Moonlight Mist - Laura London

When I picked up this book I was totally convinced I was going to read a nice traditional regency. A shotgun wedding between an innocent Miss and a more experienced rake found in a compromising position seemed just the thing to entertain me for a few hours.

Why, oh why, would Lord Melbrooke, England's dashing poet laureate, marry a raucous imp with little dowry and less social position? Only Lynden, his seventeen-year-old bride, and her fretting family knew the truth. For the arrogant aristocrat had compromised the girl (or so said an archly ambitious aunt), and nothing short of matrimony would stop the scandal.

Astonishingly, Lord Melbrooke agreed. But now Lynden's pride burned. Her husband, it was said, had tasted the charms of England's most famous women and even now kept an elegant mistress at a nearby castle. Did he think he'd been trapped by a conniving society chit? Though it might break her very heart, Lynden was determined to set him free.

Lynden is forced to marry Lord Melbrooke after they are found in his bedroom by her family members. Lynden shows some aversion to being married like that but eventually she agrees and they leave for one of Melbrooke's estates in the company of Lynden's twin sister Lorraine.

I was convinced we were going to have Lynden and Melbrooke getting to know each other but instead the action focus more on Lynden and Lorraine's adventures trying to find more about a local smuggle/highwayman they come in contact with and who surprisingly similar to another gentleman they are introduced to. Lynden behaves very childishly towards Melbrooke who always seems very remote and not prone to share his emotions, he does however tell her he want's to have a true relationship with her.

In a way this book reminded me of Heyer's A Convenient Marriage. A much older hero marrying a young girl and then a rocky relationship where she gets in all sorts of complicated situations and he has to go to the rescue. In ACM however we actually see a relationship beyween them and how there is some attraction growing between them. Here I had no idea why Melbrooke put up with Lynden's bad manners and why did he fell in love with her. I think the story needed more time spent on the relationship of the hero/heroine to truly feel they were developing some feelings for each other.

Grade: 3/5

Nalini Singh Contest

This is one of the authors that I've been hearing so much about lately that I know I'll just have to try one of her books soon. She has a fun quiz on her webpage and she´s doing a contest too related to her new release Caressed by Ice. Here are my results:

Which Psy-Changeling Hero Is For You?

Your Psy/Changeling Hero: Vaughn

Protective, possessive and sensual to the core, Vaughn is a sentinel with the heart of a jaguar. If he decides to make you his, there's no getting away. So run...or get ready to tangle with the wild fury of a changeling who is more animal than most.Find out more about Vaughn and the series at www.nalinisingh.com
Take this quiz!








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The Irish Bride - Alexis Harrington

I don't know why I got this book, I think I probably confused it the The Bridal Veil which was on my wish list and it's about a mail order bride. I can't resist one of those every once in a while.

Farrell Kirwan thought she was in love with Liam O'Rourke, not his wild and unpredictable brother Aidan. But when a family crisis forces her hand, she finds herself Aidan's wife, boarding a ship bound for America--leaving Ireland and Liam behind. Secretly, Farrell resolves that it will be a marriage in name only . . .

Aidan harbors a taste for adventure and an unrequited love for Farrell Kirwan. He will not be deterred and knows that he can win her trust and heart. But a menace that has been tracking them from all the way back home threatens to destroy everything they have built together unless they can join forces and place their faith in each other--and the power of love . . .

It's not that I didn't like the book but more that I was bored by it. I think most of Farrell and Aidan's problems were because they didn't speak with each other. They have to run away to America and not once does Aidan tell her he loves her, or that he is working too hard because he is afraid they wont have enough again... and Farrell never tells him how she starts loving him, never even tries to reason with him when he says he will let her leave... and after the villain has pursued them for the whole book we don't even have a closure scene with the villain being defeated... Despite the hardships I think the part I enjoyed more was the trip to America, on the boat they seemed to have reached some level of relationship. After they get to America there were too many external elements again.
I wanted more!

Grade: C

I want, no I NEED more Bookshelves!!!

Texas Glory - Lorraine Heath

I started this one after a few disappointments. It was a reread and when I picked it up I thought that 1) I need something interesting to catch my interest, 2) I needed to find out if this one was indeed a keeper. Well, it is!



She was wed to a stranger who would show her the way to freedom and love . . .

Ever since her mother's death, Cordelia McQueen has been a virtual prisoner in her father's house. But now everything had changed. Shamelessly traded in a battle for land and water rights, she was thrust into an unfamiliar world as the bride of Dallas Leigh.

Dallas had given his life to the land. Now he would build a town that would put West Texas on the map. But as he gazed into the eyes of the lovely stranger who belonged to him, he caught a glimpse of another empire--a warm, radiant empire of the heart. Was this a woman to walk beside him, as, together, they carved out a future rich with the radiant promise of love?

Dallas Leigh lives for his dream of building an empire, the only thing he misses is having a son to inherit it. A few years back he tried to find a mail order bride but he sent his brother Houston to pick her up and she fell in love with him instead. Although the town he is building is rising fast the women are still scarce.

Dallas has a problem with his neighbours, the MacQueens, the feel part of his lands should be theirs and since they aren't they keep raiding his lands and killing his cattle. When he finds out they have a sister he makes a proposal, Cordelia will marry him and give him a son and he will give them access to the lands and water they want.

I really enjoyed both Dallas and Dee, they are real people with feelings and expectations. Dallas is a hard man who feels a bit lost about how to court his wife especially when he realises she was never given a choice. Dee is terrified of having to leave her house where she was kept almost in seclusion to marry a stranger that frightens her. Although a son is still what he wants more Dallas decides to wait till Cordelia has known him better and stopped fear him to do something about it and Cordelia starts to conquer her fears - from riding a horse to leaving the house - to become a more secure woman capable of making decisions regarding the town and her marriage. And slowly they fall in love with each other...

There is a subplot about who is abusing a little boy both Dee and Dallas are fond of and about what her brothers plan to do when things don't go as they planned. Her big brother has one mean streak and keeps provoking Dallas in the hopes of starting a fight. There's a big set of secondary characters, starting with Houston and Amelia from the previous book, and they all help to make this a memorable read.

Grade: A

New Additions to the TBR pile

Here's the new arrivals:

Jo Beverley - To Rescue The Rogue
Jo Beverley - The Rogue's Return
Julia Quinn - The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever
Mary Jo Putney - The China Bride
Mary Jo Putney -The Bartered Bride

I'm so happy with all of them that I don't know which to start first...
The Putney's were a gift from the author and they signed to me, I just did a happy dance when I got them!

Mum's The Word - Kate Collins

Ever since I joined CozyMystery I've been trying new authors. The genre really appeals to me and every month we're supposed to read and discuss a book. This month it was my choice and I decided on an author I had never tried.

So maybe Abby’s life isn’t the bed of roses she was hoping it would be. She adores her little flower shop, BLOOMERS, but a new low-cost competitor is killing her profits—and a black SUV just rammed her vintage Corvette in a bold hit-and-run. Determined to track down the driver, she accepts the help of hunky ex-cop Marco Salvare. But their budding relationship is threatened when the trail turns deadly. Now Abby is caught in a tangle of menacing phone calls, police corruption, and murderous road rage. If she’s not careful, the next flower arrangement might be for her own funeral….

I had some trouble getting into the the story. Abby is a flower shop owner after having flunked law school and after having her car rear ended by an unknown man and discovering a young man in her neighbourhood was murdered decides to investigate.

I thought Abby was a bit too daring for her own good, she was forever investigating where she could be caught, she was a bit too nosy and involved in other people's problems when she shouldn't and I never felt the small town atmosphere we get in other books of the genre. I never felt that she devoted some time to her work, the flower shop, we are told she planned this and this but we never spend time doing it. Also she seemed a bit out of place with her family especially her mother who only seems interested in appearances and some strange works she calls art. But even that was not that much developed and we don't have a true feeling of who people really are. My favourite character was Marco Salvare, a bar owner and PI who helps Abby solve the case and who is a possible romantic interest but my opinion was that he was too good for Abby.

Grade: C

I already have another one of these in the TBR pile, Acts of Violets. Can anyone tell me if it's any better?

Comfort Reads

I suppose everyone has some books that are considered comfort reads, books you turn to when you are feeling sick or depressed or you just need some cheer me up... At first glance I would say that all my keepers can be considered comfort reads but the truth is that I don't reread them for comfort, meaning I don't reread them when I'm feeling down or sick.

I do reread them however when I'm feeling a bit disappointed in my reads, when everything seems to be repetitive and annoying and deja vue, that's when I like to read my old favourites. Now is one of those periods and I'm thoroughly enjoying the pleasure of revisiting some known characters, some interesting and emotional situations... but maybe that's just another form of comfort!

This is something I've started to do recently, I used to think my TBR pile was too big to allow me time to reread and so I could easily have 6 months or more between rereads. Well not anymore, I'm having such a great time since I started to organise my keepers and rereading my "doubtfuls" that I think I may have to start my own challenge and reread at least one old favourite a month!

What about you all, do you reread often?

A New Bookstore!

A bookstore opened here this week, this is good news not only because a new bookstore is always a good thing but also because we didn't have a decent one in town. There was an old one but nobody ever knew how the books were organized and to find a specific book could be a difficult task.

This bookstore is part of the national Lyon Bookstores chain, I haven't visited it yet but I plan to soon. It's true that I make most of my book shopping online or at Fnac and Bertrand but this makes it easier to spend some time every week browsing new books.

I'm not sure how much actual buying I'll do there, books are becoming an expensive thing around here and I think they only sell books in portuguese. Just to give you an example Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth is going to be translated to portuguese. The same book that costs less than USD 10 (GBP 6 at Amazon UK it's roughly EUR 9) at Amazon will be divided in 2 volumes costing EUR 18 each. And Elizabeth Chadwick's Lords of the White Castle that costs GBP 3 at Amazon UK costs here EUR 27 in it's portuguese version. For us reading in the original version it's a necessity rather than a luxury...

However I really like to enter a bookstore and see the new covers, read the back blurbs, smell the new books... so I'm really happy with this opening around the corner.

A Perfect Groom - Samantha James

I've had this book in my TBR pile for quite a while and I can't remember why I put it there. I decided to pick it up last week and see how good it was. I had already started it when I realised it was part of a trilogy but now that I've finished it I think there are no problems if you read it as a stand alone.

Perfection is in the eye of the beholder…

Proud of his reputation as a rogue, Justin Sterling intends to be the first to bed “the Unattainable”--the Season’s most luscious debutante--and win the wager that’s the talk of the ton. However, he never expected the enchantress in question to be Arabella Templeton, who once stole his heart and owns it still. Now the notorious scoundrel will have to prove to her that his intentions are honorable…while protecting her virtue from every other rascal in London.

Arabella will marry only for love--and she does not need her childhood nemesis to act as her self-appointed guardian! Though the arrogant cad seems sincere, she is well aware of his rakehell history and won’t be swayed by his considerable charm and disarming good looks. For it would be pure madness for Arabella to ignore the voice of reason that whispers “beware!” and heed instead a traitorous heart that insists Justin Sterling would make…


I'm afraid I'm getting too demanding in my readings or maybe this one just didn't struck a cord with me, I found it very predictable while I read it and now I don't remember it all that well anymore.

Justin Sterling overhears some of his friends placing a bet about "the toast of the Season". A girl called the Unattainable that they court without success. Sure of his success with the ladies he also places a bet that he will bed her within the month.
When he finally meets her he finds out that she is not unknown to him, as a young girl she humiliated him at a house party and they both still remember that scene. Predictably they feel attracted to each other and eventually are discovered in a compromising position and forced to marry. Since he never tells her about the bet she is naturally outraged when she finds out and leaves him. She however repents and decides forgive him and go back to him giving him and us an HEA.

Although it may seem I did not like the book that is not the truth, it was okay and I enjoyed reading it, it was just that it seemed I've read this story before. Sometime a few details is just what it's needed to make a story like this one seem new and fresh. Unfortunately for me that was missing in this one. Or maybe I'm just jaded...

Grade: C

Lords of The White Castle - Elizabeth Chadwick

This book is about the true story of Fulke Fitzwarin, a knight in the time of king John who becomes an outlaw to fight for his right to his family's castle. At the end of the book she mentions her sources and their accounts of Fulke's like.

Lords of The White Castle is a novel based on a remarkable true story of honour, treachery and love spanning the turbulent reigns of four great Medieval kings. Award winning author Elizabeth Chadwick brings the thirteenth century vividly to life in the tale of Fulke FitzWarin. From inexperienced young courtier to powerful Marcher lord, from loyal knight to dangerous outlaw, from lover of many women to faithful husband, Fulke’s life story bursts across the page in authentic detail.
A violent quarrel with Prince John, later King John, disrupts Fulke’s life ambition to become ‘Lord of the White Castle’ and leads him to rebel. There are perilous chases through autumn woods, ambushes and battles of wit as Fulke thwarts John at every turn. No less dramatic is the dangerous love that Fulke harbours for Maude Walter, a wealthy widow whom John wants for himself.
Negotiating a maze of deceit, treachery and shifting political alliances Fulke’s striving is rewarded, but success is precarious. Personal tragedy follows the turbulence of the Magna Carta rebellion, culminating in the destruction of everything for which Fulke has fought. Yet even among the ashes, he finds a reason to begin anew.

As usual Elizabeth brings to life medieval England, set in the 12th and 13th centuries, we get to know not only the main characters but how and where they lived and all the important personalities of the time. It's also an excellent portrayal of a turbulent time in which the most important men of the land will finally come together to make the king sign the Magna Carta which seals some of the fundamental rights of the people.

Fulke and the then still Prince John have a strong disagreement over a chess game, Fulke's pride and John's grudge will make them enemies for life. Fulke's father has been fighting for the right to have Whittington returned to the family. After his father's death John confirms the ownership of the castle to another man leading Fulke to become an outlaw and give his allegiance to Llewellyn of Wales to keep fighting for what he believes is his right.

He manages to wed the woman he loves after she becomes a widow and their union will be tempestuous and passionate. Through Maude's eyes we have another version of the events and how they affected women and children and we also see the details of everyday life. As the political game often makes men change sides and allegiances we see how Fulke's life and decisions are fully interwhined in the period he lives in.

This book is not a traditional romance and yet it has strong romantic elements that add to the general sense of history and help bring characters and situations to life.

Grade: A

Quick Book Meme

I've been tagged by A. to do this meme so here we go:

1. - Total number of books I own:
I'm sad to say that I have no idea. I write down how many I have still TBR (170), how many in the trade box (94) and I'm in the process of cataloguing my keepers (85 so far but I have as much to go through) but this only applies to my english books and I have as many more in portuguese...

2. - Last book I bought:
Since joining Bookmooch I haven't bought many new books. I think the last one was Karen Rose's Don't Tell.

3. - Last Book I read:
Elizabeth Chadwick's Lords of the White Castle



4. - Five books that mean a lot to me:
A very difficult question this is. Books mean a lot to me for very different reasons, sometimes it's about the book, others times it's about the time I read it in. Sometimes is because they make me laugh and other times because they make me cry. For all of these reasons you can see that there could be (and there are) lots of books that mean a lot to me. It's hard to just pick 5!

Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice

Marion Zimmer Bradley - Mists of Avalon

Fernando Campos - A Casa do Pó

Ken Follett - Pillars of The Earth

Diana Gabaldon - Outlander

Now I feel like rereading all of them... and if I could pick a 6th any Chadwick would do.

5. - Tag 5 people
Let's see who hasn't been tagged yet...
Leya from Wandeca Reads,
Joanna from Carpe Omnia...Ad Libitum,
Carla Nayland,
Teresa from A Dedaleira
Holly from What Were You Expecting

A Woman Scorned - Liz Carlyle

It's been a while since I've read the other books in this series, somehow this book just escaped me at the time and it was recently that I realised I hadn't read. Since I'm a Carlyle fan I decided to pick it up asap!

Jonet Rowland, the Marchioness of Mercer is lovely, rich, and—it is rumored—an unrepentant adulteress. And when her philandering husband is murdered in his own bed, it's whispered that Jonet is a femme fatale in more ways than one. It will take a dashing and honorable soldier to get Jonet out of this one.
When his scheming uncle begs Captain Cole Amherst to investigate the death of his brother, Lord Mercer, Cole flatly refuses. But it is soon apparent that treachery stalks Lady Mercer’s two innocent children. A man of God and a scholar, Cole reluctantly plunges into the viper’s pit that is Jonet Rowland’s life, and finds that nothing could have prepared him for the lust she inspires...or the danger which surrounds them.

Jonet, the Marchioness of Mercer was once the toast of the ton but is now an outsider that most believe poisoned her husband. Cole Amherst is asked by his uncle, Jonet's brother in law, to go and work as a tutor to Jonet's sons so he can be aware of what is going on in that house. Wary at first he soon realises that someone is threatening them and that Jonet has been leaving with that fear for quite a while.

I really enjoyed reading Cole and Jonet's story. I think I liked Cole more in the beginning but it's also true that we know more about him and his thoughts than about Jonet. Jonet is more complex and tortured and guards some secrets. They are both very attracted from the start but there's a lot of distrust between them and the tension slowly builds up. Besides Cole not knowing if Jonet killed her husband and Jonet's conviction that Cole came to spy on her there are also the moral issues that Cole has to deal with since he is a Curate and the fact that Jonet has a more powerful position in society. The distrust between them goes on for most of the book even after they give in to temptation and make love. I really enjoyed reading how they solve that and decide to be together despite their different backgrounds and personalities. Cole is a wonderful hero in the sense that he is an intelligent, sensible and loving man who tries to be honest with his feelings.

There's a mystery subplot about who really killed Jonet's first husband and who is trying to kill her and her children. Although I had an immediately idea of the bad guy I wasn't really sure it was who I thought because I couldn't see the motive. Fortunately this works more to help with Jonet and Cole's relationship than to create a true mystery that might detract from the story.

Grade: A-

On Covers

I'm not the kind of person that would buy a book by it's cover. I buy books because they have been recommended by fellow readers, because I like the back blurb or because I already know the author's work but not because of the cover. If you ask me I even think that most of the books I read have very uninteresting, and sometimes ugly, covers.




However I've been really happy with some of the covers I've seen lately, the latest E Chadwich, C. Hern's Merry Widows trilogy and Tracy Grant's Secrets of Lady are very good examples. Although they don't add to my reading they certainly give more credibility to it's contents than cartoon covers... Even if I don't buy because of them they are so much nicer to see on the stands at the bookstores.



And these are all in my wish list! That's why I came up with all these thoughts about covers. What about you, do you buy books because of the cover? Do you have any favourites?

New Additions to the TBR pile

I've been behaving very well lately and the only books that arrived at my doorstep were partly an old trade with Ro and partly a gift. Here's what I got:

Anne Stuart - Cry For the Moon
Anne Stuart - Rafe's Revenge
Amy J. Fetzer - Taming the Beast
Leslie Glass - The Silent Bride
Theresa Weir - Cool Shade

the Stuart's are some old categories, since I'm running through her back list I couldn't pass the opportunity to read these. All the other authors are new to me and I'm looking forward to try them.

The Last Suppers - Diane Mott Davidson

Well after having voiced my worries that this series wasn't really as good as I was hoping for in my review of the last book I decided to pick this one from the TBR pile and see how it went.

It should be the happiest day of Goldy the caterer's life. After years of putting the disaster of her first marriage behind her, she has finally found the courage to love again. Soon she'll be walking down the aisle of St. Luke's Episcopal Church to wed the man of her dreams, Tom Schulz, a homicide detective who shares Goldy's passions for preparing food and solving crimes.

But moments after Goldy's put the finishing touches on the scrumptious wedding feast, and just before the ceremony begins, she receives an urgent phone call from the groom. The wedding is off, and the reason is a killer.

In The Last Suppers, Diane Mott Davidson mixes irresistible suspense with delectable humor to create a five-star treat for readers and cooks alike. Included are Goldy's original recipes for such delicious dishes as her heavenly Dark Chocolate Wedding Cake with White Peppermint Frosting, savory Shrimp on Wheels and zesty Fusilli in Parmesan Cream Sauce. The Last Suppers is a mystery with a gourmet twist--recipes no one can resist.

I'm afraid I didn't much like it. Goldy's fiance is kidnapped on the day of her wedding after having found the priest murdered so the mystery in this book is about who killed the priest and kidnapped Tom.

I had several problems with the book. First that is mostly set around the Episcopal Church and it's members. I have no knowledge of that church so I wouldn't know how it's members are supposed to deal with each other and their beliefs. Since I'm not a very religious person I think it was a bit too much to have the whole book revolving around that. Then Goldy doesn't seem distressed enough by the kidnapping, Tom could be dead for all we know and she keeps questioning potential suspects with the same cool head as it if were someone else. She is also cooking a lot, I know food is the theme of these mysteries but it felt a bit like she was going on with doing her regular things instead of being nervous and stressed and scared.

Then the mystery part, since I know next to nothing about the Episcopal Church I really didn't understand what was at stake for it's members and so I only discovered the murderer in the end like everyone else. Of course by the final chapters I wasn't really interested in what was going on anymore. I was very disappointed and I'm not sure I'll pick another book of the Goldy series, at least not any time soon.

Grade: C

Trading Site Closed

I had an old Geocities site where I posted my trade and wish lists. I'm finding Bookmooch so much more easy to use - because besides being automatically available for all Bookmoochers it also allows me to show an updated list to non moochers - that I decided to close the geocities site. I already removed it from the list on the left of this blog so if you want to check the books I want to get rid of or the ones I'm looking for just look at my Bookmooch account.

Split Second - Alex Kava

I read A Perfect Evil a while ago at A.'s recommendation and after that I couldn't resist getting the others in the series. While A Perfect Evil had a romance subplot this story is more of a thriller and the romance is really very secondary.

Some say Maggie O’Dell has lost it – lost the professional edge that makes her one of the best criminal profilers, and lost her ability to think clearly. Since capturing Stucky she’s been walking a tightwire, battling nightmares and the guilt over the victims she couldn’t save. Now with the news of his escape, she’s been taken out of the field until he’s caught again. But Maggie knows the truth: only she can see into the twisted mind of this madman. Only she can catch him. Albert Stucky wouldn’t have it any other way.

When it becomes undeniable that Stucky’s trail of victims is leading closer and closer to Maggie, the Bureau puts her back on the case. Under the supervision of Special Agent R. J. Tully, Maggie joins the hunt for a psychopath who continues to stay one bloody step ahead of them. And, once again under the control of a cunning killer, Maggie finds herself pushed to the very edge.

What, ultimately, is Maggie O’Dell capable of? Has her desire to stop Albert Stucky—to make him look into her eyes before she ends the game once and for all—become a matter of personal vengeance? Has she crossed that line in her need to make him suffer as he’s made others suffer? And is this Stucky’s game—to turn Special Agent O’Dell into a monster?

Maggie O'Dell's nemesis, the murderer who almost killed her in the past in back to torment her after having run away and killed two security guards. As before he starts murdering young women and leaving her remains to be found. The twist is that the women he is murdering are all people that Maggie came in contact with recently. Maggie is still very much scarred, physically and psycologically from her last encounter with Stucky and besides being totally determined, some would say obsessed, with finding him she also starts to have doubts about the evil inside her as she plans to kill Stucky. And all this happens when Maggie, newly divorced, moves to a new neighbourhood and starts to live alone so she is even more vulnerable.

I did like the book, it had a suspense atmosphere that I usually enjoy and Kava is wonderful at maintaining the tension but something seemed to be missing, maybe Maggie's lack of family and friends to help her think and reflect on how the case is affecting her. Her Director does make her visit a psychiatrist but that was one character I found very odd. Another secondary character that is introduced in this book is R.J. Tully her new partner. A bit odd at first they seem to have developed some degree of trust by the end of the book so I’m looking forward to see how their investigative talents will develop in the next book.

Maggie finds Nick, her romantic interest from A Perfect Evil but nothing is really resolved by the end of the book so I'm thinking he will show up again in the future. While it wasn’t as good a read as A Perfect Evil it was entertaining and I’ll continue to read the series.

Grade: B-

Medieval Report

We arrived late yesterday and this morning I was too tired to write anything with sense so I decided to wait for lunch break.

We had a great time!
We arrived friday night, too late to actually go out and explore but we managed to have a good night sleep so we could start early in the morning. We did that but the whole town just started to move by lunch time.

where we had lunch

The whole center of the town was occupied by reenactors, handycraft's stalls, restaurants. Further down by the river we had more restaurants but also the recration of a medieval camp, the birds of prey area, the children's area (with medieval games) and all sorts of activities.

The time frame was the time of King John I, you can read all about it here


The decoration at the inn were we stayed

After dinner it was time for the big procession, 450 people in costume from peasonts, nobility, knights, dancing girls and lots more...



The last event on saturday was the Joust and I'm afraid it was the only thing we were disappointed with. I was expecting a serious reenactment event and instead we had some sort of a parody with a host wanting the audience to cheer on the knights like it was a football game, oh and one of the kinghts was a woman. It was hardly what I was there to see and especially after having spent more than half an hour waiting to get in and then having the people that were part of the organisation very rudely telling us where they wanted us to sit.


The birds of prey, L.'s favourite area...


Children's games...

I still haven't organised the photos, I just dumped everything on Flickr so I could show you but from what I've seen the pictures of the night's events are very bad. You can check them all here. I'm afraid neither of us is very good with the camera...

Medieval Weekend

It's all settled, we are going to the Medieval Fair this weekend. We want to stay right in the middle of things so we're staying here which will allow us to cover everything on foot.

I hope to be back on monday with lots of photos and things to tell!
Till then!

Ricochet - Sandra Brown

I really like romantic suspense novels and after hearing K. advertise this one so much I just had to add it to my TBR pile. It was a good move because I enjoyed it very much.

When Detective Sergeant Duncan Hatcher is summoned to the home of Judge Cato Laird in the middle of the night to investigate a fatal shooting, he knows that discretion and kid-glove treatment are the keys to staying in the judge's good graces and keeping his job. At first glance, the case appears open-and-shut: Elise, the judge's trophy wife, interrupted a burglary in progress and killed the intruder in self-defense. But Duncan is immediately suspicious of Elise's innocent act. His gut feeling is that her account of the shooting is only partially true -- and it's the parts she's leaving out that bother him.

Determined to learn the dead man's connection to the Lairds and get at the truth, Duncan investigates further and quickly finds his career, as well as his integrity, in jeopardy -- because he can't deny his increasing attraction to Elise Laird, even if she is a married woman, a proven liar, and a murder suspect. When Elise seeks Duncan out privately and makes an incredible allegation, he initially dismisses it as the manipulative lie of a guilty woman. But what if she's telling the truth? Then that single fatal gunshot at her home takes on even more sinister significance, possibly involving Duncan's nemesis, the brutal crime lord Robert Savich.

And then Elise goes missing . . .

This was a very interesting reading where all is not what it seems. Duncan is a cop who takes his work passionately enough to be trown in jail for protesting when Judge Cato Laird lets known criminal Robert Savich go free on a technicality. He and his partner DeeDee are called to the house of Judge Laird a few days later due to an intruder shooting from the judge's wife. From the very beginning it is obvious that there is a lot more to that story than what the judge and his wife are telling.

Duncan finds himself torn between doing an impartial investigation and the attraction he feels towards Elise Laird, and to make matters worse she keeps asking for his help. Elise is described as a beautiful woman that all men want to have and all women envy. As her relationship with Savitch is uncovered and she goes missing Duncan doesn't know whether to believe her story that her husband is trying to kill her or to believe that she is a cold blooded murder.

I liked Duncan as a hero, a tough cop with a born talent to play the piano. he is the son of a preacher and is pretty tortured about some of the decisions he makes during the story. Elise is a bit harder to know as most of her story is only known near the end. However we can feel her fear and desperation each time she asks Duncan for help. This is a revenge story where there are a lot of hidden agendas and secret ties and it's suspenseful till the very end regarding what's going on and how the truth will be uncovered. Duncan's partner DeeDee makes for an interesting secondary character although at times she came across as a bit too harsh.

Grade: B+

A Reputable Rake - Diane Gaston

I've read and enjoyed Diane Gaston's two previous books so I had high expectations for this one. While I didn't enjoy it as much it was still a very satisfying read.

The stakes are high in Cyprian Sloane’s latest game--to reform his reputation as a wagerer, womanizer, and worse--and thumb his nose at the father who’s always despised him. The prize is nearly in hand when Sloane encounters seemingly respectable Morgana Hart, a baron’s daughter, who engages in fisticuffs in Hyde Park and embroils him in her scheme to train young women to be courtesans. The lively and lovely Morgana proves the biggest risk of all, even more dangerous to Sloane’s quest for respectability than the violence of Regency underground threatening to close down her Courtesan School. Morgana makes Sloane long to be the rake again--with her.

I really liked Cyprian Sloane! Although he has been a rake and a gambler in the past he has decided to change his ways to became a respectable gentleman. He has even found the perfect bride to help him achive it, the only problem is when he meets her cousin Morgana and finds himself attracted to her despite all efforts in the contrary.

Morgana is an independent young woman, although she likes to go out in society she is already on the shelf and sometimes wonders about her cousin's luck in having a man like Cyprian Sloane courting her.

Full of inovative ideas she decided to help one of her maids became a courtesan to save her from being exploited in whore houses. This will lead her to help other girls in the same situation and as the word spreads she is in danger of being ruined. I must admit that when I first heard of the book story as being a lady helping young girls to become courtesans I dreaded what I find when I read it. Now I can safely say it wasn't as schocking as that initial idea may seem but Morgana does have a way of getting into trouble very often. For a while it seemed Cyprian was lot more intelligent, always trying to help her getting out of trouble and trying to stop her from going to dangerous places. I think Morgana suffered a bit of the TSTL syndrome and that's what made the book grade come down a bit. I also liked Cyprian's family subplot of past bitterness. It showed how he truly was the gentleman he wanted to be in how he behaved towards his father and brother.

Cyprian is a recurrent character from her previous books and I wish she would continue to write in this world as I wouldn't mind visiting these characters again.

Grade: B

Now I'm off to find her Diane Perkins backlist

Lover Eternal - J.R. Ward

So after much incentive by several friends I finally decided to pick up Lover Eternal. It seemed the general opinion that this one was better than Dark Lover and finally I thought, why not read it?

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…

I'm happy to say I enjoyed it more than Dark Lover, the cartoon / comic book feeling was not as obvious and the characters seemed more real. However they still curse a lot, and instead of sounding macho to me it sounds forced.

Regarding the story itself, well, to me the story was mainly Mary and Rhage, all that talk of the lessers and a Mr X I just skimmed through. Rhage is a pretty tormented character being part vampire and part beast and Mary is a cancer survivor who just discovers that her cancer is back. I did like how their relationship evolved although I didn't feel very comfortable with the amount of women Rhage bedded. It was weird! And once again it seemed artificial. It was an entertaining read while it lasted but it lacks the emotional density that will make me remember a story for months or years after I've read it. Ward does write well and knows how to pick your curiosity, for instance right now I'm awfully curious about Zsadist and Bella, however I think something is missing from these books. Maybe if I'll keep reading I'll find what it is....

Grade: B-, because despite all the flaws mentioned I was entertained while I read it.

Night and Day - Anne Stuart / Gayle Wilson

After a few weeks without reading an Anne Stuart book I'm back to discovering her backlist. This time I read Night and day. It's actually a book with 2 novellas, one by Stuart and one by Gayle Wilson which are follow ups to other books they have written. They are also connected stories as the characters of Stuart's story appear in Wilson's story as secondary characters.

Michael Blackheart: The illegitimate son of a legendary cat burglar, Michael is going to steal the world's most valuable collection, right out from under the noses of the rich and famous - and beat the old man at it's own game!

Duncan Culhane: Ex-CIA agent and current member of the Phoenix Brotherhood, Duncan is out to help his best friend's widow. But is his willingness to go after the treasure stolen from her grandparents a product of passion or guilt?

Neither man has a clue about the horrifying world of hate and terror they are about to encounter, but these are the kind of heroes who will do what it takes to get the job done... or die trying.


The Anne Stuart story is the conclusion to her Catspaw/Blackheart series. In this one we meet Michael, Blackheart's illegitimate son whom he didn't know existed and who shows up at the same time that the art exhibition Blackheart was providing security for gets robbed. Despite Stuart's fame as the creator of some pretty dark heroes this series is very much on the light side. This one may not be as funny as Catspaw II (I haven't found Catspaw yet) but it has is humourous moments with Michael following in the family footsteps of being a cat burglar and falling in love in the process. Ferris and Blackheart still share the chemistry they found in the previous book. The story is very small and there isn't much time for character or plot development which was a pity.
Grade: B-


Wilson's story is part of her Man of Mystery series which I must confess I'm not familiar with. I did enjoy this story in which the hero is helping his best friend's widow retrieving a music box which was stolen from the exbition Blackheart was providing security for. Their's was a sweet romance between old friends who always felt attracted to each other. The story is bigger than Stuart's and takes place in a longer time frame so there's more development. I particularly liked the heroine who wasn't afraid of going after what she wanted. This story reads more like a romantic suspense novel with it's final chapters being very fast paced and full of action.
Grade: B

New Additions to the TBR pile

Despite thinking, and mentioning it here, that I already have enough books in the TBR pile I got a few more this week. They were already requested so it's not like I went out and bought more (at least that my excuse). They are:

Christine Feehan - Safe Harbor
Anne Perry - Defend and Betray
Anne Perry - The Sins of the Wolf
Gayle Wilson - Bogeyman


I'm always so happy when I get books in the mail...

Too Hot To Handle

It's been too hot these last few days with temperatures reaching 40º. That's too much even if we are used to heat in the Summer.It's even worse when we think it actually rained for most of the month of July, which is not common at all. The difference between the days is just too much. The weather has been very very weird lately and I wonder what the future will bring us.

It's too hot to stay outside these days and I can only say that A/C is a great invention. It would better if the seasons went back to what they were though...

I lack the energy to read when it's too hot, I just sit on the couch and vegetate in front of the TV screen.

Private Demon - Lynn Viehl

It has been a long time since I read If Angels Burn, the only thing I remebered was that I had enjoyed it and that it was a thriller with romantic elements. Recently I've been feeling like reading more of those books and picked up Private Demon.

Within her dreams lies his salvation...

Antiquities expert Jema Shaw has two lives: one during the day, when she catalogs museum artifacts and cares for her crippled, bitter mother; the other during the night, when she works with police to search for crime scene evidence. The only place Jem truly feels alive is in her dreams, where unlike real life she can pretend that she's safe and loved and wanted. Yet when a demon warrior begins showing up in her mind each night, he draws Jem with him into her most secret, intimate fantasies. Finding the key to solving three brutal assault and murder cases, however, isn't as difficult for Jem as waking up to discover that her dream lover is very real—as are the killers coming for both of them.

I wasn't disappointed, it was a book I enjoyed but in which I found several flaws.
Thierry Durand almost lost his mind after discovering his wife Angelina betrayed all Darkyn and helped the Brethren murder several of his people and including maiming their son. Trying to find salvation for what he believes was his fault in not seeing who Angelina really was he decides to try and find the attackers of Luisa Lopez, a young woman tortured by the Brethren and left for dead. With that goal he travels to Chicago were he finds Jema Shaw, a very sick young woman believed to have diabetes and whose family owns a Museum. Thierry can't resist feeding from her the first time they meet and he finds himself drawn to her to the point that he occupies the house next to her to better watch her and starts entering her dreams. I had some trouble understanding what exactly attracted him, when I finished the book I felt they had just spent a couple of hours awake and actually talking to one another, the dreams were just fantasies they shared. On the other hand Jema's other neighbor, also a Darkyn, as known her since she was a baby and is also in love with her, I must say I found him a much more sympathetic pretender to her hand. The love triangle between Thierry, Jema and Jaus lasts for most of the book and I felt Jema wasn't a very strong heroine and ultimately may have chosen the wrong mate.

The mystery was also well done, there's a bigger mystery that comes from the first novel about who are the members of the Church who are also Brethren and what are their goals and what's the role of Alex's brother in that. Alex is the heroine of the first book and is a doctor trying to find the cure for what turns them into Darkyn. Alex is such a strong character that she almost steals the show whenever she appears. I'm a big Alex fan and I hope she makes an appearance in the next books.
And then there's the mystery surrounding Jema and her heritage and health condition. Since everyone seems to have a hidden agenda, from the Darkyn to Jema's mother, the book is full of surprises. If there is a series of books that need to be read in order this one is it because several characters of the first book show up and scenes that happened previously keep being mentioned.

Grade: B

Medieval Fairs

Medieval Fairs and reenactment are all the rage here during the summer. I usually attend when there's one near me, 2 weeks ago there was a small one in Sintra and we had great fun watching a man play with fire. I should have taken some pictures but I forgot the camera, L. took some pictures but phone cameras are not the same. This year I'm even hoping we will manage to visit the big one in Santa Maria da Feira.
I'm not sure if this a complement of my love of medieval readings or if those are a complement to my love of medieval history but I really enjoy attending these fairs. The nice handycrafts and the good food also help making these outings something memorable.

Do you enjoy visiting these kind of events?

Not sure why they don't do it with other periods but so far it's always medieval. I certainly would love to see other periods recreated.

Dark Prince - Christine Feehan

I started reading this book with a great expectation, I first read it 5 or 6 years ago and I had never picked it up since. I read most of the other Carpathian novels but after 12 or 13 books I was a bit tired and finally gave up buying them. Since I am now in the process of adding my keepers to my Library Thing account I decided to reread some of them and see if they stand the test of time. I'm happy to say this one did.

He came to her in the night, a predator -- strength and power chiseled his features. The seduction was deep and elemental; he affected her soul. His need. His darkness. His terrible haunting loneliness. Her senses aroused, she craved the dangerous force of his body. Burned for him. And he had only touched her with his mind.

She came to him at dawn, his bleakest hour. As the beast raged inside him, threatening to consume him, he vented his centuries-old despair in an anguished cry that filled the waning night. And she answered, a ray of light, piercing his darkness. A beautiful angel. Her compassion, courage, and innocence awakened in him an exquisite longing and tenderness. He knew he must possess her, for only she could tame his savage side and lift the dark shadow from his soul. Apart they were desolate, bereft. Intertwined physically and spiritually, they could heal one another and experience an eternity of nights filled with love.

Michail is the learder of the Carpathians, a dying race of people who need blood to survive but are far from being vampires. They loose their emotions and the ability to see colours when they are still young and both can only be restored when they find their true life mate. Raven is a human with telepathic powers who feels his pain one night and contacts him.

I'll start by mentioning what I didn't like, at times the language was a bit on the purple side. Mickhail kept calling Raven little one and I found that a bit annoying. And I doubt that any small woman would like to be called that not to mention the fact that is a bit childish.

Now what I did like, and there was a lot to like!

Feehan's writing style keeps us totally immersed in the story, at least it did me. Being a reread it was still a page turner and once I started I couldn't stop reading.

The characters were also likeable and interesting. They actually try to get to know each other, to understand each other's traditions and beliefs. More Raven than Mickhail because he has been around humans for a long time and knows how they work. But despite his possessivness and aparent arrogance he still respects her beliefs and everytime she fights his commands he explains why he acts the way he does. I felt she won most of the discussions! He avoids telling her about his different race at first but it's also very clear that she is essencial to his well being and that he does it out of fear for her and not to hide her anything bad. The fact that he does hide what he is for a while and drank her blood without her the consequences at first were the only thing I can recall that I felt he did bad. Although to him the Carpathian mating ritual is what binds them together he still wants her to have a marriage because that is the human tradition and he never let's her feel when he takes her to ground because he knows she feels like she is being buried.

Mickhail has an image to protect as the Prince, the overlord, there's something almost medieval in the way his subjects behave towards him. However the distant and cold atitude just disappears when it comes to Raven. He is never less than tender and caring with her. He hardly ever tries to enforce his will on her and certainly not after they have become involved. Although most of his people keep mentioning Raven as their salvation because without her he will choose to die we never feel that he is only interested in her because she can save them, he actually cares for her.

The mystery part about who is trying to kill Carpathians was also interesting. It led Raven to get herself in danger but I couldn't fault her because things seemed just to unbelievable at that point for her to be truly aware of the real danger. She was still trying to understand the Carpathians and their world. Speaking of which I think Feehan did a wonderful job of world building around these characters (or maybe I should call it race building). And has you can see it was the characters that made the book for me.

Well that's my take on it and yes, it's an A for me.