Thursday, July 06, 2006

A few reviews

Still feeling fuzzy headed with this damn cold. I HATE being sick. But I went to work anyway and am now barracaded in my office. No one has come to visit me so that's a good thing. Just as easy to communicate with email and IM.

I went to Subway to get a sandwich at lunchtime and when I opened my mouth to place my order no sound came out. After much coughing and hacking (I think I may have spit in his face - poor fellow) I managed to croak my order to him. You should have seen the look on his face!

Reminder to self: Never take Nyquil again! That stuff is brutal. I took a half dose night before last and I still feel light headed. Better off with just Tylenol.

Bob was wise enough not to ask "what's for dinner?" last night. Took many years but I finally trained him not to ask that question while I'm lying on the couch looking like death warmed over. He even offered to make me a barbecued turkey burger, but all I wanted was a bowl of oatmeal.

Okay, so someone tell me where KarenS went because I lost her. Thank you. I need my KarenS fix.

Anyway, on to the books before I crash and burn:

Hope's Captive by Kate Lyon
I have never tried Lyon before but I love a good American Historical and this book was wonderful. It will fit right in with my favorite Cheryl St. John books. The heroine, Carolyn Whitley, was kidnapped and brutally tortured by the Kiowa tribe when she was very young. Eventually rescued by the Cheyenne she feels a fierce loyalty to them. Zach McCallister is searching for his son who he believes was taken captive by the Cheyenne in a raid that left the boy's mother dead and he needs Caroline's help to find him and bring him home. This gut wrenching book was almost too painful to read about how she was abused and tortured for years. Carolyn is a tough frontier woman and a fantastic heroine. Zach was a decent honorable man and such a good match for her. The Cheyenne were portrayed very realistically too. Lyon did her homework on this one. My grade: B+

The Music of the Night by Lydia Joyce
I really loved the setting of Venice which was excellently done giving an authentic ambiance to the book. The entire story was focused around the hero's need for vengeance against a man who he was convinced raped his young illegimate daughter. Normally, I'm not too fond of revenge stories but Joyce makes this one work because of the setting and an unusual heroine. I never did warm up to the hero, Sebastian Grimsthorpe, but I loved the heroine. Sarah Connelly carries scars on her face from a case of small pox she suffered as a child. Sebastian mistakenly believes she is the mistress of her employer's son and he publicly seduces and humiliates her. What an a**! Why is it that a hero out for revenge always picks on the completely innocent heroine. Sheesh! She is essentially ruined and is forced to flee her employer's household and confronts him. He realizes his mistake and offers her a position as his mistress and housekeeper of his decaying Venetian villa. He never redeems himself in my eyes, but I loved how intelligent and strong Sarah is as she takes over the refurbishing of the house. Joyce's lush descriptions of Venice was captivating and the sensuality was steamy hot. My grade: B

The Cobra & the Concubine by Bonnie Vanak
Normally I avoid sheik/arab stories like the plague but after Kristie's recommendation, this one caught my interest. I'm glad because it was pretty good. The hero, Khepri, was adopted as a young boy by the Khamsin tribe of warriors when his family are killed in Egypt. Badra was sold as a slave at the age of 11 to a sadistic sheik and suffered years of rape and torture. Reading about this type of abuse was rather difficult and made me cringe but the author's note reminds the reader that this type of thing still goes on all over the world. Khepri is actually Kenneth, heir to an English dukedom (why is it always a duke?). When Badra is captured from the evil sheik, Khepri swears to protect her and he falls in love with her. Badra had many traumatic experiences and it takes her a LOOOONG time to overcome them as one would expect. I loved Khepri, totally yummy. But Badra was too meek for my taste. My favorite part was the camaraderie and teasing about 'male parts' between Khepri and his foster brothers; a nice touch of humor. Badra finally overcovers her fears culminating in some very hot sex scenes! The decriptions of life in the desert were fascinating too. All loose ends were tied up rather tidily including burning down the brothel where Badra was imprisoned. My grade: B-

9 comments:

sybil said...

I have her link updated on my blog.

I really need to read Hope's Captive!

Noneya said...

Hope you are feeling better!

I've been wondering about The Cobra & the Concubine..thanks for the review!! I'm not sure yet if I want to add it to the TBR.

Sandie

Kristie (J) said...

Wasn't HC good? It is gritty, but then I like gritty sometimes. It's much more realistic. And have you checked out the preview on Bonnie Vanaks website for her next one? Boy does it look good!!! It's the brothers (and you know who I mean) story.

Anonymous said...

I'm here still! I take it you found me!

ReneeW said...

Sybil: Yes, definitely.

Sandie: Feeling better today, can swallow with no pain. Yes, sheiks and arabs don't work for everyone.

Kristie: Gritty is a good adjective to describe it. OOOO, thanks, I will need to check out the brother's book.

KarenS: You were lost and now you're found! I was getting worried for second.

Rosario said...

I liked the Lydia Joyce better than you (for me, Sebastian did redeem himself... and it wasn't as if he was pulling that stupid romance-hero trick of taking his revenge on someone he *knew* was innocent), but the final part, the way a certain character's actions were excused, kept it from being an A-. I can't wait to read her next, it should be coming out about now, I think. I still need to catch up with a lot, LOL!

ReneeW said...

So glad you're back. Yes, Sebastian did mistakenly believe she was the 'scarred woman' who was involved with the rape. But I wanted him to grovel more. :) You've been away so long it will take you a while to catch up.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Renee --

I came across your comments about Hope's Captive while surfing the net and thought I'd drop you a note. I'm so pleased you like HC! Thanks for talking it up on your blog, which is great, BTW!

And thanks to Kristie for recommending it to you.

Kate Lyon

ReneeW said...

Hi Kate, whenever Kristie recommends something I usually pay attention since we have similar tastes. Glad you stopped by.

Wow, I haven't touched my blog in over 6 years and I'm still logged in!  Good thing because I have no idea what my password is.  In ...