Once Upon a Rhyme (Charming #1) by Jack Heckel

The dragon is dead. The princess has been saved. There is but one problem: Prince Charming had nothing to do with it.

So here I am with another book that I normally wouldn't read, but found very entertaining. Once Upon a Rhyme is a mish-mash of fairy tales all brought together in this first volume of The Charming Tales.

Blurb...

In order to save his royal reputation, Prince Charming must begrudgingly enlist the help of accidental hero William Pickett. The two set out on an adventure that has them fighting trolls, outwitting a scoundrel, and drinking the foulest ale ever, collecting bruises to both body and pride along the way. Meanwhile, the rescued princess, Gwendolyn, turns out to be one dangerously distressed damsel, and an evil presence takes over Castle White in Charming's absence …

Enter this rollicking world and discover just what happens when a fairytale leaves the well-trodden path of "once upon a time."

My thoughts...

This is a very clever story that reminded me of a cross between The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights because of the humor - some laugh-out-loud, some tongue-in-cheek, some dry wit, and some just plain eye-rolling. It's a fun read and might be okay for younger kids if you don't mind explaining things like what 'tryst' and 'making love' mean, or why the Prince might not want to leave a certain woman's bed chamber. **wink, wink** That said, there's nothing even close to descriptive sex but it's up to you to decide if it's suitable for your younger readers.

The story continues with Happily Never After: Volume II of The Charming Tales.

My thanks to HarperCollins Voyager for providing me with a copy of this story.

Christmas at Tiffany's by Karen Swan

Christmas at Tiffany’s is an absolutely wonderful story, and even though chick-lit isn’t my genre of choice, this book had me laughing, sighing, and wishing it would never end! No, seriously… I did not want this story to end!

Blurb…

Three cities. Three seasons. One chance to find the life that fits.

Cassie settled down too young, marrying her first serious boyfriend. Now, ten years later, she is betrayed and broken. With her marriage in tatters and no career or home of her own, she needs to work out where she belongs in the world and who she really is.

So begins a year-long trial as Cassie leaves her sheltered life in rural Scotland to stay with each of her best friends in the most glamorous cities in the world: New York, Paris and London. Exchanging grouse moor and mousy hair for low-carb diets and high-end highlights, Cassie tries on each city for size as she attempts to track down the life she was supposed to have been leading, and with it, the man who was supposed to love her all along.

My thoughts…

I can’t put my finger on what makes this story so perfect, and I think that’s because Christmas at Tiffany’s has it all – poignancy, great friends who’ll see you through the rough times without coddling you, romance, passion, and true love. Honestly, start to finish I was totally drawn into Cassie’s world, cheering her on as she left her past in the past to focus on the future and discover who she was really meant to be.

One of the very best things about this story is that it spans a full year, each friend taking Cassie in and giving her the chance to experience life in ways she’d never otherwise been able to. Because of this, there was no single “ah-ha!” moment in Cassie’s journey. Instead, there were several life defining moments, and I love the way those moments came to be – each an eye-opening experience, a lesson learned, and sometimes a heart broken.

Luke, Claude, and Henry… I loved them, hated them, loved them, hated them… but because they each played a very important role in Cassie’s… awakening…I wouldn’t change a single thing about them or their relationships with her. It’s an incredibly romantic and passionate story, even though there are no explicit sex scenes.

I’ve read a couple of reviews in which people have said that they feel the title, Christmas at Tiffany’s is misleading - perhaps because the story unfolds over the course of a year. I don’t really understand that at all because two of the sweetest, most romantic scenes take place during Christmas, and at Tiffany’s… and in my opinion, this story couldn’t have been more aptly titled.

And I’m going to stop now because truly, there’s really nothing I can say – no words I can come up with that will capture the emotions I felt while reading this story, and how happy I am that I did. Being chick-lit this would have never made it on my radar, and what a horrible loss that would have been.

To Maria Silva at HarperCollins who sent Christmas at Tiffany’s and asked me to take a peek, to give it a chance… thank you. Sincerely, thank you!

Buy links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Walmart
Indiebound
iTunes
Googlebooks Books-A-Million   

One Fine Fireman by Jennifer Bernard

 

One Fine Fireman is the first book in Jennifer Bernard’s The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel series and a sweet, steamy, romantic story!

First, a little background to the series title: Due to an event over 150 years ago, the firefighters assigned to this firehouse are cursed to never find love. The curse surrounds the true (supposedly) story of mail order bride Constancia B. Sidwell and says that one of the first volunteer firemen in the area, Virgil Rush, had been corresponding with Constancia B. Sidwell who was eager to start a new life in the West. Like many women of the time were doing, she hopped on a mail coach to travel across the country to meet her future husband, but before she could reach him, a gang of robbers attacked. The story goes on that she fell in love with the leader of the gang and never thought about poor Virgil again, and Virgil, subjected to the unrelenting teasing of his fellow firefighters, vowed that from that day forward, San Gabriel firefighters would suffer the same rocky road to romance that he did.

Now, that really has nothing to do with the storyline, but it’s a fun “backdrop” to the series, so I wanted to share that with you.

But on to the story itself!

Kirk, nicknamed Thor by his fellow firefighters because of his tall, handsome, Viking god looks, has been pining away for Maribel, the sweet waitress who works at the diner he and the other men of the San Gabriel Firehouse visit. For six years he’s been going there for his coffee, and for six years he’s uttered no more than a handful of words at time when he sees her. Kirk is shy, and she’s engaged. He’s moving, and she’s engaged. He’s a cancer survivor who knows there’s always a risk of reoccurrence and doesn’t want to burden anyone with that, so he’s mostly stayed clear of relationships, but there’s something so special about Maribel that he just can’t keep from developing feelings for her. But… she’s engaged!

Maribel loves it when the men of the San Gabriel Firehouse stop in for coffee, especially the good looking blond, Kirk. He’s incredibly sweet and he always purchases her handmade ornaments and other goodies. She can't help but be attracted to him, but she knows it can't go anywhere because she's engaged. Not that she'd ever think of cheating on her fiancee Duncan! They've been engaged for years and she's sure he's finally ready to set a date... but Kirk is... out of her league. And besides, she's engaged!

But when a precocious little boy and an adorable stray dog bring she and Kirk together, sparks fly and Mirabel starts to wonder why she's never felt for Duncan the things she's feeling for the sexy fireman. And Kirk... well Kirk isn't about to let this chance for a life with the woman he's loved from afar pass him up.

As I already said, this is a sweet, entertaining read. I enjoyed the story, the romance, the characters, and even the small glimpses we're given into the other firefighters. It's a quick, feel good story that left me with a smile on my face and looking forward to reading more in this series, soon!

My thanks to Edelweiss and Avon Books for providing me with a copy of this story! It was a pleasure!

Seduced by a Pirate (Fairy Tales #4.5) by Eloisa James

Charming, witty, romantic, sexy… I loved this novella! What it lacks in page count it more than makes up for in story, and this is how novellas should be done!

Blurb....In Eloisa James's companion story to The Ugly Duchess, Sir Griffin Barry, captain of the infamous pirate ship The Poppy, is back in England to claim the wife he hasn't seen since their wedding day . . . but this is one treasure that will not be so easy to capture.

*****
I’ll say it again, just in case I wasn’t clear: I. Loved. This. Story! I loved Griffin, Pheobe, Shark, Griffin’s dad the Viscount Moncrieff, Lyddie, Nanny McGillycuddy, Alastair, Margaret, and especially the adorably fierce, wee pirate in training, Colin. I hadn’t realized just how much I wanted to read Griffin's story until I had read Griffin's story and loved every word!

I smiled, giggled, and sighed my way through Seduced by a Pirate, and while I wish it had been longer, it didn’t need to be longer to be a delightful story, one I’ll read again and again!

Bravo, Ms. James’! Well done!

My thanks to HarperCollins/Avon Publishing for providing me a copy of this novella for review. It was such a pleasure!

The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James

 

How can she dare to imagine he loves her…when all London calls her The Ugly Duchess?

Theodora Saxby is the last woman anyone expects the gorgeous James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to marry. But after a romantic proposal before the prince himself, even practical Theo finds herself convinced of her soon-to-be duke's passion.

Still, the tabloids give the marriage six months.

Theo would have given it a lifetime…until she discovers that James desired not her heart, and certainly not her countenance, but her dowry. Society was shocked by their wedding; it's scandalized by their separation.

Now James faces the battle of his lifetime, convincing Theo that he loved the duckling who blossomed into the swan.

And Theo will quickly find that for a man with the soul of a pirate, All's Fair in Love—or War.

**********

The Ugly Duchess is yet another wonderful story in Eloisa James’ Fairy Tales series. In all that it is charming, romantic, funny and sweetly sexy, it’s also heartwarming, poignant and a truly beautiful love story. 

There’s something so special about Ms. James’ retelling of these classic stories. We read the originals as children and learned valuable lessons, and now, as adults, we can read them and learn those lessons again while being entertained and seduced by the magic and power of love.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I adored James who had loved Theo, his Daisy, since childhood. Best friends, companions, confidantes… these are the things enduring relationships are built on, and James and Daisy had that, and more, from the start.

Of course this tale is about recognizing where real beauty is found, and in this scene, one of my favorites of the story, that lesson was beautifully delivered -

“If you ever utter a word about my wife that is less than complimentary, I will not slam you against the wall again. I will instead send you through a window. And not on the ground floor, either.”

James didn’t wait for an answer; who expects garbage to answer back? Instead, he held out his arm to his wife.

When they turned, they saw that the gallery was now crammed with people.

“My duchess,” James stated, his eyes sweeping the crowd with the air of a man who has ruled the waves. “She is not a swan, because that would imply she had once been an ugly duckling.”

He glanced down at Theo. Her eyes were painted with an exotic tilt at the corners. Her cheekbones were regal and her bottom lip was colored a perfect red that made it more kissable than it already was. Small but lush breasts, skin the color of clear moonlight, rose above a waist the size of a man’s hand.

But none of that mattered compared to the innate kindness in her eyes, the joyful turn of her lip, the wild intelligence with which she greeted every day.

That was beautiful.

And so is this story. I laughed, sighed and even got weepy a few times. And now, as I sit here thinking back on this charming tale, I can't help but smile for all the Daisies and their James' throughout history who understood that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, and as Confucius so insightfully told us, "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

And how sad are their lives for all that they miss.

My sincerest 'thank you' to HarperCollins/Avon Publishing for sending me a review copy of this wonderful story. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!

Heart of Danger by Lisa Marie Rice

They are Ghosts. They do not exist. Their birth certificates have been destroyed, all traces of their civilian and military pasts wiped out. They have no official military rank and wear no uniforms or insignia, save a tiny steel pin of a striking hawk forged from the rifle that killed Osama Bin Laden.

Ghost Ops. A small team of super elite soldiers so secret only two men know of their existence-General Clancy Flynn and their commanding officer, Colonel Lucius Ward. On a mission to destroy a US-based lab working on weaponized bubonic plague, the team is betrayed by their commanding officer. The Team is massacred and only three men survive to be court martialed: the Team Leader, Tom 'Mac' McEnroe, tech genius John Ryan, and lethal Nick Ross. They disappear en route to prison and are never heard of again.

Mac and his men hole up in a high tech lair, completely off the grid. But when a beautiful woman somehow finds him, he doesn't know whether to kiss her, or kill her.

Dr. Catherine Young is on a mission, propelled by forces beyond her control to find a man who has disappeared off the face of the earth. She is bearing a deadly message from a dying man. Catherine has a gift that allows her to see into the heart of others. But looking into Mac McEnroe's heart is like looking into the heart of danger itself.

**********

Heart of Danger is a fast paced, action packed, very sexy story told in true Lisa Marie Rice fashion. This book just oozes with sexual tension and burn up the bed sheets lovin’, but it’s also filled with emotion. Heartbreaking, disturbing, violent… sweet, tender, romantic, Ms. Rice took me on a roller coaster ride of feelings and kept me reading ‘til the wee hours of the morning, unable to stop until the very end.

I couldn't help but become totally caught up in the Ghost Ops world and the people who live there, but I have to be honest, this isn't a terribly unique plot. Fans of romantic suspense will probably be able to name more than a couple of similar plots they've read by other authors, but the way Ms. Rice tells it gives a fresh voice to the story line. It’s a very compelling world… exciting, intense, mysterious…and it takes place in the not too distant future. Technology is advanced beyond what we know today, but not to the point of being science fictionish.

Tom ‘Mac’ McEnroe is one of those heroes who’s been through hell and lived to tell about it. His scars run deep, both physical and mental, but he’s a leader who will not let his men down. Being betrayed by his commanding officer, a man he’d come to respect, trust and love, destroyed something deep inside Mac the way nothing else could. But it also made him stronger, more determined to protect those around him, and for me, this made him the perfect hero.

Catherine Young is pretty much a loner. Her gift – or curse, depending on how she looks at it – of being able to get inside people’s heads and read their emotions, has caused her to be alienated from friends and family who think she’s more than a little weird. But weird is the last thing Catherine is. She’s incredibly intelligent, compassionate, and intuitive. She’s brave, honest and has strength of character that, along with her uniqueness makes her an amazing heroine.

Apart, Mac and Catherine are awesome, but together, they are perfect!

The bottom line: With Heart of Danger, Lisa Marie Rice has given us an exciting start to what I believe will be an awesome series. The book isn’t without flaws – more internal dialog than I usually like in my stories and some repetitive mental hashing and rehashing of thoughts and emotions – but overall, it’s a very enjoyable read. I loved the Haven community, the secondary characters and their stories, and am very much looking forward to reading more about them and their stories in the Ghost Ops series!

3.5/5 stars

My thanks to Edelweiss and HarperCollins/Avon Red Publishing for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. The pleasure was mine!

The Lady Risks All by Stephanie Laurens

 

The Lady Risks All is an exciting mystery, one filled with enough twists and turns to keep me wondering who the villain is right ‘til the very end. It's also a lovely, historical romance, that was sweet, passionate, and very sensual.

Neville Roscoe, notorious and enigmatic, lives resolutely outside society, bound only by his own code of honor - until challenged by his desire for the one woman he cannot have.

Miranda Clifford is a lady imprisoned by rigid respectability - until tempted by a passion beyond her power to deny.

Flung together in peril, through danger and intrigue, they discover a love impossible to ignore ... or keep.

This story is my first taste of Stephanie Laurens’ writing and, despite some minor flaws, I was quite pleased! Her way of telling a story is sweet and flowing… full of emotion and, as I said, sensuality. The characters, Miranda and Neville, are such complex people that I couldn’t help but fall hard for them both and hope to see them attain the happily ever after they so rightfully deserved. In this colorful world Ms. Laurens has created we are given a glimpse of both the shady and the sophisticated side of life in historical England, a world I look forward to visiting again, one day soon.

My thanks to HarperCollins/Avon Publishing for providing me with an ecopy of this book for review.