True Deception by Patricia Waddell

The Blurb:
A man who lives for revenge and a woman who clings to hope. Together they fight a common enemy . . . and discover a passion neither one dreamed could exist.

Aedon Rawn’s world died the day his wife and child were murdered by Conglomerate pirates. Now, his only reason for living is to avenge their deaths. The Directorate gives him that opportunity when he’s selected to become their first undercover agent. His mission: infiltrate and destroy the oppressive government of an outer region colony.

Kala Char’ari is a woman in need of a miracle. She’s dedicated her life to freeing her people, but they're on the edge of extinction. Risking everything, she dares to trust a dark stranger with the hardened heart of a warrior.

My thoughts:
The storyline of True Deception is pretty basic and one familiar to lovers of futuristic romance. The people of Hachyn are being oppressed and abused by the government and Kala is the second-in-command to (and being trained to be the next) the leader of the resistance. When her mentor is killed she has to put her trust in Korcian undercover agent, Aedon Rawn (although she doesn't KNOW he's an undercover agent). She's attracted to him and despite the fact that their first sexual encounter seems to be more of a result of her grief over the loss of her father-figure/mentor than true lust, she falls in love with the man that she knows is keeping secrets but cannot resist following her instincts and believing he means to help them fight the Conglomerate.

Aedon's wife and daughter were killed by the Conglomerate (the same gov't responsible for oppressing the people of Hachyn, and he wants revenge - his assignment is to assist the freedom fighters of Hachyn in overthrowing the conglomerate reps there and destroying factories that the Directorate (the good guys) believe may be producing weapons. When Aedon meets Kala he begins to feel emotions he thought he'd never feel again after the loss of his family

I really liked the first book in this series, True Blood. It was a wonderful futuristic romance - the perfect blend of romance, danger, and suspense.

This second book was a bit of a disappointment though. It was not bad, it was actually an OK read but I felt the story itself was kind of blah and the attraction between the H/h didn't feel very 'sparky' or real. I wasn't pulled into the story -probably because is was heavily detailed on the suspense side and not developed enough in the romance - I didn't really get to know enough about the main characters' "inner" selves enough to care or feel connected. But the part that took this book from a "Keeper" to a "Library" rating was that the ending felt somewhat incomplete and there were several random threads in the story that were never resolved, had no discernable purpose but seemed important at the time they were introduced, or were resolved too easily - that frustrates me because I have such a curiosity problem.

On the other hand, Ms. Waddell did an excellent job portraying Aedon's need for revenge and sorrow over the murder of his wife and child without it becoming an overblown conflict or letting it detract from the relationship between the H/h. While I don't highly recommend True Deception, it was a decent read - I have definitely NOT given up on this author or this series. I do highly recommend the first book True Blood though - it was a total keeper!




My rating for TRUE DECEPTION by Patricia Waddell:

Touch of Darkness by Christina Dodd

TOUCH OF DARKNESS
Book #2 in the Darkness Chosen series
Christina Dodd

The BLURB:
Handsome, powerful Rurik Wilder holds the power to transform himself into a fierce bird of prey-a gift that's caused death and destruction.
At last he's offered the chance to redeem himself. Only one woman stands in his way-a beautiful writer determined to wreak revenge on the assassins who murdered her family. Assassins, it's been rumored, who have powers no human should ever possess...

My Thoughts:
Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to do it. I wasn't going to purchase this second book in the series that got off to such a crappy start IMO. I just couldn't resist when I saw it on the shelf though and I caved and bought it.

MUCH better characterization, world building, and plot for this second instalment in Dodd's new series!

Rurik is an archeologist (of course) and Tasya is a photographer endorsed by the college/foundation (I can't remember which) that is funding the archeological dig. Both of them have their own personal reasons for wanting to be involved with the dig and those reasons relate to the Varinski's and the curse but Rurik seeks redemption for the Varinskis (at least his branch) and Tasya wants to bring Varinski secrets out into the public to destroy the clan. When the 'evil' Varinski's come onto the scene the H/h have to work together to stay alive and find the relic - although only Rurik knows that they're at somewhat cross-purposes.

The other side of the Varinski family tree as a threat is still a little weak but the search for the relic keeps the story going. The heroine's history with the bad Varinski's as a secret obstacle between Tasya and Rurik adds a good element of conflict as well. I did cry for a little while towards the end - which in some people's minds is a compliment about the author's ability to stimulate emotions in their readers but really.... I don't like the tear-jerkers unless I'm in the mood. But it didn't last long so all is well. LOL!

Overall, I was satisfied with this read. It's about half-way between a 'library' and a 'buy' type of read for me.

RATING: C+

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.

White Heat by Cherry Adair

White Heat by Cherry Adair

This book grabbed my attention right away with an action-packed beginning. In general, I don't really like books with a 'lovers reunited' theme but I found both characters entertaining and well developed. The plot was good, although there were some elements that were just too coincidental to be believable.

The only real problem with it for me was that the climax of the suspense and the conclusion weren't great. There was a lot of build-up and I liked the rest of the book but then the conclusion just felt slightly contrived - not awful, just off.

Overall, the majority of the book was great with an interesting plot and characters I could get into. If you like romantic suspense, you'll probably enjoy this one.

RATING: B-

At the Edge by Cait London

At The Edge is the first book in a new trilogy by Cait London. The spine classifies it as "Romantic Suspense" - which it is... but it has an equal amount of paranormal elements as well so I'd call it a paranormal suspense romance.

I've read a Cait London book in the past. I don't remember which one, so obviously I wasn't terribly impressed because a) I have a great memory for books I've read - if I liked them; and b) I haven't felt compelled to read another. But I saw this on Amazon and was intrigued... it actually came out in June but I was hoping to get it at the used bookstore... no such luck.

The background basics:
Triplets and their mother all have mega psychic gifts. They are decendants of a Celtic seer. Because of the nature of these gifts they cannot live close to each other.

This book's characters:
Claire is the youngest (by 6 minutes). She is the empath and has a very hard time blocking out the world around her so she lives in an isolated house in Montana. Claire's pretty much a hermit except for an elderly woman who lives in a house in the same clearing. When the elderly lady dies, her nephew inherits the house, moves in, and causes a huge amount of ruckus and noise.

Neil Olafson is the nephew that moves in. He's sexy, outgoing, and troubled by the disappearance of his son 8 years ago. After finding Claire on the floor of her house, the victim of a vicious intruder, he decides she's his to protect... she and her kooky sisters obviously need keepers.

This book, the premise of which was so promising, just didn't work for me... much.
First off, there were two seperate suspense 'plots' affecting the same characters but the bouncing back and forth between them was choppy and took away from the build-up of suspense. It left me feeling like the mouse in the maze wondering which way I should run to get to the end. Also, both of the suspense plots end strangely... rather unsatifying and flat. The one about Neil's son ends especially weird and is lacking the emotional depth you would expect. I can't go into more detail without spoilers so I'll leave it at that.

Second, I liked Claire and I liked Neil -but together... Not so much. In the beginning, Neil is portrayed as an EXTREMELY social person. And, of course, Claire cannot be around people without suffering from her psychic gift. And yet, this MAJOR compatability problem is never really 'solved' or even addressed properly. On the other hand, his playfulness and sensuality balances Claires somber solitude so they're not totally wrong for each other - if the other problems had been addressed sufficiently I would have been fine.

What I liked best about the book was Neil's determined protectiveness... I love that in a hero! Also, Tempest, the middle sister, was a fascinating character. I know my 'review' of it sounds pretty negative, but it wasn't a horrible book. It was just rather scattered feeling and a bit flat in the plot.

Overall, I would give it a C-. It's worth reading and I'll read the rest of the series... but I'll probably wait for the books to be at the used store in the future.

Night Hunter by Cathy McDavid

Here's an interesting new paranormal romance that I found (as I was hunting desperately for something new to read) called Night Hunter by Cathy McDavid.

Unfortunately, I don't have time right now to do my usual run-down summary and 'review' of this book but I wanted to give it a quick mention. It's good - not the best I've ever read - it had some minor plot issues - but the character development was well done and it was certainly good enough that I'll be watching for future paranormal romances (potentially a series???).

Here's the 'blurb' from the author site (but it's not a good representation):
Every twenty-five years the cycle begins anew — alegendary creature reawakens and preys upon the innocent. The police refuse to believe such a monster exists. But Gillian knows it's real. When she was seven, she watched in horror as it killed her mother. Now the beast is back ... for her.
As the chosen Hunter, Nick is the only one who can destroy the creature. Yet a gorgeous psychology professor keeps pushing her way into his investigation — and into his most intimate fantasies. For her own protection, Nick's determined to stay by Gillian's side, every day and each delicious night. And meanwhile, the monster bides its time ...

A less well-known but GREAT book!

I'm in re-read mode waiting for the July 3rd releases - and the wait is KILLING ME! I have no patience when it comes to waiting for books. So I've been re-reading some older favorites. Here is one that I was reading yesterday. It's not on most of the 'popular' lists, but I really enjoy it.

Many people love Charlaine Harris' books but they just don't appeal to me. I'm a die-hard romance reader and I rarely, if ever, stray from the genre (unless I'm researching something, of course) plus, I despise first-person POV.

However, Ms. Harris has written one story that I adore. It was a one-shot deal with Harlequin and, I believe, her only foray into the romance genre called Dancers in the Dark and it's part of the Night’s Edge anthology.

I'm not normally a huge fan of anthologies because shorter stories often seem to be missing something but I picked this one up because it was only $1 on the clearance rack and I sometimes enjoy Maggie Shayne who was one of the other authors in the anthology.

I absolutely LOVED Dancers in the Dark. The only reason this book even made it to my keeper-shelf was because of that story - not that the others were bad, just not good enough to rate a spot on my shelf.

Rue (Layla) is working hard trying to make her way through college and keep a low profile to escape her past. She joins a dance company that needs vampire/human dance teams and meets Sean, a 300 year-old vampire. Rue chooses Sean as a dance partner mainly because he appears indifferent to her looks and doesn't give off any overtly sexual vibes, which her past has made her wary of. They develop a friendship in addition to a partnership which then morphs into love. When a man from her past becomes a threat, Sean is determined to protect her.

Rue and Sean were great characters. Both outside of the 'norm' for a vampire/human love story. Rue is not the typical 'tragic figure'. She is strong, realistic, and a bit stubborn. She does not fold under pressure nor act like a total wilting flower when danger stalks her. She reacts much like you or I might. Her violent past experiences impact her relationship with Sean but it doesn't overload the story with fearful prose.

Sean is not the typical vampire either. For one thing, he has bright red hair and freckles. Yep, FRECKLES! Also, he is not a powerful, massively wealthy vamp (although, I do enjoy those kinds of vampires!). Sean was a valet before his 'master' turned him and while not really poor, he is humble enough to work for a dance company. To give you an example of his character (and because I love this part) when Sean tells Rue that he loves her, he does not turn all theatrical. He simply says "I'm yours" but the intensity of his declaration isn't dimmed by its simplicity.

Dancers in the Dark has a great balance between the main element of romance and the secondary suspense element. It flows very well, I didn't feel like I missed anything or like it moved too fast (which sometimes happens in shorter stories), the pace was great. I DO wish it had been a full-length book, because I loved the characters so much though.

Layla (Rue) and Sean have a cameo in All Together Dead -for those of you that read Charlaine Harris books- and according to FAQ on her website, she would like to write more about the characters of the dance company but current series obligations make that a far off event. I'm willing to beg though: Ms. Harris, Please PLEASE write more romance! Judging by this book, you have an AMAZING talent in the genre!