Review: The Black Duke’s Prize by Suzanne Enoch
March 18, 2012
Filed under Book Review
Tags: book review, clean fiction, deceased parents, four-quills, novella, Reading, Regency romance, Romance novels, suzanne enoch, sweet romance
Title: The Black Duke’s Prize
Author: Suzanne Enoch
Publisher: NYLA
Format: E-book ($2.99)
Length: novella
Release Date: November 23, 2011
Genre: Romance – Regency
Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble
Summary: The Black Duke is a man with a temper who strikes fear in everyone who knows him. He does what he wants and pity the fool who gets in his way. In spite of his bad humor, he does have a close circle of friends who seem to tolerate him. A group of friends who take under their wing one Katherine Ralston, a young lady of considerable strong will herself — and the only one, it seems, who can put the Black Duke in his place and live to tell about it.
Katherine is the heiress to her deceased parents’ estate, but her uncle is in control of it until she comes of age. He sends her away to London for a Season to live with her godparents, while he secretly sells her inheritance off piece by piece. She suspects his motives and is determined to keep her property. But her plans are thwarted by her own godfather and the Black Duke himself…or so she believes. And in spite of her connection to her inheritance, she will have to choose between that and rescuing the man she loves.
Review: This is a well-written and clean romance novella. It was a quick read and sucked me in to the story line immediately. The plot was well-developed throughout. And the characters were both strong. Their evenly matched tempers made the tension mount steadily, which developed the relationship between them as well as set up the climax of the story. My least favorite thing about it was the double-antagonists, which is less a reflection on the writing and more a reflection of me as reader. I can only take so much confrontation. 
Recommendation: What’s not to like? Great writing. Strong characters. Clean romance. Suspenseful twists and surprises. It’s easy to see why The Black Duke’s Prize has been a top-seller for such a long time. A very enjoyable read. I give this book four quills:
Review: Shawnee’s Creek by Stephy Smith
March 9, 2012
Filed under Book Review
Tags: Astraea Press, book-review, contemporary, contemporary-romance, novella, Reading, Romance novels, Stephy Smith, three quills, western, western romance
Title: Shawnee’s Creek
Author: Stephy Smith
Publisher: Astraea Press
Format: ebook ($1.99)
Pages: @77 pages
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Genre: Romance – Contemporary/Western
Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Astraea Press, Smashwords
Summary: Shawnee and Cheyenne Turner have endured their fair share of suffering, but now their lives are finally on the right track: brand new jobs they love and intriguing new men in their lives. And while Cheyenne seems to change from her previous depression almost overnight, Shawnee struggles to accept the affection of Emory Creek. Though she is magnetically drawn to him, she is apprehensive about rumors of his past and inability to commit.
Finally unable to stand the situation no longer, she leaves town and finds a new job in Colorado. But when the owner of that ranch sells out, she has no other recourse but to return to her home town and take her old job back. And Emory is there waiting for her, eager to prove that she is the only woman for him.
Review: This book starts out really strong, involving the reader immediately in the lives of the main characters. Can’t help but want to keep reading, and there are many powerful and amazing scenes in this story. There were several places I wanted to read again and again. The frustrating part for me was the gaps left in the plot line. Stuff that helps to develop the relationship between the characters. I was so sucked in the beginning, I felt a little disappointed when it seemed I was missing out on key points.
Recommendation: I realize it’s a novella, and so there isn’t as much room for expanding all the details, but with a story this good, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to add those in and make it into a full length novel. I want to know what I missed! For this reason, I give three quills to Shawnee’s Creek:
I do like Stephy Smith’s style and would happily read more of her books. The uniquely Texas ranch flavor is a great trademark!
Review: Aegean Intrigue by Patricia Kiyono
March 1, 2012
Filed under Book Review
Tags: Aegean Intrigue, Astraea Press, book review, clean fiction, contemporary-romance, four-quills, good book, Mystery, novella, Patricia Kiyono, Reading, Romance novels, sweet romance
Title: Aegean Intrigue
Author: Patricia Kiyono
Publisher: Astraea Press
Format: E-book ($1.99)
Pages: ? (Short story/Novella)
Release Date: February 1, 2012
Genre: Romance – Mystery
Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Astraea Press, Smashwords
Summary: Francie Vasileiou is a graduate student working on her PhD in archaeology in beautiful, culture-rich Greece. Raised by a famous archaeologist father and a famous actress mother, her life was anything but average. In spite of her mother’s plans for her future, she chose a life as an archaeologist– her true passion. Unfortunately, on every dig she is involved with, priceless artifacts have disappeared without explanation, leaving a dark cloud of suspicion on her integrity.
Enter Alex Leonidis, a tall handsome private investigator, hired by a wealthy man with interests in the latest dig site. His objective: to observe Francie closely in order to prove her involvement in the missing artifacts. His plan: to go undercover as a Project Director of the dig site. Alex observed her closely all right — drawn inexplicably to her beauty, her passion and her work ethic. He has a difficult time keeping his mind on his primary objective.
But artifacts are still disappearing. Is Francie the culprit? Or is it one of the other crew members — the old, absent-minded professor, the seemingly inept newbie who is always checking his phone, the crew cook? And what will happen when she finds out he’s been lying to her about who he really is?
Review: This story is one of those whose plot is so engaging you are drawn immediately in. It’s difficult not to want more when it’s so good but it ends so soon. As a short story, it can’t be judged by the same criteria as a full-length novel (though a longer format would have given the room to flesh out all the details of this amazing story).
I would have liked to see more development in the relationship between the two main characters, as most of it is brought about through the internal dialogue of the respective character and not as much through their interaction with one another. But overall, a very enjoyable read. As it is, there is romance, mystery, twists and turns, betrayal, reconciliation, and much more. It’s incredible how the author can pack so much into this story.
Recommendation: This a great book for an afternoon or evening read. You can read it in one sitting, and it keeps you intrigued from start to finish. I give Aegean Intrigue four quills.
I have The Legacy waiting on my Kindle to read. And I also recommend The Christmas Phoenix — a great Christmas novella.
Review: The Hidden Heiress by Juliet Moore
February 16, 2012
Filed under Book Review
Tags: Amazon Digital Services, book-review, Juliet Moore, Mystery, novella, Reading, Romance novels, three quills, victorian-romance
Title: The Hidden Heiress
Author: Juliet Moore
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services?
Format: Kindle ($.99 on Amazon)
Pages: ? (It says 70,000 words, but it is actually a lot shorter – novella length)
Release Date: October/November 2011
Genre: Romance – Victorian/Historical
Available at: Amazon
Summary: When Isabel Darton finds herself on the business end of a murder plot, she goes into hiding as a governess for a wealthy family in London until she can determine who is trying to assassinate her.
Her new employers have a difficult daughter who has run off all the previous governesses. As a servant of the family, Isabel soon finds that a life of servitude isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Her employers see only her lower station, even though they are forced to include her in some of their social events to avoid unlucky numbers.
Marshall Templeton is a second son, the brother of Isabel’s employer, with a promising political career. As a member of Parliament, his interest in a governess as anything other than a passing fancy is frowned upon in his social circles. The problem is Marshall just can’t get Isabel out of his mind.
Review: I enjoyed this book, though I did like Punish Me with Roses better. The characters were well-developed and there was a very intriguing conflict. I would have liked to see more of the mystery-solving in this one. Isabel does do a little digging, but for the most part she waited for the answers to fall into her lap. Though to be fair, she did have her hands full with the troubled girl as well as two men who couldn’t seem to take no for an answer.
Recommendation: I like Juliet Moore’s story lines. She does a good job drawing the reader into her character’s lives. This wasn’t my favorite of the two books I’ve read, but I do think it’s worth recommending to others. It gets your heart racing in several places. And there are parts you’ll want to re-read. The love story was complete, but there were a few holes in the mystery. For this reason, I give three quills to The Hidden Heiress:
Review: Minna and the Valentine by S.G. Rogers
February 13, 2012
Filed under Book Review
Tags: adventure, Astraea Press, book review, clean fiction, four-quills, magic, Minna and the Valentine, novella, paranormal fiction, Reading, Romance novels, S.G. Rogers, sweet romance, Valentine's Day, wizards
Title: Minna & the Valentine
Author: S.G. Rogers
Publisher: Astraea Press
Format: E-book ($1.99)
Pages: 64 pages
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Genre: Romance – Fantasy
Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Astraea Press
Summary: Minna’s father hates wizards, so Minna has had to keep her secret powers hidden from him. When the head of the wizard school and his protege show up on her doorstep asking for help to seal a rift in the fabric dividing alternate realities, Minna is forced to choose between saving the world and guarding her secret.
Minna and the wizard’s protege set off on their quest to retrieve the magic letter opener and repair the rift, but they get much more than they bargain for when they realize their destinies are connected inextricably on both sides of the rift.
Review: This a short read with a straightforward plot. It was light-hearted and clean, and fun to read. Since I hadn’t read anything from this author before, it gave me a small taste of what to expect from her longer works. As a short story or novella goes, it was well done. It focused on two main conflicts: the rift had to be fixed and the two main characters had to realize they were meant for each other.
If the author wanted to make this into a longer novel, it could easily be done. I definitely would read the longer version as well. It would give more time to develop both conflicts and build suspense. As it is, the characters and setting are well written and offer an enjoyable story, including some surprising twists along the way.
Recommendation: I haven’t read a whole lot of magic/fantasy. The genre makes me a little nervous, but S.G. Rogers did an excellent job with this story. I believe the primary age group is young adult here, but adults who enjoy fantasy will like this as well. A great book to read when you want something light, quick and fun. I give Minna & the Valentine four quills.
