Alien Mate, #3

Kidnapped or rescued, it’s a

ISBN13: 9781936279647

matter of alien perspective. Either way, it results in pleasurable probing.
Abducted by a hunky blue alien, researcher and admitted geek Penny is eager to study his mating habits—in the flesh. She’d like to blame her illogical affection for him on hormones, but the erotic remedy just heightens her chemical imbalance.
Reg never thought a simple rescue mission would make him question his decision to remain single for while Penny drives him crazy with her never-ending questions, her simple presence inflames his lust—and causes havoc with his emotions. But is he ready to give up the galactic travel he loves so much to settle down with an earthling female?

76 pages

Published January 14th 2011

(Amira)

First Impression

Reg doesn't want a life mate when rewarded in by the Oracle... so she sends him on a mission to rescue an Earthling who is in danger to bring back to the planet.

Penelope (Penny) is a Science geek in space with a asteroid on a collision course with her spacecraft, until a blue alien rescues her and take her aboard his ship.

My Rating ⭐⭐

Alien Mate #3 is the short story of Reg and Penny. 

Filled with plenty of rescue attempts and hot fun it wasn't a bad read just would have like more pages.

Quotes

The Blood Confession

Erzebet is young, beautiful, rich, and

ISBN 0525477322
ISBN13: 9780525477327

imprisoned in her castle, waiting to be sentenced for murder. In a brilliant fiction debut, Alisa M. Libby resurrects the real-life Erzebet Bathory, a seventeenth-century countess who believed that bathing in human blood would preserve her looks forever. The jailed countess tells her story from her birth, which was overshadowed by a bad omen, to her mother's mental deterioration, Erzebet's own love for a mysterious figure, and the crimes she committed in pursuit of eternal life.

399 pages

Published July 7th  2013

(Red Hound Press)

First Impression

Set in the 1st person The Blood Confession tells the interesting life story of the famous Countess Bathory.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Blood Confession is an enchanting tale that starts in the tower where the Countess Bathory is been held awaiting the Prince of Hungary.

From here it then goes into a detailed account of her life as a child, who Yearned for her mother's company.

Her relationship with her father became strained as he was often was away at court "but when he did visit, our conversations were restricted to the typical subjects".

Her mother eventually when mad, "she turn to me with a strange smile, her dead eyes fixed on my face. She stared at me as if she could detect something that no one else was able to see." 

I feel really sorry for her as she only felt she could rely on her maid as seen in this passage "Despite Rowena's  reassuring presence, I was a loney child." 

I really enjoyed reading The Blood Confession And would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the history of Countess Bathory it was a very interesting subject to read about.

Quotes

“Envy is a dangerous sin. To envy someone you love is to kill a part of yourself”

Alien Mate #2

Lex's ancestors have chosen a

ISBN13: 9781936279395

mate for him, there's only one problem. She's not the earthling he wants.
Maya’s been raised to believe in aliens, and when she saves one from drowning, she can’t resist taking him home—and into her bed.
Lex’s mission to collect his mate has been fraught with difficulties, and to add even more trouble to the mix, he finds himself attracted to the wrong earthling—a curvy human who makes him question tradition.
Things get complicated in New Mexico because the military’s on the hunt for an ET, Maya’s determined to do what’s right, and Lex finds himself in the biggest battle of all—the one between his heart and his honor.

68 pages

Published 23rd July 2010

(Amira Press)

First Impression

Maya has always believed in aliens and is attracted to Lex as soon as she meets him after saving him from drowning only to discover Lex is here to claim someone else as his life mate.

My Rating ⭐⭐

Alien Mate 2 is a short tale of Maya and Lex and how the it feeling for each other develop into something deeper.

One thing I didn't like was the use of the word "cunt".

Quotes

The Madness

Sixteen-year-old Marnie

ISBN 1471401030
(ISBN13: 9781471401039)

lives in the idyllic coastal village of Clevedon. Despite being crippled by a childhood exposure to polio, she seems set to follow in her mother's footsteps, and become a 'dipper', escorting fragile female bathers into the sea. Her life is simple and safe. But then she meets Noah. Charming, handsome, son-of-the-local-Lord, Noah. She quickly develops a passion for him - a passion which consumes her.
As Marnie's infatuation turns to fixation she starts to lose her grip on reality, and a harrowing and dangerous obsession develops that seems certain to end in tragedy. Set in the early Victorian era when propriety, modesty and repression were the rule, this is a taut psychological drama in which the breakdown of a young woman's emotional state will have a devastating impact on all those around her. 

208 pages

Published March 6th 2014

(Hot Keys)

First Impression

Set in 2nd person The Madness tells the story of Marnie, who had to deal with the "cruel taunts of the village children who would spit and laugh at her" because she had a twisted leg through getting polio at 5. 

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐

The Madness is a slow paced book telling the tale of Marnie (a dipper's daughter) and Noah's (a Lord's son) budding friendship, that turn into a infatuation on Marnie's side.

I feel so sorry for Marnie especially when I found out that her mother was determined not to have a cripple for a daughter, often taking her down to the sea to "plunge her under the freezing waves again and again". 

If Marnie protested her mother would take the horsewhip and "crack over the backs of her legs to 'harden her up'".

As for Noah he makes it clear from his journal that he doesn't see Marnie in any affectionate light.

The ending was very emotional.

I would recommend reading for the historical significance as it was put you in that time from the description.

Quotes

Alien Mate 1, #1

Plump Diana is ironing her

ISBN13: 9781530711291

underwear when the hottest blue babe in all of the galaxy appears in her living room. Did she forget to mention he was naked too? Abducted, decontaminated and dressed like a harem girl, she’s been chosen to become the hunky alien’s mate.

Kor asked his ancestors to find him a biddable, docile mate, instead they found him Diana - a curvy, argumentative earthling who sets his pulse pounding and his loins on fire. He might be an alien who doesn’t understand the meaning of love, but he sure knows what he feels is more than lust.

244 pages

Published April 3rd 2014

First Impression

Kor fills in a questionnaire to find his life mate, who turns out to be Earthling Diana, but not all goes to plan. 

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐

Filled with adventure and drama Alien Mate although short it's a journey you can't miss.

Quotes

“My people might not have the word ‘love’ in their vocabulary, but even without that word, this is how I feel. You are mine. And in return, I belong to you. I would cross the universe to be with you and die a painful death to protect you. The thought of being without you causes fear where fear was never known. When you smile, I can do anything. When you cry, I would fight the world to make it stop. What is this, then, if not this love you seem to speak about.”

Guilty Wives

Sitting in a dark, dank prison cell in

ISBN 0099550180
(ISBN13: 9780099550181)

Paris, serving a life sentence for murder, Abbie Elliot tries to piece together the story of how she came to be here.
It all happened in Monte Carlo, where she was having the holiday of a lifetime with her three best friends away from their stifling lives, and husbands.
Abbie remembers casinos, nightclubs, champagne and private yachts. The next thing she can remember is a swarm of police storming the yacht and arresting her and her friends.
Abbie has been set up, she knows it. But now she must find out who would do this to her, and why. Or she will spend the rest of her life rotting in that cell.

544 pages

Published July 4th 2013

(Arrow)

Just a Side Warning: there are some mentions of domestic violence and gambling. If you or anyone you know have any problems with these please seek help from a professional as soon as possible.

First Impression

Based on the prologue we find that Abbie is determined to not give up even though she and her 3 friends are imprisoned in Paris for a double murder.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A very sad story, with twists turns and rewards. 

I had to continue reading and before long I had finished, with some tears. 

Abbie and her friend were wrongly accused of murder and had to deal with horrid treatment especially Abbie. 

I was quite surprised that a prison, even a French prison would get away with such abhorrent behaviour towards their inmates especially in 2010 which is the time frame it happened. 

Guilty Wives is a book that you should read I would recommend it to anyone

Quotes

“Your integrity, your dignity, your honor - they aren't for sale. Not ever. Not to anyone.”

 “Something like this changes you,

it breaks you into pieces and puts you back together, but the sum total is different.”

Reverse Abduction, #8

Ready for a new, hilarious

ASIN B076CRWB5X

purple romp where the roles have been switched?
It’s not fair that only males get to go out and pillage the universe. Being born a female automatically means staying home and birthing the next generation of warriors.
Azteriya has other plans.
She has a dream of traveling the galaxy and exploring strange new worlds. Fighting fierce foes. Of clubbing a viable male to bring home to her mother so that her transgression is forgiven.
When a chance to escape arises, she takes it, but what will Azteriya do when she not only finds the adventure she’s been seeking but love too?

152 Pages

Published June 14 2018

First Impression

Azteriya wants to be a warrior but only boys are taught to fight women have duty to procreate and cook.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐

Different than the previous books in the series Reverse Abduction tells the story of Azteriya the Kulin and Jedrek the Human.

A fast paced story with a battle and fun between the sheets

Quotes

The King's Rose

Life in the court of King Henry

ISBN 0525479708
(ISBN13: 9780525479703)

VIII is a complex game. When fifteen-year-old Catherine Howard catches the king's eye, she quickly transforms from pawn to queen. But even luxury beyond imagination loses its luster as young Catherine finds her life--and her heart--threatened by the needs of an aging king and a family hungry for power. Will their agendas deliver Catherine to the same fate as her infamous cousin, Anne Boleyn, sacrificed at the altar of family ambition?

297 Pages

Published March 19th 2009

(Dutton Books for Young Readers)

First Impression

Set in the 1st person The King's Rose tells the tale of the 15 year old Catherine Howard.

When she met her husband, HenryVIII, the King of England. Her marriage and everything leading upto her demise.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed reading The King's Rose and learning about the sad tale of how Catherine became a pawn to her family's greed for power. 

How when it all was revealed about her sordid past that her family kept secret. 

In the end she was a scared girl who paid for her actions with her life.

I would recommend The King's Rose...it was a interesting to read about the view of Alisa M. Libby as she told the history of Catherine's life and the event that lead upto the chopping block.

Quotes

The Turn of the Key

When she stumbles across the

ISBN 1501188771
(ISBN13: 9781501188770)

ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.
Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.
It was everything.
She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

337 pages

Published August 6th 2019

(Gallery/Scout Press)

First Impression

In the beginning the turn of the Key comes across as a letter to a solicitor trying to employ his services to prove her innocence.

It also highlights the plot of behind the story.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As April's Book of the Month (Waterstones), The Turn of the Key is one of the most emotional, surprising story I have read so far...there were shocking twists and the ending brought a tear to my eye I wasn't expecting the ending.

Quotes

“Better to achieve perfect marks on an easy test than flunk a hard one, that was my motto.”

Reader Abduction, #7

An alien fantasy brought to life...

ASIN B01BKVFOBC

It should have been a simple volunteer job. Keep the events for the Romancing the Capital convention running smooth. But from the moment Brigitte lays eyes on the male model dipped in purple, hired for the galactic party, she is thrown into a tizzy — mostly because of his stolen kiss.
Imagine her shock once she realizes he’s not an actor. This purple alien is for real!
And Phyr didn’t come to RTC alone. He brought a bunch of his mercenary friends to help him abduct all the single ladies. These readers are about to go on a galactic adventure wilder than anything they’ve ever read in a book — and hotter than anything they could have imagined

125 pages

Published May 9th 2016

First Impression

Brigitte is a reader. She has read the Alien Abduction Series and is visiting a book conference about it.

My Rating ⭐⭐

I thought it was overzealous of Eve Langlais decided to put herself and other authors in the story and basically set her readers up to be abducted.

Very quick read I would have like there to be more.

Quotes

On Chapel Sands

Uncovering the mystery of her

ASIN B07NDQV597

mother’s disappearance as a child: Laura Cumming, prize-winning author and art critic, takes a closer look at her family story.

In the autumn of 1929, a small child was kidnapped from a Lincolnshire beach. Five agonising days went by before she was found in a nearby village. The child remembered nothing of these events and nobody ever spoke of them at home. It was another fifty years before she even learned of the kidnap.

The girl became an artist and had a daughter, art writer Laura Cumming. Cumming grew up enthralled by her mother’s strange tales of life in a seaside hamlet of the 1930s, and of the secrets and lies perpetuated by a whole community. So many puzzles remained to be solved. Cumming began with a few criss-crossing lives in this fraction of English coast – the postman, the grocer, the elusive baker – but soon her search spread right out across the globe as she discovered just how many lives were affected by what happened that day on the beach – including her own.

On Chapel Sands is a book of mystery and memoir. Two narratives run through it: the mother’s childhood tale; and Cumming’s own pursuit of the truth. Humble objects light up the story: a pie dish, a carved box, an old Vick’s jar. Letters, tickets, recipe books, even the particular slant of a copperplate hand give vital clues. And pictures of all kinds, from paintings to photographs, open up like doors to the truth. Above all, Cumming discovers how to look more closely at the family album – with its curious gaps and missing persons – finding crucial answers, captured in plain sight at the click of a shutter.

293 pages

Published July 4th 2019

(Vintage Digital)

First Impression

Laura Cumming tell the story of her mother, who was kidnapped at 3, while she was on the beach. Pictures are included throughout the book.

My Rating⭐⭐⭐

As April's Book of the Month (Waterstones), On Chapel Sands is a true account of the events of 1929, where a 3 year old, Betty was kidnapped only to be found 5 days later.

I was quite disappointed with the slow pace. Written by her mother in her sixties the book contains some of her memories and also the speculation of her daughter. I was expecting a riveting story but it fell short, seeming to focus on Laura's feelings instead of her mother's.

Quotes

“Memories calcify over the years: everything grows more extreme – the brightness incandescent, the darkness infinitely worse.”

The Guest List

EACH HAS A SECRET, EACH HAS A MOTIVE.
Off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year.
Old friends 

Past grudges
Happy families
Hidden jealousies
Thirteen guests
One body
ONE GUEST WON'T LEAVE THIS WEDDING ALIVE...
GUESTS ARE INVITED TO CORMORANT ISLAND.
The stag is set for the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. The setting is spectacular, the planning meticulous, the atmosphere alive with nostalgia as the guests toast the most golden of couples.
Yet under the cloak of happniess, dark secrets begin to spill and old grudges surface. And the wedding cake has barely been cut when someone is found dead.
As a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped - and the killer circulates amongst the guests.
IT STARTS WITH A PARTY.
IT'LL END IN MURDER.

320 pages

Published March 19th 2020

(William Morrow)

Just a Side Warning: Before you read The Guest List it doesn't state anywhere, but please note this book contains self-harm and eating disorders...if you or anyone you know suffers from any of these please seek help.

First Impression

The Guest List shows separate viewpoints of the wedding night and of 5 People: Aoife, the wedding planner; Hannah, the plus 1; Jules, the bride; Johnno, the best man; and Olivia, the bridesmaid.

Aoife seems to be very organised and has to be very alert.

Hannah is Jules friends partner she seems like a busy woman and I find her an interesting character as she suffers from motion sickness.

Jules comes across as a control freak, yet "practical".

Johnny seems to be a bit of a drop out "I suddenly feel the need a hit to blur the edges and the weed I smoked earlier has worn off"

Olivia seem to have a lot of issues with self esteem.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As April's Book of the Month (Book of the Month) I was looking forward to reading The Guest List.

The book tells the story from different views I still was able to form a connection with each character. Yet I was quite surprised that there wasn't a warning about some of the issues that were raised.

There are plot twists like Jules received a note that was delivered 3 weeks before her wedding date telling her "not to marry Will. To call it off." Leaving her with a feel of "dread".

I was left guessing who it was who was killed and the killer till the very end it was a big shock when I found out.

I would recommend reading The Guest List it was a intriguing read.

Let me know what you think...

Quotes

Holiday Abduction, #6

Vhyl is First Impression

set in 3rd person Captive Queen tells the historic tale of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who is trapped in a unhappy marriage to Louis VII, king of France. 

She is frustrated and has committed adultery with 2 people one Geoffrey, count of Anjou, who is presenting his son, Henry to the French court.

Both her and Henry seem to share an instant attraction to each other, desperate for an annulment from the King she urges the Abbott again to persuade the King to agree.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII have shared a 14 year unhappy marriage and at 29 she has reached an impasse especially when she sees Henry FitzEmpress who sets off a wanton rush through her.

After a shared night of passion they make a marriage promise to each other. 

Eleanor pleads with the King himself in an effort to complete her promise. Once her annulment is declared she returns home and follows through with her promise.

To me Henry seems nothing more than a child "Henry lost control and, throwing himself on the floor, rolled around telling bloodcurdling oaths before finally falling quiet and grinding his teeth on the rushed strewn over the flagstones."

I wholeheartedly recommend reading Captive Queen it is a informative and rewarding experience. An amazing insight into the past dated from 1151 all the way through to 1204.

 to acquire a certain lost

ISBN13: 9781927459645

artifact, but when he lands on the forbidden barbarian planet known as Earth, he finds more than expected. An attractive human female is in possession of the priceless object, and she agrees to hand it over - for a price.

Apparently she doesn't know of his reputation...or doesn't care.

Intrigued by her fearless nature - and her luscious brown skin - this acquisition expert can't resist stealing a kiss. But before he can take more, his enemy arrived to stake a claim.

It seems Vhyl isn't the only one interested in Jilly's treasure - or Jilly herself. On the run not only from earth forces but his enemies too, they must fight to survive and evade capture.

However, he can't escape the effect the human has on him.

In the end, Vhyl has to make a choice - Jolly or the priceless treasure he came for.

192 pages

Published December 2nd 2014  (Eve Langlais)

First Impression

Jilly is a relatable character as she is a hard-worker, but struggling with financial security. That is until a treasure lands in her front yard.

Vhyl is a mercenary bad boy...

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐

From the minute Vhyl and Jilly met there is a chemistry between them. 

When Jilly's home is destroyed as Vhyl and his enemy are after xiix, a rare treasure. They both go to a hotel in efforts to his but with the FBI and Vhyl's enemy hot on their trail will they be ok?

I would recommend reading Holiday Abduction as it has some very entertaining scenes even if it is a short story.

Quotes

 "wishes don’t grow on trees. Apples do, and if I don’t stop mooning about what I can’t have, she’ll throw a bushel of them at me.”

Bloodmaiden

For Crisilin, the concept of human and dragons

ISBN 1939928125
(ISBN13: 9781939928122)

living in harmony with one another is nothing more than a distant dream - especially once she's forced to compete in Tynan's annual ritual. Only one Quelda is chosen every year, which might sound like an honor. In reality, it's a fate worse than death.

Along with her childhood sweetheart Chalom, Crisilin must choose to embrace this cruel tradition, or stand against it. However, taking a stand is no small task. Their only hope lies in rallying the three other dragon dynasties of Sulaimon, but reaching them means fleeing Tynan—a feat that's not only punishable by death, but is so dangerous that no one who's ever tried it has lived to tell the tale. First, there's the infamous Wall. Beyond that, the enchanted expanse of the Ever-White Lake.

Can Crisilin and Chalom be the first to escape and stop Tynan's horrible ritual before it's too late? Or will the dragons, much like the people of Tynan, remain slaves to tradition for all time.

192 pages

Published April 2014 (Old Line Publishing)

First Impression

I feel really sorry for both Crisilin and Chalom as they are forced into a situation that will have dire results. 

Crisilin is a innocent person that has to make a life changing decision.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐

I was asked by the author to review Blood maiden so here is my thoughts...

Separated into 2 parts Bloodmaiden tells the story of Crisilin and Chalom and the actions they take to save themselves and the people around them from the danger they find themselves in.

I felt myself been transported on the journey with Crisilin and Chalom and wishing for them to succeed in their quest of freedom. I found it a little confusing each time a new character or event was introduced but enjoyed it mine the less. 

I would recommend reading Bloodmaiden as I found it to be very descriptive and felt it had a good message at the end.

Quotes 

"Now the gold, our lives, everything, is marred by the rubies."