The Witness by Nora Roberts

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and letting a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house far away. The events that followed changed her life for ever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems - and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing.

But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something - and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that needs to be revealed.

I've not read a Nora Roberts book for the longest time.  This one though, when it came through for review really did appeal.  I like crimey novels and the fact that the Russian mafia is involved and the witness is on the run...well, needless to say, my interest was piqued. 

It's a quick read, in the sense that it makes you turn the pages really fast, which is great.  The writing is good, not great or fantastic, but it's the characters that genuinely appeal.  In Elizabeth we have a more human version of Tempe Brennan from Kathy Reichs' books.  

Elizabeth has lived a sheltered life in the sense that, for all her vast intelligence, she is kept away from other kids.  She's on course to become a doctor, like her mother, and instead of having a summer off, for herself, she's forced to take part in a course her mum has decided for her.  She rebels, throws a proper strop and her mother, who comes across as a superb cow, leaves Liz to stew in her angry juices, packs her bags and goes off on a business trip. 

Liz finds herself in the mall and decides to go on a bit of shopping spree - buying jeans and t-shirts and make-up.  Stuff she is never ever allowed to buy or wear as her mother buys and approves her clothes.  At the mall Liz makes friends with a girl she recognises from high school, they end up doing a bit more shopping and Liz agrees to make fake IDs for them to get into a local nightclub. 

The girls dress up and set off for a night on the town.  It's when they get to the nigh club and they are chatted up by the owner and his manager that alarm bells start ringing.  Liz is only sixteen, a few weeks from her seventeenth birthday and although she is highly intelligent, she has no real concept of relationships and the bigger scale of things.  

She lets herself be dragged along for a party at the one guy's house and once there, she becomes violently ill.  She falls asleep on the patio and is woken by harsh words being exchanged.  And sees a murder committed.  Liz runs.  She rings the police, they find her, she tells them everything that's happened, they take her into protective custody because basically she's handed them, on a platter, the local Russian mafia's right hand man on a platter. 

Things progress from here quite rapidly and the story unfolds easily - Liz becomes more likeable as she is forced to deal with mundane people and her security team, a bunch of great sounding cops.  She is contrasted well but never held as truly odd - her remarks are taken at face value and soon the cops realise how clever she is, how completely isolated and how her mum had basically treated her as an experiment and not as a daughter. 

Bad things happen and Liz runs, leaving the house in flames behind her, two of her security detail dead and one more wounded. 

We skip ahead in time and place and meet Abigail.  Very soon we realise who Abigail really is.  She's a recluse, living with a giant dog for protection and she works from home in a small town in the Ozarks - it sound fantastic and I personally would love to visit there.  As a programmer she has no real reason to travel around a lot as all of her work can be done from home but it's when she goes into the local town to buy some ingredients for her cooking, that she draws the attention of the local chief of police.  He's intrigued by this young woman who lives on the outskirts of town who is so incredibly private and almost painfully shy.  Or so he thinks, at least.  

Slowly but surely he - Brooks - makes friends with her.  Then his mum turns up at Abigail's place and is kind towards her.  Abigail is thrown in turmoil - she doesn't know how to do the friends thing.  The small talk thing, the whole relationship thing. 

Part of the charm of The Witness is seeing how Ms. Roberts contrasts Abigail/Liz and Brooks and his insane family.  How she teases out Abigail's reticence to make friends, to be friendly to others.  We are given a whole picture of a  young woman who, although wonderfully successful and highly intelligent, is so socially inept she researches barbecue etiquette online and throws fit when she realises she's expected to take along a covered dish of food to the barbecue.  

The relationship that develops between Abigail and Brooks is so well done - I fell in love with them as a couple.  The small-town shenanigans that go on formed a strong colourful secondary story to Abigail's story and when she eventually tells Brooks of her past, how she's been running and hiding, he fully stands by her and together they decide to make work of the old unresolved case. 

The Witness is tightly plotted and it felt like I got to spend a great deal of time with the characters, getting to know them and like them.  The world Ms. Roberts created is rich and populated with strong well thought out characters. 

The conclusion was good too - I thoroughly approved of it and it made me close the covers with a smile.  I would love to see this book turned into a movie as it has some great moments which i think would translate well to the screen.  Abigail/Liz is a resourceful, charming, funny, intelligent and wise character and Brooks is just swoon-worthy and cool and honest and all good things you want from a hero.  

If Ms. Roberts' other books are as well written and as much fun as The Witness, I may have become a fan. I highly recommend The Witness as a great summer read.  It will make you forget about airport lounges, the annoying child screaming for his parents around the pool, and it will carry you off to have an adventure with Abigail and Brooks and some Very Bad Men indeed.  Sadly, the cover lets it down, as it is quite bland and says pretty much nothing, but if you look past the obviousness of it, the book is a lovely surprise.  Definitely recommended! 

The Boy Who Could See Demons by Carolyn Jess-Cooke

I first met my demon the morning that Mum said Dad had gone.

Alex Broccoli is ten years old, likesonions on toast, and can balance on the back legs of his chair for fourteenminutes. His best friend is a 9000-year-old demon called Ruen.
When his depressive mother attempts suicide yet again, Alex meets child psychiatrist Anya. Still bearing the scars of her own daughter’s battle with schizophrenia, Anya fears for Alex’s mental health and attempts to convince him that Ruendoesn’t exist. But as she runs out of medical proof for many of Alex’s claims, she is faced with a question: does Alex suffer from schizophrenia, or can he really see demons?

The Boy Who could See Demons is a surprise find – I stumbled across it at Waterstones a few weeks ago and the sound of it really appealed to my random reading muse.

I didn’t recognise the author’s name although once I visited her site I realised she’d written the very well received The Guardian’s Angel which I did not read. I admit it: I was hesitant. I was uncertain if I would be able to cope with melodrama, (which I made up about the book in my head after seeing the Guardian Angel thing) but I closed my eyes, and settled in, and immediately found myself thoroughly drawn into Alex’s richly created world.

Alex’s voice is wonderfully clever, direct and fresh. He’s a young boy, ten years old and he has his own demons that he sees. Naturally no one else sees them which is awkward for Alex. Alex lives with his mum in Northern Irelandand let’s face it, he’s poor and not at all well taken care of. He lives off bread and fried onions and dresses eccentrically like an older man. He has no real friends and basically occasionally acts as his mum’s carer who in turn struggles with reality, drug addiction and depression. Ruen, his demon, appears in different guises to Alex and has told Alex he is there to study him. Alex allows Ruen to do this as he is so lonely, that a demon, a nasty piece of work, is better than not having anyone to talk to.

Things get out of hand though when Alex’s mum is taken to hospital after she attempts suicide and Alex is the one who finds her. In walks in Anya Molokova, a child psychiatrist who has been assigned to Alex’s case.

Anya has to be one of my all timefavourite characters I’ve read about. She is singularly smart, genuinely touching, logical, a bit dreamy but solid and firm in her beliefs. So much about her is what makes this book work. She is Alex and Ruen’s foil, she listens to Alex talking to Ruen and never ever talks down to him, which I utterly approved of. She’s intrigued by Alex’s case of seeing demons. She sees past the odd neurosis Alex displays and is determined to help him, no matter what.

As the story is set in Northern Ireland, there is quite a bit of background information about the Troubles and it was fascinating to read – for me personally as coming from South Africa, we never really learned about Troubles. Anya is curious about the odd behavior Alex displays because a lot of what she sees is usually related to someone whose been through the Troubles or has been through a severely traumatizing event. And yet there is nothing in the paperwork or story that they know about Alex, or his mum Cindy, that indicate that they had ever experienced anything violent.

The story is told from both Alex and Anya’s point of view and so neatly intertwined that with each new page, something new is revealed. Although the subject matter is dark and frightening and at times confusing (who do you believe? Alex is so sure he’s seeing this creature Ruen and other demons whilst Anya is so logical and clear about what she thinks is wrong with Alex) it is beautifully written, with sections of lyrical prose that lifts the heart.

I’ll make no bones about it, I cried towards the end of the book. I had so much invested in both Anya and Alex, I wanted things to work out for them both, but also, I didn’t want to say goodbye to them, because they had managed to get under my skin.

The amount of research the author must have done is staggering – not just about child psychology, but about the awful things that happened in Northern Ireland, and also thinking up Ruen and the other demons’ religious mythology.

There are a few genuinely disturbing moments in the book where I couldn’t quite believe what I was reading. It broke my heart, but then the author just went straight ahead and lifted me up again.

The Boy Who Could See Demons has been likened to The Curious Incident etc. but honestly, this is far far better. Alex’s voice is so pure, so utterly un-made-up and charming, I lost my heart to him. This is solid storytelling – a book that makes you think, but also a book that makes you cry and grin. I’m a fan, for sure, and I may even go and give that Guardian’s Angel book a try!

Find Carolyn Jess-Cooke’s website here, where your can also read an extract of TBWCSD.

13 Bullets by David Wellington

Laura Caxton thought she was just a State Trooper working highway patrol. Tonight she’s going to find out her true destiny: hunting down the immortal, nearly invulnerable predators that haunt the night searching for our blood. Her only ally is Jameson Arkeley, a US Marshal who has devoted his life to hunting down vampires, long after everyone else thought they were extinct. The two of them are our only chance—assuming they can survive the night.

I really like this cover. It's striking, edgy, and hints at the carnage that lurks within. I had an urge to read some vampire fiction recently, and this was one of the titles suggested to me. By happy coincidence we had a copy lurking on the shelves and I jumped straight in.

13 Bullets opens with a transcript of federal agent Arkeley's report on the incident in which he apparently killed the last vampire back in the mid 80's, a feat that nearly killed him several times over. This bit's in first person perspective, as befits a copy of a report, and quickly lets you know a) how ruthless and inhuman the vampires in this world are and b) that Wellington isn't pulling any punches when it comes to the action.

The story skips ahead after that, and we get to meet Trooper Laura Caxton, a seemingly normal, dedicated State Trooper who's dragged into Arkeley's orbit when a routine traffic stop opens a can of distinctly vampire flavoured worms. From there on Wellington really puts her through the wringer both mentally and physically- there are few books I've read recently where the main character is given such a rough ride, and the combination of that vulnerability and tenacity is what keeps her real and someone you care about. You can feel her aches and her exhaustion radiating from the page as she and the hardbitten Arkeley set about trying to stymie the vampires' resurgence and the rapidly increasing bodycount.

There's little subtlety en route but that's no bad thing. It's full throttle from start to finish, packed with punchy action scenes, gallons of blood and some cracking set pieces. Shiny :)

13 Bullets is the first book in the Laura Caxton series and I'm looking forward to picking the others up (oh look, it's almost Christmas...)!



You can visit David's website here

The Monster's Corner- Breeding the Demons by Nate Kenyon

As I mentioned in my previous review , there were two standout stories for me in this anthology and Breeding the Demons is the second of these.

BtD snared me from the opening and immediately made me want to know what Ian was up to and I was quickly drawn into the dark, sordid thing that had become become his life. I was impressed with the economy with which Nate outlined the underworld that Ian had become part of while still keeping the character likeable despite his monstrous tendencies. He manages a fine balance that teases out enough of the background so that the mythology of the demons rings true while still keeping enough back that you can't pigeonhole them, which really adds to the atmosphere- like an old school horror where you never actually see the tormentor.

Wonderfully creepy!

You can find out more about Nate's work here.

The Monster's Corner- Torn Stitches, Shattered Glass by Kevin J Anderson

An all-original anthology from some of today’s best supernatural writers, assembled by Bram Stoker Award winning author Christopher Golden , featuring stories of monsters... from the monsters’ point of view.

The first thing that grabbed me about Monster’s Corner is the striking cover. Just look at it; the monsters are beautifully rendered and they look like monsters should.

MC packs 19 short stories into 380 pages, each telling a unique story from the monster’s POV. I’ll freely admit that I rarely delve into short stories, perhaps a lingering by-product of having been made to analyse them to death in high school, but if the quality I've seen so far continues I think that’s going to be changing.

Two have really stood out for me so far- and I’m not trying to be glib by saying it wasn’t easy to choose. It really wasn’t, and I’m only forcing myself to do so for the practicality of doing a variety of reviews.

The first is Torn Stitches, Shattered Glass by Kevin J Anderson. What a great title too. It’s a pretty straightforward story on the surface, centring around two days in the life of Frankenstein’s monster as the shadow of World War II darkens the small town where he has tried to make a life of sorts for himself. He’s found a kind of acceptance here, keeping to himself and working tirelessly, enjoying the quiet respect of those around him and a distinct lack of pitchfork waving mobs. But as those around him quickly discover, you don’t need to be a monster to be a monster. The blood begins to flow and he’s called to make a choice, and in doing so discovers that it really isn’t a difficult decision though those around him view it differently.

It’s a clever, engaging story, told solely from the monster’s perspective as all of these are, dipping into the original story and hinting at what happened after he killed his creator in a way that anyone can tune into, even if they’re only vaguely familiar with the highlights of Shelley’s original or subsequent Hollywoodisms. Kevin quickly builds up an image of a hulking yet ultimately lonely creature striving for an inner peace that continues to elude it, and plays that off against its brute power and potential for violence.

He’s done a great job with the monster and I’d really like to know what happens next!

Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione

The prophecies were there but no one listened. Until now. They are the Lords of Deliverance and they have the power to usher in Doomsday . . . or prevent it.



His name is Ares, and the fate of mankind rests on his powerful shoulders. If he falls to the forces of evil, the world falls too. As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he is far stronger than any mortal, but even he cannot fight his destiny forever. Not when his own brother plots against him.


Yet there is one last hope. Gifted in a way other humans can't - or won't - understand, Cara Thornhart is the key to both this Horseman's safety and his doom. But involving Cara will prove treacherous, even beyond the maddening, dangerous desire that seizes them the moment they meet. For staving off eternal darkness could have a staggering cost: Cara's life.

I have not read paranormal romance for the longest time but I knew of the author, as I follow her on twitter (@larissaione) and I know she has a lot of dedicated fans. Also, I am very much missing Supernatural (tv show) and subsequently thought I'd give Eternal Rider a whirl and boyo, what an incredibly ride it was.

Firstly, what is apparent right from the start is the amount (and quality) of world building that Ms. Ione had done for her series.  The Lords of Deliverance is her second series, her first being the Demonica series.  So she already has this intricate world that she's already built up for her characters.  The rules have been set and the mythologies and boundaries have been drawn. 

The reader (me in this instance, having no previous knowledge of her Demonica books) is thrown in to the heat of things, right from the start of the novel.  We meet Ares, one of the soon to be Four Horsemen of the apocalypse.  As the product of a union between Lilith (a demon) and an angel, at the dawn of time, Ares and his siblings are cursed (after wreaking havoc on earth) to usher in the Apocalypse once their Seals are broken.

And each of their Seals happens to be different. And in Ares's instance, his seal through various machinations, becomes closely tied with a modern day young mortal woman, Cara's, life.  The book is populated with a strong secondary cast, characters whom I suspect are from the Demonica books.  It didn't bother me in the slightest - I felt that my reading experience was uncluttered and as I was new to the world, I had no preconceived ideas and found finding out about Ares, his brother Thanatos (Death) and his sister Limos (Famine) and the other one, Reseph (Pestilence) was great fun.  (There is a reason why Respeh/Pestilence is the "other one").  But you'll have to read Eternal Rider to find out why.

I felt - this is going to sound weird - cushioned by all the back story what had gone before.  I found myself completely suspending my disbelief as I had confidence in the author to spin me a great yarn.  And that she does by the bucket load.  The relationships she describe between these immortal beings and how they fit in in the scheme of things left me keen to read the next novel in the series.

There is no info dumping - or if there was, I honestly can say I didn't notice it.  Everything remained tight and within the context of the story.  Ares's character is so serious and so deeply brooding, as it befits the lord of War, that when Cara occasionally gets the better of him, you can't help but applaud her.  He is a wonderful alpha male character and I loved how Ms. Ione portrayed him as this wild unpredictable force who has this internal compass of right and wrong that guides him.  He knows his strengths and his weaknesses and as all good war leaders, he adapts and strengthens his battle plans as things go awry.

There are some knee-melting love scenes between Cara and Ares so this is definitely not for younger readers.  And whilst the love scenes are great, they don't go on for pages and pages and pages, until you want to skip them.  Instead, they are written with even more control than the rest of the narrative and the writing goes a bit...lyrical and poetic and I loved it.  It honestly fitted the context of the storyline and I liked that both Cara and Ares had the strength and capacity to be moved by this intense relationship that sprung up between them.

There are several strands to the plot and honestly, by tugging on one in the review, more will be given away that I feel is fair.  So, trust me when I say that the synopsis above, taken from the Piatkus site, covers maybe  the tiniest bit of what happens in Eternal Rider. 

And if, like me, you've not read a paranormal romance for a long time, and you feel in the mood to get your toes wet, give Eternal Rider a try.  Or, if you've never tried one, and you wonder what they're about, this is a good place to start.  A lot of what Ms. Ione does with her scene setting, characterisation, background and plot is far superior to what I've read in the past and I won't hesitate recommending this.  It's sexy, hot blooded, clever and funny, with great big lashings of supernatural beings and a larger than life cast that is more than up to the high concept of the series.

Eternal Rider is out in the UK on the 7th April 2011 from Piatkus.

Cursed by David Wellington

Revenge in the face of bloodlust is seldom sweet…

There’s one sound a woman doesn’t want to hear when she’s lost and alone in the Arctic wilderness: a howl. For Cheyenne Clark, there’s a bad moon on the rise. When a strange wolf’s teeth slash her ankle to the bone, her old life ends, and she becomes the very monster that has haunted her nightmares for years. Worse, the only one who can understand what Chey has become is the man - and wolf - who’s doomed her to this fate. He also wants her dead.

Yet, as the line between human and beast blurs, so too does the distinction between hunter and hunted…for Chey is more than just the victim she appears to be. But once she’s within killing range, she may find that - even for a werewolf - it’s not always easy to go for the jugular.

Like me, you will possibly look at that and think: "another werewolf book?" or "definitely a re-hash of Kelley Armstrong" and like me, in both cases, you would be wrong.

There is nothing at all romantic about Chey or Powell, the man she meets after she's attacked by a lycanthrope. The story is fierce and gripping and harsh and brutal. I close my eyes and I can see the setting the author has decided to use to portray the isolation Chey finds herself in. The place sounds insane and only the toughest of the tough survive up there, in the lands of the Inuit and timberworlves.

This story is all about Chey's character growing stronger and tougher to cope with an impossible and unpleasant situation. After she escapes drowning in a flash-flood, Chey stumbles through the wilderness, heading north, towards civilisation. But then she gets chased up a tree by a pack of wolves, Chey thinks life can't get shittier. Well, it does. The "normal" wolves scatter with the advance of something altogether scarier, the larger werewolf that makes itself home in this forbidding wilderness. Chey shimmies higher but her ankle gets swiped by the wolf's claws. She looks down in those eyes and recognises their colour and their shape. She knows she's found the thing she's come out here to hunt.

Chey manages to stay in the tree until the wolf disappears. She stumbles through the forest, keen to find someone to help her. And eventually she does. His name is Dzo. Dzo decides that she needs help and takes her to his friend, Powell. Yes, Powell and the wolf is the same being. Chey realises this but plays her game carefully. She gets as much information from Powell as she can about him, about where they are, what is likely to happen to her as a wolf, etc.

Slowly, a camaraderie builds up between them and Chey has to struggle very hard to bite down on the those feelings because - well because there is something we're not told yet. We don't know why Chey's come out here to the middle of nowhere. We know she's after the werewolf, but why? Also, how does her hunting the werewolf affect her as she's been bitten by him and will be changing into a wolf herself? How far is she prepared to go to extract revenge?

I genuinely thought that Cursed by David Wellington ranks up there with some of the best horror / dark urban fantasy we've seen for several years. I think it worked so well for me because of Chey's character. She wasn't necessarily just a kick-ass heroine, but she was definitely strong and determined and driven. She thought with her heart and her head and not her groin (sorry, I had to put that in there) and kept moving forward, all the time, no matter what she went through. I admire Chey hugely and would like to say to the author that he definitely has a new fan.

Cursed is not a very big book, but it took me a while to read it. I did it in several readings because it felt so much heavier (in my mind) than I initially thought it would be. I'm a very visual reader - I think I've said this before in other reviews - so if I can't picture my characters I'm reading about or their setting, a book loses me. In Cursed I wanted to hide in my bedroom, with the light on and my electric blanket turned on full. Deeply atmospheric and more thoughtful than some readers may expect, I'd recommend Cursed with two big thumbs (paws?) up.

Cursed is out in the first week of September, published by Piatkus.

To Die For by Linda Howard

Here is the blurb from amazon:

After a painful divorce, Blair Mallory follows a dream and opens a health club. But Nicole Goodwin, a troubled member of the club, develops a strange fixation on Blair, imitating her style and dress, even the car she drives. Then Nicole is gunned down in the club's parking lot. And Blair is the only witness to the murder. At first the police investigation concentrates on Nicole and her acquaintances, but then someone tampers with Blair's car, and sabotages her home and business. The police - including Blair's old flame Lieutenant Wyatt Bloodsworth - are baffled because these attempts, while serious, are very different in tone from Nicole's murder. Is Nicole's killer seeking to remove a troublesome witness? Or was Blair the intended victim after all?

'To Die For' is probably one of my favourite Linda Howard books. I LOVE Blair Mallory! She is blonde, an ex-cheerleader and has an amazing body. She is the woman you'd love to hate. And she makes me laugh like few other characters. She totally looks like the dumb little blonde, but she is smart, knows exactly what she wants and how to get it.

When shots are fired at her and her old flame Wyatt Bloodsworth comes back into her life, SPARKS (the capitals are on purpose) start to fly. Wyatt hurt Blair when, after three dates, he just disappeared and never called again, despite their chemistry being blatantly obvious. Now, Blair decided she'll not give him another chance to hurt her, and the way she's giving him the runaround is hilarious. Blair narrates the story and her inner musings and plans on how to make sure Wyatt does what she wants him to do while at the same time having her revenge, put a big grin on my face. And let's not get started on the lists of Wyatt's transgressions...sorry, you'll have to read yourself.

Of course there is also the fact that somebody is trying to kill Blair, so you have a mystery that has everybody running into dead ends, fast-paced, take-your-breath-away action combined with a hot, jump-of-the-page romance.

I don't know how many times I've read 'To Die For' and it still makes me laugh. I'd love to be Blair and, well, I wouldn't kick Wyatt out of the bedroom either;D.

In the UK 'To Die For' is published by Piatkus. Linda doesn't have a website. The sequel is called 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' and continues the theme of hot, sexy romance and fast-paced action in a very satisfying manner.

The Harrowing - Alexandra Sokoloff

Baird College’s Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of students heading home for Thanksgiving break and Robin Stone, who won’t be going home, swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year-old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. As a massive storm approaches, four other lonely students reveal themselves to Robin: Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons.

The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of another presence disturbing the building’s ominous silence. Are they the victims of an elaborate prank, or is the energy evidence of something genuine - something intent on using them for its own terrifying ends?

There's nothing quite like the inherent creepiness of a large, dark building when you're all alone.. when you sit there convincing yourself that the creaking noise behind you is simply the house 'settling for the night'.. that the movement you just caught out of the corner of your eye was really the cat coming in.

Now hold that feeling, and transpose it to a motley collection of college students marooned in an otherwise empty residence, watching as a storm rages outside, the only consolation the fire licking away in the fireplace. It's a classic setting, and a ripe environment for what the old ouija board unlocks.

It takes a couple of chapters for the story to find its stride, but after this initial stutter, it all starts to come together much more fluidly. The characters are a bit archetypal, but their interactions hold up enough to compensate for this. The chill factor is always there, lurking in the background, gathering itself for the moment when it slips its mask and, like the characters, you realise that things are not quite what you thought they were.

It's a truly interesting hook that Alexandra has used as the core premise of the story, a little nugget that makes you think, an echo of the story that bounces around in your thoughts long after you've slid the book back onto the shelf.

Circle of Fire by Keri Arthur (A Damask Circle Novel)

Synopsis:

Sixteen teenagers taken from their homes. Eleven bodies recovered, each completely drained of blood. Some believe vampires are responsible. Jon Barnett knows its something far worse, and while in Taurin Bay to stop the killers, he quickly becomes enmeshed in a web of black magic. He needs help but fate gives him only one choice.

Madeline Smith has retreated to an isolated farmhouse, afraid of the abilities she cannot control - abilities that have killed. But when a ‘ghost’ brings a warning of danger and her nephew goes missing, Maddie has to leave her haven and learn to control the abilities she fears.

As Maddie and Jon’s search for the teenagers becomes a race against time, the greatest danger to them both could be the feelings they refuse to acknowledge.

Circle of Fire is my first Keri Arthur novel in a little while. I keep meaning to read some of her other novels but keep getting distracted. This however, was not the case. The book arrived in the post on Thursday evening and I spent Saturday on-and-off reading it from cover to cover.

I liked Maddie's character and found her an intriguing new heroine. She's not kick-ass, she's a recluse who has locked herself away from the world, spending most of her time tending the plants in her greenhouse and doing her best not to get into contact with her brother in law who dislikes her intensely.

When the novel opens Maddie is having a bit of an episode in her lonely ramshackle house in the middle of nowhere. Someone's appeared to her, in the guise of a ghost, asking for her help. As she puts the pieces together, and she just manages to think she's not going insane, he appears again, asking for her help, asking her to drive across the county to come and rescue him as he's trapped in a well, busy dying.

Heavy stuff. It's only when Jon (the guy in the well) reveals that her nephew may be in danger, as he visited the same area as all the other teenagers did before they went missing, that she genuinely gets what he's saying to her. Then, when it transpires that her nephew did indeed disappear from his room, without a trace, does Maddie get her butt in gear. She travels cross country, rescues Jon and discovers one of the creepiest inns since the Bates Motel.

The story strands are tied together really well and Ms. Arthur's writing is rapidly paced. I read the book in a few sittings in one day. There is a lot of action and adventure for the two main characters to get themselves knocked around in. Maddie and Jon's relationship is sweetly rendered. It moves from each of their perspectives throughout the novel and although it should have been jarring it works really well. You come to understand their characters quite well - even if you want to shake them a little - and it is with a satisfying sigh that you read the last few pages.

The romance is handled with a light hand and I loved the love scene - written sympathetically and with a skill which made it romance as opposed to porn. And yes, it makes a big difference!

I am very keen to read the next two novels and to find out more about the Damask Circle as they sound a very interesting group. Find Keri Arthur's website here. Circle of Fire is published by Piatkus in the UK and is due out in August.

The Legend of the Crystal Lens, Samantha Graves

Synopsis

Tomb raider Simon Bonner wants out of the looting game…until a mysterious crystal lens lands on his doorstep. Legend has it that this lens holds the key to the archives of man - a Mexican tomb that explains the root of all knowledge. There’s just one problem - he doesn’t know how to use it.

Museum curator Jillian Talbot’s ability to see an object's history is her secret, so when Simon approaches her, she finds it hard to believe that she’s the seer of legend - that only she can unlock the mystery behind the crystal lens.

Journeying into the jungles of Mexico, with evil crooks hot on their tail and a growing passion between them, every move for Jillian and Simon becomes a terrifying dance with danger.

This is such an amusing feel good book. It’s a little bit romance, it’s a little bit action adventure and a whole lot of fun. It’s a deceptively quick read and the characters are fun to hang out with.

Jillian’s family are reformed thieves and she’s been the quiet studious one, getting a real job in the real world. She is however capable of packing a punch if needs be. And she’s not as shocked about being almost kidnapped (again) as she is annoyed at someone trying to kidnap her (again). Especially when she finds that the man who helps her by beating up the kidnappers, Simon Bonner, is in fact after her for his own dubious reasons.

It’s a classic – a little bit of ire, a little bit of flirting and whole boatload full of action and a supporting cast of decidedly dubious affiliations. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to be honest though and say that I expected Legend of the Crystal Lens to be a whole lot more in the vein of Indiana Jones and authors like David Gibbins or Daniel Easterman and Andy McDermott, where the focus is more on the adventure and the actual quest.

In Legend of the Crystal Skull the quest element is strong but the author, Samantha Graves, has a completely other agenda. That of making these two desperately different people fall in love and taking us along for the ride. I am strongly reminded of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile – now depending on your feelings about these movies, I have either turned you onto this book or off. I hope it’s on.

Samantha Graves writes very well – her characters are unique and challenging and we had a brief email correspondence in which I told her how much I am liking this warring couple and she wrote back: “Honestly, those two were so much fun to write. Their love was really true and beautiful. A wonderful story to write.”

Once I checked out Samantha’s site, I discovered that The Crystal Lens is titled “Out of Time” in the States. I also found out that Ms. Graves is a bit of a celebrity! She was a 2009 RWA® RITA® finalist and has been nominated for a tranche of other awards and won another handful of them too. Check out her site here. I am really grateful to Piatkus for sending this onto me. I am very much aware of my lack of Romance (yes, that’s a capital R) reviews on the blog and I’m happy to combine this love story action adventure with a supernatural twist to the reviews.

Although I've not added this to the newly created Summer Reads list as I read it some weeks ago, I would happily recommend this to anyone as a holiday read. I am keen to pick up the previous novel, Sight Unseen, as it chronicles the story of Jillian's sister and her life as a notorious jewel thief. Very Sydney Sheldon! (But probably better packaged).

Simply Perfect by Mary Balogh

Synopsis:

Tall, dark, and exquisitely sensual, Joseph Fawcitt is the epitome of male perfection. Not that Claudia Martin is looking for a lover. Or a husband. As headmistress of Miss Martin’s School for Girls, she long ago resigned herself to a life of spinsterhood - until now.

Irresistibly attracted to Claudia, Joseph embarks on an outrageous plan of seduction. But as heir to a prestigious dukedom, the Marquess of Attingsborough is expected to carry on his family’s legacy, not dishonour it. Yet Joseph is determined to make Claudia his at any cost. Even if that means breaking every rule for a love that is simply perfect…

The synopsis to this novel is tremendously misleading. Firstly, if you thought you were going to read a light chicklit regency romance novel, you are wrong. Very wrong. On the surface it appears all that is above in the synopsis.

In reality, things are a lot more real. The story and characters have a lot of substance and I became entirely smitten with Claudia and the Marquess especially whom I did think, initially, was a bit of a waste of space. Their story is one of a slow friendship developing, one that (as with all good romances) started out as a bit of animosity on Claudia’s behalf. Inexplicably she has an intense dislike for dukes, even dukes-in-waiting, and you don’t find out why, until quite a distance into the story.

I found Claudia refreshing as a female heroine. She had made much of her way on her own, starting her school for girls when she realized that she had something to offer them and tired of having to cater to the whims of those who employed her as a governess. The tutors at the school are all young independent women who are free-thinkers and who clearly like Claudia as both friend and schoolmistress. The girls sound quite a handful and Claudia has a good rapport with them.

She is a kind soul, taking in a large majority of poor young girls to train and teach, giving them a future. The other girls attending the school are all paying students. There is also a mysterious benefactor of the school and as we come to know Claudia, we realize that she feels grateful to the benefactor but she is keen to break his perceived grip on her and the school. She is an independent and does not like answering to anyone for anything.

Joseph comes across initially as a fop, someone so nice and bland you can actually imagine him as being sought after by the mamas for their little girls. He dresses well, he is charming and sweet, thoughtful and kind and actually, I started becoming a bit bored of this male perfection. And he was rubbing up Claudia the wrong way too, he was just too pretty, too sweet and caring. But then, we all have to wear disguises, especially a young duke in waiting and once we scratch the surface we find that he is not as much of a lightweight as we would expect!

And as part of the big reveal, about him, my jaw literally dropped. I expected something to be different about him but I wasn’t sure what. As it turns out, his secret, which he had kept from his parents and his friends and the circles he moved in, is the one thing that does bring him and Claudia much closer together. Their relationship is humourous, charming and genuine. In each other they find a person of mature attitude, who knows what society is all about and they find that they can talk about many things, but then that they can also be quiet, together. It is not a hot and breathless sticky romance from the start, at all. It is slow, deliberate and considerate, which makes their resulting falling in love so much more sweet and satisfying. And funny.

Mary Balogh is a very good writer – keeping your attention on the characters as she weaves the story around them. The plotting is solid, the two main characters are very engaging and I enjoyed my time spent with Claudia and Joseph. I would recommend Simply Perfect as something to consider picking up if you want to read something different – even if you have preconceived ideas about regency romance. This is bound to make you think again! Mary Balogh’s site can be found here and she has several novels published by Piatkus in the UK and is quite well known in the States.

Sherrilyn Kenyon

I am very much aware of the amazing talents of Sherrilyn Kenyon as author - she has a tranche of books to her name and she is so well known in the States and here in the UK. I have however never had the opportunity to read any of her books - I admit I was put off by the amount of books there were in the various series and I didn't know how they fit in together. But when I received a copy of Dream Warrior (eye candy to the left), I knew I had to speak to someone for advice.

In a panic, I spoke to all my readerly friends and found that an ex-colleague of mine, Carla Hale, is a huge nerdy geeky fan-girl of Ms. Kenyon's work. Never one to let an opportunity slip me by, I immediately pounced and asked Carla to do me a review on one or two of Ms. Kenyon's books and she's come through with the goods.

***

First up:

Night Pleasures - A Dark Hunter Novel

Synopsis:

Amanda Devereaux has a crazy family. Her mother and older siblings are witches and psychics, and her twin sister is a vampire hunter. All Amanda wants is a quiet, normal life. Only when she finds herself the target of an attack meant for her twin, she wakes to find herself handcuffed to a sexy, blonde stranger.

He is Kyrian of Thrace. And while Amanda's first thought is that this might be another of her sister's attempts at extreme match-making, it soon becomes clear that Kyrian is not boyfriend material.

He is a Dark-Hunter: an immortal warrior who has traded his soul for one moment of vengeance upon his enemies. Kyrian spends his eternal days hunting the vampires and daimons that prey upon mankind. He is currently on the hunt for a very old and deadly daimon named Desiderius who has deemed it sport to handcuff Kyrian to a human while he hunts him.

Now Kyrian and Amanda must find a way to break their bond before they give into their dangerous attraction to one another. Or Desiderius kills them both...

Carla's Review:

This book is where my love affair with the Dark Hunters all began. I have always had a keen interest in fantasy books, but Sherrilyn Kenyon has done for me what not a lot of other authors can do and that is keep me enthralled in all the Dark Hunter Books from beginning to end.

I found this book to be extremely easy to read and very addictive from start to finish. From the first chapter you are instantly caught up with Amanda and Kyrian and are rooting for them all the way. Although I know that Dark Hunters don’t exist, a little bit of me hopes that I will wake up in a cellar handcuffed to one some day!

Second one:

Acheron - A Dark Hunter Novel

Synopsis:

Eleven thousand years ago a god was born. Cursed into the body of a human, Acheron endured a lifetime of hatred. His human death unleashed an unspeakable horror that almost destroyed the earth. Brought back against his will, he became the sole defender of mankind.

Only it was never that simple...

For centuries, he has fought for our survival and hidden a past he never wants revealed.
Now his survival, and ours, hinges on the very woman who threatens him. Old enemies are reawakening and uniting to kill - them both.

Carla's Review:

11,000 years ago a god was born and what a god he was!

Wow!

What can I say?

This book does not disappoint at all. In all the other Dark Hunter books you hear about Ash, the head of the Dark Hunters and he is shrouded in secrecy so when this book finally came out I really could not put it down. It was superbly written and answered all the questions you have about Acheron from all the other books.

This book will keep you gripped from beginning to end. It is dark and disturbing but completely absorbing.

***

Firstly, thanks to Carla for the reviews - she's sent me a schedule of the various series so I now know which fits where. I will be reading Dream Warrior very soon, so keep an eye out for a review on that.

Secondly, check out Piatkus, Sherrilyn Kenyon's UK publisher's website for links to some cool content about her books. For instance, this is a link to an extract from Dream Warrior and this is the link to the trailer for Acheron - in fact, I now want to read it, as it looks just so gorram cool! And of course, find the link to Ms. Kenyon's website here.

Kat Richardson Competiton Ends

Congrats to the winners of the Kat Richardson contest! Your books should arrive with you very shortly.

Ailsa from Argyll
Sophie from London
Julie from Twyford
Elaine from Wolverhampton
Rachel from Chesterfield

Thanks to Piatkus for allowing me to run this and thanks to Kat for writing such roaringly good books and for agreeing to do the interview. I look forward to Underground and to number 4!

**Kat Richardson - Competition Time!**

Pic courtesy of Kat Richardson's website

When I chatted to Kat about the competition she said: "Make them work for it. All the information about me is available on the internet."

So I poked around a bit and came up with three questions which I am sure you'll be able to track down.

Five lucky winners will win copies of both Greywalker and Poltergeist! So, hop to it, grasshoppers!

Competition rules:

UK residents only

Email me via the email addy on the right hand side of this page.

All three questions to be answered correctly within the email.

Email to contain your NAME and POSTAL address.

Questions:

Kat has written a short story for an anthology coming up for the holiday season towards the end of this year. Find the name of the anthology. Other authors, amongst others, include Rob Thurman, Simon R Green and Kim Harrison.

Name two of Kat’s fabulous author friends who had signings recently in Beaverton, Oregon whilst Kat was hobnobbing in London-town.

And final question: what are the two ferrets called that Kat and Mr. Kat share their sailboat with?

Many thanks to the rushed-off their feet wonderful people over at Piatkus who granted the permission to have this fab competition.

You can buy both Greywalker and Poltergeist from Piatkus via the Little Brown website.