Alice Janell

I've been going through a bit of a Highland romance phase, but can you really blame me? Pages full of hot, sexy mean in kilts and speaking with Scottish brogues.

The first book of Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series, Beyond the Highland Mist is a wonderful historical romance with some amazing fantasy elements mixed in.

When the Fairy Queen begins boasting about the sexual allure of Sidheach Douglas, aka Hawk, both her husband and lover take offense and hatch a plan to find the one woman who can say no to Hawk's touch.

Hawk is arrogant, beautiful and oozes sexuality. There isn't a woman who'd refuse him and his prowess on the battle field and in the bedroom has made him legendary. Hawk doesn't seem to mind the string of heartbroken women behind him, because those women would warm his bed in a heartbeat if he so much as crooked his finger.

A strong, modern woman through and through, Adrienne de Simone has sworn off beautiful men. After an almost fatal relationship with her gorgeous playboy of a fiance, she swears off of beautiful men forever. Her distaste for beautiful men makes her the perfect pawn for the fae's revenge. Thrust back into the sixteenth century, Adrienne finds herself hours away from being forced to marry a Highland man who is the epitome of everything she despises in a man.

Forced to marry a woman no one has ever seen, Hawk is so determined to ignore his wife that he doesn't even attend the wedding. However, the first time Hawk lays eyes on his wife, he finds her swooning over the blacksmith, Adam Black. Filled with jealousy, Hawk's arrogance demands that he not lose his wife to a mere blacksmith. Setting his sites on seducing his wife, Hawk is dismayed to learn that Adrienne has no intentions of every being seduced by him.

Moning's rich fantasy involving the fae with the Highlanders is awesome. I loved the concept of vengeful fae searching through time and plucking unsuspecting Adrienne from time in the 90s and throwing her into the 16th century.

It's a great story filled with action, magic, jealousy and romance. However, I truly did not like how easily Adrienne accepted that she was thrown back in time. Even though the fae made sure to find someone who would not go crazy at the time travel aspect, I feel she accepted it way too easily. I also did not like that Adrienne seemed so indifferent at not only being thrown back in time, but having to marry a strange man hours later.

Seriously, what modern woman would agree to that?

However, get past that, and the book is pretty enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, which will focus on Grimm, Hawk's best friend and captain of the guard.

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Terry Brooks is one of those authors whose books I see all the time on bookshelves but have never read.

On the return trip from my honeymoon, I realized sitting in the airport that I had run out of books. I packed eight books for a seven day trip, and I had read all of them! So, I picked out A Princess of Landover while in the airport.

It was only after reading this novel that I learned that it's actually book six in a series that came out more than a decade ago! Having no knowledge of Landover or previous novels by Brooks is definitely not necessary for reading A Princess of Landover.

The story centers on Mistaya, the princess of Landover, who is a teenager and a bit rebellious. Kicked out of a private school in the human realm (for using magic to invoke the image of a dragon to scare another girl), she returns to Landover only to find that her father is not going to be lenient and give in to what she wants. Instead, her father decides she needs her own project and suggests going to the magical library, Libris, to restore it to its former glory.

Feeling as though life is unfair (ahh, teenagers), Mistaya runs away, only to find herself in the library anyway. In Libris, she finds herself wanting to solve the mystery of what lurks in the shadows in the back of the stacks. There is also a rather sweet, innocent romance that unfold throughout the story too.

While this book is fantasy, it's very light and not nearly as complex as other fantasies, like Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time series. Brooks is humorous and light-hearted, but there's something about Brooks' writing that sucks you in and keeps you enraptured with the characters.

This book works wonderfully as a stand-alone, there's no need to read the first five books in the Landover series. I think, though, I will go back and read them down the road, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book and Brooks' style of fantasy.

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When I purchased this book a few months ago, I honestly did not expect to love it as much as I did. At the time I bought this, I was reading a lot of urban fantasy, so all the book covers where filled with bad ass, tough girls.

Enter half naked man in a kilt.

I bought this in a fit of giggles, because it was historical romance -- something I rarely, if ever, read. But because I'm married to an Irish kilt-wearing highland bagpiper, so at the time, it was kind of funny to me to have this book sitting in my TBR pile.

And then I actually read it.

Wow.

First, this is not just a historical romance. This is historical paranormal romance with action! Donna Grant truly surprised me (in a wonderful, wonderful way) with this book.

The story follows Cara Sinclair, would-be nun, as she nearly plummets to her death one night and is saved by a mysterious man. She wakes in MacLeod castle, a place thought to be haunted. When Cara learns that her mysterious savior is none other than Lucan MacLeod -- a man of legend who lived hundreds of years ago, she's shocked. More surprising still is that Lucan's equally legendary brothers, Fallon and Quinn are living in the castle too.

The brothers have been hiding from an evil druid witch for nearly 300 years, and struggling to cope with the demonic God that inhabits their souls. When Lucan saves Cara, he threatens to expose the secrets he and his brothers have worked so hard at hiding. But Cara is not exactly what she seems either, she's got her own secret -- a secret that could cost Cara her life.

Can Lucan protect her and his heart? Or will they give into the passion that consumes them both?

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I read this book purely as a fluff read, and that's mostly what it is: a cozy, fluff mystery.

The story centers around Maggie, who is fired from her office job and takes a job working in an antique store owned by Felicity, who is a witch. When the police show up on Maggie's first day to question her boss about the murder of her estranged sister, Maggie fears she may be out of a job again soon.

Due to prejudice against Felicity for being a practicing witch, the town is quick to call her guilty. But Maggie things otherwise, and she sets off to discover the truth. What ensues is a light, fun mystery packaged with a bit of romance and paranormal activity.

If you're looking for something light to read, then you'll enjoy this cute mix of murder, magic and mayhem as Maggie finds herself caught between the traditional Catholic values of her small hometown and her boss' secret witchy life.

It's pretty easy to figure out what's going on and what's going to happen with certain characters, but in the end I remembered that I purchased this book for some super light reading, and so I just had fun with it. I read a lot of cozy mysteries like this, and though they're predictable and fluffy, they're still worth reading.


Sometimes, you just need some fluff.

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Elisabeth Naughton blends Greek and Roman mythology with action and romance in Marked, the first book of her Eternal Guardians series.

Theron, leader of the Argonauts and descendant of Hercules, has always done his duty. But when he meets half-human, half-Argoleon Casey, he is put to the test as he struggles to make a sacrifice that will either save his kingdom or destroy it.

Thrown into an ancient world she never knew existed, Casey is also thrown head first into an ancient prophecy that says she has to die in order to save the Argoleon race. Casey handles the news of her mixed heritage with aplomb as she bands together with the other mesos – half human, half Argoleons – as the battle the daemons unleashed by a dark goddess, Atalanta, who hates all things having to do with the Argonauts, and wants to destroy them and their world. In in a cruel twist of fate (and having somewhat to do with a curse put upon the Argonauts by Hera), Theron finds his soul mate in the one person who must die to save his people – Casey.

As the attraction between Casey and Theron heats up, will the leader of the Argonauts be able to let go of his soul mate in order to save his people? Or will he risk everything and lead Argolea to its destruction in order to save the woman he loves?

Naughton’s innovative use of Greek and Roman mythology and paranormal elements is fresh and engaging. Marked is a fast-paced, thrilling, romantic and satisfying read. I thoroughly enjoyed this first book to what is sure to be a fantastic new paranormal romance series.

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This second installment of Monica Burns’ Order of the Sicari series is a red-hot, seductive read that has you burning through the pages until the very end.

Assassin’s Heart focuses on Lysander as he struggles to come to terms and accept his past. After being tortured at the hands of his enemy, Lysander discovers a secret that he cannot bear to share with anyone – especially the woman he secretly loves and keeps at bay.

While I loved the first book, Assassin’s Honor, I absolutely loved reading Lysander and Phaedra’s story. This book picks up the search for the Tyet of Isis that was started in book one, but primarily takes place in Rome, where Lysander is leading his group to search for clues. Lysander is a broken hero (which makes him more loveable) who struggles with his desire for Phaedra as he’s forced to work alongside her.

There are a lot of stories going on in this book, but Burns blends them together fantastically. I’d love to expand on these, but you’ll need to read the book to know what I mean. Suffice to say that the romantic story lines and the plot twists will keep you reading until the very last page.

I cannot wait for the release of book three in this series. If you’ve yet to pick up this fantastically written series, do so. Monica Burns will rapidly become one of your favorite authors.

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The fifth installment of Michele Bardsley’s paranormal romance series, Broken Heart Vampires, centers around Simone Sweet.

While still as humorous as other Broken Heart books, Over My Dead Body also has a darker tone than some of the earlier books. Simone’s past with an abusive husband clearly haunts her and so far, she’s does a fair job of keeping herself secluded from everyone in Broken Heart.

But how long can she deny her growing attraction to the sexy, mysterious Brad Hayes?

Over My Dead Body may be my favorite in the series so far. I read it in one sitting – I just could not put it down.
Despite the strong sexual attraction between Simone and Brad, this book is more action than romance. When the scars of Simon’s past begin to peer out, we see a tough, independent woman struggle to face the fears so rooted in her past.
Will Simone be able to let her guard down enough to let Brad in?

Of course, while Simone is battling her emotional demons, trouble is afoot in Broken Heart. Someone’s attacking Broken Heart citizens, and all the victims are connected to Simone.

There’s something eerily familiar about the attacks, and yet nothing seems to add up.

Simone better figure it out fast, though, because her little girl’s life is on the line.

Over My Dead Body is a face-paced novel about facing your fears, letting go of your past and learning to love again.

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Let me start by saying, I didn't discover Devon Monk in the conventional way. That is, I didn't just find her books in the bookstore one day and think, "Oh, I want to read these."

No.

I discovered Devon Monk on Ravelry, an online knitting/crocheting community. I saw she was an author, clicked on her website and then discovered her books.

And I'm really glad I did.

One of the main things that hooked me to Monk's books was her magic system.

"Using magic meant it used you back. Forget the fairy-tale, hocus-pocus, wave a wand and bling-o, sparkles and pixie dust crap. Magic, like booze, sex and drugs, gave as good as it got."

In the Allie books, using magic comes with a price -- sometimes it's a headache or losing a memory -- but there are always those who don't want to pay, so they Offload the cost into innocent people. Allie is a Hound, the best there is, and it's her job to identify the spell's caster when magic has been Offloaded onto an innocent.

She's the daughter of one of Portland's wealthiest business men, but she'd rather work as a Hound than deal with the strings that come with accepting the family fortune.

The book begins with Allie Hounding a hit on a little boy who is dying from a magic Offload. Allie is shocked and angry when she discovers that her father's signature is all over the Offload. When her father denies it, even when under the influence of a Truth spell, Allie's determined to discover the truth.

But then things take a turn for the worse when a death occurs and has Allie's signature all over it. Suddenly Allie's prime suspect number one, and she's being chased by Hounds and the police. And to top it all off, it's her birthday. She also runs into trouble in the form of Zayvion Jones--a stalker/bodyguard who used to work for her father and seems intent on shadowing Allie's every move. There's an undeniable attraction to Zay, but Allie not only has trust issues, she's got other things to worry about.

Monk creates an exciting world where magic is just another vice. There is mystery, action and some exciting romantic scenes in this fast-paced urban fantasy. Though the beginning of the book can be a little slow due to world building and the explanation of magic, once things are set in motion it's one twist after another as Allie races to discover the truth before she lands in jail, or worse, dead.

Allie is one of the more kick-ass female leads I've read, but she's got a lot of humanity to her as well. She's more than just a kick-ass girl, she's vulnerable too -- memory loss as the price of her magic usage leaves her with large gaps as to what happened in her life, forcing her to carry a notebook in which she writes the details of her day.

I love that Allie has these flaws, it made her more relatable. It was nice to read a heroine that was not only kick-ass and bad-ass, but had some depth as well. Allie knows she's the best at what she does, but she's not arrogant about it.

Overall this is an excellent read that is well-paced, but still leaves you breathless.

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Rosemary Clement-Moore has created what is quite possibly one of my favorite YA heroines ever. Maggie Quinn is snarky, sassy and smart. She's got this razor sharp wit that keeps you laughing at the people and situations around her.

You know Maggie is character gold when she continuously drops references to Star Wars and LOTR.

At first glance, Maggie is the average on-the-fringe type of teenage girl. She writes for the school paper, but she's not all out popular. She's got her small group of friends, which includes a girl named D&D Lisa. But then you learn that Maggie clairvoyant, and this leads her to picking up clues to solve a supernatural mystery that will end up taking Maggie to one of the places she fears the most: Prom.

Maggie Quinn is a little like Nancy Drew meets Charmed meets Buffy. Maggie's edgy, sarcastic humor keeps you laughing and Rosemary's plot twists and turns keep you guessing.

This book may be hard to find, so do yourself a favor and either order it online or request it at your local bookstore.

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Set 150 years after Imriel's story, Naamah's Kiss centers on Moirin, a young girl raised in the wild by a dwindling line of magical people known as the Maghuinn Dhonn. So when her goddess, the Brown Bear, shows her that she has a role to play in the fate of the world, Moirin must leave her mother and the only home she's ever known.

Moirin starts her journey by looking for her father, a D'Angeline priest serving Naamah, the D'Angeline goddess of desire. Her life in Terre d'Ange is short lived as her destiny sends her to thee far reaches of the empire of Ch'in where she must rescue the emperor's daughter from the dragon spirit trapped within her.

Carey's amazing world is once again brought to life in beautiful detail. I absolutely love her writing - it's elegant, beautiful and captivating. Fans of epic fantasy who have not read Carey are in for a real treat when they pick up her books. There is magic, romance, action, heartache, war, destiny and so much more.

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I tried really hard not to let my previous knowledge of the author’s background to influence how I read and rated this book. Despite this, I admit that what I know about Cassandra Clare did affect how I read the book – but I still thoroughly enjoyed City of Bones.

While it’s almost plainly obvious that Clare borrowed from other books (Harry Potter, most notably), it’s still an engaging read. I’m not sure if this is because there is enough original material in the story to make it that way or if it’s because I am just obsessed with Harry Potter so much that I’m automatically going to enjoy a book that’s pretty similar.

City of Bones is the first book of the Mortal Instruments trilogy and it follows fifteen-year-old Clarissa “Clary” Fray as she discovers she’s not nearly as normal as she thought she was. Thrust into a world of demons, vampires, werewolves and demon hunters known as Shadowhunters, Fray not only discovers the truth of her past, but the truth of her parents as well.

OK, even though I really liked City of Bones, I have to admit that a lot of the plot was pretty predictable and there was even some blatant foreshadowing peppered in. However, Clare manages a spectacular spin on a twist that I perhaps should have seen coming, but didn’t. It changes the dynamics of Clary and her friends and I’m eager to see how it plays out in the next two books.

Clare delivers a fast-paced plot that readers who enjoyed the Harry Potter series will enjoy. I put this book somewhere between the epic awesomeness that is Harry Potter and the utter crap that is Twilight. A solid three stars for being a good read, but not overly original.

Read it, but don’t go in with high expectations and just enjoy it for what it is – a light, but fast-paced YA urban fantasy.

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With engaging characters and a compelling plot, Sharon Shinn brings a woman’s perspective to epic fantasy in Mystic and Rider.

Mystic and Rider is the first in the Twelve Houses series. Shinn builds a complex world where magic is the norm, but not necessarily socially acceptable. When trouble begins brewing among the Twelve Houses of Gillengaria, the king dispatches Senneth, a mystic, to assess the threat. She is joined by a diverse crew, which includes magic users and warriors...continue reading

Skyler White’s debut novel and Falling, Fly is a dark fantasy romance about vampires who are really fallen angels.
I purchased this autographed copy of the book because the cover was intriguing and the excerpt on the back cover piqued my curiosity.

However, despite what seemed to be a very promising novel from a debut author, I just could not fully get into and Falling, Fly.

The book follows Olivia, a fallen angel of desire who feeds on blood, like a vampire. Olivia has wandered the world in search of a loophole to rid her of her curse and bring her salvation. We are also introduced to Dominic, a scientist plagued by visions of past lives.

I wanted to love this book. I really did. The idea behind this group of vampires being fallen angels of desire was unique. The plot, if there was one, was buried beneath elaborate, over-the-top prose and a lot of jumping around between the two main characters. One minute you’re reading in first person, the next you’re reading in third. This wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t occurring every 500 words or so.

I will be very honest and admit that I did not finish White’s book. Despite two weeks of trying (and let’s face it, I should have been able to read this book in a day or two at the rate I normally read), I just gave up.  I kept hoping that when Olivia and Dominic finally came together, the novel would begin to make more sense and the plot would reveal itself.

Nope.

The prose was interesting to read. I won’t deny that White writes some amazing prose, but at the same time it was just so dramatic and preachy. I think I actually rolled my eyes several times – I mean, we get it, OK? You write beautifully, but you’re trying too hard and it shows.

This book had lots of potential. But I feel as though White tried too hard to set and Falling, Fly apart from other dark fantasy books. What she ended up with was 352 pages of confusing text…of which I managed to read just over half before I gave up and moved onto something else.

White has a second novel entitled In Dreams Begin that is being released in November. It looks as promising as and Falling, Fly, but hopefully it’s not as disappointing. I may or may not give it a try.

I feel a bit guilty that I wasn’t able to finish the book. Therefore, you’re free to take this review with a grain of salt. Since I couldn’t finish it, maybe you can…maybe you’ll even like it.


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Assassin’s Honor is the first book in the Order of the Sicari series by Monica Burns.

It’s a compelling romance that follows archeologist Emma Zale as she falls head first into the world of an ancient order of assassins known as the Sicari.

Enter Ares DeLuca, a Sicari assassin who lost his honor when he used his skills to avenge the murder of the woman he loved. When Ares and Emma are tied together in the search of an ancient artifact, the plot really begins to sizzle with both romance and suspense.

I’m a total sucker for those romances where the two lovers head butt all the time. I love stubborn women and men who refuse to admit their feelings. It makes the coming together (ahem, minds out of the gutter please – or is that just me?) so much sweeter.

Ares and Emma have that type of relationship and Burns’ writes some really sexy, hot scenes. If the delicious cover doesn’t capture your attention, Burns’ passionate and bold writing will.

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Perhaps I’m a bit biased, but I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth installment of the Broken Heart Vampires series.

Michele Bardsley’s Wait till Your Vampire Gets Home focuses on the only single-dad-turned-vampire in Broken Heart, Ralph. I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed when I opened the first page and realized that the story was not told from Ralph’s POV. Instead, the story is told from the perspective of Libby Monroe, a paranormal investigator.

Though Libby has been raised by her parents to believe in the paranormal, her life changes when she’s confronted with vampires, werewolves, zombies and dragons — all in one night. When she’s taken to Patsy, Broken Heart’s resident vampire queen, and is then put under Ralph’s custody, the plot really begins to heat up – literally and figuratively – and what ensues is a wild ride that will have you rapidly turning pages.

The returning characters from the first three books in addition to newer ones, keeps the series fresh. Bardsley does a really great job of rotating her cast of characters so that those who were minor characters in other books are suddenly major players in this one. Bardsley also introduces new species into the Broken Heart Vampires world including dragons, demons and shape shifters.

Wait till Your Vampire Gets Home is everything you’d expect from a Broken Heart Vampires book and more. Bardsley weaves nonstop action and a wild menagerie of a cast with romance and family relationships in this humorously heartwarming tale.

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Bitten is the first book in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. It’s a first person narrative from the view point of Elena Michaels – the world’s only female werewolf.

OK, I had a really hard time trying to swallow that pill, but for the sake of wanting to enjoy a new book, I let it go.

The story centers on Elena and her struggle between trying to fit into the human world and coming to terms with being a werewolf... continue reading review