Laura Childs – Steeped in Evil

Book 15 in the Tea Shop Mysteries series, published March 4, 2014.
Genre: cozy mystery with recipes
Cover: gorgeous



Theodosia Browning has never considered herself a wine connoisseur - tea has always been well, her cup of tea. But that doesn't mean she's going to pass up an invitation to a fancy wine-tasting party at the upscale Knighthall Winery, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina.
Unfortunately, a sweet evening takes on a bitter aftertaste when a dead body is discovered in one of the wine barrels. The son of proprietor Jordan Knight has been murdered.
Dissatisfied with the police investigation, Knight turns to Theo for help. She's heard through the grapevine that there are both family and business problems at Knighthall. They say in vino veritas, but everyone at the winery seems to be lying through their teeth. Sorting through the guest list as well as family and staff, Theo has her pick of suspects. It may look like the killer has her over a barrel, but cracking tough cases is vintage Theodosia Browning.


I’ve been reading this series since the first book appeared in 2001, drawn to the beautiful cover. The covers are all gorgeous and inviting, and the mysteries are good and difficult to figure out ahead of time, and I love all of them. This is book 15, and I am still not bored with Theodosia and the secondary characters in this book.

There is Hailey, the pastry chef of The Indigo Teashop, who creates little delicious miracles every day, using fresh ingredients and tea in her sandwiches. And Drayton, the master tea blender, an elegant elderly gentleman complete with bow tie, who knows everything there is to know about tea. He loves to share his knowledge, and he is a favourite of their clients. Delaine Dish is a neighbour, who owns a very upscale clothing store. She is always after Theodosia to buy something new, and “volunteer” her services at the next charity she is championing. Delaine has great fashion sense, but a louse taste in men as she always seems to fall for the bad guy in the story. So yes, her being interested in a new man, immediately turns him into a suspect in my eyes.

Theodosia has lots of friends and acquaintances who keep appearing in the series, and she has had a few love interests over the years as well. Most of them have died though, or moved away from Charleston. I am not a fan of her current one though, as he doesn’t like her snooping around at all. I want my heroine to be encouraged and backed up by the man in her live, not held back. I want her to be able to share her investigation with him, and not having to lie about it, keeping her actions hidden.

The current mystery at the winery was not an easy one to solve. So many possibilities to choose from. The almost ex-wife who inherits the son’s shares, so she gains control over the winery. Perhaps his drugs supplier, or the friend who is driving around in his expensive Porsche. A rival winery owner, or the next door golf course, who both want to buy the land the winery is on. The grief stricken father seems to be the only one who wants the true killer to be found, and even he is lying to Theodosia.


A great addition to the series, and a good mystery I had trouble figuring out. But I had fun reading it, and I could picture myself walking through Charleston with Theodosia and her beloved dog Earl Grey. Laura Childs is an expert in describing the atmosphere, the plants, the houses, the people, everything. I wish I could visit the Indigo Tea Shop myself, and sample everything.

10 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian

Suzanne Enoch – Rogue with a Brogue

The second book in the Scandalous Highlander series, published July 29, 2014.
Genre: historical romance
Cover: I like the big one, it is different, but my book has the small red cover.



A ROGUE FOR EVERY LADY
Stuck in a Mayfair ballroom thanks to his lovestruck brother, Arran MacLawry wants nothing but a bit of distraction from an arranged betrothal - and a clever auburn-haired lass in a vixen's mask promises just that...until he discovers that she's the granddaughter of the Campbell, chief of clan MacLawry's longtime rival. Despite their families' grudging truce, falling for fiery Mary Campbell is a notion too outlandish even for this Highlander...
THE THRILL OF THE FORBIDDEN
Raised on tales of savage MacLawrys, Mary is stunned to realize the impressively strapping man in the fox's mask is one of them. Surely the enemy shouldn't have such a broad chest, and such a seductive brogue? Not that her curiosity matters - any dalliance between them is strictly forbidden, and she's promised to another. But with the crackling spark between them ready to ignite, love is worth every risk...


While his older brother, Ranulf, Marquis of Glengask and Laird of Clan MacLawry, is marrying an English lady for love, it is expected of Arran, his younger brother, to marry for the good of the clan. But Arran doesn’t want to marry Deirdre Stewart, as she will bore him to death within a week, and certainly not after he has met Mary Campbell. Of course she is forbidden to him, as their clans have been feuding for centuries, but they are drawn together nonetheless. And when they are caught in the garden, and Mary is send back home in disgrace, forced to marry her sadistic cousin, Arran is sent back home to Scotland.
But Arran can’t just let her go, and he meets up with her in the inn they stop to change the horses. And Mary is very willing to let him abduct her and her maid, for propriety sake. They will travel to her grandfather, the Laird of the Stewarts, and ask him for his blessing.

And so, pursued by Mary’s father and family, and by Arran’s brother and clan members, they travel the back ways of England together. But Mary’s maid is doing everything she can to hinder them, sending notes with information back to her father, until she is caught.
Mary’s estranged aunt comes to their rescue when their coach breaks down nearby and Arran is hurt. Expelled from the clan when she wanted to marry an Irishman, she lives quietly in Devon, but even now her brother (Mary’s father) keeps hurting her, destroying her house trying to find the fleeing couple.


I really enjoyed this story, you might think it a typical trope, lovers running away to Gretna Green to be married, but it is not. It takes a while before Mary and Arran become lovers, but during their journey they really get to know each other. The coachman and Arran’s valet are great secondary characters, adding their input to the story as well.
The cousin Mary is supposed to marry, is vile indeed, and I don’t blame Mary for fleeing this match.

I also loved how they are prepared to make a new life for themselves in America, if their families keep opposing their match and making life difficult for them. They were not starry-eyed, believing once they are wed everything will be fine.

A very good historical romance and I truly enjoyed it. Mary is gently raised in England instead of Scotland, due to the dangers other clans would be to her, but she is not afraid to be on her own, and to follow her heart. She also stands up to Arran, like going dancing at a village assembly when they are staying in a small inn. I admired her for that, and it was fun to read of course.

9 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian

New additions to my addiction

My seventh new additions post for 2015. Another lovely long list, especially thanks to Blodeuedd! No, this is not the promised special addition, this is just the one I forgot to post last month! I am still working on the Special Edition.

From Bookdepository:
Julie Hyzy – Grace cries Uncle
Christine Feehan Earth Bound

Second hand books:
Jennifer Estep – Black Widow
Rob Thurman – Trick of the Light
Rob Thurman – The grimrose path
Holly Black – Red Glove
Clive Cussler – Fire Ice
Clive Cussler – Pacific Vortex!
Clive Cussler – Atlantis Found

Traded with Blodeuedd for new books:

Donna Alward – The house on Blackberry Hill
Anna Campbell – Captive of Sin
Anna Campbell – Seven nights in a Rogue’s Bed
Kate Cross – Heart of Brass
Shirley Damsgaard – Witch Way to Murder
Tessa Dare – Twice tempted by a rogue
Alexandra Hawkins – After dark with a scoundrel
Jennifer Haymore – A touch of scandal
Virginia Kantra – Carolina Home
Virginia Kantra – Sea Witch
Tonya Kappes – A ghostly grave
Tonya Kappes – A ghostly undertaking
Deirdre Martin – Icebreaker
Deirdre Martin – Straight Up
Delilah Marvelle – Prelude to a Scandal
Vicki Pettersson – The scent of shadows
Devyn Quinn – Siren’s Surrender
Caris Roane – Burning Skies
Sheila Roberts – The snow globe
Jessa Slade – Seduced by Shadows
Dianne Sylvan – Queen of Shadows

For review:
Erin McCarthy – Back to Basics
Erin McCarthy – You make me

Won at Paranormal Haven blog:
Laurell K. Hamilton – Dead Ice

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian

Jennifer Ashley – The madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie

The first book in the Mackenzies / Highland Pleasures series, published May 30, 2009.
Genre: historical romance
Cover: My cover is very different, pretty blue and not so sexy as this one.
Read for the second time.



It was whispered all through London Society that Ian Mackenzie was mad, that he'd spent his youth in an asylum, and was not to be trusted-especially with a lady. Any woman caught in his presence was immediately ruined. Yet Beth found herself inexorably drawn to the Scottish lord whose hint of a brogue wrapped around her like silk and whose touch could draw her into a world of ecstasy. Despite his decadence and his intimidating intelligence, she could see that he needed help- her help. Because suddenly the only thing that made sense to her was...the madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie.


I have first read this book before I started blogging, so I still had to write the review. I was afraid to re-read it, fearing that I would not love it as much as the first time I read it. I was blown away by it then, perhaps my first book with a seriously flawed hero. Because Lord Ian Mackenzie is not mad, but he does have mental problems. He is autistic and a genius but he can’t function in a crowd and can become lost in the looks of something and he can’t stand to be in little enclosed spaces, like a train.

Ian collects porcelein, but only bowls. And he is in the middle of a purchase, when the seller Sir Lyndon Mather, boasts about going to marry a rich widow for her money. He is a depraved men, and Ian wants to know about the woman, if she is as pure as porcelain, or a fake. And so he sets his valet Curry out to find out what he can about the woman, while he will meet her and Mather at the Covent Garden Opera later that evening.
When Ian meets Beth, he wants to bed her, and to his own surprise, he proposes marriage to her, telling her that Mather is not a fit husband at all, ready to show her the proof of that if necessary. Beth is flattered and shocked, but declines his offer of marriage. Instead, she will go to France and learn how to paint, something she always wanted to. She is a rich widow and she doesn’t really need another husband.

In Paris she becomes acquinted with Lord Mac Mackenzie, Ian’s brother, and his estrange wife Lady Isabella. Isabella takes her under her wing, and shows her Paris, while Mac promises her some lessons in painting. But Ian follows her to Paris, determined to win her and protect her from gossip.

Years ago, there was a scandal. Their brother Hart, the Duke of Kilmorgan, had his own house of ill repute, kept by his long time mistress. One of the girls tried to blackmail him, and she was killed, with both Hart and Ian as suspects. The Inspector in charge has been trying to pin one of them for the crime ever since, and now a second whore has been found murdered. And Ian visited her before he left for Paris. Inspector Fellows is hot on his trail, intend to protect Beth from his clutches, to get her away from those evil rich Mackenzies.

After marrying Ian in a rush, so she can’t be forced to testify against him, she is hurried back to Scotland, where she meets Hart. Beth is determined to find out who the real killer is, as both brothers seem to think the other did it, and are protecting each other. So the real killer has gotten away with it all those years. Ian doesn’t want her involved at all, but Beth is stubborn, and even at risk to herself, she will find the truth.


A great historical romance, and as I wrote before, a very real flawed hero. And I fell for him just as hard as the first time. He was raised by a bully of a father, who put him in the asylum and condoned his son to be tortured and punished as his doctors wanted. As soon as his brother Hart became the Duke, he got Ian out, but he still had no idea how to interact with Ian, except using him in his business deals and such. Because he is amazing with contracts and numbers.

It takes Beth’s’ gentle hands to make his family see the real Ian, and she knows intuitively how to handle him. Even though he tells her doesn’t know what love is, and won’t ever be able to love her, she is confident he will. He might just want her for sex for now, and she is very fine with that as Ian is a great lover, but she knows he loves her as well.

I am glad I re-read this book, and I think the other books in the series will be re-read again soon.

9 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian

Heather Graham – Deadly Gift

The third book in the Flynn Brothers Trilogy series, published December 1, 2008.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: beautiful but creepy



An outsider in a world of extraordinary wealth, Caer Donahue must learn who can be trusted … and who should be feared.

Caer is spending this Christmas among strangers. Brought to Newport, Rhode Island, from her native Ireland to nurse ailing millionaire Sean O'Riley, she's living a life few can imagine. But money can't hide the tension between O'Riley's trophy wife, his paranoid daughter, the eccentric aunt in the attic and the staff members who run the house.
When O'Riley's business partner goes missing, family friend Zach Flynn arrives. Determined to help him solve the case, Caer becomes enmeshed in a mystery that weaves together the sins of the past with one family's destiny… and a spirit that watches the mansion, possessing a deadly gift.


I have been reading Heather Graham in small doses for a while, as the books all had the same feeling to them, and they were almost too scary for me. I am very happy that this one is different. Okay, the hero still doesn’t believe in the paranormal world, but this time it is not a woman who just came into her psychic gifts and has to deal with it on her own.


Caer is different, and she knows it. She has a mission: protect Sean O’Riley from his murderer, as it is not his time yet. Evil has killed his business partner Eddie, as they are greedy for their fortune and secrets, and now they are after Sean. But Sean has his daughter and his friend Zach Flynn looking out for him as well.
Together Zach and Caer try to discover the identity of the killer, while the attraction between them gets hotter and hotter. Zach doesn’t trust Caer at all, but he knows she is not the killer, or she would have been successful in the hospital back in Ireland, instead of nursing and guarding him so well.

But when things turn deadly, and creepy, with more and more crows gathering on the estate, they will have to trust each other.


I really don’t want to spoil anything about this story, and why it was so different from the rest, but it was awesome and although very creepy and sad at times, I loved every page. A very original twist and I would certainly not mind more of this.
I loved Caer and I felt for her, when she was longing for those things she never she could never have. And Flynn was a typical Heather Graham hero: though and strong and he has seen enough bad things to last him a lifetime, and he still does not believe in anything paranormal. I am not sure if he changed his mind in the end of the book or not.

Lots of secondary characters to sort out who the evil one is, but the old aunt certainly brought some relief and love to the story. And sadness. And strangeness.

If you like old Irish legends, you might guess something about this plot though.

10 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian

Recommendations from Freya for July 2015.

In order to bring some more variety to my blog, I have asked some of my bookish friends to tell about the books they have in the past month, and to give us a recommendation. Today’s post is made by Freya from Holland.

Last month I’ve read four new books:
Ilona Andrews, Sweep in peace; Thea Harrison, Midnight's kiss; Kelly Hunter, Wish and - Jayne Ann Krentz, Wildest hearts. I also reread a Amanda Quick book, Deception. And lastly I’ve reread the first five books of the in Death books by J.D. Robb.

After reading some hot books the month before last, I was in the mood for some more mellow books. I’ve read two books by JAK in her two guises. One was a reread the other (Wildest hearts) after I read her newsletter, where it was mentioned. I couldn’t remember the storyline and found out I hadn’t read it before. It was a classic JAK, with a cool hero and a spiritual heroine. Liked it very much.
The other new books were also good. Thea Harrison’s a started somewhat slow for me but was a great read as it progressed. Wish was a lovely story with some great side characters.

But the book I want to recommend is Sweep in Peace, a blog serial by Ilona Andrews.



I’ve read Clean Sweep when it came out as a full-fledged novel. When Ilona and Andrew posted the start of the sequel on their blog I was very excited. I loved the first book and was very pleased to get a start on the second. But it took a while to be fully written and posted. It started march 2014 and the 7th of June, this year, it was finally finished. That’s why I copied and pasted the text in Word and waited until it was complete.

The storyline is that Dina, the Innkeeper of Gertrude, a sentient Inn, hosts a very important summit of the warring parties on Nexus, a planet with some rare natural wealth. These parties have been fighting for twenty years and nobody is winning. This summit is a big gamble for the arbiter and Dina. If they succeed a bloody, soulcrushing war will be over and the Inn will greatly enhance its reputation. Something Dina needs to attract more guests and hopefully find someone who knows where her parents disappeared to. But if they fail the Inn will probably be another casualty of that war.

I started reading again and couldn’t put it down. It was beautiful, with strong emotions but also a couple of laughs. I got to see familiar faces again and some new ones. The stakes were very high, but Dina is up to it. There are some characters that I loved to hate. They also appear in her Edge series, that I haven’t read, but will someday soon.

It’s still on her website, free to read until it goes to a professional editor and will be made into official ebook and paperback. I urge you to read it, but only if you read the first installment. I’m hoping for book three, but that will take a while.



Aurian: Thanks for the recommendation Freya! I have also read and loved this book (still have to write my own review!) and I do endorse your recommendation. It is unique and fun.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian

Candis Terry – Second Chance at the Sugar Shack

The first book in the Sugar Shack series, published July 19, 2011.
Genre: contemporary romance with a ghost
Cover: how can you refuse to buy this one?


Kate Silver's back in town, and her dead mother just won't leave her alone.
Kate usually spends her days dressing Hollywood A-listers, but after her estranged mother dies she finds herself elbow-deep in flour in her parents' bakery . . . in Deer Lick, Montana. She thought she'd left small-town life far, far behind, but it seems there are a few loose ends.
The boy she once loved, Deputy Matt Ryan, is single and sexy and still has a thing for her . . . and handcuffs.
Her mother, who won't follow the white light, is determined to give maternal advice from beyond the grave.
And somehow Kate's three-day stay has, well . . . extended. She never planned to fill her mother's pie-baking shoes - she prefers her Choos, thank you very much. But with the help of a certain man in uniform, Kate quickly learns that sometimes second chances are all the more sweet.


When her mother dies, Kate has to go back home of course, for the funeral. Her sister is a very successful lawyer, working on a big case, and her brother is a famous baseball star. So when the funeral is over, Kate is voted to stay at home to help their father deal with the bakery shop and his wife’s death. After all, dressing famous people is not as important as their own jobs. It doesn’t matter that Kate has build a successful business on her own, making just as much money as they do, that stars need her advice, and that you are only as successful as your latest star … and right at this moment, Kate has a star with a horrible taste and no inclination to listen to her, or her very capable assistant.

Kate and her mother never saw eye to eye, with her mother always telling her she was no good. She also hated working in the bakery, as she was not allowed to try anything of her own, but had to follow her mother’s recipes to the letter.
But now she has to stay for a few weeks, at the most, and with her father gone fishing, she can do what she wants with bakery. Including a makeover. It certainly has faded and is outdated. But that still is not enough to keep her busy mind occupied. While interviewing for helpers, she learns that many local girls can’t afford a pretty gown for their senior ball, and as she has lots of fancy clothes in storage, and of course knows all the starts and designers, she starts a second hand fashion store as well.

Her old boyfriend Matt Ryan wants to run for sheriff in the next election, and for that, he needs to be married. But no matter how much he wants Katie in his bed, she is not fit to be his wife. After all, she ran off just when he was about to propose to her. He needs someone solid, someone who will stay. And Katie will go back to Hollywood as soon as she can leave again.

Or will she? Her new recipes and her cake decorations are a huge success, and she enjoys being part of the community like she never was before. Her mother was much loved by everyone. In fact, her mother never left. Every time she drivers her mothers big old car around town, she pops in the back seat to give her some unwanted advice, and to try to make things up with Katie. Telling her things she never did before and being genuinely sorry for what she said that made Katie run away.


I had read reviews about Candis Terry books before, and with this adorable cover, I could not resist picking it up. And I enjoyed it a lot. I like Candis’ writing style and her sense of humor. I also liked Kate from the first page, and I could understand her trouble with her mother. She dearly loves her father, but he defers to his wife in everything. Matt was running hot and cold though, and he irritated me a bit at first, but I understood his doubts about Kate and he came through in the end.
And of course the cute puppy Kate rescued plays a part. I liked the ghostly mother, giving advice, and wanting to see her children happily married, and finally giving her grand children. She is not done yet!

I sure want to read more books in this series.

8 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian