The Promise of Rain by Shana Abe

Challenge: Title or cover reminds you of Spring
Rating: 5

B&N overview: Lord Roland Strathmore has been ordered by the king to find and capture Lady Kyla Warwick, a noblewoman running from rumors of scandal and murder. One of England's fiercest warriors, Strathmore is torn between his loyalty to the king and his pledge to the elusive woman he has never met. For Strathmore was once betrothed to the fiery Lady Kyla—until her family's fall from grace halted plans for their union.

When Kyla is seized by Strathmore, she vows to seek vengeance against the man she considers a traitor. But she's surprised when her hatred for her newfound enemy is matched by a powerful attraction—a temptation at odds with her desire to reclaim her freedom. Fueled by his own unspoken passion, Strathmore is willing to risk everything to help his beautiful captive discover the truth about her shocking past—even if only the most desperate act will save her from further ruin...or perhaps even death.

Review: A beautiful story, yet again, by Shana Abe. This is one of her first books, and I found it immensely satisfying and enjoyable -- Abe again draws me into her somehow lyrical writing and fairytale like story. I find with her books that I am unable to read them quickly. I savor every word without conscious thought. Just a beautiful story with her signature hint of magic. I loved Kyla and Roland and I loved reading their story. A keeper for me!

Dark Seduction by Brenda Joyce

Challenge: Read a book set in Scotland

Rating: 4

B&N overview: Malcolm of Dunroch is a newly chosen Master, a novice to his extraordinary—and dangerous—powers. But he has already broken his vows—and a young woman's death is on his hands. Malcolm is determined to fight his darkest desires, denying himself all pleasure…until fate sends him another Innocent, the beautiful bookseller Claire Camden.

Since her mother's murder, Claire has done everything possible to make a safe, secure life for herself in a city where danger lurks on every street corner, especially in the dark of night. But nothing can prepare her for the powerful and sexual medieval warrior who sweeps her back into his time—a treacherous, frightening world where the hunters and the hunted are one and the same. Claire needs Malcolm to survive, yet she must somehow keep the dangerously seductive Master at arm's length. For Malcolm's soul is at stake—and fulfilling his desires could prove fatal….

Review: Fun!! Two of my favorite things are in this book: highlanders and time-travel. I had no clue what to expect from this book. I have read just one of Joyce's books before, so I don't have a huge frame of reference. I wouldn't say it's the best time travel ever, but it was definitely a good solid read. Dark, sexy (wicked!!), action filled, and unusual twists. I enjoyed it very much and am really looking forward to the rest of the series! On Brenda Joyce's site are short videos she has produced (with actors) to promo this series. While intrigung, I wasn't so hot on the actors that played the men. But they were kind of fun to watch anyway. I think this series needs some polishing up in order to be excellent (some scenes had an akward or forced feel to them), but being the first in the series this is to be expected, I suppose.

Lady of Desire by Gaelen Foley

Challenge: Read a trilogy or series- part II
(the Knights Miscellany)
Rating: 5

B&N overview: Impetuous Lady Jacinda Knight is the daughter of a scandalous woman. Though society predicts she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps, the spirited beauty stands unashamed of her passionate nature. Then one night, in flight from a safe but loveless marriage arranged by her strict older brother, Jacinda finds herself alone on a dark and dangerous street face-to-face with Billy Blade, the notorious leader of a band of thieves. His stolen kisses awaken in her a longing for a man she can never possess.
A handsome scoundrel running from a secret past, Billy Blade has never met a woman like Jacinda–her fiery innocence and blossoming sensuality set his rebel’s heart ablaze. Having turned his back on the privilege and power of his tyrannical father’s house years before, he vows to return to his rightful place and reclaim his title, Earl of Rackford–to win the love of the ravishing beauty who has stolen his heart . . .

Review: A delight to read. I wasn't a huge fan of the previous book in this series (Lord of Ice), but this one more than made up for it. Jacinda is just a little bit wicked, being the daughter of the Hawkscliffe Harlot, which was sorta fun. And Billy is totally wicked! I confess I love the word wicked. Billy is a very unusual hero -- he ran away from home as a pre-teen and learned to survive on the streets. As the leader of a gang, he is not your typical, run of the mill, aristocratic hero. He's rough, he has tattoos (!!!!), and he is not society wise. I found him refreshing and charming. And wicked, of course. I am totally annoyed at Jacinda's brother Alec. His story would be next, but I am going to skip over his story for now and read about the black sheep of the family -- Jack. I am certain he will be very wicked.

Pink Princess's ten commandments of romance

My Ten Commandments of Romanc

1. Thou shalt not have a cartoon-ish cover on thy novel. I am not 5 years old, I am a grown up. I outgrew cartoons many moons ago.

2. Thou shalt not write a hero or heroine with obscure, made up, unpronounceable names! If thou wants to discuss a book with thy friend, thou does not want to stumble over Flerghlherz and Gtyphlax. Thou shalt use names that I can pronounce without spittle flying out of my mouth.

3. While on the subject of names, thou shalt not give thy hero and heroine gender confusing names. I do not want to read about a heroine named Fred, George, or Tony. It hurts my head trying to figure out who is wearing the skirt in the story.

4. Thou shalt not make a hero wimpy. There is a fine line between sensitive and wimpy, and some authors cross it. The hero shalt not roll over and play dead when the heroine shows some fire. Thou shalt make thy hero fire back.

5. Thou shalt not allow the heroine to be violated unduly or have to endure Very Bad Things for extended periods of time. I realize it is sometimes part of the story and the journey, and I have been able to overlook it on occasion, but it is largely misused and offensive. A gang rape is NEVER ok. Make a note.

6. Thou shalt not write a book where the blurb and cover are more exciting than the actual story. One does not want to close a book and think that thy time would have been better served sitting and staring at the cover.

7. Thou shalt not write a heroine who is stronger, faster, taller, bigger feet, uglier, has shorter hair, or a better shot than the hero. Some things art sacred in a romance -- thy hero needs to be able to save the heroine at all times, in all circumstances. The man shalt be the man, the woman a woman.

8. On that note, thou shalt not make the heroine manly, always wanting to "beat" the hero at something. It is not funny, it is not sexy, and it is boring. If I wanted two manly protagonists I would read a gay romance. I don't, and I won't.

9. Thou shalt be veeeeerrry careful about who is time traveling and where. A woman may go forward or back in time, a man may come forward in time, but a man shalt not go back in time. A modern man lacks the historically appropriate skills to protect the heroine from bad guys.

10. Thou shalt not make thy heroine look like a thirteen-year-old boy. It is not sexy. No matter how "slim/slender/thin", thy heroine must look like the chick that she is. Give her boobs. I don't care if they are gigantic or small, but thou shalt give the poor girl boobs that are apparent.

Sierra by Connie Mason

Challenge: Read a western.
Rating: 4

When 3 year old Sierra's parents are killed by Indians and her older sister and brother are taken captive, she is lucky enough to be found by a childless couple and raised as their own daughter in a life full of love and privilege in San Francisco. But even as an adult she has never forgotten her long lost brother and sister, and she holds the belief that they are still alive despite her adoptive parents certainty that they must be dead. When she hears about a "white savage" named Wind Rider and his white sister, she is sure this is her long lost siblings and decides to go to Denver to find them. No one is willing to take her on the trip, so she tricks saloon owner Ramsey Hunter into taking her. Ramsey is going to Denver to exact revenge on two people who have wronged him and he isn't interested in babysitting a beautiful head strong girl who makes him want to trust again.

Review: I really enjoyed this story! This is my first Connie Mason book. Sierra and Ram have convincing chemistry, and they adventure they have on their trip to Denver is certainly an eventful one -- stage crashes, Indian captivity, horse travel, attacks of various sort... very entertaining. It was a little long though. There weren't a lot of words per page, but by the last 100 pages I was about ready for it to wrap up and move on. It wasn't the best book I have ever read, but worth the read!

A Dangerous Man by Connie Brockway

Challenge: Readers choice
Rating: 3

B&N overview:
Mercy Coltrane, a brash young American woman, travels to England to search for her estranged brother. Strident in her quest, she seeks out the help of Hart Moreland, whom she knew years ago as Duke the Gunslinger, the hired gun her father enlisted to protect his land. Now Earl of Perth, Hart is back in his native England in a hard-earned position of respect and power, and the last thing he wants is a reminder of his dishonorable past. But Mercy Coltrane proves to be much more than just a painful reminder of the life he left behind. Vibrant, beautiful, and witty, Mercy embodies the life of happiness that Hart desperately craves.

Review: I was GOING to read this for my western challenge, but sadly there was a minuscule amount of western (3 pages) in this story, so this is getting moved to readers choice. Bummer. I could probably live with that if the book was a very good one, but I found it pretty disappointing. Almost the entire story takes place at an England house party. Yawn. The love scenes (once they show up) are good, but I found myself skimming much of the time, and even once I closed the book I didn't felt like I knew the hero and heroine very well. Even the secondary characters were lack-luster. The most exciting part of the book was the racy kick-back cover.... thankfully it was not a long book, so I was able to fly through it quickly. For excellent Brockway's I suggest her Rose trilogy or her McClairin's Isle trilogy.

The Secret Life of Bryan by Lori Foster

Challenge: Read a book that has "secret" or "lie" in the title.
Rating: 4

B&N overview: Bounty hunter Bryan Kelly has a few rules. Rule #1: Women are for fun, not commitment. Rule #2: He'll do anything for his twin brother, even switch places in order to find out who wants to sabotage the naive preacher's charity organization. Playing benefactor to a bunch of sassy, flirtatious prostitutes means that Bryan will have to be his brother -- in every way that counts. But then, he hadn't counted on Shay Sommers. Keeping his cool around the luscious lady of the night with the big heart is doing nothing to keep his thoughts pure, which brings him to instant Rule #3: If you can’t avoid temptation, succumb with abandon...

Being mistaken for a hooker. Well that's certainly a new one for Shay. The society pages icon has made her name in charity work. Still, this could be her chance to help these girls from the inside out, if she can play the part just right. It certainly won't be hard to act the street siren with the gorgeous preacher who runs the place, even if he does seem less like a shepherd and much more like a wolf in a clerical collar...one with a hungry look that's making Shay feel she might be his next dinner...

My review: Now here is a story line I have never read before... and that's saying something for having read romance novels for the past 15 years. I really enjoyed it! It wasn't as heavy as I thought it might be, given the subject matter. It was a little odd that the hero was under cover as a preacher.... he certainly didn't act like one, even under cover. Over all this story was engaging and charming and a fun. I would have liked if it had a touch more emotion. I think it could have handled that. But still a solid 4 read. Next is the REAL preachers story... that should be different.