Review: Haven's King by Tamara Monteau

Title: Haven's King

Series: #4 Haven's Realm

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Blurb: Jason, a vampire from Ancient Greece, falls in love at first sight with Mirissa Wellston, a police officer in the small mountain town of Carrington, Georgia. Because she is Protected, he knows his pursuit could shatter the centuries-long Bargain between the Vampire Community and Heaven’s Forces, a Bargain he founded more than six centuries ago. When his interest in her attracts the attention of his ancient gods, it places Carrington and the Community in danger. He knows it will take more than a Golden Fleece to make things right.

Review: I'm a book geek. And a word nerd. And luckily Ms. Monteau is able to give me all I need and want in a good book.

You've been reading my reviews of the Haven's Realm series, you know I'm in love with the story line and the strength of character for all of her books.

Haven's King has not been a disappointment. Granted, it did take me all of 72 hours to read this book (my normal is 48) but I will tell you that it's only because I've been doped up from surgery.

My love for Jason and Miri is strong and heart-felt. I was so surprised and delighted in how their love/romance formed. It was as beautiful as watching a rose bloom. Each hour, each day, each week was beautiful in its own way bring us in to take a picture with our mind's eye on how complex yet simple true love could be.

I know, I ply you with pretty words, but it's true. Miri is damaged (aren't we all) but Jason takes great care with her as if she was that very rose we watch bloom. He doesn't know the pain or damage that has been done, but he doesn't care. He knows when her time is right that he will be able to be trusted enough in her heart for all secrets to unfold. 

Jason is a King, a man used to getting what he wants when he wants it. But when he wants Miri someone comes forth with a vengeance. Even knowing that the vengeance is there Miri knows that the love of her man is worth fighting for and giving even if he is scared to take.

If you love a great love story, and a mastery of words, take no more time than necessary and get this book in your hands.

Review: Coming to Rosemont by Barbara Hinske

Title: Coming to Rosemont

Author: Barbara Hinske

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Blurb: Forensic accountant Maggie Martin survives the sudden death of her husband, the charismatic President of Windsor College, only to uncover the secrets of his carefully-concealed double life. Dealing with the financial and emotional wreckage left in Paul's wake, she is stunned to learn he inherited an estate known as Rosemont in the seemingly-serene Midwestern town of Westbury. Why had he never told her?

Maggie travels to Westbury for the stated purpose of listing Rosemont for immediate sale, but what she really seeks are answers to her all-consuming questions about her sham of a marriage; her sham of a life. She never anticipated the seductive charm of Rosemont. Throwing her trademark caution to the wind, and over the objections of her opinionated grown children, she pulls up stakes and moves halfway across the country, determined to make a fresh start in Westbury. Behind closed doors, however, lurks a cadre of evildoers, playing with multiple wild cards of fraud, embezzlement and arson.

With a quiet, orderly -- and distinctively solitary -- life in mind, Maggie is instead thrown headlong into a crusade against political corruption, where defeat and retreat are not an option. Still bearing the scars of betrayal, will she find joy, romance and possibility in Westbury?

This fast-paced, smart novel has enough twists and turns to make the reader want to buckle in! Coming to Rosemont is the first book in the Rosemont series.

Review: When a widow finds out who her husband really was, what should she do?

Hide from the rest of her life?

Cry until there are no more tears?

Scream, rant, rave and rave?

Not Maggie! Maggie is a woman of action, a do it now person, and someone not afraid to face her fears.

Maggie learns of a house her husband owns, and of his misdeeds at work. She decides that the only thing she can take care of right now is the house. She travels to the Westbury in hopes of cleaning it up and putting it on the market. But as you've always heard, the heart wants what the heart wants. When Maggie walks into Rosemont it was love at first sight.

Barbara was able to suck me into her story and the down home real life people in her book. I came to know, love and enjoy their triumphs and hate the hardships that they were forced to endure. 

I appreciate how Barbara was able to create love that was responsible and built upon a friendship. And as all good writers do, there was a good hint of hot to it as well.

I am excited to read book two: Weaving the Strands.

Stay tuned and excited as I am going to send a interview to our crown jewel author and she's going to answer them and I'll post for all to see! Thanks again, and keep those pages turning.

Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman - Review

Title: Freud's Mistress

Authors: Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman

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Blurb: It is fin-de-siècle Vienna and Minna Bernays, an over-educated lady’s companion with a sharp, wry wit, is abruptly fired, yet again, from her position. She finds herself out on the street and out of options. In 1895, the city may be a swirl with avant-garde artists and revolutionary ideas, yet a woman’s only hope for security is still marriage. But Minna is unwilling to settle. Out of desperation, she turns to her sister, Martha, for help. 

Martha has her own problems—six young children and an absent, disinterested husband who happens to be Sigmund Freud. At this time, Freud is a struggling professor, all but shunned by his peers and under attack for his theories, most of which center around sexual impulses. And while Martha is shocked and repulsed by her husband’s “pornographic” work, Minna is fascinated. 

Minna is everything Martha is not—intellectually curious, engaging, and passionate. She and Freud embark on what is at first simply an intellectual courtship, yet something deeper is brewing beneath the surface, something Minna cannot escape.

In this sweeping tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal—between a husband and a wife, between sisters—fact and fiction seamlessly blend together, creating a compelling portrait of an unforgettable woman and her struggle to reconcile her love for her sister with her obsessive desire for her sister’s husband, the mythic father of psychoanalysis. 

Review:  I've been letting book blurbs decide my taste in reading lately and I'm finding that it's a poor choice of reasoning. My old faithful cover-whore self is going to have to be the old faithful once again.

This book held real potential having been a fictionalized potentially true story about Freud and his sister-in-law having an affair. I enjoy learning more about history and the intrigue that was promised in this book.

Unfortunately the sister-in-law turned out to be a giant whiner, and put up with the mental abuse that Freud gave her. No matter how he treated her or how wrong she felt the act of adultery with her sister's husband was.

Instead she whined, moaned, and complained throughout the whole book. Once the affair fizzled she became insufferable. All in all not a good pick for the year.

Review: The Steady Running of the Hour

Title: The Steady Running of the Hour

Author: Justin Go

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Blurb: In this mesmerizing debut, a young American discovers he may be heir to the unclaimed estate of an English World War I officer, which launches him on a quest across Europe to uncover the elusive truth.

Just after graduating college, Tristan Campbell receives a letter delivered by special courier to his apartment in San Francisco. It contains the phone number of a Mr. J.F. Prichard of Twyning & Hooper, Solicitors, in London--and news that could change Tristan's life forever.

In 1924, Prichard explains, an English alpinist named Ashley Walsingham died attempting to summit Mt. Everest, leaving his fortune to his former lover, Imogen Soames-Andersson. But the estate was never claimed. Information has recently surfaced suggesting Tristan may be the rightful heir, but unless he can find documented evidence, the fortune will be divided among charitable beneficiaries in less than two months.

In a breathless race from London archives to Somme battlefields to the Eastfjords of Iceland, Tristan pieces together the story of a forbidden affair set against the tumult of the First World War and the pioneer British expeditions to Mt. Everest. Following his instincts through a maze of frenzied research, Tristan soon becomes obsessed with the tragic lovers, and he crosses paths with a mysterious French girl named Mireille who suggests there is more to his quest than he realizes. Tristan must prove that he is related to Imogen to inherit Ashley's fortune--but the more he learns about the couple, the stranger his journey becomes.

The Steady Running of the Hour announces the arrival of a stunningly talented author. Part love story, part historical tour de force, Justin Go's novel is utterly compelling, unpredictable, and heartrending.

Review: I read this book due to the recommendation of a great friend of mine. I was certain it was going to be good due to the fact that the preview that I read was GRIPPING! I couldn't wait until the library or Amazon got the book in so I could devour it in one sitting. I have never been more wrong in my entire life.

The first 1/3 of the book held me, switching back and forth from present day to WWII. Then it got to be a little old. I put the book down 2/3 of the way through and vowed I would not finish the book. The book lover in me decided that I couldn't leave a book unread no matter how much I didn't care for it. So I read it all the way through to the end.

I have never been so disappointed in my entire life. The ending literally SUCKED. OK, it can't literally suck since it's not a vacuum or black hole, but it was not good. If my boyfriend had not been in the bed asleep beside me when I finished the book I would have thrown it.

What looked to be a promising start to a new career turned out to be a sad ending to a would be novel.

Review: Dragon Lord by Tamara Monteau

Title: Dragon Lord

Series: Haven's Realm #3

Author: Tamara Monteau

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Blurb: Before Tyler Jenkins embarked on her mission to retrieve stolen Government secrets, she reviewed every scrap of intel; memorized floor plans and guard schedules, knew everything she needed to achieve her objective. The one thing she didn't count on was the interference of one irritating vampire.

Ronan promised to protect an HSA agent infiltrating Courleon's Consortium. He hadn't counted on that agent being a woman, and worse: the most intriguing creature he'd laid eyes on for thousands of years. He knew from the start that if he wasn't careful, he would lead them into a chain of events that could force him to lose control and destroy everything in his path.
Review: Holy crap on a cracker! (Sorry I watch too much Big Bang Theory!) I've been in a book funk for so long that I haven't been able to read one book 3/4 of the way through without putting it down. Not so with Dragon Lord. I read this one cover to cover in 48 hours flat. I would have read it sooner if I didn't have to sleep.

Tamara Monteau is a friggin' genius with her character development, and plot twists. Just when I thought I couldn't take any more, another twist. What a joy to travel on the wings of the Dragon Lord!

Review: The Darker Path (Haven's Realm #2) by Tamara Monteau

Title: The Darker Path (Haven's Realm #2)
Author: Tamara Monteau
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Blurb: Ki’ara’s responsibilities were clear: she was destined to rule her world and produce heirs to strengthen the Royal Family. But on the eve of her coronation, with uncertainty about her suitors bearing hard on her, she chooses to follow the strange path that opens for her, allows it to take her to the strange place called New England and into the arms of Colton Graves, a man more powerful and dangerous than she ever imagined. Her struggles to understand his self-hatred and anger leads her to the Vampire Community, where answers only bring more questions, and she is forced to choose between her love of Colton and her duty to the Realm.

Review: 

At first I had a hard time getting into this book because my preconceived notions of vampires were not met, but after allowing myself time to sit and read I found I couldn't stop.I'm so glad that the author has shown me that all vampires are not created equal and hers are wonderfully well written on every single page. Tamara has again woven a tale full of well written characters and a page turning plot. If you haven't read Haven's Realm yet, you need to start now so you can get to this wonderful book. Off to read book three.

Review: Call Me Cat by Karpov Kinrade

Title: Call Me Cat

Author: Karpov Kinrade

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Blurb: Catelyn Travis is a good girl who gets good grades in law school, doesn’t date and never gets into trouble. 

But when a run of bad luck threatens to destroy everything she's worked for, she's forced to become Cat, phone sex goddess who fulfills the fantasies of her clients night after night.

When she meets Ashton Davenport the Third, bad boy biker billionaire, she knows to stay away. But when he calls her alter ego, Cat, she has no choice but to fall for the sexy stranger.

Now her life is spiraling out of control as she struggles to keep her two identities separate, but there's one person who knows her secret.

And he'll stop at nothing to destroy her, just like he destroyed her parents.

Threatened at every turn, her life crumbling around her, Catelyn must decide who she can trust, because the wrong choice could end her life.

Review: Cat is a college student trying to make it in the world. Money isn't the easiest thing to come by. When dire straits hit, Cat takes matters into her own hands. She knows that others will be a little concerned about what and how she's making it, but what has to be done is done. When real life and her alternate life collide will she be able to handle it?

Karpov Kinrade is not one to disappoint in Call Me Cat. With endearing characters, and spectacular writing this book will take you for a ride and keep you guessing. 

As always Karpov Kinrade has given me something to get hot over and to worry and wonder over. All I can say is that the next book has a lot of answers in it, or it better. I need more Catelyn!

I'd like to thank Karpov Kinrade for providing a copy of this book for me to read. All opinions are 100% mine and receiving a copy of this book in no way swayed my opinion.