No Proper Lady by Isabel Cooper

England, 1888. The trees are green, the birds are singing, and no one has any idea that in a few hundred years, demons will destroy it all. Joan plans to keep it that way. All she has to do is take out the dark magician responsible-before he summons the demons in the first place. But as a rough-around-the-edges assassin from that bleak future, she'll have to learn how to fit into polite Victorian society to get close to her target.

Simon Grenville has his own reasons for wanting to destroy Alex Reynell. The man used to be his best friend-until his practice of the dark arts almost killed Simon's sister. The beautiful half-naked stranger Simon meets in the woods may be the perfect instrument for his revenge. It will just take a little time to teach her the necessary etiquette and assemble a proper wardrobe. But as each day passes, Simon is less sure he wants Joan anywhere near Reynell. Because no spell in the world will save his future if she isn't in it.

First let me say I am not a big fan of time travel books so this review is a little hard for me to write. Joan has to go back in time to save her world from the dark forces. She ends up on Simon's property and Simon is not sure what to think of this warrior women. As Joan saves him from some bad demons Simon starts to believe that Joan is much more that what she appears to be. After Joan explains to Simon why she is here he says that he will help her. All I can say is Joan is lucky she landed where she did and that Simon knows about the Dark forces and is willing to help her.

I liked Simon and his sister Eleanor teaching Joan how she should act in polite society. She does have a hard time adjusting to this because her world is so dark and different. Joan can't believe what a difference this world is to hers. Her world is dark and not safe, this world has green grass, blue sky's and the air is clean. Joan is more determinded then before to make sure that she can save this world and make her world a better place.

I did like Simon, I liked that he protected his sister from Alex who was his childhood friend until he went to the dark forces, I liked how he really didn't want to kill Alex, to try to save him and that he should be the one kill him not Joan. Joan is one tough lady and it was fun seeing her adjust to her new world. And I liked seeing Eleanor coming out of her shell after what happened to her.

Overall it was not a bad story, I am just not a fan of time travel books. The one thing that really bothered me was the other characters were always refereed to by there last names. It was hard to tell if they were man or woman. It was nice to know that Joan was able to save her world but sad to see that no one would remember her or know what challenges she went throught to save her world. I would pick up another book by this debut author because she does write a good story.

I got this book as a ARC from my romance group.

Viscount Breckenridge To The Rescue by Stephanie Laurens

My friend Tisa asked me post her review on our blog. Welcome Tisa!

Stephanie Laurens once again gives us characters to love and cherish with a story of love, adventure, danger, sensuality and a vivid sense of time and place. Heather and Breckenridge will steal your heart as the embark on their own "happily ever after". The dialogue is crisp and intelligent, the love scenes will have your heart beating faster, and the danger will have you on the edge of your seat. I am very happy to recommend Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue to anyone who loves a good romance.

Reviewed by Lettetia Elsasser for Amazon

The Heir and The Soldier by Grace Burrowes

I just finished these two books and can't tell you how much I enjoyed them. I can't wait for Val's story.

The first book The Heir is about Gayle Windham, Earl of Westhaven and Anna Seaton who is is housekeeper. Gayle is now the the heir to the Duke of Moreland and has taken this job very seriously. You see he was third in line and his two older brothers had passed away. By the time he took over his father had almost run the out of money and Gayle has worked very hard to bring back the coffers. But you see that is all he has done is work hard and try to avoid his dad fixing him up with ladies to marry.

Anna is Gayle housekeepers with a big secret of her own. She has been running for two years and working as a house keeper. She has come to the Earl's house and they are drawn to each other. She does not want to get attached because she might have to flee again, but you can guess what happens.

In this book you meet Gayle's two brothers Val and Devlin. I loved how the brothers interacted together. It was wonderful to see men who were not afraid to admit that they loved each other maybe it is because they have lost two brothers and Devlin is the illegitimate son of the Duke who has been accepted into the family with open arms. I loved that!!!

I liked how Gayle and Anna began to trust each other and how they fall in love.

The Soldier is about Devlin and Emmie. Poor Devlin has not had a easy time of it. First his mother gives him to his father at 5 years of age and he fills like an outsider. The when he comes back form the war he suffers what we would call PTSD. I liked how she handle that part of the story. Devlin is such a man and has always been the "perfect soldier".

Emmie is a woman who supports herself and is considered an outsider in the town she lives in. She has been taking care of her little cousin. When Devlin moves to Rosecroft and finds Winnie he has her and Emmie move in with him.

Emmie at first stay away from Devlin, but they seem to be drawn to each other and she knows he has demons. She helps him with his demons but she some of her own. She wants to leave and feels Winnie would be better staying with Devlin. Devlin feels he would be better with Emmie staying with him and Winnie. Here comes the battle of wills to work everything out.

Both books are so well done. I said it before and will say it again I loved the brothers together. You have other people that come into the stories to. The emotion that Devlin shows is outstanding, I mean at one point he is crying after someone tells him that he is a good person, you really feel for him. I really loved these books and now can't wait until November for Val's story. Now I'm off to read the first book on the Windham sisters.

The Many Sins OF Lord Cameron

He is a man of simple tastes-ad complex pleasures. Cameron Mackenzie is a man who loves only horses and women-in that order-or so his mistresses say.

Anisley Douglas is a woman with a strong sense of justice and the desire to help others-even if that means sneaking around a rakish man's bedroom.

Which is exactly where Cam finds her-six years after he caught her the first time. Only then, she convinced Cam she was seeking a liaison, but couldn't go through with it because of husband. Now a widow, she is on a mission to retrieve letters that could prove embarrassing to the queen. Cam has no interest in Ainsley's subterfuge but he vows to finish what they started those many years ago. One game, one kiss at a time, he plans to seduce her. And what starts out as a lusty diversion may break Cam's own rules and heal the scars of a dark and damaging past.

This is another book I picked up and read in a day. As pretty much I do with all of Ms Ashley's books no mater what name she is writing under. The chemistry between Cam and Ainsley is wonderful.

Six years ago when Cam caught her in his bedroom she wouldn't so anything with him because she did not want to hurt her husband. A man who helped her out of a bad choice that she had made. Now it is six years later and she is caught right back in the same spot with Cam. Ainsley really wants to be bad with Cam but all she has left is her reputation and she is one of the queens ladies in waiting. She was only caught in room because she was trying to retrieve a letter back that someone stole from the queen.

I liked the fact that she made Cam kind of work for her, she didn't just jump in to bed with him. She really thought about what she was doing, should she take a chance at this or not. Let's just say I'm glad she took the chance.

Cam is a wonderful hero, he has not had a easy time with it and his first wife was a real nut. He had a lot to overcome to find love with Ainsley. When Ainsley has to leave to go to the queen Cam just can't understand why she would leave him to go to the her. I loved it when he finally realizes that not all women are like his first wife. I also loved that we had Daniel trying to play matchmaker.

We also have Ian coming in the picture and giving his words of wisdom, I really love it when he does that. Mater of fact I just reread Ian's book. Forgot how wonderful that book was.

All I can say is this was a wonderful book, Ms Ashley does not disappoint, and I can't wait for Hart's book. I said this before and will say it again any book that Ms Ashley writes are wonderful no mater what pen name she uses.

Changeling Dream by Dani Harper

In times of stress Jillian Descharme has always found calm in her dreams of a great white wolf with haunting blue eyes. But she is startled when the visions return and this time seem so real. Late at night he comes to her, speaks to her, touches her. It's almost as if he is alive..

Thirty years ago James Macleod lost his wife and unborn child to a killer bent on destroying the Changelings. Though he longed for death, his animal instinct fought for survival and James has been a wolf ever since. Yet now a woman has reawakened the man in him, taming wild instincts but arousing still wilder needs. With his ancient enemy hunting the legendary white wolf, James must fight for a new life, new hope, new love.

I loved the first book in this series Changeling Dream that I had to go out and find the second the one. Which I am so glad I did. As with the first book I read this book in one day. I could not put it down.

Jillian is a vet and is struggling to make ends meet. She has not had a easy time of things and when she was younger she was attacked and almost killed by some men. The only thing that saved her was this big white wolf. No one ever really believed her about this big white wolf saving her. But any time she has a major life change she always dreams of the wolf. She gets a call from Conner Macleod, Conner is in the first in book, to come and work at his vet practice. At first she isn't sure about moving across the country but Conner makes it to good of a deal to pass up.

Poor James! He comes home to find his wife and unborn child murdered and he is almost killed. Because he feels he was at fault for not protecting his wife and never wanting anybody else to be hurt he goes into his wolf and stays that way for 30 years.

Jillian starts to work for Conner and her dreams of the white wolf are very strong and she has no idea why this is happening. James on the other hand is drawn to Jillian and the vet clinic and he can't understand it. Once he sees Jillian there is something that his wolf is drawn to and he really has to fight that urge. As you can guess it doesn't work.

Jillian goes out for a walk one day and runs into her white wolf, she is so happy to see him and James is very confused as to why she seems so familiar to him. He keeps coming to the vet clinic to make sure she is alright and he just can't stay away from her. James then decided since the wolf is so into Jillian the best thing he could do is become human again. I loved watching James trying to adjust being human again, meeting with his family and just becoming a person again, trying to stay away from Jillian because he thinks she will be safer that way.

I loved how things develop between Jillian and James, after the first time they do it James feels he needs to stay away from Jillian. He just can't do it his wolf knows that Jillian is the one for him. The thing is Jillian is so mad at him she won't talk to him. It takes a lot of sweet talking on James part to get back in Jillian good graces. When Jillian finds out what James really is she has a hard time with it and Conner has to convince her that James is her white wolf.

I loved this book as much as I loved the first one. Both books are so good I did not want them to end and can't wait for the next book in the series. Ms Harper has now become one of my auto buy authors.

Changeling Moon by Dani Harper

He roams the moonlit wilderness, his every sense and instinct on high alert. Changeling wolf Conner Macleod and his Pack have never feared anything-until the night human Zoey Tyler barley escapes a rouge werewolf's vicious attack.

As the full moon approaches, Zoey has no idea of the changes that are coming, and only Conner can show her what she is, and help her master the wildness inside. With her initiation into the pack just days away and a terrifying predator on the loose, the tentative bonds of trust and tenderness are their only weapons against a force red in tooth, claw...and ultimate evil.

I loved this book and read it in one day. Picked it and just could not put it down. Loved the interacting between Zoey and Conner. Zoey has moved to a small town because she just wants some peace in her life. Her family is a bunch of famous psychics and she does not like the fact that has has these tendencies, she sees things but not in enough time to do something about them. She worked in a big city as a reporter and just couldn't the death anymore. She felt becoming a editor of a small weekly paper was just the thing for her. Conner is the vet in the town she now lives in and is also a wolf changeling. He saves Zoey form a wolf that has her trapped on her car and is attacking her.

Conner knows the wolf that attacked Zoey and also knows how to make it so that she is not turned into a changeling. So he goes to make sure the the rouge wolf never attacks a person again and that Zoey can have a normal life. The only thing is Conner doesn't know that the rouge wolf messed with the medicine so that it would not hurt him.

After Zoey is attacked she wants to write an article about it but nobody believes her that it was wolf that attacked her. They all say it was a large dog. She is upset by this because she knows the truth and is not sure what to do about it. Then she finds out that a few years ago the town was written up for werewolf's and it set everybody on edge and they do not want to go through that again. Of course not when you have a whole town full of them.

Conner knows he has to tell Zoey what is going to happen to her, and he really tries, but of course she thinks he is a nut and walks out on him. She can't believe that she has finally found a great man and he thinks she is wolf! I love how Conner convinces her what he really is. She has a hard time with it at first but then, after he changes in front of her she really has to believe it.

There was one part of the book that bothered me a little, but is the end Ms Harper made it Ok. I liked when Zoey knew she had to change to save Conner's life and she did it. I loved the puppy scene with Conner and Zoey and how they slowly build into a relationship and how they learned to trust each other.

This was a very good shifter book with strong people and a great supporting cast. I am going out to find the next book in the series.

The Countess and The Heiress by Lynsay Sands

You really can't do one review for these books because they intertwine with each other. I wasn't sure how this was going to go over when I heard about it, but thought I would give it a try.

In The Countess you have Christiana who is married to Dickey, now Dickey is a real jerk and doesn't treat Christiana very nice at all. Christiana married Dickey because he came courting her and she needed to get her dowry to pay off her fathers gambling debt. Book starts out with Christiana's two sister coming over because their father has gotten in trouble again with gambling. Now Suzette will have to marry so she can get her dowry and pay of the debt. As they are trying to figure out a way to do this because Dickey is such a jerk, Dickey ends up dying. So instead of telling people about Dickey's death they decide to hide his body for a few days so that Suzette can find a poor husband to marry. I loved the girls trying to hide his body.

The girls go to a ball that night and things are going very well until Dickey walks in. Now they are all in shock, they knew he was dead, they packed him in ice in his room, how could he be walking into the ball?? The truth is Dickey was really George the twin brother of the Earl, Richard. He had "killed" his brother last year and just stepped into his shoes and no one knew he had done this because he stayed away from everybody for year. They all thought he was in mourning for his brother and that is why he had changed.

Now the real Earl, Richard survived and had been transported to America, he had been sick and that is why he it took him a year to come home, he had written his best friend Daniel to help him come home. Daniel comes to America to help Richard come home and they both hoped to confront Dickey/George at the ball. Imagine Richard's surprise when he finds out that he is married and the shocked look on his wife's face when walks in and she thinks he is dead.

I liked The Countess, I laughed with everybody moving Dicky/George's body all over the place and how everybody works together to figure out what is going on.

Now in The Heiress it is in a lot of ways a rehash of The Countess, the first half of the book covers a lot of what already happens. The Heiress is about Suzette and Daniel. Suzette has asked Daniel to marry her because she thinks he needs her dowry and she can live her own life after they are married. She really doesn't want to marry because Christiana has had such a bad marriage to Dicky/George but she has to marry to save the family.

Suzette and Daniel do spend a lot of time in this book behind closed door playing with each other. Daniel is not sure he really wants to marry Suzette but is drawn to her. The reason he is spending time with her is he was almost caught when he was trying to move the dead Dickey/George. Things move on from there.

As I said the first half of The Heiress is in a lot of ways a rehash of The Countess but you do have a little more of Suzette and Daniel. Now the end of the book got very preditable to me. They are on there way to Gretna Green to get married and Daniel wants to get his mother so she can be part of the wedding. Well, something happens to him and somebody else leaves a note for Suzette saying Daniel does not want to marry her because she is a lose women. Suzette believes this notes and is talked into marrying somebody else because she still thinks she needs to pay off her fathers debts. Of course you all know how the book is going to end as I said at this point the book got very predictable to me. I really loved The Countess and thought it was well done, I laughed through it and really enjoyed it. The Heiress was not bad it was just so much of a rehash of the first book and then you knew what was going to happen in this book. At lest for me I figured things out. I will read Ms Sands again because I do enjoy her writing.

The Ideal Man, by Julie Garwood

This book hooked me from the first sentence, and had me wondering if the voice was that of a murderer.  Turns out it is Dr. Ellie Sullivan, who is a senior surgical resident in a large trauma center in St. Louis, who has seen a few too many bullets during her residency than most people do in a lifetime.  Ellie gets off work for the day, and decides to go for a run on the track in the park across the street from the hospital, where she is witness to a murder and shooting of an FBI agent. 

While FBI agent Max is waiting for her to get out of surgery, removing the bullet from his coworker, he does a bit of background research on Ellie.  He finds out that she had a tragic past, and as a 12 year old girl was viscously attacked by Evan Patterson and left for dead.  She survived, but her family sent her from her home town of Winston Falls, South Carolina to a home in St. Louis when the attacker keeps getting out of psych institutions, in an attempt to keep Ellie safe.  Her foster family is wonderful, and to stay on the safe side Ellie has only made a few trips to her hometown over the years.  Her sister Ava is getting married to John, whom Ellie was engaged to.  Ellie had taken John home to meet her biological family, and Ava and he were caught in a compromising position.  Ellie dumped him, and Ava took advantage of the moment and claimed him.  Ava owns a boutique in Winston Falls, and has a twin Annie who is an attorney.  And Max and Ellie have an instant attraction to each other.  Trouble is, Max lives in Hawaii and Ellie is in St. Louis.  Although her residency is ending, she can’t quite imagine relocating to Hawaii, not being sure if the feelings she has are simply lust or something more serious. 

Ellie reluctantly returns home to the Falls for the wedding.  Ava is a mean spirited woman, and given the circumstances of who she is getting married to, Ellie really does not want to be there.  Plus Ellie has not known for a few years where Patterson has been hiding, and is scared to death at the prospect of running in to him again, feeling another encounter would result in him killing her.  She no more arrives at her parents home, and Max blows in with the news that there is a hit out on her from the Landrys, who are weapons runners and responsible for the shooting in the park.  Patterson is out and about somewhere, doubling the risk to Ellie.  Max tells Ellie’s parents why he is there, because there will be other agents arriving to assist him with security for Ellie.  Her dad is very concerned and upset, while all her lovely Southern Belle mother can think of is finding a way for Ellie to be in the wedding, so the town will quit talking about how Ava stole Ellie’s fiancé from her.  This was the only low point in the book for me.  Ellie’s mom is totally clueless, and is really obnoxious about this wedding, while all Ava does is act out, giving a whole new meaning to the term Bridezilla. 

Fortunately, the author does not dwell long on this topic before Patterson makes his move.  Good old Max to the rescue.  Unfortunately Patterson’s attack sent everyone running from Ava’s pre-wedding garden party, ruining her grand entrance.  Of course she blames this all on Ellie, since Ava has not been privy to the news of why these extra people have been hanging around her parents’ home.  Finally, mom tells Ava to stuff it, realizing the seriousness of the situation.   The FBI knows who they are after now regarding the park killing.  Max and Ellie head for the airport, but they won’t arrive at the airport for quite some time yet! 

There isn’t a dull moment in this book, and the twists and turns take you right up to the last page of the book.  Ellie’s sister Annie discovers she is pregnant while in Winston Falls, and tells Ellie the story of how she met the baby daddy.  Now she has no idea where he went to or how to locate him.  Max offers to see what he can do to help track him down.  Ava’s wedding finally goes off without a hitch, and Ellie gets a call from the FBI that she has to go to Maui to testify about the park killings. Maui is where Max and the FBI  took down the Landrys with a cache of weapons . Since she and Max have not been in touch since he left to go home and finish the investigation, she is not expecting anything other than a hello from him.  Meanwhile, back in San Diego Annie’s doorbell is ringing…..could it be?? 

The characters are extremely well drawn out.  Ellie’s dad provided for some light moments in the book, while her mom and Ava just made you want to reach out and strangle them both!  Patterson really was insane.  You could almost hear the voices in his head telling him what to do.  Max was just wonderful.  Garwood paints such a good picture of him that I have a distinct mental of image of him that I get to keep!!!

This book should be titled The Ideal Men, because in all honesty there is more than one ideal man in the book, and I will suffice to say John is not one of them! Book provided by Net Galley for an honest review.

Rating:  A, Hot.  

Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh

The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its check should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There was something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past-but Dmitri's need to discover the truth is nothing compared to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.

Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face-to-face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel's right hand who wears his cruelty as boldly as lethal sensuality-the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting...and it will not stop until it brings a blood soaked nightmare to life once more.

This is the fourth book in the Archangel series, and this book is mainly about Dmitri and Honor. You do see Raphael, Elena and some of the others which was nice, but I really would of liked a little more of Raphael and Elena.

There has always something about Dmitri that I have been drawn to and I was glad to finally get this story and find out about him. He is a man that has been around for thousands of years and it was nice to find out what made him the way he is and how he became Rapheal's second.

Honor is a lady who has been through a lot. She was taken captive and held for two months by a band of rough vampires that did unspeakable things to her. Ms Singh does not go into detail but you get the idea of what happened to her. She is drawn to Dmitri and doesn't know why he doesn't scare her like other vampires do. She seems to trust him and he is drawn to her.

I loved seeing these two come together. Honor is a scared little rabbit and Dmitri is so drawn to her he can't figure out why. Once they start working together and he finds that they never caught the vampires who abducted her he takes on the case. And when Dmitri wants answers he gets them.

Honor is helping him solve the murder of a young vampire and she really begins feel things for Dmitri that she has never felt for anybody else. Dmitri and Honor work well together and watch this big sexy vampire fall for this hunter is great. They have lots of things to work out before they make it to bed , but it is well worth the wait.

As I said before it was nice to finally understand why Dmitri is the way he is, and one word of warning you do have a rape scene in this book when the truth comes out about Dmitri's past. It makes you understand why he is the way he is.

I loved how Ms Singh brings about the two different stories going thorough the book. She is such a masterful storyteller you don't want the book end. Even though I would of loved seeing more of Rapheal and Elena I understand that this is really a book about Dmitri and boy what a book it was!!!

This book comes out on 9/6/11 and I received a ARC through my Romance Group.