Review - Conspiracy Game

Title: Conspiracy Game
Author: Christine Feehan
Publishing Date: November 2006
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B
Sensuality: Hot

Conspiracy Game is book four of the GhostWalker Series. Jack Norton is a GhostWalker. That means he is a BADASS! No seriously, he has been genetically enhanced to be stronger, faster, and smarter than a normal human. He also has some psychic abilities. His twin brother Ken, who is also a GhostWalker has been captured by rebel forces in the jungle just outside of Kinshasa, Africa. He is able to set his brother free, but ends up being captured by the very same people who were torturing his brother. After a few days he manages to escape and work his way to the town. There he runs into Briony.

Briony is special too. She has always been an outsider of her adopted family. See Briony, cannot be around others without experiencing their emotions. Other peoples’ emotions cause her pain so debilitating, that she has nose bleeds and migraines. Briony also has enhanced strength and other physical and psychic attributes. Her family owns a circus and she and her brothers have a world class trapeze act. They have been asked to come perform in the city of Kinshasa for a substantial amount of money. How can they refuse? After a performance Briony heads away from the city to the jungle to get away from all the emotions of the other people. There she meets Jack and helps him get to safety.

Conspiracy Game was an enjoyable, guilty pleasure read. Perhaps a bit cheesy, but call me a mouse with a full tummy, because I lapped it up hungrily! Here is a passage between Jack and Briony that just showcases “the cheese” to perfection.

He actually snarled, like a wolf. She heard the growl of anger and his hand caught hers and forced it between his legs to rub over his aching, full erection. “Does it feel like I don’t want you? I can’t think straight with wanting you, and damn it, it isn’t all about sex either. Whitney may think he overdosed us with the right pheromones, but it’s a hell of a lot more complicated than that. My need of you, this, monster of a hard-on, comes from my heart, not just from lust.”

Jack is the quintessential protective and over-bearing male. He wants nothing more than to make sure that Briony has everything she needs and wants. His first priority is always for her safety and comfort. If not careful, Jack would completely take control. Fortunately, Briony has no problem standing up to him. She has good judgment on which battles she chooses to pick too.

I really enjoyed both lead characters and the plot of this story. The plot is well thought out with unique world-building. What kept this story from getting a higher rating was the repetition of certain points in the book. I felt like the author kept repeatedly telling me the same thing over and over again. After a while it began to grate on my nerves. Also note that this book does not have a conclusive ending. I am assuming that the next book in the series will continue where this book left off. As it stands, the next book is centered around Jack’s twin Ken.

Enter The Duke of Shadows Sweepstakes

Okay, Ann Aguirre is having a contest over at her blog. She absolutely loved the book The Duke of Shadows and wants to let everyone know about it. I figured I may as well enter the contest. I haven't read the book yet, but because of all the publicity it has been receiving, I definitely will in the near future.

A Fire in the Heart

Title: A Fire in the Heart
Author: Katherine Sutcliffe
Publishing Date: March 1990
Genre: Historical
Rating: C-
Sensuality: Hot


Bonnie Eden is an orphan. She witnesses the brutal murder of her father and winds up in Caldbergh, a British workhouse that basically uses children as slaves. Her daily existence is a harsh, grueling one that she longs to escape. As Bonnie flees for her life in a storm with a life threatening fever, she manages to crash through the front door of Braithwaite, the home of Damien Warwick. The cruel caretakers from Caldbergh are hot on her heels. Rather than send her back to that dreadful place, Damien lies and tells them she is not there. He takes it upon himself to have her nursed back to health.

I didn’t know they were still publishing bodice rippers in the early 1990’s. A Fire in the Heart had just about all the pet peeves that push my buttons in a book. First off, it had the thirty-three year old hero lusting after an eighteen year old heroine. Hmmm, I am not buying that a thirty year old would be interested in an immature girl. This brings me to my next pet peeve; the story had a bitchy little brat for a heroine. (Actually, I am being rather harsh here, because in the end Bonnie does finally grow up, but it took about 200 pages too long, in my opinion). It also had a hero who has been cuckolded by a previous love and therefore he believes that all women are not to be trusted. Forced seduction that very nearly borders on rape is the norm when reading the ‘love’ scenes. Throw in a couple of villains, a duel, an unknown pregnancy and lots and lots of angst and you have just about all that is cliché in a romance bundled up neatly for your reading pleasure, (or not, as the case may be).

Wow, I can’t believe how harsh I am being with this review. I love Katherine Sutcliffe, but this book just annoyed the hell out of me. She is such a talented writer that I hate – absolutely hate - that I didn’t like this book and was disappointed by it. What amazes me, though, is that as much as everything about this book annoyed me, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. What does that say about me? Hey, if you are more tolerant than I am, and you love a good bodice ripper, then this one might be for you. For those of you who have your hot buttons, you might want to steer clear.

Here is what others had to say:

Rip My Bodice
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New FaeFever Excerpt!

Okay, here is the latest teaser from Karen Marie Moning in her upcoming September 30th release Faefever, the third book in her Fever series. I cannot wait for this book!!! I will have to start a countdown. September 30th cannot come soon enough.

V'lane's knuckles grazed the base of my skull where Barrons had branded me, his eyes narrowed, and he inhaled sharply. "You think to allow his mark upon your body but refuse mine?" he hissed. He closed his mouth over mine.

The great, leathery winged, demonic Unseelie Hunters are especially terrifying to sidhe-seers because they know where we live inside our heads. They instinctively know exactly where to find the small, frightened child in us all and exploit it.

The Seelie princes know where we live, too, but it's the grown woman they're after. They hunt us in our own bodies, tracking us without mercy into the darkest corners of our libido. They seduce the Madonna; they celebrate the whore. They serve our sexual needs tirelessly, gorging on our passion, amplifying it, and slamming it back at us a thousand-fold. They are masters of all our desires. They know the limits of our fantasies, take us to the edge and leave us there, hanging by shredded fingernails, above a bottomless gorge, begging for more.

V'lane's tongue touched mine. Something hot and electric jolted through my mouth. It swelled inside me, filling me. I choked on it, and orgasmed instantly, as hot and electrifying as whatever he'd just done to my tongue. Pleasure ripped through me with such exquisite precision that my bones steamed and turned to water. I would have collapsed, but he took my weight, and I was in a dreamy, surreal place for a few moments, where his laughter was black velvet and his need was as vast as the night, then I was clear and me again.

Review - Thigh High

Title: Thigh High
Author: Christina Dodd
Publishing Date: March 2008
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Hot

Jeremiah Mac, aka, Mr. McNaught, owner of Premier Central Banks, has a thief in his mist. He hates thieves and won’t abide by anyone stealing from him no matter how small the amount. Over the last several years during Mardi Gras down in New Orleans, his banks have been robbed for small, meager amounts. The local police have no leads as to the identity of the culprits. Jeremiah has his own ideas and believes that one of his bank managers Nessa Dahl is behind the robberies. He decides to take matters into his own hands and goes undercover to investigate these robberies and put a stop to it. He wants to pin the blame on Nessa. She, on the other hand, is New Orleans’s sweetheart and no one in their right mind would suspect her.

What I look forward to in a Christina Dodd novel is a nice steamy read with a good plot, a multitude of interesting characters, and witty banter between the hero and heroine with lots of sexual tension. Unfortunately, Thigh High did not live up to this expectation. First off, the story started out a little slow for me. We are introduced to a huge cast of characters, everyone from Nessa’s Aunts’ boarders, such as Dana the transvestite night club singer, along with Nessa’s co-workers at the bank and the eeevil Stephanie. Nessa is very popular within the city itself, so she knows pretty much everyone at the police department. I mean the introductions seemed to go on and on. In a way, I found some of this interesting and it did add depth to Nessa’s character, but it was a little too much and could have been scaled down some without loosing its impact.

Because of the nature of the story with Jeremiah believing Nessa to be the robber, I found his feelings toward Nessa illogical. Mainly because Jeremiah hates liars and he thinks Nessa is lying to him. More towards the end of the story, I found it hard to believe that he would love someone who he thinks is deceiving him. This is too bad, because I did believe into the fact that Jeremiah and Nessa make a good match. Nessa needs someone like Jeremiah to shake up her staid existence and vice versa.

I enjoyed Jeremiah’s character. I liked that he was a take charge kind of guy and pretty much steam rolls over anyone in his path. He is described as being a thug in a business suit. He is not a pretty man and has scars all over his body. I like that. I can’t abide by the men being prettier than the heroine. The sexual tension was well written and there is one scene in the bank vault that is HWAT! It’s sure to steam up the pages. The ending was wrapped up a little too cleanly for me. I would have liked for more grovel from Jeremiah. I thought Nessa forgave him too quickly. All in all, it wasn’t necessarily a bad book, I was just hoping for more.

Here is what others had to say:

Breezing Through (jointly with Nath)
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March Book Summary

Looks like March was a very productive month for me, with a grand total of 15 books. Here they are with links to the ones with posted reviews. Eventually, I will be posting a review for all of them.

1. Wonderful, Barnett (Medieval) Rating: B+
2. Laird of the Mist, Quinn (Medieval) Rating: C
3. Arousing Suspicions, Stillings (Rom. Suspense) Rating: B
4. Agnes and the Hitman, Crusie (Rom. Suspense) Rating: B+
5. Witch Blood, Bast (Paranormal) Rating: B
6. Pendragon, Coulter (Historical) Rating: B-
7. Kiss of Crimson, Adrian (Paranormal) Rating: B-
8. Sugar Daddy, Kleypas (Contemporary) Rating: A
9. The Spymaster's Lady, Bourne (Historical) Rating: A
10. Midnight Awakening, Adrian (Paranormal) Rating: C
11. Thigh High, Dodd (Rom. Suspense) Rating: B-
12. A Fire in the Heart, Sutcliffe (Historical) Rating: C-
13. Conspiracy Game, Feehan (Paranormal) B
14. Moon Called, Briggs (Science Fiction) Rating: B+
15. Flashpoint, Brockman (Rom. Suspense) Rating: B+

Review - Midnight Awakening

Title: Midnight Awakening
Author: Lara Adrian
Publishing Date: December 2007
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: C
Sensuality: Hot

Midnight Awakening is Tegan and Elise’s story. Elise has left her Darkhaven society and moved into an apartment on her own in a run down part of Boston. With the death of her only son, she has nothing to live for except exacting revenge on the Rogues. Her special Breedmate gift is that she can hear other humans’ thoughts. Unfortunately, it is only the negative ones she hears. This gift does allow her to track and follow minions, humans who have become Rouges’ slaves. Elise kills one such minion but ends up out after dark. She has the blood of the minion on her coat and she attracts Rogues to her. Just before she is attacked, Tegan comes to her rescue.

I was really looking forward to Tegan’s story because the two previous books have hinted at his sad and tragic past, which Lucan was somehow involved in. I figured that the reader would get some more depth with Tegan’s character since his past has helped create who he is today - a big brooding alpha male with nothing to lose. Unfortunately, Midnight Awakening did not live up to my expectations.

Tegan is pretty much a jerk to Elise throughout the whole story. He says some really cruel and cutting remarks to her. I was willing to tolerate it for a while, because of the nature of his personality, but I was also expecting to see some change too. I kept waiting for him to grow as a person, but it never came. For me, it seemed like he went from pushing Elise away to all of the sudden, loving her. I did not believe this abrupt change in him.

Out of Tegan and Elise, I thought Elise was the stronger, more courageous person. I liked that she was not afraid to let Tegan know how she felt. I wish Tegan would have had more strength in conveying his conviction about his feelings for Elise too. Elise was one of the reasons I didn’t end up giving Midnight Awakening a lower grade. The plot also kept the grade afloat. I like the direction this series is going. I think Adrian is able to keep it fresh and unique without repeating the same plot devices. I give kudos to her for that. I just wish I would have liked Tegan’s story a little better.

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Avid Bookreader
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Dear Author
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