Minis: Karina Bliss and Sarah Mayberry

Here Comes the Groom by Karina Bliss

If Jocelyn Swann weren't so furious, she'd probably laugh. Her best friend, Dan Jansen, has launched a campaign worthy of his Special Forces training to arrange their wedding, from music and minister to flowers and food. What part of no does he not understand?

Their marriage "agreement" was a tipsy scrawl on the back of a coaster…three years ago! It's not a question of love. Of course she loves Dan. She's loved him all her life. If only she could get him to slow down a minute and listen—to be the friend she needs right now—she could convince him that marriage would ruin everything.

Here Comes the Groom is a good friends to lovers story with a bit more to it than just the romance. The male protagonist is suffering from mild PTSD and the female has a secret medical condition that she insists on keeping from her friend. After having lost his friends in Afghanistan, Dan wants to live "life" and decides that he's going to do so by marrying the one woman who has always been there for him, his best friend Jocelyn. She's not falling for it though... as he plans the wedding, sends out invitations, and tries to convince her at the same time.

There's quite a bit going on in this category romance and Bliss addresses the PTSD part of the story as well as Jocelyn's medical condition quite well. The friendship between Dan and Jocelyn is well drawn with lots of humor to lighten up the more serious parts of the story and enough emotion to capture the heart, although I thought that the trust factor in the relationship was a big miss for two people who were supposed to be so close.

The transition from friends to lovers was not the best in my opinion. Dan's motives are explained, but his final realization is an abrupt one and I never quite understood where Jocelyn's feelings changed toward him. There's definitely love between friends and later passion... but for me there was something missing in this story. Grade C

The Last Goodbye by Sarah Mayberry

Ally Bishop knows the settling kind when she sees one. And Tyler Adamson is definitely one. Ordinarily this never-in-one-place-long girl would stay far, far away. Maybe it's the way he looks in jeans, or the way he looks at her, but suddenly Ally is breaking her own rules with dizzying speed. All that Australian temptation right next door…well, there's only so much resistance one girl can have.

As she dives into a fling with Tyler, Ally assures herself she can maintain perspective. After all, he's only here long enough to care for his ailing father. That gives them a time limit, right? With each passing day, however, she falls for Tyler more. And soon she has the strongest urge to unpack her suitcase and stay a while.

The Last Goodbye is an interesting romance by Mayberry, where again she focuses on the romance but manages to dig deep into the male protagonist's past history of abuse to make him a fully developed character. The Last Goodbye refers to two different events in the story. Tyler's estranged father is dying and although there's a history of violence between them, Tyler decides to take care of him until the end. Ally is Tyler's father's next door neighbor. As Tyler finds himself needing and seeking emotional support from Ally, the two fall for each other and have a deeply passionate affair. However although Tyler wants a committed relationship, Ally is not made that way... she lives a nomadic life and only allows herself temporary sexual affairs. She agrees to stay only until Tyler's father dies.

Mayberry again delivers a meaty romance with this book. The characters must deal with conflicts from within and from without -- an abusive childhood in Tyler's case, and a neglected one in Ally's; plus Tyler's father's continued presence and impending death. All of these issues affect them as they are first attracted to each other and their attraction builds to passion and then love. Mayberry uses both sexual tension and her signature sensual scenes in this installment, so don't think that you'll miss out on that aspect of her writing.

My one problem with The Last Goodbye is that Tyler's character is better developed than Ally's and we know why he reacts the way he does every step of the way. On the other hand, the reasons given behind Ally's decisions didn't seem to be enough, and as a result her about face at the end of the story seemed too easily obtained and abrupt compared to the depth of emotions she exhibited while explaining her reluctance to stay. However, even with that one problem this was an enjoyable read for me. Grade B-

Mini: Of Swine and Roses by Ilona Andrews

A young adult story about a girl, a pig, some magic, and the worst date ever.

Chad Thurman is a thug, who carried brass knuckles in both pockets and lays magic traps for intruders into "his" neighborhood. The last thing Alena Kornov wants to do is to go on the date with him. But when her family pressures her, she can't say no. Now the ice-cream is absent, the pig is running for its life, and we won't even mention the dead guy...

Of Swine and Roses is a cute fantasy short story. The characters are young and the situation is entertaining with funny moments, as well as having one of those rooting -- oh yeah! -- type of climactic moments. Unfortunately I didn't find any real surprises and the world of magic and characters were not engrossing. The world is rather familiar with noble families or clans that base their power on magic as well as assets, and maintain their territories with that power over those who have less influence.

The story begins when a young woman is ordered by her parents to go on a date so that her family may obtain a loan from a more powerful clan. I like that although Alena goes on the date as ordered by her parents she doesn't, for one minute, consider Chad as a possibility. I love that she stands up for the pig! Amusing and cute. Definitely. Grade C

Visit Ilona Andrews here.

This was previously a free read at the author's website. 

Review: The Shattered Gates (The Rifter, Book 1) by Ginn Hale

When John opens a letter addressed to his missing roommate, Kyle, he expects to find a house key, but instead he is swept into a strange realm of magic, mysticism, revolutionaries and assassins. Though he struggles to escape, John is drawn steadily closer to a fate he shares with Kyle—to wake the destroyer god, the Rifter, and shatter a world.

The Shattered Gates is Book 1 in Ginn Hale's brand new ten part serialized fantasy series, The Rifter. It is tough trying to review the beginning of a book instead of the whole thing, so I'm just going to give you my impressions on the world building and her introduction of characters at this point.

Ginn Hale begins the story in our contemporary world with John opening a letter addressed to his unusual roommate Kyle. The letter contains a key and John keeps it. In the meantime Kyle or Khalil is fighting a war in his own world. A strange world where there are such things as oracle bones and talking dogs. After a series of unusual events, John uses the key and unwittingly opens a gate that transports him and his two closest friends to a strange and hostile world where they find themselves trapped. When Kahlil realizes what has happened, he attempts to follow John through the gate. He arrives at a place that is both familiar and yet different. Kahlil finds himself alone as all he knows seems to be gone forever.

The initial part of the world building in this first part of the book was excellent. It's easy to understand and follow and fascinating enough to hook the reader. Of course there's still much left to develop, but having read this first episode, there's no way I wouldn't continue reading this book.

The characters are also interesting, although at this point the world caught my attention much more. Hale concentrates a bit more on John's development than on Khalil in this episode, but there's enough information about both characters to give the reader an idea of what is to come. John has an affinity with the earth itself and seems to receive comfort from it. He's a bit of a lone wolf and although he shares part of himself with his friends, there's a lot there within him that's still unknown. I want to know the reason behind some of his reactions and can't wait to see where his character goes from here. Khalil is even more of a mystery as the reader receives only enough information to wet the appetite. We know he was chosen as the protector of his world and somehow failed by not keeping John from going through the gate. I can't wait to read more about him.

The Shattered Gates was engrossing. I was transported to this world and wanted to know more about these characters and the events that were taking place. Of course the tough part is waiting for that next episode to come along next month! This was a solid beginning to this serialized fantasy series. 

Category: LGBT Speculative Fiction
Series: The Rifter - Book 1
Publisher/Released: Weightless Books - March 8, 2011 ebook
Source: Won subscription at Desert Island Keepers Book Blog
Grade: B

Visit Ginn Hale here

Review: Welcome to Harmony by Jodi Thomas

Sixteen-year-old runaway Reagan has always wanted a place to belong. She's never had a real home of her own, but perhaps she could borrow someone else's. Under an assumed name and identity, she moves to Harmony, Texas, but keeps her distance from the welcoming townsfolk. Until prairie fires threaten Harmony-and Reagan learns the true meaning of family, friends, and home.

This was a good small-town yarn. Thomas does a good job of setting up the atmosphere in the town and the suspense. But what really makes the book are the characters and their relationships.

First there's Reagan, a sixteen-year-old runaway who took care of Ms. Beverly Truman at the Shady Rest Home and in the process fell in love with the town of Harmony and its people through conversations, letters and newspaper articles. After Ms. Beverly passes away, she decides that Harmony is going to be her home and the dwindling Trumans her family. She assumes a false identity and goes to live with Ms. Beverly's cantankerous brother, Jeremiah Truman.

Then we have Hank Matheson and Alex McAllen the Fire Chief and the Sheriff. These two have been friends since childhood, but have a relationship fraught with guilt and hostility. Every Saturday night, while off duty, Alex winds up dead drunk at the local bar. The only person who can and will come to take control of her is Hank. She goes with Hank, but resents the heck out of him. The main motivation behind Alex's actions is guilt over her brother's death, just as a long-time attraction and love are behind Hank's.

And then, we have the undertaker Tyler. His is the quiet story of a lonely man who doesn't seem to relate well to people around him and finds himself relating to a woman on the internet. He doesn't think of himself as having real friends, just customers and their families. His virtual romance is sweet and gives him a great personal boost. The rest of the town is there as a supporting cast and ties up the story.

Out of these three main stories, there were more, the one I enjoyed the most was Reagan and Jeremiah’s. I loved the way young Reagan and the older Jeremiah slowly built up a trusting and heartwarming relationship and become family. Reagan also befriends young Noah, and through him understanding the meaning of friendship and trusting is further reinforced for this young runaway.

Hank and Alex’s relationship has a satisfying end, but it’s a frustrating journey there. Alex feels responsible for her brother’s death, yet in the process of guilt tripping and self-punishment, she also severely punishes Hank. Although I understood Alex’s grief, I saw her actions toward Hank as unfair and senseless and as a result couldn’t sympathize with her.

Tyler’s story was quiet and a bit innocuous, yet I loved the way he rose from the background to become the hero of the piece. I just wish there had been more for him at the end.

In conclusion, Welcome to Harmony, introduces some great characters. The suspense story with the fires set in the town is well done and I enjoyed it. I loved the small-town feel to story and the large cast of secondary characters. Having said that, Reagan's past is still a mystery by the end of this book and Tyler’s situation is left unresolved. So even with all the enjoyable parts, you know there's more to come by the end. This is a quick contemporary read and a good start to this series. I already have the next installment, Somewhere Along the Way, and hope to read it soon.

Category: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harmony, Book 1
Publisher/Released: Berkley-June 1, 2010
Grade: B-

Visit Jodi Thomas here.

Review: Saddled and Spurred (Blacktop Cowboys, Book 2) by Lorelei James

Saddled and Spurred by Lorelei James is the second installment in her Blacktop Cowboys series. The story focuses on local Wyoming cowboy and rancher Bran Turner, and down and out beauty queen Harper Masterson. He desperately needs a ranch hand and she desperately needs a job. She has no experience as a ranch hand, he hires her and the fun begins!

Bran met Harper when she blew into town with her mother and sister. He has lusted after her from day one, but for some unknown reason her gorgeous looks always intimidated him and he's always admired her from afar. Harper's mother was a slut who ran out of town with someone else's husband and left Harper holding more than one bag.  Harper's an ex-beauty queen whose lot in life seems to be taking care of others first. She works two and three jobs to take care of herself and her younger sister who's about to graduate and go to college. Taking a job as a ranch hand is no big deal to her, and working for a stud like Bran is no hardship either.

There's lots of story telling and sexual tension before Bran and Harper finally get together and James' signature erotic scenes begin. The storytelling is quite good and includes a large cast of secondary characters that complement this story. I like the fact that this couple spends time together and considers consequences first instead of jumping into a 'blinded-by-lust' relationship right off the bat.

Both Harper and Bran are portrayed as extremely likable characters. Unfortunately, I was a bit underwhelmed by Bran's character development as the real reasons behind his insecurities and trust issues were not clearly defined. Harper is a bit of a contradiction: feisty, sexy and sassy with Bran, and weakly (obliviously?) blind about her sister and herself until the very end.

This is an erotic romance and this is Lorelei James, so let's talk about the hotness in this book! You know I enjoyed that part of Saddled and Spurred. There are no threesomes in this story. Instead, Bran and Harper embark on a sexual adventure as they explore never-before experienced fantasies together. James takes her time by using sexual tension as a build up to the erotic scenes, so that when they do come along they just get better and better. Do not expect some of James' more extreme scenes, but believe me this couple is hot on and off the sheets with all that built-up tension working in their favor.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next installment in this series, Abe's story, Wrangled and Tangled.

Category: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Blacktop Cowboys, Book 2
Publisher/Released: Penguin Publishing, March 1, 2011 - Kindle Edition
Grade: B-

Visit Lorelei James here

Series:
Corralled, Book 1
Saddled and Spurred, Book 2