I enjoyed the concept of the story, and I liked the writing style of this author. However, neither of the characters were easy to like due to their behavior and inappropriate comments to each other.
Tag Archive | 3 Stars
On a Lee Shore by Elin Gregory (3 Stars)
A high-seas adventure with a young man who learns what it really means to be a pirate.
Lt. Christopher (Kit) Penrose, who recently lost his ship and crew, takes a job as a valet for a traveling elderly gentleman. The ship is attacked by pirates who take Kit captive due to his sailing capabilities. Le Griffe (Griffin) is the pirate ship captain who actually has a strong belief in honor and rules. As Kit spends more time on the ship, he finds many of his own values and beliefs being brought into question.
The entire story is told from Kit’s perspective. Kit is a nice character who has a lot of experience on the sea, but he is still pretty naive about life. There is a huge cast of interesting characters in this saga, providing plenty of opportunity for adventure. Some parts of the story were a little challenging to read if you aren’t familiar with shipping terms. The majority of the story was Kit telling us what was happening on the ship with some touches of Kit’s thoughts and feelings.
While the story was well written, and the author did a nice job making the adventure seem somewhat exciting, this didn’t work at all as a romance novel. The only real romance happening was between Lewis and Protheroe, who made it abundantly clear that they were truly in love with each other. Kit and Griffin had feelings for each other, but there were almost no conversations that we were privy to that would explain why they were attracted to each other. They spent a good portion of the book upset with each other for one reason or another. A few stolen kisses and quick sex scenes do not qualify as a romance.
If you are looking for an exciting tale of pirates and life on the sea, this is a well written tale of one man’s journey.
Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb
Creature Feature by Mary Calmes and Poppy Dennison (3 Stars)
It’s a double serving of creatures with werewolves and demons and twice the danger!
Diagnosis: Wolf by Poppy Dennison
Andrew Hughes is struggling to meet the bills after his brother stole everything from him. Fortunately, he’s a nurse and an opportunity for a high paying job just opened up. Not sure what he’s getting himself into, but desperate enough not to care, he shows up to take care of a very sick and special patient. The patient, Caleb DiMartino, is a shifter who is immediately attracted to Andrew. Can they find out what’s wrong with Caleb in time to save his life?
Andrew and Caleb made a cute couple as Andrew tries to cope with the thought of having a werewolf for a boyfriend. In addition to trying to save Caleb’s life, they spend some time getting to know each other. Andrew is a pretty good guy who seems to get taken advantage of too frequently, especially by his brother. It was nice to see Caleb yearning to take care of him. There were some family issues with pack politics coming into play. They were somewhat interesting until the mystery was solved. At that point, there was just a bit too much going on that wasn’t explained well enough to make sense. However, there was a really sweet epilogue bringing everything to closure.
Landslide by Mary Calmes
Frank Corrigan has been working as a courier for the demon, Cael Berith, for three years. Frank has significant self-esteem issues, and he doesn’t believe that he is Cael’s mate. When Frank’s sister is in need of some help, he is desperate enough to ask for Cael’s help. This is the chance Cael has been waiting for so that he can prove to Frank that they are mates, and Cael will never leave Frank.
Frank was an awesome character. He was mentally strong although a bit insecure due to his concern about his weight. Cael was sexy, confident, and very much in control of everything around him except for Frank. The romance between the two of them was a bit frustrating. It didn’t make sense that it would take 3 years for Cael to push the issue with Frank. Their declarations of love and overall discussions also became a bit repetitive.
The world building was great in this story and very well fleshed out. Unfortunately, while short stories are normally a huge win for me, there was just too much going on in this one. On top of the new world and a budding romance, there was also an issue with his sister, a murder, and a competitive “friend”. The shifter politics were also a bit confusing. However, this would be a great start to a series in this world.
The stories are not related and can be read independently. Neither of them are really very scary or gory. If you enjoy suspenseful paranormal stories with low angst, then this might be the book for you.
Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb
Whiskey & Wry (Sinners #2) by Rhys Ford (3 Stars)
On the run from a killer, can these two guys find time to fall in love and deal with old wounds?
Damien Mitchell was in a horrible car accident and is now suffering from amnesia. He’s still pretty sure that there’s something wrong with the people who are supposedly his parents visiting him in the psychiatric ward. After escaping, he goes in search of his best friend and band mate Miki. While trying to find Miki, Damien meets the owner of a bar, Sionn Murphy, who over time becomes a good friend and lover. Now they just have to survive the multiple death threats to see if they can have a real relationship.
The romance between Damien and Sionn was done nicely with a lot of time spent developing their characters and relationship through action and conversations. Sionn was a nice guy surrounded by a large and wonderful family, and he just wanted to take care of Damien. Unfortunately, Damien was such a beaten down character that it was a struggle to enjoy his story. He was severely abused as a child, almost died in a car accident and suffered from severe amnesia, lost 2 of his best friends in the same car accident, and is now being hunted by a psychotic killer. Any of those could be devastating, but having all of them come into play got to be a bit much.
I had issues with the flow of the story. For instance, during their first sex scene, there was a break in the middle of it to take us to a gory crime scene. During the sex scene, we were reminded once again about how Damien was tortured as a child. Needless to say, this really eliminated my enjoyment of the first time they made love.
This story spent about half the time on the romance and the rest in the mind of a psychotic serial killer. The details surrounding the killings are very graphic and gory. The romance started out strong with the focus on Damien and Sionn, but then the focus moved to the murders. It wasn’t really a mystery as to why it was happening, since that was explained fairly early on. The biggest question was about who would get killed next, since everybody was up for grabs.
I liked seeing Damien reconnect with his best friend Miki from the first story and get a feel for how that friendship worked since so much was mentioned about it in the first book.
If you enjoy your romance mixed with evil, psychotic killers, then I think you’ll really enjoy this thriller.
Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb
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