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.

Medicus by Ruth Downie

Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on his luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. His arrival in Deva (more commonly known as Chester, England) does little to improve his mood, and after a straight thirty six hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner.

Now he has a new problem: a slave who won’t talk and can’t cook, and drags trouble in her wake. Before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar. A few years earlier, after he rescued Emperor Trajan from an earthquake in Antioch, Ruso seemed headed for glory: now he’s living among heathens in a vermin-infested bachelor pad and must summon all his forensic knowledge to find a killer who may be after him next.

Who are the true barbarians, the conquered or the conquerors? It’s up to Ruso—certainly the most likeable sleuth to come out of the Roman Empire—to discover the truth. With a gift for comic timing and historic detail, Ruth Downie has conjured an ancient world as raucous and real as our own.

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An interesting little mystery that pulls you in pretty much from the start. The pacing is fairly casual as the author follows Ruso through his daily activities, and as he tries to avoid getting caught up with the lives of the girls at Merula's bar, but only succeeds in becoming more tangled up in their affairs. It all begins pretty much on page one when he has to examine a corpse that's brought into the hospital - an unidentified female, naked, with all of her hair shorn off. All signs point to foul play, but as no one knows who she is, and all signs are that she was likely a prostitute, no one really cares - except for Ruso, for all that he tries not to care.

Everlasting Kiss by Amanda Ashley

Daisy O'Donnell doesn't get the attraction some women feel for vampires. She likes her men with a heartbeat. And she's just met one who's full of life: Erik Delacourt, the unreasonably sexy man she keeps meeting at a popular L.A. nightclub called the Crypt. She barely knows him, but there's no resisting the connection she feels. . .

There's one important detail Erik hasn't gotten around to telling her yet. He's a powerful vampire out to hunt the Blood Thief who is draining young vampires all over the city--and who has just raised the stakes by destroying one of Erik's friends. To Erik, Daisy is a bright spot of innocence in a world of darkness and menace. He'll do anything--even lie to her--to keep her safe and pure.

If only he knew that Daisy has something of her own to hide. . .



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This book did a great job of catching my attention early on and keeping me interested and turning the pages to see what would happen next. There's rarely any lull in the action, and the story progresses steadily throughout, with a pacing that seems fairly natural and right for the most part. From the moment Daisy and Erik meet, there is undeniable chemistry between them, chemistry that they both recognize, but they approach it in a very realistic manner I think, for they aren't immediately all over one another and heading straight to the nearest bed or other convenient location to have sex, but rather the intense chemistry actually causes them, or Daisy at least, to be even more cautious about getting carried away and giving in too easily than she might otherwise have been.

Merlin's Harp by Anne Eliot Crompton

When I was yet a very young woman I threw my heart away. Ever since then I have lived heartless, or almost heartless, the way Humans think all Fey live.

Among the towering trees of magical Avalon, where humans dare not tread, lives Niviene, daughter of the Lady of the Lake. Her people, the Fey, are folk of the wood and avoid the violence and greed of man. But the strife of King Arthur's realm threatens even the peace of Avalon. And while Merlin the mage has been training Niviene as his apprentice, he now needs her help to thwart the chaos devouring Camelot. Niviene's special talents must help save a kingdom and discover the treachery of men and the beauty of love...





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A different take on the Arthurian legend, this book tells the story from the viewpoint of Niviene, a fey mage whose mother is a friend to Merlin. Through Merlin, Niviene eventually becomes caught up in human affairs, particularly those of King Arthur. Familiar events play out through the course of the story, but with a different twist to them, the true identities of some of the players, or the relationships between them, having been changed. Through it all, the writing manages to conjure up the mystical feel of the land that is part fantasy and part legend.

Club Shadowlands by Cherise Sinclair

Her car disabled during a tropical storm, Jessica Randall discovers the isolated house where she's sheltering is a private bondage club. At first shocked, she soon becomes aroused watching the interactions between the Doms and their subs. But she's a professional woman--an accountant--and surely isn't a submissive...is she?

Master Z hasn't been so attracted to a woman in years. But the little sub who has wandered into his club intrigues him. She's intelligent. Reserved. Conservative. After he discovers her interest in BDSM, he can't resist tying her up and unleashing the passion she hides within.

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I've read this book several times, and each time I have enjoyed it as much as the first. It's become something of a go-to book for me when I'm in the mood for something racy, edgy, and quick to read. It's short enough that even I can put it away in a few hours, and I'm a pretty slow reader, but for all that it's short, and the story just a bit rushed at times because of that perhaps, it still packs a lot of punch emotionally.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

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Probably one of the best books I've read in a long time. It kept me enthralled from page one all the way to the end, trying to guess which way the twists and turns of the story were taking me. Rarely did I guess right, though, as this book keeps you guessing, and continues to surprise you time and time again. Sometimes I guessed right though, but even then there was usually some twist involved that I hadn't seen coming right alongside the bit that I had figured out ahead of time. To try to sum up my reactions and thoughts about this book in a relatively short review hardly seems possible, but I'll do my humble best.

The Bite Before Christmas by Heidi Betts

Where do single vampires go when they're looking for romance? To Love Bites, of course, Angelina Bertolli's highly successful, top secret vampire dating agency. Angelina helps three mortals find love in this trilogy of sexy, witty, irresistible vampire novellas.

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This collection of short stories actually reads more like a novel that has a shifting focus since the stories are all linked via characters in common. Angelina, the matchmaker, is the primary linking figure, though we only see her more or less in passing until the third story, which focuses on her. The first and second stories had premises that could easily have been developed out to novel length on their own and not suffered for it, though they also work fine as short stories and don't feel like the author rushed things too much to wrap it up.