Valley of Secrets by Morgan Knight

Well now, this was a pleasant surprise. A tapestry of genres: paranormal, fantasy, romance, erotica, thriller, crime, suspense. The first four are my least favourite…not on my never-read list, just not my go-tos. But I'm weak and succumbed to the temptation of the latter three. My submission was well rewarded. 

When very young, Emilia was adopted by her parents' good friends when they were tragically killed in a car accident. Years later, as a college student, an attorney traces her to tell her that there is a family estate in a small village in Europe and that she needs to travel there promptly. A holiday in Europe with her much loved adopted sister, Amanda, is too good an opportunity to miss. And it might help distract her from some rather sensual dreams she's having, which feature an irresistibly attractive man, Massimino. Emilia and Amanda's jaunt turns out to be quite something. Little did they expect that Emilia would uncover some unsettling truths about her family, the village and that Massimino is a ruthless sorcerer. 

Good quality writing and a well-formulated plot made this very compelling, along with a striking contrast of well-portrayed good and bad (some evil, in fact) characters and an unguessable ending. Despite having to suspend my disbelief, I was transfixed till the end, which, although complete with no loose ends, left a door ajar for a sequel. I'll certainly be all over that.

Tubing by KA McKeagney

My oh my, this is a thriller and a half. I wasn't sure at first: I wasn't expecting the erotic element...erotica isn't one of my top genres. (Should have read the blurb properly!) But it was secondary to the dark, twisted, psychological thriller this turned out to be: gripping to the very last word, with some surprises I never expected.

Sex on a crowded tube train with a stranger. Tubing. No names exchanged, travellers too engrossed with their newspapers/books/phones to notice what the couple in the corner is up to. Seems like adrenalin-fuelled, slightly dangerous fun to Polly: she's in a dead-end job, in a staid relationship with very, very, very nice Oliver, a successful surgeon. If she's enjoying it, if she's not getting found out, then it's okay, isn't it? 

But then it all goes horribly, horribly wrong. What on earth has she got herself into and why, why has she risked losing everything that was good, settled, secure?

Brilliantly executed, brilliantly written, I can't wait to see what McKeagney comes up with next.

Your Soul Was Meant For Mine by C L Hunter

Not overly fond of this one, regrettably…it’s never easy to say you didn’t enjoy a book. It never really found its way. An erotic romance with a bit of paranormal thrown in, but it didn’t really sit comfortably in the story, the erotica lacked real steam…it was rather perfunctory...the romance was a bit forced, and the dialogue was rather clunky and unnatural.

After a tragic accident, forces beyond the grave decree that lawyer Thomas’s wife, Emmalyn, should get together with his work colleague, Nolan, a very rich and successful businessman. Along the way, some chunks from Nolan’s past rear their ugly heads. And that’s about it…along with many scenes of bodice-ripping and throbbing organs. Emmalyn and Nolan’s acquaintance begins with a transatlantic exchange of letters. These were rather odd…they were a cross between Jane Austen and Essex girl. For a successful businessman with an idea for some very out-there technology, he seemed a bit dim…he hadn't heard of online translating (Babelfish, Google Translate?) and flustered over postage times. Email, anyone?

I can’t speak for the text in Irish, but the French was slightly off kilter…relying perhaps too much on high-school French, and I was increasingly irritated by the couple calling each ‘wife’ and ‘husband’ all the time. The plot didn’t just stroll, it dawdled painfully along. Bits and pieces came out of the woodwork rather suddenly and incongruously, and it just didn’t hang together.

The premise for this book was promising, and I think the author has writing ability, but this needs some substantial developmental editing to give the characters, well, character and the plot some body and cohesion.

The Soft Sounds of Pleasure by Eden Connor

I really enjoyed this novel by Conor. It has depth and substance. Colton De Marco, the youngest of three brothers who own a garage, has harboured a ten-year unrequited desire for the older very attractive Lila whose wheelchair-bound husband, he recently discovers, has died. Her only son has enlisted with the Marines, so she is now alone with just memories, a furniture-restoring business, and a meddling, bitter old mother-in-law who has very little time for Lila’s new life. As luck would have it, Colton finds himself presented with an opportunity to get into Lila’s life…and her bed, as it happens. A 41-year-old widow attracted to and idolised by a 29-year-old hunk: a recipe for happiness? Lila has to consider old-fashioned prejudices (how long is long enough to be a lonely widow?), a not inconsiderable age gap (her child-bearing days are over), and the inability to depend on a man whom she is sure will lose interest when a younger model comes along. 

Oh yes, there's plenty of page-sizzling, hot, erotic sex—all scenes were perfectly executed. They were varied (I never thought, oh no, here we go again), charged, sensual, tastefully graphic and passionate. The irresistibility of both characters was well conceived. It was evident that Eden had an in-depth knowledge of furniture restoring and baseball and these elements helped to make a well-rounded novel, perfectly balanced between a solid story and erotic sex. 

It’s well written—with heart and feeling—and with strong characters—Eden gives them enough of a past to make them interesting without being stereotyped or shallow. I gather there is more to come from the De Marco brothers, and since the car mechanics near me are nowhere near as gorgeous as Colton, I shall just have to sit back and wait for the next book.

Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen

I did enjoy this book set in the world of horse-racing – I’m an animal lover and a sucker for any story with a four-legged creature. Although I don’t ride, I love horses, and this book did not disappoint.

Jessica Boone’s skiing career is seemingly over after a severe knee injury and her wily, controlling and ruthless grandfather – her guardian after the loss of both parents – is keen for her to join his company. She has more independent ideas, however. She bets her grandfather that if she can last an agreed period working in the stable that trains her Gramps’ colt, supporting herself financially, he will respect her wishes and agree to fund her plans to run a dog kennel and not insist on imposing his own intentions for her future. The stables are run by Mark Russell – a good-looking and, of course, irresistible, trainer of horses. He and Jessica are undeniably attracted to each other. His efforts to try and keep her at arm’s length are impeded by her attractiveness, her personality, her unexpected affinity with the horses, her willingness and capacity to learn. 

There is a smart thread of suspense that runs through this romance which is neatly interwoven into the horsey setting – there’s a murder, an attempted murder, theft and a potential terrorist threat. Bev’s knowledge or research of the horse world is impressive and credible – the pace of the story ran along enjoyably with the nail-biting horse races. 

However, I did think this book was struggling to decide what it wanted to be. There was a fair amount of explicit sex in this – I don’t have an aversion to that, but this wasn’t an erotic novel – it was a romantic/suspense story and perhaps the emphasis should have been on the mystery side of it rather than the afternoon bonkathons. 

My only other niggle – and this is personal, other readers might be perfectly happy with it – I just didn’t like the slightly irritating absence of pronouns in the sentences, a style which peppered the novel and made for rather jerky reading, eg: 

“Flexing his knuckles, he turned, reluctant to look. Stared down the walkway. 

She glanced at the thick-chested man next to her. Could see his program spread against the rail.“ 

Aside from that, I was smitten by the characters – they were caring and likeable, and it was hard to not to have a soft spot for the horses – Bev managed to give them endearing personalities, and I’ll admit I had the odd lump in my throat. 

A satisfying and entertaining read.

Breaking Faith by Stuart Aken

This is a memorable story that stays with you long after you’ve read that last page.

It starts with a ‘broken’ Faith, a young woman abominably treated by her bully of a father, a puritanical hypocrite.  When she eventually manages to flee from her hell, she is taken in by a successful photographer, Leigh, who is loved, adored and revered by women.  The idolatry he receives from thousands of women is reciprocated with sex;  lots and lots and lots of it, shamelessly and flagrantly.

Faith’s upbringing has, remarkably and against all odds, produced an innocent, direct, honest and extraordinarily beautiful woman – inside and out - and Leigh is smitten in a way he never imagined possible.  They are irresistibly drawn to each other, but Faith has ultimata and the road to their nirvana is eventful, sad, tragic, and inevitable.

I did enjoy the book but…there are some ‘buts’.

What did I enjoy?  It is very well written, it’s compelling and it’s intelligent.  The story was written in the first person from both Leigh’s and Faith’s POV in alternating chapters.  I was intrigued by this, and it worked well.  It’s a good story with some very likeable characters, some of them funny, and some not so likeable; Leigh, in particular, is someone you love to hate.  He’s handsome, he’s kind, he’s generous – totally immoral – but charismatic. The setting of the novel is in the beautiful Yorkshire dales and the locals’ dialect and character add authentic flavour.

My ‘buts’?  Despite the 1976 setting, I felt uneasy with the promiscuity and the acceptability of it. Faith’s character developed rather quickly – for 20 years she was isolated with nothing but a bible, an atlas, a history of the world, and a censored encyclopaedia and dictionary for company – she was disproportionately worldly. There was an uncharacteristic neglect of her quadriplegic sister, for whom she had cared tenderly for many years, after she was taken into social care in very distressing circumstances. Unfortunately, I have to say, too, that there were many editorial oversights (missing, misplaced, incorrect punctuation and spelling errors) which jarred just a little.

However, the story and Faith stay with you.  I am glad I read it and would recommend it.

Jema's Sexual Fantasies by July Hunter

There’s absolutely no doubt what this short story is about.  It is indeed about Jema’s sexual fantasies.

Jema is a 40-year-old (how very refreshing that she is not your stereotyped, young and nubile heroine), who has recently moved to an Alaskan town. One evening, she sees a droolworthy, tall and sexy male passenger at the airport where she works as a security official.  Not having made many friends yet – of the male variety in particular - things develop rather rapidly and sizzlingly from there.

The tale is short, but there is no lack of hot, hot, hot action  - and the question is, are Jema’s fantasies realised?

The short erotic tale is neat, compact, full of steam, passion, lust and desire.  There are only two characters of any significance – Jema and her fantasy man – but it is a short story and these two fill the pages very adequately, thank you!  A nicely rounded page sizzler with a promise of more of Jema’s fantasies to come.

Pendulum by Tarah Scott

This was a short story set in the Scottish Highlands in the late thirteen hundreds, written by an American author.  Therein lay the problem – lack of research.

We have two men after one girl, Airin.  The one who finds the brooch that belonged to her great-grandmother will have her hand in marriage.  One of the men, Jason, is her late sister's husband, the other is Deryll, the handsome, manly, dashing and infamous Scarlet Knight.  It seems a simple and indisputable way to find a husband.   Things get somewhat messy when murder, unscrupulous sheriffs, soppy puppy-eyed minstrels  and good old-fashioned skulduggery get in the way. Who will find the brooch, who will win the virgin, Airin's, hand and ….. is it really great-grandmamma's brooch?

The story is okay, but I didn't like the author's attempt to add a little dashing derring-do flavour by using some Olde English words and phrases:  there were too few and were therefore a little incongruous.  The dialogue was neither one thing or another.  There was rather an incessant and rather irritating use of 'gaze'.  Not one character looked or saw – the gaze shifted or dropped or sharpened (sharpened??).  This was rather tedious.

There were a number of editorial oversights and the author couldn't spell 'bollocks'.

The story needs more than a lick and a promise – it needs a good dust and polish.

Montana Wildfire by Rebecca Sinclair

This is a real bodice-ripping (quite literally) page-sizzler!

Amanda Lennox's job is to accompany a precocious little brat from Boston to Pony in Montana to reunite him with his wealthy father.  Her wilderness expertise is somewhat questionable and she manages to find herself not only way off route in Idaho, but also in dire need of assistance when she gets stuck in a freezing cold stream-bed.  Her unruly charge manages to find help in the form of Jake Chandler, a half-white, half-Indian (Injun), cynical 'hunk' of a man.

Sparks fire immediately between Amanda and Jake and while they are hurling abuse at each other (shrouding the inevitable magnetism they feel for each other), the obnoxious little scamp is kidnapped.  Jake and Amanda have to fight the undeniable attraction they have for each other and collaborate to find the boy, so that Amanda can deliver him safely to his father.

I found the story rather slow – 30-40% into the book Jake and Amanda were still dancing around each other, with only one thing in the way – she is a Bostonian 'lady' with spunk and independence, he is a 'half-breed' with a colossal chip on this shoulder and I did get rather impatient wishing they would just get on with it.  I did, however, like the author's style and was very impressed by her rich and sumptuous vocabulary;  she finds endless ways to describe a copper-skinned, lean-hipped, taut-stomached, inky-haired, sooty-eyelashed, chisel-jawed hunk and reasons why Jake and Amanda should not give into their carnal desires.  Her portrayal and conception of the pair were immaculate – there was a very African Queen (Bogart-Hepburn - for those old enough to remember!) aura about their relationship – and I liked them both as characters – they both had a rebellious, non-conformist nature.  However, the book was just too long for the depth of plot.  It could have been half the length and still have delivered the same amount of heat and passion with no loss of intensity. The skill of the author is evident whether the book is 200 pages long or 400.

The book had me wanting more, not of the plot or characters, but most certainly of Rebecca's writing.  It is luxuriant, expressive, warm, flamboyant and gratifying.  I would certainly like to read more from this author.

Not Magic Enough by Valerie Douglas

A delightful novella.

Delae, is a competent young landowner, who has patiently come to accept her life of hardship without complaint. One stormy night, she encounters Dorovan, an Elf, a race forbidden to mix with Man. They are irresistibly drawn to one another and discover a mutual need for passion, love, tenderness and sensuality. Their bond is deep and unbreakable, but their liaison is forbidden. 

There is an archaic timbre to writing and the hardship of the era is well portrayed, as are the beauty and integrity of both hero and heroine - their love scenes are powerfully drawn.

Whilst the ending is sad, but inevitable, Valerie sprinkles a dust of happiness over it.

A wonderful, moving story.