Minis: Ilona Andrews, Gordon Andrews, Meljean Brook

Magic Dreams (Kate Daniels Series - Hexed Anthology) by Ilona Andrews

Jim and Dali's story... I've been waiting for this one. Tigress Dali, hear her roarrrrr.... lol! She was the best character in this short story... smart, sassy and determined to save the man she wants but thinks she can't have. Geeky Dali with her thick glasses and supposed lack of skills doesn't think she's beautiful enough to get a strong, hunky alpha beast like Jim. She doesn't know that he's half-way in the bag already before this adventure gets going.

This wonderful novella by Ilona Andrews features these two characters and weaves in some fascinating myths in the process. The action is just what you would expect of a Kate Daniels installment, exciting, full of dread and fun at the same time. The villain in this one is a disgusting spider woman and I loved her demise. The dialogue between Jim and Dali was snappy and sarcastic, and that combined with the action made this story a fast-paced read. Although Jim's character playing the "damsel in distress" didn't quite fit my view of him from the other books, Dali's rescue of him was worth it. The romance itself is on the mild side of the scale and I wish Jim's side of the equation had been portrayed with a bit more passion, but I did love the way it ended.

Overall Dali made this story for me and I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to read more about these two, even if it is between the lines, in future Kate Daniels installments. (Urban Fantasy) Grade B+

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Fathers and Sons: Companion to Magic Series (Curran POV Vol II) by Gordon Andrews

Well, I really enjoyed this short story where events that took place after Magic Bleeds and before Magic Slays are narrated by Curran. We all know that His Fussiness the Beast Lord was furious when he found out that the Pack challenged Kate while he was down for the count for a few weeks. He demands an explanation from his Alphas but is not quite satisfied. He is especially furious with Mahon, the Bear who became a father figure to him, for allowing it all to happen. Curran is going to teach them all a lesson they'll never forget.

This was such a wonderful story. It's free at the Ilona Andrews' website for those interested in reading it. I thought this novella was better than Vol I and loved the interaction between Kate and Curran, as well as Curran's viewpoint of his relationship with Mahon and his love for Kate. It was quite emotional at one point and I thought it a perfect little story to read for father's day. That's when I read it. :D  (Urban Fantasy) Grade: B

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Paradise (Wild Thing Anthology) by Meljean Brook

Okay, so Paradise is a re-read for me. I first read this whole anthology when it released back in May, 2007. However at that time I was not following the Guardian series and didn't relate this story to anything and let it stand on its own. As a stand-alone I remember that, along with Marjorie M. Liu's short story Hunter Kiss where she introduced her urban fantasy series, this was a favorite story. Once I began reading the Guardian series, however, I wanted to re-read it, except... I had given away the book! Well, I just recently got it back through Mariana and re-read it immediately.

Selah is a favorite Guardian character and I remember that I loved Lucas, a nosferatu-made vampire that falls in love with her while they're trying to save his Oregon-based vampire community from a demon. Lucas is an emo vampire and Selah is a no-nonsense Guardian who believes in doing what she has to do while on the job. Poor Lucas didn't have a chance once he met Selah. I totally enjoyed the fact that he fell in lust with her shoes! Ah... yeah. As part of the series, I would say that this is a good solid addition as it gives an in-depth look into Selah's character, while giving the reader a peek at some events that occur in between novels. I fell in love with Lucas and Selah all over again. (Paranormal Romance) Grade: B

Review: Never Cry Wolf (Night Watch #4) by Cynthia Eden

Lucas Simone is not the kind of guy you mess with. He's big, he's strong, and his eyes hint at a wilder side most women can't handle. Of course, that's because his predatory instincts are no metaphor-he's a genuine Grade-A top-quality werewolf, tough enough to fight his way to dominance over the scariest pack on the West Coast. There's only one chink in his armor. Unlike most alpha dogs, Lucas has a reputation for protecting the weak and innocent.

Sarah King is counting on that protective impulse-it's the only thing standing between her and certain death. There are only two problems: one, she's not quite as innocent as she'd like Lucas to believe. And two, if he doesn't stop stoking Sarah's animal lust, it's only a matter of time before her own wild side gets unleashed...

Never Cry Wolf is the fourth book in the Nightwatch Series by Cynthia Eden, but stands on its own quite well. I've not read the other books on this series and had no problems following the story.

Sarah King is on the run and she's counting on Lucas Simone to protect her. Sarah is a charmer whose gift allows her to read wolves's thoughts when they're in animal form, and Lucas is the big tough Alpha of the West Coast pack. She can be an asset to him and figures if anyone can save her from her ex-boyfriend Ralph, it is Lucas .

Lucas can't resist the beauty even though he knows she's not trustworthy and offers her the protection of his pack. Sarah does give him valuable information about a planned coup to take over his territory. According to Sarah, the coyotes are about to break their pact with Lucas and Ralph is at the heart of it all, and the circumstances prove her right. But Sarah is full of secrets and lies. Can he trust her, even though he can't resist her charms?

This was a fun paranormal romance, full of shifters, action and hot, sexy moments. Lucas is the typical alpha's Alpha, with the overprotective instincts and macho attitude. Of course when he falls, he falls hard and that makes it worth it. I always love it when an alpha falls hard for a girl. Sarah is sexy, smart, and she also falls for Luke, but she's a liar and it takes most of the story to redeem her character.

In the meantime, there's lots of action, both in and out of the bedroom. They must prepare for an upcoming war, but that doesn't stop Lucas from claiming Sarah as often as he can, or Sarah from giving in as easy as pie, even though she previously experienced abusive sex with a shifter. But hey, this is Lucas and he's hot!

There are two distinct sections to the story. The first is the shifter section with the set up for the romance where Sarah and Lucas begin the bonding process and both the pack and the upcoming danger are presented to the reader. However, that takes them to the second section of the story. Lucas' life is in danger after he is shot with a silver bullet and he's rushed to a voodoo priestess in the hopes that she'll save his life. This is where the story itself shifts when Eden introduces a different atmosphere by expanding the setting and adds urgency to the situation. I enjoyed this section of the story much more than the first. The action is non-stop, the twists and turns are fun to follow as new characters are introduced, and they all ran around trying to figure out how to save their own lives and that of the pack from the villain.

Never Cry Wolf is a mixed bag -- a pretty standard shifter paranormal romance in that first half of the book, an exciting suspense, action-filled story with new, interesting characters on the second half, and Sarah being the mystery that needs to be solved throughout the whole story. Overall, although the beginning of the book felt like a traditional paranormal romance and my interest wavered a bit, I ended up getting caught up in the story and read it in one sitting. Now I'm curious about the rest of the characters. I hope Ms. Eden will write Josette and Piers' story. And what about Caleb, will he be redeemed? I hope so.

Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Night Watch
Publisher/Release Date: Brava/July 1, 2011
Source: Kensington Publishing
Grade: B-

Visit Cynthia Eden here.

Series:
Eternal Hunter, Book 1
I'll be Slaying You, Book 2
Eternal Flame, Book 3
Never Cry Wolf, Book 4

Review: The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam by Alex Jeffers

Explaining himself to himself and to the man he loves, Ziya tells Adam the stories of his life:

A bilingual childhood and youth in cosmopolitan İstanbul, city of the world's desire, and the Aegean resort of Bodrum. A bewildering trip by ship and train and jet across Europe and the Atlantic to college in America, that strange and terrifying country. Friendships, passionate affairs, one-night stands, rape --- a richly dissatisfying erotic education. A wedding, a death, an act of inexplicable violence --- a meeting.

Intricate as Ottoman miniatures, Ziya's stories reveal a world unsuspected: the world we live in.

Prior to The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam, my personal experience with Alex Jeffers' works was limited to reading Do You Remember Tulum? Novella in Form of a Love Letter. I admit that reading that one magnificent piece by this author left me with high expectations.

The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam is a compilation of ten self-contained short stories, some which have been previously published. Pulled together in this book, each story becomes a chapter where Ziya, as the narrator, gives his lover Adam a detailed, uncensored account of his personal journey as he attempts to make sense of events and people that influenced or changed his life.

Jeffers focuses much of his in-depth exploration of Ziya's character by slowly unraveling family relationships, and through them and their history, Turkish culture. Ziya's family is financially well off, educated, seemingly stable and strays from Muslim tradition only to a certain extent. The truths, secrets and betrayals that Ziya finds and experiences within his family reflect life as it evolves around him.

Ziya begins his narration with "A Story from Childhood," a seemingly simple story that takes place in 1974 when as a seven-year-old he is vacationing with his family at their home in the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey. That was the year his brother Mehmet went through the circumcision ritual and the Greeks, led by the military junta and its colonels, threatened to invade Turkey after the events that took place in Cyprus. This chapter firmly pulls the reader into the story as Jeffers establishes the rich setting and atmosphere, and while maintaining the focus on Ziya, introduces key secondary characters.

However, it is in the second chapter, "History," that the main focus of the story is established. This is where as a fourteen-year-old Ziya is enlightened as to what he wants for his future self. Ziya is bilingual. He dreams of attending Harvard and of excelling as a Turkish writer who writes in the English language, nevertheless after taking a tour of the sultans' palace Topkapı Sarayı and visiting Dar-üs Saadet - the abode of bliss -- he weaves in other dreams. This is where he witnesses one single moment of unparalleled happiness between Ben and David, two American men traveling together. As the nature of the friendship becomes clear, Ziya knows he wants that happiness in his own life.

This realization combined with personal discoveries, dissatisfying, and heartbreaking betrayals and experiences connected with the different ways in which sex (not love) between men are regarded by his fellow countrymen, make up the framework for this story as a whole. As Ziya faces a future wherein his faith and love for his family and culture are unwavering, but one that might be different from that of his beloved brother Mehmet, he has to come to terms with the fact that he might have to make some tough choices in order to become the man he needs to be. But, is it worth it? His journey will take him from Turkey, through Europe, and finally to Harvard and America.

Jeffers' is not a straightforward tale. Instead, he has a roundabout style of getting to the point, gathering all the pieces of the puzzle and allowing them to fall into place at the right moment. He reveals the details of his main character's life by peeling one layer at a time while maintaining the reader engaged. Jeffers' prose is intricate and his writing lush and richly descriptive. He plays brilliantly with language, as a single word (or in some cases, words) takes on a deeper significance by the time a chapter ends. At other times, as in the chapter titles "Kindness" and "A Person," it is immediately apparent. However, his focus on language is found throughout the book.

One of the aspects I love about this book is that Jeffers transports the reader to place and time without effort and creates an atmosphere that changes with the setting throughout the story, even as the narrator's voice remains distinctly unchanged. The reader is caught unaware at the most unexpected of moments, giving key revelations a certain shocking value because of the almost nonchalant way in which those moments are narrated. As an example: there's a lack of violence, even when the act described is violent, that tends to leave the reader breathless for that one moment and makes a stronger impact.

In The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam, the stories, all ten of them, come together and fit beautifully without the repetitiveness that I've encountered in similar works where collections of short stories are pulled together to form one book. And what of my high expectations? I am happy to say that those were met, and then some. This is a fabulous work of fiction by Alex Jeffers and one I highly recommend.

Genre: LGBT - Gay Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/ Release Date: Tincture/August 1, 2011
Source: ARC Lethe Press
Grade: A

Visit Alex Jeffers here.

Other works by Alex Jeffers:
Safe As Houses 
Do You Remember Tulum? 
The New People 

July 2011 Reads & Minis

July was a hot month in more ways than one... hot temperatures and hot books. I began the second half of the year in good form by reading some excellent books, and as you'll see below, I have four top picks! Of course there were also some deep disappointments, but that's par for the course.

What will I remember about July? All the historical romances I read about Dukes! I read three in a row and it felt as if I had Dukes coming out of my eyeballs, lol! Thank goodness some of them were really worth reading. *g*

I read 16 new books in July and that's too many to recap by writing minis, so I'm highlighting my highs and lows. The rest of my July reads can be viewed here.

I'll begin with my recap:

Total books read: 16
Re-read: 1
Contemporary Romance/Fiction: 4
Historical Romance: 5
Urban Fantasy: 1
Paranormal Romance: 2
LGBT: 4 (Gay Fiction: 2, Gay Romance: 1, Mystery/Romance: 1)

Top July Reads:

• The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam by Alex Jeffers - My top pick of the month and an amazing contemporary gay fiction read. Expect a review this week. (Upcoming Review)
• Silk is for Seduction (Dressmaker Sisters, 1) by Loretta Chase: I believe this is the first historical romance to receive a straight A from me this year! I loved it, no question about it. Grade: A
• What I did for the Duke by Julie Anne Long: This is another historical romance that I really enjoyed, both for the romance and the humor. This one helped with my craving for historicals this month. Grade: A-
• Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey: I truly enjoyed this contemporary. I can't believe I waited so long to try Shannon Stacey's series about the Kowalskis and then began with the third book! I do have the first book of this series in my TBR and will definitely read it. Grade: B+

Biggest Disappointments:

• Waking Up with the Duke (London's Greatest Lovers #3) by Lorraine Heath: This was a highly anticipated read for me that didn't quite make the mark. You can find out why in my review. Grade C-

• Baby, Drive South (Southern Roads, #1) by Stephanie Bond: This contemporary romance just fell flat for me. I didn't like either one of the main characters. The female protagonist couldn't make up her mind between the man who dumped her because she wasn't attractive or young enough for him, and the immature "hero" who attempts to keep her around by lying to her. She was pitiful and he was annoying. I never bought the fact that he fell for her, and couldn't believe that she actually vacillated about staying because the ex-boyfriend might want her back. Pitiful! At this point the only thing that kept me reading were the two other brothers who seemed interesting, and I figured I would read the second book. Grade: D
• Baby, Come Home (Southern Roads, #2) by Stephanie Bond: Well, I should have known better! The second book was even more annoying than the first one. I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately the female protagonist, whom I really, really hated disliked, and the way the story was going made it impossible for me to keep going. Too bad, I liked Kendall in the first book and thought his story had potential. DNF

• One Whisper Away (Ladies in Waiting #1) by Emma Wildes: This is another book I really wanted to like. I've enjoyed a couple of stories by Emma Wildes in the past. However, I'm afraid that after reading 59% of the story I couldn't continue. The clichés were far and wide and I couldn't get past them: the American half-breed who inherited the title of Earl, but who although educated in expensive American schools and having resided most of his life in Boston, behaves like a boor when he hits English society. Cliché. Society in America was quite strict at the time and even with the differences in culture, this man's lack of knowledge and his behavior were too unlikely to suffer through and something I didn't expect to find in this book. Riding the London streets without a shirt? Really? *Sigh* I've read scenes like these too many times throughout the years to continue... DNF

Of course I'm not done reading historical romances yet. At the moment I'm reading Meredith Duran's A Lady's Lesson in Scandal, my first read by this author (yes, it is!), and I have a few other ones waiting on the wings, Mary Balogh and Madeline Hunter's latest releases are two of them. Plus, I'll be reading a couple of new gay fiction releases for review in August as well... hmm... so many books, so little time!

My number one pick for July was The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam by Alex Jeffers, what about you? What book did it for you in July?

NJ Bloggers: Dinner, Books and the Heat!

Christine, Mariana, Natalie and I decided to have our NJ Bloggers Summer's get together last Friday, July 22nd. It was the single, hottest day of the month in our area... that day the heat index hit 114℉ or 45.5 ℃ in our area. It was brutal! But, we were determined and met anyway.

Christine was coming from home, Mariana and Natalie were lucky enough to be working from home that day due to the heat, I had to go to the office but was released early -- by 3:30 p.m.  Unfortunately, buses were breaking down left and right because of the weather, and by the time I caught one and arrived home it was 5:00 p.m. and I was feeling a bit fried from commuting. Brutal!

After a quick shower and change, Christine and the ladies picked me up and we took off for our meeting place, Houlihan's in Weehawken. We sat inside because it was too hot for enjoying outdoor sitting that day, but our table had a wonderful view of New York City and the Hudson River, and soon we were all relaxing. We had a cozy, lazy time and all had tasty dinners and great drinks (I'm having one of those martinis next time, Christine!), and shared one of their delicious desserts (they're huge!). Our conversation strayed toward the personal, but I can say that we were all quite proud of Christine's dedication, persistence and how brilliantly she has met her athletic challenges. She was still sporting the identification number from her last endeavor, which was temporarily tattooed by the sun on her arm while she biked... I wanted to take a picture of it, but if you haven't figured it out yet, this is not a picture-taking group. [grin]

We left our bookish discussion and book exchange for later. This all took place after dinner while we sat on a bench by the Hudson River. Christine brought a whole box of books so we looked through those, chose our books and left the box in the trunk of her car. Mariana and I brought tote bags brimming with books, so all four of us settled down on a bench to check out what we wanted from each other.

Despite the sheer amount books available, this time I only chose six books that I've not previously read. From Christine's box I chose four historical romances:

• With Seduction in Mind by Laura Lee Guhrke
• The Seduction of An Unknown Lady by Samantha James
• The Highlander by Heather Grothaus (new-to-me author)
• Barely a Lady by Eileen Dreyer

From Mariana's books I chose two romance suspense novels by Linda Howard, plus a few first edition romances by Nora Roberts for my collection -- I've already read these books by NR and still have them all, most of them in collections of three, but I still wanted these! I split those with Natalie who is a great Nora Roberts fan and is still making her way through her backlist. Here's the list.

• Open Season by Linda Howard (Hardcover)
• Now You See Her by Linda Howard (Hardcover)
• Local Hero by Nora Roberts
• Untamed by Nora Roberts
• Blithe Images by Nora Roberts
• One Summer by Nora Roberts
• Sullivan's Woman by Nora Roberts
• A Will and a Way by Nora Roberts
• Unfinished Business by Nora Roberts
• Genuine Lies by Nora Roberts

I read Genuine Lies a long time ago and thought it was part of my collection, so when I saw it in the bunch I past it along to Natalie, who past it back to Mariana, who gave it back to me and somehow remained in my possession. I thought of giving the book to my daughter, but when I went through my books at home realized it was not there. How could that be? I MUST do an inventory of my NR books! So, thanks Mariana for insisting. You all know what that means, right? Now I have to re-read it. LOL!

Anyway while all this was going on, Christine, Mariana and I exchanged and shared impressions from our RWA experience about authors and books with each other and with our sweet friend Natalie who didn't attend. Plus, we shared our thoughts about our latest favorite books and reviews, grading reviews, ARCs, publishers and publishing... all of it as we perused and discussed some of the books we were exchanging, and tried not to think of the heat! By that time it was almost 10:00 p.m. and I'm pretty sure we were all thinking: water! shower! So, we finally drove away and said so long, hopefully until our next get together in the Fall.

One last thing... Happy Belated Birthday, Natalie!