BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: Never a Bride by Amelia Grey

Hello Everyone,

Oh those Regency romances, how I want to stay away from you. But once in a while I give in and read one of them, just like Never a Bride by Amelia Grey.

I actually enjoyed this very much, and usually I stay away from Regency romances because as much as I like reading romance, I really have a hard time enjoying them because all I can think of is the real treatment of women. LOL that's women studies fanatic for you.

Regardless, I liked this book because for once the main character was standing up to the conventions of the society. And I wanted to slap the male lead more than once, but what can I say... double standards and women. Either way, the book grabbed my attention and held it because I wanted to know who was the culprit! I do have to tell you, I got my suspicions about halfway, maybe even earlier, in the book and I was right.

Good read if you want some relaxing reading, without having to think too much. (just don't be me, and enjoy the book for what it is instead of analyzing the position of women in the society ;P)

4 out of 5

~ Lyuba

BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: Kiss at Your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe

Hello my Funky Readers,

Today I have a typical naughty paranormal romance for you, but even if Kiss at Your Own Risk is pretty typical for its genre it is still a great book.

I don't remember laughing like this at a romance book in a LONG time! And needless to say, I loved it.

Trinity has a Black Widow curse on her, making her kill any guy she falls in love with. The curse will be broken if only she will go 5 years without killing anyone, and with only a week to go she is oh so close to her goal. Enter Blaine, a really tough macho warrior guy, who just escaped from 150 years of torture by an evil witch with an agenda to torture all her men into perfect mates for women. Did I mention that he was also forced to get in touch with his feminine side and he especially took to cross-stitching?

Of course these two have to meet, and of course Trinity has to watch herself or she will fall in love with Blaine and kill him. Of course they fall in love anyways. I giggled throughout the whole book, especially at Blaine's cross-stitching and other typical female talk. But can you really blame him? After 150 years of brainwashing, he had to start thinking that way or he would be dead. Now they are on the mission to kill a monster, because Black Widow curse gives Trinity the ability to see how to kill ANYONE, then to kill the evil witch and save Trinity's father all the while trying not to fall in love.

Even the bad guys are likable, even lovable. The witch, Angelica, has her reasons for doing what she does and I can say that I don't even blame her. Still, it is no excuse and she deserves what she got but it's nice to see bad guys who are not black and white bad.

And don't even get me started on the supporting characters! They are a hoot! Especially Death :)

I think if you're looking for a good laugh with a good dose of action and romance, this is the book for you!

5 out of 5  


~ Lyuba

BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: A Kiss of Adventure by Catherine Palmer

Hello Everyone,

Today's book is A Kiss of Adventure
by Catherine Palmer and I didn't know it, but apparently it's a first book in the Treasures of the Heart series.

Product Description

Desperate and on the run, Tillie Thornton finds herself in an uneasy partnership with Graeme McLeod, a daring adventurer who comes out of nowhere to thwart the plot of Tillie’s would-be kidnappers. Now these two must join forces against their common enemies, as well as the challenges of nature, as they embark on a quest that could bring them the answers they seek—or cost them everything.
Formerly published as The Treasure of Timbuktu.

~*~*~*~
I downloaded it for free on kindle since the title was catchy, and it was in the romance section. I had no idea it was a Christian romance though. I would say that normally I'm all for it, but it took me FOREVER to get through this book! Ok, more like 8 days but for me that's forever.

I liked the preface of the story, and it was a fun history/culture lesson but other than that... it was pretty boring to me. I'm sure the biggest reason why it seemed so boring was the constant preaching which I couldn't skip or avoid because there was just so much of it, and literally on every page. I also was very annoyed with the main female character, she is so indecisive and just not interesting. I kept wishing for her to just speak up her mind since it seemed like she already made up her mind about certain things, well if you did then SAY IT!!!

My favorite character was actually Khatty, who is not a main character at all. But her story made me want to research more about Tuareg women. The bad guys just didn't feel bad enough, well everyone just kept doing the same things over and over again. Kidnap, escape, kidnap, escape, repeat. I didn't feel like anyone was in real danger, even if supposedly the Tuareg leader was this chopping heads happy man. There wasn't enough adventure, considering it should be an adventure romance? Oh, and the prologue was totally not needed, it set up the stage for what seemed like a mystical adventure (maybe I've been reading too many paranormal romances lately?) but the actual story turned out anything but.

Overall this wasn't a bad book and last 30 or so pages made up for the overall mundane feel of it. I think if you're into Christian fiction (and don't mind a lot of Scripture quoting) you will really like this book. 

I give it 4 out of 5 because it really wasn't THAT bad, just not as good as I was hoping.

A Kiss of Adventure


~ Lyuba

BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: Veronica and the Vampire by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

Hello Everyone,

Today I have another paranormal romance for you, and this time it is Veronica and the Vampire by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom. I'm thinking that I'm getting tired of typical romances (paranormal or not), too bad most of my kindle is filled with them. Because they are just the easiest thing to read to relax, except in my case I'm taking too many women studies classes and tend to over think them.

Product Description

Veronica Davis is a woman with a desperate need.

If she doesn't bring a date to her big sister's wedding, the L for loser that's imprinted on her forehead will become permanent, as far as her family is concerned. And heck, she's started to believe it, herself.

Why else would a girl end up at a Los Angeles escort agency with the strange acronym V.A.M.P. Inc? Where you pick your date from a row of coffins in the agency's basement. Guys who can't meet you at lunch time, due to the fact that they sleep until sundown.

You know . . . . vampires.

And when she meets the unearthly handsome Christian Dale, the agency's odd acronym begins to take on a whole new meaning. Tackling her sister's wedding actually starts to seem like a piece of cake . . .

From the Author

Hi everyone! Welcome to the world of paranormal dating, where you just never know what will happen or who might turn up. Take Veronica Davis, for instance, and her romp through the perils of choosing someone out of this world to take to a family wedding. Ouch!

This book was so much fun to write, and is dedicated to every woman who has ever dated, whether they remember these dates fondly or not. It's fluffy, "girly" fun. And I've packed this book with loads of good Karma for readers, just in case dating is still in your cards.

Happy reading!
Linda

~*~*~*~
It is pure, fluffy, girly fun when you like books where a woman completely looses her mind when she in a proximity of a hot guy. And no, not loosing her mind because he is a vamp and has some powers over her but because she is so turned on that she can't think straight. Yeah rrrrrriiiiiiight! Oh, and the whole book (novella) is loaded with main character double guessing, trying to convince herself, just being not sure, constantly going on and on about how terrible her family was to her and saying that if someone met her family they would understand. Well we do meet her family briefly, and I still don't get it why she is so insecure and afraid of them. So that was mighty annoying, because of the story we get constant whining.... and inability to accept that the guy is a real vampire. But wait, I think I know why! She is so turned on that she can't think straight!

Ok, so it's a novella but there still wasn't much of a story. First third was spent convincing herself that she DOES need to go in and get herself a paid date. The other two thirds (and I looked at my Kindle percentage) were spent with more whining, except here she was also trying to justify dating a vampire and not wanting to get bitter. Honestly, for all the sexual tension between them I would have at least expected some hanky panky, but no, it wasn't there either.

I gave it 3 stars because the book is very well written and reads in on breath, but it didn't get higher rating because of WHAT it was written about.

(and I am upset I paid my 99c for it!!! )

3 out of 5

~ Lyuba

BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: Lady Wicked by Delle Jackobs

Hello Everyone,

I've fell in love with Delle Jacobs's writing ever since I've read her Loki's Daughters (a viking romance) so when I got a whiff that one of her books went on promotion on Amazon's Kindle for only 99c I was quick to snap it up! This book is Lady Wicked and I recommend, no I tell you to go and get it if you like Regency romance! It won't stay that cheap for very long!

Product Description

When the Ton's most infamous rake, Thomas Steynes, Viscount Savoury, is forced to retreat to his ancient, abandoned, family manor to redeem his wasted life, he comes upon a woman being tormented by village boys. Rushing to the rescue, he discovers his damsel in distress is instead the viper-tongued harpy who hates him more than anyone else on earth.
Cast aside by her violent husband, the last thing Davina, Lady Wyckham, needs is an irkingly handsome knight in tarnished armor hell bent to rescue her. After her brutal marriage, all she wants is to be left alone, to support herself raising herbs to sell to apothecaries. As if she weren't ruined enough, Savoury's attention can only bring more disaster.
Despite their intentions, true friendship and trust grow between them, and the attraction they had long denied begins to deepen. But behind their backs lurks a dark mystery that threatens them both. Only by uncovering and thwarting the sinister plot can they have a chance for survival and love.

~*~*~*~*~

I am not a big fan of Regency romances, about the only thing that appeals to me from that time is the fashion. But I am a fan of Delle Jackobs and good deals, so as soon as she posted on her blog that this book is 99c I had to pick it up. However when I started reading it, I was hooked. And I was hooked not only because it was a good romance novel, but also because it satisfied my women studies cravings, in a romance novel! 

The main character is cast away by her husband and wrongly accused of adultery, which at that time meant a complete and total ruin for the woman. Regardless of her being accused falsely or not, a woman during Regency could not even go to court to speak for herself. The husband on the other hand, has all the rights to divorce his wife and probably (have to check my books on that) keep her dowry. And if he gets accused of adultery, all he would get is a slap on the hands. But enough of the history lesson, lets just say women in England during this time did not even dream about gender equality becoming possible. 

So Davina gets accused of adultery, but her desire to get away from her abusive husband is so strong that she happily accepts near starvation and the social stigma just to be free from him. Enter Viscount Savoury, who apparently had a thing for Davina before she got married but because this is a romance novel, there was a misunderstanding between them and they end up "hating" each other. One thing I love about Delle's books is that her characters always work out their misunderstandings, and not at the end of the book either. Lady Wicked is not an exception. Davina and Thomas figure out that hey, maybe they were wrong about each other and set out to figure out what to do about Davina's crazy husband. 

The story flows amazingly, and the romance is very believable. I also love the secondary characters, good and "bad" (reformed) ones because they add to the general greatness of the story. Here Delle Jacobs also touches on another kind of discrimination, the one towards people with mental disabilities. My heart went out to Jimmy and his struggle to find work and just fit in the same way my heart went out to Davina and her struggle to survive under the stigma of adulteress. 

Overall it is a great book and I recommend it to all Regency romances lovers as well as women studies AND romance lovers (like me). In this book you will get a great dose of romance in addition of subtle (and not so subtle) attention to the discriminations and injustices that women faced and some ways on how they got around them. 

5 out of 5

P.S. I wanted to punch Viscount Savoury at the beginning for all his talk about hiding Davina away in his "castle" and protecting her from the world, and how inappropriate it was for a lady to walk, blah blah blah. This is the type of thinking that made it so hard for women to be equal with men then. 

~ Lyuba

BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate

Hello Everyone,

Have any of you read any romance/fantasy books lately that you would want to recommend to me? I'm always on lookout for new books to read.

Talk of the Town ended up being completely different from what I expected. I expected a romance novel, but I got a story of friendship with romance thrown in for good measure.

Product Description

The show American Megastar is the hottest thing on television but its associate producer, Mandalay Florentino, is worried. She's just arrived in the tiny town of Daily, Texas, to arrange a surprise "reunion concert" for hometown finalist Amber Amberson. Only it turns out everyone in town seems to know the secret. And paparazzi are arriving. Word from Hollywood is that Amber has disappeared with a "bad boy" actor. Can anything go right in this tumbleweed town?

Imagene Doll loves her town of Daily, Texas, but things are lonely without her beloved husband. Life seems dull. At least until that fancy-dressed woman pulls into town, looking terrified and glamorous all at once. Soon life's not the least bit boring as Imagene and the rest of Daily find themselves at the center of a media maelstrom--with a young girl's future on the line.

~*~*~*~
The story takes place in a small town of Daily, Texas, completely run down and very sad. But the town gets its second chance, when one of their own gets into top 5 in American Idol type of program.

The story is told from the point of view of two women. One is Mandalay, the producer of the show who is tasked with top secret mission of coming to Daily and secretly organizing and filming the Homecoming segment of the show. Another is Imagene, a 70 year old lady who lost her husband a year ago and as a result is neglecting herself and giving up on life. Although Mandalay is trying to keep her reason for being in town secret, the news travel fast and everyone 'secretly' knows.

I loved it. In fact, I was more excited to read Imagene's point of view than Mandalay's because Imagene was just so real, I even cried several times at some parts. Loosing her husband was very traumatic for her, after spending many many years with him, she just doesn't know how to live alone anymore. But throughout the book, she is able to move on and helping Mandalay gives her a purpose in life again.

If you're looking for a genuinely feel good book, the one that will leave you smiling at the end, this is the book for you.



5 out 5

~ Lyuba

BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: Kissing Kelli by Kathy Carmichael

Hello my Funky Readers,

I've decided to make book reviews a regular feature on my blog because I read so much and often come across very good books that I just have to share!

Today I present to you Kissing Kelli by Kathy Carmichael, a Texas Legacy Romantic Comedy. And a comedy it is!

Product Description

Romantic Comedy
Sensuality Level: Sweet (G-rated)

Rodeo champion and wealthy rancher, Bobby Gray Nelson, is used to women setting out to lasso him. But when he meets feisty Kelli Palmer, she refuses him on every count. He's always up for a challenge and is determined to woo this beautiful veterinarian who he thinks could be his soul mate.

Kelli Palmer doesn't believe love is in the chute for her. She's devoted herself to the animals she cares for and the family she adores. So when her sister claims dibs on the handsome cowboy, Kelli reins in her attraction and tells him to skedaddle.

Losing is not an option for this gorgeous cowboy. He comes up with a 5-step plan to place his brand on Kelli's heart.

The problem is, he can't even make it to the first step. Never fear, though. He's got a Plan B.

Can Kelli stand her ground -- even after his toe-curling kiss?

~*~*~*~*~
This is a fairly short book and I've read it in one sitting, but let me tell you it grabbed my attention and held on until the last page. It is a very cute book, and the characters are very likable, especially Bobby Gray. He is a hilarious goofy cowboy on a mission, who loves making plans (and writing them out). He is trying to get Kelli to go out with him by finding all these "sick" and sick animals for her to treat because she is a vet and has a very big soft spot for animals. I kept giggling the whole time he brought her yet another animal. The only thing I didn't like was Kelli's sister Lori, I thought she was full of herself and needed to get some sense smacked in her. But even she comes around at the end.

Overall I loved it, and recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a giggle and feel good romance book. Meanwhile, I will be checking out the other books by this author. 


5 out 5


~ Lyuba

BOOK REVIEW: The Rhine Maiden by Erin Evans

Hello Everyone,

Ever since I got my iPhone few month ago and downloaded the Kindle app on it, I've been reading non-stop. My husband gets on my case saying that I need to use our actual Kindle, but he just doesn't get it! I never ever EVER go anywhere without my phone, so I can read anytime I have a spare minute. Plus my purse/bag is already heavy with stuff when I got out, and I really don't want to lug kindle around.

Anyways, I've been reading so much that I've decided to see if I can read 100 books this year, so I signed up for Goodreads Reading Challenge, Basically you get to pick the amount of books you want to read in a year, and Goodreads will monitor it for you, provided you don't forget to record what you've read. You can see my progress on the sidebar, right under all the blogs I follow. Mind you, I didn't really start the reading challenge at the beginning of this year... I started it around March-April.... Yup, I know it's impressive :) (And I can't even include the Russian books I've read! BUMMER!) But really, not so much. I read mostly "fluff" books, or romance and fantasy. Books that are very easy to read and books that I can go through literally in few hours. I read these because I need something to take my mind off constant schoolwork and general unhappiness of being in a foreign country with a terrible (for us, Americans) exchange rate, which prevents me going places and doing stuff. So I turn to books. Light, "fluffy", easy to read books that help me pass the time and forget just how unhappy I can be.

Another reason why I love Kindle so much is because I can get free books on it! I check Amazon regularly to see if there are any new books on specials, and sometimes there are some real gems in the free section. The Rhine Maiden by Erin Evans is one of those books.

Product Description

Piper Cavanaugh is The Rhine Maiden, a descendent of the sirens who lured sailors to their deaths with beautiful singing. After vowing never to use her supernatural power of command, she is more than happy to stay at home with her two little girls, but one little slip-up and her secret has come back to bite her – literally. Now she must win permission to join the United Supernatural Beings, or it’s open season on all of humanity.
While juggling toddlers, keeping her husband in the dark, and babysitting her rebellious kid sister, Piper finds herself befriending a vampire, stealing from murderous witches, and doing battle with Satan, otherwise known as her mother-in-law. And she thought grocery shopping with her kids was hard!

My Thoughts:
The main reason I got this book was because it was free (yup, I'm one of those people) but also because the title sounded interesting. Although I have to confess, because of the title I also didn't start reading it right away. I'm taking some WWII related classes right now, as well as being from Ukraine, and all I could think of was Rhine = Germany = Nazis. Don't ask, I didn't think that this book was anything related to Nazis at all, but nevertheless for some reason I was associating the name with them and didn't want to touch it. Yup, I'm also strange.

The story follows Piper, the stay at home mother of two demonic toddlers who also has the power of Voice, making her being able to command people. She sworn not to use the power ever again (unless in a dire situations, aka when it comes to her dog Harvey) after she had a scary incident in university which made her change universities and move cities. For 6 years Piper was able to keep her power under control, until she lost her temper with her little sister Sarah and came under the radar of USB (United Supernatural Beings) again.

This is where the fun starts! Now Piper has to petition USB to join them, while trying to not get killed, while still taking care of her children, while keeping it all a secret from her husband Mark. Enter Cecily, her new next door vampire neighbor who ended up becoming Piper's permanent side-kick. Then enter a werewolf and a fae who need Piper's help, along with a bunch of evil witches who really don't want Piper to stick her nose in their affairs. And of course we can't forget about little sister Sarah, who is a general pain-in-a-butt type of character (Sorry Sarah, but I'm with Piper on that regardless of how misunderstood you think you are). 

The book grabbed my attention from the first page, and I was chuckling all the way through at Piper's parenting methods. I don't have kids, but I can relate. And her mother-in-law was making me so mad, I wanted to throw something at her. Or better yet, kick her really hard where it hurts! I loved all the supporting characters too, especially Otis the cat. Ok ok, I meant Cecily, the uber cool vampire chic who can kick ass and eat anything she wants while not gaining an ounce of weight. There were other miscellaneous characters that helped to bring the book alive, and I'm hoping to see them again in the next books.

Piper is very real, maybe a little ditzy (but who wouldn't be after dealing with her kids) but still able to think on her feet. She cares about her family, and loves her children more than anything, but at the same time she takes her situation (and the fate of humanity) very seriously. So she works around her parenting schedule and even asks her mother-in-law to babysit two days in a row, so she could go take care of her paranormal business. Piper is a character I could relate too, someone who has problems and not always a clear way of dealing with them.

There is also not an ounce of sex in this book, which was very refreshing considering that's where all the paranormal fantasy books are leaning these days. Maybe I've been reading too many naughty romance novels lately, but it was nice to see a heroine who didn't loose her ability to think the second she saw a hot guy. (Um, Piper = married mother of two here thank you very much)

There were few minor things I didn't particularly cared for, namely the aliens..... aliens huh? But I know there is a higher purpose to that, so I'll just wait and see. Then there is the vampire character that briefly appeared at the beginning, but then disappeared for the rest of the book. I kept waiting for him to jump out and attack Piper, but no, he must have went into vampire hibernation. And finally Sarah and Piper's mother-in-law. They were so real that I was reliving Piper's experiences with them, and it was making me mad! I have to applaud Erin Evans on her writing here.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a different type of paranormal fantasy.

5 out 5 

Go check out this book on Amazon and let me know what you think! And if you like it, there is a second book in this series out right now, It Never Rhines but It Pours. Erin Evans is currently in the process of writing the 3rd book and I can't wait!

~ Lyuba