2009 TBR Challenge for October: The Keep by F. Paul Wilson

October Challenge: Horror

It's April 1941 SS Officer Erich Kaempffer is a man on his way up. He's preparing to begin a plum assignment setting up a new death camp in Ploiesti, Romania. After serving for a year at Auschwitz he feels confident that he's the right man to increase efficiency by building the new camp and he's looking forward to the task.

Unfortunatley for Officer Kaempffer he has made enemies on his quick rise through the ranks of the SS and there are those who would love to see him fail. As a result he is given a mission to complete before going to Ploiesti. He must take two squads of his einsatzkommandos and check on an Army unit sent to guard an isolated pass in the Transylvanian alps. The unit was sent to occupy an ancient stone structure overlooking the pass, which the locals refer to as the Keep. It should have been a routine, even boring, assignment but within a week of their arrival their leader, Captain Klaus Woermann, sent a disturbing message to headquarters. It read only:

Request immediate relocation.
Something is murdering my men.

Kaempffer has a negative history with the Army officer and looks forward to succeeding where Woermann has apparently failed. However, when he arrives at the Keep he finds that something is indeed killing the men and it does not seem to be human. Rumors are running rampant that the killer is a vampire. The already desperate situation is made worse by the fact that the two officers are barely able to tolerate each other and there is almost no concrete information available about the history of the Keep.

The local innkeeper finally suggests that they bring in Professor Theodor Cuza, a scholar who has spent time at the Keep and knows the history of the region. Woermann enjoys the irony of the fact that their only hope is a Jewish professor, but he worries about what Kaempffer will do if Cuza is unable to provide the answers they need. He's especially concerned about the fact that Cuza is in such poor health that his daughter Magda must travel with him. The Keep is a military barracks and even under the best of circumstances it's no place for a lone woman. Tensions are already incredibly high in the Keep and the two newest residents may make the complex situation impossible to control.

Unbeknownst to the people at the Keep there is one more player in the unfolding drama. A man with red hair and blue eyes knows what has awakened in the Keep. He'll travel thousands of miles to meet the destiny he knows awaits him, and possibly more that he does not expect. The question is whether he'll arrive before it's too late to prevent the evil from spreading beyond the pass.



I went through a Steven King phase in high school, but since then I've read very little horror, so I initially thought about selecting a random book from my TBR for this month. Then I remembered that I'd gotten several recommendations over the years for F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack series and decided to finally give it a try. The Repairman Jack books are an offshot of a series known as The Adversary Cycle, and The Keep is the first book in that series so I decided to start there.

I felt that The Keep did what I think a good horror novel should do. It created atmosphere, suspense and a sense of the creepy and made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen. I liked the idea of 20th Century evil pitted against much older evil and the ways that evil finds to manipulate the humans for it's own purposes. Unfortunatley some of the characterization wasn't as good as I would have liked. A couple of the key characters fell flat and there's a romantic subplot that didn't work as well as it needed to. One other thing worth noting is that the body count remains fairly low until near the end of the book. That was fine with me since I don't like a lot of blood and gore, but I know some horror fans don't agree and would likely find this disappointing.

Grade: B

Will I read the next book in the series?: Yes. I found this book interesting enough to be curious about where the story goes next. Also, the next book in The Adversary Cycle is The Tomb, which is where Repairman Jack makes his first appearance.

Nameless by Debra Webb

When Vivian Grace seventeen she was kidnapped by a serial killer known as "Nameless" and was forced to kill him in order to escape. She has worked hard to get past that experience and to make a life for herself protecting other victims. She's now a rookie FBI agent determined to succeed at her job and advance in the Bureau. She already feels somewhat thwarted in that ambition because her mentor arranged to have her sent to the Birmingham field office instead of the higher profile assignment she requested. He's concerned that a Vivian's past makes her too vulnerable to work high profile cases, but there's nothing he can do to protect her when a local kidnapping turns into exactly the kind of high pressure case he'd hoped to shield Vivian from. In spite of his wishes, and her own nightmares, Vivian is determined to save the kidnapped child. To do that she reaches out for help from an agency legend.

FBI agent Ryan McBride focused all his attention on his work as a hostage negotiator. He had a perfect record, working on the most difficult cases, until a kidnapping went horribly wrong and the young victim was killed. As a result McBride was made the scapegoat for his boss' mistake and lost his job. His response was to go to Key West and crawl into a bottle and three years later he still hasn't crawled back out. When Vivian shows up on his doorstep his first impulse is to send her away, but when he hears the details of the case he's unable to resist returning to the job he was never quite able to let go. Soon he and Vivian find themselves drawn into a puzzle created by a psychopath determined to play on both their pasts to win a game where he's the only one who knows the rules.



This is yet another suspense novel that devotes a chunk of the book to the killer's POV. I would have been much happier without that, but it all in all it wasn't too bad and the rest of the story was interesting enough that I was still able to enjoy the book. The disgraced former agent out to redeem himself and the former victim looking to prove herself are both common character in suspense novels so both Ryan and Vivian could easily have come across as tired cliches, but I found them both interesting.

I think that was partially because the situation had more layers and shades of gray than are sometimes present in this kind of book. For example, the bureaucracy wasn't painted as all bad and the rogue hero as all good. It's made clear that Ryan's former boss screwed him over, but it's also clear that he made that easy to do by pushing too hard and breaking too many rules. Vivian's boss is a a jerk, but he's genuinely dedicated to his job and doesn't allow his reservations about Ryan to interfere. Even Vivian's mentor isn't all bad. He does manipulate her career for his own selfish reasons,but he's also right about her needing to deal more effectively with her past. The only thing that really disappointed me was the ending, which hinged on tying several thread of the story together in a way that was far too convenient for my tastes.


Grade: B-

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

In the 1920's Italian playwright Galeazzo D'Ascanio wrote a play called Il Prezzo for his mistress, the beautiful English actress Celia Sands. Il Prezzo was expected to be D'Ascanio's dramatic masterpiece but it was never performed because Celia disappeared the night before it was scheduled to open.

Decades later Galeazzo's grandson, Alessandro 'Alex' D'Ascanio, has decided to finally stage Il Prezzo. Working through the family Trust he's restoring Il Piacere, his grandfather's estate on Lake Garda, and intends to have the play performed at the outdoor theater on the grounds. He believes he has found exactly the right lead---a struggling young English actress named Celia Sands.
The role could be her big break, but Celia is reluctant to accept a job that's offered to her only because of her name. Her mentor Rupert has been hired to direct Il Prezzo and he persuades her that the opportunity is too good to pass up. The two of them go to Italy and take up residence at Il Piacere along with the rest of the cast. Rehearsals go well and everyone involved soon has high hopes for the opening. However, events soon seem to be mirroring the first attempt to stage Il Prezzo and Celia begins to fear that someone or something doesn't want to the play to open.


I think that I expected this to have a stronger romantic element than it did. Celia and Alex do have an attraction, but it's not center stage in the story. Once I adjusted to that I was able to enjoy the book for what it is---an involving Gothic puzzle. The pace is fairly slow, but the story never seemed to drag and it held my attention all the way to the end.

Grade: B+

Firestorm by Iris Johansen

When Kerry Murphy was a young girl a house fire killed her mother and left her in a coma for two years. Her experience gave her the ability to telepathically sense fires, and connect with fire victims. Her used her talent to become a firefighter, but after a friend died in a fire she was no longer able to bear the responsibility of fighting them day to day. She now works as an arson investigator and uses her dog Sam as a cover for her unique talent. She's proud of the life she's built for herself and considers herself at ease with her talent, but she has few close relationships and suffers from horrible nightmares.

Brad Silver has problems of his own. He saw his brother, a U.S. Senator, and sister-in-law burned alive in their limousine. They were the victims of a madman named James Trask. Trask had been the head of a secret government research project to create controlled firestorms. It wasn't until the project was canceled that anyone realized that Trask had become obsessed with his creation and by then it was too late to stop him. He's now an out of control pyromaniac, using his invention to blackmail the President. Trask has vowed that he won't stop killing government officials until his demands are met.

Like Kerry, Brad has special abilities. Unlike Kerry his skills don't center around fire. Instead Brad is able to act as a “controller” for others psychics. He feels that with his help Kerry could make a connection with Trask and help locate him before anyone else is killed. Kerry doesn't agree. He tells her that in exchange he can help her finally get over the loss of her mother. Kerry values her independence and wants nothing to do with Silver or any other psychics, so she initially refuses. However, when she inadvertently makes a connection with Trask he becomes obsessed with her and attacks her brother and his pregnant wife. In order to protect her family Kerry changes her mind and agrees to partner with Silver and the two of them race to stop Trask before he strikes again.


This was a psychological thriller with paranormal elements. On the positive side, the premise of this book was interesting and I basically liked the characters and their interaction. The one thing I did think was odd was the way Kerry kept giving Brad a hard time for being prickly. Considering what her personality was like I felt like that was a definite case of the pot calling the kettle black and that Silver should have called her on it.

On the negative side a fairly large chunk of the book was devoted to Trask's POV and I'm tired of that. These days it seems like almost every suspense and mystery book I read spends almost as much time inside the killer's head as that of the main character(s) and I'm over it. I have much more interest in how the mystery is solved than in getting the details of yet another fictional version of homicidal craziness.

Grade: B-

Will I read the next book in the series?: Yes. I'm interested enough in Kerry & Silver to try the next book.

The Loner by Geralyn Dawson

Logan Grey is a Range Detective, tracking some the worst criminals in Texas. He lives alone and has no intention of ever changing that. Because he seems to have a talent for sensing impending trouble, newspapers dubbed him “the luckiest man in Texas” but he knows better. When he was just a boy he was the sole survivor of a flash flood that killed his whole family and left him to be raised in an orphanage. That set what he sees as the pattern of his life---when there's trouble he escapes harm, but those around him often do not. Logan doesn't consider that lucky at all and refuses to even consider having a family of his own that he could lose to misfortune.

One day while he's waiting for a meeting at the local bank his sense for trouble tells him to get out, but before he can act on it he's caught in the middle of a robbery attempt. He's surprised and intrigued when a female hostage helps him thwart the robbers. He wants to get to know her better but by the time the situation is sorted out, she's gone.

Caroline Kilpatrick was happy to help prevent a bank robbery, but she's furious with Logan for not recognizing her from their childhood. Logan was her first love and her first kiss. Far more importantly, he was the man she married and slept with, not realizing that he had been hired by her father to participate in a fake wedding ceremony in order to gain access to Caroline's inheritance. Logan left town after their one night together and as a result he never knew that their marriage was in fact valid, that she was pregnant with his child and that two months later her father died, leaving Caroline alone and destitute.

For many years Caroline had no idea where Logan was, so she struggled to provide for their son Will on her own. By the time she learned his whereabouts she had made a life for herself and no longer wanted to have anything to do with Logan, so she never contacted him about Will. Eight years later things have changed. Ben, the man who has been more of a father to her than her actual father ever was, has gone missing. He went to Black Shadow Canyon looking for information about a murder and hasn't been heard from since. The canyon is a notorious hideout for outlaws so Caroline knows that she needs help and Logan is just the man for the job. However, she has no reason to believe that he'll voluntarily help her search for Ben, so she devises a plan. She tells him about Will and says that the boy has been taken to Black Shadow Canyon.

Logan is stunned to find out that he's a father and has no idea what to do about Caroline, but he's determined not to let his son down. Caroline refuses to be left behind, so the two of them set out on the difficult journey to the canyon. They quickly find that the emotions between them, and their tentative efforts to reconnect, are almost as difficult to manage as bad weather and outlaws. The real question is what Logan will do when he realizes that Caroline lied to him. Will he forgive her and make a home with her and his son, or will he return to his solitary life?



It was difficult for me to like either Logan or Caroline. Logan's willingness to go along with the lie told by Caroline's father was bad. It was worse for him to sleep with her believing that their marriage was a sham and knowing that he would be leaving the next day. The only excuse he had was that he was young and, as an orphan with no prospects he was desperate for the money to make a start in life. Caroline didn't even have that excuse for the lie she told Logan. She knew where he was for eight years and never contacted him to tell him about Will until she needed to use the information to trick Logan into helping her. That would have been justifiable if Will had actually been the one in danger, but Ben was a grown man who made his own choice to go on a dangerous trip. I understand that Caroline loved Ben and thought of him as family, but I don't think that made it acceptable for her to manipulate Logan into helping him, especially since she was well aware that Logan didn't have warm feelings for Ben. Logan definitely had his faults, but I found Caroline much more frustrating and annoying.

In addition to my problems with both the main characters I also felt that the circumstances that resulted in them being married were sort of ridiculous and some of the dialog rang false. In the end I wasn't able to get past those things, which made it impossible for me to enjoy what might otherwise have been an interesting plot.

Grade: C-

The Fifth Victim by Beverly Barton

Genny Madoc is a psychic who lives in the Smokey Mountains, just outside the town of Cherokee Pointe, Tennessee. One night she has a horrible vision of a young woman being sacrificed on a ceremonial alter. She calls her cousin Jacob, who's the town sheriff, for help but he isn't able to reach the girl in time. No one in Cherokee Pointe has ever seen anything like this murder and they have very few clues until FBI agent Dallas Sloane arrives and offers his assistance.

He's come to Cherokee Pointe because the murder resembles a number of others that he's been investigating. Dallas is convinced that he's on the trail of a serial killer who kills five victims in close secession and then moves on to a new location. In each group of five the first four victims are chosen at random, only the fifth victims are similar. This makes it difficult to see the pattern and Dallas' colleges are convinced that he's imagining things. His beloved niece was the fourth victim in one of the groupings and people are convinced that grief has warped his judgment. The murder in Cherokee Pointe is the first in a new grouping, which gives Dallas the best chance he's had to catch the killer.

Dallas believes that the murder is the only reason he's come to Cherokee Pointe, but Genny knows there's more. She had a vision of Dallas too, and she knows that he's her soul mate. What she doesn't know is how that will change her life, whether or not she'll be able to explain things to Dallas and how he'll feel about it if she does. Genny's concerns about the future multiply when she realizes that she has formed a link with the killer and that he has chosen her as the fifth victim. It will take both Genny's abilities and Dallas' skill to stop the killer before he completes his pattern and slips away again.


I chose this book in part because of the location. I've been to the Great Smokey Mountains and the area is beautiful, but I rarely see it used as a book setting. I also thought the premise was interesting and had great potential. Unfortunately the book failed to live up to that potential. Dallas worked well as the driven, skeptical hero, but Genny was another story.

Genny is the standard cliched psychic whose gifts are conveniently limited in exactly the way needed to drive the story. She's also a Mary Sue. Everyone loves her and she sees the best in everyone. She even uses her gifts to charm wild animals, including a wolf who she feeds by hand. At one point animals save her from the bad guy in a scene that read like an extremely violent version of a Disney cartoon. Animals helped Snow White clean house for the seven dwarfs, made a ballgown for Cinderella---and saved Genny from a homicidal maniac. I rolled my eyes so hard I'm lucky they didn't stick like that. The romance between Genny and Dallas didn't improve the situation. I'm not fond of stories about predestined love and instant connection. I don't enjoy it when a couple is seemingly in love for no reason whatsoever and this was definitely one of those stories.

The secondary plot took up a lot of the book and it was also unsatisfying. Genny's best friend Jasmine is a successful businesswoman in Cherokee Pointe. She owns the local motel and a restaurant and club. Her love life isn't doing nearly as well as her businesses. Years ago she was involved with a boy named Jamie, the scion of the local gentry. Because Jazzy's family was poor his family saw her as trash and forbade the relationship. Jamie wouldn't risk his inheritance to marry Jazzy, so he left her behind when he went away to college. He still likes to use her as a booty call whenever he returns home for a visit though. Jazzy always turns him down, but then gives in when he persists.

The problem with that isn't really that it makes Jazzy look dumb for allowing herself to be used. I understand how she could get stuck on Jamie and be unable to resist him, even as he goes through a string of fiances. The problem is that Jazzy admits that the attraction isn't just sexual. She also likes Jamie for his money. She justifies this because she grew up poor and now wants the good life. I can understand that, but it still makes her seem at best mercenary and at worst like she's trying to trade sex for cash. That makes her objections to people thinking of her as trashy or treating her like she's a whore a little problematic.

For me all of these character issues overshadowed the thriller plot, which didn't turn out to be anywhere near as compelling as I had expected. The slight paranormal twist did little to lift the villain above run of the mill. In the end this book simply failed to live up to it's premise.

Grade: D+

This is the fist book in a trilogy. I picked up all three books at the library at the same time so even though this one was bad I decided to try the next one to see if the series would improve.

The Last To Die is Jazzy's story. Genny has a vision of Jamie being murdered and the crime being a threat to Jazzy. She doesn't want to believe that her friend could kill her ex, but the vision isn't clear and she can't be sure. Genny knows that Jamie doesn't believe in her gift and won't heed any warning that she would give him. She does warn Jazzy to stay away from him at all costs and she, Dallas and Jacob create a plan to keep Jazzy safe. Unfortunately their plan fails and when Jamie is murdered Jazzy has no alibi. Her friends then have to solve the murder in order to keep her from going to prison for a crime she didn't commit.

I suspected the book would be a DNF when the big plan to protect Jazzy completely failed to do the obvious---never leave her alone. I tried to overlook that, but couldn't overlook some major problems with the real killer. To avoid spoilers I'll simply say that a person suffering from the severe mental illness Ms Barton describes couldn't possibly devise an intricate plan to commit murder, act normal enough to lure Jamie to his death and carefully avoid leaving trace evidence at the scene.

It's a shame that The Last To Die wasn't a better book because the hero, Caleb McCord, was really good. He just wasn't good enough to carry the rest of the mess.

Grade: DNF

Uncertain Magic by Laura Kinsale

Roderica Delamore is a nineteen-year woman with the ability to read the thoughts of other creatures, human and animal. She doesn't share her gift with those outside her immediate family, but others can tell there's something different about her. Because of the unease the ability causes and the toll it takes on her Roderica has already resigned herself to a life of isolation. She longs for a normal life, with a husband and children of her own, but knows that she's destined to be a spinster, cared for only by her parents and siblings. The only satisfaction she has in her life is using her ability to help her father with his horses. She has no reason to believe that will ever change until she meets Faelan Savigar.

Faelan is known as the Devil Earl. He's rumored to have murdered his father when he was a child and to have grown into a man who leaves ruined maidens and defeated dueling opponents in his wake. The rumors might normally have given Roderica pause if it hadn't been for a trait that mattered far more to her---she can't read Faelan at all. She sees this as her one chance for happiness and strikes a deal with him for a mutaully beneficial marriage. Roderica will get the family she wants and Farlan's remote estate will allow her to limit her exposure to the outside world. In exchange Faelan will get the money he needs to restore the estate, which has fallen into disrepair.

What Roderica doesn't know is that Faelan has been experiencing blackouts and fears that he may be losing his mind. There are hours and sometimes days that he can't remember and violence always seems to happen around the missing hours. As Roderica, and Faelan grow to know and care about each other Faelan feels unworthy of her love and tries to protect her from the darkness in his life. Roderica refuses to believe that Faelan is evil and struggles to help him discover what forces are at work in his life. Her efforts are complicated by both her brother, who is determined to save her from her husband whether she wants him to or not, and by Faelan's best friend, whose involvement in politics may cost them all their lives.


This book is set in the early 18th century. It opens in England, but the action quickly moves to Faelan's estate in Ireland. Given the set-up this story could easily have been cliched, but Kinsale's writing saves it from that. Both Roderica & Faelan were fully realized characters and their growing relationship held my attention. I did find it frustrating that they spent so much time floundering rather than simply talking with each other openly. I could understand why they each felt the need to keep secrets, but there were still a couple of times when I found myself thinking, “Oh for Pete's sake would you two just have a conversation already?” Fortunately it never went far enough to be a Big Misunderstanding, so it didn't effect my enjoyment of the book.

There were two things about the book that I really didn't enjoy though. First was the fact that we did not get to see the villain punished at the end of the book. It was implied, but didn't happen on screen. Given everything the person did to Faelan I will admit that I very much wanted to see the guilty party get the appropriate comeuppance. There's also an odd twist near the end of the book where the story veers farther into the paranormal than I expected, even given Roddy's mind-reading ability. The problem wasn't that the scene was poorly written, it's just that it felt out of place in a book billed as an historical rather than a paranormal.

Grade: B

Sweet Release by Pamela Clare

Alex Kenleigh is a rich English shipbuilder. As the heir to the Kenleigh business and fortune he commands the family finances and he's responsible for his younger brother, Philip. For years Alex allowed Philip to do whatever he pleased and as a result his drinking and womanizing have gotten out of control. Alex is finally forced to cut him off, leaving him with only a minimal allowance until he behaves more responsibly. The night after he makes this decision Alex's coach is attacked and he's badly beaten. Another man's body is then substituted for his and Alex is sold into a 14 year indentured servitude and shipped to Virginia identified as a criminal named Cole Braden.

Cassie Blakewell is running her family's plantation alone. Her mother is dead, her younger brother is just a child and her father is suffering from mental problems brought on by the death of his wife. In 1730's Virginia it's incredibly difficult for a woman to manage by herself, but Cassie is determined to hold onto the the land until her brother comes of age and can take over. There are both creditors and rivals who would try to take over the plantation if they knew that Cassie's father was incompetent. In order to prevent that from happening Cassie has hidden her father in a small cabin in the nearby swamp and told everyone that he's traveling on business and has left her in charge while he's gone. If Cassie is unable to keep the plantation, or her story, going her family's holdings will be seized and sold to pay off debts, leaving her family with no home.

Cassie has very limited money, but she has to have more hands to so when a ship carrying slaves and bondsmen docks nearby she attends the sale. There she sees that one of the bondsman is obviously too ill to stand, let alone work, but the traders are still beating him in an attempt to force him to obey their orders. As an act of charity Cassie buys his indenture. She also buys a slave who befriended the sick man on the voyage. She assumes that the ill man will die, but once he's off the ship and receiving medical care he soon recovers his strength. His memory of how he came to be on the ship remains hazy and he's furious that people believe that he is a criminal named Cole. He insists that he is Alex Kenleigh, but has no way to prove it. Cassie agrees to allow him to send a letter to England, but while they're waiting for a response, which will take months to arrive, he will have to work.

Alex has no problem working. In fact he finds that he enjoys the physical labor far more than he had enjoyed being trapped in an office since the death of his father left him in charge of the family business. He can't be content though because he's drawn to Cassie and she still believes that he's a convicted despoiler of women. Cassie feels the attraction too, but doesn't know what to believe about Alex's identity. He doesn't act like a criminal, but with so much at stake she can't risk making a mistake. Still, it's difficult for Cassie to resist Alex when he proves kind to her and the people for whom she is responsible, and helpful with the running of the plantation.

Cassie would be willing to simply carry on while waiting for news from England, but her life is complicated by the attentions of a neighbor who wants to marry her and won't take no for an answer. Geoffrey is being pushed by his father, who wants the Blakewell land, and by his own lust for Cassie. He becomes jealous of Alex and schemes to get rid of him. Because of their positions in society neither Cassie nor Alex have the power to stop him and word of Alex's true identity may arrive too late to save him from Geoffrey's plot.


I liked both Alex and Cassie. I especially felt for Cassie's struggle to carry a huge burden on her own in a society that didn't recognize her abilities. There were some things that kept me from being able to fully enjoy Alex and Cassie's story though. This was Pamela Clare's debut novel and it had the kind of pacing problems that seem common in first novels. The middle of the book is a bit slow and then the end piles all sorts of problems one on top of the other. In fact there is so much drama that the end seems to go on and on. Those flaws weren't disastrous, but they did make other problems more noticeable.

Clare obviously researched the time period carefully and includes plenty of period detail. I was especially interested in the way she was able to point out that in certain ways indentured servants were actually treated worse than slaves. However, in spite of the historical detail, under the surface the book has a very modern sensibility. Men stay with their wives during childbirth. The good characters are kind to their slaves, who are happy with their lot. The bad characters beat their slaves and are thought badly of because of that. This reminded me why I tend to have problems with romances set in the pre-Civil War South. On one hand it's jarring when characters are anachronistically progressive. On the other hand I have no desire to read a book where the hero and/or heroine are happy slave owners. I understand the reality of that, but I don't want to deal with it in my romance fiction.

Grade: C+

As a result of my mixed feelings I'm not sure that I'll read the other two books in this trilogy: Carnal Gift, which is the story of Cassie's brother Jamie, and Ride the Fire, which features Alex & Cassie's son Nicholas.

Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair

After a decade piloting interstellar patrol ships, Captain Chasidah “Chaz” Bergren, was climbing the ladder of the Federated Fleet. Then she was accused of ignoring orders, leading to the deaths of 14 of her crew. She was convicted based on manufactured evidence and sentenced to life on Moabar, a remote prison planet from which no one ever escapes. Chaz has no idea who set her up and in her brutal new surroundings she has no time to try to figure it out. Things take a turn for the worse when she's forced to kill a guard in self-defense and she finds herself face to face with something even more frightening---a ghost from her past.

Gabriel Sullivan is a mercenary and smuggler who supposedly died two years ago. Instead he's on Moabar to rescue Chaz in exchange for her help getting to the bottom of a plot that threatens the Empire. Someone is secretly breeding jukors, vicious creatures that were outlawed years ago because they're uncontrollable. Gabriel needs Chaz to help him stop the practice before it decimates Imperial space. He has information that the secret lab is on Marker, Chaz's home planet, and he needs her knowledge to find and destroy the lab. The mission means putting their lives on the line, but Chaz figures that she has nothing to lose. She didn't count on the fact that Gabriel is far more than the charming criminal she always knew him to be. He has secrets he's afraid to share with anyone, but as the attraction between him and Chaz grows he finds himself wanting to try. Chaz finds that her growing feelings for Gabriel may place her in far greater danger than what she faces from the jukors or her unseen enemies.


This is the second book that I've read by Linnea Sinclair and I liked it as much as I liked the first. It deals with many of the same themes as Games of Command. There's an outsider who has to hide his difference and a heroine with whom he has a long running competitive relationship & who he secretly loves long before she loves him. There are also questions of trust, not only between the hero and heroine, but with the larger power structure.

This isn't merely a rehash of Games though. Gabriel and Chaz are interesting characters in their own right and they have a complicated relationship. Through most of their time together Gabriel insists on keeping his secrets and demands that Chaz not ask him any questions. That was understandable, but still unfair of him and Chaz was both willing to simply trust him and aggravated by the need to. That created a dynamic in their relationship that was compelling to read.

Grade: A-

Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong

Nadia is a disgraced former cop who now runs a runs a lodge in rural Canada. She enjoys being an innkeeper, but the lodge isn't yet making enough money to support her. In order to make ends meet she works as a hitwoman for the Tommissini crime family. They pay well, don't lie to her and she knows that all the targets are bad guys. This allows Nadia to feel like she's still on the correct side of the moral line she was raised to believe in. Her only contact with other hitmen is with her mentor, a man she knows only by his professional name—-Jack.

When someone begins killing unconnected victims and leaving pages from the book Helter Skelter as a calling card the authorities suspect that the killer is a professional. The question is, why would a hitman kill so many seemingly random victims.? To get answers they begin arresting hitmen on any charges they can find, hoping to locate the killer or someone with information about him.

Jack realizes that this is very bad for business and asks Nadia to work with him and a small group of other hitmen to track down the killer and eliminate him before they all end up in jail. Nadia understands the stakes and feels like she owes Jack, so she agrees. In order to protect her real identity she takes the professional name Dee and travels around the country with Jack, working with other hitmen and using her rusty police skills to track down the killer.


The strength of this book is the characters. I have a certain fondness for stories about hitmen and I found both Nadia and Jack interesting. Not exactly likable, but interesting. Much more of Nadia's back story is revealed than Jack's and it paints a picture of a complex and difficult woman. For example, after the incident that cost Nadia her job most of her friends and family turned their backs on her and she resents that. Her anger would be reasonable if it weren't for the fact that the incident involved Nadia killing a suspect in cold blood. How did she expect people to react to that? Did she expect them to believe it was some sort of accident or mental breakdown? If so, she's expecting her loved ones to believe a lie, because she knows that isn't what happened. It's unclear if she's faulting them for not believing a lie or for not pretending to believe it, or for minding that she murdered someone and basically got away with it. The book seems to imply that Nadia herself isn't sure. That isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I found it interesting.

Unfortunately, the suspense plot was much less intriguing than the characters. The killer was pretty much who you would expect, his motivation was pretty much what you would expect and I didn't care much about any of it. As a result the book tended to drag. It's fairly long, and felt even longer because I never became absorbed enough by the story to read quickly.

Because I liked the characters I plan to read the follow up, Made to Be Broken. I'm willing to do that in part because, at least as of now, Armstrong doesn't seem to have any plans to write a longer series. If she does write more books about Nadia the plots will have to be much stronger for me to continue reading past the second book.

Grade: C

Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman

Tess Monaghan lost her job as a reporter when her newspaper downsized. Since then she's spent a lot of time feeling bad about the loss of her career, but has made no real effort to find another one. She pays her bills by working part time at her aunt's bookstore and doing free-lance research for an uncle who works as a mid-level state bureaucrat. The rest of her life is as much of a disaster as her career. She has few friends and her love life consists of the occasional booty call with an ex-boyfriend, who's cheating on his current girlfriend with Tess. The only real structure in Tess' life is her commitment to rowing every morning on the Patapsco river.

One day friend and fellow rower Darryl Paxton, aka Rock, asks for Tess' help tailing his fiance Ava. She's a lawyer with a prestigious local firm but Rock fears that her job isn't the only thing occupying her time. Tess feels bad about taking money from a friend, but she needs it to pay her bills and he's determined to pursue the investigation so she agrees to take the job. Tess soon has reason to believe that Rock's suspicions were correct and Ava is sleeping with her boss, Michael Abramowich. In an attempt to be kind Tess offers Ava a chance to come clean on her own, but instead of admitting to having an affair she tells Rock that Abramowich is sexually harassing her.

Abramowich has only been with the firm for a short time. Before that he had a private practice doing criminal defense. He was famous for his tacky commercials, which made him a running joke all over Baltimore. Numerous people had reason to hate him, but when he's murdered Darryl is the prime suspect and is soon under arrest. Tess' testimony could seriously hurt him at trial so his lawyer makes her part of his defense team so that her work will be covered by lawyer-client privilege. She's supposed to do only what she's told, but she can't stop herself from digging into Abramowich's past in an attempt to save her friend from going to prison.


This book had the obvious signs of being a first novel. The mystery was interesting, but the pacing was uneven and some parts of the plot didn't fully hang together. Worse, this was one of those frustrating books where the plot is driven by the failure of any of the characters to ask the obvious question about the crime. In this case the question was, "Why would a prestigious law firm with a high-end client base hire a man whose commercials are a local joke?" As a former reporter Tess should know what to ask about a story, so her failure to do so didn't exactly fill me with confidence in her future as an investigator.

I also found it somewhat difficult to sympathize with Rock because he was written in an inconsistent way that made it difficult to know who he was. He's presented as a big dumb jock—--too dumb to realize that his fiance is a lying user. Tess even compares him to Lenny from Of Mice & Men. The problem with that is that Rock's day job is as a medical researcher at John's Hopkins. His father wanted him to be a doctor, but that would have taken too much time away from rowing so he stuck with research. Not exactly a job for a dim bulb.

I also found Tess somewhat difficult to like. She lost her job two years ago and is still just drifting. If she were making an effort to figure out her future it would be different, but she's basically just living off the generosity of her family and feeling sorry for herself. I also hated that her relationship with her ex-boyfriend was such a cliché. He's the standard lousy guy she can't, or at least doesn't, resist who's cheating on his girlfriend with her. I'm not a fan of cheaters, so that lost Tess some major points.

Grade: C-

Will I read the next book in the series?: No. I didn't like this one well enough to add it to my list of series to follow.

The Island by Heather Graham

While on a camping trip on Calliope Key with her brother and his daughter, Beth Anderson finds a skull in the woods. In order to avoid frightening her niece she hides it, planning to return for it later. There are other groups staying on the island and after talking with them Beth becomes suspicious of their motives for being there. She also becomes worried that the skull she found is tied to the apparent disappearance of a popular couple last seen on their yacht near the island several months ago. When Beth goes back to the woods the skull is gone and she becomes even more fearful of her fellow vacationers.

She's especially wary of Keith Henson, a scuba-diver visiting the island with two friends. Beth finds him attractive, but doesn't quite believe his claim that he and his friends are simply diving for fun. She's also concerned that their yacht seems more expensive than any of them could reasonably afford. Her fears make it impossible for her to relax and she's happy to return to her normal life and her job at the local yacht club. Her calm is disrupted when the people from the island start showing up at the club and mysterious occurrences lead Beth to fear that someone is targeting her. In order to keep herself and her family safe she'll have to figure out if Keith can be trusted to protect her or if he's actually a modern day pirate out to silence her for good.


This book sounded fun. After all, who doesn't love (fictional) pirates? Unfortunately it turned out to be a dud. The characters weren't engaging and the story was very frustrating. Fiction tends to rely on a certain amount of coincidence by necessity, but in this case it was ridiculous. There were only 2 or 3 characters that didn't end up being tied to the big plot in some way and one of them was a 14 year old girl. The crime was also a bit too much. There were simply too many elements for it to be at all believable. I was happy to play along with the sunken treasure and the pirates, but when a missing German weapon from World War II became part of the plot Graham lost me.

All in all this wasn't worth the time it took to read it.

Grade: D+

Unlawful Contact by Pamela Clare

This is book 3 in the I-Team series, following Extreme Exposure & Hard Evidence.

Sophie Alton's life is going well. She has fulfilled her childhood ambition to become a journalist and is now one of the I-Team's best investigative reporters. She also has a group of close friends that includes several of the I-Team's current and former members. Unfortunately her love life isn't going as well as her career. She has dated plenty of men, but never felt a real connection with any of them. At times she thinks wistfully of the one perfect night she had with Hunt, her high school crush and wishes that she could find that kind of magic again.

Sophie's lack of romantic prospects don't really bother her though, especially because her job keeps her too busy to worry about it. She's has been working on a piece about the plight of pregnant women in Colorado prisons. In the course of her research she became especially close to one inmate named Megan. Sophie is hopeful that Megan will be able turn her life around and have the chance to make a fresh start with her baby when she is released. Unfortunately on Megan's first visit with her child she takes the baby and goes on the run. Sophie is determined to find out where she has gone and why. As a result when she receives a message from Megan's brother, who is also in prison, Sophie jumps at that the chance to talk with him in hopes that he can tell her where Megan has gone. What Sophie doesn't realize is that Megan's brother is Hunt, her high school lover. He and Megan have different last names and she always referred to him simply as Marc.

Hunt's life after high school went very well for several years. He joined the army and served with distinction, and after leaving the service he joined the DEA. He made a home for himself and was finally able to reconnect with his half-sister, Megan. Then Megan accused his partner of being one of the men who abused her when she was in juvenile detention. When the man was killed Hunt was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

As a former DEA agent he's hated by the other inmates and because he's an accused cop-killer the guards feel the same way, so Hunt's life in prison is extremely difficult. He manages to tolerate it until he hears that his sister is on the run. He fears for her safety and is determined to find her and make sure that she's safe. In order to do that he'll have to break out of prison. He's counting on Sophie's reaction to seeing him to create an opening that he can use to make his escape.

Once Hunt makes his escape with Sophie in tow the two agree to work together to find Megan and her baby and figure out why she felt she had to run away. Their attraction to each other is as strong as ever, but Hunt knows that he has no future and can't offer Sophie anything beyond the moment. Sophie finds it hard to believe that Hunt is guilty of any crime, but she's fears that her heart is overpowering her reporters instincts. At the same time she's not sure she can bring herself to pass up a chance for even a little more of the magic she has never found with anyone else. As difficult as they are even those problems seem minor when the people who are after Megan threaten their lives and Hunt and Sophie start to fear that it may already be too late for Megan and her baby.


I have mixed feelings about this book. On the positive side the plot moves along very quickly and it held my attention. I also liked Hunt and Sophie and their interaction with each other. On the negative side Sophie does quite a few things that are extremely dumb. So dumb that if I had liked her even a tiny bit less I would have totally written her off for being TSTL. For example, when you're helping your lover, the escaped convict, and you want people to think that you've just gone off to be by yourself for a few days, getting caught on a pharmacy's surveillance video using your credit card to buy Plan B and condoms is not smart. Also, rule one when you get arrested is that no matter how innocent you are you need a lawyer. Rule two is not to say a word to the police until your lawyer gets there, even if one of the cops is the husband of your best friend. A smart reporter should know these things.

This sort of behavior seems to be a problem with the heroines in Clare's contemporaries. The second I-Team book was a DNF for me because the heroine, Tessa, was so dumb she made me nuts. I find this confusing and frustrating because the heroines of her historicals aren't stupid. I would enjoy the I-Team books more if the heroines were at least a bit smarter.

I also wish that the end of this book had felt a bit more realistic. I wanted Hunt & Sophie to have their HEA, but considering the reality of Hunt's situation the way things were wrapped up seemed far too good to be true. The total lack of realism pulled me out of the moment in a way that I really didn't like.

Grade: C

Deception by Sharon Cullen

When Kate McAuley met and fell in love with Lucas Barone she knew that his job as a forensic accountant involved a lot of travel, but she never expected that one day he would leave on a business trip and simply never return. Being abandoned by the man she thought she would spend the rest of her life with broke Kate's heart. When another tragedy happened shortly after Luke's betrayal it devastated her and made her rethink her life. After 18 months she has finally gotten to a place where she feels that she's in control and able to cope again. She's not the same person she once was, but she's surviving. Then one night she answers a knock on her door and finds Lucas bleeding and barely conscious on her front porch.

Kate has a million questions. Where has Luke been? Why did he come back? Who would beat up an accountant and leave him for dead? The only way that Luke can persuade her not to call the police is to promise that as soon as he's had some rest he'll answer her questions and then leave. Giving Kate the answers she wants and deserves is a huge risk for Luke because he's not an accountant. That was simply a cover he used to explain the frequent trips required by his actual job in covert operations.

In all his time undercover Kate was the only person he really loved. He never planned to stay away from her for so long, but his last op went terribly wrong and Luke ended up in a South American prison. When he finally made it back to Washington he discovered evidence that he had been betrayed by someone in his own agency. Before he could figure out who it was his enemies caught up with him. In desperation he turns to Kate because she's the only person he feels sure that he can trust. Unfortunately for both of them Luke didn't cover his tracks as well as he thought and they're soon on the run, desperately trying to prove a conspiracy that goes higher up in the government than either of them could have imagined.


I should have known that this book was going to have a lot of problems when I realized that the back cover copy must have referred to an earlier edit. It said that Luke had been gone for four years, but the book said only 18 months. I wish that had been the worst of it, but it wasn't even close. There were so many issues that it's hard to know where to start. Cullen's basic research was poor. She gets small things wrong, like the fact that virtually no one in DC calls the airport Ronald Reagan National Airport. It's just National. She also gets more obvious things wrong. Luke supposedly owns a townhouse in Georgetown. "Government operative" is not a lucrative job. Luke is likely at about a GS-11 and there is no way that someone at that salary level can afford real estate in Georgetown unless he inherited money or married it.

I was even more bothered by the fact that Luke was presented as some sort of super spy, but his tradecraft is terrible. When he and Kate make their initial getaway he steals a car from long term parking at the local airport. That makes sense since there's a good chance that no one will report it missing for quite a while. Unfortunately that's about the only smart move he makes. He keeps a hideout that's supposed to be his safehouse and he and Kate head there. They drive the same stolen care the whole way and use Luke's only “secure” fake ID for everything as they travel. It never seems to occur to Luke that if someone discovers the car missing he's creating a trail that will be a snap to follow. That's something a professional should really have considered since he has no way of being sure when the car's owner is due to return.

A professional would probably also have made different choices when he set up his safehouse. He probably wouldn't have located it in the county where his only friend from the agency is now the sheriff since anyone looking for him is going to check out his known associates. He would also not have made it luxurious enough to make people question why it's so nice when the owner is so rarely there. (Again, where does Luke get his money?) He should also have made more than a token effort to disguise himself when he's in town. Given how little Luke changes his appearance a professional questioning the locals would have very little difficulty discovering that he's the part-time resident.

Luke makes the same mistake when changing Kate's appearance. While Luke was gone Kate went through several hair styles and colors. Luke's idea of a disguise is to have her switch back to the exact way she looked when they were living together. That's not likely to fool anyone, let alone the professional spies who are supposedly chasing them. There were many other problems, including the identity of Luke's enemy, but it would be far too much trouble to list them all.

There should be a term to describe this kind of romantic suspense novel. I think “wallpaper suspense” could work. Just like “wallpaper historicals” books like this are a cheat. There's no real effort made to create believable suspense or characters whose actions make sense given their supposed jobs. The plot is just an easy way to put the hero and heroine together under pressure so that they can have hot sex. I'm a fan of the hot sex, but not the sloppy storytelling. The only thing that I can say in the book's favor is that, aside from the fact that they're incredibly stupid about birth control/STD prevention, I found both Luke and Kate likable. I would have enjoyed them if they had been in a better book.

Grade: D

Perfect by Judith McNaught

Julie Mathison was a foster child in trouble with the system and headed for more when she was taken in by a minister and his wife. The love she received from her adoptive family gave her the security she longed for and she's determined never to do anything to make them regret the chance they gave her. She's a respectable teacher in the small Texas town were she was raised, working hard to make a difference in the lives of her neediest students and to make her family proud.

Zachary Benedict was an Academy Award-winning actor turned director, living a charmed life until his wife was murdered and he was convicted of the crime. After exhausting his options he gave up on the system and decided to find his own way out of prison. With the help of a friend he broke out, intending to leave the country and never look back. Unfortunately bad weather and bad timing force him to abduct Julie and use her and her car to get away.

Julie is first scared and then furious about being forced to help an escaped felon, but in spite of her best intentions and Zach's terrible attitude something draws her to him. The problem is that she can't be sure if he's really innocent or if he simply calls to a part of her that she left behind years ago. If he's innocent and she doesn't help him she'll regret it forever. If she trusts him and she's wrong the perfect life she's built for herself will be irrevocably damaged.



I found Zach interesting as a character, but the details about his life in Hollywood rang false. There's a lot of name dropping, but instead of lending authenticity it simply made the book feel dated (it was originally published in 1994). I understood and sympathized with Julie's reasons for valuing her reputation so highly. However, at times the fact that she was wound so tight made it difficult to relate to her.

In spite of that, the real problem with this book was that it dragged. At 677 pages in paperback, this is a long book and unfortunately there were times when it felt even longer. There was a lot of detail and story, but no surprises. Everything felt predictable, right down to Julie's inevitable crisis of faith in Zach. I was even able to figure out who the real killer was even though McNaught withheld critical information until the end.

It wasn't a bad book, but iI ultimately didn't feel that it was worth the amount of time it took to read. I would have liked it much better if it had been a couple hundred pages shorter.

Grade: C-

2009 TBR Challenge for September: Magnate's Make-Believe Mistress by Bronwyn Jameson

September Challenge" Chose one from the Author List or read a book by a new-to-you author

I won this book during a recent "Save the Contemporary" contest at Smart Bitches Trashy Books.

When it arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago I was buried in library books that needed to be read by their due dates, so I set it aside. Since I'm now caught up on my borrowed items and I've never read anything by Bronwyn Jameson this book seemed perfect for the September TBR challenge.

Cristo Véron is an airline executive living in England. He's wealthy and privilaged, but he also has problems. As is the case for many people they're mostly caused by his family. His main source of trouble is currently his sister Amanda. She's a nice enough young woman, but she's rather spoiled at the best of times and it's not the best of times. Amanda is getting married and by her own admission organizing the huge wedding has turned her into a bit of a bridezilla. Cristo initially disapproved of Amanda's fiancé Hugh because of his reputation as a hard-partying playboy. However, over time he became convinced that Hugh's love for Amanda was real and agreed to not only support the marriage, but pay for the wedding. As a result Cristo finds himself not only footing the bill, but acting as general fix-it person for all the many problems that arise with the planning.

Keeping the caterers in line is one thing, but the situation becomes much worse when Hugh comes to Cristo looking for help with a possible blackmail attempt. A woman named Isabelle Browne has called Hugh from Australia claiming to be pregnant with his child. Hugh claims that he's never met anyone named Isabelle Browne and that he's been completely faithful to Amanda. However, with only weeks to before the wedding he doesn't want Amanda to find out about the situation unless it's absolutely necessary. Cristo isn't sure what to believe. Hugh seems sincere, but Amanda's happiness is at stake so he agrees to go to Australia, track Isabelle down and find out the truth.

Isabelle works has a housekeeper for At Your Service, a concierge service for wealthy visitors to Melbourne. Cristo hires her for the week and plans to use the time to ferret out the truth about her supposed pregnancy. For her part Isabelle is suspicious of the fact that Cristo requested her by name and was willing to pay double her usual rate to get her to reschedule her vacation to take the job. In spite of their mutual distrust they're drawn to each other and enjoy spending time together. By the time the truth comes out about the pregnancy their attraction is undeniable, but some real problems remain. Cirsto has no interest in commitment and Isabelle is not a party girl. She also isn't sure how a housekeeper can possibly fit in, even temporarily, in the life of such a wealthy man.


If I hadn't won this book I probably would never have read it. In the recent discussion at Dear Author about money in romance novels I came down on the side of generally not liking books about "billionaire tycoons". I can't relate at all and it doesn't really work for me as a fantasy since I don't like the implication that huge amounts of money are necessary for an HEA. In spite of that I enjoyed this book. Cristo comes across as genuinely nice, even when he's being cynical about love. Isabelle is impressed by him, but not so much that she loses her good sense. I really appreciated the fact that the book presents their attraction as just that, attraction. Their physical chemistry isn't treated as love, it's just the thing that brings them together. They fall in love because they enjoy being together. The only thing that I didn't like was that Cristo's conversion from totally cynical to proposing marriage felt sort of abrupt, but that's one of the hazard's of category-length books.

Grade: B-

2009 TBR Challenge for August: My Sweet Folly by Laura Kinsale

August Challege" Chose one from the Author List or read a book by a new-to-you author

Folie Hamilton is the young second wife of a widower with an eight year old daughter. Her husband never got over the death of his first wife, which leaves Folie neglected and lonely. Life in Toot-above-the Batch is rather dull and Folie struggles to make a life for herself and fill her days productively . The problem is exacerbated by her difficult relationship with her stepdaughter Melinda. The only thing that really interests Folie's husband is his rose garden and he leaves most everything else to Folie. That includes communication with his cousin, Robert Cambourne, who is serving as a lieutenant in the Bengal Infantry in India.

Robert is the son of one of the directors of the East India Company, but he has never fit into his fathers life or lived up to his expectations. Robert's father bought him a commission, but Robert is a failure as a soldier. His simply has no talent for it. His family's social standing protects him from being punished so he is given trivial tasks and allowed to fill the rest of his time in his own pursuits. He spends his days studying native spiritual practices under the tutelage of a "guuruu" with the idea of someday writing a book on the subject. He loves India, but he is lonely and profoundly unhappy with his life. When Folie's letter arrives it's like a breath of fresh air and Robert can't resist writing her back. Thus begins the seven year correspondence that makes up the first chapter of the book.

Via a series of letters, often with long time gaps because of the distance, Folie and Robert share their lives, their hopes and their dreams. Folie comes to see Robert as a knight out to slay dragons. Robert's feelings for Folie are made clear when he begins one of his letters, "My Sweet Folly, If you were mine . . ." They each realize that their correspondence has gone beyond the bounds of propriety, but neither one can stand the idea of letting the relationship go. That is until Folie receives Robert's last letter in which he makes a confession that destroys Folie's picture of him and breaks her heart.

Five years later Folie is a widow and has developed a close and loving relationship with Melinda. It's time for Melinda to have her coming out and Folie is determined to provide her with the best possible season. Robert is in charge of the money left to Melinda and Folie, but all issues have been handled by solicitors and Folie expects that will continue to be the case. Much to Folie's chagrin things take a drastic turn when Robert returns to England and insists that she and Melinda join him at his isolated estate.

When they arrive Folie is stunned to find that Robert is nothing like she imagined and that his life is not at all what she expected. At first she is merely confused and disappointed, but she soon comes to fear that Robert is actually mad. Unbeknownst to her Robert shares her fears for his sanity and has hired guards to protect them from enemies he isn't even sure exist. They clash when Robert demands that they remain at his home and Folie insists that Melinda must be allowed to have her season. Folie wins the argument, but once they're in London the mystery of Robert's mental state grows deeper and more dangerous. The two are forced to help each other and find themselves navigating complex social and political waters while coming to realize that feelings they believed where long dead are more alive than either one of them is prepared for.



This book languished on my TBR for a long time, mostly because it takes place during the Regency. I realize that the era is adored by many romance readers, but I just don't feel the love. It has never been a particular favorite historical period for me and there are so many Regencies that I burnt out on them long ago. As a result I rarely read them any more. Because so many people mention My Sweet Folly as one of their favorite Kinsale books I decided to make an exception, and I'm glad that I did. It doesn't focus on the elements that I associate with Regencies. For example, Folie maneuvers to get Melinda an invitation to Almack's, but the story isn't about the social issues of Melinda's season. Instead the book focuses on Robert and Folie, characters that would be unique in any genre.

I found both of them interesting and admirable and frustrating at different points in the story. I loved that they were both complex and layered enough to inspire all those feelings. I especially liked the way that Folie was able to use her experience developing a relationship with Melinda as a source of insight into how she should approach Robert. She was able to understand that he was lashing out due to fear without becoming a doormat in the face of his temper.

There were points in the story when it was difficult to imagine that these two people could have a HEA. For me that made the end all the more satisfying.

Grade: A

Hannah's Vow by Pam Crooks

Hannah Benning was raised by her con man father after her mother died when she was young. He taught her the tools of his trade and forced her to help him with his schemes. Eventually he was caught stealing and killed by an angry mob. After that Hannah's only wanted to be safe and to have a chance to make up for the crimes she had committed, so she joined a convent intending to become a nun. She spent most of her time in prayer until one day the Mother Superior requests that she accompany the local priest and one of the other sisters to the notorious local prison to check on rumors that the inmates are suffering some type of sickness and not receiving appropriate care. Hannah is loath to leave the convent, especially to go to such a horrible place, but she musters her courage and does as she is asked. When the trio arrive they find that the situation is worse than they ever imagined. When the inmates rebel against their mistreatment Hannah's companions are killed and she is take hostage by a man with nothing to lose.

Four years ago Quinn Landry was betrayed by his brother and sentenced to life in prison for a murder he didn't commit. The only thing that has kept him alive is his thirst for revenge and his determination to regain control of the Texas ranch that is his birthright. He has no desire to hurt a nun, but he needs a hostage in order to get away and can't afford to release her until he's back home. Hannah is horrified to find herself once again hunted by the law and is determined to escape. However, when she realizes that Quinn is sick and helpless she can't bring herself to abandon him. By the time he's strong enough to be on his own the warden is convinced that Hannah was part of the escape plan and she's in as much danger as Quinn is.

They make a pact to help each other with an agreement that Quinn will help Hannah return to the convent as soon as he has cleared his name. Their situation becomes even more complicated when they are captured by an outlaw couple who have their own reason to hate the warden. Circumstances force Hannah and Quinn to depend on each other to survive and as they grow closer they find themselves fighting an attraction that may put them in more danger than they can handle.



I enjoy western historicals which is how this book, set in 1895 New Mexico and Texas, ended up on my TBR. I pulled it out when I was looking for books for last month's TBR challenge. I didn't chose it was my official challenge book, but I was intrigued enough to keep it on the top of the pile and I'm glad that I did. There were quite a few elements of this book that were pretty standard fair. The beautiful young woman who is isn't quite a nun yet, the handsome man wrongly accused and bent on revenge, the evil brother consumed by jealousy and the evil warden consumed by greed. However, I enjoyed Ms Crook's writing style and she threw in enough unique elements to keep me interested. This is my first book by Ms Crooks and I look forward to reading more.

Grade: B+

Open Season by Linda Howard

The morning of her 34th birthday small-town librarian Daisy Minor wakes up and realizes that her life is slipping away. Everything about her is boring---her hair, her clothes, her job. All boring. Worse, she's lonely and hasn't had so much as a date in forever. She still lives at home with her mother and her aunt. She loves them, but knows that if she ever wants to have a family of her own she's going to have to make some changes. She decides that in a small town she can't afford to wait for Mr. Right to just show up so if she wants a man she's going to have to go out and find one. She decides to do a total make-over. She moves into a place of her own and enlists the help of the only gay man she knows to transform her clothes, hair and make-up from frumpy librarian to sexy party girl.

Jack Russo is the town's new sheriff. He was brought to run things after a corruption scandal ousted the previous sheriff. He's still getting to know the town and it's residents and he doesn't make a very good impression on Daisy. She considers him rude, demanding and more than a little intimidating. Of course he's also the sexiest man she's met in a long time. In spite of that she decides that she would be better off ignoring him and going ahead with her plan to visit local clubs to meet men. Her first try is less than a complete success, but she's willing to keep trying. She finds herself with worse problems than bad dates when she witnesses a crime and becomes a target in need of Jack's protection.


This is not one of Howard's more intense books. The mood is similar to the lighter parts of Mr. Perfect, although I preferred that book to this one. In this book the mystery works well enough, the characters are basically likable, and there are a few funny scenes. However, there were several things about Daisy and Jack's relationship that bothered me.

Soon after they started sleeping together Jack considered the possibility of not using a condom and getting Daisy pregnant so that she would marry him. I would consider that unacceptable no matter what, especially because they barely knew each other. What made it worse was that at that point Jack's motive was simply to stop Daisy from dating other men. He wasn't thinking about commitment as much as he was thinking about possession. Later Daisy and Jack do have unsafe sex, with the usual idiotic conversation about how they're sure it will be OK. Soon they were actively trying to get pregnant even though they had known each other only a couple of weeks and had been sleeping together only a few days. I found that so ridiculous that it ruined the end of the book for me.


Grade: C-

2009 TBR Challenge for July: Hearts of the West

Wrongly Accused/Just Released from Jail

Hearts of the West is a double volume containing two full length novels, both of which feature main characters who have recently been released from prison.

Rocky Mountain Rancher by Pamela Toth

Luther had an unhappy marriage to an unfaithful wife. When her lover was killed he was wrongfully convicted and sent to prison. While he was there his ex sold his ranch and left the state. While driving away she got into a car accident and both she and their son were killed, leaving Luther with nothing.

After 8 years another man confessed to the crime and Luther was released. That didn't convince his neighbors of his innocence. When the man was killed in prison many people became convinced that Luther had called in favors to have him murdered in order to prevent him from recanting his, supposedly false, confession. The only thing Luther had to hang onto was the idea of getting his ranch back. To do that he hired on as a hand to the new owner.

Maddie has had her share of problems. She's a widow raising her 15 year old stepson and her 8 year old daughter and trying to run the ranch after losing her husband to cancer. She's as warm and open as Luther is closed off. They become lovers fairly easily, but getting to the point of admitting that they're in love is much more difficult, especially with the issue of the ownership of the ranch hanging between them. When a series of robberies in the area casts new suspicion on Luther he has to decide if he should stay and fight, risking Maddie's reputation, or give up and move on.

I liked this one quite a bit. It's my favorite sort of story---two people who have each had a hard time meet, fall in love and make things better for each other. I like people who have really earned their HEA and Luther & Maddie certainly did. I also liked the fact the the children were good kids, but in a realistic way, not overly cute as is so often the case in books.

Grade: B+


The Last Chance Ranch by Ruth Wind

Tanya Bishop fell in love and married young only to find herself in an abusive relationship. She stayed until after she gave birth to her son Antonio, then she ran to protect herself and her baby. She got a divorce but her ex, Vic, wouldn't leave her alone. She moved repeatedly and got a restraining order, but he always tracked them down. Finally Tanya realized that hiding would never keep them safe, so she bought a gun. When Vic came after her again she took her son to a babysitter and waited for Vic to return to her house. When he tried to kill her, as she knew he would, she shot him. As a result she was sent to prison for murder.

Her husband's family hated her and fought her over custody of Antonio. In order to keep him from being raised by people who hated her she asked that Antonio be allowed to live with the only one of Vic's family who had ever been kind to her---his cousin Ramon. Vic's sisters agreed on the condition that she allow Ramon to adopt the boy and that Tanya never have any contact with him. While she's in prison her only way of feeling a connection to Antonio is to write him letters which she never sends.

After eleven years Tanya gets out of prison and contacts Ramon. He agrees to modify the custody order and allow her to meet Tonio. However, the boy is bitter that his mother “abandoned” him and Ramon is concerned that he won't give Tanya a fair chance. Ramon is raising Tonio at the ranch he runs for juvenile offenders. He suggests that Tanya work at the ranch as a cook to give Tonio a chance to get to know her as a person before they tell him that she's the mother he resents so much.

Tanya agrees, but finds it difficult to be with Tonio without telling him who she is. Things are further complicated by the reawakening of the attraction that Ramon & Tanya felt for each other many years ago and by the troubled boys living at the ranch. When Tonio accidentally discovers Tanya's identity his anger threatens to destroy the the new life Tanya is struggling to build.

This was a solid story with likable characters. It was easy to root for Tanya to rebuild her life. While still in her teens she made one common, easy mistake when she fell for the wrong guy and she paid a high price for that mistake. Ramon has demons of his own and Tonio's struggle to understand what happened to his parents is understandable. All the elements came together to make a story that was heart-warming without being sappy.

Grade: B-

TBR Challenge for June: Play Dirty by Sandra Brown

June TBR Challenge---Tortured Heroes


Griff Burckett had a difficult childhood, but thanks to a talent for football and the help of a mentor he was able to make something of himself. He was the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, a job that gave him money, fame and access to all the toys and women, he could want. Unfortunately the scars of his early life left him isolated and self-destructive. The thrill he got from playing football soon wasn't enough and he turned to gambling to get the rush he craved. When he fell behind on his payments to his bookie he threw games in order to pay off his debt. His whole life fell apart when he was caught and sent to prison.

After five years in prison Griff is happy to be out, but he has nothing to go home to. His condo and most of his possessions had to be sold to pay fines and legal fees. He's banned for life from the only job he ever had and he's so notorious that it will be almost impossible to find any other kind of job. With no money and no prospects it will be difficult to abide by the terms of his parole, but Griff has to find a way because he is determined never to go back to prison. Just as Griff begins to realize exactly how desperate his situation is he receives a call from eccentric millionaire Foster Speakman.

Speakman has been a paraplegic since a car accident several years ago. What no one realizes is that his injuries also left him impotent and infertile. He and his wife Laura want a child, but Speakman refuses to consider adoption. In fact, he never wants anyone to know that the child isn't his. Because Griff shares basic physical characteristics with him Speakman wants him to act as a sperm donor. He's willing to pay handsomely for Griff's services and a lifetime of his silence. The deal sounds great to Griff until he finds out that there's a catch---Speakman insists that the child must be conceived naturally. Griff knows that this arrangement is trouble, but he has no other prospects and the money is too good to turn down.

His encounters with Laura create complications that Griff doesn't need. The detective who arrested Griff five years ago is determined to pin an unsolved murder on him and terrorizes Griff and those close to him in the hopes of getting him to lose his temper and implicate himself. Griff holds it together until Foster Speakman is found dead and Griff's feelings for Laura make him the prime suspect. Griff doesn't trust the police to find the truth so he has to track down the one person who can clear him.



I have mixed feeling about this book. One the plus side, I found Griff an interesting character because he wasn't falsely accused. He was guilty of the crime that sent him to prison. Beyond that, he simply wasn't a nice guy. He treated the people in his life quite badly and discarded them when they were no longer useful to him. His time in prison, and the circumstances in which he finds himself when he is released, cause him to do some serious soul-searching. His growth felt real to me and so did the steps that he took to try to redeem himself and make a new life.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book didn't work nearly as well. The plot was convoluted and unbelievable and I didn't find Laura anywhere near as interesting as I found Griff. My main problem though was that the circumstances that brought Griff and Laura together were so skeevy that it was hard for me to root for them to end up together. This was definitely not one of my favorite of Sandra Brown's books.

Grade: C-

Hot Mail by Janice Maynard

Jane and Ethan were best friends for years. Jane wanted it to be something more but Ethan never seemed receptive so Jane never found the courage to tell him how she really felt. Then Ethan got engaged to another woman. Jane knew that the woman was all wrong for him but she also know that if she said anything she would just come across as jealous. She couldn't bear to stand by and watch Ethan with someone else, especially when the relationship was a huge mistake, so she drifted out of Ethan's life. Even after Ethan broke the engagement Jane didn't renew the friendship because she couldn't continue to be “just friends”.

Four years pass with no contact between them, but Jane is never able to completely let go of her feelings for Ethan. The rest of her life is going well. She has friends and her stationery business is a success, but something is missing. She wants to marry and have children, but she can't get interested in other men because she still is still dreaming of Ethan. She realizes that she has to find a way to tell him her feelings and find out once and for all if there's any hope for a relationship. She can't bring herself to simply approach him out of the blue after so many years so she needs to find a way to introduce the idea more gradually. The fact that Valentine's Day is coming up gives Jane an idea. She decides that in the weeks leading up to the holiday she will send Ethan a series of anonymous cards expressing her feelings. Then on Valentine's Day she'll reveal herself as the author and hope that Ethan is intrigued enough to give them a chance.

Unfortunately after she sends the first card her store is vandalized. Ethan is the assistant police chief so it's his job to investigate. Being thrown back together renews their friendship, but there is also the spark of something more. Jane finds herself torn between continuing with her plan and trying a more direct approach.


I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I liked both Jane and Ethan and I felt that their story made sense. I could understand why their relationship had been platonic in the past. Ethan was comfortable with the friendship and focused on his career. He had no interest in doing anything that would disrupt his routine. Like most other people, Jane was afraid of rejection. They live in a small town and she knows that if Ethan doesn't return her feelings she won't be able to stand living in such close proximity to him and will have to move. I also understood how a four year separation could cause Ethan to see Jane in a different light, even without the help of the Valentines.

Grade: B

A Whole New Light by Sandra Brown

Cyn McCall is a young widow raising a young son with the help of her mother, who is also widowed. Her husband Tim died suddenly two years ago and now people are telling her that she has grieved long enough needs to be get back into the dating scene, but Cyn doesn't feel ready. She just wants to focus her energies on her son and her career as a counselor for women facing unplanned pregnancies. Aside from her son the only man in her life is her late husband's friend and business partner, Worth Lansing. Worth and Cyn have never seen each other as anything more than friends. Not only were they both loyal to Tim, but when it comes to romance they have nothing in common. Cyn is conservative and concerned with appearances and Tim was her only lover. Worth is a playboy who has never had a serious relationship.

They're both perfectly content with the situation until Worth finds himself with a trip for two to Mexico and no one to join him. Cyn needs a break in her routine so he talks her into going with him, strictly as friends. They're both surprised by the fact that the resort is focused on couples and there's only one bed in the room. The situation creates a new level of awareness between them and they soon become lovers. They then have to decide if they can still be friends.


I've enjoyed many of Sandra Brown's books over the years, but not this one. The fact that this is an older book that was originally published as a category may have contributed to the problems, but I don't think it was a major factor. I simply didn't like any of the characters.

I have sympathy for how difficult it must be to open up to a new relationship after a beloved spouse dies. Still, Cyn was so prissy and difficult that it was hard for me to like her. Her interpretation of Worth's actions after they sleep together the 1st time was pretty much nuts. I can understand how her guilt and insecurity would make her jump to those conclusions but that didn't make it any less annoying.

I also didn't like Cyn's mother, Ladonia. She was pushy and nagged Cyn about her social life, which isn't right. No one, not even a mother, has the right to tell a person how long she should grieve and Ladonia had no respect for that at all. The mother/daughter relationship is often difficult that way so I could probably have let that go, but there was another major issue.

Ladonia has been having a relationship that she deliberately kept secret from Cyn. The secrecy extended to getting Cyn's son not to tell her about outings the couple took him on. When Cyn returns home from Mexico early and finds them together she's understandably shocked, but because she isn't immediately thrilled Ladonia accuses her of being selfish. She goes on to say that she would have told Cyn about the relationship but she couldn't because Cyn has been widowed longer but wouldn't take the initiative to go out and get a man of her own. Ladonia acts as if this reasoning is a show of sensitivity on her part, but when you think about it it's just another criticism of Cyn. Ladonia is basically accusing her of being incapable of being happy for another couple while she is alone. Cyn is a pain in the behind but there's no evidence that she's anywhere near that bad. In fact, it seems that Ladonia is the selfish one. She acted as if she wanted Cyn to begin dating for Cyn's sake, but it seemed that she was at least as interested in being able to enjoy her own relationship without guilt. In spite of all this both Worth and Cyn act like Ladonia is the greatest. Cyn even says that she couldn't possibly have a better mother. I just couldn't see that.

As for Worth, I didn't have much feeling about him positive or negative, except to wonder what in the world he saw in either Cyn or Ladonia. None of that added up to me caring about the HEA at all.


Grade: D

Basic Training by Julie Miller

Marine captain Travis McCormick was badly injured in a training accident more than a year ago. After extensive rehab he still isn't back to his old self and the time is coming when a decision will have to be made about his future with the Corps. After he reinjures his knee by pushing himself too hard his commanding officer orders him to take six weeks of R&R. He returns to his Virginia hometown where he finds his family's worries about him stifling. In order to alleviate their concerns he pretends to agree to have his old friend Tess act as his physiotherapist. However, he makes it clear to her than he neither wants or needs her professional expertise. All he wants is for her to act as his cover story with his father.

Tess has loved Travis for years but he never looked at her as anything more than a buddy. He's not the only one sees Tess as just one of the guys and she has no sexual confidence. This hasn't been a major problem for her because her love for Travis has kept her from being interested in other men. However, at 33 she's starting to worry that she's going to end up the town spinster. Tess knows that Travis really does need a physiotherapist but she also knows that he's too stubborn to accept her help, so she takes his request as an opportunity to make some changes in her life. She agrees to help him with his family if he'll teach her to be more sexually confident. Tess figures that she'll either get his attention or she'll be forced to finally move on and find another man. Either way she'll be better off than she is now.

Travis is surprised, first by his own sudden awareness of Tess' charms and then by her offer, but he's happy to help a friend. Problems start when Travis finds himself jealous of the attention that a newly-confident Tess receives from other men. Now he has to decide what he wants from his future and where Tess will fit into his life.


I think that for a friends to lovers story to work it needs to be clear why the h/h have been strictly platonic in the past and why the situation has changed. I thought that Basic Training answered the first question well enough, but not the second. When Travis first begins to have lustful thoughts about Tess he keeps thinking that she has breasts and that he never noticed them before. He wonders when she developed them. That would make sense if they were fairly young or it had been many years since they had seen each other, but they're 33 and they last saw each other a year ago. I have no idea when Tess developed breasts but I feel confident that it was before she turned 32. So why is Travis suddenly seeing them? The logical assumption would seem to be that his injuries have caused him to see his life in a new light, but that's not the case. No explanation is ever given for his new-found sexual interest in Tess, it simply exists and for me that really doesn't work . I also didn't completely believe some of the decisions that Tess makes.

The love scenes had a nice level of heat and I liked that fact that Tess had a job that you don't see much in books, but ultimately I wasn't able to buy into the transition from just friends to HEA. Since that was the point of the story this ended up being a pretty unsatisfying read.

Grade: C-


Note: I didn't realize this before I started reading, but this is the 2nd of a pair of stories and I haven't read the first book, Major Attraction. There is a subplot in Basic Training that is obviously a carry over. Because I didn't read Major Attraction that subplot was of absolutely no interest to me and was in fact a little annoying. I assume that people who read the first book would feel differently.

2009 TBR Challenge for May: Last Man in Town by Susan Kay Law

May TBR Challenge: Friends to Lovers

Lucas Garrett is the last able-bodied man left in Maple Falls, Minnesota. A series of setbacks shut down most of the businesses in town and the lack of opportunity caused the rest of the men to go west with the Gold Rush. That left the town's women lonely and in need of male attention. Lucas is initially happy to provide it, but he eventually finds himself worn out and looking for a way to take a break from his various "arrangements" without hurting anyone's feelings. To do that he turns to his best friend Priscilla Wentworth and asks her to pretend that the two of them are engaged. Lucas feels confident that this will cause the women to leave him alone because Priscilla is so well loved by the town that no one would ever consider poaching on her territiory.

Pris is tired of being alone so she agrees to the plan on the condition that Lucas helps her find an actual husband. After years of being platonic friends their fake engagement stirs up real feelings but neither one of them is convinced that Lucas has what it takes to commit to anyone, even his oldest friend.



This book was well-written, but I never really warmed up to it. The book opens with Lucas sleeping with half the women in town. Some of them have regular days of the week that they show up to be serviced. That just felt skanky to me and I wasn't able to shake that feeling even though the story goes on to show Lucas to be a kind, caring person.

I was also bothered by Priscilla's relationship with her family. Her father is dead and she lives with her mother and her sister Jeanette. They are described as being close, but that rang false for me for several reasons. My main issue is that both of them become involved with men who were courting Priscilla. Jeanette married Pris' first suitor. She later attempts to seduce Lucas, supposedly to save Priscilla from falling for a man who can't be faithful to her. It was true that she was worried about Pris, but she seemed more worried about her own ego. Jeanette was "the pretty one" in the family she found it unbearable that her husband had run off to the gold fields and left her alone while her sister had the attention of the only eligible man in town. Worse, when Priscilla gets another suitor her mother ends up with him. This struck me as ironic considering Lucas' belief that no one who knew her would be cruel enough to hurt Priscilla by making a move on her man. Obviously this all works out fine, but I still found it more distasteful than charming.

In the end these problems kept me from being able to really invest in the story. As a result it seemed to drag. It felt like it took forever for Lucas and Priscilla to work out their issues. That's too bad because both characters and their relationship had a lot going for them.

Grade: C

I also read three other friends to lovers books this month.


A Whole New Light by Sandra Brown

Basic Training by Julie Miller

Hot Mail by Janice Maynard

2009 TBR Challenge for April: Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair

April TBR Challenge---Urban fantasy, fantasy or SFR


After years of war the United Coalition and the Triad have signed a peace accord and are working together. As a result UC Captain Tasha “Sass” Sebastian finds herself serving under her former nemesis, Admiral Branden Kel-Paten on his ship the Vaxxar. Sass has things in her past that she needs to keep secret and she worries that Kel-Paten will discover them. Fortunately for Sass she has the support of her best friend Dr. Eden Fynnn, who is serving as the Vaxxar's ship's doctor.

Kel-Paten has secrets of his own. He is a biocyb and his implants are supposed to suppress his emotions. In spite of this he has strong feelings for Sass and he has been taking steps to hide them from both Sass and his bosses. He's thrilled to have Sass on his ship because it allows him to spend precious time with her, but it also places him at risk. Eden's skill has a doctor comes partially from her empathic abilities. Kel-Paten may not be able to hide his feelings from her when he's in such close proximity to Sass. If Eden discovers that the implants aren't working she will be duty-bound to report it and that will be the end of Kel-Paten's career and possibly his life.

The situation is further complicated by the capture of rebel Jace Serafino. He not only knows Sass' secrets, but he may also carry information that will split the Alliance and change all their lives.


I really enjoyed this book. The plot was complex enough to hold my attention and avoid being totally predictable without seeming unnecessarily convoluted. More importantly, I enjoyed all the main characters. All four were fleshed out enough to be interesting on their own and their interactions kept me involved with the story. The one thing that didn't really work for me was the psychic cats, but other readers would probably love them and they certainly didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the story.

Grade: A-

Shaken and Stirred by Kathleen O'Reilly

After a bad break up Tessa Hart left Florida to take New York City by storm. Four years later things still aren't going the way she hoped. She's working part-time as a bartender while going to school to become an accountant. Money is tight so she has had a succession of roommates and the latest living arrangement has just fallen apart. Tessa longs to have her own place so that she can feel truly independent, but she just can't afford it. When her friend and boss, Gabe O'Sullivan, offers to let her crash at his apartment until she finds another place Tessa is hesitant to accept. She has never lived with a guy before and Gabe is much too sexy to fit comfortably into the role of platonic roommate. Tessa doesn't have time for men and can't afford to mess things up with the guy who has been her rock since she moved to New York, but she doesn't have any other options. Once she moves in it's only a matter of time before she and Gabe will have to deal with the attraction that's growing between them.


This is the first in the Sexy O'Sullivans trilogy about Gabe and his brothers Daniel and Sean. Gabe certainly lives up to the billing. He's good looking, kind and generous. Unfortunately, he was pretty much the only thing that I liked about the book. I felt that it had two major problems: a weakness in the writing and the character of Tessa.

The writing problem was that there was far too much tell and not enough show. This is a friends to lovers story and I never felt the friendship. There were several conversations about how Tessa and Gabe have been close for four years, but I never saw that closeness in their interactions. For example, Gabe seemed to be totally in the dark about Tessa's control issues. If they're such good friends I would expect him to know something about them.

I could probably have overlooked that, but I couldn't get past my issues with Tessa. I wanted to root for her. I can understand her desire to find herself and stand on her own two feet and I can certainly relate to her wish for a place of her own. However, I ended up feeling like Tessa was an illogical, self-involved mess and instead rooting for her I was just glad that I don't know her.

Where to begin? Tess has so many bad ideas that it's hard to list them all. Who told her that most women have their lives all figured out by the time they're 22? Why did she decide she had to be an accountant? She doesn't like it and she's bad at it. Daniel is an accountant and she sees him every week at the bar, but she's never spoken to him about his work or asked him for any insight or advice.

Then there's her attitude toward having roommates. Living with strangers is difficult and not ideal, but it's not a sign of weakness. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive because I'm living with roommates while going to grad school, but that's the thing. School is expensive and money is not infinite, so students have roommates. Most of them don't love it, but it doesn't make them losers. Where did Tessa get such a fixation on having her own apartment right now as the only way to prove that she can take care of herself?

She has a job that she's good at and she's paying her bills and keeping a roof over her head. She's independent. The fact that she doesn't see that at all was very frustrating. I kept thinking that, like so many heroines in Romancelandia, Tessa desperately needed at least one real girlfriend. Any girlfriend worth the salt on the rim of a nice big margarita would have helped Tessa sort this out long ago. That's what girlfriends are for. She needed to listen to an appropriate country song and get a clue. Instead Gabe is apparently her only friend. Why?

Then there's Tessa's dream apartment. I've never lived in New York City, but I have friends who do and I've lived in other difficult real estate markets. The idea that there is only one apartment building in all of New York where Tessa can live happily is just insane. This made the constant focus on that building a serious annoyance throughout the book.

Those were all trivial problems though compared to her approach to friendship. When you're friends with a guy and then you start sleeping with him it's good if you can remember to treat him as a friend and not some random piece of ass. I understood why she wanted to try to keep the friendship separate from the sex, but fantasy games are only fun if both people want to play. Once Gabe said that the game wasn't fun for him Tessa's insistence on continuing it was not okay. Of course, part of the blame goes to Gabe for rolling over for Tessa against his better judgment, but that lessened my respect for him far more than it excused her. Still, Gabe is an adult and he's responsible for himself so I might have been able to let that go, but there is no way that I could accept her pimping Gabe out in order to get her apartment.

If you're really good platonic friends with someone it might be acceptable to ask him to do you a favor and go out with a real estate agent to help you get your dream apartment. Once you're sleeping with the guy that really doesn't work though and, in my opinion it is never OK to go behind a friend's back to set up something like that. Worse, even after Gabe figures out what she did and tells her that it hurt him she doesn't feel bad about it and she doesn't apologize. She wouldn't do it again, but that's because she decided she wants Gabe for herself, not because she realized that decent people don't pimp out their friends and then lie about it. There is no way I can be OK with that. I also noticed that all the talk about their friendship was about what Gabe had done for Tessa. What did Tessa do for Gabe? A friendship is mutual and I never saw that between these two characters. Instead, Tessa tells Gabe that wanting him makes her feel weak and that he'll just have to suck it up and wait for her, then turns around and uses him for a booty call. I couldn't help but think that if the genders were reversed the attitude toward the situation would have been totally different.

Pimping Gabe out wasn't Tessa's only lapse in ethics. The way she manipulated her first real estate client made it seem to me that as far Tessa is concerned the ends justify the means when it comes to getting what she thinks she needs. That's not a quality that I admire. Being nice to patrons in the bar doesn't exactly make up for that. After all, they're not standing between her and something she wants. As I said, I could understand at least some of why Tessa felt she needed so much control, but she took it too far. In the end I just couldn't see Gabe ending up with her as a good thing, so as a romance this was a failure for me.

There were also a couple of annoying errors that should have been caught in editing. First, there is a reference to an al fresco painting in a building lobby. A fresco is a painting, al fresco means outdoors. Second, there is a point where Tessa is talking to her brother about the fact that her ex is getting married. He expresses surprise that she's not "balling and sniveling." Um, bawling means crying. Balling is a totally different thing. And strictly speaking Tessa actually did spend most of the book balling and sniveling, so that really needed to be corrected.


Grade: D

The next book in the trilogy is Daniel's story. His wife of less than a year was killed on 9/11 and he thinks he lost his only shot at love. This is the kind of story that requires a deft touch and I'm concerned that I won't find Ms. O'Reilly's writing up to the task. I have similar concerns about Sean's story. He comes off in this book as a bit of a skanky man ho and turning him into a worthy hero will take some effort. Still, lots of other people have enjoyed these books and it's possible that the fact that Tessa rubbed me so wrong was an isolated thing. I'll most likely try Sex, Straight Up before making up my mind how I feel about Ms. O'Reilly's writing.