You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May 2007.
Goddess of Love by P.C. Cast
Goddess of Love by P.C. Cast is written as a love story, but the themes of friendship and acceptance of oneself, are almost stronger. Within the pages of the book, love conquers all.
Dorreth “Pea” Chamberlaine is tired of men not noticing her. After ‘meeting’ hunky firefighter Griffin DeAngelo for the 3rd time, Pea decides it’s time to change herself from the mousy and forgettable woman she is, to a woman men notice and desire. After buying a book on Releasing the Goddess Within, Pea recites an incantation asking the Goddess of Love, Venus for help.
Venus has been feeling empty and lonely lately and is happy to help Pea, hoping that in doing so, she will find satisfaction and fulfillment for herself within her immortal life. Venus never expects to find that the one thing missing from HER, the Goddess of Love’s life, is in fact LOVE!
As the two women become friends and Venus helps Pea attain the confidence in herself she needs, the two women find that they are in essence, after the same thing; A good man to love, and be loved by.
Griffin DeAngelo does not mean to ignore Pea, but to him, she is forgettable. However, her new friend Venus is certainly a woman he can and does desire. Griffin is immediately attracted to Venus and woos her like a man going to battle, with vigor and determination.
Vulcan, The God of Fire, was curious to find a mortal man willing to take his place in the bowels of Olympus. He was tired of feeling alone, pitied and misunderstood. But, when his curiosity overcame him and he spied on Venus, he discovered the lovely Pea and became attracted not to the outer changes she had wrought, but to the gentle and kind soul within her. The God of Fire decided to wage a battle of his own; to claim the sweet Pea for himself.
And what happens when a mortal man falls in love with a Goddess and a mortal woman discovers her soul mate is a God? Can there be a Happily Ever After for the two couples?
Goddess of Love is an unusual romance as there are really two romances written within one book. A regular romance tells the story of a hero and heroine, but with Goddess of Love, Pea and Venus are the main characters and their hero’s are the secondary characters. I found the book to be delightful with many “hot” love scenes (no pun intended as the God of Fire, Vulcan is one of the Hero’s!) and a lovely story of friendship, understanding and acceptance
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris was an action packed look into another installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series. As usual Charlaine Harris grabs you from the first and doesn’t let go until the last page. And, in this instance leaving the reader exhausted and wowed!
In All Together Dead Sookie is hired by the Queen of Louisiana to attend the Vampire Summit. As the only witness to the massacre in the last book, Sookie is there not only to be the Queen’s ’spy’, she is also there to testify about the King of Arkansas murder. Before the Summit even begins Sookie must contend with her brother’s sudden marriage and her disbelief whether he or his bride will keep their vows. Sookie is also warned by several of her friends, before leaving, that by aligning herself with the vampires, she may encounter serious problems. But, Sookie is determined to attend, not only to earn her fee, but to prove to herself the sense of unease she has is unfounded.
At the Summit Sookie encounters many ways her gift can be used and as the murder and mayhem mount. With the help of Barry the Bellboy, he and Sookie uncover a plot that will prove to be catastrophic to the Vampires.
There is alot of information packed within the pages and Sookie has a very undecided future as the book ends. Will her relationship with Quinn, the Were-Tiger, continue? Or will the newly forced bond with Eric lead he and Sookie together? There are many ways in which Sookies future will travel. But, the one constant is Sookie and her determination to retain her humanness.
The Vision by Heather Graham
The Vision by Heather Graham is a decidedly spooky look at under Sea Salvage Diving. Involving a beautiful ghost and her watery grave, not to mention Pirates!
Genevieve “Gen” Wallace has lived in the Florida Keys her whole life and been salvage diving for over a decade. But, she never excpected the body she found while searching for a ship wreck, to actually SPEAK to her. When she reports the body, it can’t be found and everyone on her salvage team thinks she is imagining things, until a body is actually discovered. Gen is reluctant to tell anyone that the body found, is not the body she had seen under water. Dealing with nightmares that leave her soaked in seawater adds to her fears.
Thor Thompson, another diver on the team, is afraid that Gen is losing her mind, therefore affecting the search for the shipwreck. Although he can’t help being attracted to her, he is unwilling to believe she is seeing ghosts. After Gen tells him the body found is not the body she had seen, he suspects a serial killer is on the prowl, using the ocean as a watery graveyard.
Gen and Thor begin a relationship among the turbulent waters of the ocean as they try to find the identity of the Ghost only Gen can see. Is the Ghost seeking help? Or is she seeking to help find the murderer leaving his victims in their watery graves?
The Vision is a scary look at what lies on the ocean floor, underneath the waters of the Florida Keys. I can almost guarantee you’ll never look at the Ocean the same again.
Haunted by Heather Graham
Haunted by Heather Graham was a great book filled with mysticism, mystery and romance. The characters were likable, the mystery intriguing, and the introduction of the Ghost chilling.
Sheriff Matt Stone knows he has to do something about the Ghost haunting the Lee Room in his ancestral home, Melody House, when the Bride spending her wedding night there runs screaming stark naked away from the room. He calls an old friend, Adam Harrison of Harrison INvestigations, to find the truth behind the haunting, whether it be by human hand, or not.
Darcy Tremayne is one of Adam’s best investigators. Sometimes all it takes is research to find the identity of the Ghost, human or real, and other times her special ‘gift’ is needed. The mystery of the haunting at Melody House is the most difficult she has ever faced, and someone doesn’t want her solving it; accident after accident seems to befall Darcy as she searches for the identity of the Ghost.
As Darcy and Matt race to solve the mystery at Melody House, they become involved. But, will Matt’s unwillingness to believe in Darcy’s gift lead to discord ir end the relationship before it has a chance for fulfillment?
Heather Graham does a wonderful job of peppering the mystery with suspects and misleading the reader until the very last. A fantastic read for those who don’t mind sleeping with the lights on!
The River Knows by Amanda Quick is a traditional historical in the pattern that had become familiar to readers of Amanda Quick.
A Year ago Joanna Barclay murdered Lord Gavin and appeared to commit suicide by throwing herself into the Thames. That night Louisa Bryce was “born” and she is searching for justice for those taken advantage of by those in Society. She is a journalist for a Sensation! paper as I.M Phantom; uncovering double-dealing, blackmail and now, murder. She meets Anthony Stalbridge the night they are both trying to glean information in the back hallway of Elwin Hastings home. At first she suspects Stalbridge of being a thief, but soon learns that he too, is after justice, for his dead Fiance`.
Anthony Stalbridge feels guilt over the thought that in some way he is responsible for his Fiance`, Fiona’s, death a year earlier in a supposed drowning suicide. He finds proof that it was actually murder in Hastings safe. But, he needs more than one piece of evidence to learn the truth and punish Hastings. Luckily he has met Louisa Bryce, a most unusual woman, who shares his suspicions of Hastings dealings.
As they team up to solve the cause of Fiona’s death, Anthony and Louisa are also learning to deal with each others secrets. Will solving the mysteries of the past help them to look toward the future?
To the reader watching their relationship grow is a pleasure. The only complain this reader had, is the relationship between Louisa and Anthony seemed to lack a spark of passion. However, their love did grow in a secretive and intuitive manner. All in all, a good read!
The Dead Room by Heather Graham is a compelling story of murder and a love that transcends death.
Leslie MacIntyre, an Archeologist, barely survived the explosion that killed her fiance and left her with a unigue gift. A year later, she’s back at the site of the explosion to work at a dig site near where her world was torn apart. She’s hoping her “special sense” with finding bodies while seeing their ghosts will help her contact her dead fiance. And she does, but only in her dreams. Matt warns her of danger in her dreams, and leaves Leslie with a yearning for their love together. Matt is grateful that his cousin, Joe Connelly is there to protect her, when he can’t.
Joe Connelly is a Private Investigator hired by the Aunt of a missing woman, who vanished one night, like many other women over the past year. When he meets Leslie he is attracted, but tries to keep his distance, because she was his cousins fiancee and he knows she’s not ready to move on. However, she does want to help him with his investigation and if it means spending time with her, he’s more than willing let her.
Now they are racing to find the missing girl before she is killed and Joe has a suspicion the explosion a year earlier, that killed Matt, was meant for Leslie. Can he keep her safe?
The Dead Room was book that was hard to put down. However, if you are looking for a traditional HEA, be warned, this book packs an emotional punch in the end, that is most unexpected.
