Saturday, April 5, 2014

Legacy of the Rose






Kasey Michaels' Legacy of the Rose is a bit of a departure from her normal lighter regency romance novels, and it is a very good one. Michaels has a gift for storytelling that she fully uses here to explore some very interesting and complex characters as well as some twisting and turning plot lines.

Michaels explores the darker side of human sexuality and the violence that can so often go hand in hand with it. She brings the reader fully realized characters rather than just the archetypal hero and villain that are so often used in this genre. I don't want to discuss the plot, as it is rather complicated and it's always better to just let it unfold as you read it, but it does follow what you would expect in general from a regency romance. But Michaels does more here than just give the reader an afternoon diversion. Legacy of the Rose is a book filled with a dark intensity that is often sadly missing from regency romance, and it is a book that will likely stay with me for a long time to come.


I give it five cocktails.





You can purchase this book by clicking the following links: Amazon USAmazon UKBarnes and Noble

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Thin Line (Jack Noble #3)




Thin Line is the latest in the Jack Noble thriller series by L.T. Ryan. I had gotten hooked on Ryan's books with the Noble Intentions part of this series, and his latest doesn't disappoint. Thin Line is set prior to the Noble Intentions series (Ryan tends to write books out of chronological order), but this poses no problem as the book also works as a stand alone. The reader is immediately plunged into the action as we follow Jack and his friend and fellow assassin, Bear, on a government issued hit on a rouge operative. What they find is not what they expect, and then a mystery unfolds along with the non stop action.

Ryan has an excellent writing style that he uses to keep up his pulse pounding action sequences along with what turn out to be very likable and engaging characters. Some very bad things happen to his characters, and they way Ryan depicts it allows for a visual almost like a movie playing out. This makes for the sort of reading experience where you are so immersed you forget what room of the house you are in and are startled by the slightest noise. At least, that is what it was like for me.  This is one of those books that has stayed with me long after I have finished reading, and I can't wait for the next one. Highly recommended.



I give it five cocktails.





You can purchase this book by clicking the following links: Amazon USAmazon UKBarnes and Noble