Highlander Reborn by Laura Hunsaker

Highlander Reborn begins in Scotland, many centuries ago, where a blacksmith fights for his life and his people. His life is forever changed when Amalia, one of the Nightkind, makes the choice to save his life. But first, he has to die...

1304…

After Nevin MacLachlan’s wife was killed by a vampire, he made it his mission to hunt them all down. But one late Highland night, in a battle he couldn’t win, one of the Nightkind ripped open his throat. With his blood draining onto the grass, the last thing Nevin sees isn’t a white light; it’s the dark of night closing in on him.

Amalia has been enamored with the blacksmith ever since he first held a stake to her heart. Watching him die was unacceptable. Will he ever forgive her for turning him into what he hates most?

Nevin has lived his life alone for a reason. When Amalia walks back into his life seven centuries later asking for help, he wants nothing more but to turn his back to her. But something about her still calls to him.

Some of the Nightkind in Amalia’s seethe have been killed. It’s up to her to find Nevin and ask for his help. But how can she show Nevin that she isn’t the monster he thinks she is?

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A somewhat interesting story concept that unfortunately doesn't really live up to its potential. Nevin and Amalia are both interesting characters, and yet their characterization is rather flat, and the narration more than a bit awkward at times. It was easy enough to feel the connection between them, but there wasn't a lot of flow to how they related to one another. He's supposedly spent 700 years presumably hating her for changing him, and he's certainly none too welcoming toward her when she shows up in his life again, and he continues being rather standoffish toward her - despite the fact that they have wild sex a few times. Then something happens and suddenly he's declaring his love for her, and saying he's really been lusting for her all this time. And that is only one of the rather abrupt changes that take place, some with no explanation of why, that makes the story a bit hard to follow and makes it a bit hard to accept all that happens. With more polish and a bit more time and word count given to it, this could have been a really good story, but as it is, it falls short.

• Highlander Reborn on Goodreads
• Author's website

All In Time by Ciana Stone

Sara's life is filled with mysteries. Why did her parents abandon her as a baby? What's behind the baffling blackouts she suffers and the frightening images she creates while she's out? Who is the strange woman claiming to hold the answers - and why does she keep calling Sara a Hussy?

Morgan's got a few mysteries of his own. What was his father going to give him on the day he died, the gift he said would change Morgan's life? Who is this bewitching woman who keeps passing out and creating pictures of his past and future - and why was she sent to save his life?

All they both know from the moment they meet is that the bond between them is stronger and more passionate than anything either has ever known. And that fate has brought them together for a very important reason.

If only they knew what it was...

I can't really say much about this book other than it was OK. The author had a decent premise going about an immortal woman, Danu, who finds and trains women who have the power to save a man who is destined to do something that will change the world, presumably for the better. As a premise for a modern-day, real-world fantasy series, it has promise. But the execution of it leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion, starting with the name given to these women: The Hussy Warriors. Yes, it's explained that the term "hussy" is being used in an ancient connotation where it denoted a strong woman who was the leader of her household and who fought to protect those she loved and all that, but the explanation simply can't outweigh the current connotations the word has, and so calling them Hussy Warriors just sounds super-cheesy I think, and makes it sound too much like they're just going to be a bunch of nymphos that "save" their men by giving them all the sex they want or something.

"Colters' Wife" by Maya Banks

This was originally a free ebook from Maya Banks Website.

Colters’ Wife is an extended epilogue that picks up just a few months from where Colters' Woman left off. Revisit the Colter family just in time for the birth of their first child.

Where to Buy

Amazon

An ok story, but if you haven't read what comes before it, it's rather like opening a book to read a chapter somewhere toward the end - it doesn't necessarily make a lot of sense. Certainly the immediate situation is easy enough to understand, but it's hard to relate to the characters here if you haven't read about them and gotten to know them already. Definitely read the first book before reading this...I wish I had.

• Colters' Wife on Goodreads
• Maya Banks's website

The Mouth of Truth by Isobel Chace

"You may run, but you'll never escape!"
Domenico Manzu was like no one else she had ever met, and Deborah hadn't the remotest idea how to cope with him.

If she'd heeded her father's warning, she'd never have come to Rome. Now here she was, virtually kidnapped yet treated like a guest.

Domenico was a very charming villain. But Deborah knew that while he had captured her person, she'd be a fool if she allowed him to capture her heart!

Where to Buy

Amazon

** Contains Moderate Spoilers**

I first read this book several years ago, probably sometime in the early-mid 1990s, and liked it fairly well for some reason then. Well enough that it stuck in my mind when most other books of this sort all ran together eventually in my head. Waxing a bit nostalgic earlier this year, I tracked down copies of a few of the old books like this I remembered, and read this one again. And, well, let's just say my opinion of it this time around was much lower.

Fire and Ice by Janet Dailey

"You've taken the world on your shoulders." Zachary's voice was a soft, caressing whisper that was oddly soothing and hypnotic. "You've made Chris your sole responsibility and refuse help from everyone. Haven't you ever wanted anyone to take care of you?"

As much as she wanted to, Alison couldn't admit any such feelings to him. She felt curiously vulnerable, unable to handle the gentleness Zachary was displaying. How she feared he would break down her defenses.

Where to Buy

Amazon

** Contains Mild Spoilers**

While there was plenty of "ice" in this book in the way Alisa acts and treats other people, there wasn't a whole lot of "fire", unless of course you count the heated arguments she's constantly having with Zachary and others. Alisa is far too quick to jump to conclusions and to accept those first impression conclusions as being the absolute truth of the matter and pretty much refusing to even consider that she could be wrong about it. The only such conclusion she ever really doubts is that Zach needed her money as she assumed he did, based solely on a bit of gossip related by her cousin Michael, and that only because she's presented with plenty of evidence to the contrary from the moment she arrives at his home with him. Their constant bickering and fighting gets tedious pretty quickly, and when the resolution to their conflict comes, it happens far too quickly to be entirely believable, and leaves some questions unanswered, such as whether or not Zach really was cheating on Alisa with Renee as Alisa believes. The only answer we get to that question is a somewhat vague one when he tells Alisa he's told Renee he won't see her anymore, which only really confirms the affair and thus detracts from the believability of his statement that he's been in love with Alisa almost from the beginning. All in all, this isn't one of Dailey's better books, even with allowances made for it being an old style Harlequin, as the characters are all much more stereotypical and wooden than hers usually are.

Fire and Ice on Goodreads

Janet Dailey's website