TBR Review: Logan's Outlaw (Men of Defiance #4) by Elaine Levine

Confident and coolheaded, nothing shakes a Man of Defiance—except a woman he can’t resist...

Sarah Hawkins survived capture by the Sioux, but after her escape she faced public scorn. Now, she’ll do anything to start over, and the dusty town of Defiance promises the anonymity and security she needs. Before she melts into the shadows, though, it’s her mission to put a great injustice to rights, and that means jeopardizing her safety once more.

But this time, she’s not alone. Without meaning to, Sarah has fallen under the protection of Logan Taggert, a rough-and-tumble trader unused to caring for others—and yet unable to ignore the tempting, tenacious woman’s plight. Though she refuses to trust him, Logan won’t leave her side, keeping her one step ahead of danger…even as she takes hold of the very thing he never thought he’d risk: his heart.

Logan's Outlaw by Elaine Levine is the fourth installment in the Men of Defiance series. I read Leah and the Bounty Hunter, Book 3 and enjoyed the "real, somewhat gritty western" atmosphere in that story, and plan on reading the complete series. Logan's Outlaw is a western romance with plenty of violence and events covering the not-so-pretty history of the West. This story takes place during the painful times when the Sioux Nation was in flux, when gold was found in the Black Hills, and while some tribes were left with little choice but to move to reservations, others fought to maintain their way of life.

The story begins with Sarah, a white woman who survived torture as the white captive of a Sioux chief. This beginning worried me a bit, I've read these types of books before (from the 70's and 80's) where Native Americans are often demonized or romanticized. However, pretty quickly I realized that in Logan's Outlaw, Levine goes out of her way to portray both sides of the story. I can't tell you how politically correct the book is, you'll have to decide that for yourself, I can say that it is apparent that Ms. Levine conducted research before writing this story and did not romanticize either side.

Through Sarah, Levine explores life in the aftermath of a surviving white captive who was tortured and married to a Sioux chief. Also through Sarah, the author addresses the subject of how land, when not gained through treaties, was taken through foul means. Through White Cloud and his people, Levine explores the wisdom of the culture and how deeply they were wronged, and through Chayton her exploration goes into the pain and loss of the plains people.

Logan is the linchpin in this story. His position as a trader allows him to straddle both sides, and he appreciates and experiences the pain from both sides. Actually Logan turns out to be the perfect knight for a woman like Sarah. He understands what she went through, has endless patience with her, and all the right connections and courage to save her from her Sioux husband and to protect her from white scorn. There were very few moments when Logan showed his flaws... and even then, his reasoning was quite human. I wondered a few times along the way if there are men out there with his kind of patience. As a fictional romance hero, though, he is just that... quite a hero.

The romance between Sarah and Logan serves as the central focus. When Logan meets Sarah at a coach stop, she is a wounded, traumatized soul. Logan takes one look at beautiful and haunted-looking Sarah and fearing that the coach leaving to Cheyenne is headed for danger, appoints himself her silent protector and joins the group on their journey. That journey is a harsh one. They are attacked by a band of Sioux warriors, their coach is burned and the passengers killed. Although Sarah and Logan survive through Logan's knowledge and brave cunning, their adventures through Cheyenne, Defiance, and eventually to the Circle Bar Ranch continue to be filled with danger.

Levine uses the journey and the different obstacles that Logan and Sarah encounter along the way, including persecution by some goons that are after Sarah, to develop their relationship and romance. When Sarah and Logan find out that she is wanted for forgery, Logan marries her and slowly but surely begins the process of helping Sarah heal from the terrible fears and horrible nightmares that plague her from her days as a captive. She doesn't believe she'll ever be able to have a normal relationship with a man again, and he's willing to have her on any terms as long as he can protect her. How can Sarah not fall in love with Logan?

There's nothing pretty about some of the violent scenes portrayed in this story. There are burned bodies, scalpings, and people are killed ruthlessly. There's no sparing a character for the sake of making this a pretty romance, even as the characters experience their happy moments. This is a warning for readers who cannot tolerate violence with their romance.

Levine's prose is not complex or lyrical, as a matter of fact I find it rather straight forward and easy to read and the dialog can be said to be awkward at times, however the plot carries the day in this romance. Levine handles Sarah's healing, the aftermath of being tortured and raped, quite well (those torture and rape scenes are not shown in the book). The action is there from beginning to end, with quiet, romantic moments in between where Sarah and Logan get to know each other. Logan's attraction is instant and more protective than passionate in the beginning with passion taking over later on in the story.

Logan's Outlaw, like Leah and the Bounty Hunter, is a gritty western with both central and secondary characters that are confronting seriously hurtful situations. In contrast, the romance is sweet and by the end of the story there's a sense that the love found by our couple will endure. A quick western historical romance read, full of action that might not be enjoyed by everyone.

Theme: Western Romance
June Review

Category: Historical Romance/Western
Series: Men of Defiance
Publisher/Released: Kensington/March 2012
Source: Kensington Books
Grade: B-

Visit Elaine Levine here.

Series:
Rachel and the Hired Gun
Audrey and the Maverick
Leah and the Bounty Hunter
Logan's Outlaw

Review: No Tan Lines by Kate Angell

There's a place where the ocean meets the shore, where kicking off your shoes and baring some skin is as natural as sneaking under the boardwalk for an ice cream cone and stolen kisses. But life isn't all a beach for Shaye Cates, even if her idea of an office is a shady umbrella at the water's edge equipped with cell phone and laptop. Steely-eyed Trace Saunders is the incredibly irksome fly in her coconut tanning oil. And running a kids' softball team with her long-time rival is going to have everyone in her little Florida town buzzing. Her scads of laid-back relatives and his whole uptight clan know that Shaye just wants to play ball while Trace thinks only of business. But beneath the twinkling lights of the ferris wheel, the magic of sea and sand can sweep away every inhibition...Suddenly, it's summertime, and the lovin' is easy.

No Tan Lines by Kate Angell (or Barefoot on the Boardwalk as I tend to think of this story) is a quick, light read. It's a good summer or beach read... I mean it has the sand and waves, the boardwalk, the fair, and most importantly, the romance.

The story began with lots of potential and a great background story. The Saunders and the Cateses are two families who have been feuding for 100 years. Barefoot William was once a united beach town in Florida, but became divided into Barefoot William and Saunders Shore by Central Street and bitter enmity when Evan Saunders moved to town with his capitalist ideas. One side became a high end resort beach town, while the other remained family and tourist oriented, offering a boardwalk full of fair grounds, fun shops, and casual dining where residents and tourists can just have fun and well... walk barefoot. This casual approach to life vs. the more formal high end style is what keeps the two sides of the town apart for 100 years. And of course it's also what makes Shaye Cates and Trace Saunders bitter enemies throughout their lives. After all, it's tradition!

We first meet Trace at sixteen when he walks into a candy store located at Barefoot William, where Shaye and her cousin Kai are working the counter. There's a great confrontation between the two where in the end Shaye comes out the winner -- I loved that scene. Years later, Shaye represents the interests of the Cates' family businesses on the Barefoot Williams boardwalk, and Trace runs the Saunders' businesses on the Saunders Shore side of town. When both towns need to negotiate rights to the beach for a volleyball tournament, Shaye and Trace must meet face to face and the real fun begins.

There's a sense that these two would do anything to get the upper hand on the other, no matter what! The problem? The more they keep an eye on each other for sneaky attacks, the more the attraction grows between them as they share walks on the beach, ferris wheel rides, lunch meetings and more. But breaking with 100 years of hostile tradition won't be easy.

I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere in this story. The beach town with the boardwalk, the beach, the rides, the waves and sand made me feel as if I were there at Barefoot William. I wanted to walk on that boardwalk and enjoy an ice cream cone. The Cates clan gave the story a family atmosphere, and the hostility between Shaye and Trace, their competitiveness, and initial shenanigans were fun.

I think for me the romance between Shaye and Trace worked up to a certain point. I could feel their attraction and knew that, at least Trace, was ready to forgive and forget. I wasn't too sure that Shaye was really ready to meet Trace in the middle, and frankly their give and take was more enjoyable for me than their actual sexual encounters once the affair between them began in earnest.

This story, however, has multiple points of view and two other romances that are inserted in the middle of Shaye and Trace's, so that the focus of the story is constantly shifting. This became a distraction and pulled my interest away from the main couple. The timeline became a problem at one point, particularly toward the end when a new couple, Sophie and Dune, were introduced and the focus remained on them for quite a long time. This was an enjoyable story line, but one that definitely detracted from the main romance.

Overall, No Tan Lines is a contemporary romance that began with lots of potential, but that somewhere along the line lost its focus and ended up as an average read for me. I still enjoyed some aspects of the story, and think that this is a book that can be enjoyed as a light beach, or summer read. By the way, Dune and Sophie? They make an excellent couple and stole the show, and I'm hoping that there's a book in the near future about those two. I'll read it!

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Barefoot William
Publisher/Release Date: Kensington/May 29, 2012
Source: Kensington Books
Grade: C

Visit Kate Angell here.

Review: Point of Knives: A Novella of Astreiant by Melissa Scott

Set in an alternate pseudo-Renaissance world full of magics, pointsmen, wizards, necromancers and deadly political games, Point of Knives by Melissa Scott is a brand new novella that links the classic original fantasy Astreiant duology -- Point of Hopes and Point of Dreams -- by closing the gaps between the two books.

In Point of Knives, Scott's main characters Adjunct Point Nicolas Rathe and ex-soldier Philip Eslingen, now Caiazzo's knife or bodyguard, are thrown together again by unusual circumstances surrounding the double murders of father and son Grandad Steen and Old Steen, both rumored to have been pirates.

Circumstances are further complicated when Old Steen's son, Young Steen, claims his personal effects and an until-then-unknown wife shows up making the same claim. Seeking compensation for moneys owed, Caiazzo also lays claim to the man's possessions and dispatches Eslingen to represent his interests and to help Rathe with the investigation.

Nico and Philip can't help but be glad to be close again after last summer's affair, and although they know that neither can afford too close a relationship, both hope that the circumstances don't affect their friendship or their feelings for each other. Rathe is known for his excellent insight and trusts Philip even as he knows that as Caiazzo's knife, thug or blade for hire, Philip owes him loyalty. However, his feelings are deeply involved.

[...] he would only sound besotted. And I'm not, he thought. Not besotted. Fond of him, friendly with him --- gods, it was easy to slip into the habit of the summer, too easy to treat him as comrade and friend --- and if he was honest with himself, yes, he could become besotted. Could even --- He refused to utter the betraying verb, even in his own mind.

Nico and Philip agree that during the investigation they will take advantage of their time together as winter-lovers with a promise not to ask more from each other when that time ends. But will they? The murder investigation takes them from Point of Hopes' narrow streets into the dangerous neighborhood that is Point of Knives, and slowly becomes a coil that involves a deadly political game, gold, magists, alchemists, necromancers, and that when unraveled might prove deadly to Nico and Philip.

Point of Knives picks up on events a few months right after Point of Hopes ends and expands on the already established relationship between Nico and Philip. I was taken with the complexity of the world building in this fantasy, as well as with the excellent characterization. The police-procedural aspect of the novel is intricate and complete, with a gruesome beginning, excellent investigative work and a surprising, satisfying resolution. More importantly, it is through this key aspect of the story that Scott cleverly incorporates fantasy, adds details to her world, and develops a lovely romance.

The characters that populate this fantasy are regular folk that somehow stand out in this world where magics and alternate history intertwine so seamlessly and are so well crafted, that after a while all of it seems possible.

Points of Knives is a gorgeous addition to the Astreiant series. Melissa Scott takes this fantasy, fills it with memorable characters, and gives the reader more by incorporating a fully developed romance and a police procedural with enough twists and turns to satisfy the most finicky of readers. Highly recommended.

Category: LGBT/Fantasy
Series: Astreiant Novels
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/July 1, 2012
Source: eARC Lethe Press
Grade: A-

Visit Melissa Scott here.

Series:
Point of Hopes, #1
Point of Knives, #1.5
Point of Dreams, #2 (To be re-released October 12, 2012) 

TBR Highlights: Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, Gay Fiction

On Wednesday of this upcoming week some of us will be reviewing one book from our TBR (to be read) piles. My stack of books to be read has been growing and growing for a while. Today, I would like to share with you some of the books that I've yet to mention in my blog, but that I've quietly added to that pile.

I know there are a lot of new releases that I want to read coming out at the end of June, but there are always other books out there that catch my eye, books that I hunt or flag until they release, or books that I finally purchase after placing the title on my list of "books to buy." I've added quite a few of those books to my TBR within the last month. Here are five of them:

The Croning by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books, May 2012) 

Strange things exist on the periphery of our existence, haunting us from the darkness looming beyond our firelight. Black magic, weird cults and worse things loom in the shadows. The Children of Old Leech have been with us from time immemorial. And they love us. Donald Miller, geologist and academic, has walked along the edge of a chasm for most of his nearly eighty years, leading a charmed life between endearing absent-mindedness and sanity-shattering realization. Now, all things must converge. Donald will discover the dark secrets along the edges, unearthing savage truths about his wife Michelle, their adult twins, and all he knows and trusts. For Donald is about to stumble on the secret...of The Croning.

From Laird Barron, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of The Imago Sequence and Occultation, comes The Croning, a debut novel of cosmic horror.

Last year I "discovered" Laird Barron when I read one of his magnificent short stories. For a while now I have slowly been reading his awesome book of short stories, Occultation And Other Stories. Laird Barron certainly has a gift for writing speculative fiction/horror. The Croning is his debut novel and I was keeping my eye out for this title's release so I could scoop it up immediately!

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Scourge of the Betrayer by Jeff Salyards (Night Shade Books, May 2012)

Many tales are told of the Syldoon Empire and its fearsome soldiers, who are known throughout the world for their treachery and atrocities. Some say that the Syldoon eat virgins and babies-or perhaps their own mothers. Arkamondos, a bookish young scribe, suspects that the Syldoon's dire reputation may have grown in the retelling, but he's about to find out for himself.

Hired to chronicle the exploits of a band of rugged Syldoon warriors, Arki finds himself both frightened and fascinated by the men's enigmatic leader, Captain Braylar Killcoin. A secretive, mercurial figure haunted by the memories of those he's killed with his deadly flail, Braylar has already disposed of at least one impertinent scribe . . . and Arki might be next.

Archiving the mundane doings of millers and merchants was tedious, but at least it was safe. As Arki heads off on a mysterious mission into parts unknown, in the company of the coarse, bloody-minded Syldoon, he is promised a chance to finally record an historic adventure well worth the telling, but first he must survive the experience!

Okay, Scourge of the Betrayer is a fantasy book that came up in my list of recommendations at amazon in May when it released. I picked it up right there and then because from the blurb it just sounds like the type of book that I would love to read when I'm in the mood for fantasy. I'm hoping to get a break in my reading schedule soon so I can give it some time!

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Wonder by Dan Boyle (Lethe Press, January 2011)

Have a gay Caltech professor and his dying mother uncovered the secrets of the mind... and the universe?
Tom Flaherty's mother is suffering from a strange form of dementia that causes her to journey back in time; especially when she's housecleaning and finds personal items that trigger her memory. But Maude Flaherty's travels--from the Scopes Monkey trial in 1925 to the 1936 Berlin Olympics to the Civil Rights March on Washington in 1963--might be the evidence Tom needs as a Caltech physicist to develop a unified theory of space, time, and place and reconnect with a society he's lost touch with since the loss of his partner a decade ago.

As Tom attempts to determine just what is happening to his mother, the sense of wonder that disappeared with Ken's murder returns and his renewed quest for the meaning of life leads him to the national spotlight. Housecleaning is both a gay love story and a family drama, questioning science and faith and how scientists see the universe as God.

My friend Indigene reviewed Wonder by Dan Boyle back in September 2011, and her write up made this book sound so interesting that it went on my "list" of books to purchase and read. I finally purchased it and it's now in my TBR. It sounds like a fascinating read, right? My kind of read. *g*

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The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold (Harper Collins, 2006)

A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril returns to the noble household he once served as page and is named secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule. It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it must ultimately lead him to the place he most fears: the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies who once placed him in chains now occupy lofty positions.

But it is more than the traitorous intrigues of villains that threaten Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle here, for a sinister curse hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion. And only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge — an act that will mark him as a tool of the miraculous . . . and trap him in a lethal maze of demonic paradox.

Now, here I have a book that I've been wanting to read for a long time. I placed a hold on reading this book because I wanted to get through the Vorkosigan Saga first, but you know what? I'm just going to read it! I'll get through Miles and his adventures slowly anyway. I just want to read this book!

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Taxi Rojo by Erik Orrantia (Cheyenne Publishing, April 2012)

Tijuana-the melting pot of Mexico, the gateway to the U.S., the armpit of Baja California. Two million souls struggle for survival, each searching for a way to become...something, anything better. Fate brings a few strangers together one night in a crowded taxi rojo. When the red taxi crashes down a canyon, it creates a connection between the passengers that, like the international border within sight of the crash, draws a line between triumph and defeat, hopelessness and perseverance, life and death.

Boyfriends Rigo and Cristian confront their demons when a supposedly innocuous tryst gets out of control. Pancha looks for love in a complex world of ambiguous gender and sexual identity. Toni's biggest problem is self-acceptance in a culture that has ingrained in him the idea that real men are macho and self-sufficient. Julia's faith is challenged as she toils to make a living and support her disabled sister, while feeling paralyzed by her sense of responsibility and lingering guilt. Even in Tijuana, light can be found in the darkness. Facing fears and giving of oneself pave the road to strength and freedom, while stubbornness and denial lead only to demise.

Indigene has been recommending Mr. Orrantia's works to me for a few years now. I have Normal Miguel in my TBR and have yet to read it (shame on me), but I saw Taxi Rojo, and between the title, the setting and the blurb, it just drew me and I couldn't pass it up. So it seems as if this will be my first Orrantia read. Finally (Indie)!

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So these five books in my TBR pile are of the non-romance variety, and they're all Kindle editions. Next month, maybe I will have some print books on my list, as well as some romance. :)

Have you read any of these books? Are any of these books in your own TBR? I "discovered" Laird Barron last year and am really appreciating his writing, and a genre that I thought I would never read -- horror. Have you "discovered" a writer that grabbed your interest the way Barron grabbed mine? 

Review: A Night Like This (Smythe-Smith #2) by Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn has the touch when it comes to penning light, amusing historical romances. A Night Like This, the second book of the Quinn's Smythe-Smith quartet, is just such a romance.

The Smythe-Smith women are excellent fodder for comedy with their infamous musicales and the fact that they are oblivious when it comes to their lack of musical talent, but as we found out in Just Like Heaven, they are also loyal, determined, warm and rather insightful when it matters. The male Smythe-Smiths seem to possess similar characteristics.

Daniel Smythe-Smith, the Earl of Winstead has been through a tough three years running around Europe and dodging Ramsgate's killers, but now he's back in England and so happy to be back home that he even appreciates the cacophony of what passes as his cousins' music at the annual Smythe-Smith musicale. The young earl, however, is stunned by the beauty of the young woman murdering the piano keys. Thankfully, she's not a cousin, but he will find out who this beautiful woman who stopped his heart and knocked out his breath is, and follows as she runs off after the musicale ends.

Anne Wynter is hiding from a dangerous someone in her past, and her hiding place is as governess to the Pleinsworth family's young daughters, the Smythe-Smith cousins, Harriet, Elizabeth and Frances. Anne is asked to replace the eldest Pleinsworth sister Sarah on the night of the infamous Smythe-Smith musicale, and as fate would have it she meets Daniel Smythe-Smith, gets kissed and falls just a tiny bit in love with the charming young earl, whom she knows can never be hers.

Daniel is relentless in his pursuit of Anne. He blackmails Sarah and manipulates his aunt and family so he can spend time with her at his country estate. There, Daniel and Anne spend some of the most beautiful and fun days of their lives together, as they entertain the young Smythe-Smith cousins, spar, kiss, and quickly fall for each other. But Anne knows that her secret past and current position as a governess won’t allow her dream of a relationship between them to become a possibility. A dangerous carriage accident that leaves Anne hurt and Daniel thinking that Ramsgate is again making an attempt on his life, quickly brings this interlude to an end and reality to the forefront.

A Night Like This was such a lovely read, there's no other way to describe it. Daniel is one of those joyful, charming characters, that's tough to dislike, no matter his foibles. I absolutely understood why Anne fell in love with this man. There are fun and romantic moments galore in this book. Yes, lots of amusing moments to lighten up your day. Anne is just as likable. She keeps her secrets well and although she falls hard for Daniel and is truthful about her feelings for him, she also keeps her head and uses common sense. Good for Anne.

I loved the secondary characters in this novel. The Smythe-Smith cousins, Harriet, Elizabeth and Frances provided lots of the confusing-like dialog that made this novel so amusing and also gave it a bit of a young, refreshing touch. But the one secondary character who really got my attention was Hugh Prentiss! I hope, hope, hope that he gets his own romance soon, because he stole every single scene where he appeared. Yes, I fell for Hugh big time people.

Of course there's a big climactic scene where Anne is rescued, although to be fair, she was in the process of rescuing herself when the troops arrived. The climactic scene with the villain and the circumstances behind his reason for persecuting Anne are both over the top, but somehow they fit this Smythe-Smith series -- particularly the rescuing and the troops-to-the-rescue scene. I won't say more since I don't want to spoil it for readers.

I didn't review Just Like Heaven, but can tell you that so far I'm really enjoying this series by Julia Quinn. A Night Like This is just what I expected too, a light, fun, romantic read with lots of great characters. Julia Quinn almost always hits the spot for me with her solid romances, so now I'll look forward to the third book of this fun series.

Category: Historical Romance
Publisher/Release Date: Avon/May 29, 2012
Series: Smythe-Smith Quartet
Grade: B

Visit Julia Quinn here.

Series:
Just Like Heaven, #1
A Night Like This, #2