective on the life of Kateryn Parr and the women who were loyal to her. Even if you are not fans of the supernatural, that element of this story is so small that it is almost insignificant and should not deter you from reading this book.

In case you wanted to know, there is sex in this book, besides the rape scene. There are not many sex scenes and there is a significant amount of material between the rape and the next sex scene, but sex in general is brought up fairly often because of the insecurities that this traumatic event created for Juliana.

I would recommend this book for adults only because of its overall content including but not limited to sex scenes, the rape scene, and events that follow due to the rape. I do not feel those would be appropriate for kids. If you are very sensitive to rape and all that follows, this book would not be good for you. It may bring up things you don’t want to think about and the scene is described in quite a bit of detail. It is also a main part of the plot and continues to be brought up throughout the entire novel.

I received this book as an ARC. I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

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Thoroughly Kissed (Fates #2)

 

 

by Kristine Grayson

Published March 1st 2001 by Zebra Contemporary Romance (first published February 1st 2001)

 

 

Summary:

 In Utterly Charming, Kristine Grayson took readers on a delightful romp through a modern fairy tale. Now, she picks up where she left off when a thoroughly modern Sleeping Beauty finds the kiss she’s been waiting for all these years.

Emma Lost can still remember the day she woke up in the back of a VW van after her famous thousand years’ snooze — the one that inspired the Sleeping Beauty myth. Emma knows it’s no fairy tale — she’s the real Sleeping Beauty, trying to hide her magical powers and swearing off kissing strange men for the rest of her life. Of course, most men follow her around like lovesick puppies…except for Michael Found, her gorgeous boss. The rational, logical Mr. Found doesn’t believe her theories about such things as Fates and fairies and magic, and he’s determined to expose her as a fraud. But Emma knows for sure the magic truly does exist, and she’s going to give Michael a lesson he’ll never forget — even if it means breaking her vow of not kissing men.

 

 

Review:

When I requested this book to read as an ARC, I did not realize that it was a continuation of a previous book.  That being said, I was able to read this one pretty easily without having read the first book.  Anytime there was something from the previous book alluded to, the author briefly explained what was going on and what happened in the previous book so that you got the gist of what was going on.  I was not confused at all, which is a good thing.  Reading this book made me want to read the first one, but I am not sure there is a point since it seems like all the high points were covered in this one.

I enjoyed the way Ms. Grayson wrote and I would most definitely read another book by her.  She writes in a very fluid manner and draws the reader into her work.  I was sucked in and wanted to know everything that was happening to the characters.  There was not a ton of character development and I still really would have liked to get to know some of the characters better, but not every book is written that way, and that is not a bad thing.  Thoroughly Kissed is just a nice book that allows the reader to get away from the world and enjoy a little romance without any of the heavy plot that can be in some other books.

Since I am moving out west in less than a month, I loved reading about the places that we will probably drive through.  I have one complaint though; Ms. Grayson was quite rude when she mentioned Sheridan, Wyoming.

“The only place I’d feel comfortable stopping in the middle of the night between here and Billings is Sheridan, and it’s not the friendliest city I’ve ever been to.” Pg. 239 of the ebook.

Now most readers probably just skimmed over it and didn’t think much of the sentence, but I take offence to it.  Sheridan, Wyoming is my new home and we chose to move there specifically because of the hospitality that it offers.  It is a beautiful, friendly city centered in the Big Horn Mountains.  Before Ms. Grayson, or any other author, decides to say hurtful things about a city, maybe actually going there and meeting the people would be a good thing, and if Ms. Grayson did go there and had a bad experience, I don’t think knocking a small town that really is friendly and has many neat experiences (Huge rodeo in July) and a strong history (Buffalo Bill and the Wild West show) to offer visitors, is a good thing to do.  There were other ways she could have gotten the point that it was too long a drive across to readers without mentioning Sheridan, Wyoming in a negative way.

Overall, this is a great romance novel that really didn’t have any bodice ripping.  Now it does have a lot of sexual tension and kissing and sex are a big overlapping theme, but it doesn’t happen in the book, you just know it happens after the book ends.  I would recommend this book to adults only because of the sexual tension and overall theme.

I received this book as an ARC.  I do not get paid to review books; I do so in order to assist you in recognizing books that you might enjoy.

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