Clutch Me If You Can Triskelion Publishing

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 & 1/2

Author: Rochelle Rae Hensler
Publisher: Triskelion Publishing

REVIEW:

For Sarah Lyons, wearing four-inch-heels while attempting to drive a stick shift, is not a good idea. She somehow manages to crash into very attractive biker, Jake Reynolds, who unfortunately, due to her ‘outfit’, mistakes her for a hooker and thinks she has crashed into him trying to gain his custom. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, Sarah is only wearing the heels and hooker garb for a theme party her hateful overbearing boss, Hillary, has organised. It was that or lose her job.

Later, Jake sees Sarah again, without the outfit. He gets the feeling he knows her from somewhere, he just can’t think where. He witnesses her having a heated argument with her now ex-boyfriend, Damon, and instantly feels sorry for her, and also very attracted to her. He grabs an opportunity to be her knight in shining armour when three drunken idiots accost her in a restaurant. The inevitable courtship begins, but will she come clean about their original encounter? Will Jake put two and two together?

There is yet another case of crossed wires, and Sarah jumps to the wrong conclusion. Is their relationship over before it’s even begun?

I liked the main characters of this book straight away, and for me that’s what makes me want to read on. A nice little chick-lit, with some humour and romance thrown in for good measure.

Favourite Lines:

On the radio, Jo Dee Messina began singing her hit single, My Give-a-Damn’s Busted. “How appropriate,” Sarah sneered.

“I’d call you a few things, but I’m trying to be a better Christian.”

“You swore,” she said in a sing-song voice, although her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m telling God.” (HAHAHA!)

“Who are you, and what have you done with Sarah, my meek little friend?”

Four and a half flutes

Second Chance Rose Wild Rose Press

REVIEWED BY:

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Author: Terry Odell
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

REVIEW:

Rose goes to visit her former home, flattened by a hurricane. She is drawn to her once beautiful garden and, along with thinking of her late husband, Doug, she considers how her garden flourished despite the climate’s attempts to thwart her. Her old neighbour comes out for a natter, and Rose chats about how she only has memories to stay for, and so decided to move to Los Angeles. The dialogue flows smoothly—I almost felt like an eavesdropper—very real.

Rose steeled herself for a visit to Exposition Park, a garden dear to her mother. She thinks back to the past and a sweet tale her mother once told her. The Los Angeles air is dry and dusty, but suddenly the air changes… Rose finds herself enthralled by the rose gardens and lives for her Sunday visits.

On one such visit, a man approaches Rose and asks if he may sketch her. She wonders why he would be interested in her as a subject—she’s forty-two and feels it. Here is my favourite line:

…who’d want a portrait of a forty-two year old woman with boring brown eyes and plain brown hair with strands of grey popping out like dandelions?

I saw and felt so much more than these words actually said. Her insecurity, low self-esteem; the image she has of herself as not worthy for sketching. The mention of dandelions—akin to weeds—brings a richness to that sentence; that the grey is growing fast these days. Excellent and touching, in my opinion.

Rose finds the past repeating itself, but wonders how this could be so. After all, hadn’t she “had her turn” at the game of love with Doug?

A touching story that I enjoyed very much. I wish it had been longer.

Dark Roads Wild Child Publishing

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Author: J.G. Craig
Publisher: Wild Child Publishing

REVIEW:

Dark Roads

An incredibly full novella, rich in visuals, Dark Roads is a story about passengers on a bus that breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Strange events occur, things don’t quite add up, and everyone on the bus finds themselves facing their greatest fears…

Brenda is travelling with her small son. Veronica Player, star of the small stage, finds the breakdown of the bus highly irritating. Michael and Christine, a married couple, show us that sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. We meet John, and also some teenagers.

After the passengers realise the bus isn’t going anywhere, their only course of action is to get off and walk to the nearest town. It becomes apparent that a leader is needed. John assumes the role. Some passengers aren’t too happy about that…

The passengers happen upon a cottage. Oddities are in evidence, but nevertheless, everyone goes inside. Certain passengers will wish they hadn’t… They walk to a village and are alarmed to find it appears deserted. Nothing seems quite right—surreal, weird, but they continue in their quest to find help. Again, some passengers are forced to face their deepest fears here, and I must say they are shown incredibly well. I felt uneasy while reading. J.G. Craig was able to get right under my skin with his penmanship. If I were in the same situation as these passengers, I would undoubtedly do the same things as they did—every one of the characters in Dark Roads are real; everyday people. You may want to bite your fingernails at this point, or hide behind a pillow.

The scene in the church was especially well done. Brilliant wording and fantastic visuals sprang to my mind—an instant creepy movie in my head. Bonds begin to form between the passengers; cracks appear in those bonds… Who harbours ill thoughts and feelings? Who is to be trusted? What the hell will happen next, and to whom? My eyes flicked from one side of the page to the other here; riveting reading!

The climax of Dark Roads isn’t one I expected, which showed me that J.G Craig is a wonderful web-spinner. I loved the ending, even if it wasn’t what I wanted, and it gave me serious pause for thought about life in general. It is so very fleeting.

A highly enjoyable read. I recommend it for anyone who likes a creepy yet thought-provoking read. Some admirable wording in this story. Damn fine author, in my opinion.

The Boy in the Grey Tracksuit

A shorter work here, this tale gets right into the mind of Frank, a man who is on medication. After splitting from his wife, he found himself on a downward spiral. His thoughts swirl round and round in his head—it’s a wonder he hasn’t gone insane…

A newspaper article catches Frank’s attention. Something is familiar about it, something he struggles to comprehend. However, his mind doesn’t let him remember, and Frank finds himself pondering once again.

What is reality? What is in his mind? Frank’s sure he can work it out if he just thinks hard enough. But—I didn’t see the end coming, didn’t suspect a thing. I’ve read a lot of fiction and regard myself as one of those readers who can work out exactly what is going to happen. That’s twice now that J. G. Craig has swung the tale in the opposite direction to where I imagined it would go, twice that I’ve had to stop and have a think. And twice that I’ve been stunned with the outcome. The Boy in the Grey Tracksuit actually caused me to hold my hand up to my mouth after I gasped near the ending. How many writers can make you do that? Not many.

I am a fan. Stunning work.

Yesterday’s Tomorrow Triskelion Publishing

REVIEWED BY:

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Author: Rochelle Rae Hensler
Publisher: Triskelion Publishing

REVIEW:

Keeper now and Keeper then, lands and wealth he’ll see.
He who secures the realm, his heart’s desire be.
If his heart’s desire be a woman steadfast and true,
Time will have no hold on them until the spell is through.

Breanna Chandler’s parents were killed by a drunk driver whilst on a trip to England. Breanna blames Greg Garson because she believes that it was him who sent her parents on the trip, to find some artwork for him. She is therefore not exactly co-operative when he approaches her for information regarding what his parents had managed to find during the trip. Following the reading of her parents’ will, Breanna’s fiancé, Liam, decided that he needed some space, as the will appeared to imply that Breanna’s father did not entirely trust that Liam’s intentions towards his daughter were entirely honourable.

Breanna is going to be a teacher, and is more than interested in history. Her best friend, Kelly, is the opposite; she is interested in the supernatural, tarot cards and the like…

Brighton Grey is the Keeper of the Ring, each ‘keeper’ has been handsomely rewarded with lands and wealth; he who secures England’s future shall be granted his heart’s desire. By placing the ring on the finger of Elizabeth Tudor he fulfilled the prophecy of an ancient magician (Merlin). The colour of the keeper’s eyes is exactly the same as the colour of the stone; this is what distinguishes the true owner of the ring. The ring will eventually be returned to the true keeper or his direct descendant.

Kelly persuaded Breanna to go to a psychic to be regressed. The intriguing results cause Breanna to pursue Kelly, an untrained medium, to regress her again…and she can’t bring her back.

The sixteenth century Breanna is Margaret, Comfit Keeper to Queen Elizabeth. Her best friend is Christina, coincidentally a young lady who is also interested in fortunes in the form of runes, the olden times version of tarot cards…

Liam Nollens, the elusive fiancé - one I would never get tired of slapping, decides that as his “business opportunity” hasn’t quite worked out in the way he’d hoped, he will return to his fallback plan - Breanna. The arrogance of this character really came across well in the writing, and I hated him instantly.

A cleverly woven tale linking past and present, I found this story a little hard going to begin with, but the more I read the more intrigued I became with what the outcome was going to be. It didn’t end how I thought it would either.

LOL line: William Shakespeare calling to one of Elizabeth’s pet peacocks, “O Roman, Roman, wherefore art thou Roman?”

I give this four flutes.

Deserts of Desire Wild Rose Press

REVIEWED BY:

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Author: Dara Edmundson
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

REVIEW:

Eve Mason works as a columnist for Buzz magazine. With the Monday morning blues, she could really do with not going into work. When her boss calls her into his office to tell her she must fly to Arizona to interview Red Calloway, a reclusive author, it just about puts her day on more of a downer. Eve doesn’t do flying…

With no choice but to go, Eve spends the whole flight gripping the armrests of her seat. Arriving in Arizona, she’s more than glad to be on firm ground again, and takes a cab to Red Calloway’s home. The description of the journey is just enough for a reader like me who has never been to Arizona. I was able to picture the scenery in my mind’s eye, and almost felt as though I sat beside Eve in the cab. The same goes for the description of Red’s home—wonderful visuals.

Eve waits in Red’s garden and admires the flowers, while Kelly, the man who had answered the door, went to find Red. Eve assumes that Red and Kelly are lovers, so when Red introduces himself and seems to enjoy light flirting, Eve feels slightly confused, yet at the same time there is a magnetic pull between them…

A wonderfully easy read, where the visuals spring from the page and into the mind. A highly enjoyable story. Do you know, I really do like Dara Edmundson’s style and voice. I look forward to her next book that I know is forthcoming. I’m going to pounce on it first!

Relative Dreams Forbidden Publications

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Author: Emery LaRue
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

Countess Elizabeth Bathory is feared by many, and has no fear of others. Strong of character, she seems to have no conscience—this is very clear when she attacks her maid with a knife. A startling, yet unable-to-tear-your-eyes-away beginning to a book that I enjoyed very much. I will admit to being a little scared, which is a good thing as it shows Ms. LaRue’s talent.

In the past, many young noble women have been sent to Csejthe Castle, Elizabeth’s home, to learn their social skills. Many of these young ladies have disappeared… Elizabeth’s cousin, Thurzo, has been sent to search the castle for the young ladies, and to detain Elizabeth, who feels she has done no wrong. Her nonchalant attitude has an eerie feel to it. I liked the way Ms. LaRue brought forth a range of emotions within me.

The stabbed maid is found, as are many other females, all locked up. They are freed, and a great image is shown here:

So many women fled, Thurzo had the image of scurrying rats.

I could well imagine terrified faces, women pushing and shoving each other in their attempt to gain their freedom. A haunting image, for sure, but one so vivid that I gained so much understanding for the lives portrayed in Relative Dreams.

Elizabeth is walled up in her room. Scheming to get revenge, she casts a spell. In another time, another place, Elizabeth returns to wreak havoc on another woman; Elizabeth Shelton.

Elizabeth #2 is a model. She has been plagued by awful dreams of torture and such like all her life. She can’t understand why she keeps having these dreams, and her friend, Tara, tells her she should see a shrink. Elizabeth #2 takes some time off from her modelling as she feels run down. Things start to get very strange; her dreams encroach into real life, and Elizabeth #2 finds it hard to tell which world she is living in. Finally, after another particularly vivid dream, she gives in and calls a shrink, Dr. Ethan Richards, who agrees to see her that day.

Elizabeth #2 and Ethan become close. Ethan is desperate to help Elizabeth #2 overcome her nightly fears. It soon becomes apparent that otherworldly forces are at work, and as Elizabeth #2 and Ethan grow closer, the wretched Elizabeth #1 grows more incensed…and goes all out to claim Ethan as her own.

An absolutely fantastic read, full of great visuals, creepy elements, and great action. Emery LaRue is one author I’ll be looking out for in the future.

Dragon Dance Freya’s Bower

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Author: Emily Ryan-Davis
Publisher: Freya’s Bower

REVIEW:

As I reviewed book one, Mating Call, in this series, I grabbed the chance to read book two, Dragon Dance.

Cora Phillips has endured nightmares since she discovered a year ago that she had the ability to call dragons in the flesh and as an aura-type mist to her side. Mating Call is the book that deals with Cora’s newfound magic, and who the two dragons are that Cora has summoned (an amazing read, I might add).

In Dragon Dance, Cora seeks out the help of Salim, a dragonlord. Though she called the two dragons to her, Salim controls them to a degree, and Cora needs his help so that she can take on the ‘care’ so to speak, of the dragons herself. She doesn’t want this responsibility, but realises she has no choice. Salim agrees to help her, not only to learn how to manage the beasts that clamour for her attention, but to aid her through a process she has been putting off for too long—listening to some cassette tapes of herself and Greg (the human owner of one of the dragons) on the telephone. Greg was a big character in Book 1: Mating Call. Though he ‘owns’ one of the dragons, his dragon answers to Salim.

This may sound confusing, but I promise you it isn’t! Dragon Dance makes it perfectly clear who is who and what they are up to.

Cora finds herself growing close to Salim, and in one erotic scene it is very endearing to read about a woman who has slightly low confidence, and worries about what she appears like to her lover. Many of us have had this happen—we worry we’re not good enough, don’t look right, so to read of someone else having the same feelings was very refreshing.

However, after the erotic scene in Cora’s home, she is unnerved by a presence, a bad feeling in her house, and she and Salim go to a hotel. This way she should be safe from Greg, as in person form he may not know where she has gone. But—will his dragon find her and tell Greg where she is? Greg’s dragon whispers things into Cora’s mind, making her unsure who to trust and who to believe…hell, even I didn’t know who to trust anymore!

With a superb twist that shocked me, as I certainly didn’t see it coming, Dragon Dance is a very good read, and it follows on perfectly from Book 1: Mating Call. I do recommend you read Mating Call first, as even though Dragon Dance is a perfect stand-alone, Mating Call will give you just that little bit more understanding. Besides, you don’t want to miss out on a brilliant tale. Both books are very well written with excellent visuals.

Suffice to say, with the way Mating Call ended, I couldn’t wait to read book two. Now that I’ve read Dragon Dance, I am positively on pins to want to read book three. I shall pray to the Muse of Emily Ryan-Davis that my wait should not be too long.

I LOVE these two books.

Hurry! I’m praying already. My knees hurt down here!

Hello? Will someone help me up? Please… Don’t leave me down here…

Time Warp Phaze Publishing

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Given for the sheer entertainment value. Every wronged woman should own a copy of this book!

Author: Alessia Brio
Publisher: Phaze Publishing

REVIEW:

This review isn’t going to give much away about the plot as it will spoil it for readers. I will admit, when I began to read Time Warp, finding out that Alex is married to Dan, that they were about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, I winced just a little bit at picking a book to read that seemed too peachy, too ‘Alex’s world is wonderful’ for my current mood. It then becomes apparent that things aren’t so ‘cute’.

Scene one: Time Warp begins with Alex making preparations for her first wedding anniversary. All seems wonderful, peachy…

Scene Two: Same scene start, subtle differences. I liked those. Third anniversary, not first. And the small things that creep into a relationship once it begins to age are shown well here.

And then the shocker…

Littered with lines from the song The Time Warp, which, I might add, lends an incredibly creepy/Alex is whacko feel to the whole story, I could NOT put this book down.

Favourite line that had me laughing along with Alex in an insane manner, my eyes narrowed with the excitement and spite of retribution as if I myself were Alex: She chuckled and sang, “That really drives you insa-a-a-a-a-ane.”

I will say no more, except that if you like revenge stories, this is the one for you. If you want to see a deranged woman in action, doing everything you wished you could do to your ex partner, read this.

It makes you feel as if you’ve actually done it. Most satisfying.

Big smile.

Cinderella Tannenbaum Wild Rose Press

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Author: Dara Edmundson
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

REVIEW:

Mindy Tannenbaum has been working hard, so the last thing she needs is a call from her overbearing mother, Florence. Florence asks if Mindy will be bringing a date with her to dinner on New Year’s Day. Mindy says that she will. There is one small snag. Mindy doesn’t have a boyfriend, or any chance of finding a date so quickly.

43, still single, and her only company a cat named Percy (which I think is a cool name for a cat!), Mindy realises she has to do something fast unless she wants to end up on the shelf. She joins Schoolchums.com to see if any of her old school friends are still around. She sees one, Chad, and reels back in horror that he has aged so terribly. Throwing caution to the wind, Mindy enters her own details into the Schoolchums.com information box and hits send…

The day before New Year’s Eve, Mindy is getting desperate. No date. No prospect of one. And then she logs onto Schoolchums.com again…

A charming tale, where the characters come to life—and seem so real. We’ve all met a Florence, a Mindy, and a Chad. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll have met a Len too.

Taste Test: Under Arrest Torquere Press

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Author: Multi
Publisher: Torquere Press

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A Cold Night’s Sleep by Vincent Diamond opens this ebook of short stories involving cops.

Sandy Richter is a retired cop. Retired by choice—he’d rather leave the job than take desk duty after a fire while on the job rendered his right hand useless. Teaching himself to use his left hand, Sandy spends his time in his cabin, practising art.

An approaching thunderstorm snaps the power off in the cabin. Sandy is nervy about his small home being struck my wayward lightning, so when Mitchell Tanner knocks on his door for respite from the downpour, Sandy understandably feels jittery.

Sandy allows Mitchell to stay in his home for the duration of the storm. While Mitchell showers, Sandy finds himself thinking about the handsome stranger in more ways than one…

Showered, Mitchell returns to the main part of the cabin and asks Sandy how he hurt his hand. Sandy’s upset at the fire is obvious here, and well shown with flash images from his past. I felt empathy towards Sandy, and found myself hoping that he would be able to move past the guilt he feels about his part in the tragedy that ended his career.

Though a stranger, Sandy finds himself drawn to Mitchell. Will Mitchell help Sandy to heal, or is their coupling just a one night affair? Will Sandy live forever in his cabin, amid the security and privacy the forest affords him, or will he let Mitchell share his life and begin again, renewed?

CB Potts has penned Small Town Lawmen, a tale that starts in first person and moves to third. Smattered with inner thoughts, which gave me a great insight into the character’s personality, CBP deals with how the gay community are perceived in small towns. I empathised with the gay community as a whole by reading Small Town Lawmen, and can only hope that the bigotry directed at gay people will completely vanish one day.

James Buchanan brings Pat Down to this trio of shorts. Jeff runs from the scene of a brawl. He’d been out for the night when someone landed a punch on him. He retaliated and all hell had broken loose. Not wanting Chris, a man from Jeff’s distant past, to find out he is gay, Jeff found himself running… Chris is a cop, and easily catches up with Jeff. Will Jeff be able to keep his secret?

Dark Submission Torquere Press

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Author: Shayne Carmichael
Publisher: Torquere Press

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Luc Devon works as a live-in secretary for Marcus James. He wakes during the middle of the night having heard noises. He gets up to investigate. Marcus encounters him and asks what he is doing. Luc doesn’t want to sound foolish, so he says he got up for a snack. The pair make their way to the kitchen.

Luc likes the fact that Marcus knows what he wants out of life and works to get it, though Marcus does seem a little secretive. Luc senses an eeriness emanating from Marcus, and tries to understand just what it is that makes him slightly uneasy.

Marcus has company coming to stay for the weekend, and, while preparing a snack, he informs Luc that his meals will be brought up to his room and that he is to stay away from the guests when they arrive. Though Luc wasn’t intending on mingling with the guests and stepping out of his station in life, he went back to bed feeling a little bewildered as to why Marcus felt the need to tell him to keep out of the way…

Luc thinks about his boss and how he feels about him. He is attracted to Marcus, but that ‘something about him’ is hard to comprehend.

Will Marcus and Luc become a twosome? Will Marcus’ strange air have a reasonable explanation? Or is Luc destined to find out that secrets are better off being just that?

Treasured Wild Rose Press

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Author: Jenna Bayley-Burke
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

REVIEW:

I’ve said this before about Ms. Bayley-Burke, and if I didn’t say it, I thought it: There are writers that exist who can weave a full-bodied, see-it-all tales with few words.

I would almost say the shorts I’ve read from Ms. JBB are miniature novels—that’s how much information and images she crams into her short works without making the reader feel overloaded. The scene flows from the page every time, leaving me satisfied with what I have read. Excellent.

Treasured tells the tale of a marriage proposal, and follows the thoughts, feelings, and life of Marianne Phillips. Set in years gone by, the olden day feel is very much apparent. The dialogue matches the time, and transported me backwards, making me believe I witnessed this precious little scene.

Wonderful.

A Shout in the Dark Hard Shell Word Factory

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Author: Christopher Wright
Publisher: Hard Shell Word Factory

REVIEW:

It was with great relief and satisfaction that I found “A Shout in the Dark”, by Christopher Wright, a realistic, convincing tale of a young priest caught up in a neo-Nazi hunt for an ancient Vatican relic. This book was absolutely impossible to put down. The suspense was driving. The realism of the characters, and their conflicts with good and evil are believable. They draw us into their lives; we care about their fate.

Since the publication of “The DaVinci Code” by Dan Brown, readers have been assaulted by books about Vatican conspiracies and Catholic cover ups. With this onslaught, we could wonder if the Vatican is responsible for all the evil throughout history. Wright gives us a fresh vision of the genre of the Vatican thriller.

Marco Sartini lives through a terrible tragedy and feels the rage of a man willing to commit murder. “Bastards!” Marco shouted. “Bastards like you deserve to die,” he yelled into the blackness.

Six years later, Sartini is a newly ordained priest, hoping to find solace and peace of mind in a closer relationship with God. Sartini has to confront the first of many crises of conscious; to know that real evil does exist in the world. He has just been ordained and already he feels that he’s failed in an essential task as a priest, to listen to and forgive someone in need. “Tell me, Father Marco, do you believe in the Devil?” “You’re right, Savio, there were many devils in the war.” “But do you believe in the Devil, Father?”

As he assists in an unavoidable accident, he wonders if he in only hiding behind the priesthood. Perhaps his jeans and casual clothes were an attempt to conceal his new role in life. Why else had he used it as a disguise for his clerical collar? Until this moment he’d not realized just how much grief and anger there was still inside.

By chance or by design, he meets Father Josef Reinhardt, a meeting that will change Marco Sartini’s life forever. Father Reinhardt heads up the Vatican Security Services. He sees the anger and naiveté in Marco and decides to use him to find a lost church relic, a bronze head of Jesus Christ, which could become the keystone of a “fascist Shrine of Evil.”

As Reinhardt writes, “I believe that there is a plan for revenge that will ensnare the innocent as well as the guilty. A darkened web of evil. I beg you, Holiness, pray for the innocent.” By using a naïve priest to confront a neo-Nazi plot to unite the power of Christ with the “power” of Hitler, Reinhardt may be sacrificing Marco Sartini to the wolves.

Untold millions throughout the world know deep down that there is an intriguing and compelling personality behind the face of Adolf Hitler. Germans and non-Germans alike have been won over by the greatness that shines out from this man. – Josef Goebbels, Reichsminister for Propaganda, 1936.

Sartini teams up with Laura and two other Italian journalists to find the statue. Laura is the illegitimate daughter of a priest who had been in possession of the relic and assassinated to take it by fascists during World War II. Laura and he try to find the statue and keep it out of the hands of the neo-Nazi group, the ADR movement (Achtzehn Deutschland Reinigung). The ADR are out to regain the statue and will to go to any length to get it. “Just think of it, Karl,” Kessel said breathlessly. “The two great Saviors of the world – Adolf Hitler and Jesus Christ. If that bronze head is the likeness of Jesus Christ, then we can put an end to false teaching of his Jewish ancestry. A pure God for a pure people. Again the Fatherland has an opportunity to cleanse Europe.”

In a fast-paced chase throughout Italy, Germany and France, Marco and Laura find, lose and find again, the bronze head. The ADR fanatics, Karl and Kessel, are always close on their heels. There is collateral damage, and growing intimacy between Marco and Laura; which causes Marco to test his faith over and over again. Wright leads us into tucked-away corners of Rome and Paris. It’s clear that Wright knows these cities well and allows us to experience the atmosphere fully. Living in France, I was struck by the intimate (and very accurate) knowledge of Paris that Wright possesses.

Wright has a way of creating ambivalent motivations in the good and evil characters. Many are not necessarily who they seem. We are never sure what the characters’ true interests in finding this relic are; revenge, faith, greed, ambition. We doubt, as much as Marco Sartini, the nature of those around him. However, Sartini grows into a redoubtable foil to the neo-Nazis, as well as the Vatican’s internal factions. Sartini is not so naïve as Reinhardt thought. He becomes an asset to Father Reinhardt’s security service. Marco Sartini becomes secure in his faith and vows to the Church.

This is the start of a possible series of Marco Sartini and the Vatican Security Services books. We hope that this will not be our last encounter with Sartini and Reinhardt.

This book was “unputdownable!” I give it an entire bottle of champagne, plus a glass for good measure. I’d like to give it a Magnum, a Jeroboam, or a Balthazar, if bigger bottles were available to the reviewers!

Bravo, Christopher Wright and “Cheers!”

Jericho Jones Torquere Press

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Author: Drew Zachary
Publisher: Torquere Press

REVIEW:

Jericho Jones is fresh out of college and has received an inheritance, so he decides he’s going to live out his dream of being an adventurer. He also has some knowledge of archeology and hopes it will aid him in his new quest. Now begins the first title of a series of adventures. However, the quest isn’t revealed in this first adventure, nor are the clues for this quest really shown. Upon finishing this first e-book in the series, I still really have no idea what it’s all about. I can only assume that the subsequent titles will reveal more.

If you like m/m material, then this title will definitely rev your engine. I’ve read some gay fiction, so I have to say that the guy-on-guy sex scenes were more tastefully done that most het sex scenes I’ve read. Jericho meets Caleb, who is the perfect Adonis look alike; whereas, Caleb is the pretty boy. A bit stereotypical for my tastes, but I also understand the concept of hot m/m material.

My biggest problem with this story is how childish Jericho is. When he’s irritated with Caleb, Jericho often sticks out his tongue at him, especially when his back is turned. Although klutzy and a bit of a wuss—as Jericho calls himself—he also strikes me as whiney. For the most part, the e-book is well written. I did find myself wanting to know what was going on with the guys who keep following him from one part of the world to another, and I like Caleb too. I also liked how this title touched on how gay partners feel in certain social scenes that may not accept such relationships. That was a nice touch. The descriptions of various parts of the world are nice too.

However, one phrase had me cracking up laughing. In the following sentence, the bit about the eyes is too literal and I saw it in my head as his eyes leaving his body to roam all over Caleb: His eyes traveled over Caleb, and his cock went boing, and maybe it would be way better if he had his own room because they were in public, a moving vehicle at that, and he still wanted to jump Caleb’s bones. I’m not sure if this was meant for comic relief or not, but it sure had me laughing.

If you like to read series and hot m/m fiction, then you may like the start of the Jericho Jones adventures.

I give it three flutes.

It Had To Be Drew Triskelion Publishing

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Author: Melissa Nelson
Publisher: Triskelion Publishing

REVIEW:

Drew Grayson, Lawyer and widowed single father of a pubescent teenage daughter.

Sophie Colson, potential grade school teacher and all round nice girl.

Mae Anderson, matronly woman intent on meddling in some matchmaking for her niece Sophie.

Ashley, the pubescent teen, my initial thoughts about her - Obnoxious!

At Ashley’s thirteenth birthday party Mae engineers herself a fake injury in order to carry out her plan of getting Drew and Sophie together.

Sophie arrives on a mercy mission to look after her “ailing” aunt, she has nothing else to do, nowhere else to be. She is faced at first with small town antagonism, and with being tarred with the same brush as her wayward mother and sister. She finds all sorts of other things on her return to Snowflake, not least of which is her long lost father.

There is an undeniable attraction between Sophie and Drew; both have a lot of baggage, and initially feel that they cannot move on without dealing with the demons from their respective pasts.

The love scenes are tastefully and believably done, making them beautiful to read and not embarrassing. The blossoming of the love between Drew and Sophie is heart-thuddingly real and tangible. So well written is this story that I felt every emotion. It is lovely, funny, and heart-warming , it lifted my spirits. I love it when a book can make me laugh one minute and cry the next, this one did that and some!

BUY IT! You won’t be disappointed.

Favourite lines

#1 Slow down. Hurry up. He opened his mouth, then clamped it shut. It was too soon to form complete sentences that didn’t include profanity (hahahaha)

#2 Did she have to be nice too? He couldn’t fight nice. He wasn’t prepared for nice, damn it.

#3 Heated shivers slid down the pores of his skin, rippling through his body like the gentle waves on a serene pond disturbed by a skipping stone (Wow beautifully worded description)

#4 This one made me cry - He stared at his daughter. No, it was really her and not some racoon-faced kid. Not a single tangle remained in Ashley’s hair. It gleamed. Her face, scrubbed clean of black mascara, shone with shimmering soft highlights and emphasized her delicate features. “You look…beautiful.”

This deserves 5 flutes filled to the brims.

The Hustler Prince Torquere Press

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Lee Benoit
Publisher: Torquere Press

REVIEW:

Martin met Alexei in Cuba while on holiday. They had a romantic fling. Imagine Martin’s surprise months later when his good friend, Daria, pops herself round for a cuppa and shows him a picture of Alexei in the newspaper. Seeing his image again makes Martin remember their vacation encounter…

Daria and Martin went to Cuba in the summer. Daria met Alexei while having lunch. He’d found Daria and Martin some bikes to use while in Cuba. Martin, wary by nature, seems abrupt and stand-offish when Daria introduces Alexei again (Alexei had approached them upon their arrival, and Martin suspected him to be a hustler). Alexei uses one bike and Martin and Daria use the other; Alexei takes them to see his old professor. Martin softens towards Alexei. I liked the way Martin was portrayed, as his change from being suspicious of Alexei to trusting him was a nice metamorphosis to read about.

Martin and Daria returned home from Cuba leaving Alexei behind. I sensed Martin had stronger feelings for Alexei than he would have anyone believe, and it seems Alexei felt the same, as Martin then receives a letter stating that Alexei will be coming to America as a refugee. Daria and Martin discuss the possibility of Alexei learning English once in the US and studying so that he can get a job. They find out that Alexei is in Pittsburgh—Martin wants to go and see him to make sure he is all right, as Alexei has to stay there for two months before he can move on to a town/city of his choice.

Martin is an interesting character. I liked his sometimes gruff exterior and the fact that inside he is a caring guy. Daria, on the other hand, is an absolute riot. She leaps from the page, says it like she sees it, and induced many smiles. Alexei is very sweet and charming.

All in all a good and solid read.

Second Sight Freya’s Bower

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Debbie Mumford
Publisher: Freya’s Bower

REVIEW:

Delighted to snag the new Debbie Mumford book (titter—my boppy instrument wins again!).

Zach Douglass and his work partner/fiancée, Angie Sutcliffe, help police solve crimes. They are not only psychic, but possess the ability to gauge what happened at crime scenes. Angie is able to ‘see’ what happened to murder victims in her mind’s eye.

Called to one particularly gruesome scene (oh, goody! I like scary/creepy books) Zach stands by as Angie uses her skills to find out as much as she can about the very dead person. The first chapter brought the action right to my mind, and I settled in for a read that had me feeling that I’d read much more than I actually had—a sign of a good writer, in my opinion.

Zach and Angie’s other work colleague, Kate Blackman, is en route to meet them, and together they would help police solve the crime, just like they had in the past. It is obvious that this crime scene has disturbed Angie far more than any other. She usually shares what information she gleans readily, but this time it seems she needs time to digest the horrors she has discovered. Zach knows Angie needs time, and leaves her be, yet at the same time he wishes she would open up to him so that he can help her make sense of what is in her mind. Alas, Angie wants to be left alone, so they go their separate ways and sleep in separate hotel rooms.

The next day Zach wakes and ‘feels’ Angie calling to him. He leaves the hotel and makes his way, by psychic sense, to where Angie is. She hands him something wrapped in a white towel, tells him to make himself safe and raise his psychic shields, and to go and find a woman named Jenny Murdoch. A shock twist in the tale now appears, and it is up to Zach to find this Jenny and hand her the strange book that had been wrapped in the towel.

Jenny Murdoch translates languages. Zach approaches her to decipher the weird wording in the book, and finds that she has something he can help her with. Jenny is also psychic and has struggled with a tiger—her inner psychic voice as it were—and how to cope with its presence.

Jenny unravels the meanings in the book as well as learning from Zach how to tame her tiger and understand her special abilities. Together they strive to solve the first gruesome murder, and one other, and also prevent any more from occurring.

A riveting read where the first sentence packs a punch and delivers the hook that had me gripped until the end. Some superb delivery lurks within the pages of Second Sight, along with excellent imagery and a very real sense that yes, psychics are real, they do exist. My eyes tumbled over the sentences in a bid to read as quickly as I could, yet at the same time I didn’t want to read too fast as it meant the story would soon end.

Words to describe Second Sight:

Murder, intrigue, suspicion, nail-biting.

Things I said out loud:

“Who the hell is the killer?”

“Oh, the suspense!”

“Oh my God…”

Buy it and love it, readers. A solid and delightful read.

The Pendulum Wild Rose Press

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Tarah Scott
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

REVIEW:

The first book in the Celtic Brooch Series introduces the reader to Lady Airin Keith in the Scottish Highlands of 1388. Airin is bent on finding her grandmother’s brooch which can prevent her marriage to a knight whom she does not like—or so she says. Throw in a couple of murders, wonderful verbal sparring, and Lady Airin’s maid who lends a touch of emotion to this story and you’re set for a fast-moving tale.

I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, so in many ways I enjoyed this novella, but in others, I was a bit irritated at the lack of good historical information. The atmosphere and setting for a historically set novella was painted thinly, but the speech patterns were well done in my opinion. The verbal sparring is fun to read. I found Lady Airin’s fiery temperament believable and sometimes amusing, but her tendency to get a bit hysterical at odd moments sort of spoiled the mood of the e-book and had me sighing in impatience. Also, the ignorance Lady Airin has about the blood vials beneath a newly wedded woman’s pillow did not ring true. Women of such an era were well-versed in such things. They had to be to maintain their safety, station in life, etc. This should have been researched more.

The love scenes were well done, but there was a bit of purple prose and one line had be cracking up laughing. I also figured out who the murderer was in the story and I picked up on the hints left to the circumstances of Airin’s sister’s death.

Regardless, The Pendulum was an overall enjoyable read. As for a favorite scene, I really didn’t have one, but there is a line during a verbal sparring match about whether or not Lady Airin is the murderer that is brilliant. “My God, Lady, you can twist a sword into a knot.”

The Pendulum is worth a read. I give it four flutes of champagne.