The Silver Chain by Primula Bond

Bound by passion, she was powerless to resist.

One dark evening in London, photographer Serena Folkes is indulging her impulsive side with a night-time shoot. But someone is watching her – mysterious entrepreneur Gustav Levi. Serena doesn’t know it yet, but this handsome stranger will change her life forever…

Serena is fascinated by Gustav, the enigmatic owner of the Levi Gallery, and she soon feels an irresistible pull of attraction. The interest is mutual, and Gustav promises to launch Serena’s photographic career at his gallery, but only if Serena agrees to become his exclusive companion.

To mark their agreement, Gustav gives Serena a bracelet to wear at all times. Attached to it is a silver chain of which he is the keeper. With the chain Gustav controls Serena physically and symbolically – a sign that she is under his power.

As their passionate relationship intensifies, Gustav’s hold on the silver chain grows stronger. But will Gustav’s dark past tear them apart?

**** 

The Silver Chain is the first book in Primula Bond’s The Unbreakable Trilogy and not a bad start to this semi-open ended happily ever after. I say semi-open ended because it is a trilogy and we know going in that the relationship will not be fully developed in the first - or likely – second book. And I’m hoping Ms. Bond doesn’t pull a last minute need to extend the trilogy beyond just that – a trilogy.

I wish I could be more excited about this trilogy but honestly, it just seems like more of what the market is being inundated with. There were times I thought I’d DNF it and other times I thought I’d love it. In the end, it took me a couple months of picking it up and putting it down before I finished. The thing is, to really “wow” me these days, a story has to be compelling, exciting, and gripping, but most of all fresh and unique. And sadly, this story, in my opinion, was not.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. There was, and is, a lot of potential here. Ms. Bond is talented and able to write engaging, complex characters, but with The Silver Chain I just wasn’t left dying to know what might happen next. That’s not to say I won’t read more, should the mood strike me.

My thanks to HarperCollins UK for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Seduced by the Gladiator by Lauren Hawkeye

 

Fierce Lilia is the rarest of commodities: a female Gladiator.

Placed in the arena for entertainment and expected to perish, she has clawed her way to the top and is now the most feared woman in all of Rome. Taught to fight and kill without emotion, the last thing Lilia ever expected to feel was pleasure. Or love.

But when Christus, a warrior with his own demons to excise, is sold to the ludus that owns Lilia, she finds herself forced to fight to stay on top—and to stay out of his arms. Yet their blood-thirsty sport unleashes a passion that threatens to consume them both...and unmask them as lovers to the rest of the ludus.

When Gaius, the twisted brother of the emperor, reveals his challenge for the Gladiators: a battle to the death for the champions of Rome, Christus and Lilia must fight to win their freedom, their lives...and each other.

*****

This was a pretty tough story to read, at times. The way slaves were treated, how humans had to fight one another to survive, just for the pleasure, the entertainment of the upper classes. Even now I’m shaking my head and the thought of it. If I didn’t know this was all true, I would think the author had a pretty twisted imagination!

But I digress.

I won’t recap the synopsis, but Seduced by the Gladiator gives us a glimpse into what life was like for slaves, Gladiators, merchants, rulers… the day to day kind of living, whether filthy and impoverished or extravagant. It’s a well written story, told in the first person from Lilia’s point of view. There was quite a bit happening right from the start, but the pace was slow due to the necessary world building and plot layout. It was all very interesting and the further along the story went, the more invested I became.

Lilia is a strong woman. Of course, she has to be. She’s the only female Gladiator and that makes her an icon for some, and a target for others. I had a hard time connecting with her at first because she’s so determined. So strong. So independent. But the more I read, the more I came to realize that in her world, to be otherwise would mean death. At this point, I not only came to care about her, but to respect her.

Christus is definitely a swoonworthy, tormented hero. He had had a good life, a wife and a child, and it had all been brutally taken away when they were slain by a neighbor who wanted Christus’s land. One thing leads to another and Christus is sold into slavery, and then, like Lilia, sold to this ludus to be trained as a Gladiator. Once he sees Lilia, the petite but fierce warrior, you can imagine how protective he became. Unfortunately, that wasn’t always a good thing, and led to more than a few problems between them.

As I said, the story started on the slow side, but once it picked up, it did so with a vengeance. The fight scenes were exciting and, when I allowed myself to think about why they were there, also heartbreaking.

And heads up! There's a lot of sex in this book, and I do mean a lot. The most explicit of it takes place between Christus and Lilia, but there are also scenes with anal sex, an orgy and even some spanking.

If you’re a fan of the movie Gladiator, or the STARZ original series, Spartacus, you’ll want to check this out. It’s gritty, brutal, barbaric…and it’s honest. It’s also a very, very sexy story, and I might even go so far as to say it’s an erotic novel. The ending is sweet, the happily ever after is well deserved – and no, they don’t have to die to get it. When I’m in the mood for something given to the darker side of humanity, I’ll definitely be looking for more from this era by this author.

You might have noticed that I capitalized the word Gladiator throughout my review. I did so out of respect for those real men and women who had no choice but to fight or die.

 Christus

This is my vision of Christus, and when the author read my review she said I nailed it!

My thanks to Avon Books for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

Normally, I do not stalk people in grocery stores.

I confess to the occasional practice of supermarket voyeurism. But who doesn’t sometimes notice the curious collections of fellow shoppers, then contemplate what they may reveal about them?

 
The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is not your typical cookbook, and not at all what I expected. It took me some time to get into the memoir-esque beginning where we learn what led Kathleen Flinn to decide to teach cooking and technique to the everyday chef – meaning people who are cooking for themselves and their families. As she tells us, it all began late, on an otherwise average Tuesday afternoon….

Late on an otherwise average Tuesday afternoon, a sight near the canned tuna stopped me dead in my tracks. The cart sat as if abandoned in the middle of the aisle. It contained two dozen haphazardly piled boxes of dehydrated mixes for pasta, casseroles, rice, and stuffing and dubious jars of gravy. Despite being half full, the cart contained no real food. As I stood contemplating its contents, a heavyset woman in her late thirties, casually attired in an eggplant colored fleece, claimed the cart. Her preteen daughter twirled impatiently around her, quietly singing a Lady Gaga song under her breath.

Would it be wrong if I followed her to find out what else she might buy?

To be honest, I found myself giggling as I imagined this playing out, and the subsequent meet-and-greet that took place when Kathleen introduced herself to said ‘heavyset woman in her late thirties’ and then proceeded to teach her how to shop better, cheaper and healthier. I’ve found myself doing similar things while shopping in bookstores and watching people walk right past some of the best books on the shelves! How can anyone pass by the historical romances, or the romantic suspense books and not even take a look! It’s appalling… I mean, the covers alone are worth taking a gander at with those hot chests and sexy chins – and why on earth do the photographers stop before they get to the eyes?? Honestly!

But I digress…

I enjoyed the beginning and getting to know a bit about Kathleen and what makes her tick. It was fun, there's a lot of humor in this book, but as I read on and it was more and more of the same, I found myself skimming and wanting to get to “the good stuff” – the recipes, cooking lessons, and the tip and tricks.

And when I finally found them? I love them! Great tip after tip on making stock, ways to add flavor to just about anything, how to avoid kitchen disasters... The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is a veritable smorgasbord of information that every cook, professional or novice, should have at their fingertips. The only problem I have with this book is that I like being able to flip right to a page and find what I'm looking for. I love lots of photos and to have everything spelled out for me, because I'm not a confident cook, and having to go through the chapters to find what I need didn't work for me. Yes, there was an index, but it just isn't the layout I like in my cookbooks, but that's just my opinion.

The bottom line - The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is not just a great reference guide, it's an enjoyable story. If you're looking for something more than your average cut and dry cookbook, this might just be perfect for you!

Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen

Lord of the Wolfyn is the third book in the Royal House of Shadows series and is written by Jessica Andersen who is also the author of the popular Final Prophecy series. Lord of the Wolfyn is my first read by Ms. Andersen and I really enjoyed her writing. I found it an easy style to read and follow, and to be honest, I saw shades of J.R. Ward (one of my very favorite authors) scattered throughout—not too surprising considering that they are critique partners. Or perhaps I have it wrong and there are shades of Ms. Andersen in J.R. Ward’s writing? Hmmm…

Anyway…

So as I said, I enjoyed the writing. I felt it flowed well and the story Ms. Andersen created was interesting, to say the least, however, I didn’t fall in love with the characters the way I must in order to really be WOW’d by a story. I never became connected to them, or invested in them. Dayn seemed “flat” to me, spending much of his time trying to appease Reda, who in my opinion, was kind of mental. I was talking with a Goodreads friend about them, and she made the point that Reda’s concern about being brainwashed or controlled was definitely bordering on paranoia, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Laurie had nailed what I hadn’t been able to put my finger on. A big part of my issues with Reda and her behavior was something I found… I don’t know… unreasonable based on what we, the readers, were given. And Dayn was so wrapped up in trying to make her happy, so concerned about her, that it made him seem kind of… wimpy.

Even though I’m giving Lord of the Wolfyn 3 stars, which means I did like it, I have to admit that I was also a bit disappointed. I really had hoped for something more from this book, and I hate to say it, but that something more - that buildup to final battle in Lord of the Abyss, the next and last book of the series, just wasn’t delivered.

That said, I'm definitely looking forward to reading Lord of the Abyss which is written by Nalini Singh.