Falling for a Duke Anthology

Falling for a Duke by Rebecca Connolly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just love these collections! Such a fun way to read lots of stories and try out new authors. I really enjoyed this set and would definitely read it again!

On the Duke's Errand
I always enjoy Ms. Connolly's stories and liked that this is part of her Arrangements series. I thought this was a cute story, I always love when our H/h get off on the wrong foot! Makes for some fun scenes and great tension. I loved the Scottish setting and likable characters.

Vingt-et-un/Twenty-One
This was my first Nichole Van book! I've had her on my to-try list for a long time now and after reading this story I'm wondering why I waited so long to give her a try. I found this story to be quite charming, had a very Traditional Regency feel to it. I'm always a sucker for a lost-love story, and thought this was done really well. Lots of tension and build-up. It would make a good full-length story where things could be developed a little more, but I found it to be a great read and zipped right through it. Definitely look forward to reading her other books!

I Kissed a Duke
I really enjoyed this one! Super fun. I thought it had a great plot, likable characters and was well written. This was my first book by Ms. Daniels and I'm already a fan! I look forward to reading more of her books. This was a gem!

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Source: eBooks for Review

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A Timeless Romance Anthology: Valentine's Day Collection

Valentine's Day Collection by Janette Rallison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These Timeless Romance anthologies are always fun. I like how each anthology picks a certain theme and all the stories come up with fun ways to weave that theme into their stories. They always turn out to be so unique. I was especially excited when I saw this would be a Valentine Theme, I love Valentines Day and was excited to have some fun stories with this worked in. Each was unique and I liked that the Valentine theme wasn't over done. Overall, I thought the stories were cute. I liked them all, but my favorites were probably Janette Rallison and Heather B. Moore.

If you're a fan of contemporary romance this is an anthology you don't want to miss.

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For This We Are Soldiers by Carla Kelly

For This We Are Soldiers: Tales of the Frontier Army by Carla Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Isn’t that a beautiful cover? I’m such a sucker for a pretty book cover, this one caught my eye and made me want to pick it up and dive in.

This is a collection of six stories, I believe four had been previously published, but was fun to have them all together in one collection. Ms. Kelly is a master at writing historical fiction. She really brings whatever time period she is writing to life. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped back into time, becoming immersed in the characters, setting and day to day lives of people of the time. I love reading historicals because it gives me a chance to step out of my comfort zone and see things from a totally different perspective.

I think I’ve read more of Ms. Kelly’s regencies, but I have really come to love her American Historicals as well, especially these that are set during the Civil War. It’s such a fascinating time in our country’s history and I love the different views Kelly gives us in each unique story.

Overall, this was a nice collection of novellas, I’d recommend to any fan of the historical genre.

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Source: Review copy as part of blog tour


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Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs

Genre: Adult Fantasy-Fiction

Author Website: www.patriciabriggs.com

One Word Review: Okay

First Line: “The wind was chill and the cold froze the ends of her toes.”

Kathy’s Review: This is a spin-off from the Mercy Thompson series. This follows the story of Anna and Charles, the Marrok’s (leader of all werewolves) son and hit-man. The story rotates point of view (which I enjoyed) and although it is rather short we learn a lot and it almost has the feel of a full-length novel. Anna was “changed” without her constant and has spent the first year being passed around the male wolves in her pack and the rest of the time being abused and trained to think she was nothing. Then Charles comes along and reveals that she is an Omega.

I enjoyed the story but it wasn’t my favorite. There was a lot of talk about sex and references to Anna’s previous abuse (although neither in any great detail), so that was a bit much. I don’t know what it is with Briggs and rape, but it seems to be a major plot line in her stories. I’m debating if I’ll read the rest of the series. Not sure if Anna or Charles really drew me in enough to continue reading. Course, it seems I say that about her books and then I go out and read them anyway.

Reading Order:
Prequel: Alpha and Omega (On the Prowl)

Book One: Cry Wolf
Book Two: Hunting Ground

Unusual Suspects

Title: The House of Seven Spirits by Sharon Shinn

Genre: Mystery/Anthology

Author Site: www.sharonshinn.net

First Line: “I had thought it would bother me to live in a haunted house, but in fact I grew fond of the ghosts in an amazingly short time.”

One Word Review: Spooky

My Review: This was a fun short story. Erica has rented a haunted house for the summer while she goes through a nasty divorce, living with seven ghost’s sounds a lot more inviting then dealing with her soon-to-be ex. As she settles in she realizes that not everything is as it seems and soon discovers a mystery that needs to be solved in order to release the seven ghosts from their eternal prison. I really enjoyed this story, although it was mainly about murdered ghosts, it wasn’t scary or depressing. Once again, I could easily see this story being a full novel and a part of me wishes it was. It was a nice quick read and I can’t say how much I enjoy Sharon Shinn’s work.

I only read Sharon Shinn’s story, so I can’t say if the other stories are as good.

Firebirds Rising

Wintermoon Wish by Sharon Shinn
This lovely short story takes place in the same world as Shinn’s Safe-Keeper trilogy. I’ve read one of the books ages ago, and when I started reading I soon remembered the wonderful world of Merendon. Lirril is our main heroine, and a bit of a snob. She arrives at her grandparent’s inn heartbroken that her crush in town has fallen in love with another girl. So when Jake arrives on the night of Wintermoon (a mix of Christmas and New Years Eve), she is not the most pleasant company. As the evening goes on Lirril soon lets her guard down and realizes there is more to Jake than what she originally thought. It is a rather short story, and I was disappointed when I turned the last page and realized the story was over. For me it was just beginning and I wanted to read more. I guess that is the problem with short stories, they are never long enough.

The Queen in Winter

This is another book which consists of four short stories. I had originally checked the book out for the Sharon Shinn story, but then saw Lynn Kurland wrote one of the stories as well, so I was excited to read both.

When Winter Comes by Sharon Shinn
This is the story of Sosie, a character found in Mystic & Rider. Sosie and her sister Annie are forced to leave their childhood home when Annie gives birth to a mystic baby. Annie is unwell and not entirely herself and soon the responsibility falls to Sosie to get them to safety. They face different challenges as they travel and at one point are rescued by a nobleman, Darryn Rappengrass. I loved reading this side-story; it was fun to see what happened with Sosie and Annie after they were exiled from their home. After reading Reader and Raelynx, it was fun to see just how Darryn and Sosie met and fell in love. It was a great short story, and I loved seeing Gillengaria from a fresh perspective.

I wonder if people would like this story if they haven’t read any of the books in the Twelve House series. It seems like it would be taken out of context and the ending would leave you wanting more. Even though I know what happens, I was still left wanting more. I really enjoyed getting to know Sosie, as well as her relationship with Darryn.

A Whisper of Spring by Lynn Kurland
Once I started reading, I realized that “A Whisper in Spring” takes place in Neroche, a place I came to love in the Nine Kingdoms Trilogy (Star of the Morning, Mage’s Daughter and Princess of the Sword). This story takes place long before Miach and Morgan. Its focus is on Symon the mage king of Neroche and Iolaire, the elf princess of Ainneamh. Once again Lothar is the villain in this story. Lothar kidnaps Iolaire from her home and holds her prisoner until she accepts his marriage proposal. Symon comes to her rescue and attempts to free her from Lothar’s dungeons. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, I loved the opportunity to travel back to Neroche and learn a little more about its history. It made me want to re-read the Nine Kingdoms trilogy again. Kurland has created a wonderful new world to escape to. Although it was short, it was very satisfying. Anyone who loves the trilogy will love this story as well.

Powers of Detection

This is another collection of short stories from a variety of authors. I only read the one by Sharon Shinn entitled "The Sorcerer's Assassin". This story takes place at the Norwitch Academy of Magic and Sorcery, where a recent murder of one of the senior wizards has just taken place and the headmistresses, Camalyn, must try and figure out which of her four remaining peers has committed the assassination. For only being sixteen pages it was still a fun read, although over a bit too quickly for my liking. A lot is packed into this story in a short amount of time and I would probably enjoy a full novel about these different characters and the Norwitch Academy.