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• "The Widow's Auction" by Sabrina Jeffries. Contemporary romance.
  
  The fantasy in this one? Anonymity. Without it, 'Bella' would never have been able to be so uninhibited. So, did she actually realize Justin knew who she was, but didn't admit it to herself? I so enjoyed watching him go from being determined to save her from herself---just give her a little scare ---to falling in love & not wanting to let her go.
  
  The description of her married sex life was so sad. I liked how her goals at the beginning of the story changed, and how Justin fit in with those new goals.
  
  Just a lovely story. I'll be looking for more by Sabrina Jeffries---I wish I'd found her books sooner!



• "Luisa's Desire" by Emma Holly. Paranormal romance.
  
  1600 Tibet?! One thing I've learned is Emma Holly is not predictable. Except that she will have very erotic stories about characters that you can really care about. I recommend her books whenever the conversation turns to "hot" stories. Okay, I'm going to gush here just a tad, because I missed the chat earlier this month & didn't get to gush then. I've never been disappointed, & I've never felt that the story or the characters were sacrificed to the sex scenes, or vice versa. This is just an incredibly talented author, & I'm delighted to see her stories in the mainstream.
  
  Okay, gush done.
  
  The fantasy in this one was vampires. And Eastern mysticism. What a combination. I loved watching Martin's desire to continue on his path to spiritual enlightenment war with his desire to help Luisa, & later on his love for her. Both of them were seeking a selfless life, but they ended up finding joy in each other.



• "Mr. Speedy" by Elda Minger. Contemporary romance.
  
  I had to laugh aloud when I read the title to this story. I had a completely different idea of what "Mr. Speedy" might refer to.
  
  The fantasy in this one is masquerading as a man, and oh, is that tempting! Wouldn't it be nice to be on the inside & know what they're really thinking?! This was just a fun, fun story. I held my breath at Miranda's slip-ups, then laughed aloud when she didn't get caught. I thought that was fairly realistic, btw---people tend to see what they expect to see, & I'm sure if anyone had suspected she was a woman, they'd have recognized it without much difficulty. But since they expected a man, that's what they saw. Jake's protecting him/her as a little brother was so sweet. And I loved the comeuppance Anton Levine got at the end.
  
  And I can't believe that with over 20 romance novels out there, I haven't run across Elda Minger before. I've obviously been missing out. Not for long, though.



• "The Awakening" by Christine Feehan. Paranormal romance.
  
  The thing I absolutely about Christine Feehan's books is the way she uses words. The descriptions of the rain forest are as lush as the rain forest as well, & I swear the pages felt damp & I could smell the forest smells as I read. I've told her this before, so I don't have to gush now. (yeah, I know, it's too late.)
  
  The fantasy here was shapeshifters. And soul mates. Such a vivid portrayal of a woman who's a shapeshifter but doesn't realize it starting to feel her animal side. There's the increased acuity of the senses, the joy in being wild & free & home, and the fear & shame when her human side doesn't understand what is happening to her. I enjoyed that Brandt didn't push her into accepting that she was his fated mate, and that he was willing to live in the city with her if that's what she wanted. And I liked that she helped save him from James.
  
  I'm very curious to know if we'll see this world again. It seems there are at least 3 more shapeshifters with stories to be told, & probably more--those who have moved out of the forest. Sounds like another wonderful series to me.

Labels: books, ContemporaryRomance, flashback, ParanormalRomance

// posted by Darla @ 5/30/2008 01:23:00 PM