Books and Tales

Book Review: Dreams of a Hero by Charlie Cochrane

2012-02-29T03:59:00.003-08:00

Dreams of a Hero
by Charlie Cochrane
Carina Press
Short Story ebook
M/M, General Fiction
ARC courtesy of Carina Press through Netgalley.
4 Stars

Review:

On holiday in Greece with his civil partner, Roger, Miles is a mild-mannered man who starts having very vivid dreams about the Sacred Band of Thebes, where he and Roger are paired lovers/warriors. In the dreams, Miles is very brave and heroic, not something he'd ever considered of himself in real-life.

Roger notices that his partner starts behaving rather differently. More confident, more inclined to seek out trouble.

The couple then travel on to New England and discover a gay friendly cafe, The Laurel Wreath which was having a bit of trouble with some homophobic customers. Miles wants to stand up to them, which frightens Roger, as he doesn't want his lover to get hurt.

This was a wonderful, evocative short story, that lingers after the last line. For such a short piece, there is a great sense of place and a depth of character. You can feel the sun and the heat in Greece, you can almost hear the sea against the shore in New England.

Roger and Miles are so quintessentially British, even down to their complaints about some American food, in that they had trouble finding any vegetables. We'd had some of the same trouble on a holiday to the US and were almost ecstatic to find broccoli on our plate, even though we didn't really like broccoli.

I loved Roger and Miles, they were a joy to read about, and certainly wouldn't be averse to reading more about their adventures in the furture, if such a book came to pass.

I'd say the book is more of a slice-of-life look at Roger and Miles, rather than a romance as such. Sex is only alluded to, so you can safely give this book to your grandparents and they wouldn't be shocked.

It was a fun read.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

***

The Chosen now available in print

2012-01-10T03:19:00.001-08:00

The Chosen
by Annette Gisby
M/M fantasy romance

Love or duty - which would you choose?

Prince Severin has been brought up to put duty before all else. Now, his duty is to marry and produce an heir. He has his choice of princesses. Unfortunately, his passion is for princes.

Havyn has been a slave all his life. When his powers are discovered, he finds himself purchased and freed by a Prince and apprenticed to the royal wizard, Ildar. His duty is to stay chaste to keep his powers strong. Unfortunately, his passion is for Severin.

With kingdoms at war, the throne hanging in the balance, and magic in the air, can the two men find happiness together, or is duty more important than love?

***

Buy The Chosen here

Book Review: The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams

2012-01-04T04:37:00.000-08:00

The Emperor's Knife
By Mazarkis Williams
Fantasy
Night Shade Books

Blurb:

There is a cancer at the heart of the mighty Cerani Empire: a plague that attacks young and old, rich and poor alike. Geometric patterns spread across the skin, until you die in agony, or become a Carrier, doing the bidding of an evil intelligence, the Pattern Master. Anyone showing the tell-tale marks is put to death; that is Emperor Beyon''s law...but now the pattern is running over the Emperor''s own arms. His body servants have been executed, he ignores his wives, but he is doomed, for soon the pattern will reach his face. While Beyon''s agents scour the land for a cure, Sarmin, the Emperor''s only surviving brother, awaits his bride, Mesema, a windreader from the northern plains. Unused to the Imperial Court''s stifling protocols and deadly intrigues, Mesema has no one to turn to but an ageing imperial assassin, the Emperor''s Knife. As long-planned conspiracies boil over into open violence, the invincible Pattern Master appears from the deep desert. Now only three people stand in his way: a lost prince, a world-weary killer, and a young girl from the steppes who saw a path in a pattern once, among the waving grasses - a path that just might save them all.

Review

Fantasy is one of my favourite genres, as our groaning bookshelves can testify. I even like all the archetypes, tales that tell the same story just in a slightly different manner. That's not to say I don't fantasy books that are different, I like those too. Sometimes it can be difficult to find original fantasy, but with The Emperor's Knife that isn't a problem. I love the Emperor's Knife as a title, such a good one for a royal assassin!

Our fantasy tale takes us to a land that I think has more of an Eastern flavour, rather than the usual western Europe, medieval-type feel. The book has four main point of views, Prince Sarmin, locked up as a child and kept as security in case the emperor has no heirs who is slowly going mad from his incarceration. Mesema a young girl from the grasslands being brought to the city for an arranged marriage with Prince Sarmin; Tuvaini, the emperor's advisor and Eyul, the titular character - the royal assassin.

There is a plague spreading through the empire, one that covers its victims in strange geometric patterns and no one is immune - not even the emperor. When the marks start appearing, the young emperor Beyon, has all of his body slaves killed and hopes no one will notice. Those not killed outright by the disease, become Carriers, their wills not their own but that of the pattern master who uses them as weapons. The law means death to any who carry the marks, but what to do with the man who made those laws and now bears the marks?

This was a wonderful epic tale that sweeps you up and keeps you turning page after page to see what happens. The world building is very good, you see the different landscapes, customs and different religions of the different tribes and peoples, they are not all the same and the differences make for interesting reading. The book has a bit of everything, romance, treachery, betrayal, political intrigue.

The characters are well-drawn and complex with their own desires and cares, no cardboard cut-outs here. Each has their own ideas and their own role within the world and when a chapter is from a particular character's point of view, you know it is that character, those chapters have their own individual voice (even though the book is told from a third person narrative).

A fascinating tale from start to finish.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen.

Book Review: Sargamatha by Nina M Osier

2012-01-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

Sargamatha by Nina M Osier
SF
Available from amazon

Maryama 'Scorch' Stcackpole hasn't been back to her home world of Sagarmatha since she ran away at the age of sixteen, fleeing the marriages her mother had arranged for her and instead joining the Navy, not considered a suitable career for a Sagarmathan female.

Now twenty five years later, the former starship officer returns with her captian, John 'Boots' Smith in tow, hoping he will be allowed emigrant status on Sagarmatha, for at fifty he was forced to retire. But things have changed since she's been away.

Always a bit wary of Off-Worlders, Sagarmatha is a beautiful mountainous planet that was beloved of climbers from all over the galaxy, but they were never considered part of Sagarmatha. They stayed in guest-lodgings and the only contact was usually from their Sagarmathan mountain guides.

A civil war has been brewing, between those who want Sagarmatha to remain a tourist destination and those who want to keep Sagarmatha free of outside influences, called the Purifiers. The Purifiers have no qualms about killing their Honored Guests, what the tourists were usually called and Maryama and Captain Smith land smack damn in the middle of it. It doesn't help that she is in the company of an Off-Worlder and days after Smith has been awarded emigrant status, a new government of Purifiers is in place and he is now considered a fugitive, as is their son Antoine, for he wasn't born on Sagarmatha either.

Although a speculative ficition book, it is a story about the characters more than anything else. With well drawn characters, worlds and customs it is a tale to get lost in. Depsite space ships and blaster battles, it all seems so real, from the fact that Sagarmathan women are expected to have two husbands or enter a nunnery. Maryama managed to escape because her father was from Earth and she had dual citizenship, but for those who were fully Sagarmathan, like her cousin Tara, there was no way out, it was either marriage or the nunnery.

It was excellent the way no particular culture or way of life was considered to be better than others, but differences weren't just brushed aside easiily either, which made the story seem more realistic and a lot more interesting. Culture clashes also make a tale more interesting and there are certainly some of those in Sagarmatha.

Fast and pacy, it is a real page turner and not one word is wasted. Adventure, action and even a little hint of romance, Sagarmatha has it all. Another winner from Ms. Osier.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen and Silent Screams
www.annettegisby.n3.net

Book Review: River's End by Nora Roberts

2011-11-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

River's End
by Nora Roberts
Suspense/Romance
4 stars

Blurb:

Olivia MacBride still has nightmares about the night her father murdered her mother. Her parents had been Hollywood's golden couple, until Olivia woke one night to see her raging father, scissors in hand, holding her mother's dead body. After her father's imprisonment, Olivia is sent to live with her grandparents on the Washington coast. But as she grows older, she is tormented by the need to discover what really happened that night. With the help of young writer Noah Brady, Olivia is compelled to revisit the ghosts of her past. What she doesn't know is that the past is still very much alive - and a shocking truth is about to be uncovered ...Strong women. Powerful suspense. Fall into the grip of a Nora Roberts novel and it will never let you go.

Haunted by her past, Olivia can't quite forget the night her mother was murdered, a night which saw her drug addicted father arrested for the crime.

Sent to live with her grandparents at an early age, so that the publicity surrounding the death of one of Hollywood's golden stars won't affect her.

A writer wants to drag everything up again, to tell the story and Olivia wonders if it will help dispel her demons. She finds herself increasingly drawn to Noah, the writer who wants her story, but danger lurks because the man who killed her mother was not the one who was arrested for it...

An excellent romantic mystery, with enough twists, turns and red-herrings to keep even the most jaded mystery buff happy. Great descriptions and action perfectly balanced.

A great read.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

Featured Book: Boy's Life by Robert McCammon

2011-11-10T04:22:00.001-08:00

Boy's Life
by Robert McCammon
Coming of age/historical
http://www.robertmccammon.com/
Blurb:

The year is 1964. On a cold spring morning before the sun, Cory Mackenson is accompanying his father on his milk delivery route. Without warning a car appears in the road before them and plunges into a lake some say is bottomless. Cory's father makes a desperate attempt to save the driver, but instead comes face-to-face with a vision that will haunt and torment him: a dead man handcuffed to the steering wheel, naked and savagely beaten, a copper wire knotted around his neck. The lake's depths claim the car and the corpse, but the murderer's work is unfinished as, from that moment, both Cory and his father begin searching for the truth.

The small town of Zephyr, Alabama, has been an idyllic home for Cory and his friends. But now, the murder of an unknown man who lies in the dark lake, his tortured soul crying out for justice, causes Cory's life to explode into a kaleidoscope of clues and deepening puzzles. His quest to understand the forces of good and evil at work in his hometown leads him through a maze of dangers and fascinations: the vicious Blaycock clan, who defend their nefarious backwoods trades with the barrels of their guns; a secret assembly of men united by racial hatred; a one-hundred-six-year-old black woman named the Lady who conjures snakes and hears voices of the dead; a reptilian thing that swims in the belly of a river; and a bicycle with a golden eye.

As Cory searches for a killer, he learns more about the meaning of both life and death. A single green feather leads him deeper into the mystery, and soon he realizes not only his life, but the sanity of his father may hang in the balance.

Featured Book: The Circus of Ghosts by Barbara Ewing

2011-11-04T05:08:00.000-07:00

The Circus of Ghosts
by Barbara Ewing
Historical

Blurb:

New York, late 1840': an exciting brazen, loud young city exploding with new money and new people and new ideas: the telegraph, the daguerreotype, anaesthesia, spiritualism, occultism, table-tapping. And in Silas P. Swift's brash and beautiful circus a mother and daughter hide their damaged hearts and excite huge audiences in the big top: one shadowy mesmerist who can heal other people (but not herself); the other an acrobat and tightrope-walker who soars above New York.

But in London memories fester in the mind of an old and vicious duke of the realm who plots with an unscrupulous lawyer against the mother and daughter: to kill one and abduct the other across the Atlantic: bring her to me, she is mine.

So the lives of Cordelia and Gwenlliam Preston become unexpectedly and hauntingly entwined with the gangs of New York and the New York Municipal Police Department....

Featured Book: The Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick

2011-10-28T03:32:00.000-07:00

The Champion
by Elizabeth Chadwick
Historical Fiction

Blurb:
Alexander and Hervi de Montroi, half-brothers with no inheritance, meet in France.

Hervi is a professional jouster and Alexander, fleeing the beatings of an English monastery, needs a trade. Despite misgivings, Hervi takes him on as his squire, introducing him to the travellers' immoral lifestyle. He befriends a girl, Monday, taking care of her after her parents die until, pregnant with Alexander's child, she leaves, finding shelter in a castle as a seamstress. Noticed by King John, she becomes his mistress in England, bearing his son and gaining a house. Meanwhile, Stefan has returned to England too, in the pay of an Earl - they meet again at court and, now older, fall in love. They have the King's blessing, but Monday's grandfather, now heirless, sees her as a way to gain power. She escapes his kidnapping to be reunited with Alexander on the land granted to him by the Earl.

Book Review Desert World Allegiances by Lyn Gala

2011-10-25T03:34:00.001-07:00

Desert World Allegiances
by Lyn Gala
Dreamspinner Press
SF, some M/M romance
4 Stars

On the desert world of Livre, wasting water is not just stupid, it's a crime. Temar Gazer and his sister Cyla have been trying desperately to keep their small family farm going after their father's death, but their water ration keeps going missing with impressive regularity. They suspect one of their neigbours, George Young, has somehow been stealing their water. But one night after Cyla goads Temar into going with her to gather evidence, disater strikes and they accidentally end up wasting gallons of George Young's water instead. Caught red handed the two of them have no option but to submit to the council's judgements and Temar loses out on becoming an apprentice glassmaker.

Instead, Temar and his sister are sentenced to slavery for ten years for the waste of water but thankfully neither of them end up as slaves to George Young. It doesn't take Temar long to discover the identity of the real water thief, but his proof is destroyed and threats against his sister make it difficult to speak out against the culprit.

Shan Polli is a priest and also a council member, one of the few who oppose slavery on Livre, but he has no good solution to offer instead. Livre is on its own and it is considered a waste to have able-bodied people in prison getting fed when instead they could be out in the fields helping grow the few crops that the hostile desert planet can support. After an attack on his life after he visits Cyla to see how she is getting on, Shan realises that there are bigger things going on than just wasted water. But without knowing who they can trust, Temar and Shan are on their own to try and figure out what is going on.

Lyn Gala has written an imaginiative tale with excellent world-building. You can feel the heat and the dust and the despair that the characters go through wondering if they can make it through another season without help from anyone else. The terraforming ships have long since stopped coming and the outer worlds are at war with each other, leaving Livre forgotten and unsupported.

Temar's new owner is abusive, although most of the abuse happens offscreen as it were, the reader is just left with the evidence that it has happened. There are references to child abuse and sexual abuse, again offscreen and not used gratitiously, but adding to the characterisation.

As this was a Dreamspinner Press book, I have to admit that I was expecting much more of a romance between Shan and Temar, so I was a little disappointed in that aspect, but there are supposed to be more books in the series so maybe that will be explored further. Don't get me wrong, Shan and Temar do share a very strong relationship, although at the moment it is not a sexual one and after Temar's abuse, that is fine by me. He needs time to come to terms with his slavery and Shan needs to consider his priestly vows as well, so it does make good narrative sense that the two of them don't jump straight into bed.

All in all a good book and I'm glad I read it.

Annette Gisby.

Featured Book: Song of the Fallen by Rachel Haimowitz

2011-10-20T07:15:00.001-07:00

Counterpoint (Song of the Fallen #1)
by Rachel Haimowitz
Fantasy, M/M Romance
Guiltless Pleasure Publishing
ebook and paperback
Buy Link

Blurb:

It is the twilight of mankind. Depleted by generations of war with a dark race, the human kingdoms and their ancient alliance stand on the brink of extinction. The outlands are soaked with the blood of the fallen. The midlands are rotting with decadence and despair.

Elfkind, estranged by past crimes, watches and waits for nature to run its course.

And then the two collide.

Ayden's life has long been guided by two emotions: love for his sister, and hatred of all things human. When he's captured in battle, he must for his sister's sake swallow his pride and endure slavery in the service of a human prince. To his dismay, this close-up view of his enemy is nothing like he expected. Now curiosity and contempt make a battlefield of his soul, even as he struggles to pick up the pieces of his shattered worldview.

Freyrik Farr, Crown Prince of Farr Province, finds his new elven prisoner puzzling. He's always known elves to be beautiful and dangerous, but never has one affected him as deeply as Ayden. Can his life of service to his people leave room for this attraction? Dancing on a dagger's edge between duty and high treason, Freyrik discovers that some choices can change a life, and some an entire world.

Between prejudice, politics, pride, and survival, Ayden and Freyrik must carve a new path, no matter how daunting. For nothing less than the fate of both their peoples rests on the power of their perseverance -- and their love.
..

Book Review: Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks

2011-10-19T03:45:00.001-07:00

Round Ireland with a Fridge
by Tony Hawks
Travel/Humour
Ebury Press
5 Stars

Blurb:

On his only prior visit to Ireland, songwriter/comic Tony Hawks had seen a man hitchhiking with a refrigerator. For years, he was wont to tell the tale during late-night drinking matches, and after one particularly heavy-duty night of partying, he awoke to find a bet scrawled pillow-side: a friend wagered 100 pounds that Hawks wouldn't travel Ireland for a month with a refrigerator at his side.

I don't normally read travel books, but my husband is an avid devourer of same, and so when I gave him this as a gift, I was curious. He would read a few pages and then laugh. A lot. Out loud. I wondered what on earth could be so funny in a travel book. I had never read a book which made me laugh out loud. So after he had finished, I began reading the book.

I just couldn't put it down. It was hilarious, right from the ridiculous premise where the author agreed to a drunken bet to hitch-hike round Ireland with a fridge as a travelling companion. He meets a quite a few eccentric characters along the way, none of whom I knew (at least I don't think so, but you can never be quite sure. Nearly everyone in Ireland knows someone who's a cousin of someone else's cousin or brother, or aunt... you get the idea.)

My favourite line has got to be when asking for directions, the author got the reply, "You can't get there from here."

It's so funny because it's true, people do say that, I'm a culprit myself.

How did he manage it? Did people really let the madman with a fridge get into their cars and their lives? Read the book and find out, you won't be disappointed.

You'll be laughing out loud too.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

Book Review: Passage by Connie Willis

2011-10-13T03:42:00.001-07:00

Passage
by Connie Willis
SF
Bantam Books

Blurb:

A tunnel, a light, a door. And beyond it ... the unimaginable.

Dr. Joanna Lander is a psychologist specializing in near-death experiences. She is about to get help from a new doctor with the power to give her the chance to get as close to death as anyone can.

A brilliant young neurologist, Dr. Richard Wright has come up with a way to manufacture the near-death experience using a psychoactive drug. Joanna’s first NDE is as fascinating as she imagined — so astounding that she knows she must go back, if only to find out why that place is so hauntingly familiar.

But each time Joanna goes under, her sense of dread begins to grow, because part of her already knows why the experience is so familiar, and why she has every reason to be afraid.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

Psychologist Dr. Joanna Lander has spent the last two years at Mercy Hospital studying those patients who have "died" and come back, those who have had a near death experience, or NDE.

She isn't the only one, the hospital corridors are also haunted by a spiritualist, and Joanna suspects, fraud. He is convinced that the NDE's are totally spiritual, is it coincidence that he also writes books with such titles as The Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Joanna thinks that NDE's might be caused by chemical reactions as the brain dies, or maybe it's some type of survivial mechanism, and when Dr. Richard Wright asks her to become part of his scientific study, where he can induce NDEs with chemicals, Joanna jumps at the chance.

Volunteers and funding soon dry up, and Joanna becomes the guinea pig herself, feeling a sense of wonder that she will get to experience what she's been hearing second-hand.

But although Joanna expereinces what most people have reported, the light, the tunnel, she discovers something else as well. A part of her knows why everything seems so familiar, and why she has every reason to be afraid...

Every so often a book a book comes along and just sweeps you up and you forget everything else in your quest to finish it. Passage is such a book, it is a fairly long book, but it only took me two days to finish it, I needed to see the next part.

Ms. Willis has the knack of leaving something hanging at the end of each chapter, and you have no option but to read on to discover what is going to happen next. You cared about the characters and needed to know what adventures they were going to get into next.

A book you may not want to put down.

Featured Book: Captain's Surrender by Alex Beecroft

2011-10-11T04:15:00.001-07:00

Captain's Surrender
by Alex Beecroft
Samhain Publishing
M/M Historical Romance

Blurb:

Love? Might as well ask for the moon. But a man can dream…

Despite his looks and ambition, Midshipman Joshua Andrews hides urges that, in his world, make him an abomination. Living in fear of exposure, unnecessary risk is something he studiously avoids. Once he sets eyes on the elegant picture of perfection that is Peter Kenyon, though, temptation lures him like the siren call of the sea.

Soon to be promoted to captain, Peter is the darling of the Bermuda garrison, with a string of successes behind him and a suitable bride lined up to share his future. He seems completely out of Joshua’s reach.

Then the two men are forced to serve on a long voyage under a sadistic commander with a mutinous crew. As the tension aboard the vessel heats up, their unexpected friendship intensifies into a passion neither man can rein in.

Intimacy like theirs can only exist in the shadow of the gallows. Both men are determined their “youthful curiosity” must die before it brings disaster down on them. Yet neither man can root it from his heart. Warriors both, they think nothing of risking their lives for their country. In the end they must decide whether love, too, is worth dying for.

Buy Link

Book Review: Time's Legacy by Barbara Erskine

2011-10-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

Time's Legacy
by Barbara Erskine
HarperCollins
Genres: Romance, timeslip

Blurb:

Ancient secrets buried deep in Glastonbury’s past.
And one woman’s quest to finally set them free.

Cambridge present day: Following the death of her mother, Abi Rutherford receives a mysterious bequest – a misshapen sphere of crystal known as the Serpent’s Stone which seems to hold echoes of concealed mysteries, long covered up by the church.

Western England 25AD: A stranger has come to the chilly Somerset wetlands, with a story of hope and reconciliation. But he is being followed by powerful forces, determined that he will not undermine Roman rule in Britain.

What connects these ancient events and Abi’s gift? And why do so many people seem desperate to hide the truth?

A strange shadow has fallen across the centuries, and a woman is in fear of her life. But is it danger that awaits her, or the final truth so long whispered across the echoes of time?

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

I must admit that this reivew is biased. Why, you may ask? Well, there hasn't been one of Barbara Erskine's books that I didn't like whenever I've picked one up, and Time's Legacy is no exception. Peopled with complex characters and and rich, deep storylines, this book is like stepping into another world. Although quite a long book, the writing is flowing and fast-paced, with just enough description to detail what you need to know. Ms. Erskine knows how to weave a spell with words and none of them are wasted.

Some people might not like the duality of a modern day tale set against one so far in the past, in this case around 2,000 years ago, but for me it was book heaven. The main character, Abi, has just recently been ordained as a priest, which was unusual to say the least. I've only read one other set of books where the heroine was a female priest, the Merrily Watkins mysteries series by Phil Rickman.

Abi is very spiritual and a bit psychic, she also seems to have the gift of healing and these things combine to make her new boss, Keir Scott accuse her of witchcraft and she is forced out of her new parish on a retreat to the west country. Her story is juxtaposed with that of a young Roman family living near Glastonbury Tor and the enigmatic young man who is studying with the druids there. But with Abi's forays into the past becoming more and more frequent, is he a danger or something else?

It's a bit of cliche, but this book was a page turner. I needed to keep reading to find out what happened next. The storyline is intriuging, but I don't want to say too much in case I give the plot away, it is something you'd need to read for yourself and come to your own conclusions. But if you like things like the Da Vinci Code, then this one is another that you might like.

Great, satisfying read.

Featured Book: Remastering Jerna by Ann Somerville

2011-10-06T05:07:00.000-07:00

In a world not unlike our own, Jerna Setiq has a perfect life, a beloved wife and two adored children, with his past desires and needs firmly put behind him. But when he’s falsely accused of child abuse and imprisoned, he’s cast into hell, with no apparent means of redemption, or regaining all that he’s lost.

In the most unlikely of places, in the most unpromising of circumstances, fate offers Jerna his second chance and a path to freedom. With the cruelly fascinating Tolomy, a dominant in need of education and a patient submissive, Jerna dares to satisfy the long denied passions of his dual nature – but will he risk losing what has become so dear to him, all over again?

Remastering Jerna is a complex, erotic story of redemption, love, and the contract of trust in a relationship of control and submission.

Book Review: The Pumpkin Man by John Everson

2011-10-03T03:43:00.001-07:00

The Pumpkin Man
by John Everson
Dorchester Publishing/Delirium Books
Horror
4 Stars
ARC supplied courtesy of the publisher via netgalley.

Blurb:

After her father’s gruesome murder, Jenn needed a place to get away from it all with some friends, to take her mind off her grief. The empty seaside cottage she inherited seemed perfect. Jenn didn’t know that the cottage held arcane secrets, mysteries long hidden and best left alone. She didn’t realize until it was too late that the old books and Ouija board she found there really do hold great power. And it was only after her friend’s headless body was discovered that she knew the legend of the local bogeyman was no mere legend at all. An evil has been unleashed, a terrifying figure previously only spoken of in whispers. But now the whispers will become screams. Beware…THE PUMPKIN MAN

Years ago in the small seaside town of River's End, children went missing and turned up dead with their heads replaced with pumpkin carvings in their likeness. The locals suspected the pumpkin carver and a lynch mob murders him, most of them parents of the murdered children.

Cut to years later, where our heroine Jennica Murphy finds her father murdered and pumpkin shards all through his apartment. She and her room mate both lose their jobs as teachers at the local high school and with nothing better to do, they decide to go to the seaside cottage left to Jenn by her aunt in River's End. It was meant to be a new start, but things start to go wrong as soon as they arrive.

The townspeople are hostile, especially when they discover Jenn is Meredith Perenais' niece. In the cottage, they find a library full of books on the occult and skulls in drawers in the kitchen. They discover a ouija board hidden in the fireplace and decide to use it with the two men they recently met in San Francisco. It was all just harmless fun, wasn't it? It was, until lots of people are turning up dead with pumpkins instead of heads. Then Jenn finds out that the man people keep referring to as the pumpkin man, was in fact her uncle by marriage and he was the one suspected of murdering all those children.

I must say it's refreshing to find a horror that isn't filled with vampires or werewolves these days. No vampires or werewolves here, just good old fashioned things that go bump in the night. We have murder, witchcraft and a sense of impending doom from the very first page.

The murder scenes were perhaps a little gory for my taste, but the main part of the story is more of psychological terror, especially when people around Jenn keep dying and she keeps finding pumpkin shards in her room. Is she next on the killer's list? A story peopled with characters you care about and you have to keep reading to find out what is going to happen next.

John Everson has written a terrifying tale that stays with you long after the last page is read.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

Book Review: Monday Knight by Janet Elaine Smith

2011-09-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

Monday Knight
by Janet Elaine Smith
Star Publish
Romance
5 Stars

Blurb:

"Monday's child is fair of face." Monday Knight had heard it from the day she was born. Her whole life revolved around it; today she was the leading model in the world. But in the twinkling of an eye, it was all gone, thanks to one drunk driver. Dr. Stephen White, world's most noted plastic surgeon, was her only hope. Clad in anonymity, he vows to do the impossible when she shows him a picture of Monday Knight and indicates that is who she wants to be. Personal struggles seem insurmountable, but Dr. White's sense of humor supercedes, and among wigs, lingerie and dandelions, he sets out to win her over. All he has to do is convince her he truly loves her; it is not just pity.

Review

International Supermodel, Monday Knight has been told since childhood that her looks and beauty are her only asset, her mother taking the adage from the old nursery rhyme, Monday's Child is fair of face very seriously.

But a drunk driver soon puts paid to all that, and Monday is horribly disfigured in the accident. There is only one person who can even attempt to put her back together again, renowned plastic surgeon, Dr. Stephen White.

Monday sees the doctor as self-centered, arrogant and she despairs that her fate is in his hands. When she starts to fall for him, she is worried. Does he only see her as one of his patients, or is there something more to his care for her? She hopes it isn't pity. She would rather die than have anyone pity her...

This is a short, fast paced romance, the pages just seem to turn themselves as you want to read on to find out what happens next. The sexual tension shimmers between Monday and Stephen throughout, even if Monday does spend most of the book wrapped in bandages like a mummy!

There are some very humorous incidences, including a plumber who gets his hand stuck in a rather unfortunate place...

It's a fun book and anyone who likes a bit of humor in their romance will love it.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen.

Featured Book: Frost Fair by Erastes

2011-09-28T04:01:00.001-07:00

Frost Fair
by Erastes
Male/Male Historical Romance
Bristlecone Pine Press
Available in print and ebook
buy Link

Blurb:

In 1814, the River Thames froze solid in one of the coldest winters on record; tradesmen and society all flocked to the Frost Fair – the last ever to be held on the ice. Against this chilly backdrop, the printer, engraver and fiercely independent Gideon Frost struggles; not only to keep his business afloat, selling his body to men when he must, but also to hide his growing attraction to a wealthy customer: the gentleman Joshua Redfern. Redfern is a man out of Gideon's class and very much out of his reach.

When disaster strikes, Gideon is forced to make a decision which will affect his future: will he choose love, or independence? Frost Fair evokes a bitterly cold London winter as Gideon tries to find the heat of love in his heart and his life.

Written by Erastes, author of the widely acclaimed Standish and Trangressions, the latter the first in a new line of m/m historical romances published by Running Press.

Book Review: The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier

2011-09-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

The Dark Mirror
by Juliet Marillier
Book One of the Bridei Chronicles
Publisher: Tor
Genres: Historical fantasy
Available as ebook, paper book and audio
5 stars

Blurb:

In the mid 6th century the Pictish kingdom in northern Britain is under threat from the Gaels and the Christian faith, which leaves the leaders of the northern realm struggling to maintain their ancient traditions.

All hope rests on the shoulders of young Bridei, a little-known son of the royal line, who is seen as the perfect candidate for future kingship. At his remote forest home of Pitnochie, Broichan, a powerful druid, sets about training the boy in the ways of the ancients and in the all-important preparation to be a leader of men.

But Broichan has not allowed for the Good Folk, inhabitants of the ancient forests of Fortriu and well-known workers of tricky magic. When Bridei discovers a strange baby girl abandoned on Broichan's doorstep in the chill of the winter solstice, he takes her into the house. And the druid has to realise that there is one unpredictable power at work that may be too strong for him to control and could become the death of his dreams.

Review

I first read the Sevenwaters books by Juliet Marillier a few years ago and I have to admit for having a very soft spot for those, for the mythical place of Sevenwaters in the books is based around the area where I grew up in Northern Ireland and I was doubly fascinated because of that.

Not knowning much about Scottish history, I wasn't sure how I was going to like the Bridei Chronicles. I needn't have worried. You don't need to know anything about the history or the places, because Ms. Marillier does a good job of describing each of them without the novel turning into a textbook. The places she describes are almost characters in themselves and it is a wonderful escapist book.

I adored Bridei and how we got to see him grow up from a nervous child in the druid's household until he's a young man around eighteen or nineteen and how his relationship with Tuala evolves from that of a protective older brother to that of sweetheart. The romance seemed to flow naturally an didn't feel as if was shoe-horned in.

The story is told mostly from Bridei's and Tuala's points of views with a few secondary characters having a few scenes to themselves as well. The contrasts and conflicts between the old pagan religon and rituals and the emerging Christian religion was well done.

As with most of Ms. Marillier's books, the settings and some of the people are historical and it is blended with myth and fantasy, giving an otherworldly feel to her books.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

Featured Book: The Steel Remains

2011-09-26T08:17:00.001-07:00

The Steel Remains
by Richard Morgan
Fantasy
Gollancz
Buy The Steel Remains here

Blurb:

Ringil, the hero of the bloody slaughter at Gallows Gap; Archeth, the last of her race and Egar Dragonbane, steppe-nomad. Damaged veterans of the war against the Lizard Folk. The Empire owed them everything and gave them nothing. Now someone is going to pay...

Book Review No Lady and Her Tramp

2011-09-25T04:08:00.001-07:00

No Lady and Her Tramp
by Kristie Leigh Maguire and Mark Haeuser
Genres: Humor, erotic romance
5 stars
Buy Link

Blurb:
No Lady and Her Tramp will have you rolling in the aisles as you follow the exploits of the residents of President Park, the trailer park to top all trailer parks. When Beth Ann Dixon buys herself a computer and decides to write a steamy erotic novel, her husband, Billy Ray, can't do much of anything right, not even shoot a gun. Janet Higgins is the resident Peeping Tom - and Troy Finkmyer is the guy we all love to hate. Everybody gets into the act and there are showdowns all over Grapevine - Grapevine, Kentucky that is. Shirley Snodgrass is the local gossip columnist for the Grapevine Gazette and records it all in her column, 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine'.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

Beauty Salon owner Beth Ann Dixon, long term resident of Presidant Park trailer park and long suffering wife of Billy Ray wants more out of life that the existence she has experienced thus far.

Her dream starts when she wins at bingo and buys herself a computer. She decides that she will write an erotic novel and become rich and famous the world over. Her husband, and everyone else who discovers her plan, laugh at her, for how could someone who never even finished high school, become a famous writer?

But Beth Ann is determined to prove them all wrong, and then who'll be laughing?

I loved this book, populated by characters that you can just imagine living in this fictional trailer park, but they never become cariacatures, just very funny. My favourite character was Janet, the local busybody.

Most of the love secens take place within Beth Ann's novel, almost like a little book within a book, and are written very well. I couldn't really tell that the book was written by two different authors, their styles melded so well.

It is a very funny book, but there are some dramatic moments as well, just like life, although if I lived in President Park, I'm not sure I could take all that excitement!

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

Book Review: A Still, Small Voice by D. W. Marchwell

2011-09-23T04:14:00.001-07:00

Galley supplied courtesy of the publisher through Netgalley.

A Still, Small Voice
by D. W. Marchwell
Dreamspinner Press
M/M romance
Print and ebook available
3.5 Stars

Blurb:

After a student’s accusation of sexual assault destroyed his reputation, Noah Birchwood left the teaching career he loved. The school system that should have protected him and an ex-lover who should have known better shattered his confidence, and it took Noah six years and another university degree to finally get his life back on track.

He loves his new job as a computer programmer and keeps busy on weekends performing at a drag club with his best friend, Aiden. It’s there that he meets shy, chivalrous Oscar, the owner of the club and, just maybe, the love of Noah’s life. But everything turns upside down when a specter from his former life moves in next door. Noah will have to face his fears and discover the truth about his ordeal if he wants to move past it once and for all and face the future with Oscar at his side.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen

Noah Birchwood has worked at the same high school for years and thought he would be there for many more. He falls in love with a new teacher, Paul but his world is shattered when he finds Paul cheating on him with a woman and he is falsely accused of molesting a female student. It is due to Paul that things are set in motion for Noah's arrest and Noah's life comes crashing down around him. He's released after there is not enough evidence but the damage has already been done. His reputation is in tatters and he leaves the professions he loves so much.

Feeling bereft and betrayed, Noah settles into his new life as a computer programmer and at the weekends as part of a drag act with his best friend, Aiden and tries to forget the past.

Trying to enjoy his new life, Noah's peace is shattered when Paul moves in next door and the past is brought to bear once more on the present and threatens Noah's burgeoning relationship with Oscar, the owner of the club Aiden and Noah work at.

The book is well-written and fast paced, but I found that having the flashbacks about Paul grating to stay the least. I didn't want to know about Paul, I wanted to know more about Noah and Oscar, not Noah's terrible ex. The characters are realistic and are not perfect, they each have flaws and sometimes I wanted to climb into the book and give Noah a good shake when he kept thinking of what had happened with Paul, when there was a wonderful guy (Oscar) standing right beside him.

Aiden is a fantastic character and he stole every scene he was in, gay, flamboyant and not ashamed of it, he was a breath of fresh air.

Noah and Oscar too are likeable and well-drawn, but I detested Paul with a passion and almost wanted to skip the scenes he was in. I felt a bit sorry for Oscar, who seemed to take a back seat to Noah's angsting over Paul sometimes. I think there could have been more dialogue rather than introspection. The prologue is basically the author condensing what happened after Noah is arrested and is telling Aiden all about it, but it is done in narrative rather than dialogue. It would have worked much better in my opinion if Noah actually talked to Aiden, rather than it being narrative.

All in all it is a very good story and I would certainly read this author again. I read it in two days, so it's certainly one you want to keep reading.

About the Reviwer

Annette Gisby is an author and freelance writer, with numerous books under her belt including The Chosen, a male/male fantasy romance from Lyrical Press. Books are her passion. You can find Annette and her books on her website:
http://www.annettegisby.n3.net/

Review: Ghost Song by Sarah Rayne

2011-09-22T03:36:00.001-07:00

Ghost Song
by Sarah Rayne
Psychological Suspense/Thriller
Pocket Books
4 Stars
Buy Link
Sarah Rayne's Website
Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen, Silent Screams and Shadows of the Rose.

Blurb
The old Tarleton music hall is the subject of a mysterious building restriction that has kept it closed for more than 90 years. When Robert Fallon is asked to survey the structure, he finds clues indicating that its long twilight sleep may contain a sinister secret. Joining forces with researcher Hilary Bryant, Robert discovers the legend of the Tarleton's ghost, a mysterious figure that was first glimpsed during the era of Toby Chance, a charismatic performer who vanished suddenly and inexplicably in the early 1900s. After almost a century the Tarleton's dark silence is about to end, but there are those who find its reopening a threatening prospect. As Robert and Hilary delve into the macabre history, they both become menaced by the secrets of the past. A secret that has its roots in a shattering event that had to be kept hidden at all costs.

Review:

I really wanted to give this five stars, I've read all of Sarah Rayne's previous books and I thought they were much better than this one. Not that it was bad, it was a good story and well-written, but I just got the feeling as I was reading that there was something missing. Like most of Sarah Rayne's books, the premise is similar: old building with a secret past, with the action flitting between the past and the present.

Normally, her books have a twist that you can't see coming a mile away, but with this one I guessed it long before it was revealed and I felt disappointed. I loved the character of Toby Chance and I would have been quite happy to just have the book focus on him. It seemed flat somehow when it was about the other characters but it came alive whenever the Toby sections were there. I think the author must have a soft spot for Toby too!

It was an enjoyable and page-turning read, but I felt it could have been better.

About the Reviewer

Annette Gisby writes in multiple genres and styles, from sci-fi to fantasy, from horror to romance.
Her website can be found at
http://www.annettegisby.n3.net/

Book Review: Dead to the World by L. E. Bryce

2011-09-21T04:16:00.000-07:00

Dead to the World
by L. E. Bryce
Male/Male Romance, fantasy
Phaze Books
Ebook and Paperback
Buy Here

Five Stars

In a strange and exotic land, Erred is an initiate of a powerful sea goddess. Without salt water he will die, as his spirit form is hrill, a type of creature reminiscent of a dolphin. On returning from a pilgrimage he and his entourage are attacked and at first the attackers think he is a woman with his silks and his veiled face. When it is discovered he is actually a very beautiful man, they decide not to kill him but capture him as a slave. Erred is taken across the desert to the city of Tajhann where he is trained to become a pleasure slave.

This is not a book for the faint of heart. It is beautifully written but the things that happen to Erred are not glossed over, including his first rape at the hands of a greedy merchant who bought Erred for his son but then couldn't resist having a taste of the slave himself. It is a brutal scene, with Erred being drugged and unable to defend himself at all. It is harrowing and you really feel for Erred, but although it is a difficult scene to read without it the book wouldn't have been as strong. It does not come across as gratitous.

Erred is a slave, he is there for his master's pleasure and nothing else. As he progesses and obeys he is moved through the ranks and one day may have the option to become a free courtesan, wherin he will pick and choose his own clients, but up until then he has no say in who his masters wish him to pleasure.

The book does have a hopeful ending, but I don't want to give it away. The characters are well drawn and you feel yourself drawn into this world of slaves and courtesans where one wrong look or word can mean your death; where friendships are one of the most important things and where love can be found even in the most unexpected places. Lots of political intrigue helps the plot along and I didn't want to stop reading I was so keen to see what happened to Erred. Parts of it are heart-wrenching and it stays with you long after the last page is read.

The story is poignant, touching and erotic and one I would re-read again.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen and Silent Screams.
http://www.annettegisby.n3.net

Half-price ebook at Smashwords

2010-06-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

New Zealand with a Hobbit Botherer is now $2.99 instead of $5.99 at smashwords until June 28 2010

New Zealand With a Hobbit Botherer
by Annette and John Gisby
Humour/Travel
Coupon Code PU67C

Blurb:

What should you do if your spouse becomes addicted to the Lord of the Rings movies and swoons at the very mention of Orlando Bloom's name? (Thud. Quick, fetch the smelling salts.)

How about taking the advice of a strange apparition that reveals itself in a dream? An apparition that looks remarkably like the director of the movies, Peter Jackson, but not quite remarkably enough to prompt legal action.

An apparition that recommends touring New Zealand in an effort to prove that its sheep pastures aren't really filled by frolicking Hobbits. Just sheep and the occasional zorbing local.

This is the hilarious tale of such a tour, featuring snow capped mountains and turquoise lakes, flightless birds and flying cattle, bungy jumping grannies and the carrot mafia, strange yellow eyes peering up from a road map and hotel receptionists always desperate to know win you are living.

Get it for half-price $2.99 instead of list price $5.99 from smashwords with the following coupon code:

PU67C
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/2264

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Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2010-05-07T07:27:00.001-07:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J. K. Rowling
Scholastic
Fantasy/YA
Available from amazon

Reviewed by Nina M. Osier

Brilliant. Simply brilliant. That's the short version of my reaction to this seventh and final volume in J.K. Rowling's increasingly dark series. Speaking first as a writer, I'm awed by the deftness with which she ties the whole tale together and brings it to a logical conclusion. Speaking as a reader, I found that conclusion absolutely satisfying. It's just how I wanted this complicated, multipart story to end.

Wizard-in-training Harry Potter comes of age, as his world reckons that milestone, at 17. Although he should be off to Hogwarts for his final year of magical education, his confrontation with evil wizard Voldemort can't be put off any longer. Reaching adulthood makes him vulnerable in a way he never was before, and it also places everyone around him in danger. So Harry, the Boy Who Lived because of his mother's love-motivated sacrifice of her own life, sets off to fulfill his destiny. He's accompanied only by his two closest friends, pure-blooded wizard Ron Weasley and Muggle-born witch Hermione Granger.

I've read this twice so far, first at top speed (HAD to find out what happened!) and then at my usual read-for-pleasure pace. Rowling targeted her first Potter novel at the 9 to 12 year olds who are Scholastic's primary market, but she has wisely allowed her books to grow up - in both tone and subject matter - along with Harry, his friends, and that first crop of readers. The final installment is dark indeed, the stuff of nightmares at times. Yet the offbeat, dry, and delightful Rowling humor is present throughout, especially at those moments when her audience may well be desperate for the resulting break in dramatic tension. Professor McGonagall herding an army of enchanted desks into battle, for instance, just about doubled me over. Rowling has a genuis for keeping her characters true to themselves while allowing them to keep secrets, and certain of those secrets - coming to light at this last book's very climax - are what make the entire series work as a whole. Marvelous writing! Read it. What else can I say?

About the Reviewer:

Nina M. Osier (pronounced '9-UH') is the author of over 20 books, including 2005 science fiction EPPIE winner REGS. She loves using ideas gleaned from her day job as Director of Records Management Services for the Maine State Archives in her future fiction. Nina welcomes her readers' visits to her website at http://ninaosier.50webs.com

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Book Trailer: The Chosen by Annette Gisby

2010-05-03T03:48:00.000-07:00

Book Video Trailer (DRAFT): The Chosen @ Yahoo! Video

Out Now: Adder by Ally Blue

2010-04-29T07:46:00.001-07:00

Adder by Ally Blue
Samhain Publishing
Male/Male Romance

Music. Sex. Fame. What’s missing? Surely not the “L” word…

Adder has a plan for his life: play his music for millions of adoring fans, who will reward him with money, fame and as much sex as he can handle. It’s a goal he’s been working toward since his teens and is on the cusp of achieving. The idea of a relationship never entered his mind—until a new drummer joins his band. One taste of Kalil, and all he wants is more.

For Kalil, playing drums for Adder is a dream come true, the creative connection he’s always wanted. What he never reckoned on is the deeper connection he finds with Adder. Kalil would rather avoid sexual involvement with a bandmate, but Adder seems just as determined to break through his resistance.

Attraction aside, music and sex are about the only things the hedonistic Adder and the increasingly jealous Kalil can agree on. Still, before they know it they’re on the brink of something deeper, something lasting.

And it scares the hell out of both of them.

Warning: This book contains adult language, hot gay sex, weird bands, colorful prophylactics and unforgivable fashion crimes.

Book Review: The Unseen by T.C. McMullen

2010-04-07T04:37:00.001-07:00

The Unseen: Book One in the Manipulated Evil Series
By T.C. McMullen
SF/Thriller
Star Publishing
Available from amazon.com

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Drowning Rapunzel and The Chosen.

Kyle D'Arcy is a spoilt young man attending college, where he is more interested in studying the women there, rather than his classes. But after his father's murder brings him home, he is dumped straight into the middle of a war that has been raging unseen for decades.

His father Carter D'Arcy was a renowned geneticist and leaves Kyle with an envelope full of scientific papers and a key. But someone else knows about it and a few days later, Kyle's mother, Beverly, is murdered too and the killers wait in ambush for Kyle.

Kyle is saved by a strange woman, Ravyn, the most beautiful woman Kyle has ever seen. And what was a picture of her doing in Carter's wallet? Was Carter having an affair with her?

At first Kyle thinks she is insane with her talk of other worlds and portals, there is only one reality, right? But gradually Kyle comes to believe and finds out things about his heritage that he wasn't sure he wanted to know. For Kyle's whole life has been constructed on a lie, a lie to keep him alive.

And what was Carter's involvement in this war? A war fought not with guns and tanks, but diseases that have no cure...

Oh, this book was difficult to put down, it twists and turns every which way and just when you thought you had it figured out, another piece of the puzzle is revealed.

The reader finds out things at the same time as Kyle, so that you are almost in his shoes, feeling everything he is going through. The book ends on a cliffhanger, ready to dive into book two and I almost screamed with frustration. Ms McMullen has certainly left the readers wanting more!

Although the story itself is on a grand scale, the author has delved deep into the heart of the characters and you have to read on to know what is going to happen to them. It is a story of love, sacrifice and ethics. Is it just to do wrong things for the right reasons? Can the end ever justify the means? Is evil a force of nature or nurture?

The book makes you think long after the last page has been read.

~~~~

About the Reviewer

Annette Gisby writes in multiple genres and styles. Her latest novel, an M/M fantasy romance called The Chosen is out now from Lyrical Presas. Her website can be found at
www.annettegisby.n3.net

The Chosen Pre-Release Sales

2010-03-27T04:50:00.001-07:00

The Chosen
by Annette Gisby
M/M Fantasy Romance
Lyrical Press
Ebook
Buy from Amazon Kindle
Buy from Mobipocket

Love or duty -- which would you choose?

Prince Severin has been brought up to put duty before all else. Now, his duty is to marry and produce an heir. He has his choice of princesses. Unfortunately, his passion is for princes.Havyn has been a slave all his life. When his powers are discovered, he finds himself purchased and freed by a Prince and apprenticed to the royal wizard, Ildar. His duty is to stay chaste to keep his powers strong.

Unfortunately, his passion is for Severin. With kingdoms at war, the throne hanging in the balance, and magic in the air, can the two men find happiness together, or is duty more important than love?

"This was an epic high fantasy, complete with princes, kings, damsel princesses in distress, betrayal, and the ever-present quest. We start with Severin's purchasing and then freeing Havyn, who then becomes apprentice to the royal wizard ... and Severin's object of first lust, then love. I did enjoy the way this relationship built. The quest to find the princess gives Severin and Havyn time to learn about each other and develop a strong bond." - Patchcat for Yougottaread reviews

"All of her dialogue was natural and easy to read and understand. Her character description was perfect... This is the first novel I've read from Annette Gisby and I'm thrilled that she asked us to review this for her. I was not sorry for a moment and I'd do it again in a heartbeat... If you're looking for a sweet love story? You found it! I recommend this book and award it 5 kisses!!" - Michele, from Michele & Jeff Reviews

The truth makes us free is my all time favorite literary theme. The Chosen clothes that theme in a tender, sometimes erotic love story, one peopled with characters whose human nature (even though some of them aren't fully human) rings true. It's equal parts romance, fantasy, and fairy tale for adults, with a good, quick pace and plenty of sword and sorcery type action. Another winner from Annette Gisby, whose work gets better and better with every new release." - Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 EPPIE winner REGS http://www.ninaosier.50webs.com/

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The book is now available from Amazon Kindle and Mobipocket

Book Review: Elfland by Freda Warrington

2010-03-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

Elfland
by Feda Warrington
Tor Books
Urban Fantasy
Kindle Edition
Hardcover
Book Blurb:

Auberon Fox is the warm heart of the English village of Cloudcroft and father of a happy family including his daughter, Rosie. But on the hill lives the mysterious, aloof Lawrence Wilder, Gatekeeper to the inner realms of the Spiral. Tortured by personal demons, Lawrence is beset by trouble on all sides. His wife has left him; his sons Jon and Sam are angry and damaged, and when he refuses to open the Great Gates, preventing access to the Otherworld, the Aetherial community is outraged. What will become of them, deprived of the home realm from which their essential life-force flows?

Rosie, an Aetherial among mortals, knows the Wilders are trouble, but she and her gentle brother Lucas can’t seem to keep away. She falls in love with the alluring Jon Wilder; she is tormented by his notorious brother Sam, who is always in trouble. Rosie becomes caught in a classic conflict between trying to live a ‘normal’, hard-working human life, or surrendering to her wild, Aetherial instincts. Ultimately she makes a disastrous choice that leads to tragedy…

Journeying deep into the Spiral as she tries to pick up the pieces, Rosie can’t escape her destiny as she learns about life, love… and her role in the terrifying conflict to come.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Drowning Rapunzel and The Chosen

Elfland is a faerie tale for adults, a true faerie tale in that the book deals with a race of beings called Aetherials, who were what the humans thought were faeries; angels, vampires or demons. The mythology is great, but it is also an all too human tale of love, loss, fear and courage.

I can't condense the plot too much; it is too epic to even try, and this is only one of the first books in this new series. The story mainly concerns two families, the Foxes and the Wilders who live on earth but are Aetherial in nature and desire. Lawrence Wilder is the Gatekeeper; mad as a hatter living in the fortress-like house of Stonegate. The Aetherials can move between worlds on the night of the Summer Stars when the Gatekeeper opens the portal between the worlds; but one night he refuses to do so, spouting out about a great danger that awaits if he even tries. But is he just delusional or is there really something out to get them?

This book was a joy to read. I'm not normally a fan of urban fantasy, but for some reason this one drew me in and I felt like I was in the book with the characters and all the strange and wondrous places they visited. The romance flowed with the story, it didn't just suddenly apppear out of nowhere as if the author just wanted to put the romance in. The romance was part of it from the beginning. The book draws you in and by the end you feel you too have gone on a strange quest and come out relatively unscathed.

A keeper.

***

About the Reviewer

Annette Gisby writes in multiple styles and genres from horror to sci-fi, from fantasy to romance. Her latest novel, The Chosen, will be released by Lyrical Press.
Author website: www.annettegisby.n3.net

Book Review: Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear

2010-03-24T03:27:00.001-07:00

Darwin's Radio
by Greg Bear
SF
Ballantine Books
Available at amazon Darwin's Radio

Reviewed by Nina M. Osier

Archaelogist Mitch Rafelson has become an outcast among his peers, because he put a Native American tribe's request that he respect a "specimen" as the bones of one of their ancestors ahead of his duty to the institution employing him. In Europe, looking for a way to restart his career, he's manipulated by an unscrupulous couple who want him to help them find a buyer for the remarkable thing they've discovered hidden away in a high mountain cave: three bodies, frozen thousands of years ago. "Another Ice Man," they think, assuming that their find can make them rich, and also assuming that Mitch's sullied reputation means he won't mind doing as they demand. The frozen bodies are those of a man, a woman, and a newborn infant. The two adults wear curious masks, and the woman's abdomen has been pierced deeply by a sharpened stick.

In Georgia (the one that used to be part of the U.S.S.R.), fellow scientist Kaye Lang is called away from her work to help determine what happened to the people whose bodies have been uncovered in a mass grave. She's startled to discover that the grave holds only men and pregnant women. All of the bodies wear peculiar mask-like skin growths, and all of the women have been shot in the abdomen.

So begin the stories of two people who find themselves drawn together in solving the same mystery, which soon starts manifesting itself all around the world. As ancient retroviruses infect human couples of childbearing age, strange and frightening pregnancies result. Is what's happening the most dangerous epidemic the species has ever experienced? Or is it incontrovertible proof that humans evolve not gradually, as scientists have believed for decades, but in sudden leaps dictated by "programming" carried in each individual's genetic code?

Author Bear takes an intriguing but (to me, at least, initially) unlikely idea and proceeds to spin it into a plausible tale. His characters are believable, too, and the story is both exciting and well paced. I'm now eager to read the second volume.

About the Reviewer

Nina M. Osier (pronounced '9-UH') is the author of over 20 books, including 2005 science fiction EPPIE winner REGS. She loves using ideas gleaned from her day job as Director of Records Management Services for the Maine State Archives in her future fiction. Nina welcomes her readers' visits to her website at http://ninaosier.50webs.com

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New review for The Chosen

2010-03-23T03:10:00.001-07:00

"This was an epic high fantasy, complete with princes, kings, damsel princesses in distress, betrayal, and the ever-present quest. We start with Severin’s purchasing and then freeing Havyn, who then becomes apprentice to the royal wizard…and Severin’s object of first lust, then love. I did enjoy the way this relationship built. The quest to find the princess gives Severin and Havyn time to learn about each other and develop a strong bond." Patchcat for Yougottaread reviews

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Out now: The Mist by Carla Neggers

2010-03-23T03:05:00.000-07:00

When Lizzie Rush uncovers evidence that thrill-seeking billionaire Norman Estabrook may be at the center of an international criminal network, she finds herself playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Raised in the elite world of her hotelier family, educated in reality by her spy father, Lizzie is the perfect choice to slowly amass information that will take down Estabrook. But no good deed goes unpunished.

Despite Norman’s arrest, Lizzie knows she’s not safe. Estabrook will stop at nothing to exact revenge against the people who took him down—unless she stops him first. While in Ireland she learns of a bomb that’s about to go off in Boston, but her warning to her friends back home doesn’t come quickly enough. One detective is seriously injured in the blast and another, the FBI director’s daughter, disappears. Then intelligence officer Will Davenport arrives with a single, simple message: Norman Estabrook is gone.

Lizzie doesn’t know how Will found her or whose side he's on, but she does know he can help her prevent the killers from striking again. Now Lizzie—a woman who’s spent the last year shrouded in a fog of deception—has no choice but to trust Will, a man who lives by a code of personal honor and answers to no one. At least until the mist clears and the frightening truth is revealed.

"Readers have come to expect excellence from Neggers, and she delivers it here. The pairing of aristocratic spy Will with butt-kicking heroine Lizzie is inspired, and the multistrand plot is extremely absorbing." —RT Book Reviews

Win a copy of The Mist from Fresh Fiction. Or order here

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Book Review: Recipe for Murder by Janet Elaine Smith

2010-03-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Recipe for Murder
by Janet Elaine Smith
Star Publish
Cosy Mystery
Available from Amazon and other booksellers

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Chosen and Drowning Rapunzel

The second adventure for the intrepid crime fighting duo, retired cop Patrick O'Malley and Grace Johnson, now employed at a homeless shelter, begins when they get a letter from former resident of the shelter, Walter Schmidt. Along with the cryptic letter, there is a key for a safety deposit box, and the letter hints that it contains something that will make them rich and if anything happens to him, they will know what to do with it.

Worried by the letter, they call his mother in Nebraska only to discover that Walter has died. It's being called a suicide but his mother is convinced that he was murdered. He was found hanging from the rafters in the apple shed. Patrick and Grace head out to the small town of Albany, Nebraska to discover the truth.

What they find there is a place unfriendly to strangers, and secrets long buried coming to the surface. For such a small town, there are quite a few suspects in the investigation and it will be difficult to guess the culprit before the end, I was convinced twice I had it figured out, only to be thwarted again!

In Walter's safety deposit box is a recipe for applesauce and oatmeal cookies, it seems that he may have been murdered for the recipe, but who would have the most to gain?

Although a murder mystery, there is no blood and gore here. It's a book that leaves you thinking, very fast moving and with a wealth of characters that seem to jump out at you from the page, as if they were in the room with you.

A lovely touch at the end is Walter's recipe for the cookies (and you don't even have to kill anyone to get it!) There is also a sneak preview for the next book in the Patrick and Grace series. Obviously, Janet Elaine Smith has taken the adage "always leave them wanting more" to heart, because it certainly does that. A very enjoyable book.

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About the reviewer:

Annette Gisby writes in multiple styles and genres from horror to sci-fi, from fantasy to romance. Her latest novel, The Chosen, will be released by Lyrical Press.
Author website: http://www.annettegisby.n3.net

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New Review for The Chosen

2010-03-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

I got a five kisses review from Michele and Jeff Reviews for The Chosen:

"There’s more to this book than sex, there’s a deep sweet plot and the book was written with loads of love. You could just feel it between the characters. I wanted to yell, KISS HIM already! Sex comes second in this story; it is not based around it. If you’re looking for hot sex scenes full of dirty words and play, this is not it. If you’re looking for a sweet love story? You found it! I recommend this book and award it 5 kisses!!"
http://michelenjeff-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/03/chosen-by-annette-gisby.html

and they also have done an interview with me:
http://michelenjeff-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/03/annette-gisby.html

take care,
Annette

Out now: The Lost Son

2010-03-19T03:46:00.000-07:00

The Lost Son
by Mychael Black
M/M fantasy
Samhain Publishing

One warrior, one sorcerer, and a legacy that will change their lives forever…

Secrets of Socendor, Book 1

In the world of Socendor, humans are forbidden from using magic and elves keep their distance.

Kalen Ysindroc has risen far from his humble beginnings as a blacksmith’s adopted son. Now the king’s general, he investigates reports of magic-wielding half-human, half-elven lithings sighted along the kingdom’s borders. It would be a lonely life, if not for the company of his best friend and long-time elven lover, Micheil Theirauf, the king’s sorcerer.

An attempt on Kalen’s life makes it clear to Micheil that there’s more afoot than random breaks in the land’s defenses. His lover is plagued by dreams no human should endure, and Micheil’s probe into Kalen’s subconscious reveals a past neither of them expected. And a future Kalen can’t escape.

Suddenly, everything Kalen never knew about his life is laid bare. A father possessed of terrible magical power. A half-brother who could be the family Kalen never had—or the catalyst that will rip Micheil out of his life forever…

Read More or buy

Out Now: Desire for Dearborne

2010-03-17T03:20:00.000-07:00

Desire for Dearborne
by V. B. Kildare
Dreamspinner Press
M/M Historical
ebook price $6.99

Leander Mayfield is the only surviving son of a poor farmer... or so he believes until the day he learns he is in fact the new Earl of Dearborn. Still recovering from a lingering illness, the sensitive young man travels to Great Britain to claim his estate and embarks upon a bewildering new life.

Julien Sutcliffe, the Earl of Blackstone, is suffering from ennui. He's tired and bored with all the finery and wealth and wonders about him. Then he meets this refreshingly naive American Earl, newly arrived in England, and suddenly the world comes alive around him again.

Irresistibly drawn to one another, Julien finds himself besotted, and Leander is equally smitten. But just when they think they may have finally found happiness together, Julien and Leander discover that something--or someone--is determined to separate them permanently.

Read more or buy

Out now: Little Japan by Jaye Valentine and Reno MacLeod

2010-03-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Title: Little Japan
Authors: Jaye Valentine and Reno MacLeod
Genre: Male/Male romance/erotica
Publisher: Noble Romance
Ebook price $5.99

Japan. Land of honor and beauty, crowded streets with neon signs, and exotic markets where ancient traditions still hold fast in modern-day society. As Japanese business people rush about their busy lives, there exists a place in Osaka, Japan where a modern take on the ancient tradition of the geisha thrives.

Kuri and Daichi work at Kingyo Club, a popular host club in the Dōtonbori district of Osaka. After sleeping their days away, the boys' nights are owned by the host club lifestyle and anyone willing to pay the steep price for a few hours of hard drinking and flirtatious companionship. Kuri and Daichi are lovers and best friends, and along with their roommates Sora and Takumi, they look out for one another in an occupation fraught with both physical and emotional danger.

In addition to the endless bottles of fizzy champagne, expensive gifts, and confessions of false love courtesy of regular clients, every now and then comes a customer with even deeper pockets and much darker demands. Gabriel Hartley is one of these men. After a chance meeting, Gabriel targets the stunning Kuri to feed his obsession with seducing and dominating young Japanese men.

The relationship between Kuri and Gabriel dramatically changes when a traumatic event plunges them from the Land of the Rising Sun into the land of powerful sheikhs and servant boys in the dark underworld of exotic Dubai. As Kuri struggles with the heartache of having what's most precious to him ripped away, he helps Gabriel learn important lessons about love, honor, and the power of self-forgiveness.

Read more or buy

New Releases from Lyrical Press

2010-03-16T04:37:00.000-07:00

My Love Eternal
by Liz Strange

Blood, sex and eternal life… What more could a girl ask for?

Tall, dark, and sexy, as well as fabulously wealthy, Giovanni is everything a girl could ask for in a lover. There’s only one catch. He’s been undead for more than three hundred years. When Rachel is drawn into Giovanni’s world, she learns that the rules of human existence mean nothing in the world of vampires. This, however, is a fair price to pay for a love that will last forever.

Hunted by the Desmarais family, who carry a centuries-old vendetta, Rachel and Giovanni travel to the ends of the earth in order to stay one step ahead. Can their love survive, or will their eternity together end?

Content Warning: Violence, sexual encounters with the undead.

Read more or buy

Kaydana and the Dragon Prince
by Nyki Blatchley

It takes a dragon to rescue a princess

After Princess Atto is kidnapped, the king offers her hand in marriage to the one who rescues her. Mercenary Tela needs the magical aid of sorceress Kaydana to help save her lover.

But when they find the dragon who kidnapped Atto, things take an unexpected turn. Kaydana is equal to most of the challenges she must face -- but how does she cope with being in love?

Read more or buy

Clockworks and Corsets
by Regina Riley

Clockwork, steam and secrets power a passionate adventure in the skies.

Everybody's looking for something.

Captain Rose Madigan of the airship The Merry Widow is looking for a paying job for her all-female crew. Gabriella Upstairs, her newest recruit, is looking for a reason to be glad she's on board. And Madam Ruby of the Red House Bordello is looking for the secret laboratory of a missing mad scientist--and is willing to hire the airship. When they find the lab and its single occupant, Atom Loquacious, danger and passion start steaming up.

Everybody's got a secret.

Captain Rose is secretly too ethical to complete this job. Gabriella's secretly attracted to Atom. Madam Ruby's secretly hungry for power. And the secret Atom is hiding might just threaten the lives of everyone on board.

Read more or buy

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Book Review: The Trespass by Barbara Ewing

2010-03-16T03:53:00.000-07:00

The Tresspass
by Barbara Ewing
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Historical
Purchase Link: Amazon
Author website: www.barbaraewing.com

Reviewed by Annette Gisby author of Drowing Rapunzel and The Chosen

In the London cholera epidemic of 1849, MP Sir Charles Cooper is worried for his youngest daughter, seventeen year old Harriet, and resolves to send her away to the country until the danger has past.

Harriet is pleased to get away from her father, but also worried that he won't send her elder sister, Mary, with her. Isn't she in danger from the cholera too? (More danger than either of them know, for Mary has been helping a doctor treat the cholera patients in the poorest parts of London.) Harriet enjoys her stay in the country with her cousins, and wonders at the easy way the family has with each other, for there is a dark secret at her London home, one she has no words for, because how can a young lady speak of the unspeakable?

Harriet plans a daring escape to New Zealand, following in the footsteps of her cousin, for surely even her father's reach cannot get so far as New Zealand? This book is excellent, with a little dash of history thrown in now and then, but without turning the novel into a history book. The main emphasis is on the characters, and what characters they were. So realisitic and evolved. I was on tenterhooks the whole time wondering of Harriet could ever escape. At a time when women had no money of their own (unless they were lower class and could work), they were owned first by their fathers and then by their husbands, and were not even allowed to work, how could a young girl escape her terrible fate?

'Everything you say is yours, belongs to me, is provided by me, everything, every breath that you take belongs to me. I am your father. And as you well know you owe me absolute obedience.' I devoured this book in two days, you just have to keep reading to find out what happens next. With a wealth of historical detail and well drawn characters, it's one you'd want to read again and again.

About the reviewer

Annette Gisby writes in multiple genres from horror to fantasy, romance to thrillers and everything in between. Her latest novel, The Chosen, a male/male fantasy romance will be relased by Lyrical Press.
Author Website: www.annettegisby.n3.net