Robin D. Owens – Heart Mate

The first book in the Celta series, published December 2001.
Genre: sci-fi / fantasy romance
Cover: cheesy
Re-read for the third time.



“Today you will meet your HeartMate”. Rand T’Ash’s blood thrummed in his temples as he stared at his Divination Dice…
All his life, Rand T’Ash has looked forward to meeting his HeartMate, with whom he could begin a family. Once a street tough but now a respected nobleman and artisan, he has crafted the perfect HeartGift, which, in the custom of the psychically-gifted population of the planet Celta, is the way a man finds – and attracts – his wife…
Danith Mallow is irresistibly drawn to the magnificent necklace on display in T’Ash’s shop, but she is wary of its creator, despite an overpowering attraction. In a world where everyone is defined by their psychic ability, Danith has little, and thus is at the opposite end of the social spectrum from T’Ash. But T’Ash refuses to accept her rejection, and sees it as a challenge instead. They are HeartMates, but can T’Ash persuade his beloved to accept her destiny by his side?


After losing his parents, his family, and his inheritance at age 6, Rand T’Ash has been lonely his whole life. Escaping the men who murdered his family, he fled into Downwind, and survived. Grown up, he has taken his revenge on the men responsible, and taken up his position as a High Lord again. But he never regained the polish most nobles have effortlessly. He doesn’t know how to behave courtly, and he certainly has no idea how to woo a woman. Let alone the woman destined to be his HeartMate. But destined to be doesn’t mean she has no choice in the matter. She can still refuse him.
Danith grew up in an orphanage, and except from having a large family of her own, all she wanted was to have powerful Flair, but the testing stones never revealed anything. And now this High Lord, this jeweller is pursuing her. Sending her flowers, and jewellery. Well, she will not become his mistress! She has a paramour she is intending to marry already. The brother of her best friend, and he has a family that already loves her. But T’Ash is determined.
He is not allowed to tell her they are HeartMates, or that the necklace she so admires but stubbornly refuses to touch is a HeartGift only she can see and feel. And when it is stolen, he is furious. When his only friend, Holm Holly, is demanding his help in crafting an enchanted blade for his younger brother, calling in a debt of honor, T’Ash has no choice. He cannot go after his mate, nor the stolen necklace. Designing and crafting the blade will cost a lot of time and Flair, and will exhaust him. But he accepts the obligation, and in the meanwhile, a Hunter will track down the thief, who is a Null, and his Familiar, a large and ugly Cat, will track down his HeartMate. He doesn’t even know her name!
But nothing in life has gone easy for T’Ash, and the claiming of his HeartMate is no different. Danith keeps refusing him and his gifts, she wants nothing to do with him. The horror of becoming a GreatLady with all the obligations that entitles, boggles her mind. She has grown accustomed to her own freedom in the past years, to her own Flair-less friends, she doesn’t want to lose that.

But unrest is thrumming through Downwind, and street gangs are causing trouble. Young noble boys and street boys fighting, and when Danith is thrown in the middle of it, T’Ash has no choice but to rescue her. He is afraid of her seeing his troubled past, the darkness inside of him, but he will kill to keep her safe, and he will die to keep her safe. The only thing she wants, he can’t give her. The memories of his past. T’Ash keeps thinking that if only she accepts the HeartMateBond between them, all will be well. He just can’t say the words that he loves her, that she is everything he wants, and needs. And Danith doesn’t want to say the words until he has opened up to her, let her in. In spite of her struggles, she has fallen in love with him. But he also revealed her own powerful Flair, she is an animal healer, a power though lost, and so she rises from a commoner into the nobility overnight. A whole new life awaits her. So why does she need him anymore?


Be warned: gushing review follows.
I loved this book very very much. It reminds me a lot of Jayne Castle’s books of the planet Harmony, which I love. Of course there are differences, but also a lot of similarities. Magical abilities, animals who bond with their humans (though nothing can beat Dustbunny’s!)
But the writing style is different, and of course the worldbuilding. There are social castes, determined by the Old Families who came on the original spaceships, and new Houses based on magical power (Flair). The leading male of a House gets the T’ before the last name, and his lady wife D’. They are still busy settling the planet, honouring some old Earth customs, and adapting the animals and plants they brought with them. Some species really prosper, while others are almost extinct.

I loved T’Ash from the first page. A large dark powerful man, who felt deeply, but couldn’t express that. Guarded and alone, safe for his Fam Zanth. And that Fam certainly is a character on itself. Large, demanding, understanding and interfering. Zanth appeared in the box he was sleeping in one night, almost as big as T’Ash himself, and they have been together ever since. Fighting, surviving together. So of course T’Ash gives him everything he wants, jewellery to play with or give away, and the both of them are extremely fond of chocolate mousse …

And then Danith. She wants a family, she wants to be loved, but in a quiet manner. And the HeartMate thing sure is not a sedate love, but a blazing fire. Bonding with T’Ash would mean a public life, with all the obligations to fulfil. No more quiet private ceremonies, but big ones with all the other First Families in the Church. She certainly doesn’t want to loose her friends. She has a really hard time accepting that T’Ash really wants her, that he believes in them being HeartMates. But she loves Zanth, and when she finds out she is a powerful Flair as well, when T’Ash stirs her own powers alive, her life has already irrevocably changed. So now she has to choose.

A lot of the story is dedicated to T’Ash “courtship” of Danith, but there are also some battles, and interactions with other nobles. Both have not had an easy live, but together they are great.

When I am not feeling well, I allow myself to reread my favourite books and series. And I have to say, reading this for the second time, it is still a great story. I loved it all over again, and got myself lost in the world of Celta. I do recommend it.

9 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

Erin McCarthy – Smart Mouth

The first book in the FBI Agents, Chicago series, published December 1, 2004.
Genre: contemporary romance
Cover: fun



“I’ll leave as soon as you give me what I want.”
In another time and place, that might have a nice ring to it. But standing in a Chicago hotel room with a cub reporter as obstinate as she is hot, FBI-agent Derek Knight knows he has to play it charming. Something like: “By holding on to that evidence, you’re interfering with FBI business, ma’am, and by the way, those long, gorgeous legs of yours would look awfully good wrapped around my …” Sure, losing all sense of professionalism may not help his career, but the off-duty perks would be sensational…
“Yeah, right, you’re an FBI agent. And I can bake a cake from scratch.”
Reese Hampton is not giving up the envelope she found in her rental car – the one with the story that could take her from journalistic Siberia straight to the front page. She’ll just have to outsmart the certifiably insane Fed with the movie-start good looks. Dodge and weave. Distract and bed. No! Bad hormones!, bad! Still, spending time with that unbelievably broad chest up close and personal might just add, um, depth to her story. If only she can let her robe down while keeping her guard up…


Reese Hampton works as a journalist for a very small New York newspaper, one third is sports, one third is obituaries, and one third is gossip. She has been send to Chicago to cover a very important wedding. Without permission from the happy couple or their powerful families of course. After a horrible flight, Reese lands in Chicago and goes to her rental car to seek out her hotel. A strange but very handsome man in a car is checking her out in the parking garage, and she is alarmed when he gets out of his car and follows her to her own! Luckily, she knows how to handle herself, and manages to get in her car and away from him. But he seems to follow her! Driving through red lights, making unsuspected turns, he keeps at her! She is being stalked! So desperately Reese stops her car when he blocks her way, and runs into a deli, screaming for help. Which she gets, the man is wrestled to the floor. Being brought into the back of the shop, she hears his claims to be an FBI agent, sure he said something like that to her before, but she just did not believe him. But when the police come and find him legit, she sees no other choice but to slink out of the back door and go to her hotel.

Derek Knight is not a happy man. His informant has left the evidence he desperately needs for his big case in the wrong rental car, and now this woman thinks he is stalking her and refuses to give him the envelope. But he is FBI and he will get it back. With a bit of charm and some FBI strongarming, he finally gets the rental company to tell him who rented that car and where she was headed, and he follows the gorgeous blonde to her hotel.

Inside her hotel room, Reese notices she is still clutching the envelope the FBI agent was after, and being the nosy reporter she is, she opens it and reads it all. She is over the moon, this story could make her career! Quickly making photocopies from all the papers with her phone, she then stuffs the papers back in the envelope. She will probably have to turn that in… But the knock on her door is not room service, but the handsome FBI agent who was chasing her. He is not happy with her, but that instant attraction between them is hot. Reese tries to bargain with him about the story, but Derek is not interested in that. Still, she knows too much and she could jeopardize his case if she starts poking around on her own.

When Derek finds out which wedding she attending the next day, he agrees to be her date…


Even though I really liked this book, there is not much of a real story. I think 60 to 70 percent of the book is love scenes, and making out scenes. They sure have the hots for each other. First there is a lack of real sex because they don’t have condoms, but after two days, no more limitations. They do understand each other though, and although Reese is more a tomboy than a lady, having grown up with a military father and three older brothers and no mother, she does show compassion for his difficulties. She does not intend to harm his career, but she will have this story. And she knows she can help his case, even though he keeps warning her off.

Derek does have a problem that Reese is only 26, and he is 39, but she does make him feel younger. Then there is the complication of his 24 years young sister moving in with him, and he only having a one bedroom apartment. Still, he doesn’t want to part from Reese just yet, and she cannot keep living in the hotel room after she quit her job.

It was fun, I loved the dialogue and how they started to trust the other, and learn to give in. They also betted a lot, as that was the only thing Reese learned growing up with her brothers, and then cheating. Lots and lots and lots more of sex scenes though. I could have done with a bit less of those, but I will confess that I did not start skipping them either. I am a big fan of Erin McCarthy’s books and her writing style and the characters she creates. They are flawed and fun.

9 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian

Nora Roberts – The winning hand

The ninth book in the MacGregor series, published September 1, 1998.
Genre: contemporary romance
Cover: nice



In one extraordinary moment, Darcy Wallace was transformed from being down-on-her-luck into a millionaire sharing candlelight dinners with Robert MacGregor Blade. Mac was the most seductive man she ever met -- though he certainly wasn't the marrying kind. But Darcy was feeling lucky...So with searching kisses and aching vulnerability, the innocent beauty set about making the stubborn bachelor see that love was the biggest gamble -- and he was going to have to ante up!


Darcy Wallace had run away from her quiet life in a small town in Kansas, to escape a powerful man who did not take no for an answer. Darcy was tired of fighting him, he has caused her to loose her job as a librarian and to be evicted from her apartment. She will not go back to him with a hanging head and marry him and be his obedient puppet for the rest of her life. And so she packed her few possessions in her old car, and left, just going in the direction her car was pointed at.
Her bad luck continues when her purse is stolen, and her car breaks down just a mile outside of Las Vegas. She is hungry and tired and has only $ 9,31 left in her jeans pocket. Darcy has no plans at all, but she just leaves her car, and her suitcase in the boot, and takes the only important things she has with her: her tote bag with her notebooks and manuscripts. Walking in the desert heat is harder than she anticipated, but she just puts one foot in front of the other, vaguely wanting to stop for something to eat or drink but unable to do so. Until she actually reaches Las Vegas, the Strip. Her attention is caught by a huge statue of an Indian outside one of the big casino’s, the Comanche. Mesmerized by the chaos of people and sounds and lights, Darcy ventures inside, where a lot of people are playing slot machines. She doesn’t know anything about gambling, but how hard can it be? She could use her last few dollars for a meal, but one particular machine is calling to her. The Jackpot is $ 1.800.009,31 dollars, that has to be a sign, right? And so in a daze she feeds her last few dollars into the machine and pulls the handle. Upstairs, in the boss’ office, Robert MacGregor Blade is alerted to the strangely forlorn woman playing the Jackpot machine, and goes to check it out. With her last three dollars fed into the machine, Darcy pulls the handle again, watching in a daze as the stars and moons align in a pretty pattern, and the bells start ringing. She has no idea what is happening, but people are congratulating her, and then the statute of the Comanche warrior seems to come alive in front of her eyes, and she faints.

Mac is just in time to catch her, she weighs almost nothing, and he takes her upstairs to one of the luxury suites reserved for high rollers. The small woman in his arms looks exhausted and like she has slept in her clothes for a few days. When Darcy comes to her senses again, she has no idea what has happened to her, and Mac explains it to her. She has won the Jackpot, she is now a very rich woman, even after taxes have been paid, and the press will want to talk to her. Darcy shies away from all the attention, she doesn’t want anyone alerted to her, and have her ex-fiancée find her again. She also has no clue what she should do with all that money, and she agrees with Mac’s suggestion, to just enjoy herself first. Get pampered in the resort’s spa, visit the shops and of course, gamble some more so he can win some back from her.

Mac doesn’t really know what to do with this innocent from Kansas, she will be such an easy prey for all the con artists out there when they find out about her, he is determined to protect her as much as he can. He agrees to keep her name a secret for now, and he will arrange for his own uncle to act as her lawyer. Of course, when his parents get wind of what has happened, they will arrive at the Comanche immediately, and so does his grandfather, the famous MacGregor himself, when he gets a matchmaking idea in his head.



I had such fun time reading this book, I enjoyed every minute of it. Darcy is such a bright character, she enjoys all the new things she is experiencing to the fullest, and I was right there with her. I absolutely loved her joy in the simple things, her innocence, her luck in gambling and how she held her own against Mac. I loved her interaction with his family, how she longed to be loved like they did each other. She grew into her own, finally free of the restrictions of her upbringing, and the expectations of others. She is compassionate, kindhearted and bright. She is a normal woman, not a supermodel, not some incredibly talented or smart woman, just an average person. I related to her, and rooted for her. She took a gamble with her heart, and when Mac pushed her away, for her own good ofcourse, she did not collapse.

My only complaint was that she did not make him grovel enough in the end. This might very well be my favourite MacGregor book. It has been a while since a book was just so much fun to read, and I don’t mean over the top humor and snark, just pleasure.

10 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian

New additions to my addiction

My first new additions post for 2014, and it sure is a lovely list. I had fun exchanging books with Blodeuedd, as she reads so many books I want to try out myself someday. So as soon as she finds a new large box, I hope we can do this again.

From Bookdepository:
Ellery Adams – Pecan pies and homicides
Bella Andre – Let me be the one
Julie Hyzy – Home of the Braised
Jacquelyn Frank – Forsaken
J.J. Cook – Playing with Fire
Maya Banks – After the Storm
Elizabeth Lowell – Dangerous Refuge
Cecy Robson – Cursed by Destiny
Lori Austin – The Lone Warrior
Jenn Bennett – Bitter Spirits
Jayne Ann Krentz – Dream Eyes
Alexis Morgan – More than a Touch

Bookstore sale in Groningen:
Rachel Caine – Last Breath
Anthology – Courts of the Fey

Books traded with Blodeuedd:
Isabel Cooper - Legend of the highland dragon
Tammy Falkner - The magic between us
Tammy Falkner - The magic of I do
Tammy Falkner - A lady and her magic
Zoe Archer - Warrior
Kelly Meding - Three Days to dead
Tracey O'Hara - Night's cold kiss
Mark Henry - Road trip of the living dead
Mary Jo Putney – Sometimes a rogue
Mia Marlowe and Connie Mason – Between a Rake and a hard place
Kristine Grayson – Utterly Charming
Kristine Grayson - Wickedly Charming
Zoe Archer – Skies of Steel
Vicky Lewis Thompson – A werewolf in Manhattan
Jennifer Rardin – One bitten, twice shy
Tessa Dare – One dance with a Duke
Kris Delake – A spy to die for
Michele Bardsley – Never Again
Mary Wine – A lady can never be too curious
Devon Monk – Dead Iron

Secondhand Books:
Jude Deveraux – The Taming. I am very happy with this one, as it completes my Jude Devereaux collection.
Anne and Todd McCaffrey – Dragon Harper
J.R. Ward – Lover Avenged
J.R. Ward – The Black Dagger Brotherhood Insider’s Guide
Katie Reus – Alpha Instinct
Katie Reus – Primal Possession
Stephanie Tyler – Dire Needs
Rachel Caine – Heat Stroke
Heather Graham – Down in New Orleans 2,00
Heather Graham – The Di Medici Bride 1,00
Heather Graham – Angel’s Touch
Heather Graham - Angel of Mercy
Heather Graham – Tender When next we love
Heather Graham – A magical Christmas
Anthology – Destined by Love – Heather Graham e.a.
Carolyn Haines – Them Bones
Anthology – Hot Chocolate
Tanya Huff – Summon the Keeper

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian

Erica Hayes – Cherry Kisses

A Shadowfae novella, published May 23, 2013. Also published in the anthology Hex-Appeal, it is about 55 pages.
Genre: urban fantasy
Cover: intriguing, beautiful colors



Sexy con-artist Lena Falco isn't a witch, not technically. She uses her cache of stolen magic tricks to seduce and bedazzle her marks. When she's hired by a demon to steal a cursed magical amulet from a monstrous tower in Hell, it must be her lucky day.
The prize? A single wish - whatever she wants.
The catch? There's competition: Ethan Benford, swordsman and enchanter, arrogant, maddeningly sexy and the only incorruptible man in town.
Lena's been burnt before by Ethan's easy charm, and she vows he'll meet his match this time. But is ultimate power worth betraying the only man who truly believes in her?


Well, the blurb says most of it, really. Lena gets hired by a demon to retrieve something from Hell. Ethan has been given the same job, so they team up and enter Hell by drinking a very foul potion. There they have to fight their way through countless monsters and such, until they find their prize. Once back home, Ethan tries to convince Lena she should not give their prize to the demon who wants it so badly, but to destroy it. Lena is really attracted to Ethan, she saved his life while risking her own, so what will she choose?


I’ve done it, I have read my first Kindle freebie for my personal reading challenges. The good news for you? It is still a Kindle freebie.
The bad thing for me? My previous short story was also filled with bad things, so I was not really in the mood for this. The story started out fun, with Lena fleecing her vampire mark, but the time in Hell was filled with filth, fighting, monsters and other scary and gross things. I really, really don’t like those things. The ending though, that was good and fun again, and I did not see that coming.

Would I read more? Yes, perhaps I would. I liked Lena, she is different, direct, a con artist who knows she will never reform, nor does she want to. She will always take the easy road. The world building, well, there was not really much room for that, but there are vampires, humans, demons and fae in here, and I like a mixed creature world.

Still, the brutality and gore, nope, I can do without that.

6 stars.



Buy it/get it free from Amazon:
here

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian

Celia Breslin – Vampire Code

A short novella, a prequel to Heaven, published October 5, 2013.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: dark



When a naughty newbie vampire injures Carina, it’s left to her mentor and protector Jonas The Executioner to punish the offender and his maker.
Code Breakers beware.


It is very short, about 21 pages according to Amazon. A vampire princess is hurt by a newby vampire, and the Executioner punishes him for that, and his maker. The woman in question is referred to as the Princess, and she must be protected at all costs. She also doesn’t know, or know anymore, about the vampires existence.


I have won this short story on a blog, otherwise I would not have read it. It is dark, it is very violent. I don’t like the gay sex references, so I won’t be reading the first full length book in the series. I think if you do like gay romance, this might be refreshing but I think it will be darker than most paranormal romances.
The writing style is graphic and direct, and paints an unpleasant but clear picture of what is happening.

No rating as it is too short for that.





Buy from Amazon: here

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian

Lisa Shearin – Magic lost, trouble found

The first book in the Raine Benares series, published May 29, 2007.
Genre: fantasy, with a hint of romance
Cover: nice colors



My name is Raine Benares, I’m a seeker. The people who hire me are usually happy when I find things. But some things are better left unfound.

Raine is a sorceress of moderate powers, from an extended family of smugglers and thieves. With a mix of street smarts and magic spells, she can usually take care of herself. But when her friend Quentin, a not-quite-reformed thief, steals an amulet from the home of a powerful necromancer, Raine finds herself wrapped up in more trouble than she cares for. She likes attention as much as the next girl, but having an army of militant goblins hunting her down is not her idea of a good time. The amulet they’re after holds limitless power, derived from an ancient, soul-stealing stone. And when Raine takes possession of the item, it takes possession of her.
Now her moderate powers are increasing beyond anything she could imagine – but is the resumé enhancement worth her soul?


Raine Benares is supposed to have dinner with her cousin Phaelan, but is instead looking out for her friend / co-worker Quentin. She has no idea why he is attempting a break-in at the house of the most powerful necromancer in town, but she is ready to safe his ass when necessary.
When her cousin finds her in the alley, he is not happy to be in a smelly alley, but immediately ready to help her out. They did not expect the fact that Quentin has no trouble at all with the powerful wards in or outside the house, and that he gets inside at all. Nor did they expect a bunch of goblins to show up wanting the item that Quentin just took from the necromancer’s hidden bedroom… but they will jump in the fray.
Making a Gate inside someone’s heavily warded home takes some of the most powerful and darkest of magics, and the Khrynsani mages don’t hesitate to use that kind of magic. Raine and Phaelan manage to fight them off long enough to escape, especially when some other goblins arrive on the scene and start fighting the temple guards as well.

But Quentin is determined to deliver his price to the man who hired him in the first place, and collect the rest of his fee. Raine cannot talk him out of it, and so they escort him to his destination. She does convince Quentin to give her the amulet while he talks to Stocken though, because he was hired to steal a box, not its contents. Raine wants to find out what the amulet does, before she hands it over to Sarad Nukpana, the head shaman of the Khrynsani, and a lunatic psychopath to booth. He is the trusted advisor of the new goblin King, Sathrik Mal’Salin, and they are bad news.
Quentin agrees to give her the talisman, when he goes inside the warehouse to barter with Stocken. The talisman likes to cling to Raine, and she immediately knows that Quentin is in danger, so Phaelan and Raine follow him inside through a side door, to be met by Sarad Nukpana and more Khrynsani shamans and temple guards inside. Stocken is dead though.
Raine gets her next nasty surprise when Sarad Nukpana knows who she is, and worse, what she is wearing. And he will have the talisman at all costs.

But somebody else is after the talisman as well, and he could be counted among the good guys, a Conclave Guardian. The handsome elf uses songmagic on the goblins, but it doesn’t do much good, and Reine has to do something desperate to keep Sarad Nukpana to conjure up a demon. After that, the three of them flee the ware house to one of Raine’s biggest client’s safehouses. But she knows she won’t be safe until she knows what the talisman is, and how to get rid of it safely. She needs her godfather, Garadin, a retired Conclave Guardian himself, to help her out here.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t know what it does, and they find out the hard way that the talisman does not want to leave Raine’s neck. Lots of people are after the talisman, and she slowly finds out what it is, and what it can do. It cannot fall in the hands of the bad guys, or the world will be a much darker place. Both the Goblin King Sathrik Mal’Salin as his exciled brother Prince Chigaru Mal’Salin are after it, and more importantly, the stone it will lead them to.

With the help of her friends and her new allies, Mychael Eiliesor, the Paladin of the Conclave Guardians, Raine will have to do whatever is needed to keep her friends safe and keep possession of the talisman…


I have had this series on my wishlist since 2007 I guess, but somehow, I never got around to reading them. I bought the first two books in the series about two years ago, and the second two books a year ago. I reorganized my shelves a bit in December, and found all four of them. This time, I put them at the front of the shelves, so perhaps that is why I finally picked this book up. And I am glad I did.
I liked Raine, the heroine, from the start. She is capable, she knows what she can and cannot do, and is not afraid to ask for or accept help. She is also not afraid of commitments I think, although her childhood was without her own parents. She is strong, has a good sense of humor and sarcasm, and protects her friends and family. I like that she is called a sorceress instead of a witch.

I do admit, I have some trouble with all the difficult names in this book. They don’t flow in my head or aloud. I just thought, that the more difficult the name, the badder the character was.
But the story itself is certainly engaging and fantastic and kept me reading. I liked Raine, her cousin, and his attitude. He is some kind of pirate, and proud of it. The Benares family are just scoundrels, they enjoying living on the fence. Raine is thirty and single, but she has no lack of male attention, just not the attention she wants.
There is a goblin lord who wants her, and she certainly is attracted to him as well, and now there is this handsome elven lord and Guardian too. I do see some kind of love triangle in the making in the future, I like both of them.
Then there is the young spellsinger Phiaras who is like a younger brother to Raine. She really wants to keep him out of danger, but he is squarely in the middle of it, because he is so powerful. I liked him, and how he just grew up on the pages.

Raine has some good friends, they are loyal and look out for her, and vice versa. I liked most secondary characters, the worldbuilding is amazing, sometimes a bit overwhelming, but necessary to paint an atmosphere. It is dark at times, but Raine has a good sense of humor when appropriate. She is not shy, but does not flaunt herself either. She can fight and knows when to run.

I will read more of this series soon.

8 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian