Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor has passed away today at the age of 79.  The iconic Hollywood actress was as well known on-screen as she was off screen.  She, Eddie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds were the Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Jennifer Aniston of the 50s.  Rumour has it that Angelina Jolie is even up for the role of the latest Cleopatra movie (please god no!). I always find that events like this influence my reading choices and when I think of Elizabeth Taylor, I tend to think of Cleopatra.  So on this snowy day, I think I will walk over to the library and grab The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel and Elizabeth.

Friday Book Trailer

Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsey



She is his enemy and his prize -- a wild and lusty hellion to be tamed by her dashing conqueror's kiss. But though maddened with desire for the golden-haired Viking temptress, noble Royce, in conscience, cannot force his exquisite prisoner to submit. For only Kristen's willing surrender can quench the blistering fires that sear his tormented soul -- and heal a heart consumed by passion with a soothing balm of rapturous, unconditional love.

One of my all time favourite Viking romances, this book trailer has Gerard Butler as Royce (mmmm Gerard Butler).

Highlander Historical Romance

I have just stumbled upon a new Scottish historical series that will be released later this year.  Maya Banks'  Highlander series follows three brothers as they fight to save their clan.  The books will be released back to back (I can't tell you how much I love this!) starting September, 2011.  The first book, In Bed with a Highlander,is the eldest brother, Ewan's story, who falls in love with the King's illegitimate daughter.  Next up is Alaric in Seduction of a Highland Lass, Alaric is forced to choose between love and duty.  Finally the youngest brother, Caelen gets his story in Never Love a Highlander.  In the conclusion of the trilogy, Caelen marries his brother's jilted bride to save the alliance between the two clans.  I absolutely adore Scottish historical romances and cannot wait for these to come out.  I have not read any of Maya banks' books before.  I know she is an erotic romance novelist, which I enjoy, but I hope that these books have a meaty storyline as well.
    

Review - Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

In Simply Irresistible (A Lucky Harbor Novel) Maddie Moore's life is turned upside down when she loses her job and her boyfriend.  When she is left 1/3 of an inn by her mom, Maddie heads to Lucky Harbor, Washington to start over again.  Once there, she needs to convince her half-sisters that a dilapidated inn is worth fixing and to convince herself that it is worth it to start over with one tall, dark-haired contractor.

I have finally found a new author!  This rarely happens to me now, most new authors I will read one book, consider reading another, but lose interest.  But Jill Shalvis has written a book with humour, heat, and believable characters.  Maddie was a sweet, clumsy, and at times vulnerable character.  But not so vulnerable that one felt sorry for her.  It was fun and touching to watch Maddie slowly learn to stand up for herself and believe in herself with the help of Jax Cullen.  Meanwhile, Jax is hot.  Not just because of his looks, but also because he was understanding and was willing (to a certain point) to wait while Maddie worked through her issues.

The book did fall prey to a couple of cliches.  Mainly the stereotypical cast of eccentric small townspeople, but I can overlook it because of my love for the story.  This book is the first in the Lucky Harbor series.  Maddie's sisters Tara and Chloe will get their own books.  I will definitely be watching out for those books.  I am also hunting down Shalivis' back list tomorrow at the used book store.

Review - His Enemy's Daughter by Terri Brisbin

Left physically and emotionally scarred from battle, Soren Fitzrobert seeks revenge against his enemy by claiming his holdings.  Left blinded by the invasion, Lady Sybilla is forced to marry the scarred invader.  His Enemy's Daughter follows the story of Soren and Sybilla as they fight their attraction to one another and deal with their emotional and physical wounds.

I was left disappointed by this novel.  It had all the makings of a great story but just fell flat.  Sybilla was a flat one-dimensional character for me.  Everyone loved her and she could do no wrong.  At one point, a crowd gathers to see her triumph over walking down the stairs blind.  When everyone broke into cheers, I rolled my eyes at the saccharine sweetness of it all.  I found Soren to be very superficial and vain.  His main reason for marrying Sybilla was because she could not see his scars.  The scars were another distractor for me, the way that they were described, I found it hard to believe that Soren would have survived in that time.  Soren's transformation from hating Sybilla and using her for revenge to caring for her was also too quick and not really shown in the writing.  Telling rather than showing is the downfall of this book.  It's been a couple of days since I read this book, but most of the details are vague because the story did not interest me and I ended up skimming through most of the book.  Terri Brisbin has written better in the past, so hopefully the next book will be better.

Review - Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

If you have not read this series by Karen Marie Moning what are you waiting for?  The five books follows MacKayla Lane as she travels to Ireland to find her sister's killer.  Once there, Mac discovers that she is a sidhe-seer - one that can see Fae and sense an evil book.  There are numerous people after the book and are willing to use her to get it.  But who can Mac trust?  Is it Jericho Barrons who keeps saving her life, V'Lane a Seelie prince, or Rowena, leader of the sidhe-seers?  

I tried to keep this review as vague as possible to avoid any spoilers.  This final book in the Fever series was a satisfying conclusion to a wonderful story.  Throughout the books I had many theories about who each character was.  I will be honest and say I think I was wrong on every one.  There were many twists and turns in Shadowfever that I did not see coming.  But I think each one was true to the story and did not feel like a copout.  There were a couple of questions left unanswered in a way that suggests that although MacKayla's story has been told, there are others that will be.  Hopefully if Dani is one of them, her style will be changed.  I liked her as a character but there were a couple of times that the story was told from her point of view and that point of view was jarring and annoying.  I assume it was written that way because she is young.  I am also hoping that Christian, V'Lane and the Unseelie King get their own stories.  I cannot recommend this book enough.  As soon as I closed the book, I immediately opened up the first book to start the series from the beginning.  

Books I Want to Read

Every once in a while I start to think about my favourite authors and with the help of the internet look up information on their new books.  Here are just some of the books I am looking forward to in the next year.

Lara Adrian 

The Midnight Breed series is about vampires and their mates.  The ninth novel, Deeper Than Midnight, is Hunter's story.  I have an idea as to who his heroine is, but it would be a spoiler for people who have not read Taken By Midnight.  The book is scheduled to be released June 28th, 2011.  I did not know until today that Adrian also writes under the name of Tina St. John - I need to read these books too.

Jean M. Auel

I had absolutely no idea until today that the sixth book of the Earth's Children series is coming out soon!  The Land of the Painted Caves continues the story of Ayla, Jondalar, and their daughter Jonayla.  The final book will be released on March 29, 2011. 

Rachel Gibson

 Gibson's newest book is another hockey story.  This time it's about wedding planner, Autumn Haver, and hockey star, Sam Leclaire.  The two spend a wild weekend together in Las Vegas and end up married.  Two years later they meet up again when Autumn is in charge of organizing an event for Sam's hockey team.  It sounds reminiscent of Rachel Gibson's early book, Simply Irresistible, which is one of my all-time favourite books. 

Kristan Higgins

Available on March 29th, Harper James runs into her ex-husband at her stepsister's wedding.  Somehow the two are forced to travel across country together.  If this book is like Higgins' previous ones, there will be a crazy cast of secondary characters working through their own issues.

Lisa Kleypas
Rainshadow Road is the second book in the Friday Harbor series.  It is due out in December 2011.  So far I have not been able to find the cover or synopsis for this book.

Johanna Lindsey

 This book takes us to the kingdom of Lubinia where the captain of the palace guards, Christoph Becker believes that Alana Stindal is not the missing princess but a pretender.  This book will be out June 14, 2011.

 

 

 

Monica McCarty
Monica McCarty is my new go to author for Scottish historical romance.  The next book in her Highland Guard series is The Viper.  This one tells the story of Viper or Lachlan MacRuairi.  It will come out October 25th, 2011.

J.D. Robb

Robb's 33rd novel brings back Eve Dallas, Roarke et al for another mystery.  This time the suspense involves dirty cops.  The book was released on February 22, 2011.

 

Nora Roberts

The Queen of romance's newest book will be available April 12, 2011.  This time Roberts' focuses on firefighting with her characters Rowan Tripp and Gulliver Curry.

Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Book Trailer

I have just discovered trailers for books on youtube!  The last 30 minutes have been wasted on looking up trailers for my favourite books.  But there is only one that I have to share here today, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  Now I know that the author technically does not believe that this book is a romance novel per se, but Jamie is to die for!  If you love history, time travel, intrigue, romance, suspense, and anything else you can think of you might like this book.  The characters of Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser always stay with me for days after reading any of Gabaldon's books.  To be honest, a lot of times I compare other books to this series and not many hold a candle to it.