Danger Wears White - Lynne Connally - a Review

Danger Wears White

By

Lynne Connally

SYNOPSIS

Hoping to live down her family’s connections to the traitorous Jacobite cause, Imogen wants nothing more than a quiet life in the country. When she stumbles upon a wounded man, the white cockade in his coat tells her he’s a Jacobite, and a danger to the crown. Yet there’s something about him she can’t resist . . .

In search of a document on behalf of his powerful family, Tony is shot and left for dead. Secreted away to a hidden chamber, he finds himself both a guest and prisoner of a beautiful but mysterious woman. What she wants and who she serves, he cannot know. But what he does understand is the desire burning strongly between them. And that neither of them will be spared until their lust is sated.

When the action moves to London, suddenly it’s Tony who has to act to save Imogen. Forced to become a lady in waiting to Princess Amelia, she is in peril from the Jacobites, who are convinced she is their salvation. Only the strength of Tony and Imogen’s love can save them now.

REVIEW

Sometimes historical fiction should be just good fun to read.  The settings, the immersion into the life of living in the period and as a member of the “fallen” ton was wonderful.  I could almost feel a small sense of Cinderella in the fine print, as Imogen fights to just keep her home out of the clutches of the warring factions of the Royals and the Jacobites, who are determined to once again sit on the throne of England. 

Part of what is so much fun, is the intrigue, and the cloak and dagger of the fighting.  All this, while appearing gentile and extremely civilized, as society demands.  The only person who doesn’t seem to know what the fighting is really about is the center of it all, and the innocent of the day, Imogen. 

Lynne does a wonderful job of slowly rolling out the scroll, and laying the picture out for us all to see and take in, much like a large panorama map across a desk.  Accept, she is whisking us through the pages of her novel at break-neck speed as she paints the picture with broadening strokes.  Just as you think you have it all figured out, Lynne throws in a curve and adds more depth and texture to the scene and characters. 

What could have otherwise been a light summer read, was given more depth by the complex character development she gave to her central characters.  It kept you turning the page to see if you had it right, or if  the next discovery would turn Imogen’s world upside-down, again.

All this intrigue was wrapped and intertwined with a love story, much like a twisted Cinderella tale.  Personally, I read and saw the Cinderella story as the central thread through the entire novel.  It made it endearing and charming, in the middle of the cloak and dagger and everything else going on.  I love a good Cinderella, smile.

As to the historical, there seemed to be no ties to documented history, but the atmosphere, and character development were spot on for the time period and setting.  Fabulous job.

I would give this novel a good FOUR STAR rating.  A copy of this book was provided by Net Galley for my reading and reviewing of the novel, thank  you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynne Connolly writes historical romance, paranormal romance and contemporary romance. She loves the conflicts and complications that come about if someone lives their life to the full.
She has her own blog, but she also blogs for The Good, The Bad and The Unread, the UK Regency/Georgian writers' blog and The Raven Happy Hour.
She lives in the UK with her family and her mews, a cat called Jack. She also enjoys making and decorating dolls' houses. She visits the US at least once a year, attends conferences and has a great time.
Her website is at http://lynneconnolly.com

The Martian - Andy Weir

SYNOPSIS

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

REVIEW

Space, the final frontier.  I have been a die-hard fan of flying to the stars for as long as I can remember.  My dad took me down to the Capital in Santa Fe, when I was five, so I could see the space capsule and shake the hand of the astronaut who flew into space (around the world a couple of times).  He gave me a signed postcard and a little flag.  My dad still has them and I still have the vivid memories. 

I still have the vivid memories of my dad waking us up so we could witness Neil Armstrong landing on the moon and taking those first steps.  “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.  It was an old black and white TV and the reception wasn’t the best, but we were watching history for mankind, and I felt the import of the event.

Sending men to Mars is not too much farther in my mind for us to do.  Come on, how far have we gone with Star Trek? Star Wars?  But really, even now, we have managed to get a space vehicle to go to Pluto with only a four hour delay in transmission.  WOW!!!!  That is so far beyond my thinking of the speed of what I thought we were capable of.

And then we land a man on Mars and he gets taken out by a sandstorm, not a meteor shower, or a capsule blowing up, but a sandstorm… man, we had sandstorms in Texas that could take out houses…

Can you imagine?  Stuck on Mars?  And no ride home?  At least not for three or four years.  Boy, time for creative thinking.  I have a year’s worth of food and no water…hm.  Well, of all the guys to get stranded, the lucky dog would be the farmer.  And to make matters even better, he was also the tinker man. 

I grew up with the expression being bounced around “nothing that bailing wire and duct tape won’t fix.”  Between a botanical degree, and the ability to disregard box-style thinking, Mark managed to create a biosphere from Martian soil, his waste, and figuring out how to suck water out of some Hydrogen fuel tanks.  He also created enough food to survive utilizing a few fresh food items he discovered on-board and growing them in the created biosphere. 
What kept the book, Mark, and me rolling, was the rollicking, tongue in cheek journal entries that were a caustic slap schtick.  He had the ability to laugh at his perilous situation and mock his tenuous hold on life out in the wilds of Mars --- alone.

In its interesting way, the book truly gave us a look at the kind of personality and tenacity that it demanded of an person who commits to a long term program of isolation and stress.  The demands needed to think on his feet, to be flexible, to be creative, to work through, around, over, and rework problems and solutions till answers are found. 

The other storylines of how NASA back on earth, and the astronauts returning home in the spaceship were handing the incident were also quite interesting.  While Mark was focused on survival, survival, survival, back at NASA politics and petty hierarchies seemed to take preferences, at times to the actual goal of getting Mark back home. 

The book was written in a journal format and in the first person.  The sections where there were flash-overs to NASA and to the other space craft (rocketing back towards earth), was written in a third person voice, as you observed what was happening, much like a fly on the wall.

Back story and depth was skillfully played out through Mark’s reflections in his log.  At one point, once he realized that NASA knew he was alive, he made the sarcastic remark that he was going to have to go back and clean-up and delete some entries on the journal, now that he knew it would be read.  I cracked-up.  Ooops….

I have always been one who says give me the book, maybe I’ll watch the movie, but this time around, Andy did such a wonderful job of building the world that Mark had to survive in, that I am now dying to see how it is visualized on the big screen this fall when the movie comes out. 

I loved this book.  It was a wonderful lite read that left me laughing.  The technical jargon was part and parcel and made the book work.  I give this book a full FOUR STAR RATING.  A great weekend read.  And a must read before you see the movie!!!!!

Net Galley provided a copy for me to read and review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ANDY WEIR was first hired as a programmer for a national laboratory at age fifteen and has been working as a software engineer ever since. He is also a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects like relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. The Martianis his first novel.

Island of the Red Mangroves - Sarah Lark

SYNOPSIS

Island of Red Mangroves is the follow-up to Sarah Lark's tumultuous novel, "Island of a Thousand Springs," set in Jamaica, 1732.

-- Jamaica, 1753: Deirdre, daughter of Englishwoman, Nora Fortnam and slave Akwasi, lives a sheltered life on her family's plantation. Her stepfather, Doug, has welcomed her into his life as his own. Despite Deirdre's scandalous origin, the men of the island flock to the young beauty, but she shows no interest. That is, until she is charmed by young doctor Victor Dufresne, who asks for her hand in marriage.

-- After their lavish wedding ceremony, Victor and Deirdre embark to Saint-Domingue on the island of Hispaniola, where Deirdre can live without the burden of her mixed background. But what happens there changes everything ...

-- Best-selling international author Sarah Lark delivers a gripping historical account of the social upheaval of the time set against the romantic Caribbean. For fans of Kathleen Grissom,THE KITCHEN HOUSE, Alex Haley, ROOTS: THE SAGA OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY, and Sue Monk Kidd, THE INVENTION OF WINGS.

REVIEW

Set in the 1700’s of the West Indies, this historical fiction proved to be a riveting work.  The story centered around the romantic tale of a young mulatto girl, who also happened to be the acknowledged daughter of a wealthy plantation family and a young doctor who courted and married her.  Interwoven  through the pages and story of the young lady who loved life and fell in love with the French doctor, there was another story that was just as dynamic and interesting.  Social uprising and upheaval is not limited to today.  There were the “haves” and the “have-nots”.  Then there were the small group who believed that there was one race of mankind and that no man should own another’s soul. 

How these groups were thrown together in the world of the 1730’s Sugar Plantations in the Caribbean world created an interesting melting pot as even the attitudes of the planter class varied as they came in from various European countries and brought their laws and social attitudes towards slavery with them.  Caught in the cross-fire of these different social outlooks were the slaves who wanted nothing more than to have the taste of freedom and to no longer feel the taste of brutality that many suffered from at the hands of their owners.

Even though the central story was around the daughter of a plantation owner and a French doctor, there was also a second story of a freeman and a runaway slave who join a pirate gang to escape the Island they are own and make new lives for themselves.  Before long, their lives become entangled with the doctor and his wife on Hispanola.  It is ultimately Jefe, the freeman’s lifelong goal was to become involved in the freedom fighter’s cause and to become the leader. 

I found the story a unique look at life of the era and at the social attitudes of the era.  Sarah did a wonderful job of integrating history into the story, without taking away from the juiciness of the love story.  She gave us the angst of the conflict between peoples, while maintaining the integrity of the outlook of each group.  She allowed us to see the world through the eyes of the underdog and allowed our bleeding hearts to hurt and yearn for freedom for them.  But then she also forced us to see the madness of the zealot who would see to his cause, no matter the cost, at the expense of the wide-eyed innocent who trusted his leadership to bring them freedom from oppression. 

This book is well worth the read and one to sit down and slowly peruse.  Though the second in the series, of which I have not read the first.  It stood well enough on its own, that I thoroughly enjoyed it as a stand alone novel.  I would give this book a solid FOUR STAR rating.  A copy of this book was provided by Net Galley for me to read for an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Lark's series of "landscape novels" have made her a bestselling author in Germany, her native country, as well as Spain and the United States. Born in Germany's Ruhr region, she discovered a love of animals early in life. She has written several award-winning books about horses for adults and children. Sarah currently lives with four dogs and a cat on her farm in Almería, Spain, where she cares for retired horses, plays guitar, and sings in her spare time.

Take a Chance on Me - Marilyn Brant

SYNOPSIS

TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is a novella & it's Book 1 in Marilyn Brant’s Mirabelle Harbor series. This book and ALL of the contemporary romances in this series can be enjoyed as stand-alone stories.

Welcome to Mirabelle Harbor! In this scenic suburb on Chicago’s North Shore, overlooking the sparkling waters of Lake Michigan, the Michaelsen family has made their home for generations. Although their parents and grandparents are now gone, siblings Derek, Blake, Sharlene, and the twins—Chandler and Chance—all have fond memories of growing up in town, and most still live there.

Chance Michaelsen, the youngest member of the family (by two minutes) and the quietest (by far), is a dedicated twenty-eight-year-old personal trainer at the local gym. While he might not say much, Chance has made it clear that he’s not a fan of toxic people, unhealthy habits, or sharing too many of his emotions. With anybody.

Enter Antonia “Nia” Pappayiannis—the prettiest member of the loudest and most overly demonstrative family in town. They’re also the owners of The Gala, a Greek restaurant and bakery known for its decadent pastries and located just a few steps from Chance’s gym. He considers their entire family business to be the enemy of good health, but he can’t quite shake his attraction to Nia, who doesn’t seem nearly as impressed with him or his sculpted physique as most of the women around Mirabelle Harbor.

Unfortunately, between her doctor’s orders and the interfering ways of Chance’s crazy-making ex-girlfriend, who just happens to be one of Nia’s long-time friends, Chance gets assigned to be Nia’s fitness coach for the month. Pure torture. And if his ex weren’t already causing enough problems, he also has to deal with Nia’s current boyfriend—some hotshot Chicago CEO who talks big but, in Chance’s opinion, is as fake as a Styrofoam barbell.

The road to romance is going to be a rocky one, and though Nia has her doubts about moving forward, Chance has a well-developed competitive streak and might just be willing to give it a shot...if he can convince her to do the same.

In matters of the heart, would you risk it all? TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, a Mirabelle Harbor story. 

REVIEW

TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, as I opened the pages of the quick and fun novella, the ABBA’s lyrics to the song of the same name kept jingling around in my head.  How many times did I so wish that that cute guy or football jock would just take a chance and ask the short, curvy girl out.  The girl who everyone said was too smart, too good to date.  I finally asked my lab partner, and best friend why he was asking Barbie and not me to homecoming.  “Oh, we marry girls like you.  We date girls like Barbie.”  Yes, he said that.  And Jim, who was standing there, nodded agreement.  Well that didn’t get me a date to the game, again.  LOL

Much like myself, the setting of this quick little novella had Nia, from a very traditional Greek family, in a stuck situation. – A boyfriend she didn’t want and her parents did and a hot guy she wanted, but knew did not fit the mold her family expected.  She wanted to take a chance on the tall, quiet, and really sweet body-builder.  But breaking from family expectations is no easy.  Which would she give in to, her family or her heart?

Chance, was a quiet brawn of a man.  But having reached his thirties, unmarried, he had about decided that true and marriage was not in his cards.  But life has the funniest way of putting the least likely candidate right in your path.  It sets down the “least likely” and your heart demands that you take a chance.  Your head knows that there is no way that a curvy sweet Greek Pastry Chef is going to mix with or fit in with your kitchen or life-style.  You don’t do carbs, sugar, fats, or any of the other horrid things they put in the dishes you can’t even pronounce.

But your heart smashes head-on into those eyes and the smile.  Are you willing to take on the rich CEO boyfriend and the Greek parents and take a chance that your heart is right?

Yes, the ABBA song is still going in my head!  Take a chance and get lost between the covers of this delightful summer novella.  Take a Chance on Me.  I gave this a Four Star Rating.   A copy of the novella was provided for me to read for reviewing.

ABOUT MARILYN BRANT

Marilyn Brant is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary women’s fiction, romantic comedy & mystery. She was named the Author of the Year (2013) by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. She loves all things Jane Austen, has a passion for Sherlock Holmes, is a travel addict and a music junkie, and lives on chocolate and gelato. Look for all of the contemporary romances in her new Mirabelle Harbor series, beginning late July 2015! Visit her website: www.marilynbrant.com

The One I Want - A Book Review and Interview with Marilyn Brant

SYNOPSIS

THE ONE THAT I WANT is Book 2 in Marilyn Brant’s Mirabelle Harbor series, but this story and all of the contemporary romances in this series can be enjoyed as stand-alone novels.

The summer after her beloved husband died in a car accident, Julia Meriwether Crane is still picking up the pieces of her life in Mirabelle Harbor and trying to help her ten-year-old daughter adjust to this difficult new reality.

After her best friend Sharlene—one of the well-connected Michaelsen siblings—talks her into finally going out on the town again, Julia finds herself stunned to be the object of interest of several different men: The boy who’d broken her heart back in high school. The college ex she’d left behind. And most surprising of all, the movie actor she’d always fantasized about but had never met in person...until now. Can one woman have more than one “great love” in the same lifetime? And, if so, how can she be sure which man that’ll be?

Sometimes the person you think will be best for you isn’t the one you really want. THE ONE THAT I WANT, a Mirabelle Harbor story.

REVIEW

Over the years, the books I have come to enjoy the most have been the ones that I could personally connect with at some level.  No matter the genre, if there was a character, storyline, location, whatever, that connected with a personal experience (be it positive or not so positive) this seemed to give me ownership to the story I was reading.  It always allowed me to sink my literary teeth and let me create an emotional bond with the story and characters just a little deeper.  Suddenly I would no longer be holding a book, turning pages and reading a story, much like Alice and the rabbit hole, I was suddenly sucked down into the page and into the words of the author and living in the world between the covers of that hardbound book.  It seemed like I could see, smell and feel every nuance as the storyline would move forward around my character.

Oh yes, I would have arguments with the other characters in the book, and with many an author for writing or not writing a scene or character a little different.  Whatever it was that the author had originally written to trigger the memory that allowed me to connect with the book they wrote gave me license to become one of the cast and to make the book my own.

Marilyn Brant opened a rabbit hole for this reader with The One I Want.  She made her characters breathe, she gave them life and placed her protagonist in a situation that this reader was able to identify with.  She did it so well, that this reader fell down the proverbial rabbit hole into the story and wasn’t able to find her way out again till the conclusion had been reached.

Marilyn managed to drag this reader through the emotions of struggling with loss and trying to go forward.  Even though I have never suffered that horrendous loss, I felt it between the pages of this book.  Struggling to let go, striving to go forward, but Marilyn never left you dangling in tears and a deep morass of damp tissue.  Instead, she dumped you into impossible circumstances that many of us girls can only dream about. Sigggghhh.

Why does it always seem like the good one gets away?  Or does he?

I discovered that following Marilyn’s characters through the pages and listening in on the internal confused dialogue of the lovelorn and misunderstood friends who would much rather be much more but are afraid that it’s too soon and the other isn’t serious about them…  Sounds just as confused as I did when I was dating a million years ago.  Lol.

Reading one of Marilyn’s books has always been good for the soul and this one was no exception.  The story appealed to the romantic in me, while at the same time it reached out and touched the “nurture” side with the storyline of the young widow and her daughter struggling to let go of their grief and move forward.  Most of all I loved the romantic comedy which softened the story of loss.

The characters in The One That I Want are well developed.  Marilyn took the time to also develop back stories for several of the supporting characters, as well as the main characters, weaving their stories through the fabric of the main storyline.

This is one delightful story that is well worth the read.  It leaves you hungry for more – chocolate brownies and other goodies, lusting after a few good looking hunks along the way, and longing for a special relationship that has hope to last into forever (mine did J).

I would give this special book a very special 4.5 STARS.

CONVERSATIONS WITH MARILYN

Why did you reach out to write a story about recovering from loss?  Okay, in the romantic comedy venue?

Thanks, Karen! You’ve asked a wonderful question... The answer has a lot to do with what “recovering from loss” means to me personally. I think when we experience something devastating, it can take a while to reach a point where we find *anything* funny. Some of us might see all the world through a sad and serious lens for much longer than we’d like. And I believe it’s important to take the time to really grieve. But I’ll never forget the day I received the tragic news from a good friend that her brother-in-law (a guy I knew) and his new fiancée had died on impact in a winter car crash. After I expressed my shock and sadness, though, it was what my friend said next that had the greatest impact on me. She told me that in the week since the accident, she and her husband (who was the brother of the man who died) had found some bright memories to make them smile. That they’d even been joking about things the young couple might have said, had they lived. And I remember appreciating this gift that they’d given to each other and me, too...both honoring the people they’d lost but, also, demonstrating that they knew we’d all have to accept what happened, move on, and find a way to be happy again. So, for me, I see a restoration of one’s sense of humor as a sign that we’re on the road to recovery. Not that we don’t still acutely feel a loss or that we don’t have sad moments, too, just that we recognize that we can tap into a sense of hopefulness again. In my opinion, that’s a real turning point, and it’s one worthy of exploring in fiction.

What is your favorite Chocolate Brownie?  Recipe?

Ohhhh, I love ALL brownies! Truly... But my favorite? That would have to be an exceptionally moist one with ribbons of caramel in it and semi-sweet chocolate chips. In The One That I Want, two of the characters get to eat what I call “the best brownie in North America,” which isn’t something I’ve had recently (unfortunately! I’m trying to eat a little less sugar!), but I have tasted a few that could be in the running for that title. Here’s a picture of one of them and a link to its recipe at “Taste of Home.” YUM! http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/caramel-brownies

Any new books in the works?

Yes! The first two books in the Mirabelle Harbor series -- Take a Chance on Me (book 1) and The One That I Want (book 2) -- are coming out at the end of July within days of each other. As soon as the release week whirlwind slows down a bit for them, I’ll get back to working on the next two novels in the series -- You Give Love a Bad Name (book 3) and Stranger on the Shore (book 4). All of the stories in the series are stand-alone romances, but certain characters find themselves to be regular players in multiple books (especially the members of the Michaelsen family!) and, of course, the community of Mirabelle Harbor connects them all, too.

How did you and your husband meet?

It was my 23rd birthday, and he was my present! Well, that’s the truth as I see it. :) I’d moved to Illinois only a month before to accept a teaching position in the northern Chicago suburbs, and a new friend I’d made from the school district, Mary, took me out to dinner for my birthday. We went to a local place that was known for their sandwiches and burgers -- a spot neither of us had been to, but it was recommended to us by a guy we knew from our apartment building, just as we were walking into town. So it was a very random choice. While inside, we were seated near another table with three people who turned out to be teachers as well. They were from another school district, though, so Mary and I didn’t know any of them. Again, very random! For some reason, my friend and the lady at the other table started chatting. Then one of the guys got up to make a phone call. So that left me and the remaining man to either talk to each other or stare at our sandwiches. We decided to talk, and within a few minutes, he’d asked me out, LOL. (Hey, he was smart, charming, and he made me laugh!) We’ve been married for over 22 years now...

Marilyn, thank you so much for joining us here, just days before the release of your fantastic new novel, THE ONE I WANT.  We look forward to watching the fantastic reviews pore in, as readers have opportunity to read this poignant, but uplifting newest work.

* * * * * 

To make sure you get your copy as soon as it come available, you can go to any of these Pre-Order Links:

AMAZON

SMASHWORDS

KOBO

B&N and Apple links coming soon!

Social Media:

The Lounge (New! The Mirabelle Harbor page on Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/groups/MirabelleHarborLounge/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25649961-the-one-that-i-want

COVER REVEAL AND NEW BOOK RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

Welcome to Mirabelle Harbor! In this scenic suburb on Chicago’s North Shore, overlooking the sparkling waters of Lake Michigan, the Michaelsen family has made their home for generations. Although their parents and grandparents are now gone, siblings Derek, Blake, Sharlene, and the twins—Chandler and Chance—all have fond memories of growing up in town, and most still live there.

Chance Michaelsen, the youngest member of the family (by two minutes) and the quietest (by far), is a dedicated twenty-eight-year-old personal trainer at the local gym. While he might not say much, Chance has made it clear that he’s not a fan of toxic people, unhealthy habits, or sharing too many of his emotions. With anybody.

Enter Antonia “Nia” Pappayiannis—the prettiest member of the loudest and most overly demonstrative family in town. They’re also the owners of The Gala, a Greek restaurant and bakery known for its decadent pastries and located just a few steps from Chance’s gym. He considers their entire family business to be the enemy of good health, but he can’t quite shake his attraction to Nia, who doesn’t seem nearly as impressed with him or his sculpted physique as most of the women around Mirabelle Harbor.

Unfortunately, between her doctor’s orders and the interfering ways of Chance’s crazy-making ex-girlfriend, who just happens to be one of Nia’s long-time friends, Chance gets assigned to be Nia’s fitness coach for the month. Pure torture. And if his ex weren’t already causing enough problems, he also has to deal with Nia’s current boyfriend—some hotshot Chicago CEO who talks big but, in Chance’s opinion, is as fake as a Styrofoam barbell.

The road to romance is going to be a rocky one, and though Nia has her doubts about moving forward, Chance has a well-developed competitive streak and might just be willing to give it a shot...if he can convince her to do the same.

In matters of the heart, would you risk it all? TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, a Mirabelle Harbor story.

**TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is Book 1 (a novella) in Marilyn Brant’s Mirabelle Harbor series, but this book and all of the contemporary romances in this series can be enjoyed as stand-alone stories.**

To be released shortly at Amazon.com

ABOUT MARILYN BRANT

Marilyn Brant is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary women’s fiction, romantic comedy & mystery. She was named the Author of the Year (2013) by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. She loves all things Jane Austen, has a passion for Sherlock Holmes, is a travel addict and a music junkie, and lives on chocolate and gelato. Look for all of the contemporary romances in her new Mirabelle Harbor series, beginning late July 2015! Visit her website: www.marilynbrant.com

Heaven In His Arms - A Book Review

Heaven In His Arms

By 

Lisa Verge Higgins

SYNOPSIS

Struggling to survive on the streets of Paris, Genevieve will do anything to start a new life. She’ll even switch places with a King’s Girl, one of many penniless young noblewomen destined to be shipped to the savage French colonies. It’s a dangerous masquerade that comes with a high price: Once in Quebec, Genny will have to marry a stranger.

Notorious explorer André Lefebvre has too many reasons not to take a wife. He’s launching a western expedition deep into untamed lands—a perilous journey that no gentlewoman could possibly survive. Forced to exchange vows with a King’s Girl in order to receive royal consent, he intends to leave his wife-of-convenience safely behind.

But once set loose in the New World, Genny defies her brawny, free-spirited husband, preferring to seduce rather than obey. She’ll risk any danger for a chance to build a real future . . . even the danger to her own heart. 

REVIEW

To date, I have loved and enjoyed the light lyrical works of Lisa Verge Higgins’ Historical Romance novels and novellas.  In His Arms left the “light and lyrical” behind to delve into the realms of a realistic historical fiction that covered an Era and place that are typically overlooked by historical fiction writers.  True to Lisa’s style, the novel maintained the deep emotional and lyrical rhythms of the bedroom that she is famous for and does so well.  But this time, she left the civilized world behind and planted the hero and heroine (Genny and Andre) in the deep northern woods of colonial Canada, during the 1700’s when it was still a wild and unexplored territory. 

Just as you reached a point in your reading, when you thought that you might know the back story for Genny, a turn of the page revealed a new clue leading you down an unexpected path out in the wilds.  But these wilds were not fraught with blood-curdling, heathens who would lift your scalp (even if Andre tried his best to get the socialite upper-class French Courtesan to believe him). 

In truth Genny was made of the stuff, and had the moral caliber and fortitude that women of that day needed to live and survive in the remote backwoods and wilds of a wilderness.  Or, was she running from a bigger monster that anything that the wilds of the Canadian wilderness could throw her way?

Just like in real life, no matter how determined you are to lock your heart and mind away, if you continually find it in close quarters with a wildly enticing creature for days and weeks on end, whose very essence and being start to seep and creep into your pores, you wear down.  Much like a strong rock wall held together with old mortar and daub, the fortification slowly crumbles as love and friendship seep down through the cracks and daub.  Finally, one hard knock (a crisis of potential loss) sends all the final reserves tumbling into a pile of defeat.

I loved the questions that were raised in the story line, the fact that the ebb and flow allowed each of the readers to draw their own conclusions to what really happened in Andre and Genny’s past, and outside the written pages of the novel.  I do hope that a sequel to In His Arms will come along before long, because there are many twists and turns, and discoveries waiting to happen; along with much more history waiting to peek out from behind unexpected corners, providing terror and potential reward.

Lisa gives her readers strong, independent heroines, who are capable of conquering their worlds and making their own way through adversity.  At the same time, she knows how to provide strong and stalwart heroes to serve as supporting cast, without being wimps and bedroom eye-candy.  On the other hand, her cast of villains is varied and crosses the gender lines.  They are as likely be pulled from places you would expect supporting characters to come from as from the gutters and barrooms of the back alleys.  What she shows is that goodness and evil prevail in all walks of life.  Just like in real life, you never know where your help will come from, nor where the nefarious blackguard will leap out from to destroy your world.

Lisa, has left the soufflé romance in the dirt, with this wonderful piece.  I give it a FIVE STAR rating for story-telling, character development, and romance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa Ann Verge is the critically acclaimed RITA-nominated author of seventeen novels that have been published worldwide and translated into as many languages. She started her career writing emotionally intense romances about hot men and dangerous women, and now she also writes life-affirming women's fiction under the name Lisa Verge Higgins. A finalist for Romantic Times' book awards five times over, Lisa has won the Golden Leaf and the Bean Pot, and twice she has cracked Barnes & Noble's General Fiction Forum's top twenty books of the year. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and their three daughters, who never fail to make life interesting

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A Bridge to Love - A Book Review

SYNOPSIS

Widow Kate Chilton bravely raises two young sons alone, drawing on memories of her happy marriage to give her strength. When she discovers that her marriage was not what it seemed, her world is shattered. In her own unique revenge, Kate decides to spend one night with a man and then forget him. She finds the perfect candidate in notorious womanizer Randall Johnson. Magnetically attractive, he has a reputation for loving and leaving. But Randall's reputation is about to change.... Randall Johnson clawed his way up the ladder of success from a dirt-poor childhood. With no time for the complications of love, he prefers women who understand his rules. When Kate invites herself to dinner, his curiosity is piqued. When she kisses him, his self-control goes up in flames. And when she tells him he's just a one-night stand, he refuses to take "no" for an answer. Originally published by Berkley Books, Penguin Group USA

REVIEW

I was invited to read the first novel in one of Nancy’s new series’ here recently and fell in love with her and her style of writing.  Although she is a little outside of my normal staid, literary brand of book that I have fallen into reading and reviewing in the last few months, I found her work to be a breath of fresh air.  Stop.  Let’s correct that. Her work tends to make me catch my breath at the most in-opportune moments and take my breath away, sigh, like coming up for air.

When I saw this new delight hit the market, I snapped it up and lost a night of sleep plowing through the story of a widow who was too afraid to love again, only to find out that she had been crossed and double crossed by the man she thought had loved her in death.  Even though the steamy scenes made my heart pitter-patter a bit, and were rather steammmy(!!), those scenes were icing on the cake.  The real story lay all around those scenes and much deeper.

WHAT???, you say?  A good sexy, steamy story with a deep meaningful story beneath the surface?  Yup!  It is that story that captured my heart.  It is the story of the young widow and her devotion to her two children.  No matter what a horrid person her husband (dead and buried) turned out to be.  She did not allow his image of the devoted father diminish in the eyes of her children.  She retained the “family” throughout her own personal crisis and no matter what horrid things were going on with men in her life (good and rotten), she managed to keep her children lives on an even keel – not an easy feat.

This is not to say she and her husband, and then later, she had not done a fantastic job of establishing good moral and family ethics and values for the boys. What I also really appreciated was the tone Nancy set of the female character’s determination to establish her independence and to be able to care for herself and her family.  What really ticked me off was just how manipulative and nasty (low-down) the men who worked to dominate her life were, including the “hero”, before he got his act together.  Sometimes you just wonder why men cannot figure it out. (Excuse me guys, I know not all of you are like that.)

Now, the real question is, how is an author able to write a really good novel that has really hot steamy sex scenes in it (more than just a few) and still have a central core theme about the values of family, ethics, and morals?  Well Nancy Herkness managed to make this reviewer feel that this book is good enough for a romance award nomination.  You will have to read Bridge to Love to find out how she did it, for yourself.

I rated this book FIVE STARS for my review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nancy Herkness is the author of the award-winning Whisper Horse series, published by Montlake Romance, as well as several other contemporary romance novels. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award. Her new series, Wager of Hearts, follows the romantic adventures of three very wealthy men who make a life-changing bet.

Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, New Jersey Romance Writers, and Novelists, Inc. She has received many honors for her work, including the Golden Leaf Award, the Maggie Award in Contemporary Romance, and the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English literature and creative writing.

A native of West Virginia, Nancy now lives in suburban New Jersey with her husband, two mismatched dogs, and an elderly cat.

For more information about Nancy and her books, visit www.NancyHerkness.com.

Social media links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancyherkness
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NancyHerkness
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nancyherkness/

The Lives Between Us - a Book Review

SYNOPSIS

The Lives Between Us is about family and love. It’s about desperate people doing what they need to, to save the ones they love.

Grief-stricken reporter, Skylar Kendall, plots revenge on Michigan Sen. Hastings who opposed life-saving stem cell research and therapy. She gains access to Hastings, learning secrets that would launch her career and satisfy her need for retribution… Only, she hadn’t counted on falling in love.

Can she avenge the lives lost to politics at the expense of her new love and friends?

REVIEW

The Lives Between Us is a story that takes the reader on a journey through the rocky romance between two unlikely candidates for “happily ever-after”.  What would ever attract a wealthy business man and personal friend to a U.S. Senator to a brash, out-spoken reporter, who is intent on nailing his friend to the wall at every news conference and in every news article that she writes?  He needed to find out when he saw her again across the room at a bar, but little did he know the strange and twisted path their relationship would take over the following year as their courtship followed a wild and rocky road, looking for answers and happiness.

From the opening pages, it becomes apparent that the true story is not about the love story between Mark and Skylar, but is about the battle between families in crisis and the choices we must make for the love of our family.  The issue of stem-cell, cord-blood cell, adult stem cells, and the laws surrounding the use and research of these cells suddenly sounds harsh and dry on the pages of the newspaper or across the screen of the television, but not so when it comes to the life or death of a loved one.  It is from that pathos of these emotions that that the basis of the story whips not only the emotions of the characters on the page, but the readers holding the book, as well. 

Teresa Rizzo took the complex issues of stem cells, frozen embryos, IVF, and all the other differentiations of this complex field, along with the complex laws, and wrote two intricate family stories of heart-ache and healing, as they sought answers to difficult life questions. 

The lives and the love of Skylar and Mark brought the two families into the same sphere, where they discovered Skylar and Senator Edward Hastings had already met and agreed to disagree on the subject of “Pro-Life” and stem-cell research.  Fireworks were sure to erupt again,  but they both discovered that they each had the same love of “family first”.

How could they ever disagree so hardily on what it takes to get a family member well again?

Tucked between the storylines, Teresa shared wonderful enlightenment on the subject matter from both of the presented points of view.  She took the time to better explain the stance of where each side was coming from and allowed this reader to better understand the arguments and the positions. 

It was in the development of the backstory of several of the characters that we were better able to understand the underlying reasons why the characters were so adamant about their stance on the embryos, unborn children, still-born, and their use for research and preservation of life.  Life is not simple, nor are our viewpoints on life. 

One of the interesting items I enjoyed was the character development within the story of each of her main characters.  She allowed her characters to grow and change and allowed life’s circumstances to change them, much as real life changes us.  I will allow I was surprised, disappointedly about some of the life decisions a character or two made, but then, was it really just a revealing of the true character?  Or is that how life really is?

Teresa Rizzo and THE LIVES BETWEEN US garnered a true FIVE STAR rating from this author.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Theresa Rizzo is a bestselling, award-winning author who writes emotional stories that explore the complexity of relationships and families through real-life trials. 
Born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she currently lives outside of Boulder, Colorado with her husband of thirty-two years. She’s raised four wonderful children who are now scattered across the country.

Theresa's debut book, He Belongs to Me, won the 2014 National Indie Excellence Award for romance and the 2014 Readers Crown Award for Mainstream Women’s Fiction and was a finalist in the General Fiction Category of The 2013 USA Best Book Awards.  


Find Theresa on the web at www.theresarizzo.com, or connect with her on Facebook, twitter or and Goodreads.

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