In the Midnight Hour by Patti O'Shea

The Blurb:
Ryne is a magical troubleshooter, sworn to protect the innocent from being harmed by magic—and she's been chasing Anise, her former mentor, for six years.
Deke is a private investigator who knows something key to defeating Anise. But Anise cast a dark spell over him, and even though Ryne has managed to temporarily lift the curse, Deke can't remember what it is that he knows.
Ryne has sworn to never get involved with a human, but Deke is sexy, charming, brave and irresistible—and as Ryne and Deke are pulled further into Anise's evil schemes, it's harder and harder for Ryne to resist the attraction.
But dark magic has its own attraction, and in order to defeat Anise and lift Deke's curse permanently, Ryne will have to risk following in Anise's footsteps and succumbing to the lure of the darkness...

My thoughts:
I have been in AGONY waiting for this book to come out. I love Patti O’Shea’s futuristic books as well as her contributions the Crimson City and 2176 series' so I snatched this book up as soon as it hit the stores. It is very good.

Although some elements of the book require the reader to suspend logic completely (like the fact that Deke is a man trapped in a cartoon-like TV show by a spell), the heroine and the hero were surprisingly realistic. witty, and charming. Their relationship was also fairly unique in terms of power and strength because Ryne is the one with the knowledge and strength of magic - she 'takes care' of Deke a lot in the first part of the book when his memories are gone.

My only problem with this book was that I had a real sense of deja-vu while reading it. I CANNOT figure out why - I've certainly never read it before. But as I was reading it I was seriously getting that "I've been here before" feeling. I can't recall a particular book that this is similar to or anything but it felt WAY weird because I even knew how the ending was going to be. It's driving me nuts because I can't figure it out. Has anyone else experienced the same with this book or am I going insane?

Anyway, this book is about mid-range on the light/dark scale. It's not a dark paranormal but it isn't a fluffy read either. I'd recommend this to people who like books such as Cheyenne McCray's magic series (although this is a little lighter than that) and other magic or witch-type paranormals.

RATING: B+

Ms. O'Shea's next book, In Twilight’s Shadow, is due out next summer and is about Ryne's sister Maia. I'm pumped for that one too! Maia is a VERY interesting character and I can't wait to learn more about her.

The Devil's Possession by Heather Waters

The BLURB:

She was a woman called to lead
Ordinarily, women do not become Highland chieftains. But Faith Maitland is no ordinary woman-until a violent encounter in the forest crushes her courage and leaves her pregnant. And now, because no clan will accept a sullied woman, she must find a sire for her bastard...
He was a man they called a witch
When Faith names Draven the Devil as the father of her child, she thinks she is blaming a dead man. Instead, her accusation halts his execution for witchery. When he is released from the stake to the Maitlands' custody, Faith realizes that she has affianced herself to a silent man with frightening powers...
Theirs was a devil's bargain
Draven has no reason to relish his escape, having long since wearied of the fear and hate that has been his lot. Yet he finds himself unable to renounce Faith and expose her to the same shame. Fascinated by her beauty and strength, Draven is drawn to Faith even as she is warmed by his tenderness. But their growing trust will be tested by the threat of true evil...


My thoughts:
I actually picked this one up to read the blurb because I thought the cover was so bad. I was intrigued enough to buy it despite the fact that I'm not really into historicals recently. Now that I've read the book, I realize that the title sucks too. It just doesn't fit IMO. And to be honest... the blurb isn't really a good (or completly accurate) representation of the story either. This poor author should really ask the publisher NOT to assign the same cover/PR team to her next book!
However, that is the extent of my negativity regarding this book. Well, OK... the author could have spent a LITTLE more time world & character-building but while it lacked some of the vividness of paranormal romance masters such as Kenyon, Singh, and Feehan, it did not disappoint!

I started this book while eating lunch after leaving the bookstore and I was engrossed enough by the story that I sat in my car reading until I finished the book - yes, I realize what a sad statement that is about my self-discipline but I couldn't help it! The beginning of the story was just FASCINATING and I couldn't tear myself away!

I liked Faith (the heroine) but I ADORED Draven. What an intriguing hero!! In many ways he was your 'typical' tortured hero but there was just something about him that captured my attention and my heart.

RATING: B (it wasn't the best thing I've ever read but it was SO DAMN GOOD for a new author!!)

Heather Waters' next book Destiny's Warrior is due out in December and has been added to my buy list. I'm excited to read more from this bright new author.